don't really have any answers for sverige..but a couple things..
larsson is too old i think to be a full 90 minute striker...i
think he's at his best as he's used at barcelona...
2. sweden always struggles in their first match...there was a
note saying how they hadn't scored a goal in their first match
since 1958 or something? anyway they haven't scored in
their first match for a while.
3. it also just goes to show that a keeper having a solid game
can mean the difference between winning and losing in any
game. the keeper for T&T was the man of the match and
deserved it.
overall sweden is still very much in it...england only won by one
and sweden should be able to beat paraguay...and there could
be some question as to why they wouldn't be able to beat england
seeing how they played.
so far no team other than maybe argentina has
distinguished themselves..(maybe portugal?) mexico and germany
played well..but they had easy first games..
<beginning of rant>
also to vado and other americans out there who have to make
the same joke time after time about low scoring...
i just don't get it...if you don't like soccer fine...i understand.
but soccer games aren't that much more low scoring than hockey
games ..or good baseball games. so far their have been several
matches where both teams have scored at least one goal..in fact
only one game ended in a 0-0 draw.
yes, games like england's 1-0 win are boring when skill is not
shown and the only goal is off a mistake and chance are few...
but most soccer matches are fast paced end to end action for
a complete ninety minutes with no timeouts...
is it so much more exciting to watch any of the american sports that
are cut up into bite size pieces by countless advertisements? i mean
i love all sports pretty much (although i can't watch golf and auto
racing) and can watch most anything...i just don't get why soccer
is so boring to people.
most players play a full 90 minutes and are running almost the
entire match requiring better fitness than almost any other sport...
there are only three subs per game...etc. etc.
i just like to say, so far the best team was germany. they played the game with speed and inspiration. and were most fun to watch. best goals so far from germany as well.
what a great sport.soccer is beautiful.
you're right lars. mea culpa. its just the game was never played here when i was a kid and just have never gotten into it. no more wisecracks from me about the world's game.
vado..
sorry bout the rant..
and i understand that some people find all sports boring..
just really love watching/playing soccer and wish that most
americans did too...its also that one joke that sorta hits a nerve.
my issue not yours..
right now my desk looks like orhans/abra's with the computer
and tv right next to it...or i'm live streamin the games.
I'm just joshing. I suspect there is plenty of room to criticize the absurdities of any sport. I'm just pissed at cricket because I wasted an entire day trying to figure it out and failed.
Janosh cool dude..i was poking fun too..not your fault..it's very difficult to understand cricket in a day and even more difficult to explain it.
But when you do understand it..you're hooked for life...Its a classic delight. An acquired taste.
(let alone the fact that it's been grossly commercialised lately )
P.s for that matter , I would believe that even American football has its roots in england ( A derivation of Rugby )
actualy, nevermore, they're all a derivation of (what we call) soccer. A very long time ago, before adequate communication systems were developed, a game developed in the UK and spread throughout the country, from school to school and club to club. But the exact rules of that game varied by who was actually spreading it and how they preferred to play at that specific place. Therefore, by the time any formal leagues or rulebooks were created, the game had changed in many different directions. It became soccer in the UK, as it traveled out of the UK and down into Australia, it became Aussie rules football, and into america, it became (obviously) american football. So, by the time everyone actually KNEW that they were playing the same game - it had become different games.
actually, even american football is not very high scoring considering that they get 6-8 points per touchdown. if you divide the final scores by seven then you'd actually have a lot of 3-2 games.
man, that sucks what just happened to Japan (my other half is japanese, so although i don't usually root for them as much as italy, i have a certain sympathy for them :P). never be satisfied with one goal! italy has been pulling this shit all the time in recent years... being happy with one goal, putting everything on defense, and eventually losing it in the last, desperate ten minutes.
but damn, THREE goals in the last ten minutes? including stoppage time? wtf :P
Those mullets rule. Actually those guys look like child molesters and date rapists.
