Curse

Pompeyfan · Jun 24, 2006, 04:17 PM // 16:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordDeArnise

Ronaldo, eh? Yeah, he's probably not the big-time striker he used to be, being older and all and playing for a top Greek club instead of being somewhere in Spain, Germany, Italy, or England. He's still a good striker, even if he can't run as fast as he used to.

Ronaldo plays in Spain for Real Madrid not a Greek side.

Germany are starting to look good (2-0 up against Sweden atm) and Argentina have been impressive. From what I've seen (ie every match so far) I can see the winners coming from Spain, Argentina, Holland or Germany as they've all impressed me the most.

LordDeArnise · Jun 24, 2006, 07:58 PM // 19:58

Thanks, Pompeyfan, I don't follow much of the club leagues other than the English Premier League here in America.

Argentina 2, Mexico 1 (OT)

Great match, could've gone either way. All the goals were nice, but the GW goal by Rodriguez was a spectacular left-footed kick. Germany v. Argentina will be a big-time Quarterfinal Matchup.

SUNDAY ROUND OF 16 MATCH PREDICTIONS

England beats Ecuador by 1 goal. Can go either way, though, as Ecuador is playing with confidence and England has some voids to fill in after Michael Owen tore his ACL.
Portugal beats The Netherlands by 1 goal. Again, can go either way, as you're looking at two European powerhouses squaring off against one another.

d3kst3r · Jun 25, 2006, 01:12 AM // 01:12

For all the Ronaldo bashers out there, he might be obese but look at Maradonna!

LordDeArnise · Jun 25, 2006, 02:21 AM // 02:21

Yeah, we know all about Diego Maradonna, but he didn't grow in size while he was still playing International Soccer as compared to Ronaldo.

Opeth11 · Jun 25, 2006, 02:44 AM // 02:44

I don't know if it's just me, but I felt that Sweden threw the game today to Germany. I didn't fully watch the game, but my father was screaming about a missed penalty shot or something from the Swedes.

After all, there are lots of German fans out in..Germany... If Germany was to be knocked at at this early of a stage, couldn't there be a possible riot?

There were also rumours that Germany had already booked hotel rooms in Berlin for their next match.

Conspiriracy to stop riot? Maybe!

Malice Black · Jun 25, 2006, 02:59 AM // 02:59

england....piss poor as always, thank god that boring lump of a swede is going

argentina still weak in defense..nothing new
germany..as above, will collapse against a bigger team
brazil..wtf..ronaldo lol time to retire that nobody
spain..if they learn to play with each other..will win
holland..good players poor team

come on ghana

i'll buy everyone a beer if they win

Opeth11 · Jun 25, 2006, 03:18 AM // 03:18

Go Ghana then!

-Old 3FL- · Jun 25, 2006, 03:41 AM // 03:41

England Ftw =)

awesome sauce · Jun 25, 2006, 04:41 AM // 04:41

I wanna know how the u.s. got r5 while germany, england and argentina all had a worse rank than them.

Eonwe · Jun 25, 2006, 05:20 AM // 05:20

The US had some pretty good talent this year but unfortunately their coach was a bloody idiot.

LordDeArnise · Jun 25, 2006, 06:41 AM // 06:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by awesome sauce

I wanna know how the u.s. got r5 while germany, england and argentina all had a worse rank than them.

Not real sure, but I think it was due to their strong showing in the 2002 World Cup, finishing 4th, and a similar strong showing in the qualifiers. They couldn't play well in a tough group with a strong Italian side and a mighty Ghana team. If the American side wants to rebound off that dismal showing and make a bid for being in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing or the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, then they need younger players and a much better coach.

The Real Roy Keane · Jun 25, 2006, 02:20 PM // 14:20

World rankings are based on friendlies and performance in qualifiers. The likes of th U.S and Japan were highly ranked because the competition in their regions is fairly poor, while there are a great number of strong teams in Europe.

P.S. Go on equador!

Edge Martinez · Jun 25, 2006, 06:36 PM // 18:36

My boss, a brit, recently made picking a team to cheer for out of what's left real easy.

I'm cheering on whoever plays England. Whoever plays England is the team I want to win the world cup.

