2006 World Cup Chock full o' spoilers thread

[Hoax]

My thoughts on the cup so far:

Top Teams that have played (I haven't seen any of the Brazil game yet):
1. Argentina
2. Czech Republic
3. Portugal
4. Netherlands
5. Italy/Germany

re the US:
Gah that sucked, this whole Beasley thing is a real fucking mess.

Silver Lining?  We played the trap well, Keller should be motivated as hell next game, Donovan took the criticism in stride and should play more aggressively next game.  Oh and for once Reyna looked like he deserved the arm band.

The defense was suspect in '02 and they are worse in '06.  Of course ever since I heard Hejduk was injured (my favorite player by far from the '02 campaign) I was worried.  They lost another starter too although his name didn't mean much to me at the time.  When Pope is your best fullback you know you are fucked.

If they dont start Beasley (they shouldn't) it means we loose his speed getting back and he was instrumental in shutting down the few Czech attacks that we did mange to thwart.  Lewis all in all didn't play a terrible game but the mental lapse that led to the first goal was all him so he better get his shit together.  If they dont start the big guy or the 4th defender whose name was NEVER EVEN MENTIONED until he was subbed out I will be pleased.  I felt that the offense never established a good rhythm and overall they played like they were intimidated but I didn't think it was as bad as many seem to be saying.  I thought McBride, Johnson, Donovon when he actually touched the ball and Convey all showed tiny flashes of actual pro play.  Now if they can just pull their collective heads out of their asses and play some team soccer we just might stand a chance.

That is a pretty big fucking if.

At least France only got a draw, here's hoping for another world cup where les blue don't score a goal.

[Wolf]

Oh man. The Brazilia - Croatia game was awesome. Could've gone either way. Best I've seen so far.

[Abagadro]

Ya, good game. Brazil didn't look as overpowering as they often do. What the hell is up with Ronaldo?

[Wolf]

He is fat and old?

Brazil wasn't playing at 100%, that's for sure. I soooo wanted Croatia to punish them for it... They had their chances too.

[Engels]

Brazil has the smooth moves and looks like its lazy, but if you look at their well-placed passes, you see the skill behind what looks like care-free play.

[Abagadro]

They are extremely skilled a fun to watch. Kaka has a cannon. They did look lackadaisical today though.

[Righ]

Brazil will do just enough to win the group, and no more. Why wear themselves out? Unlike most teams, they have to play all the way to the final. :)

[Tale]

Australia (of the Japan pwning) is up against Brazil on Monday. We either have to beat them or Croatia to get through, so fuck it, let's beat Brazil.

[Azazel]

3 goals in the final 8 minutes

Just awesome. Pity it's 1:20am here on a Tuesday morning and only about 5 degrees celsius (very cold for us). I went outside to see if anyone was celebrating and it's silent - there will be parts of Sydney where everyone is going nuts though.

I did that too. We were screaming nuts in here, afterwards I went outside and looked down the cold, quiet, dark street.

But then again, who's running into a suburban street like a goon in that temperature at that time of the morning.

Watching Spain destroy the Ukraine right now. cyas.

[Tale]

Here is an old match report to warm the cockles of your Aussie heart.

[Jobu]

Hi, my name is Ronaldo. I'm a fat, squishy tube of a soccer player and I like to walk around the pitch the entire game. Why should I bother running at all? I also like to casually stroll back onto the pitch after halftime. It's because in the locker room, I spend the break eating 15 corndogs and a side of bacon, so pardon my tardiness. It takes awhile to wolf that all down sometimes.

What a fucking joke. He needs to be benched permanently for that display. Brazil essentially won with 10 players.

I was uplifted a bit to see their game not being as all-conquering as they were billed. Their reputation and expectations are obviously over-emphasized by the media, but their game had a lot of space in it to come back and beat their samba asses. I only say this because I want them to lose early on so England can cruise to the final.