Although Nippon lost, I had a really good time with the Japanese crew. We went to some bar/cafe with three projectors. It was insane. Everyone was going completely crazy. I wore my jersey and got lots of high fives haha. Also, some friend of the guy I was with showed up with 4 hot chicks. Some other guy asked me who I thought was pretty and I said the one in the green shirt. That was a mistake. The only part I understood of the yelling and laughing was "Robato." I have no idea what happened, but I think I might be getting set up with the hot girl in the green shirt.
i can't believe the team usa. how did this beatiful team who use to play fluid soccer turned into bunch of beginners trying to turn the ball around as if they are in a ball control and possession drill. none of that creative, fast and dengerous attacking remains. it is only 65 min into the game but i would not be surprised if the cze score a couple more.
yeah...really ugly soccer. there was nothing inspired in their
performance today...nothing worse than seeing them score in the
4th minute...if reyna scores then maybe the u.s. stays in it..
but it was all over once they went down 2-0. boy that was
depressing
haha wow, the US was pretty sloppy this time around... except, as someone mentioned, johnson! should have been put in earlier, jeesh... hell, johnson should have subbed reyna or donovan, they were messy!
and the czech republic, holy CRAP. this makes me very fearful for italy :( damn it! after seeing the US play, i'm pretty sure they'll move on to the next round... but that will mean facing brasil :( bahhhhhhhhhhhhh
final four- czech rep, brasil, argentina, holland.
wow...we suck... that was pathetic, and why is bruce arena ripping on donovan and reyna 5 min after the game has ended...
since italy beat ghana, we have to pretty much win out... good luck US
What an awful day.
My better half is Japanese too - so those last 10 minutes were absolutely shocking for me. That started my day off REALLY badly. (If anyone saw the keeper's look of dejection after the game - there really isn't any other way to put it better with words - just try and find that photo and you'll know how ALL Nippon fans felt.) He was the best player on the Nippon side.
Then, the US come up and end up on the wrong side of the most lopsided loss of any team so far this World Cup. I think "Schooled" is how Soccernet put it.
So in one day, my two teams lost.
Oh well - at least I still have England. Oh, wait - they played terrible as well. World Cup!
i am so glad that the US lost, now i can back to doing what i was doing in the first place, rooting for the Netherlands! pathetic, absolutely pathetic. i don't want to ever hear that the US is ranked 5th or that we are supposed to do x,y or z until i they get to the finals....
Go Australia! haha, never gave up, great game to watch. the Japanese goal shouldn't have even counted, and we still won!! woohoo!! anything else from here on is a bonus.
Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I think they just had a bad game, just as many bigtime European teams can have one as well (ie Portugal and France in 2002).
I think alot of the knee-jerk "we knew the US sucks" reponses on other sites are a little unfair considering these are the same responders who respect Mexico. Isn't it interesting that Mexico and the US are the only 2 dominant teams from CONCACAAF who continually make the World Cup and are neck-and-neck in recent games, yet Mexico gets a lot more respect?
Regardless, the US must beat Italy on Saturday. That may not help them get into the second round, but they need to regain some respect.
add to that that mexico hasn't beaten the u.s. outside of mexico
in years...
i don't think the u.s. is as bad as they played today...but i know
they're overanked..and i wonder about their cohesiveness. they
didn't seem to link any passes together today...and their just
weren't that many creative runs...passing..shots. eddie johnson
was the only one that brought any life to the pitch..and i'm glad
arena called out his stars and asked what they were doing...
I badly wanted Japan to win ... well so much for that ...
and U.S ... GOD !!!! ... 3-0 ??? .. i wouldnt have even minded a 2-0 or a 2-1 .anyway, the only consolation was that czech republic didn't look as deadly as I thought they would. But the US played like my high school team ... honestly ...
interestingly i seemed to me like they had more ball possesion but couldnt convert.
if they play like this against Italy .. then they'd have to book an early flight home. not at all impressive ... they are better than this i'm sure
couldnt watch the Italy game ... but a predictable result
goal of the day ? .. the second goal that the czechs scored ... wooosh .. that was a rocket !!
you're right about the US- Mexico issue of respect...
