For the round of sixteen, we have ten teams from Europe, three from South America, one from CONCACAF, one from Oceania and one from Africa. No team from Oceania had previously advanced to the second round, but Australia's an outlier in more ways than one. With their move into the Asian confederation, one wonders what will become of Oceania. Having a team from Africa in the knockout phase is becoming a trend, but most people wouldn't have expected Ghana to advance from Group E. Both the United States and Trinidad and Tobago had a sliver of hope on the final day, but Mexico alone represents CONCACAF. Everyone expected Brazil and Argentina to advance, but Ecuador surprised quite a few people. Asia, after having the co-hosts advance in 2002, is the only confederation watching the rest of tournament from the sidelines. There's been much said about the effects of playing on European soil, and perhaps with good reason.
Will there be any surprises in the next round?
My best pick for an upset is Ecuador. They played very well against Costa Rica and Poland, but didn't show up against Germany (resting players in the process). England is a different team when Wayne Rooney plays, but their defense was shaky against the Swedes. The game I am most eager to watch is Brazil v. Ghana. And, with all due respect, the game I am least eager to watch is Switzerland v. Ukraine. For what it's worth, here are my picks for the quarter-finals:
Germany, Argentina, Ecuador, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, and Spain.
Let the madness continue.
Showing posts with label rica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rica. Show all posts
Friday, June 23, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Where are you, Pierluigi Collina?
Yet again, we have a refereeing decision, or lack thereof, that is inexplicable. Costa Rica and Poland are playing for pride, but as one of the commentators stated, the referee should still treat this game as seriously as the Final. How could he not have seen the Polish player tripping Costa Rican goalkeeper, Jose Porras? It looked like a blatant trip no less.
I miss Pierluigi Collina.
I know he reached FIFA's mandatory retirement age, Everton and Juventus fans (who created a "I Hate Collina" website) may not view him so kindly, and his sponsorship deal caused some noise. But, objectively, he was one of the best referees. We hear about great teams that are missing from The World Cup, but what about great referees?
As the stakes, and $$$, continue to rise with The World Cup, teams, fans, soccer federations, will increasingly seek ways to address--and redress--referees' actions or inactions.
I miss Pierluigi Collina.
I know he reached FIFA's mandatory retirement age, Everton and Juventus fans (who created a "I Hate Collina" website) may not view him so kindly, and his sponsorship deal caused some noise. But, objectively, he was one of the best referees. We hear about great teams that are missing from The World Cup, but what about great referees?
As the stakes, and $$$, continue to rise with The World Cup, teams, fans, soccer federations, will increasingly seek ways to address--and redress--referees' actions or inactions.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Days Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten
Before The World Cup began, I had imagined that Ivory Coast might have been the sleeper or dark horse team. Being placed in the group of death has been hard on them (though, it seems, even harder on Serbia and Montenegro). Having watched Ecuador play twice, I have to say that I believe they are the most promising, surprise team so far. It was so refreshing to see their defenders neutralize Costa Rica's strikers by actually running with them, toward the goal. They didn't rely (exclusively) on the offside trap, having defenders run away from the goal with their hands up in the air. If they tie or beat Germany in the final game of the first round, they win the group.
As for who they might meet in the second round, England still continues to underwhelm. On one level, it was great to see Wayne Rooney in action. The World Cup features the best players in the world, and he certainly fits the bill. But on another level, why did England need his (and Lennon's) boost? Peter Crouch had to resort to hair pulling for the first goal. They just don't seem to be rising to the occasion, and it's worth nothing they haven't beaten Sweden since 1968. If England beats Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago beats Paraguay, we have to look at tie breakers. As much as I've enjoyed seeing T&T's spirit, I don't see this happening. BTW, major respect to John Terry for that goal line clearance.
Argentina 6, Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina has managed this scoreline before in The World Cup in 1978 by beating Peru 6-0, which helped them advance on goal differential over Brazil. However, that match remains controversial to this day. Soccer being soccer, I can even recall articles at the time speculating that Argentina had threatened military action against, or even offered nuclear technology, to Peru (conspiracy theories cut both ways). On this occasion, there's no controversy--just admiration for Argentina's fantastic play. Let's hope both the Netherlands and Argentina continue playing great soccer when they meet in the final game of the first round.
In the "other confederation" arena, it seems that the African confederation is reasserting itself. Ivory Coast played well in a losing effort, Angola tied Mexico, and Ghana's strikers and keeper found their stride against the Czech Republic. From Asia, Iran lost to Portugal, but Japan managed a tie against Croatia, and South Korea came back to tie France. From the CONCACAF realm, there's the US-Italy game.
