World Cup 2006

[Mulboyne]

[quote="GuyJean"]The US looked better than Italy]
The referee didn't have to call it a pass. If he judged that the US player in an offside position was interfering with play then he could disallow the goal. However, that "interfering with play" clause was supposed to relax the offside law and permit more goals so the referee could have taken a more lenient view. Also, the law is badly worded. As a British manager once said "If he's not interfering with play, what the bloody hell's he doing there?"

The US team did look better. Why the hell they went lunging into tackles in the second half is anyone's guess. There was probably no intent in the first tackle that brought your red card but the result was bad. In other tournaments, the referee might have gone to yellow first but FIFA happens to have given World Cup referees specific instructions to strongly penalize studs on shin.

[Greji]

focus on their passing. Their passing technique was sad during the first game.

Sad, or not, that is the way they are trained. Team play! Do not try to be a striker! Pass the ball even if you are head on with goal keeper, someone might have a better shot.

A bunch of the J's that I work with are predicting great things for the Japan side and said they will buy at the pub. What a better way to spend an evening. Watching them cry in the beer on their shout. Off to the game!

[canman]

What the hell was Zico thinking bringing in Tamada? And why does he wait so long to sub in Oguro, 5 minutes is not enough time. I really thought that Nakamura played another rotten game, and that Nakata tried to put the team on his back, but he wasn't enough. Croatia were scary and I think they can beat the Aussies.
Now the problem is how to get to sleep after that rollercoaster of emotions.

[canman]

You got to love the guy, makes a great stop on a penatly and then almost lets the ball roll in on a back pass. He still played well and I am regaining confidence in him, as long as he doesn't handle the cross balls. I read somewhere that his nickname in Portsmouth was the Vampine, since he was so afraid of crosses.

[dimwit]

Japan played well. There is no need to be diappointed in tonight's performance. I actually like alot of what I saw from the Japanese team.

[AssKissinger]

If I was Japanese I'd want a Japanese coach, unless he had Shigeo Nagashima's work ethic.

[nullpointer]

Why did Kawaguchi get a yellow card? Didn't catch that part.

[Tsuru]

Shame Australia lost... I would have given them the 1-1 if I could, excellent effort

Japan sucked once again... they don't deserve it to make to the last 16

South Korea's game against France should be interesting

[AssKissinger]

South Korea's game against France should be interesting

The Cunts vs The Pussies.

[Tsuru]

The Cunts vs The Pussies.

Exactly. Would you pass that up?

[AssKissinger]

Man they're really sticking it to France giving Zidane that yellow card. I don't think he deserved it. France also got robbed of a goal. The French didn't even give Zidane a proper send off. Man...

[Buraku]

Croatia and Japan tussle for draw
http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer-world-cup-2006/croatiajapan-stalemate/2006/06/19/1150569218965.html


Japan and Croatia's hopes of qualifying to the second round of the World Cup suffered a blow after they settled for a goalless draw in their Group F match in Nurnberg on Sunday.
http://worldcup.filbalad.com/english/News.asp?NewsID=24982

[Buraku]

Man they're really sticking it to France giving Zidane that yellow card. I don't think he deserved it. France also got robbed of a goal. The French didn't even give Zidane a proper send off. Man...

France Throw It Away
Sunday 18 Jun 2006
http://www.4thegame.com/club/mufc/news/190690/france_throw_it_away.html

France threw away two points as they contrived to draw 1-1 with South Korea in Leipzig despite dominating the match for almost the entire 90 minutes.

Brazil inflicts a dose of reality on brave Aussie Socceroos
http://www.theage.com.au/news/aussie-update/so-near-and-yet-so-far/2006/06/19/1150569231877.html

Japan versus Brazil to come next

[kurohinge1]

Why did Kawaguchi get a yellow card? Didn't catch that part.

"Time-wasting", according to the commentary I heard.

He had no reason to be wasting time in a tied game but maybe he was just tired and looking forward to the half-time break. It was an amazing save by him earlier and he was kept busy in the first half.

Yanagisawa won't be popular in Japan, after missing that open goal.

That point (for a tie) is likely to be Japan's only one in WC 2006, as they face Brazil last. It'll now be between Croatia (1 point) & Oz (3 points) for second place.

After watching both games (until 4am here), then coming to work, I'm feeling very sleeeeeepy . . .

[gomichild]

Oh boy was Nakata pissed after that game or what? I think we can give Kawaguchi a break for his silly fumble and time wasting since the rest of the time he did a good job. One save in particular was special indeed.

Regardless of the final score I thought Australia did pretty good against Brazil - except for their inability to put the ball actually in the net when they got it down there. Few close misses - but unfortunately it's not Aussie Rules and you don't get a point for being just "close" to scoring.

At least they managed to keep all the carded players for the game against Croatia. Really winning against Japan and Croatia has always been the plan - a tie would have been nice with Brazil but oh well.

Didn't see the France vs Sth Korea game.

[nullpointer]

Girl 1: Have you heard about this World Cup thing coming up?
Girl 2: Yeah, I don't know much about it but on TV they said we are supposed to finish at least 4th.

