world cup...for serious soccer fans only
 

this might be a good place to talk "football".......

lets start with this ............

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2...k-p1.php?emf=1

:thumbsup: :crazy: ..............xoxoxoo

I'm interested to see how the fans at Anvill will treat Neville. There's some bad blood there. hell I'm a Man Utd fan but I really hope the fans support him givin he's playing for their home squad.

Anyway, the cup should be interesting. I don't think there's one huge dominant team out there.

when does it start? hopefully i can watch it this year.

link to scheduals and much more!...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...06/default.stm

i can't wait :crazy:

The friendlies start today and the matches start in June
World Cup Schedule

Very glad to see some friendlies. I watched the US/Poland game today - definitely getting me geared up for World Cup. (plus, I may just be in Germany during World Cup :))

once again England Expects. I think we're probably good enough to get to the Quarter Finals...

in the meantime, there are some good matches happening right now in the UEFA Champions League -- http://www.uefa.com/index.html

most of the time games aren't on TV in the US, but i saw a good Arsenal - Real Madrid game last night on ESPN2. more games are on spanish language ESPN/FOX Sports, but i don't think i get those.

i'm thinking about the guy i read about who set up a bunch of different satellite dishes on his house and gets numerous international channels. maybe that's a good idea.

Holland's facing a tough match-up with Argentina in Group C...we'll see if they make it beyond that point this World Cup. I'd really like to see it as the Dutch team has been incredibly disappointing after their awesome performance at Euro 2000. Edwin van der Sar will continue to be the backbone of the Dutch, I'm sure.

GO ORANJE!

I'm riding the Americans this year. I know they can't win but I reckon they are semi-final bound at least. I'm not happy with how the Aussies drew as I think we are the most underrated side in there. We were always a longshot to reach the second round with Brazil/Croatia/Japan, I still think we can win at least one game.

I'm so pumped for the World Cup. I can't wait another two months. Even though I'm probably not going to Germany I'm still hoping to at least be in a bar drinking in the morning and watching some cup action. Apparently everyone is leaving the USA for dead in the first round, but failing them,
JA!!

The recent games only showed up on ESPN Deportes :confused: Missed AC Milan v Barc the other day. Anyone know if the final match will be on any normal US cable channels?

And here I am, stuck in a dorm, not only away from my wife and kids but ALSO my digital cable box and precious extended sports package.....

/meh

Damn, Rooney broke his metatarsal. He needs to recover - England can probably make it through the first round without him, but once the competition gets pared down to the round of 16, he needs to be there, healthy and in top form.

I'm once again up for the Spanish due to Ireland failing yet again to qualify for a major international tournament. Spain always, always under achieve, and considering their squad they really shouldn't.
Anyway, if and when Spain get knocked out I'll be up for Argentina if they're still there, Messi is an absolute legend.

Oh, and Bobby, real fans wouldn't use the word soccer. ;)

We're good enough to win it mate! :)
I seriously think we (England) can win it, If every one is fit and plays their best.
And according to the national papers, Rooney is going to be fit in time for June 10th.
I actually think the US will do pretty well, if they can beat either the Czech Republic or Italy.

The strikers are the only question mark due to fitness. IMO, the English midfield is the best in the game, and the defense is very solid. If Owen is really 100% and Rooney plays in the knockout stages and Crouch and Walcott can contribute, England has a very good shot at winning it.

Australia is at 30% to win their first game.... Fuck yeah :D. By the way, guess who's the lucky fella whos old old man is getting him a ball signed by all of the Australian Team straight after they lose, because this old old man is piloting the plane?

... Fuck yeah

(me + soccer = no sleep / inhibitions)

I think Australia could win one of their games. Kewell was getting back to his best at the end of the season, Viduka can always score goals from any situation and Cahill is an awesome little player. If they can turn it on for the World Cup, they could surprise someone.
And I've always said, all previous form goes out the window when the WC starts, any team can win any game. Thats the beauty of football! :)

Watch out for the Netherlands all......

Just 12 more hours till World Cup begins! Woo-hoo!!! :)

I just bought a new TV and am stoked to watch the games in HD. Unfortunately, my stupid cable system doesn't have ESPN2 HD, so if I want to tivo the opening game it will be in plain old digital cable quality. Same for Monday's US vs. Czech Rep. game. All the games on ABC and ESPN will be in HD though :)

Anybody figure out how to trick the bbc into thinking that you live in the UK yet?

