WORLD CUP 2010 NEWS

[famj]

thinking about the English line up:  wonder if they should bench Lampard or Gerrard for Milner.  May not be the player that Gerrard or Lampard is, but he might be able to work better with the inside mid he's paired with.  Lennon and Wright-Phillips outside?  Is Barry going to be ready for their next game?  One last question:  is Slovenia in the catbird seat?  Okay, this is my last question, is Germany that good or Australia that bad?

famj

[Squash]

thinking about the English line up:  wonder if they should bench Lampard or Gerrard for Milner.  May not be the player that Gerrard or Lampard is, but he might be able to work better with the inside mid he's paired with.  Lennon and Wright-Phillips outside?  Is Barry going to be ready for their next game?  One last question:  is Slovenia in the catbird seat?  Okay, this is my last question, is Germany that good or Australia that bad?

famj

on Australia.....we beat them  i think that says it all...BAD

JUNE 5, 2010   U.S. Men vs. Australia   
3-1 W

[Midfield General]

thinking about the English line up:  wonder if they should bench Lampard or Gerrard for Milner.  May not be the player that Gerrard or Lampard is, but he might be able to work better with the inside mid he's paired with.  Lennon and Wright-Phillips outside?  Is Barry going to be ready for their next game?  One last question:  is Slovenia in the catbird seat?  Okay, this is my last question, is Germany that good or Australia that bad?

famj

I wouldn't put Milner in after the 30 minutes he had on Saturday. He looked lost out there, although reports that he was sick earlier in the week so possible he wasn't fully recovered. (If that's true, why would Capello risk him from the start?). English fans should pray that Barry is ready to play asap as they always look much better balanced when he is behind one of Lampard or Gerrard. I like having two quick and/or tricky outside mids in Lennon and either SWP or Cole - gives a threat out wide from both flanks.

[EWSoccer64]

1)   Australia was highly touted by most every pundit before the WC.   I will through out the Aussie-US game, it was a scrimmage with some B teamers.
What was very, very noticeable to me today was just how slow the Australia backline was - And Germany is not a team of sprinters - and that they were clueless on how to compensate for it.   Other than the unwarrented red card to Cahill, the game was refereed very well, I thought.   Right now, one would have to say that Germany - which usually starts "hot", is playing better than expected and Australia is not looking like advancing out of their group.  They may end up without a point.  (The Kiwis are breathing easier!)

2)   England is the land of crap goalkeepers.   Green could not make it in the MLS.    Bob Bradley designed and implemented a great strategy to contain Rooney, and illustrated how vulnerable England is.   Clark was at fault for the goal by Gerrard, who is likely worth more on the transfer market than the entire USA team.     Take a look at the positioning of Green's had when he stopped Altidore's shot in the second half.  Notice the angle of his hand, it's positioning, when the ball struck it.   The ball seemed to come off his thumb/thumb joint, rather than a solid "palm and fingers" stop.   With the angle of his open hand, if it had struck truely into the hand, it would have deflected into the net.    Green playing it to low positioned his thumb/thumb joint at the right place to deflect the ball away.   For non-goalkeepers out there, think of the odds of a ball ricocheting off your knee and going exactly where it needs to, when all you were doing was raising your leg to protect your groin.     So while others consider Green the unluckiest man in the WC, it seems he is one of the luckiest.  His second screw up actually saved a tie for England.

3)   The second place team from the USA-England group is going to face Germany in the round of 16. 

4)   Gooch is back.  Perhaps not 100% yet, but he did well out there.   That is at least as important as getting one point from the England game.

5)  France Suck.

6)   Uruguay is better than expected, Argentina has promise and if their coach gets eaten by lion or a drug addled hyena, they could go very far.

7)  I do not expect to see the Danes expose the Dutch defense tomorrow.  If they score a single goal against the Netherlands, that is a sign the Dutch will be heading back to the land of bicycles, beautiful women, and french fries, sooner rather than later.

  Still waiting to see a decent side from Africa...

9)   South Korea may have their hotel blown up by the North Korean spies if the North Korean team cannot play as well.  And North Korea cannot play as well.  A quality outing from South Korea, they seem likely to advance (unless they get blown up) at this point.

I REALLY, REALLY HATE THIS WC TV SCHEDULE.    LET'S HOPE THAT AUSTRALIA GETS IT SOON SO WE CAN STAY UP ALL NIGHT DRINKING BEER AND WATCHING GAMES!!!!

[Midfield General]

... Argentina has promise and if their coach gets eaten by lion or a drug addled hyena, they could go very far.

