World Cup 2010

[pienmash]

Only 1 word can describe last nights Paraguay v Japan game.....GRIM !
120 minutes of absolute boredom with the only thing of note being the good Japanese shot which hit the bar in the first half.
Surely the worst encounter of the tournament so far which is saying something being an England fan !
Spain edged out neighbours Portugal 1-0 with a David Villa goal and shouldnt have too many problems with Paraguay in the Quarter Finals.
Keeping my fingers crossed for both Holland and Spain but am I right in thinking they would meet up in the Semi Final if they both got through ?

Not sure Zid but i think the winners of Argie v Jermans will play winners of Brazil v Holland .

Im sticking with the Argies to win the W.C. i hope im wrong !! i must be one of very few Brits who would like to see Germany win it (or any European side for that matter) tho only 3 remain.
I did have a chap in the shop who pointed out that i was spelling Jermans incorrectly i appologized and said better that then what my gran calls them (which i will not mention only that it ryhmes with brussell sprouts !!? ) i think they bombed her favourite chip shop.

As well as killing my grandad !!

[immortal1977]

Not sure Zid but i think the winners of Argie v Jermans will play winners of Brazil v Holland .

No, the winner of Brazil-Holland will play against the winner of Uruguay-Ghana....

[Texpat]

Paraguay-Argentina
Uraguay-Brazil

Go South America!

[BobHelm]

Agree about the Paraguay v Japan game Zid. Both sides seemed to have reverted to the start of the world cup games when sides were too petrified of losing games to attempt to win them. Don't think either of them really deserved to go through, which was a disappointment after the way Japan played against Denmark.
The Portugal v Spain game was a puzzle as well. It seemed that Portugal looked at penalties as the only way that they were going to win the game. Very, very disappointed with them & they got what they deserved. How can you have a player like Ronaldo & under-utilise him so much?? They may as well not played him at all & put another defender on & had a serious attempt to go to penalties as do it half heartedly!!

Now a wait until Friday....
I think much (in both games) depends who scores first. If Brazil & Paraguay manage it then I do not expect much of a spectacle... Both those sides must be the favourites, but it would be good to see them having to chase a game for a change. I still think Brazil would manage it but Ghana will fancy their chances with the first score...

[BobHelm]

Well according to The Mail (Sports pages, so no political bias ) Mr. Blatter has apologised for the England non-goal & promised that FIFA will look at technology again - don't hold your breath is my opinion.
Also Uruguayian referee Jorge Larrionda (Germany v England) & Roberto Rosetti (Mexico v Argentina) have been reportedly sent home from the competition. Now this could be FIFA wanting to be seen as being tough or could just be that some of the officials have to go home now as there are less games to officiate...
Either way it sems a bit of a bloody nerve by Blatter to blame the officials when it is the lack of technical assistance that is at fault here & not the officials - & that responsibility lies firmly with Mr. Blatter himself!!
There have really only been a couple of seriously wrong decisions. Plus, in my opinion, some of the referee decisions on booking players has been over the top. However I suspect that referees have been following explicit FIFA instructions on that as well. Most of the action replays have shown some great decision making by the officials & I cannot see how the human eye & brain can be expected to reach even higher levels of achievement than those generally shown in this competition.

On another point - which I have deliberately avoided to now - Mr. Capello....
A friend of mine dropped me a note asking 'Why the silence'?? But he was being more than a little sarcastic towards me as he has been saying (for at least 18 months) that he was not the man for the job...
So the World Cup results would appear to show, I must agree , but I am totally unsure if that is all down to the 'man in charge'.
ALL the players played poorly. I cannot think of one that I would even pick for a Championship side on their World Cup showing.
'Tiredness' is a red herring of an excuse. Kuyte played more games for Pool than Gerrard & he is still running up & down the wing for Holland like a spring chicken!!
Some of the English national press have suggested that English players are incapable of following instructions (Gerrard - stick to the left hand side of the pitch, Barry - defend etc) and that Premier managers 'adjust' their teams to let them fit in - hence all the foreign players in the EPL!!
England have been lacking a left sided attacking midfielder for years & also a central defensive midfielder - any quality player filling those positions in the Premier league are certainly foreign players.
Maybe we just have to accept that while the EPL is the best domestic game to watch by miles the England team will never reach those dizzy heights of success again..