Yeah, if anyone figures that out let me know, otherwise, I might be buying an XM radio this weekend!

I'm loving that all of the matches are televised!

Watching Germany beat Costa Rica right now. Let's hope that Germany can maintain the lead through the end of the match.

No problem with that. Great goals from the Germans today! Hmm, what game is on next? :)

Berlin, Berlin wir fahren nach Berlin! .... uh sorry :D

Poland vs Ecuador starts in about a hour

US tv schedule

Thanks trickyy! I've been meaning to look that up, now i don't have to! :)

Trinidad & Tobago, smallest country ever in the World Cup, scratches out a draw against a far superior Sweden team. Unbelieveable, I found myself really cheering on "TNT". The keeper was standing on his head and they played calm, cool, and collected, even as they were a man down for almost all of the 2nd half.

Oh man, I was cheering for T and T. Everybody was really expecting the Swedes to score 5-something goals but the tiny country managed to hold them out!

I was disappointed in Paraguay's performance in first half but on the second, they dominated the English. Too bad they didn't score in the second half.

Like most, I was also cheering on Trinidad & Tobago! I wanted them to score oh so bad! Their goalie put on one hell of a show. I'm very interested in the rest of their games this week. Hopefully they can keep up the impressive play. :)

All that matters is the right result - 3 points for England!

Yes!

And I thought the Netherlands did very well this morning--while I wish they had scored a couple more goals (and honestly they should have) they held Serbia-Montenegro in check. Edwin van der Sar made some great saves--he is definitely my favorite goalie :love:

I'm excited to watch England and the Netherlands in their next games. I think it's going to be a good World Cup.

I was rooting for T & T, but I didn't want them to score, a draw leaves England in a better position in the group.
All we need to do now is win against T & T on Thursday and we're through to the 2nd round regardless of what hapopens in the 3rd game.

Yeah, but let's win the pool. I'd rather deal with Equador or Poland in the 2nd round than Germany, who we would likely face if we were pool runners up.

US GAME STARTS IN 2 HOURS....."GO U S A" I'M A HOMER!!!

XOXOXOO

Half time, and the USA are down two--zip... :|

Not really that surprising. They better score at least one and keep CR from scoring again if they hope to advance. If they go down 3-0 or 4-0 they can go ahead and schedule flights.

I'm interested in England. They looked horrid against Paraguay. Of course if they can make it till Rooney returns.. they'll be fine. Yes, Rooney is just that damn good

I picked the Czechs to win the game and go deep in the tourney in my pool (all the way to the semis, in fact). They are a good team.

That said, I really thought the US would make it a closer game. Hope the injury to Koller isn't too bad.

I don't know why everyone seems surprised that the US lost to the Czechs. I expected the Czech team to come out strong and they did. Granted, I would've liked to see the US play a much stronger game, they just looked so flat today. No, they're not going to win Group E, but I do think they've got a decent chance to finish second (if they can win their next 2 games). :)

I highly doubt the US can win against Italy. They have a chance against Ghana, but with a 3 goal deficit, draws won't even help at this stage. You never want to have more than a 1 goal deficit. I'm just glad I didn't believe all the hype about the US team. I knew they would have a poor performance. They suck on European soil.

Sadly the US performance destroys my hope for the dream final Iran-USA :D

The US back line looked downright awful. The last goal was the perfect example, one man against three and he gets through on a defenseless keeper.

God I wish Reyna's shot in the 1st half was only 1/4" more to the right. It would have richocheted in, tied the game, and I think that would have changed the game completely.

I don't think Reyna's goal would've changed the game any differently. The biggest problem with USA is that they didn't take much chance, in fact it seems that everytime they have a scoring chance going, they throw the ball away.

Amen. The US style of play is incredibly boring. They act like they want to wait for the perfect play instead of getting some shots on goal.

I'm cheering for Paraguay and Argentina (Uruguay didn't make it to the World Cup, so had to go with the neighbors). I'll cheer Brazil and Spain on otherwise.

Watching the England vs. Paraguay game I wasn't too thrilled with Paraguay's play, they seemed to keep coming up short on their passes.

I've always been disenchanted with the U.S. style of play. While I wouldn't mind seeing them get somewhere in the tournament I won't be surprised if they don't make it out of their Group (Italy and Czech are some strong competition).