Best World Cup analysis I've seen so far     

[TheWarpedDog]

... Argentina has promise and if their coach gets eaten by lion or a drug addled hyena, they could go very far.

Best World Cup analysis I've seen so far     

Wasn't he the one who said he would dance nakid if they won it all???  Kinda puts a bad taste in the mouth, hoping they DON'T win it all... hahaha

[TheWarpedDog]

Is it me or did Italy look pretty sad yesterday???

[EWSoccer64]

Italy has a history of opening poorly.    I thought that Paraguay really played better than expected.

Blow out prediction for tomorrow - Chile by 3 goals.

[Kicks]

Schlock and Awe for Spain

 

http://www.ProSoccerNews.info

[hulabaloo]

OMG 

[Prophet]

Horrible officiating!

[famj]

It's interesting to compare and contrast the way different soccer cultures respond to calamities.  The French are talking about the emptiness of their soul in the wake of their WC performance;  the Germans are fairly balanced, Klose should have known better, the ref shouldn't have given the second yellow, and Podolski shouldn't have missed the PK;  reading US reactions to the disallowed goal, most seemed convinced that it was 'the worst call in the history of the WC', that there's a conspiracy against the US and some comments go into a religious aspect that I don't want to even mention!  Hey, it looked like he missed the call.  Oh well, that's part of the game.  Get over it, beat Algeria and move on.  If the US doesn't beat Algeria, we don't deserve to move on!  

[Str8red]

Agreed, famj. It's tough. It's clear by the behavior of all the referees so far in the tournament that FIFA wants them to get tough on all the grabbing and holding at corners and free kicks served into the penalty area. You will have noticed that early in pretty much every game, referees have held up the taking of corners to get into the scrum and warn players to keep their hands to themselves. So maybe with that in the back of his mind, he sees a blur of holding and pulling as the kick is on the way, and makes the safe call -- for the D, coming out.

Either that, or he was replaying the decision to give the free kick for the soft challenge on Altidore, and was thinking he shouldn't have given it, and so at the first sign of anything in the landing zone, he hits the whistle and gives the ball back to Slovenia.

I don't know, just completely speculating here. I've watched the replay probably 25 times and for the life of me can't figure out what he could have been looking at to support the decision. For that reason, I think this was more of an instinctive reaction on his part, and there's clearly many, many people who disagree with the decision.

But as famj said, it's unfortunate, but it's done. This happens in soccer, as it happens in other sports. The players and coaches on our team need to get it behind them and focus on the task at hand. They have to take some sense of satisfaction in knowing they showed great heart and strength of character in coming back the way they did. And then they need to go get the result against Algeria.

One thing is for sure; after watching the comeback, few teams will want to meet us as the tournament moves into its next phase.

[EWSoccer64]

>>>Agreed, famj. It's tough. It's clear by the behavior of all the referees so far in the tournament that FIFA wants them to get tough on all the grabbing and holding at corners and free kicks served into the penalty area. You will have noticed that early in pretty much every game, referees have held up the taking of corners to get into the scrum and warn players to keep their hands to themselves. So maybe with that in the back of his mind, he sees a blur of holding and pulling as the kick is on the way, and makes the safe call -- for the D, coming out.
<<<<

BS.
The ref blew the call - badly, and without any justification.  He had been failing to control the grabbing and holding on the set pieces all game long, and penalising the wrong people. 

Sure, we have to move on and focus on beating Algeria (France B now promoted to France A).   But that does not excuse a referee who has singlehandedly destroyed the good reputation that the referees in the WC had built, up to now.  Nor does it preclude every red blooded fan of the USA from baying for the blood of this stinking, no good, lousy excuse for a referee who was probably betting against the USA.   This is not a kiddie game, we fans have every right to call for this clown to be tarred, feathered, and fed to the sharks off Cape Town. 

[EWSoccer64]

I talked to a couple of English friends of mine today who watched the England game.   They were were absolutely stunned about how crappy England was playing, and did not hide their disappointment.  The only way I could cheer them up was to remind them that Germany had lost.   That fact was also cheering to my Turkish and Dutch soccer buddies.

Personally, I think that Slovenia will be the toughest match up for England in the entire group stage.   (Remember how another part of the former Yugoslavia gave them fits!).  Even a draw - unless it is high scoring and other results go its way - is not enough for England to advance.   They have to win.   A tie is enough for Slovenia to advance.     If I had a bookie, I would be asking about the odds of England advancing and seeing how much I could bet against them at this point.