So, should Capello go???
I am as unsure as the FA, but for purely financial reasons.... I think he has lost the confidence of the England fans & he has shown himself incapable of moving this squad of players forward. Would a new man have many different players to pick from.... No.... A few of the older guys would go & maybe some new faces would come in - but few 20 year olds are hammering on the door from their Premier League performances so they are going to be a gamble. Attempting to build a squad for the next world cup will not be on the cards as there is the European Championship in 2 years time....The National Press would crucify any manager that fails to qualify for that - even if he was building a side for Brazil 2014...

So Capello should probably go - but only if he forgoes his salary, which just will not happen!!
Football Management & CEO of a Fortune 500 company are the only two jobs where it is financially sensible to fail !!

So i am no farther forward than when I started this piece.....
Help please!!!
Confused & Disappointed of Cheltenham

[Zidane]

I think that the World Cup has found out Capello as authoritarian and inflexible.
This was fine when it was the qualifiers and the players only meeting up for a couple of days but when it is for a month or so then the discontent starts to show.
That said,I think that even if Mourinho was boss England would not progress beyond the last 8 !
I think Capello will stay,if only it will be too costly to get rid of him.
Surely its the end of the line for James,Johnson,Upson,Barry,Wright-Phillips and Heskey and give younger untried players a chance.
In the short term I think Terry,Gerrard and Lampard will stay because their are no obvious replacements.

I know Cheltenham well....was on secondment to Gulf Oil near the racecourse for a few months in 1998.
I thought Cheltenham was a lovely town and the Queens Hotel was great (if it is still up and running) but surely the worst and confusing one way system in the whole of the UK !

[BobHelm]

Indeed it is still up & running strongly Zid...
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Revi ... gland.html
The Imperial Gardens are still a delight & contain the only pub run by a council every summer (or at least used to be the only one)...
The one way system is just designed to keep the unknowing out of the centre of town !! But, you are right 'visitor friendly' it is not..

Yes, a can't see some of the stars you mention turning out for England again - even if the main man stays the same...
You might be onto something about the time under Capello's control just being too long.... I don't think that I have ever seen such a sad looking bunch of lads, even before things started to go wrong...

[arjay]

Holland are looking very good and 2-1 up.

[stattointhailand]

I think may be their name was on the cup from the time, during their first game (v Denmark with the score 0 - 0) when one of their players lunged in with a two footed tackle (certain RED CARD), and the ref didn't even give a yellow.
If Robben & Sneider spent more time playing football and less time diving around and rolling over and over, the pair of them might be half descent footballers !!

[TJ]

Holland are looking very good and 2-1 up.

I would suppose the Dutch have an advantage when kicking the ball as they wear those wooden shoes.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Poor Ghana. They were the superior team, but just could not score the winning goal. Anyway, they did not lose, but tied their final game. I don't see why they need a shootout. The game should continue until someone scores.

[Zidane]

Ghana....what can you say.....if you miss a penalty,that would have sent you through,with the last kick of the match in extra time !
So Uruguay,with the impressive Diego Forlan,are into the semi finals.

Holland v Brazil.....also quite a game.....Half time 1-0 to Brazil and should have been more but for two great saves,a shocking miss and an offside.
The Dutch hardly in it but what a transformation after half time.....Schneiders cross deflected into goal with the keeper floundering then Kuyt back flicks for Schneider to head home for 2-1.
Brazil falling apart....defender rightly red carded for stamping on Robben.....and the Dutch should have added to their lead as Brazil pressed in vain for an equaliser.
So a victory for Dutch character and perseverance....Kuyt and Schneider were superb for them in midfield pressing forward but Van Persie still struggling for form.
Robben had one of his moody days.On his day he can be superb but too often he comes across as an arrogant little schit who should be stamped on more often !
But dont let that detract from a great win for the Dutch.They will certainly fancy their chances of making the final now and good luck to them !
Also,I thought theJapanese referee did well in what was a very difficult game to officiate.
Tonight the Krauts play Argy-Bargy at 9pm....dont really want either of them to win the tournament so hope Spain can overcome Paraguay later and possibly a Holland v Spain final would be nice.

