World Cup 2006

The French Team is "too old," badly managed, not unified at all and deserve to be eliminated. This isn't my point of view, this is what I hear (with few exceptions) in the cafés in Paris. Yikes!
They need two points over Togo, but "I wouldn't put my money on it."
Henry can't do it alone is the feeling I get.
And even if they pass...they're going to confront Spain. Double yikes!
Dommage.
 
Ooooh, I saw the highlights of the game between Togo and Switzerland. It was a much closer run thing than I expected! Togo also weren't given a penalty for a clear foul. A few heart-stopping moments, fryke? ;)

Glad to hear you're supporting England, rhisiart. :) Some people from Scotland and Wales that I know would never support England. That sometimes irked me, as it seemed unnecessarily hostile; for instance, I'd support other British teams in a competition, not just England, although I'd focus on England most of all.

Spain certainly seem to be doing very well. I've always had this perception that Spain were like England: they seemed to have the ability on paper, but don't manage to do as well as they could when it comes to the tournaments. I never knew why.

Ecuador and Argentina are supposed to look quite formidable too, although I haven't watched them play yet.

So, today we have:

Ecuador vs. Germany

Costa Rica vs. Poland

Paraguay vs. Trinidad and Tobago

Sweden vs. England
 
Hm. Yeah, a few heart-stopping moments, but Switzerland was definitely the better team, and being one goal ahead, it was easier to live through the match. ;) ... I'm not exactly sure I'm going to watch today's Germany game. That group's too clear already. England is interesting, though. They didn't exactly "wow" me so far. Spain, btw., had a *very* hard time yesterday. Until minute 71, that is.
 
bbloke said:
Glad to hear you're supporting England, rhisiart. :) Some people from Scotland and Wales that I know would never support England. That sometimes irked me, as it seemed unnecessarily hostile; for instance, I'd support other British teams in a competition, not just England, although I'd focus on England most of all.
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The only thing about England I dislike is the press.
 
The English media have a terrible habit of destroying managers, players and hyping a group of players to unreal expectations. I would take Spain ahead of England on a given day. They can hold onto and pass the ball far better than the current English team. Watching a Premiership game and a La Liga game is a real eye opener. Sky Sports and the English media would have you believe that the Premiership is a standard bearer for football and therefore the best players in the Premiership must be capable of winning the world cup, at the moment this is simply not true. There are some quality players in the English squad but they currently lack a real playmaker in and around midfield. I suppose I just get tired of hearing about '66 and the same media merry-go-round every four years! Their most successful run since '66 was in 1990 (semi-finals)
 
lilbandit said:
The English media have a terrible habit of destroying managers, players
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Yup, alas...
and hyping a group of players to unreal expectations.
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Possibly.
I would take Spain ahead of England on a given day. They can hold onto and pass the ball far better than the current English team. Watching a Premiership game and a La Liga game is a real eye opener. Sky Sports and the English media would have you believe that the Premiership is a standard bearer for football and therefore the best players in the Premiership must be capable of winning the world cup, at the moment this is simply not true. There are some quality players in the English squad but they currently lack a real playmaker in and around midfield. I suppose I just get tired of hearing about '66 and the same media merry-go-round every four years! Their most successful run since '66 was in 1990 (semi-finals)
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Awww, this is a little harsh. I take your point to some degree. I think there is too much hype right now and I don't see England winning the World Cup, much as I'd like them to.

I do think there are some really good players in the squad, there's a lot of young talent which will put us in good stead for the future. I genuinely think there are issues about getting the England team to gel and work together. I've felt for years that the players often don't perform as well as they do for their clubs. This isn't about not being able to when up against better opposition; they just seem to start making silly, uncharacteristic mistakes. I don't know if it is the pressure, confusion about roles, lack of understanding between players, or what it is.

