World Cup 2006!

[mr_pikachu]

The biggest event in the world of soccer/football is underway! The first games in group play are coming to a close, and the competition is fierce for the right to advance to the final tournament! Some nations like the U.S. are stuggling to live up to their great expectations, while others such as Trinidad & Tobago have already recorded stunning results. But who will advance? The next four weeks will reveal who achieves and who leaves early.

So, what are your thoughts on this year's tournament? Are you cheering for your favorite team? Have a particular player in mind? Planning to watch from home, or go there in person? Or are you even watching at all? Let us know what you have to say!

As an American, I can't help but root for the U.S. So their catastrophic 3-0 loss to the Czechs in their opener was very distressing for me. Hopefully the Italians are as shaky as some commentators have believed. Otherwise, the miracle team from 2002 won't last long in '06.

Also, I'll be updating these standings periodically. So stay tuned to this thread for all your World Cup news!



LAST UPDATE: After Match 36




WORLD CUP STANDINGS - GROUP PLAY

32 teams are divided into eight groups of four. Each team plays all other teams in the same group once, earning 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The top two teams from each group will advance to the single-elimination tournament. In the event of a tie between teams in a group, the superior team will be determined through a system of tiebreaks. Starting from the first tiebreak, each one will be considered in order until the tie is broken. Any remaining tiebreaks in the list will be irrelevant.


(a) Greater number of points in group
(b) Goal differential in group
(c) Goals scored in group
(d) Head-to-head result
(e) Head-to-head goal differential
(f) Goals scored head-to-head
(g) Drawn lots


Group A Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Germany 3 3 0 0 8 2 6 9 FINAL
2 Ecuador 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6 FINAL
3 Poland 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3 FINAL
4 Costa Rica 3 0 0 3 3 9 -6 0 FINAL


Group B Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 England 3 2 1 0 5 2 3 7 FINAL
2 Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 5 FINAL
3 Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3 FINAL
4 Trinidad & Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 -4 1 FINAL



Group C Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Argentina 2 2 0 0 8 1 7 6 Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Netherlands
2 Netherlands 2 2 0 0 3 1 2 6 Serbia & Montenegro, Ivory Coast, Argentina
3 Ivory Coast 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 0 Argentina, Netherlands, Serbia & Montenegro
4 Serbia & Montenegro 2 0 0 2 0 7 -7 0 Netherlands, Argentina, Ivory Coast


Group D Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Portugal 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6 Angola, Iran, Mexico
2 Mexico 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4 Iran, Angola, Portugal
3 Angola 2 0 1 1 0 1 -1 1 Portugal, Mexico, Iran
4 Iran 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0 Mexico, Portugal, Angola


Group E Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Italy 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4 Ghana, United States, Czech Republic
2 Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 3 2 1 3 United States, Ghana, Italy
3 Ghana 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 Italy, Czech Republic, United States
4 United States 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1 Czech Republic, Italy, Ghana


Group F Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Brazil 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6 Croatia, Australia, Japan
2 Australia 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 Japan, Brazil, Croatia
3 Croatia 2 0 1 1 0 1 -1 1 Brazil, Japan, Australia
4 Japan 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2 1 Australia, Croatia, Brazil


Group G Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Switzerland 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4 France, Togo, South Korea
2 South Korea 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4 Togo, France, Switzerland
3 France 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 Switzerland, South Korea, Togo
4 Togo 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0 South Korea, Switzerland, France


Group H Standings GP W D L GS GA GD P OPP
1 Spain 2 2 0 0 7 1 6 6 Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia
2 Ukraine 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3 Spain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia
3 Tunisia 2 0 1 1 3 5 -2 1 Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ukraine
4 Saudi Arabia 2 0 1 1 2 6 -4 1 Tunisia, Ukraine, Spain



Legend
GP: Number of Games Played
W: Number of Wins
L: Number of Losses
D: Number of Draws
GS: Goals Scored
GA: Goals Scored Against
GD: Goal Differential (GS - GA)
P: Points
OPP: Opponents (already played opponents grayed out)
Bolded teams have clinched advancement.
Bolded and italicized teams have clinched first place in their group.
Struckthrough teams have been eliminated from contention for advancement.