It's time to look at all the tie breakers.....

[EWSoccer64]

[Malian referee Koman Coulibaly, criticized for disallowing a potentially U.S.-winning goal off a free kick in Friday's U.S.-Slovenia World Cup clash, may be dropped by FIFA for the rest of the World Cup, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.

Citing a FIFA source, the report says Coulibaly is poised to face an expedited performance review from the refereeing committee of world football's governing body. Officials plan to review footage on Saturday from the Group C game to evaluate Coulibaly's performance after several U.S. players blasted his handling of the match, Yahoo said.

Second-half sub Maurice Edu appeared to put the U.S. ahead in the 86th minute, poking in a close-range shot after Landon Donovan's free kick to him. But the goal was waved off by Couilibaly, though it was not clear on whom the foul was called or what the foul was.


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After the match, Landon Donovan said he asked the referee what the call was but did not get an answer.

"We asked the ref many times what it was or who it was on and he wouldn't or couldn't explain it," Donovan said. "I don't know what to think of the call because I didn't see any foul, just a normal free kick and a goal."

Referees must submit a written report to FIFA after each match, but it is not specified in the rule that he must fully explain a ruling such as this.

FIFA refereeing rules state: "The referee shall hand over to the FIFA general coordinator a match report at the stadium immediately after the match. On the report form the referee shall note all occurrences such as misconduct of players leading to caution or expulsion, unsporting behavior by supporters and/or by officials or any other person acting on behalf of an association at the match and any other incident happening before, during and after the match in as much detail as possible."

Coulibaly could still appear, according to the source, as a line judge or other supporting role, but is unlikely to be given assignments to referee further matches.

"If he is found to have made a serious mistake, especially one that affected the outcome, then he would be highly unlikely to play any further part in the tournament," Yahoo quoted the source as saying. "FIFA is determined to keep refereeing standards high and does not want high-profile mistakes."

The controversial call comes four years after the 2006 finals in Germany where the refereeing was roundly condemned after a spate of controversies.

It led to FIFA setting up a special referee's assistance program to better train top officials for the 2010 finals.

Among those refereeing in South Africa are Benito Archundia of Mexico, who handled the 2006 semifinal between Germany and Italy, and Italian Roberto Rosetti, who also officiated the Euro 2008 final in Vienna.

The 39-year-old Coulibaly has been officiating in African soccer competitions for 17 years and called the final of the African Cup of Nations between Ghana and Egypt earlier this year.

/color]

[famj]

this might add a few to my wicked side, but...I did find a still shot of Edu with a high elbow as he's moving towards goal on the free kick.  True, the same still shows Bradley being wrestled to the ground, but I guess one could say that Edu MIGHT be giving the ref reason to make a call (though with the mayhem going on in the box, one wonders why this tickle would have been singled out). 

As to the reaction in the US press/on line sources re FIFA's reaction - reading between the lines I see a reporter who asked a theoretical, an anonymous FIFA official who responded to this theoretical and then it being written up as if it were more intentional than theoretical.  My journalist friend said that would be called 'good reporting' because it's 'accurate' and creates a better story line. 

And to honor my dad a day before father's day, his sage advice, "You can't control an official's call,  You can control how you play the game.  If you put yourself in a position where an official's call can determine the game, it's your own fault." 

[famj]

from the German soccer magazine kicker:

Referee:
Koman Coulibaly (Mali)   Grade 5 (this is on a scale of 1-6 with 5 being an F and a 6 more sarcasm than a grade!)
decided the game by his decision to disallow Edu's goal.  He decided for a very questionable offside call (don't know where they got this from)while 3 Americans could have been awarded PKs for the fouls that were being commited on them.

[EWSoccer64]

Spain -

Awesome tactically, great cohesion to their team, fantastic understanding of each other and superlative interchanging of positions.

They quickened the pace of their passing from the Switzerland game, and it showed today.

The Bad -
 Lack of precision in their passing, accross the field but particularly around the penalty area.  Too many opportunities where the last pass was too slow or off target.  lack of decent scoring threats except for Villa.  Too many wasted free kicks.   Torres was horrible.  Navas was poor with his crosses.   Xavi was afraid to shoot.   The two outside fullbacks are unconvincing.

I do not see Spain getting to the championship game unless they radically change their mindset and start upping their tempo while being more precise. 

[Squash]

Spain -

Awesome tactically, great cohesion to their team, fantastic understanding of each other and superlative interchanging of positions.

They quickened the pace of their passing from the Switzerland game, and it showed today.