I think the problem with the US team is that not all the players have experience against top quality European players.
If the whole squad played in europe they may get better experience

http://soccer.sportsnet.tsn.ca/news_...9&hubName=main

"WAHHHHHH It's everyone elses fault but ours that we can't score and continue to WHINNNEEEEE"

you want some cheese with that whine France? Just play football goddammit.

Henry is the best in the game right now. You're right.. shut the fuck up and play football.

"France surrenders"

What a game between Germany and Poland. Germany missed so many chances and finally puts one away in stoppage time. So far, this has been one of my favorite games this World Cup - scrappy, agressive play, tons of emotion. Great game! :)

Oh it was fantastic, only to end in Germany scoring in the very last minute of the game. It's a heartbreaking for the Poles, they've played really well, especially when they weren't expected to end the game in a near draw.

i'm missing so many games
i guess i need to record them because the rebroadcast is really late (2 am est?)
instead ESPN2 fills time with World Domino Tour

i have the secret

there is a way to watch all the games on your pc at work. i for one am doing no work this month. it's free too. i'm not really sure what the connection is, but i'd be more than happy to hook up my fellow tfp'ers. drop me a line on aim qweds, of course, and i'll see if i can't send you the program. it streams abc, espn, espn2 and others right to your pc. about 4-500 k/sec so you need a decent connection but it's a miracle as far as i can tell.

and how about that bs red card against poland today? klose was looking for that foul and the ref got taken for a ride.

oh well. go trinidad.


peace, love and football.

Not surprised about the red card for Poland, just a 2nd yellow card. I was really surprised about the red card in the Spain/Ukraine game. After seeing the replay, it definitely didn't deserve the red. My opinion at least.

Ah, England v. Trinidad tomorrow. Go T&T indeed, I'd love to see them do well! :)

I look to England to be in great form today. They know they played horribly against Paraguay, so they'll be ready to prove what they really have.

The red against Ukraine was just awful officiating. There was no way a red should have been shown; hell I don't even think a yellow should have been pulled out. Would it have changed who won? Probably not. Would it have changed the score? Who knows. Spain looked pretty good, but then, it's easy to look good when you're up a man for so long.

Finalists from group A: Germany and Ecuador. I'll be interested to see how Ecuador matches up agains Germany when they play. And even though Poland put up a great fight, they can pack their bags - they're out.

Ah, England/Trinidad coming up in an hour. Let's see if England brings their A game. :) Although, I'm still rooting for an upset by Trinidad!

I'll be rooting for England. I want to at least see Wayne Rooney play in the cup. Makes me proud when Man Utd players do well :D


Edit: I just heard Rooney has been cleared for today's match.. but Neville is out. Damnit to fucking hell!!

Wow, two yellows for Trinidad in only 19 minutes of play...crazy!

Make that five... and it's not done yet

Now if they can just add a goal to go with all those yellow cards... :thumbsup:

2-0 England. England may not have looked the best but before all you people say T&T should have won. Bollocks! No team that only controls 37 minutes and manages what.. 10 shots on goal should win a match. I didn't understand why Owen was taken out .. but I guess it worked out. I'd take Rooney with Owen over Crouch and Rooney or Crouch and Owen any day.

As soon as Rooney and Lennon were introduced, the tempo was raised immediately and thats when we play our best.
Owen has done nothing in these two games, Rooney and Crouch to start against Sweden I reckon!
Anyway, it wouldn't be England if we didn't do it the hard way. :)

Oh, I don't think T&T should've won, I just wanted to see them put up a good fight. I'm always a fan of a good upset. Definitely a spark with Rooney in, I'd like to see him get some more time in the next match!

Rooney will start the next match. Owen is just too talented to bring him off the bench. I'm just not a fan of Crouch. I find him lumbersome and he got lucky today. Owen, Rooney, and Beckham.. whew.. that's Sahweet.

Howdy folks, feels like ages since i last posted something. Ha!



I'm fuckin lovin' this world cup - I just hope my liver can hold up for another couple of weeks.

Always the optimist, I've booked a week off work following the final and arranged a visit to London to see the open-top bus parade.

That's right!




p.s. - I need a cup of tea and a hug. My head hurts and I think I'm gonna spew.

I thought Lennon really helped England - his pace down the side just opened things up so much more. I was glad to see Crouch get the goal - in Rooney's absence he takes so much heat (and sometimes does deserve it) but that goal will help his confidence going forward. Nice left foot by Gerrard too, and thank you John Terry!