I also think there is a great difference in styles between Continental and English and Scottish leagues. The UK leagues tend to be faster and more physical. This can, in my view, mean UK players keep getting penalized for things we'd not normally consider a foul. Although UK players do it too, I also feel there is more "diving" and "acting" with Continental teams (I'm not saying English teams don't do it at all!). English teams probably prefer speed and a physical game, and Continental teams seem more likely to take the passing route. I'm not saying one method is miles better than another, just the goal posts are shifted when it comes to the nature of the game and what players are used to. Perhaps I'm simplifying too much.

I'm no expert, I'll admit. However, when I've watched Italian and Spanish league games, I've not been that impressed, though. Spain and Italy do possess some excellent players and some big, big clubs with huge reputations, I'm not denying that. It's just the style of play is not for me.

I had a look for a bit of history:

UEFA Cup stats:
Nation ... Winners ... Runners-up
England ... 10 ... 8
Italy ... 10 ... 8
Spain ... 10 ... 6
Germany ... 6 ... 7
Netherlands ... 4 ... 2


UEFA Cup Winner's Cup stats:
Nation ... Winners ... Runners-up
England ... 8 ... 5
Spain ... 7 ... 7
Italy ... 7 ... 4
Germany ... 5 ... 4
Belgium ... 3 ... 4


European Cup and Champions League stats:
Nation ... Winners ... Runners-up
Spain ... 11 ... 9
Italy ... 10 ... 14
England ... 10 ... 3
Germany ... 6 ... 7
Netherlands ... 6 ... 2

So I wouldn't say England and English clubs are massively over-hyped and that we take a backseat to other European nations. I don't think England are Brazil right now, but I think they have a chance if they play to their potential... which they are not doing. A few foreign observers (coaches, ex-players, etc.) too have actually tipped England to be one of the potential winners, it's not just propaganda in the English press.
 
I'd say _any_ team reaching the next round has their chance. I don't really see any _bad_ teams, and even Brazil, England, Argentina and Germany have their bad days. What good are all those tables if a team wins which wasn't expected to win. The tables change. ;)

I just want to add that watching Sweden vs. England, I _am_ now "wowed". That goal was very nice indeed. And certainly a little hard to swallow for Sweden's goalie.
 
All kinds of fun and games in tomorrows media, Rooney didn't look happy coming off! Wonder if Sven told him that he'd play for 85-90 mins? Owen stretchered off too. Sweden are a team that have always been well managed and organised, but many of the players play/played for very average Premiership clubs eg. Villa and Everton. The rest are scattered among the Swedish domestic league and around Europe (Larrson plays for Barca but he's 35!!) I suppose my point is that I can't understand how the cream of the Premiership is struggling against very average teams (Trinidad/Paraguay) and a Swedish team that does not have (on paper at least) anything like the pedigree England have available. England also lost 1-0 to Northern Ireland during their qualification yet many English fans (not all!) automatically consider themselves among the favourites every four years. bbloke, I realise that English clubs have had success in Europe but watching England so far it just looks like they are waiting for a set piece to score. Cole's goal was spectacular but they didn't look like scoring from general play. Sweden were the same, most of their real chances came from corners and free kicks. I just feel that a side that can pass a ball and be clever in midfield will always beat a team that relies on set pieces. Imagine Argentina running at England instead of Sweden!
 
:D I like the new avatar, fryke.

fryke said:
I'd say _any_ team reaching the next round has their chance. I don't really see any _bad_ teams, and even Brazil, England, Argentina and Germany have their bad days. What good are all those tables if a team wins which wasn't expected to win. The tables change. ;)
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Yup, I'd agree with all that. :)

England are not playing their best by any stretch of the imagination. It doesn't help that England are also looking rather under strength, with the number of their players who are currently injured or are coming back from injury.

I just want to add that watching Sweden vs. England, I _am_ now "wowed". That goal was very nice indeed. And certainly a little hard to swallow for Sweden's goalie.
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Hehehehe

Also, Gerrard's goal against Trinidad and Tobago was very good too. You might want to see that if you can somehow; another long range strike, and with the "wrong" foot.