Teams Advancing (9, 7 spots left)
Ecuador
Germany
England
Argentina
Netherlands
Portugal
Brazil
Spain
Sweden


Teams Eliminated (8, 8 spots left)
Poland
Costa Rica
Paraguay
Ivory Coast
Serbia & Montenegro
Iran
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago


Remaining Teams (15)
Mexico
Angola
Italy
Czech Republic
Ghana
United States
Australia
Croatia
Japan
South Korea
France
Switzerland
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
Ukraine



TOURNAMENT BRACKET
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/861/worldcup200626or.gif

[Dark Dragonite]

I'm an American...now that I have said that...
I think maybe if we want to win, we should wait for the women, Mia Hamm rocks!!
I say go England, hope they have Beckham playing, I got an England 2006 soccer jersey at Good Will(a thrift store)

[phaedrus]

i predict czech vs brasil in the final, with the brasils pulling through.

[Little_Pikachu]

I'm not going to suddenly start pretending I like the football just because the world cup is on, because I don't, but it's the best chance I'll get to say 'my country will beat your country' when a war isn't involved.

England, what can I say... When the only reason you win against Paraguay is due to an own goal, the future doesn't look too bright. I think we'll be out after the second heats. Having said that I really don't know how good Paraguay are supposed to be, I just know you don't generally associate them in terms of football with the likes of Brazil and Argentina.

I think I'll put £1 on Saudi Arabia to win. I wonder what those odds are.

[Alucard]

I can't stand Football. It's such a boring game where talentless morons play with a lil ball and get payed thousands for doing so. I hope England lose, and judging by the first game, they will.

Maybe then everybody will stop kissing Rooney's ass and treating him like a god and all those stupid ass England flags I keep seeing on houses and cars of retarded chavs will be taken off. But most importantly, there'll be no more football bullshit on Tv. That is, untill shitty tennis starts..

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] Brazil are the favourites to take home their sixth title and I bet they will despite their thin margin win 1- 0 against Croatia in their maiden match. They have a immensly talented squad, full of attacking players like Kaka, Ronaldino, Ronaldo, Robino and others.

However I do wish for a England and Brazil final. Reason being that I am an English Premier League fan and unlike the Serie A and La Liga, the games at EPL is more physical and fast counter attacking. Yes they may be disappointing in that match against Paraguay, I do doubt that Sven will take that lying and he will probably do some tactical changes in his next game against Trinidad & Tobago.

[Kris]

England played badly but in the end we got the points so I guess we need to work on that next time...

Brazil were terrible last night and their goal was extremely lucky, I believe Croatia deserved a win on that one.

From what Ive seen Germany could go on to do quite well!

[MToolen]

I'm currently in favor of Germany. Those Deutschers seem to be doing quite well.

This doesn't mean I like football, though. It was just on at the time and it's something to talk about.

[Dark Dragonite]

I seem to remember something from last year, I think, may have been 2 years ago, and it may have been the olympics, not the World Cup, but I thought I remembered hearing a player got kicked off the team(Ireland?) for calling his coach a wanker.

Anyone else remember this, and could give a little refresher to me?

[mr_pikachu]

I believe that was Roy Keane. He was actually the captain of the Irish team before he quit the team. The big argument with coach Mick McCarthy had to do with the quality of the team's training facilities.

On that note, a Bloomberg article (http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aw8JhrH3qV_U&refer=uk) from April 13 explains that he wanted to play for Ireland once more. Of course, they failed to qualify for the World Cup this year.

By the way, I've updated the standings again to reflect the first two games in Group H. I'll just continue updating the standings at the top of this thread (rather than reposting them each time) so that everyone has easy access to them.


EDIT: Holy cow! Germany finally takes advantage of the foolish red card (75') by Poland's Sobolewski by breaking the scoreless tie in stoppage time! Boruc made some incredible saves in the last 15 minutes of regulation, but he finally faltered when it mattered most. So the hosts remain perfect in group play thanks to a brilliant setup and Neuville's shot.