Overall, yes the US and mexico are right next to each other as far as the game is concerned. But I think the reason why the US dont command respect from the rest of the world is because of the American attitude towards the game. I'm sure you know what I mean. Mexico is a football crazy country and everyone is aware of it.. but most americans take joy in belittling the worlds most popular game.
and for a world thats trying to find any reason hate america, this is just another. sucks? .. yeah I know ... but thats the truth.
I'm watching the game in Dubai... and the people here seems to be overjoyed that the US lost ... crazy!!..
but Dubai used to be very pro American.. but after that ports deal gone sour, there's this increasing resentment towards the US. Mind you .. one of US's largest naval base is in Dubai.
anyway .. thats all politics and as everyone says, should be kept out of sports. but the reason why no one wants to take the US seriously, might not be because of the game itself ... (infact i doubt if most of them have even seen the US play) but the general outlook towards the country.
I for one, know that the US is a better team than was displayed yesterday.
agree with you on Larsson ... though I love the guy ( from 94' where I though that Brolin was overrated)... very committed . but yeah, ..he's old now.
but Ibrahimovic ? ...
and yeah I know that they ususally struggle in the first match... but we're talkin T&T man !!! oh well it's true that the keeper had a hell of a game ( he can expect some good european offers after the world cup) .. anyway .. lets wait for the next game.. hopefully they should come out good !!
Germans are in top form compared to 4 years ago... With the home advantage they are sure to win the cup this year. Just picture the stadium full of Germans towering over the opponents in the finals - even Brazilians wont stand a chance!
You're right. I just didn't want to get into the politics since that could be the length of a thesis paper.
I think there's a little bit of satisfaction in seeing a world superpower do so poorly in the world consensus most important sport.
It's definitely sad seeing the apathy in many Americans towards the sport. Of course, there is still a large faction of dedicated fans that probably outnumber the fans from some of the smaller countries. I think we're about a generation away from a significant fan base, though. Just look at how huge youth soccer is in the US.
Last, as my dad pointed out, atleast the US made the World Cup. Hungary, a former footballing power, hasn't been in decades.
^^of course qualifying out of our group is almost
as difficult as qualifying out of Asia...
europe is by far the most difficult group to qualify out of.
i'm happy that the US qualifited...i just want them to put
in a good showing..and their first match looked like 98
all over again..
sporadic.
yeah..ibrahimovic looked dangerous...and had quite a few
chances as i recall...i think the swedes were a bit unlucky..
and as i said the T&T goalie 'stood on his head' as they
say in hockey.
World Cup Predictor Game
sporadic.
don't really have any answers for sverige..but a couple things..
larsson is too old i think to be a full 90 minute striker...i
think he's at his best as he's used at barcelona...
2. sweden always struggles in their first match...there was a
note saying how they hadn't scored a goal in their first match
since 1958 or something? anyway they haven't scored in
their first match for a while.
3. it also just goes to show that a keeper having a solid game
can mean the difference between winning and losing in any
game. the keeper for T&T was the man of the match and
deserved it.
overall sweden is still very much in it...england only won by one
and sweden should be able to beat paraguay...and there could
be some question as to why they wouldn't be able to beat england
seeing how they played.
so far no team other than maybe argentina has
distinguished themselves..(maybe portugal?) mexico and germany
played well..but they had easy first games..
can't wait till us vs cr tomorrow...