Quite Right. The girls were talking about group level results. No-one can stop Japan from finishing fourth in their group.

[Greji]

Quite Right. The girls were talking about group level results. No-one can stop Japan from finishing fourth in their group.

It's also not impossible to see them win a classy fourth place in their group without a legitimate goal! The only goal they have so far is a centering pass that bounced into the goal when the J-attackers took out the Auzzie goal keeper.

They are going to have to do much, much better against Brazil just to keep it close.

[gomichild]

They are going to have to do much, much better against Brazil just to keep it close.

And keep praying for a team-wide case of food poisoning....

[Mulboyne]

Seems like a member of the Australian football team many years ago had a Japan connection:

The Age: Socceroos bound together

...Davidson, who grew up in Melbourne's western suburbs in the 1960s, always stood out, with an Australian father and a Japanese mother who met while his father was in Japan as part of an Australian troop force after World War II. His looks made him stand out, but it was his talent that took him to another level - eventually to England, where he played for Nottingham Forest under legendary coach Brian Clough. For Davidson, soccer was a way to forge his identity in difficult circumstances, and live out his dreams. "If you want to make it as a pro you have got to be addicted to this game. And even if you are addicted, you may only get a small chance," Davidson said...

[nullpointer]

They are going to have to do much, much better against Brazil just to keep it close.

The best they can do against brazil is hope the number of goals by brazil stays in the single digits. Kawaguchi is the only player on the Japanese squad who has shown some class. As far as controlling the ball goes, Santos and Nakata are the only ones who have been able to control the ball properly while running. Everyone else is a poor excuse for a player. Brazil has not been playing anywhere near their form at all. I would love to see Japan play against Argentina or England or Spain, those teams have amazing ball control and quick passing capabilities. I am sure when the losers come home everyone will be saying, "but the other players were so tall. hyakukyuju go senchi deshita. Shoganai....."

[nullpointer]

"The BBC has a piece about how Australia is using software to gain an advantage in the World Cup [CC]. The Socceroos are running software that looks for patterns in attacks of the opposing team. It also shows the effectiveness of different response strategies by recording where attacks fail when countered. This is the first time Australia has reached the World Cup in 30 years, but a real test of the technology will come when Australia must take on five-time and current world champions Brasil. The Socceroos talk about specific strategies for that game [CC], also."

>>Stolen from slashdot

[cstaylor]

but a real test of the technology will come when Australia must take on five-time and current world champions Brasil. The Socceroos talk about specific strategies for that game

"Click 'e' to simulate elbowing Ronaldino in the face"

[canman]

First off, Kawaguchi was out telling Santos how to play defence, that is why he got carded. I don't think he wanted to waste time, but he was pissed at the Croats always running at Santos. Secondly for his part Santos played fairly well, give credti where credit is due. But how in gods name was Nakamura named the man of the match? That was the most insane choice. The Croat striker Dado Prso, was much more impressive than anyone else. Why oh why do people fawn over Nakamura. Hell one of his "great free kicks" hit Santos on the arse it was so low and wide. Nakata played well and didn't agree that the heat hurt them, classy as ever.
France played poorly and was robbed, of a goal. The Korean keeper was defintely behind the goal line when he stopped the ball. Zindane's Yellow card was worse than Eddie Pope's second yellow for the US. I don'y understand why the French coach waited so long to substitute, for a second I thought Zico had taken control of the French team. I'm not anti Korean, but man they are one lucky group of players. Two world cups in a row and every break goes their way.

[cstaylor]

Two world cups in a row and every break goes their way.

"Luck"? They're paying off the refs. To be a ref for the world cup, your bank statements should be audited IMHO.

[Ptyx]

We were robbed ! That and the penalty that shound have been whistled when that swiss defenser hit the ball with his hand right in the middle of their surface.
That's twice in a row, what a bummer.
Ok, the french team is not that great right now but the refs are really not helping.
It might be a good thing that Zidane is not playing the next game. They tend to rely too much on him and at 33 his body can't keep up. With Zidane out, the coach will probably pick a more classic 4-4-2 formation.
Henry is always better when he has a partner. Hopefully we can still make it.

[nullpointer]

Are you serious cs? There are very very tough standards to be a listed ref or a line-man in FIFA, specially for the world cup. Same as what they have, say for Tennis at Wimbledon or the Super Bowl in the US.

[Mulboyne]

Chiba local council supports the boys.

[kamome]

Brian McBride got a taste of de Rossi's elbow in the US-Italy game. Yikes, that looked painful.

[cstaylor]

Are you serious cs? There are very very tough standards to be a listed ref or a line-man in FIFA, specially for the world cup. Same as what they have, say for Tennis at Wimbledon or the Super Bowl in the US.

If that's true, why did the Europeans scream for new refs in the 2002 WC after SK got some mysterious calls their way in matches against Portugal, Spain, and Italy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_World_Cup_2002#Notes

Don't buy this FIFA hype: money talks, and if the Koreans think a purchased win is better than a first-round washout, the refs will call it their way, laughing all the way to the bank.

[GuyJean]

We were robbed !

That you were.. It was definitely a French goal..

GJ