[Silver Ledian]

I'm rooting for Spain, the famous underachievers of the footballing tournament world. Always make it to the competitions, never achieve what they can. So yip, I've kinda developed an affinity for all things Spanish since I started learning Spanish bout 8 years ago so I'm going for them - and a great start to their competition as they beat Ukraine 4-0 today, with a few spectacular goals ;)

As long as England don't win I'm happy. I think almost every other nation in the world agrees lol, dunno why no one likes the English team but personally I just get sick of hearing every 4 years (actually every 2, when the European championchip comes round) how they are going to win it and how they've the best team / how Rooney is God / how they've never been so strong - unfortunately I'm subject to British tabloids and tv which is full of all this tripe. A section of the news is dedicated to Wayne Rooney's foot condition every night fs. Oh, and get over '66...kinda boring now.

[woz]

ROONEY ROONEY ROONEY ROONEY ROONEY ROONEY ROONEY

[Silver_Persian]

ahahaha Australia is beating Brazil at thw world cup!!!111!!!


This is totally going to last.... ;(

[mr_pikachu]

In just under 15-and-a-half hours, the U.S. will face off against Italy in a crucial game. If they want to have any realistic hope of making it to the round of 16, they must at least draw.

(Technically, they could advance even with a loss to Italy and a win against Ghana, at least from a mathematical standpoint. If Italy scored the maximum nine points by defeating the Czechs in their final group game, and the remaining three teams - the U.S., the Czech Republic, and Ghana - each had 1 win and 2 losses, then the tiebreaker would be the goal differential. This could occur by the following means: Italy wins all three games. In the remaining games, the Czech Republic beats the U.S., Ghana beats the Czech Republic, and the U.S. beats Ghana. Then if the U.S. had a better goal differential than the Czechs or Ghana, they would advance. But the odds against this are so bad that, realistically, the United States must win.

...By the way, the first of those "example games" in the set of three has already occured. That doesn't make the odds of the other two happening any better.)

This will be the true test for the U.S. team to see if they have learned from their mistakes. A win would put them back in legitimate position for advancement; a draw would at least keep some hope alive. But they cannot afford to lose this match, and Arena's team knows it.

[Crazy Elf Boy]

LOL Australia will so win

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] Actually Mr Pikachu, I do not see any realistic chance of US qualifying for the last 16. Judging from Italy's performance against Ghana in which they won 2 -0, the United States would have to perform exceptionally well if they want to overcome powerhouse Italy.

In any case, I will be watching this big one tonight and I am predicting an Italy win with similiar scoreline when they won Ghana, 2-0.

[Ultimate Charizard]

I have to agree with all this OTT Rooney stuff, you gotta wonder what the other players think about it. Im sure theyre releived it takes the spotlight away from them but then saying our team isnt good enough without him?
Im sure the media try to sabotage us anyway they can.

Saying that though i DO beleive England have a fantastic chance. Its the first time weve been able to say we have World Class players in every position for a long time. Lennon proved himself when he came on against T&T, Gerrard finally woke up and Lampard was starting to look more Dangerous. As long as we dont let out defence slip we can be a threat. Oh and by the way, its looking very likely that were gonna get the Germans in the first knockout round.
If were not going to win the Tournament, we at least have to beat them.

BTW can anyone else explain to me how the U.S are ranked #5 in the world by FIFA?

[Magmar]

I'd like to see the Czech Republic win for personal reasons.

[Dark Dragonite]

not looking good, pope just got red carded...so we're down 2 men, italy down 1, and the only reason for the tie right now, is an own goal by Zaccardo...

[mr_pikachu]

What is going on with the referees in U.S. v. Italy?! The first red card is the right call. You throw an elbow into someone's face, you get tossed for the cheap shot. But the second was barely a yellow! While the third was maybe a yellow, and maybe it was Pope's fault for not being more careful... well, frankly, there are just way too many calls being made. As odd as it sounds, sometimes you've just got to let the players go out and play the game. Whether it's cards, fouls, offsides... heck, Italy's been called for countless offsides that haven't been there! :P

Ridiculous. The U.S. is down nine men to ten, and with all the stupid calls, they can't really hope to do anything to mount an attack. When you get called for a foul for bumping into someone, how are you supposed to overcome such a deficit?


EDIT: Despite all sorts of holes all over the field (thanks to the three red cards), the game still ended in a 1-1 tie. Soon after the third ejection, the referee apparently did indeed decide to let the players play the game. So he barely made any calls for the rest of the game - this time, even when he should've! Going from one extreme to another is also horrid, although to be frank, the moron had done enough damage already. That's one of the worst called games that I've ever seen. Let the guy ref 10-year-olds, when parents will sue if you don't make those calls.