Let's hope that we witnessed the worst refereeing of the tournament. That ref was hopeless. It takes a lot of courage to hand out a red card to a soccer power like Italy. De Rossi deserved the red card, but many refs would have given him a yellow card and a stern warning. But he almost certainly used Mastroeni for a make-up call. I also don't think he realized that Eddie Pope already had a yellow card. In the end, the US has to be pleased with being alive, though beating Ghana is no easy task. Onyewu seemed to settle into his role, but Eddie Pope still looked lost. The image of him holding up his hand, standing still, during Italy's first goal was rather pathetic. Of course, I'm not sure who's going to play in the back line now that he's suspended.
Both the US-Italy and South Korea-France match left me wondering about European soccer entitlement. What do I mean? De Rossi was clearly upset that his teammate, Zaccardo, scored an own goal (and what a bizarre strike of the ball). Maybe he should have had his words with him. Instead, he decided to elbow Brian McBride. When South Korea scored its goal, William Gallas (who should attend the John Terry school for goal line clearing) was clearly upset. Shortly after the goal, he grabbed (an offside) South Korean player and threw him to the pitch. So, what I wonder about is whether certain Italian or French players would behave this way if they were playing each other (or another of the soccer "powers")? How much of their frustration arose from an expectation, even entitlement, that they were the better team and therefore "deserved" to win.
Regardless of whether I'm just idly (or even unfairly) speculating, it was a very sad sight to see Zidane leave the field, throwing something off to the side. Given his second yellow card, he won't play in France's next game. If teams in their group play better than France, then they decide to advance. But I have to confess that I hope this isn't the last image of Zidane from The World Cup.
As for Brazil, everyone seems to think they're still going at 50%. All I have to say is that Brazil can put anyone into the game, even a guy named Fred, and he will find a way to score :-)
As for who they might meet in the second round, England still continues to underwhelm. On one level, it was great to see Wayne Rooney in action. The World Cup features the best players in the world, and he certainly fits the bill. But on another level, why did England need his (and Lennon's) boost? Peter Crouch had to resort to hair pulling for the first goal. They just don't seem to be rising to the occasion, and it's worth nothing they haven't beaten Sweden since 1968. If England beats Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago beats Paraguay, we have to look at tie breakers. As much as I've enjoyed seeing T&T's spirit, I don't see this happening. BTW, major respect to John Terry for that goal line clearance.
Argentina 6, Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina has managed this scoreline before in The World Cup in 1978 by beating Peru 6-0, which helped them advance on goal differential over Brazil. However, that match remains controversial to this day. Soccer being soccer, I can even recall articles at the time speculating that Argentina had threatened military action against, or even offered nuclear technology, to Peru (conspiracy theories cut both ways). On this occasion, there's no controversy--just admiration for Argentina's fantastic play. Let's hope both the Netherlands and Argentina continue playing great soccer when they meet in the final game of the first round.
In the "other confederation" arena, it seems that the African confederation is reasserting itself. Ivory Coast played well in a losing effort, Angola tied Mexico, and Ghana's strikers and keeper found their stride against the Czech Republic. From Asia, Iran lost to Portugal, but Japan managed a tie against Croatia, and South Korea came back to tie France. From the CONCACAF realm, there's the US-Italy game.
Let's hope that we witnessed the worst refereeing of the tournament. That ref was hopeless. It takes a lot of courage to hand out a red card to a soccer power like Italy. De Rossi deserved the red card, but many refs would have given him a yellow card and a stern warning. But he almost certainly used Mastroeni for a make-up call. I also don't think he realized that Eddie Pope already had a yellow card. In the end, the US has to be pleased with being alive, though beating Ghana is no easy task. Onyewu seemed to settle into his role, but Eddie Pope still looked lost. The image of him holding up his hand, standing still, during Italy's first goal was rather pathetic. Of course, I'm not sure who's going to play in the back line now that he's suspended.
Both the US-Italy and South Korea-France match left me wondering about European soccer entitlement. What do I mean? De Rossi was clearly upset that his teammate, Zaccardo, scored an own goal (and what a bizarre strike of the ball). Maybe he should have had his words with him. Instead, he decided to elbow Brian McBride. When South Korea scored its goal, William Gallas (who should attend the John Terry school for goal line clearing) was clearly upset. Shortly after the goal, he grabbed (an offside) South Korean player and threw him to the pitch. So, what I wonder about is whether certain Italian or French players would behave this way if they were playing each other (or another of the soccer "powers")? How much of their frustration arose from an expectation, even entitlement, that they were the better team and therefore "deserved" to win.
Regardless of whether I'm just idly (or even unfairly) speculating, it was a very sad sight to see Zidane leave the field, throwing something off to the side. Given his second yellow card, he won't play in France's next game. If teams in their group play better than France, then they decide to advance. But I have to confess that I hope this isn't the last image of Zidane from The World Cup.
As for Brazil, everyone seems to think they're still going at 50%. All I have to say is that Brazil can put anyone into the game, even a guy named Fred, and he will find a way to score :-)
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Day One
The first day is over. The host nation has never lost the opening game, and the Germans continued this tradition--emphatically. Jurgen Klinsmann has the most difficult job in sports at the moment. Any manager of a World Cup squad faces criticism, but to be the manager of the host nation with such high expectations must be something. He has been criticized for living in the US, for marrying an American, for using American training tactics, for sending email messages instead of speaking in person...