There was one play where Ronaldinho nutmegged someone and passed to an onrushing defender in the box. That play, right there, was the epitomy of "the beautiful game". It's why Brazil is so exciting to watch, even when you want them to lose.

[Hoax]

If you think England is cruising to anything you are delusional, I'm looking for the Soca Warriors to upset England tomorrow if they play another lazy 90 minutes.  I think they will get to Quarterfinals due to a pretty favorable setup but I expect Portugal/Argentina/Netherlands to beat the piss out of them at that point.

As for Brazil, dont forget Croatia is a solid team.  That will be the only time we see them tested until the round of 16 which is where the upset waits in the form of CzechR/Italy/USA(yea right).  At that time we will see if the coasting they have been doing is an intentional conservation of energy or not.  They are either going to suddenly kick into high gear and dominate or we could be in for a shocker.  Australia can't play soccer at the level required to even worry Brazil and Japan's defensive collapse was so pathetic I dont think I can even bring myself to take them seriously any more.  Which is a shame I think they have a great keeper and with their speed all over the field they can always eek out of scoring threat or three over the course of a game.

[Righ]

I only say this because I want them to lose early on so England can cruise to the final.

I understand national pride and all, but come on. England are only cruising for a bruising at the moment. I wish them well, but only if they play a good game of football. They need to stop flouncing around like primadonnas and start looking to use the whole pitch and start making team plays. If they play like they did in the first game, they deserve and will likely end up with nothing. Hoping that any good team fails so that England can win the cup while playing like shite isn't very realistic.

[Jobu]

I understand national pride and all, but come on. England are only cruising for a bruising at the moment. I wish them well, but only if they play a good game of football. They need to stop flouncing around like primadonnas and start looking to use the whole pitch and start making team plays. If they play like they did in the first game, they deserve and will likely end up with nothing. Hoping that any good team fails so that England can win the cup while playing like shite isn't very realistic.

lol, I'm not even English.

But yes... they need to play well. On their day I think they can beat anyone. They're doing their normal crap of sputtering around, playing isolated games from each other. I hope they wake the hell up. If they don't, you're absolutely right they're going to go crashing out miserably.

I really like watching Brazil. Most of that stuff about them losing was tongue in cheek. But I am a little bitter towards them, mostly because of their "fans". American World Cup fever consists a bunch of frat boys buying "Brasil" warmup jackets because they're douchebag posers and want to seem cool and international. I want to punch them everytime I see one at the mall. The cool Brazilians are the ones I play with in the park, who solemnly nod a little everytime I tell them Ronaldo is an out of form fatass. And they tell me they wish they had defenders like Terry.

[Abagadro]

Wow, that Germany/Poland game was great. What a finish.

[Signe]

The ref certainly seemed to take a long time recognising offsides.  I emailed him and suggested he read about the rule here.

[Righ]

I felt sorry for the Polish team. Scratch that - I felt sorry for Artur Borac. I told you he was the man they needed in goal. If they only had ten other players with as much talent. I'd like to see the Celtic vs. DC United match on July 12th, but there's no individual ticket sales yet.

[JoeTF]

We got the worst coach ever 
The fucktard just blamed it on the players. He is going to need police protection when he gets home.
/goes to drink

[Jobu]

I felt sorry for the Polish team. Scratch that - I felt sorry for Artur Borac. I told you he was the man they needed in goal. If they only had ten other players with as much talent. I'd like to see the Celtic vs. DC United match on July 12th, but there's no individual ticket sales yet.

Great call on that. He was superb! His defenders sold him short. They were STANDING there watching the cross come in when Neuville nipped in between them. I wouldn't call it sloppy defending or anything, just exhausted players who had given up on chasing the game and holding out for a draw instead. And they were punished for it.

[Abagadro]

I agree they were simply worn down by constant pressure. Germany should have put that crossbar rebound in 2 minutes earlier anyways which came on the end of some real nice play.