By the way, there's a little backstory behind the ref. He was one of four referees in the 2002 World Cup who was suspended from that competition (yes, as a referee!) for irregular calls. At the very least, this game was horribly, horribly called. As the old saying goes, "Players win games, coaches lose games, and referees ruin games."

[Gavin Luper]

CARN THE AUSSIES!

Heheh. I hope we beat Croatia. But if we don't, I hope Croatia somehow win the cup. I have $64 on Croatia to win (not cause I picked them, it was a world cup sweep at work).

The hilarious thing in Australia is that usually the World Cup barely causes a stir at all, except in the lives of diehard soccer fans and migrants ... you get the idea. You'd probably hear about it once or twice in the sports section of the news; very few people would care.

Suddenly the Socceroos qualify and everyone jumps on the band wagon. It's ridiculous; just about every ad on TV has something on about the world cup, and some losers are trying to call it 'football'. (I know that's what it's called almost everywhere, but in Australia it is always called soccer (football=AFL), so it just sounds pretentious.

Go the roos!

[Ultimate Charizard]

Thats the wierd thing.
Football in England is Soccer.
Football in America is ....well American Football
Football in Australia is Rugby

Im in England and im a Die Hard Rugby Leage fan. But it always seems wierd when the Aussie Coaches/players call it Footie.

[Venasaur89]

Well the Argentine vs Holland is next up.....I think argentine gonna win 2-1

[Silencer]

Hard to predict Holland vs Argentina. Both are gonna play with half B-teams. Atleast that was what the paper said, to spare the players with yellow cards (can't take risks right?)

Anyway. I'm hoping Ghana is gonna qualify for the second round. They have brought the most attractive football/soccer so far. They could have beaten Czech with 0-5 or something but Cech(the goalie) just caught everything, besides 2 :p

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] It ends up 0 - 0. Luckily I did not catch the match, I have also heard that the match was pretty boring. And looking from the goal drought, I guess they were right.

As for Ghana, I hope they win the US since they had shown the world that they deserve that last 16 spot than US by beating the Czechs 2 - 0. US on the other hand could only manage a 1 - 1 draw with Italy. However should the match between stays as draw, and Czechs and Italy draws. The two european powerhouses will go through!

[phaedrus]

[b][size=3]
As for Ghana, I hope they win the US since they had shown the world that they deserve that last 16 spot than US by beating the Czechs 2 - 0. US on the other hand could only manage a 1 - 1 draw with Italy. However should the match between stays as draw, and Czechs and Italy draws. The two european powerhouses will go through!


realize that the US played the last half outnumbered and still didn't get scored on. either Italy sucked ass the second half, or the US didn't half-ass that half. most would prefer the latter, however.

i would like to see Ghana win the match, either way.

[Gavin Luper]

Thats the wierd thing.
Football in England is Soccer.
Football in America is ....well American Football
Football in Australia is Rugby


Ack! No! Wrong!

Only rugby-obsessed losers call rugby "footy".

When Australians talk about football, it almost always means footy - as in AFL. Australian Rules Footy. Not Rugby.

*dies*

[Ultimate Charizard]

Ah i see. That game that i just cant figure out.
Its like a bunch of Rugby players couldnt find a Rugby pitch so played on a Cricket field instead. And Rugby Obsessed Losers?
Watch your words lol. All the Aussies i hear over here call it Footie.

[Silver_Persian]

Yay Australia is in the final sixteen!! :)

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] The Aussies are so lucky! They got through with a scrappy 2 - 2 draw with Croatia. All thanks should go to none other than the Liverpool midfielder, Harry Kewell. He has been tormented by injuries these past few years and I certainly hope this goal will stark his comeback to his peak!

However for tonight, we have a tricky fixture here with South Korea, Asia's last hope, against the Swiss and lack-lustre France against knocked- out Togo. Except for Togo, all three other opponents looked certain to qualify should they take their chances seriously.

[Silencer]

The Swiss have enough with a tie since their Goal differential will be higher then Korea. But depending on France Korea will also have enough.

Swiss through with: Win/Tie
Korea through with: Win/Tie if France loses or ties/Tie if France wins with just 1 goal
Frace through with: Win with 2 goals if Swiss-Korea ties/Win if Swiss or Korea loses

But if France wins with 2-1 they have equal amount of goals scored and against Korea and they tied it will have to be a lot draw I think
But if France wins with 3-2, France goes through

Pretty confusing group.