[pienmash]

MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT ......... EVEN THO THE JERMANS KILLED MY GRANDAD ME AND MY GRAN ARE ROOTING FOR THEM TONIGHT - THATS HOW MUCH WE DETEST MARADONA AND THE ARGIES * CARMON U BRUSSEL SPROUTS !!!!! * my gean says she will run naked thru the town center if the Argies lose tonight - thank god she lives in Scunthorpe and not Udon.

[arjay]

But dont let that detract from a great win for the Dutch.They will certainly fancy their chances of making the final now and good luck to them !
Also,I thought the Japanese referee did well in what was a very difficult game to officiate.
Tonight the Krauts play Argy-Bargy at 9pm....dont really want either of them to win the tournament so hope Spain can overcome Paraguay later and possibly a Holland v Spain final would be nice.

I'll happily go for a Holland Spain final.

[udonuk1]

Well according to The Mail (Sports pages, so no political bias ) Mr. Blatter has apologised for the England non-goal & promised that FIFA will look at technology again - don't hold your breath is my opinion.

On another point - which I have deliberately avoided to now - Mr. Capello....
A friend of mine dropped me a note asking 'Why the silence'?? But he was being more than a little sarcastic towards me as he has been saying (for at least 18 months) that he was not the man for the job...
So the World Cup results would appear to show, I must agree , but I am totally unsure if that is all down to the 'man in charge'.
ALL the players played poorly. I cannot think of one that I would even pick for a Championship side on their World Cup showing.
'

I am same same Holland v Spain final ! Although i have soft spot for Uruguay, after visiting it last year. If you think English or American food is dangerously fatty, you have never seen the Uruguayan "Chivito", a wonderous sandwich of Bacon, Chips "Fries", Cheese, Eggs, and other things , piles of it !
http://www.facebook.com/pages/chivito-u ... 8?v=photos

I also agree that Blatter is NOT interested in goal line technology, he is only interested in corruption and getting more cash. What a spiv !

England ? That is a conundrum, i think that Capello is not really used to handling English star players and is treating them like kids, locking them in hotel, making them sleep in afternoon, banning them from WAGs and Alcohol. These are young RICH ENGLISH men ! It was the fault of the manager for me, it will all come out soon after the players' holidays, i am sure. I think that English defenders are very nervous of the refs too, our game is based on more physical game, some refs blow for ANY tackle. It is all just a big handicap for English defenders. I don't think we were so bad against Germany, it was just the final score was so dire ! We looked very dangerous between 2-1 and 3-1 including Lampard's goal

Yes, Robben is a big cheat , but the first goal against Brazil was due to his big dive. The Brazilians were a little dirty too though, and lacking in their normal flair. I am pleased they are out too , they think that they have right to win the trophy ! Also Brazil was the scariest country i have ever visited

[arjay]

Argentina thrashed 4-0 by Germany.

Doesn't make me feel so bad being English, (particularly considering we really scored 2 against them and one of theirs should have been disallowed).

Funny the Germans have scored 4 in 3 of their games now.

[Zidane]

Argentina 0 Germany 4
The Argentinians can have no complaints as Germany tore them apart.
Germany played some great stuff tonight and looked potential world champions.
Hopefully Spain can beat Paraguay later to set up a classic semi final.

[pienmash]

Well im so pleased my WC prediction has failed , brilliant Germany have just dismantled the Argies my gran is running up Scunny high st naked and the fat cheat Maradona is away back to the land of corned beef and hairy lasses , his overly
tight topman suit will be in oxfam thamorra...........the sarf American teams are falling like ten pins WE ALL KNEW EUROPE IS THE HOME OF FOOTBALL ....Spain will destroy Paraguay later ... then i really dont mind who wins the tournament so long as its not Uraguay.........

Only sad note England are keeping Capello ...... hes gotta go !!

[pienmash]

Forgot - as well as corned beef and hairy birds Agentina is also famous for .............errrrrrrrr oh yeah getting their arses kicked in the Falklands

[barryp]

I predict that Argentina will lose this game 3-0 within the alloted 90 minutes. Can anyone dare to better that?