this IS a crazy worldcup ! who'd have thought germany would lose to serbia. to be frank, this is yet another referee blunder... klose surely did not deserve a red card. disastrous refereeing, and followed up immediately by an enterprising goal. reminds me of that Nigerian match. this world cup is a disaster for fifa, plenty of unwanted things happening
great news with vuvuzelas being banned out. I wish they'd do that in SA!
Great game USA, what a fight back....
great game. looks like the big names are being tested in round one, and the less fancied teams are doing a great job. I think the key to it is the new leveler - the jabulani ball. we haven't seen any good long shots, no free kicks near the dee converted. so the less fancied teams have gone in defensive, and occasional offense, whenever the entire opposition is in your court. in fact we've seen that happen regularly. all the big teams - defense caught napping, or the defense not marking.
Well done USA - shame about that last disallowed 'goal'. Poor referee-ing.
Now biting fingernails...
Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. England?
This is turning into a real roller coaster ride. we have the possibility of seeing a number of top ranking teams on the exit. but frankly the lesser ranking teams did well to hold the advance of top teams. the question is whether they have the flair against better teams like brazil, argentina ? is this a boon for those teams who will get some weak opponents in the quarters and semis ? its all wide open! interesting world cup!
England is saving its energy for the finals(and i said that with a straight face) I don't believe in drugs, BUT i think England should have a little something in their coco??
the english team might be down, but they are a decent team, right now in the slumber! I wish they'd go to the next round!
@57 cyanide please (if next match as bad)...
@58 they are mostly decent players but don't really have a well rehearsed team shape.We really need to start again thinking about formation, pace and team tactics then fit the players round that. We just seem to have a collection of good players who, because of their fantastic contributions in their individual club matches, happen to belong to the same side.
true. thats what differentiates the big names from regular teams, there are a lot of good players in big name teams, and if they gel well - there'd a cracker of a contest as the world cup progresses. I really dont see that happening from smaller teams - if you see most of them are really adept at defending - but thats about it, like japan earlier today. no offense meant to the smaller teams - but i'd rather not see teams coming in by good defense - i'd love to see some magical football like the south american teams - they are poetry in motion. messi and co. ... are like wow, its captivating football!
faking has been an art form in soccer of late. the kaka send off was totally a fantastic fake act. the guy could be nominated for an oscar for his acting skills, poor kaka!
I totally agree with you, but a bigger concern is the violence in the field. There were some dangerous plays that should have been punished a bit harder.
I am still concerned about Elano's injury and the possibility of not having him play next round.
Next match, next Friday, against Portugal should be a nice/beautiful game to watch!
:)
Ref in U.S. World Cup game dropped
The referee who threw out the United States' would-be winning goal last week will not officiate another World Cup match anytime soon, FIFA announced Monday.
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/World-Cup-referee-Koman-Coulibaly-United-States-Slovenia-062110?gt1=39011
He won't be back to mess up any more outcomes in the World Cup!
This photo off the internet helps to explain his problem http://screencast.com/t/ZTlhODUzMT
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My face!!!
MY FACE!!!
that was very unfair of the referee. USA in second round, would have meant a huge surge in interest in the sport back in the stateside. I feel bad for the team. it should not happen to any team. if a team deserves to win - they must, and it should not be held back by a referee - the last bastion of fair play!
lols... @ http://screencast.com/t/ZTlhODUzMT
I feel sorry for the French (never thought I'd say that). They tend to field a decent side but this current team is a national disgrace. Why can't they just get on with what they are supposed to do? The English team might be playing like a bunch of girls but at least they ARE playing. For how much longer remains to be seen though...
@66 There seems to be three subjects of interest in the sports headlines for our US team and the World Cup. The bad call, our goalie's performance and the vuvuzelas.
The horns are getting more headlines than the other news combined.
Only NFL football ends in a tie and that is rare. The thrill of a back and forth battle where the lead score changes sides rarely exists in the world cup. There are so few chances to shoot and score it seems like a continuous game of keep away with little payoff.
The US dribbled in one goal off the hands of England's goalkeeper and got robbed by the official on the other goal. This World Cup is not going to turn the US into soccer enthusiasts unless the US makes it into the final rounds.
yeah, thats for sure, unless USA makes it to the final stages, its not going to be counted as a success by the MSM.
wow, the argentines were simply brilliant today. greece held on stubbornly with defense, but, they were completely overwhelmed by messi & co. too bad messi missed again!
nigerians have only themselves to blame in the last match and this one - they blew all their chances themselves. last match they were a bit unlucky with the referee (ok, not a bit, it was a blunder) but they could have beaten korea easily (who did well too)
Well, im gonna watch England win today, even if i have to play me tape of the match in 1966 again, sniff sniff,,
USA gotta beat Algeria