Go England! Hoping to draw Equador in the next round. I know the Equardorians have played well, but playing Germany in Germany in the knockout stages is something that should be avoided for as long as possible, IMO.

Well, hello Argentina. 3 goals in the first half, so far. They're looking very, very good. Unless something crazy happens, looks like they've got this game completely locked up. Up next, the Netherlands. :) And Mexico plays in the last game today. Should make for another great day of soccer!

Rooney should start the next match. I'd like to see Lampard get some time on the bench though. 5-6 shots on target without a goal? Some time on the bench will hopefully help him get his shit together.

The Netherlands are my 'dark horse' team for this World Cup. But I don't want to say too much, other than...

Go Oranje!

Of all the teams I've watched so far, Spain by far looks the best. We'll see what happens against tougher competition.

I watched the replay of the England Vs. T&T game and England really should have won 5-1. That bad miss by Crouch was just horrid. I'm thinking that England will be gaining confidence from this point. I don't think they will win the cup though.

I won't even watch the USA vs Italy game because it will just be another ass beating from the Italians. Hey, all you Englanders.. want to adopt a yank??

Although Lampard did have some missed opportunities in both games, if a midfielder gets benched, it'll be Gerrard, as he has that yellow card against him.

Edit: Wait, Lampard has a yellow too. Depending what happens with Germany and Equador, maybe they'll both sit.

The Argentinians now have bragging rights as the team to give the largest ass-kicking at the 2006 World Cup to date, after their 6 - 0 thrashing of the Serbs.

I'd like to see them try that against the Netherlands.

I think the 6-0 thrashing may be misleading as well as hurtful to a team. It can give them a sense of dominance when in fact, against a stronger team it won't happen. Argentina may just find themselves on the same end of a thrashing.

It was an awesome score line for Argentina, but they won't win it.
My money is on Spain or the Czech Republic (and I'm English!).
It may not be either of those two, but I just don't think any of the 'major' teams will win it. (including Brazil)

God I hope so...

interesting statistics:
http://www.globalfootballmonitor.com/

"The Global Football Monitor was organized by Hattrick.org, the world's largest football community with more than 850,000 active users in 108 countries.

During two weeks in May, more than 196,000 Hattrick members gave us their opinions about the upcoming World Cup in Germany, making this the largest ever football survey."

Which team would you least want to see as the tournament winner?
20% say Germany :(

Well from the way they played against the Poles, I don't think they'll be winning it either.

Do I want to see Germany win? Not really. I'd rather some underdog team (*coughNetherlandscough*) come through and snatch it from the grasp of one of the bigger teams. Gotta have some drama. :D

ach, the game wasn't that bad, Germany tried and fought till the end. We showed some good ole german virtures: never give up. Or, as a german soccer proverb says:
the game ain't over till the referee says so ;)

Besides I haven't seen a much better team yet, all other teams (exception argentina, spain all other team had their problems) had time when they played extremly boring and slow without pushing

:D since when are the netherlands an underdog? ;)
I would have loved to see an african team advance further.

Frickin' Ghana!

What a whacky day in Group E. Ghana made the Czech's Czech themselves and now the US is outplaying Italy at half. By the way, the red card on the US before the half looked like total horseshit. It was definitely worthy of a yellow, but come on. Now the US has to stay composed and keep their gameplan. It was on a silver platter for them being one man up and tied with 45 to play, now just got to keep calm and adapt to the Italians halftime adjustments.

No it was well deserved, he tackeld him with both feet, not even aiming for the ball. That a clear red card.

Ive been a fan of Bruce Areana for years but its time for him to go. His attacks on Beasley were completely unwarrented since the entire team played half-hearted vs the Chechs. Then he blows a sub by not putting Johnson or Wolf into the game when fresh legs were needed.

Reyna is next on my list for his complete lack of leadership during the first round.

I think the US red cards were BS. They were like most other late slide tackles we've seen (that haven't gotten red cards). The ref was horrible.

The first was OK (I didn't seen the second).
The US Player aimed for the foot, not the Ball. That is not how you play the Ball, hat was brutal and could have easily resulted with a serious injury.

That is not a clear red card...it is a clear yellow, in my opinion. He was going for the ball, he was just late. In fact, he even got a small piece of the ball. It wasn't from behind it was from the side. The second red card (actually a second yellow) was similar, Pope was late, but got a large bit of the ball and it was again a tackle from the side, not behind. These fouls are happening all the time during this game and other games in this tournament are not warrenting any cards at all.