The Bad -
 Lack of precision in their passing, accross the field but particularly around the penalty area.  Too many opportunities where the last pass was too slow or off target.  lack of decent scoring threats except for Villa.  Too many wasted free kicks.   Torres was horrible.  Navas was poor with his crosses.   Xavi was afraid to shoot.   The two outside fullbacks are unconvincing.

I do not see Spain getting to the championship game unless they radically change their mindset and start upping their tempo while being more precise. 

Still looking for my Netherlands report EW.

[EWSoccer64]

Ah France, the gift that just keeps on giving.   Now the coach who read the players strike/protest statement yesterday is calling their actions "an imbicility" among other things.

What would you do if you were the coach of France right now?   Would you play your "starters" from the previous games, what you believe is the strongest possible line up?  Or would you play everyone who has not started a game yet?  What would you do as Coach?   Sack the captain, who was a/the ringleader in the portest/strike?   Would you try to whip the team into a frenzy or would you appeal to their patriotism or to their (SO far unseen) professionalism?

>>>>
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa -- France coach Raymond Domenech said his players acted like imbeciles by protesting Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the team by refusing to train just two days before the match that decides their World Cup future.

"I tried to convince them that what they were doing was an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name," Domenech said Monday.


France's team page
For more about Les Bleus and their chances in South Africa this summer, click here.
The players worked out Monday, a day after striking to show their displeasure about Anelka being kicked off the team for getting into a heated exchange with Domenech at halftime of France's loss to Mexico last week.

France plays South Africa on Tuesday in a Group A match it needs to win to stand a chance of advancing. It also needs a winner in the Mexico-Uruguay game to avoid a repeat of the 2008 European Championship, when it went out in the first round.

Patrice Evra's role as captain could be over after only five games, with Domenech refusing to confirm him as his leader after the defender initiated the player walkout.

"I haven't picked the team yet, we will see tomorrow," Domenech said, adding of the players that "they've expended a lot of energy. It's sad."

When Domenech was asked if some players had told him they do not want to play the game, he answered evasively.

"It is a possibility that we will finalize [things] tonight with the staff to see what team we put in place," he said.

Evra was furious at the French Football Federation's decision to send Anelka home late Saturday, amid claims from the players that the FFF denied Anelka a chance to give his side of the story at a news conference.

Having initially said he understood his players' frustration and that what Anelka said -- although abusive -- was something which happens within the locker room, Domenech struck a different note on Monday.

"First of all, I would like to specify that the punishment that was handed out to Nicolas Anelka is justified," Domenech said. "I support the federation in this matter. No one can permit themselves to act like that, either in the dressing room or elsewhere."

FFF secretary Henri Monteil cast doubt whether all the players wanted to strike, speculating that there were "three or four" leaders taking the rest along with them.

Stern-faced and speaking without emotion, Domenech also defended his decision to read out a statement from the players in which they announced their refusal to take part in training. It had surprised many that Domenech agreed to speak on the players' behalf, because it created ambiguity about whether he supported the strike or not.

Domenech said he spent more than 45 minutes trying to talk the players out of the strike, including when the players were on the team bus with the curtains closed. Other federation officials also tried, with one delegate even resigning over the incident, he said.

"At a certain point, I said to myself: 'Stop. We have to put an end to this charade' -- because that is what this was," Domenech said. "Something must be done. Everything was being broadcast live. The French and all the people who were asking themselves what was happening had a right to know. So I took the paper and I read it."

"What I should have said at the end is that in no way do I support this document or this attitude."

<<<<ESPN

[EWSoccer64]

And now John Terry seems to be thinking that England is France, and is trying to tell the coach there, "Don" (as in mafia Don) Fabio who to play what formation to use.   Is Terry anxious to see Joe Cole starting so that he has a chance at Cole's soon to be x-wife?

[EWSoccer64]

Apparently Terry is not taking being stripped of his captaincy very well.

AP>>>Updated Jun 21, 2010 5:54 PM ET
England coach Fabio Capello criticized John Terry for not speaking to him first about the team's poor World Cup performances before talking to the media.

Terry, a former captain, told reporters about team meetings and a proposed discussion with Capello after England's abysmal form in a 0-0 draw with underdog Algeria, a result which threatens to put the team out in the first round for the first time since 1958.

His comments have been viewed as a challenge to Capello's leadership of a team that has not won the title since 1966 but is considered to have its strongest lineup for three decades.