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] My predictions for this group would be a Korea and Swiss draw and a French loss. A draw between Swiss and Koreans is predictable and I hope the French loses just because they played with no teamwork even though they are a squads with talents. Togo on the other hand had nothing but pride to play for.

[Venasaur89]

the portugal vs holland was a amazing match .... I really felt sorry for Ronaldo.....the match was full of cards...but Maniche's goal was wonderful... I hope Portugal beats England in quarter final

[Dark Dragonite]

I predicted the college basketball winner, NBA winner(Go Heat), and I used to be good with Hockey, Baseball, and Football predictions...

Round of 16:
Spain > France
Brazil > Ghana
Italy > Austrailia (How the hell did that happen, damn cheaters!! I know, I dated one)
Switzerland > Ukraine

Quarters:
Germany > Argentina
Switzerland > Italy
England > Portugal
Brazil > Spain

Semis:
Germany > Switzerland
England > Brazil

Finals:
England > Germany
The anticlimactic finish, revenge for the Brits...

EDIT: Italy cheated, like my ex...

[Ultimate Charizard]

[b]THE AUSTRALIANS WERE ROBBED!!!!

Plain and simple. There was no way that was a penalty. Typical diving, cheating italians. I thought they were trying to stamp that out of the World Cup this year!

Oh and DD. Thanks for the Faith in England but we really need to start playing as well as we can to beat Brazil. On yesterdays form we wouldnt stand a Chance. Were just lucky Rooney is almost fully fit with all the Striker problems we have.
(ps: never call England 'the Brits'. You'll have Welsh, Irish, and Definitely the Scottish fans coming to Garrotte you ;))

[Dark Dragonite]

Yeah, with Owens out, it will be hard...but, Beckham came through in the end, then promptly vomitted on the field, lol...

[Ultimate Charizard]

Well it was reported he was 'dehydrated' and wasnt feeling well at the start of the game. Fair play to him that he played for so long, and on the hottest day of the Year so far.
And i dont think anyone can argue there a few Free Kick takers better than him. That Goal was placed as tightly as possible. An Inch either way and it wouldnt have gone in.

[Dark Dragonite]

I don't mean any discredit to him, I think he's one of the best players in the world(no offense to Rooney)m hell they made a movie with a title based on his free kick ability..."Bend It Like Beckham" incase you didn't know.

[Ultimate Charizard]

I wasnt meaning any offence lol. Nah i thought it was funny as hell that he started throwing up after he scored.

The joke in the pub was that he'd just heard what Victoria had planned for the celebrations later ;)

[Heald]

Switzerland/Ukraine was officially the most boring match ever. Even the commentators were saying that.

O wells.

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] Tonight's fixture would be a tricky one. Brazil against Africian underdogs Ghana and France against Spain. God, I hate France and why on earth do they have to qualify? >.<

Spain and Brazil for the win!

[Gavin Luper]

We WERE robbed! I watched the Italy-Australia game live, it was like 1am and with 10 seconds to go they award a friggin penalty for NO REASON.

It was such a cruel end. I was devastated last night. Now I'm just angry and bitter.

[Ultimate Charizard]

Thats the risk of playing the 'Meditteranean' teams. France, Italy and Spain are all as bad as each other for it.

Did you see the last world cup. Roberto Carlos (plays in Spain) got hit in the leg by a ball and falls down holding his face.

[Kris]

Must agree with others, the Aussies were robbed. There was no way that was a foul let alone a penalty. He tripped over him!!!

And the Swiss / Ukraine match? Oh my god, how dull. Even the penalties were bad!

[dratinihaunter13]

gotta love the world cup =D!

my blood and my last vacation has me rooting for italy. i like portugal too (let Deco play FIFA!)

there've been a lot of questionable calls this cup, but flopping (feigning injury) has been a big part of this sport for a while. italy's dude made a great move inside the box for that penalty kick opportunity. realistically, the only way for the aussie to stop his shot was to stick his feet in between the shooter's feet and **** him up. that's a penalty, sorry =P andiamo azzurri!

[Silencer]

NOT a penalty.
Believe me there is going to be great discussion over this.