Kind of like American football... everyone has their favorite team, and everyone's second favorite team is whoever plays Dallas.

I pwnd U · Jun 25, 2006, 06:44 PM // 18:44

The Argentina Mexico game was GREAT! Quailty play from both sides in that win. The game winning goal was a thing of beauty, just a great shot off a free kick.

Germany pretty much dominated that game, even with Sweden playing a man down. That PK kick was horrible, missed it by a mile. Dont think that would of brought the Swedes back even if he had made it.

Engalnd and Ecuador played alright, both played too catiously for it to be a good game. Rooney showed signs of rust, and Beckham seemed to be bothered by the heat and dehydration. Beckhams goal was just a wonderful shot, that goalie gave up too much and he put it right on the post and it, nothing anyone could do about that, just a great shot.

LordDeArnise · Jun 25, 2006, 09:14 PM // 21:14

England 1, Ecuador 0
Portugal 1, The Netherlands 0

* I think the summer heat took alot out of both the English and Ecuadorean sides, but that bending goal by Beckham was a real beauty.

* Maniche's goal for the Portugese was a great finish to a great attack setup, but the Russian referee seemed to lose his cool. Alot of bookings plus 4 sent-offs (2 Dutch & 2 Portugese), and plenty of shoving. Portugal will not have Deco to help them go up against the Englanders. Still, it should be a great match.

MONDAY ROUND OF 16 MATCH PREDICTIONS

Italy beats Australia by 1 goal - The Socceroos should play their heart out in this one, but in the end, I think the Italians will sport the superior play.

Ukraine beats Switzerland by 1 goal - Both teams are playing strong, and since the Swiss defenders will have their eye on Svenchenko, I think that will open up the attack for his Ukranian teammates. Should be a great match.

Hailfall · Jun 25, 2006, 09:27 PM // 21:27

The Netherlands are out of the competition and that is what I hoped/expected.. they didn't perform 100% :\

Malice Black · Jun 25, 2006, 09:41 PM // 21:41

the rematch is on!!

englang vs the divers

i work with a shit load of portugese..so i got a lot of stick when we lost last time, time for england to show some class because lets face it they sucked so far

best player - J cole
worst - lampard/gerrard (these two need to start preforming or we are f#cked)

the swedes choice of stikers..ewww

owen - past it
rooney - unfit/unreliable
walcott - pmsl send him back to pre school
crouch - needs a good yr in the gym

players that should have been included

bent - 1 of the top scores
defoe - better/quicker/fitter then owen
wright phillips - played well despite making a bad choice and signing for the russian

TurinPT · Jun 26, 2006, 02:49 AM // 02:49

wow whats with the Portugal vs Netherlands referee, he completely lost control, a yellow for every little thing... well at least he was unfair to both sides.

I pwnd U · Jun 26, 2006, 02:55 AM // 02:55

The guy was a Russian ref, fyi. That really doesnt have anything to do with all the cards though. Yes he was giving out bad calls and too many cards but after the Netherlands lack of sportsmanship and the tackle from behind, what else was he to do? People started pushing and shoving, he had to give out cards, there was no talking to them. Yes he gave out a stupid card to Deco and probably should of given a card to the Netherlands player instead or atleast given the Netherlands player one as well. Really the ref had to give out the cards after the scuffle.

LordDeArnise · Jun 26, 2006, 03:03 AM // 03:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malice Black

the rematch is on!!

englang vs the divers

i work with a shit load of portugese..so i got a lot of stick when we lost last time, time for england to show some class because lets face it they sucked so far

best player - J cole
worst - lampard/gerrard (these two need to start preforming or we are f#cked)

the swedes choice of stikers..ewww

owen - past it
rooney - unfit/unreliable
walcott - pmsl send him back to pre school
crouch - needs a good yr in the gym

players that should have been included

bent - 1 of the top scores
defoe - better/quicker/fitter then owen
wright phillips - played well despite making a bad choice and signing for the russian

Shawn(?) Wright-Phillips signed with Chelsea? Hhmmm... I'm not very familiar with Bent, although I have seen Defoe play for his club. Owen and Rooney, I can understand why they were added into the squad, but I'm not too familiar with Walcott and Crouch in terms of which clubs they play for.

England v. Portugal should be a real good match.