The World Cup

[Ishmayl-Retired]

I fell asleep during this game... honestly, it's the only soccer game I've ever watched that I was bored the entire time :(

[CYMRO]

I fell asleep during this game... honestly, it's the only soccer game I've ever watched that I was bored the entire time :(

I watched the last 30 minutes, and it was kind of....stale.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Agreed... stupid Netherlanders!

:ducks:

[CYMRO]

Agreed... stupid Netherlanders!

:ducks:

Though the fifteen seconds the cameras focused on the player picking his nose was priceless.

[CYMRO]

USA vs. GHANA in 90 minutes!!

Go Team! :cheer:  :cheer:  :cheer:  :cheer:  :cheer:

[CYMRO]

:disgust:  :disgust:

Maybe the USA would play better if they didn't take lithium before the game...      :doh:

[Túrin]

Thanks CYMRO. It turns out I predicted 0-0 for the little pool we do with the people of the tabletennis club, so another 10 points have been scored. :D

While this was far from the best game these teams have ever played, it's still commendable the teams at least gave it a good try; this was not the kind of 0-0 game in which everyone decides beforehand not to do anything. I was far from as bored as Ishy says he was, actually. There were some pretty interesting battles going on in the midfield, though unfortunately such a game gives little room for excitement in the goal areas.

Either way, some surprising results in the other groups. Ecuador instead of Poland is a big surprise, as is Ghana instead of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, Leo Beenhakker didn't make it with Trinidad and Tobago (everyone's favourite underdog) but there are still three Dutch coaches active: our own Marco van Basten (that's right, the brilliant striker we all remember from the '88 European Cup now coaches the Netherlands), Dick Advocaat with the South Koreans (who were led by Guus Hiddink four years ago when they surprisingly made it to the semi-finals, and are at the moment I post struggling with the Swiss for a place in the second round) and Guus "Saint Gus" Hiddink who is going for a stunt with the Australians. The fact that the Australians have qualified for the second round (with a very Dutch style of play, I might add) is already somewhat of a stunt, considering they have never made it to the second round before and haven't played on a World Cup at all for over 30 years, but Guus will want to make it to the semi-finals. He's already the only coach who has ever led two different teams to the semi-finals of the World Cup (the Netherlands in '98 and South Korea in '02) but he'll want to make that three. I doubt he'll make it that far though, as he will have to beat the Italians, who will want to take revenge for their defeat in '02 in the quarter finals at the hands of Guus' South Korea (which caused Korean player Ahn, scorer of the decisive goal against the Italians, to be fired from his Italian club).

This Sunday is the next match for the Dutch, who will have to beat the Portugese to make it to the quarter finals. The Portugese, however, have already beaten the Netherlands in '04's European Cup. That European Cup was held in Portugal, but the Portugese didn't win it: they were beaten in the final round by Greece, a complete surprise for everyone, and this World Cup, they will want to do good to make up for that. They have a very strong team with players like Luis Figo and Christiano Ronaldo, and they have as their coach the Brazilian Scolari, who was the coach of the '02 World Cup winning Brazilian team. All in all, beating Portugal will be very hard. My prediction, again, is a draw, with penalties deciding the final outcome. Though the Dutch have finally rid themselves of their "penalty syndrome" (penalties were what kicked us out in almost every major tournament in the nineties, as well as the 2000 European Cup held in Belgium and the Netherlands), the Portugese have a very good goalkeeper, so I'm afraid the penalties will decide in favour of Portugal, ending the World Cup for the Netherlands. Unless, of course, the Netherlands will play much better than they did Wednesday, and decide the game in their favour in the regular 90 minutes.

Túrin

PS Oh, and my condolences for those of you who feel a bond with the USA team (hint: CYMRO). If your prediction turns out to be true, and soccer will indeed become more and more important in the USA, it's only a matter of time before you will win the World Cup, considering simply the number of people that live there. It's unfair really. I think the American states should play in international games separately, to give the others some chance as well. :P

[Hoplite]

Good day in the World Cup tommorow. Good day it was today though, Germany made Sweden look rediculous. If half the decent long range efforts had been on target (particularly from Ballack) it surely would have been 7-0. Argentina VS Mexico was also a good match, and what a strike from Maxi to cap it off in extra time.

Now that the USA is out, im rooting for the Oranje through and through and the game against Portugal I predict will be a shootout. I fancy Holland 3-2 however but only if Ruud can find his form, or more like if his Robben or Van Persie can find him! So far he hasn't gotten the service such a superstriker requires but here's to hoping that changes.

Turin, isn't Saint Guus going to Russia after this world cup to work more of his magic? I was hoping he was going to Old Trafford to replace Sir Alex when he retires, but that was just wishful thinking.

Oh well, hopefully tommorw when I come back, ill be touting how Holland swiftly routed Portugal. Cheers

[Túrin]

Hey everyone,

Unfortunately I missed the Argentina vs. Mexico game, though I heard I missed one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

Now, to analyze the Oranje - Portugal match. The first half was fairly decent, though the referee was already overplaying his hand by drawing too many yellow cards. Both teams were playing pretty slow, with few moments before the goals. The Dutch had a few good offensive actions, but no goal. The Portuguese really had only one good offensive action, but an excellent one at that, which led to them scoring 1-0. By the end of the first half, Costinha got his second yellow card, which gave the Dutch new hope as they hoped to finish the game in a "powerplay" situation.