The aussie slided, italian guy saw him, with his right foot and the ball he went next to the aussie and then he suddenly feels like letting his left foot be caught by the aussie. He could have avoided the aussie easily if he just placed his left foot down and cut to the penalty dot. He just ran into the aussie and fell, the australian guy can't just evaporate, now can he?

[Silencer]

The double posting rule can't stop me from saying this.

I feel sorry for Ghana. Seriously, they were the better team but 3 flashes from Brazil decided the score. The only thing I saw wrong with Ghana is that they always go through the center. They give some good passes and can place an attacker alone in front of the keeper but they also miss the coldblooded finishers that can decide the game.

In my opinion, Ghana was playing the soccer that Brazil should have. They passed the ball around very well while Brazil almost every time (except 3-5 times) got stuck at the defence. Like a commentator said over here "Brazil is reduced to an ordinary counter attack team" and I can't blame him.

If Brazil becomes world champions with this kind of play the entire cup is rigged!

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

NOT a penalty.
Believe me there is going to be great discussion over this.

The aussie slided, italian guy saw him, with his right foot and the ball he went next to the aussie and then he suddenly feels like letting his left foot be caught by the aussie. He could have avoided the aussie easily if he just placed his left foot down and cut to the penalty dot. He just ran into the aussie and fell, the australian guy can't just evaporate, now can he?


You're right, the penalty for Italy was a "gift". But on the other hand, the red card for the Italian player earlier wasn't really one either so in the end it all balanced out IMO. I don't think Italy would have needed that penalty to beat Australia hadn't they been down to 10 players.

For me the favorite to win the World Cup is Germany. Not only do they play at home but they've played the bet football so far. They weren't slacking in any of their four games yet and only received two goals where the second one from Costa Rica was clearly offside too.

[Dark-San]

[b][size=3] The aussies were robbed no question about it. But they had done well in this World Cup and hopefully by the next World Cup 2010 in South Africa, they will matured and ready to take on the big boys.

This Friday's match up would be a surprising one with Argentina against Germany. The next match with England and Portugal. My predictions are if the match stays as draw and Argentina will win the shoot out and advance to the semis. England will get a scrapped win against Portugal with a miser scoreline of either 1 - 0 or 2 -1.

[Alucard]

This world cup is a joke. The referee's are biased and half the teams cheat.

[Heald]

FIFA are real dickholes. It is their fault this world cup is so fucked up. For one, they shouldn't even be called FIFA. The name is like some kind of weird hybrid of French, English and Guatamalean. Last time I checked, football was an English sport that the English can't play and the French completely cheat at. Secondly, their referee selection process is retarded. Thirdly, they've encouraged referees to clamp down on any fouling of any kind (resulting in so many uncalled for bookings and sendings-off). Bah.

[phaedrus]

yeah, what the fuck happened with that spain-france game?

[Alucard]

Some ass bet £200,000 on England to win the world cup 6 - 1. What a waste...

[Silencer]

Rooney just kicked another player (Ronaldo I think) in the balls. I don't know why some of the best players in the world are tempted in doing stuff like that...

[Last Exile]

I don't know who was more stupid, Rooney or the ref. Rooney did stomp something but he missed about 5 inappropriate gropes from the 2 Portugese plyaers. He didn't kick Ronaldo though, he was the one that tried to cool Rooney down.

GG England, honestly. That was the most ridiculous penatly shootout I ever saw. Only 4 of 9 went in. You guys need to practice your penalty shooting, Ricardo saved 3 penatlies for a reason. HE KNEW WHERE THEY WERE GOING! Subtlety is essentialy in penalties. You can't just put your shot in the direction of your body. That is just too one-dimensional.

No idea who I want to win now. Probably Germany. Italy are filthy, corrupt cheating bastards, Brazil are slackers and Portugal were just absolutely boring in that match yet won.

[Dark Dragonite]

Rooney just became my hero, and now, if you don't mind me, there are plenty of people who need a good Rooney-ing right now...*puts on steel-toe boots*

[Alucard]

Didn't look deliberate to me. Looked like he was dragged down and just getting his footing.

It was obvious England where going to lose. Owen was out, Beckham's a wuss and Rooney's an ass. Maybe everybody will stop sucking Rooney ass now.&#160; We've played bad though the whole tournament. Luck was the only thing that got us this far, and it ran out. The whole team was picked wrong right from the start imho.