In the victory over Costa Rica, he went from goat to hero to goat to hero in the first 16 minutes as the score changed. Even with the victory, there are still questions that Germans will raise. And perhaps rightly so. Germany won its first game in 2002 with an impressive 8-0 over Saudi Arabia. But they didn't impress throughout the rest of the tournament. Having said this, they reached the finals. Germans are capable of playing fantastic soccer. But they're also capable of taking the life out of a game. Previous German managers have noted that the World Cup is a marathon, a test of endurance and the road to the Cup is littered with elegant, creative teams who ran out of energy or lost because of one mistake (especially in the knockout stages). German teams, even those with less talent with their opponents, have a World Cup record surpassed only by Brazil (the one team whose elegance and creativity seems more than enough to overcome hurdles). Does anyone believe the German team in 1986 was more talented than the Platini-inspired Bleus of France? (There's an Adidas ad that cleverly shows Zidane and Platini paying mutual respects; imagine both of them in the same midfield). Following the memorable match in Guadalajara between France and Brazil, Les Bleus looked completely drained. Even their inspired play wasn't enough to overcome the German team. Newsweek magazine referred to the 1980s German team as "Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and ten robots."
Nonetheless, they reached the finals in 1982 and 1986, knocking out the French on both occasions (with Toni Schumacher horribly and literally knocking out Patrick Battiston in 1982).
Where was the steady, efficient, inexorable play of the Germans on the first day of the 2006 offering? Well, it was superceded by an attacking style that led to four goals. That's the good news. The bad news is that their defense looked suspect, getting caught on the offsides trap more than once. As one of my soccer viewing friends points out, the offsides trap is dangerous not only because players can get it wrong, but also because the linesman can get it wrong (and probably did so on Costa Rica's second goal). Lehmann didn't have his best game, but he can't be faulted for either of the goals.
Ecuador showed what can happen against a team with a (sometimes) slow to react defense by beating them on two occasions with precision passing and shooting (or heading). They also showed how to play impassioned, energetic defense. Poland repeatedly tried to exploit their height advantage, but to no avail. Poland might have been the better team, but they lost because of a few mistakes. If Ecuador beats Costa Rica, they will almost certainly advance to the second round. Poland is in the difficult situation of needing three points, but playing their next match against Germany.
If Germany plays attacking, free flowing soccer, but then loses because a mistake or running of energy, Jurgen Klinsmann better head back to the US.
In the victory over Costa Rica, he went from goat to hero to goat to hero in the first 16 minutes as the score changed. Even with the victory, there are still questions that Germans will raise. And perhaps rightly so. Germany won its first game in 2002 with an impressive 8-0 over Saudi Arabia. But they didn't impress throughout the rest of the tournament. Having said this, they reached the finals. Germans are capable of playing fantastic soccer. But they're also capable of taking the life out of a game. Previous German managers have noted that the World Cup is a marathon, a test of endurance and the road to the Cup is littered with elegant, creative teams who ran out of energy or lost because of one mistake (especially in the knockout stages). German teams, even those with less talent with their opponents, have a World Cup record surpassed only by Brazil (the one team whose elegance and creativity seems more than enough to overcome hurdles). Does anyone believe the German team in 1986 was more talented than the Platini-inspired Bleus of France? (There's an Adidas ad that cleverly shows Zidane and Platini paying mutual respects; imagine both of them in the same midfield). Following the memorable match in Guadalajara between France and Brazil, Les Bleus looked completely drained. Even their inspired play wasn't enough to overcome the German team. Newsweek magazine referred to the 1980s German team as "Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and ten robots."
Nonetheless, they reached the finals in 1982 and 1986, knocking out the French on both occasions (with Toni Schumacher horribly and literally knocking out Patrick Battiston in 1982).
Where was the steady, efficient, inexorable play of the Germans on the first day of the 2006 offering? Well, it was superceded by an attacking style that led to four goals. That's the good news. The bad news is that their defense looked suspect, getting caught on the offsides trap more than once. As one of my soccer viewing friends points out, the offsides trap is dangerous not only because players can get it wrong, but also because the linesman can get it wrong (and probably did so on Costa Rica's second goal). Lehmann didn't have his best game, but he can't be faulted for either of the goals.
Ecuador showed what can happen against a team with a (sometimes) slow to react defense by beating them on two occasions with precision passing and shooting (or heading). They also showed how to play impassioned, energetic defense. Poland repeatedly tried to exploit their height advantage, but to no avail. Poland might have been the better team, but they lost because of a few mistakes. If Ecuador beats Costa Rica, they will almost certainly advance to the second round. Poland is in the difficult situation of needing three points, but playing their next match against Germany.
If Germany plays attacking, free flowing soccer, but then loses because a mistake or running of energy, Jurgen Klinsmann better head back to the US.
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