As for the match........... arrrrrrrrrgggggghhhh, so close! It was good England didn't lose, but it was annoying to go ahead twice, only for Sweden to come back... and the final goal was on the 90th minute! So, what is it? 38 years that England haven't beaten Sweden or something?

The first half was beginning to look more like England playing more to their potential. I was very pleased with it, and it look like England were playing like they should. A disaster with Michael Owen being injured, possibly seriously, within the first minute. :eek: Joe Cole's goal was very impressive, though!

In the second half, England looked pretty shambolic. The defence was just nowhere near their usual standard, and then Ferdinand looked potentially injured. Sweden then came back when they got a goal, when there was a bit of a scramble in the penalty area. *sigh* Gerrard scored from a header in the 85th minute and it looked at last like the jinx might have been broken. Then Sweden scored a rather bizarre, scrambled goal in the penalty area in the 90th minute. Argh, not again!
 
lilbandit said:
I suppose my point is that I can't understand how the cream of the Premiership is struggling against very average teams (Trinidad/Paraguay) and a Swedish team that does not have (on paper at least) anything like the pedigree England have available. England also lost 1-0 to Northern Ireland during their qualification yet many English fans (not all!) automatically consider themselves among the favourites every four years.
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Yup, I know what you mean. Essentially, I feel like we have a good team on paper, but the team is just not "working" yet! Why, I don't know. It's very frustrating to watch...

bbloke, I realise that English clubs have had success in Europe but watching England so far it just looks like they are waiting for a set piece to score. Cole's goal was spectacular but they didn't look like scoring from general play.
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Mmmm, I'm not sure if I'd go as far as that, although I kind of know what you mean. True, England do like Beckham's free kicks and so on, but they did have a number of shots when they were applying pressure in open play, and neither of England's goals came from set pieces this time. I'd say England played well in the first half, but really did not play well in the second half.

Sweden were the same, most of their real chances came from corners and free kicks.
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Yes. Both their goals came from set pieces if my memory is correct and, erm, were not the best goals in the world in my view. Both times the England defence slipped up during a scramble in the penalty area. But, hey, at this level, the defence can't go making mistakes like that...

I just feel that a side that can pass a ball and be clever in midfield will always beat a team that relies on set pieces. Imagine Argentina running at England instead of Sweden!
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I don't disagree about how England should not rely on set pieces. England should be doing better than they are. They have won the group, but they are not playing like many feel they should. It's not really come together yet. Hopefully it is a matter of time, but it is also rather worrying that England's forwards are not the strongest asset at the moment: Rooney is coming back from serious injury, Owen has been out for most of the season with a serious injury and has now possibly picked up another one, and Crouch is OK, but he's not the best player in the world. Especially when playing like this, England needs all the "bite" it can get! :rolleyes:
 
The problem with Germany's showing today was that 5 starting Ecuador players were benched to save them for the next round (they were all carrying yellow cards). In my mind that makes their 3-0 win much less impressive.
 
Bad news about Michael Owen, out for 6 months. He has to be the most injury prone player I have ever seen. He's only 25 but spends most of every season on the bench.
 
lilbandit said:
Bad news about Michael Owen, out for 6 months. He has to be the most injury prone player I have ever seen. He's only 25 but spends most of every season on the bench.
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I know, it's not good news. :(

This coupled with Owen already having just come back from injury anyway, Rooney rapidly coming back aftr a broken foot, Ferdinand going off with groin problems yesterday, Neville still having an injured calf, Campbell having not played much of the season, Walcott picking something up in training not long ago, Gerrard possibly having some niggly back problems (?), Ashley Cole coming back from injury not so long ago, and so on. It seems the team has quite a few injury issues. I know teams always have these, but there seem to be a few major players who are having problems at the same time. *sigh*
 
Hm. :) ... Portugal's the third team I'm cheering for, actually. (Switzerland, Brazil, Portugal.) I am thinking about getting a Portugal shirt tomorrow. Love the colour, haven't had a football shirt for more than 20 years, I guess... And the last one had the same colour (SFC, Servette FC, Genève, Swiss club.)
 
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