<beginning of rant>
also to vado and other americans out there who have to make
the same joke time after time about low scoring...
i just don't get it...if you don't like soccer fine...i understand.
but soccer games aren't that much more low scoring than hockey
games ..or good baseball games. so far their have been several
matches where both teams have scored at least one goal..in fact
only one game ended in a 0-0 draw.
yes, games like england's 1-0 win are boring when skill is not
shown and the only goal is off a mistake and chance are few...
but most soccer matches are fast paced end to end action for
a complete ninety minutes with no timeouts...
is it so much more exciting to watch any of the american sports that
are cut up into bite size pieces by countless advertisements? i mean
i love all sports pretty much (although i can't watch golf and auto
racing) and can watch most anything...i just don't get why soccer
is so boring to people.
most players play a full 90 minutes and are running almost the
entire match requiring better fitness than almost any other sport...
there are only three subs per game...etc. etc.
<end of rant>
i just like to say, so far the best team was germany. they played the game with speed and inspiration. and were most fun to watch. best goals so far from germany as well.
what a great sport.soccer is beautiful.
Some people find all sports boring. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Torsten Frings made the goal of the tournament. ( In the first match of the cup !)
Brilliant.
yep. still pretty early into the games though. frings = rocketman
you're right lars. mea culpa. its just the game was never played here when i was a kid and just have never gotten into it. no more wisecracks from me about the world's game.
Awww, vado, so sweet of you:
And A, seriously, a wager would pay off the mortgage? Where can I place a bet on the good old USA?
vado..
sorry bout the rant..
and i understand that some people find all sports boring..
just really love watching/playing soccer and wish that most
americans did too...its also that one joke that sorta hits a nerve.
my issue not yours..
right now my desk looks like orhans/abra's with the computer
and tv right next to it...or i'm live streamin the games.
Brazil run over all!!!
Avante!!! Rumo ao HEXA!!!
Why gentlemen don't play American Football.
Real atheletes wear cable knit sweaters and upturned collars, pausing upon occasion for tea between wickets:
At least we don't wear tights and
we dont pad up...(Our chests and shoulders)
I'm just joshing. I suspect there is plenty of room to criticize the absurdities of any sport. I'm just pissed at cricket because I wasted an entire day trying to figure it out and failed.
Janosh cool dude..i was poking fun too..not your fault..it's very difficult to understand cricket in a day and even more difficult to explain it.
But when you do understand it..you're hooked for life...Its a classic delight. An acquired taste.
(let alone the fact that it's been grossly commercialised lately )
P.s for that matter , I would believe that even American football has its roots in england ( A derivation of Rugby )
actualy, nevermore, they're all a derivation of (what we call) soccer. A very long time ago, before adequate communication systems were developed, a game developed in the UK and spread throughout the country, from school to school and club to club. But the exact rules of that game varied by who was actually spreading it and how they preferred to play at that specific place. Therefore, by the time any formal leagues or rulebooks were created, the game had changed in many different directions. It became soccer in the UK, as it traveled out of the UK and down into Australia, it became Aussie rules football, and into america, it became (obviously) american football. So, by the time everyone actually KNEW that they were playing the same game - it had become different games.
Cricket/baseball is a similar story.
actually, even american football is not very high scoring considering that they get 6-8 points per touchdown. if you divide the final scores by seven then you'd actually have a lot of 3-2 games.
Australia!
man, that sucks what just happened to Japan (my other half is japanese, so although i don't usually root for them as much as italy, i have a certain sympathy for them :P). never be satisfied with one goal! italy has been pulling this shit all the time in recent years... being happy with one goal, putting everything on defense, and eventually losing it in the last, desperate ten minutes.
but damn, THREE goals in the last ten minutes? including stoppage time? wtf :P
back on track...
who do I want to do well?
El Tri!
Netherlands
Portugal
USA
who looks good after opening weekend?
El Tri!
Portugal
Germany
who was "underwhelming?"
Argentina
England
who will probably win?
Brasil
Anyone notice the unusually high number of mullets in the Mexican, Swedish, and Serbian/Montenegran squads?
Serbian mullet
Montenegran mullet
Those mullets rule. Actually those guys look like child molesters and date rapists.