The Italians were victimized too, they had several calls unfairly go against them as well.

Interesting to note, that the referee was suspended by FIFA before the 2002 World Cup because other referees were complaining about his calls. He was not allowed to referee in the 2002 Cup and hopefully he will be suspended for this cup as well.

All in all, it was a great effort by the Americans to get this draw despite playing most of the second half down 10 men to 9. Keller was huge in goal.

No, you don't dropkick the ball. In the replay it looks like he was trying to break the ankles of the italian player.

no, the ball was gone

Well, since that would have been Popes second yellow Card which equals a Red Card. so I think that was also OK (if the foul was worthy of a yellow card).

We'll have to agree to disagree, but I've watched the replay of the first US red card foul over and over and he got a piece of the ball.

How many two footed tackles have resulted in red cards this tournament? Virtually all have resulted in yellows. That was a yellow card worthy offense, IMO, not a red.

here is a Video
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Mastroeni doesn't hit the Ball, the italian player does. He aims at where the italian player stands, dropkickstyle. IMO with the sole intention to kick him off his feet.

Agreed. Definitely yellow card worthy. If the tackle had been more from behind, then it should've been a red card. Either way, it's over and done with. I'm just waiting for the rest of Group E's matches. :)

Watched the France/South Korea (great uniforms) match today. Even though I don't know what is going on out there tactic-wise, it seemed quite competitive and definitely a great spectacle. Many guys who fall down in the collisions seem to overact (are they flopping?? (faking)) just before a card is raised. Some tough and fit guys out there. I admit I am no serious fan, but its fun to watch!

Once again the US proves it can't score. They were lucky to escape with a tie. Granted, the ref was absolutely horrid. The first red is debatable as it could have gone with a red or yellow depending on the intent. The yellow on Pope was pure shit. Even the Italians got screwed by alot of calls. I think the thing that annoyed me the most, is the inconsistency of the ref. He called everything and called it hard, then as the game went on, he let them play. If you're going to be a bad ass and throw color around, then be consistent about it.

This Tournament just has way way too much color being shown. There's no reason a team (Australia) should have 14 players carrying yellows before they even play Brazil. These refs are disrupting the flow and beauty of the game. I find it very very sad.

I hope the US team has their plane tickets booked because they'll be home shortly.

Boy, Australia gave Brazil all it could handle. That game could have easily been a draw.

I wonder if Togo is going to show up to play, today? I hear they may boycott the game.

The US didnt score because Arena refuses to use his subs properly. Johnson and Wolf were fresh on the sidelines, they would have brought the extra energy the team needed for late game goal scoring. Arena just chose to sit on his hands.

And the Aussies were very impressive. Tough physical defence and good team play. That club could be a problem in the future.

Props to Brazil though for letting Robinho get the playing time he deserves. Hopefully he'll take the start and bring Reynaldo off the bench. With Robinho giving Kaka the help he needs there isnt a goal scorer in Germany that has a chance.

A team shouldn't have to use subs in order to score. This has been going on alot longer than just this cup. Think about it, the tie against Italy gave the US it's <b>FIRST</b> point ever on European Soil. That reeks of inability to score. I don't think it's really the US that played tough, I think the Italians just happend to suck that day.

Brazil is always the team that gets better and better as the tournament goes on. They will be really tough if they go deep.

What's the deal with TOGO? Why would they boycott the game?

Some kind of monetary dispute with their national organization. They did end up playing, however, so at least the World Cup was spared that embarassment.

Not sure if you guys realize that the yellow card in a previous game becomes a red card. Tha's why us

Not sure if you guys realize that the yellow card in a previous game becomes a red card. That's why the us received at least 1 of the red cards against Italy. The yellows carry over until they move to the next round I think then the players start with a clean slate. That why it's so important for players that have previous yellows to not foul hard enough for another yellow. US played great, we still have hope.

Incorrect. No player who received a red (or yellow) in the Italy match had received one in the Czech match. Onyewu and Reyna, who received yellows in the first game, played clean this time.

^^^

highthief is correct. The two players who received reds in the Italy game did not receive any cards in the Czech game. However, iirc, Pope recieved a yellow in the opening half of the US vs Italy game. So if the ref wanted to throw any color the second time, he was going to get red and yellow. Either way, the ref was horrible.

The US doesn't have a chance.. go ahead and give up. American Football sucks. Until the team gets a coach, and a squad who actually cares about taking chances, they will always suck.