 
2010 FIFA WORLD CUP

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Trecker: Who will advance to Rd. 2?
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Lessons learned from Brazil's win
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"This is the big mistake, this is the very big mistake," Capello said Monday in an interview with British TV channel ITV1. "My door is always open. If people want to speak with me, they can speak with me.

"Every time we have a meeting, I ask the captain: 'Problems? You want to say something?' Never. Then I read yesterday that John Terry said this. I don't understand why he doesn't speak with me. When you speak you have to speak privately, not with the media."

Capello took the captaincy from Terry after newspaper revelations about his private life. He made Rio Ferdinand his captain but then appointed Steven Gerrard after Ferdinand was ruled out with a left knee injury.

With only two points from two games, England will go out if it fails to beat Slovenia at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

Slovenia tops Group C with four points, the United States and England have two and Algeria has one. The Americans and Algerians meet in the other group game at the same time.

The latest problem to hit England is the fallout from Terry's claim that some players had their own meeting to discuss grievances with team management. There were reports in the British media on Monday that Terry's teammates had told him to keep quiet.

"I think he is more disappointed. I know sometimes players want to speak more with you (the media) than with the other players," Capello said. "But the mistake is that you have to speak with the players, with me, with the dressing room."


 
GROUP C
Sat., Jun. 12
England 1-1 United States | Recap
Sun., Jun. 13
Algeria 0-1 Slovenia | Recap
Fri., Jun. 18
Slovenia 2-2 United States | Recap
England 0-0 Algeria | Recap
Wed., Jun. 23
United States vs. Algeria
Slovenia vs. England
Standings | Map | Scoreboard
Earlier Monday, midfielder Frank Lampard tried to divert attention back toward the Slovenia match.

Lampard said Terry's comments on the team meeting with Capello was his way of hitting problems "head on." But Lampard denied it was a heated meeting, and stressed that all the players were behind the Italian coach.

"I understand what John is saying because he's passionate," Lampard said. "He's like that as a player. All 23 players deal with things differently. Some people don't want to say too much, some people want to hit things head on. Everyone appreciates that.

"The messages I got yesterday from people was that John was saying some positive things. I think we will try and hit things head on on the training ground."

But Terry also said that, after the game in Cape Town, some of the players talked over the match between themselves.

Although he did not reveal exactly what they said, some media reported they decided to tell Capello the team needed to play with a 4-5-1 formation instead of 4-4-2, with Wayne Rooney up front on his own and Joe Cole added to the midfield.

The reports said that the rest of the players were furious with Terry for revealing details of the meeting, which appeared to undermine Capello's running of the team.

After the match against Algeria, England players were booed by their own fans.

Because heavy rain has left the playing surface at Nelson Mandela Stadium in poor condition, England and Slovenia will not be able to train on it on Tuesday. England said it will stay behind at its training camp in Rustenburg to hold its training session there and fly to Port Elizabeth later in the day.

<<<

[sounderfan]

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-413-Seattle-Soccer-Examiner~y2010m6d23-National-TV-audience-sees-Seattle-erupt-with-joy-at-American-World-Cup-miracle-finish

Two tv screen caps from Seattle's Atlantic Crossing just after Donovan's goal.

[English1]

Thank goodness I still have street cred...I was dreading the smack talk!  Great job USA, pity you weren't in England Donavon, you would have been Knighted for that goal 

[Brat Jr]

Thank goodness I still have street cred...I was dreading the smack talk!  Great job USA, pity you weren't in England Donavon, you would have been Knighted for that goal 

I think he deserves it anyway

[EWSoccer64]

Engerland vs Duetschland......   A very intrigueing match up.   Both teams seem to rise to difficult situations, except Germany does it more successfully.   On paper, England has the better players (except in goal) but then France had a good team on paper too.     I pick Germany, 2-1.

USA vs Ghana....   The Sequal.    A more straight forward match up, I think.   The US is a bit more unorthodox than Germany (Hell, who isn't?) and that will cause difficulties for Ghana.  Prediction - USA 2, Ghana 1, with Ghana picking up a red card.   Ghana scored after the USA is up by two, to make it an exciting ending.

[Left Foot]

I must admit to experiencing a certain amount (actually quite a bit) of schadenfreude.

Bye bye to the whinny French!

And the same to the faking, cheating [removed to avoid spoiling the great fun for those not watching live]

But, if you know who I'm referring to ............

[yote19]

Italy is out???  I haven't heard....

[Left Foot]

Italy is out???  I haven't heard....

Nope. Not as far as I know. The worst fakers and cheaters are though....