Although Nippon lost, I had a really good time with the Japanese crew. We went to some bar/cafe with three projectors. It was insane. Everyone was going completely crazy. I wore my jersey and got lots of high fives haha. Also, some friend of the guy I was with showed up with 4 hot chicks. Some other guy asked me who I thought was pretty and I said the one in the green shirt. That was a mistake. The only part I understood of the yelling and laughing was "Robato." I have no idea what happened, but I think I might be getting set up with the hot girl in the green shirt.
Also, the Serbian/Montenegran team was heavily tattooed. An unsavory-looking squad.
i drew the USA in our sweepstake at work. in other words i've just lost my money. but who knows, maybe they'll go all the way.
i can't believe the team usa. how did this beatiful team who use to play fluid soccer turned into bunch of beginners trying to turn the ball around as if they are in a ball control and possession drill. none of that creative, fast and dengerous attacking remains. it is only 65 min into the game but i would not be surprised if the cze score a couple more.
that kid johnson though, knows how to end up in dangerous places.
but overall, our team didn't improve. 0-3 now
yeah, they're already looking beaten. very frustrating.
yeah...really ugly soccer. there was nothing inspired in their
performance today...nothing worse than seeing them score in the
4th minute...if reyna scores then maybe the u.s. stays in it..
but it was all over once they went down 2-0. boy that was
depressing
sad.
haha wow, the US was pretty sloppy this time around... except, as someone mentioned, johnson! should have been put in earlier, jeesh... hell, johnson should have subbed reyna or donovan, they were messy!
and the czech republic, holy CRAP. this makes me very fearful for italy :( damn it! after seeing the US play, i'm pretty sure they'll move on to the next round... but that will mean facing brasil :( bahhhhhhhhhhhhh
final four- czech rep, brasil, argentina, holland.
i am so sad right now.
yeah, but last night i had three beers, a glass of wine, and a sexy bitch (the drink).
wow...we suck... that was pathetic, and why is bruce arena ripping on donovan and reyna 5 min after the game has ended...
since italy beat ghana, we have to pretty much win out... good luck US
ohhhh man. i'm so happy the italians played so beautifully :D definitely renewed my faith...
What an awful day.
My better half is Japanese too - so those last 10 minutes were absolutely shocking for me. That started my day off REALLY badly. (If anyone saw the keeper's look of dejection after the game - there really isn't any other way to put it better with words - just try and find that photo and you'll know how ALL Nippon fans felt.) He was the best player on the Nippon side.
Then, the US come up and end up on the wrong side of the most lopsided loss of any team so far this World Cup. I think "Schooled" is how Soccernet put it.
So in one day, my two teams lost.
Oh well - at least I still have England. Oh, wait - they played terrible as well. World Cup!
i am so glad that the US lost, now i can back to doing what i was doing in the first place, rooting for the Netherlands! pathetic, absolutely pathetic. i don't want to ever hear that the US is ranked 5th or that we are supposed to do x,y or z until i they get to the finals....
Go Australia! haha, never gave up, great game to watch. the Japanese goal shouldn't have even counted, and we still won!! woohoo!! anything else from here on is a bonus.
Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I think they just had a bad game, just as many bigtime European teams can have one as well (ie Portugal and France in 2002).
I think alot of the knee-jerk "we knew the US sucks" reponses on other sites are a little unfair considering these are the same responders who respect Mexico. Isn't it interesting that Mexico and the US are the only 2 dominant teams from CONCACAAF who continually make the World Cup and are neck-and-neck in recent games, yet Mexico gets a lot more respect?
Regardless, the US must beat Italy on Saturday. That may not help them get into the second round, but they need to regain some respect.
add to that that mexico hasn't beaten the u.s. outside of mexico
in years...
i don't think the u.s. is as bad as they played today...but i know
they're overanked..and i wonder about their cohesiveness. they
didn't seem to link any passes together today...and their just
weren't that many creative runs...passing..shots. eddie johnson
was the only one that brought any life to the pitch..and i'm glad
arena called out his stars and asked what they were doing...
yeah ... pretty bad day for me ...