[Tale]

Hi, my name is Ronaldo. I'm a fat, squishy tube of a soccer player and I like to walk around the pitch the entire game. Why should I bother running at all? I also like to casually stroll back onto the pitch after halftime. It's because in the locker room, I spend the break eating 15 corndogs and a side of bacon, so pardon my tardiness. It takes awhile to wolf that all down sometimes.

What a fucking joke. He needs to be benched permanently for that display. Brazil essentially won with 10 players.

Ronaldo may have sucked in that game, but he will always be one of the best players ever. Ronaldinho's reason for existence: "I wanted to be just like him".

He scored eight goals in seven games in the 2002 World Cup (which Brazil won), which is almost as good as Pele. When Maradona got fat and struggled around the field, he still had bursts of brilliant goal scoring, so for a coach it could still be worth betting on a Ronaldo moment.

[Cyrrex]

Oh, those Germans.  It looks like they are going to come out of that group with 9 points.  Looking like roses, but smelling like dog shit.  Not only are they boring too watch (in my opinion...something about their style of play has always rubbed me wrong), but they really are playing like shit.  Man, I really hope Ecuador kicks them in the teeth.

And those Polish guys just can't catch a break.  They play fairly solid, but the ball never seems to bounce their way.

And Spain...beating Ukraine 4 - 0?  Damn.  I didn't see that coming.  That puts Spain up near the top of the list as far as I am concerned,  because Ukraine is a decent team.

[Megrim]

The central European teams get talked up too much. They are all seriously bad. Having seen Spain vs Ukraine last night i can safely way that Ukraine should just go home now if they are going to play like that. You are supposed to chase that bloody ball, not stare at it. The spaniards on the other hand i think had like, two, inaccurate passes the whole game. If they maintain their form throughout, i'm willing to bet there is a good chance of seeing them in the finals.

[Tale]

If they maintain their form throughout, i'm willing to bet there is a good chance of seeing them in the finals.

I was in the front row at the Sydney 2000 Olympics football final, Spain vs Cameroon. Spain played one of the dirtiest games I've seen, causing some nasty injuries and clearly diving many times. It was 2-0 Spain at half time, but due to playing so dirty they got down to 9 men and Cameroon brought it back to 2-2, then beat Spain on penalties. Justice was done.

Spain are always skilled, but I never want to cheer for them.

BTW are you guys seeing the three games per day, or only one per day? There only ever seems to be reaction to the third match. Due to time zone I'm usually watching the first two games and missing the third (and even that is a strain as they are all after midnight!).

[Wolf]

The central European teams get talked up too much. They are all seriously bad. Having seen Spain vs Ukraine last night i can safely way that Ukraine should just go home now if they are going to play like that. You are supposed to chase that bloody ball, not stare at it.

That would be very eastern europe. Central Europe would be the Czech Republic and Poland. And Croatia if you ask them and not someone that can read a map. Speaking of reading maps, you should really try to learn doing that. It's awesome.

[HaemishM]

Wow, that Germany/Poland game was great. What a finish.

Agreed. Absolutely smashing. I was cheering for Germany, but I have to give the Polish some credit. They played pretty decent defense up until the last few minutes. Their backline really saved their bacon a few times when the midfielders just seemed to give up on D.

But that sub the Germans brought in (Okinodor?) was just crazy. The bursts of speed he put on were incredible, especially against tired defenders. The only reason Germany won that game was a tired defense.

[WayAbvPar]

If they maintain their form throughout, i'm willing to bet there is a good chance of seeing them in the finals.

I was in the front row at the Sydney 2000 Olympics football final, Spain vs Cameroon. Spain played one of the dirtiest games I've seen, causing some nasty injuries and clearly diving many times. It was 2-0 Spain at half time, but due to playing so dirty they got down to 9 men and Cameroon brought it back to 2-2, then beat Spain on penalties. Justice was done.

Spain are always skilled, but I never want to cheer for them.

BTW are you guys seeing the three games per day, or only one per day? There only ever seems to be reaction to the third match. Due to time zone I'm usually watching the first two games and missing the third (and even that is a strain as they are all after midnight!).