Germany vs. Brazil Final. With Brazil to win 3 - 1.

EDIT: So much for my thoughts x] Heh 6 Yellow cards in the Braz/Fran match..

[phaedrus]

fuck. Brasil lost. fuck fuck fuck fuck.

[Silencer]

I'm glad Brazil lost. They didn't even desirve to be in the in the knock-out stage since they played so crappy. They should have completely obliterated all the other teams in their group. Even Ghana was better then they were. If Ghana had a more tactical mastermind or probably Essien on the field they could have beaten Brazil. France finally gave them what they desirved since the start of the World Cup.

[Last Exile]

Indeed Brazil were lacklustre from day 1. But unfortunately their lacklustre beats most sides. :|

I still hope Germany win now. Their style is the only appealing one left. I'll gun for a Germany-France final. France have been the surprise of the tournament and Portugal have finally delivered. Italy shouldn't even be in the last 4, they're filthy, corrupt liars.

[Adz44]

Italy shouldn't even be in the last 4, they're filthy, corrupt liars.


Couldn't agree more. Even though I'm not Australian, I was quite p'd off when those jammy Itais got the penalty that should have never been. Only reason they're in the semis is because of that and a lucky quarter-final tie with Ukraine (who were a let down throughout the tournament).

I'm going for Germany now. They're about the only team left that haven't upset me. lol

[Ultimate Charizard]

I dont know who to support....

If the French win they will just get (even more) arrogant.
The Portuguese beat us so i want them to get Hammered
The Italians are cheating peckers so they should get smashed
and...im english, i just cant support the Germans lol.

Anyway we should have had a penalty for that handball in the area...
And just a quick tip to anyone that plays a Fantasy Football league. Dont include Christiano Ronaldo in your teams. He will be missing the first half of the season after Rooney Breaks him in half when they meet up at old trafford for pre season training.

[Heald]

We can't support Germany because of the War(s).

We can't support Portugal because they knocked England out.

We can't support Italy because they're lying cheating scum.

We can't support France because they're French.

[phaedrus]

We can't support Germany because of the War(s).

We can't support Portugal because they knocked England out.

We can't support Italy because they're lying cheating scum.

We can't support France because they're French.


"Let's support Saudi Arabia! They already give us half their oil, anyway!"

[Dark Dragonite]

"Let's support Saudi Arabia! They already give us half their oil, anyway!"


I don't think anyone with exception to Saudi Arabians support them....they didn't even make it this far...

I do agree with Heald...but...

I support Beckham if he comes to MLS in 3-5yrs

I support Rooney's right to kick Ronaldo, or anyone else in the nuts

I will never support Iran...they can bs about there being no holocaust all they want, it happened, and there is too much irrefutable evidence to prove what happened...Jewish people are cool!!

[Chris]

We can't support Germany because of the War(s).

We can't support Portugal because they knocked England out.

We can't support Italy because they're lying cheating scum.

We can't support France because they're French.


I'm in full support of Germany, and I hope they win this World Cup.

[Venasaur89]

The England vs Portugal was the best match yet!!!! Portugal played better so they deserve the win.. and Brazil were favourites along the tournament because they had not faced the good teams.....

I hope Portugal beat France.....they were the big losers just moments ago.... On todays match my predictions are that Germany is gonna win b/c Italy too got this far by beating smaller teams like Ukraine and Australia....but Germany beat Sweden and Argentine....

[Dark Dragonite]

Wow, the complications of England Vs. Portugal...Ronaldo calling for a card, or going to the ref for some reason, gets Rooney booted from the game, then winks at his Portugal bench...seeing as Rooney and Ronaldo joked about him getting Rooney booted from the game beforehand...SO...England hates Ronaldo for what he did to a teamate(Manchester United), Ronaldo was thinking of joining Real Madrid(team Beckham plays for), and Manchester United wants him gone anyway...

[Heald]

HAY GUYZ DIDNT RONALDO BE PORTUSPANISH B4 HE PLAYED FOR MANU LOLOMGWTFBOMZ

[Adz44]

I hope Portugal beat France.....they were the big losers just moments ago.... On todays match my predictions are that Germany is gonna win b/c Italy too got this far by beating smaller teams like Ukraine and Australia....but Germany beat Sweden and Argentine....