I badly wanted Japan to win ... well so much for that ...
and U.S ... GOD !!!! ... 3-0 ??? .. i wouldnt have even minded a 2-0 or a 2-1 .anyway, the only consolation was that czech republic didn't look as deadly as I thought they would. But the US played like my high school team ... honestly ...
interestingly i seemed to me like they had more ball possesion but couldnt convert.
if they play like this against Italy .. then they'd have to book an early flight home. not at all impressive ... they are better than this i'm sure
couldnt watch the Italy game ... but a predictable result
goal of the day ? .. the second goal that the czechs scored ... wooosh .. that was a rocket !!
RINagy,
you're right about the US- Mexico issue of respect...
Overall, yes the US and mexico are right next to each other as far as the game is concerned. But I think the reason why the US dont command respect from the rest of the world is because of the American attitude towards the game. I'm sure you know what I mean. Mexico is a football crazy country and everyone is aware of it.. but most americans take joy in belittling the worlds most popular game.
and for a world thats trying to find any reason hate america, this is just another. sucks? .. yeah I know ... but thats the truth.
I'm watching the game in Dubai... and the people here seems to be overjoyed that the US lost ... crazy!!..
but Dubai used to be very pro American.. but after that ports deal gone sour, there's this increasing resentment towards the US. Mind you .. one of US's largest naval base is in Dubai.
anyway .. thats all politics and as everyone says, should be kept out of sports. but the reason why no one wants to take the US seriously, might not be because of the game itself ... (infact i doubt if most of them have even seen the US play) but the general outlook towards the country.
I for one, know that the US is a better team than was displayed yesterday.
lars, ...
agree with you on Larsson ... though I love the guy ( from 94' where I though that Brolin was overrated)... very committed . but yeah, ..he's old now.
but Ibrahimovic ? ...
and yeah I know that they ususally struggle in the first match... but we're talkin T&T man !!! oh well it's true that the keeper had a hell of a game ( he can expect some good european offers after the world cup) .. anyway .. lets wait for the next game.. hopefully they should come out good !!
*thought
Germans are in top form compared to 4 years ago... With the home advantage they are sure to win the cup this year. Just picture the stadium full of Germans towering over the opponents in the finals - even Brazilians wont stand a chance!
^^ mmmm .. arguable !!
croatia and brazil is going to be interesting tonight, gonna have a huge bearing on our chances of getting to the second round.
anyway, i know everyone is mourning for japan but, whoooooo! hell, those are the first goals we have ever scored in the cup.
yeah .. yeah .. congrats ..!! .. sob .. i really wanted Japan to do well ..
btw .. I do think that Argentina was the best team so far
maybe germans next and then Ivory coast..
the rest of them were not too impressive
Sporadic Supernova,
You're right. I just didn't want to get into the politics since that could be the length of a thesis paper.
I think there's a little bit of satisfaction in seeing a world superpower do so poorly in the world consensus most important sport.
It's definitely sad seeing the apathy in many Americans towards the sport. Of course, there is still a large faction of dedicated fans that probably outnumber the fans from some of the smaller countries. I think we're about a generation away from a significant fan base, though. Just look at how huge youth soccer is in the US.
Last, as my dad pointed out, atleast the US made the World Cup. Hungary, a former footballing power, hasn't been in decades.
^^of course qualifying out of our group is almost
as difficult as qualifying out of Asia...
europe is by far the most difficult group to qualify out of.
i'm happy that the US qualifited...i just want them to put
in a good showing..and their first match looked like 98
all over again..
sporadic.
yeah..ibrahimovic looked dangerous...and had quite a few
chances as i recall...i think the swedes were a bit unlucky..
and as i said the T&T goalie 'stood on his head' as they
say in hockey.
Foot speed can overcome many faults- T&T...
The U.S., as they say in Brazil, looked stiff as LOGS.
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