In the second half, however, things really got out of hand. The Netherlands started pretty good, playing much more offensive and putting the pressure on Portugal. However, a subtle manipulation of the referee by the old Luis Figo caused Dutch player Boulahrouz to also get his second yellow card, evening the game to 10 vs. 10. The referee was completely losing control of the game by this time, and just kept doling out yellow cards. As the Dutch tried to keep the pressure up, and occasionally created some good opportunities, they continued to allow the more experienced Portuguese players to provoke them. By the end of the game, Deco (Portugal) and Giovanni (the Netherlands) had also obtained their second yellow card, and a total of eight other players ended the game with a single yellow card to their name. Due to fights and injuries, the second half had seven minutes of extra time. The Netherlands showed better play than in any of its previous matches during the second half, but in the end it wasn't enough. Considering what happened, this was probably not only the last match of the tournament for the Dutch, but also for referee Ivanov, who led a terrible match.

It's interesting to see what happens here in the Netherlands once the dust settles. People quickly going about their business again, saying that they really weren't all that enthusiastic to begin with. People abandoning their orange shirts, hats and wuppies (it's also about time I get rid of that "Proud to be Dutch" title). From today onward, the Dutch will be watching the World Cup with an objective view again, though also with much less enthusiasm.

Still, there's some subjective fun to be had. Today, I'll be an Aussie, supporting Guus Hiddink's wonderful team with their very Dutch style of play. Normally I would give Italy the best chance to win, but if they play the game with 90% motivation (which wouldn't be the first time the Italians underestimate an opponent) I think they will be beaten. Still, they will remember Guus Hiddink from their defeat in '02, so I think they'll be motivated enoug, unfortunate though it may be for Australia.

@ Hoplite: Yes, as far as I know, Guus will be working with the Russians after the World Cup. Now that he's left PSV, hopefully the Dutch competition will be exciting again as well.

Túrin

[Jürgen Hubert]

I didn't watch the Netherlands - Portugal game, but my co-worker did and called it a "brawl".

We'll see how the German team progresses. If they can keep this up, then maybe I will have to fulfill the bet I made with said co-worker after all...

[Hoplite]

Describing it as a brawl is not terribly far off. As was expected, the passion of the players really got the best of them and the match was very heated from beginning to end. It was very entertaining to watch especially nearing the end; the whole game was box to box but the dutch just camped outside the Portugal 18 for the last ten minutes or so. Very exciting but the end was very depressing. When Costinha was sent off I was sure the Oranje would be able to find an equalizer but the second half is when Ivanov(I think that was his name) lost all control whatsoever.

This statement puts it best I think, "The Battle of Nuremburg ends with 16 yellow cards, 4 red cards, and 1 golden goal..."

As much as I like van Basten, I cannot help but question his decision on Kuyt(who throughout had been disappointing) over Ruud(who scored on his *arguably* only chance against Cote d'Ivoire). There were about 3 or 4 chances that Kuyt had and failed that Ruud would have (and has in the past) buried in the net. How do the dutch people feel about van Basten decision, or even Ruud van Nistelrooy in general?

I saw a bit of the aussies game that ended on a penalty in injury time. It was a pretty blatant dive as the forward had basically rounded the defender, but what the defender was ever thinking putting himself in that position is beyond me. Very sad ending for the Aussies who I think were controlling the match.

[Blackheart]

I saw a bit of the aussies game that ended on a penalty in injury time. It was a pretty blatant dive as the forward had basically rounded the defender, but what the defender was ever thinking putting himself in that position is beyond me. Very sad ending for the Aussies who I think were controlling the match.

Very sad indeed, it was an extreamly dissappoining result for us Aussies. Had we been thoroughly thrashed by the Italians it would have been easier to take than that penalty. Although with Azuri down to 10 men for most of the second half we should have been able to convert all of that posession into a goal or two.
But I gotta say that during this World Cup the Socceroos really looked like a world class team, Australia is not really a Soccer nation after all, and even in the 2-0 loss to Brazil we looked like we belonged on the world stage. Hopefully this last 8 months with Guus and the Valliant display by the boys over the last couple of weeks will translate into a stonger pressence in world soccer (look out asian league).
For now It's time for me to jump off the Soccer bandwagon and concentrate on watching Rugby Union instead. I will be watching the final and hope Germany can win the Championship, it would be a top result for the host nation to win.

[Túrin]

Now that the dust is settling, people are making up their minds about Van Basten. Throughout the last two years, no hard words have been spoken about Van Basten (as opposed to Dick Advocaat in '04 who got nothing but hard words), but now everyone starts realizing that for all the great games in the qualifying series, Van Basten has ultimately disappointed us when it mattered most. I'm not sure whether people will dare to really critique him given that they've been speaking so highly of him in the past, so we'll just have to wait and see about that. But already, everyone has his own opinion about Van Basten's selection procedure (why did he leave Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at home, topscorer of the Dutch competition, winner of the European Cup for teams under 21 years old and in great shape?) and his decisions at the tournament (should Kuyt or Van Nistelrooij have played?). I for one agree that Van Nistelrooij might have scored on some of the opportunities Kuyt missed, but on the other hand, Kuyt was very useful in hunting down the Portuguese when they were in ball possession, and whether it was Van Nistelrooij's fault or the fault of Robben and Van Persie, it was clear that Van Nistelrooij was not playing his best games on this tournament. I restate: it's very hard to answer your question about the feelings of the Dutch people because everyone feels different. Perhaps in a few days I'll be able to make a better general statement.

As for the Aussies, I was really disappointed. To me, the defender was trying to make an action on the ball, missed it, and then couldn't really be blamed for the fact that the Italian player decided to trip over him. Though of course the Aussies should have made better use of their extra man.

Túrin

[CYMRO]

Half-time, and France is holding its own against Brazil.

And so much for England.... :sosad:

[SDragon]

Half-time, and France is holding its own against Brazil.

And so much for England.... :sosad:

so much for brazil, from what i hear.

of course, aside from this thread, thats all i hear....