World Cup 2006

[Esquilinho]

OMG! Don't these guys practice the penalties???

[fryke]

Seems like (although I heard before the game that they _actually_ did train penalties that afternoon...). My tears are low in number, though, since they _should_ and could have made it clear in the 30 minutes _before_ the penalty shoot-off. The shoot-off's always a luck-thing, and no-one should speculate on that. If you can't win the _game_ before it, you're not in the right place at the World Cup.

Now my hopes are with Brazil and Portugal, of course.

[Veljo]

It was very disappointing to see Australia lose to Italy, when Australia clearly played the better overall game. 92 minutes in it was still 0-0 and the game was looking to be heading into a fantastic nail-biting penalty shoot-out, until a terrible call from the referee gave Italy a penalty shot — which they got. Losing 1-0 for this reason is terrible, but I'm very proud of Australia for getting this far, considering they'd never before even scored a goal in the World Cup.

My hopes now lie with Germany.

[bbloke]

Originally Posted by Esquilinho

I think it was Holland's fault… OK, I may sound biased, but still…
It was like they were doing it on purpose, maybe trying to provoke the Portuguese team so they would lose their head and be all thrown out…

I mainly agree with you. I think the Dutch behaved disgracefully, and I only wish they could be further penalized! They were completely unsportsmanlike, they were faking fouls/injuries all over the place, and I was very disappointed by them. Robben, in particular, will always be a cheat in my eyes. I was glad they were knocked out. This after I had previously wanted to see them do well!

I don't think it was 100% Holland's fault, though. Deco's challenge was incredibly rash and, no matter how angry you get, you should never lash out like that. Costinha was rash too and was careless more than once, so he did deserve to be sent off. Also, Figo was not that well behaved... He headbutted someone (although not with lots of force) and he did rather exaggerate to get Boulahrouz deliberately sent off. Despite this, I do think the majority of the blame lies with the Dutch and with the referee. There are just far too many cards in this tournament, FIFA are really spoiling things.

Gosh, feels like I'm one of very few here supporting England!

[fryke]

On the other hand, the game Switzerland vs. Ukraine was almost without cards. I felt that this was rather good for the game, although there were some instances, where the blow of a whistle was clearly missing. ... I guess the trick would be to adapt to the referee - but it doesn't seem like teams can actually do that.

[bbloke]

A shame to see Ghana go out, but I didn't really expect a different result against Brazil. As for the match between Spain and France, I was surprised that France won, as Spain seemed to be doing very well. Spain is another national side that seems to not do as well as one might expect.

Once more, I was very disappointed by the acting during that match. I'm not sure if the players in the tournament are interested in the World Cup or the Oscars. I think it was Torres (?) who went over the top when Viera slightly caught him in the face. Also, what on earth was Henry doing, blatantly diving and clutching his face when no contact was made?! I was very disappointed in him.

Personally, I think diving and acting should warrant a yellow card or even a red card sometimes, particularly when the player doesn't just go down but actually tries to convince the referee to send someone off. For instance, people who go down grabbing their face when there was little or no contact should, in my view, be sent off. I know there is always some acting. I know people sometimes hit the ground when they could have stayed up. Is it just me, however, or are players getting worse for this sort of thing?

[reed]

France vs Germany for the final anyone? No way?
Yellow/red cards "a gogo" Portugal vs England?
Argentina vs Germany, dido?
Italy....good actors. As usual. Cheap win. I was hoping for overtime.

And the referees?

Your objective opinions. Please.

PS There were so many Frenchmen saying France would not beat Spain. Goes to show you. A question of confidence perhaps.

May the best team win.

[Rhisiart]

Sorry Fryke, but one British commentator described watching Switzerland the other night as being akin to watching creosote dry. It was a negative performance and I don't think Switzerland deserved to go further in the competition.

However, I know Switzerland can play very well and I hope they bounce back and show us their strengths in the next Euro competition.

Germany vs. Argentina? Germany is playing well as a team and the Argies have some weaknesses in their defence. However, my head says Argentina to win.

I think England can beat Portugal (sorry Esquilinho), but then they will face either Brazil or France.

Final? Argentina vs. Brazil (with the latter winning).