All three games each day are televised. However, the first match starts at like 5:55 AM here on the West Coast, and the others from there- either too early, or smack dab in the middle of the work day. Since I have seen all the teams I wanted to see play at least one game, I am cutting back my TiVo consumption to 1 full game and maybe one fast forwarded through to see highlights.

The Germany v Poland game broke my heart. I am in a pool with a first prize of $1500+, and was tied for 2nd. I had Poland with the upset (and to win the group!), and now I am totally screwed. Also, my maternal grandfather was Polish, so I had some rooting interests anyway.

My buddy at work jokingly wondered if Germany would invade Poland again if they won. I was telling my wife (who is like a quarter German or something) about his comment, and she said' "Tell him that in our house, the Pole invades the German on a regular basis!". Damn my wife is cool  :-D

[HaemishM]

As for the number of games I watch, I barely have time to watch one game on the Tivo a night, and sometimes not even that. I'm Tivo'ing the matches of teams I have some interest in for the first group matches, like Germany, England, USA and Italy. I'll probably try to catch more of them once they are whittled down.

[Megrim]

The central European teams get talked up too much. They are all seriously bad. Having seen Spain vs Ukraine last night i can safely way that Ukraine should just go home now if they are going to play like that. You are supposed to chase that bloody ball, not stare at it.

That would be very eastern europe. Central Europe would be the Czech Republic and Poland. And Croatia if you ask them and not someone that can read a map. Speaking of reading maps, you should really try to learn doing that. It's awesome.

Oh i'm sorry, i didn't know you were Ukranian. Bad luck about that.

[Righ]

But that sub the Germans brought in (Okinodor?) was just crazy. The bursts of speed he put on were incredible, especially against tired defenders. The only reason Germany won that game was a tired defense.

Or, you could contend that the only reason that Germany won that game was because nobody tried their defense, which is as sloppy as all hell. I get the feeling that Ecuador will beat them (or at least draw) and win the group. They just won 3-0 against the team Germany beat 4-2. I predicted Germany second in the group - I just didn't expect Ecuador to be so awesome, and Poland to be so lacklustre. England vs. Germany in the next round is still on.

[Jobu]

Ronaldo may have sucked in that game, but he will always be one of the best players ever. Ronaldinho's reason for existence: "I wanted to be just like him".

He scored eight goals in seven games in the 2002 World Cup (which Brazil won), which is almost as good as Pele. When Maradona got fat and struggled around the field, he still had bursts of brilliant goal scoring, so for a coach it could still be worth betting on a Ronaldo moment.

Absolutely. Which is why I feel so justified in his derision. I mean, look at Zidane. One of the greatest players ever, and his game for France was lackluster. But he was trying. He might not have the touch or pace he used to, but he sure as hell wanted to be in that game. Ronaldo just wandered around like an arrogant ass.

[Abagadro]

Well the lions finally put it together for the last 10 minutes of the game. They need to get it together and finish or they will not do well in the next round.

[Tale]

I just sat through 83 minutes of boring crap from England against Trinidad & Tobago. They finally got it together in the final 7 and scored two goals, but they missed four or five easy scoring chances earlier, three of them screwed up by Peter Crouch, the others by Lampard. Sent me to sleep.

[Jobu]

I was both excited, and nervous as hell whenever Rooney touched the ball. Sven was a little crazy to risk him so early... but hey, it worked. I could feel Fergusson's seething red face when Rooney was subbed in.

Lampard and Crouch were both terribly wasteful. Bad day for them. Especially Lampard, he's usually so good with those finishes. I have him on my short-list of Golden Boot winners with a bet amongst friends. If anyone cares, the other two are Klose and Robben.

And John Terry!!! HOLY SHIT! I love that man.

[Righ]

That was crap. Ugly football. Terry was impressive though, I'll agree there. Hell, at this point I could see a broken team like Germany beating them.