World Cup 2010

[Mero]

Well done to England for actually producing a decent performance yesterday, it's a shame its all going to end on Sunday but at least we've got this far


Surely Denmark will have too much for Japan?

[null1024]

Italy v Slovakia was AMAZING to watch. Shame Italy lost though, they put on an absolutely stunning show in the second half.

[CIT]

Whoa, Italy is out! I wonder what made Lippi come out of retirement, he could've been a legend.

New Zealand is out too right? Too bad, they didn't even lose a single game! Who would've thought that!?

[neorichieb1971]

I don't know whats going on. The higher ranked teams are finding it difficult. The lower ranked teams are all making a statement. It seems that in just 5 days it went from boring to shocking. I've never seen a world cup like this before.

Ghana or the USA will make the quarters

England or Germany means one less big heavy weight in the mix

[antron]

England or Germany means one less big heavy weight in the mix

a heavy weight should have been at the top of their group

[Dragoforce]

New Zealand is out too right? Too bad, they didn't even lose a single game! Who would've thought that!?

Wow, and here i was that New Zealand was the wost team ever to compete in the world cup. Great going kiwis!

[GaijinPunch]

Ghana or the USA will make the quarters

That shocking? US made the quarters in 2002. They were knocked out in round 2 by the winners of the tournament in 2006.

A mate was stating that the US should just be prepared for the most biased officiating from here on out. They're like trying to find an impartial jury after a nationwide manhunt for someone that killed babies.

[neorichieb1971]

Japan played really really well tonight. I love their passion, nothing like 10 little men running around the pitch like 50cc chicken chasers. One guy was called Honda and he was great, except he was a 100cc.

England would have topped their group if -

A) Green didn't drop the ball
B) USA didn't score a last minute goal

USA on other hand should have won the Slovenia game outright. If England win the world cup now they deserve it. Their final matches will likely be Germany, Argentina, Spain to get to the final. If they get through that mine field they are the luckiest team on earth. Because I don't believe England have the skill and running power for it.

[1up]

Italy, the defending world champs, finishing LAST in their group is the upset in the history of the world cup. Atleast its the most shocking so far

congrats to japan for beating us, and beating us good, yesterday. Awesome goals on those free kicks. I really hope that the paper rip the whole team a new one today, and that we get a new coach and 'younger' players. average age on our team is 29,3, I think it was.

[JAPJAC]

Don't be an armchair supporter, post your pics of supporting your country out and about, where ever you may be.

[CIT]

I sense your optimism.

Not necessarily. If England play the way they're meant to they should be able to defeat Germany. For Germany it just depends on the shape England are in.

If England loose, Germany will probably face Argentina next, and then Spain. Not very likely they will win all those games.

USA on the other hand have a good chance of getting to the semis I reckon.

[t0yrobo]

Well so much for the US. No surprise though, you can only win so many games when you only really play for the second half. It was a good match regardless though.

[neorichieb1971]

Ghana played well enough to justify their passage through. I think had England played Ghana they would have struggled a bit. The teams that have made it this far are there because they deserve to be. In reality no easy teams exist right now.

[Ed Oscuro]

One of these days the US will come back from behind at halftime...though I'd rather see us not having to make things hard on ourselves. Was a good run, good job for Ghana. It will be interesting to see how much further they go.

[caldwert]

There's a reason Howard doesn't play at Man U anymore, same with Bocanegra at Fulham. All in all, the game might have been different had Bradley started with the proper lineup but he made up for it by fixing it quickly with Edu in for Clark, and then Feilhaber on as another mid instead of Findley. So we still had a full half of proper lineup out there. I can't complain about the loss as I thought we played alright, same with Ghana although their antics got a bit much at the end. Howard spazzed out and got beat on both goals, especially the last one. Bocanegra I've always thought sucked, so no different opinion after this game.

[brentsg]

I thought Howard was a bit weak on both goals, but mostly the second. He played well enough though, and certainly as well as the rest of the side. The US looked a bit flat. I'd have to watch it again, but I don't recall any of our crosses that were even the least bit dangerous. We absolutely got schooled in the midfield the first half. I dunno if it was fatigue or what but there was too little movement off the ball and they tended to wait for the game to come to them.

Our striker play really separates us from the top tier though. Excellent chances are few and far between so you need to capitalize on them. Way too many wasted opportunities.

[caldwert]

I agree on the 2nd goal. I really thought Howard overplayed it a bit as he tends to do at Everton from time to time. That said, if we start the game with the right lineup, we win I think. We still had some chances though. Our crossing is dogshit though in my opinion.

[Mero]

England absolutely fucking shite in the first 30 mins, absolutely fucking all over the place at the back and conceded 2 easy goals. At least wei mproved a bit in the last 15 of the 1st half and pulled one back, it should be 2-2 but for the fucking blind linesman disallowing a goal that was clearly over the line

Been a pretty good game so far

Half time : Germany 2 - 1 England

[system11]

That ref is pathetic, everyone knew it was in - even the German fans were shouting about it.

[null1024]

England v. Germany should be 2-2 right now [halftime]. England was denied a goal [bounced from the upper bar, past the line, bounced out].
We need fucking video review in soccer, ref didn't think the ball went in...

[and I want Germany to win, but the US fiasco with their denied goals makes this something that's bothering me]


[edit]
Oh shit, ninja'd.

[lewisit]

england clearly got robbed of it's second goal - noone [even in germany] doubts that !!!

this is neither fair nor fun

[system11]

Well - it's rather academic now. Oh dear - what a mess. England looked so strong in the later stages of the second half but we've been crushed.

[Mero]

Well, I knew England were going to lose today but I didn't expect this. 'Defensively shambolic' is the phrase that springs to mind. It is also Englands worst defeat in World Cup history, just to pour more salt into the wound


I expect Capello to resign by midnight tonight, his position is untenable now

[Jockel]

I normally don't watch football matches, but this one was pretty interesting.
England pwned. Suck on that, japjac.

[Limbrooke]

And at Wembley, Mr. McElroy locks up.

I missed all the German goals but saw both of Englands goals. Shame the linesman only saw one. Closing comment on the England squad, Rooney was stifled/ineffective the entire tournament and that can go a long way methinks. Compare that to the German go-to men: Klose, Podolski, etc.. Gerard and Lampard definitely showed life but with little support. Also, nice to see Joe Cole finally get in a match. The better team won and even though I've supported Germany in the past I can't help but feel a bit let-down by this match.

[CIT]

Wow, what an exciting game, my anguish over the US defeat has dissolved into joy. The whack job refereeing we've seen so far in this Cup has reached new heights, not counting that goal was totally ridiculous. Probably wouldn't have made that much difference in the end, but still, I feel sorry for England fans, quite a cruel outcome.

[monkeyman]

Am I the only one who was a little relived when the 3rd and 4th German goals went in? After all, best to go out because your team was outclassed than to go out because of dodgy (to put it mildly) reffing - or worse yet: penalties.

It says something when even the hooligans were too dejected to trash the town centre come full time.

[professor ganson]

Time to implement an instant-replay system, like in the NFL.

[CIT]

No, that sort of drama is part of what makes soccer so exciting.

...at least that's what FIFA argues.

[Jockel]

No, that sort of drama is part of what makes soccer so exciting.

...at least that's what Mr. Netzer argues.