I personally believe Australia could have knocked them out if it wasn't for that incident. They were the better side in the second half. Given, Italy played most of it with 10 men, but still...

...anyway, yeah, it should be a Germany win tonight. They'll have to be careful with defending, though. The Italians, despite not being impressive, are pretty good on the break.

Edit: ...and with Germany's 2-0 defeat tonight, I no longer care about this World Cup...

[Alucard]

and out go Germany...

[Dark Dragonite]

Italy shouldn't even friggan be there!?!?!?!?!?!

Well, I hate France for all the bullshit about Lance Armstrong...so I am officially a fan for Portugal!!

[Silencer]

Hooray for lame final

[dratinihaunter13]

I hope you all watched that game closely, cuz that, my friends, is why Italy is still in this Cup. Germany was one of the strongest teams in this world cup, possibly the strongest, and italy barely allowed a cross. 2 shots on goal in total are you kidding me???? not sure if any goals have gotten past the italians besides that own-goal.

To be upset about that penalty kick against Australia is a bit absurd. It was a questionable call, about as questionable as any other call, but the socceroos having a chance against ukraine/germany? mmmmno. When I hear "they cheat, they cheat" i'm taken right back to 2nd grade. ref made the call, not a player or a team. Respect Italy, they just beat a host country on their home soil with two brilliant goals in the 29th minute of overtime.

[Venasaur89]

ohh!!! wat a great match b/w italy and germany ...I hoped that it would go to penalties...but 2 goals in 2 mins is just awesome,. well, italy played well from the start so they deserve the win..and germans went crazy after the first goal, desperate for equalizer and then a wonderful 2nd goal by italy..


my predictions for today's match are that portugal would beat france... and final will be gr8 one..

P.S>>>>> howcome turkey and greece couldn't qualify for the worldcup afterall, greece won the euro 2004 and turkey were semifinalist last worldcup

[Ultimate Charizard]

Because the Qualifiers is like another Group stage. Its not just a 'well they should be in because they did well last time'. If they dont play well enough to Qualify then they dont get there.

Not to sound like im picking on anyone in particular but have the Turkish been forgiven for all the trouble their fans caused? Wasnt their last international played with no fans due to the trouble? Doesnt matter if its a club team or an international, theres always trouble when Turkey is involved.

[dratinihaunter13]

Congratulations to italy! best team in the world!
ITALIA!!

i didn't expect zidane to freak the way he did. i wonder what that italian player said to him =-o!!

[Venasaur89]

yay italy won!!! i was hoping for that...

why did zidane hit that guy?????

[Alucard]

Zidane's chest headbutt was the most entertaining part of the world cup.

[Silencer]

I think the worst team won. Italy played way to defensive to my liking. The only chance they had was the freaking free kick. The second half was clearly dominated by the french... The french coach should have taken some risks and sent more then 3 players in the offensive. The only 3 real attackers where Ribery, Henry and Zidane.

Guess they brought it to themselves that they lost.

btw, loved the headbutt. It's like all the dirty things italy have done into one blow.

[dratinihaunter13]

anyone know who won the golden foot, or whatever award they give for individual play? mvp or something.. i dunno

remember when italy won the entire world cup a few days ago/??? :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Ultimate Charizard]

Well i know it was a German winning the golden boot going into the last Round (Final + 3rd place playoff)
I dunno how it ended though.

[Silencer]

Zidane was crowned the best player from the tournament.

There are speculations that Matteratzi(spelling all bad, but who cares except the italians?) called Zidane a "dirty terrorist" or called Zidane's sister a whore twice.

[Dark Dragonite]

The chest headbutt was nice, but I think he should have kicked him in the balls, or stomped on him, something the French could truely be proud of...

[Silencer]

He should have fed him raw escargos.

That would make the french proud? Don't you think.

Then again, Matteratzi might have insulted the french when he puked afterwards...

[Alucard]

BBC Radio Five Live asked for help from a deaf lip reader, Jessica Rees, who read the words phonetically to an Italian translator.

She deciphered the insult as being "you're the son of a terrorist whore"

[mr_pikachu]

Hooray for translations! You can't even trash-talk the other team in a crowded, boisterous (sp?) stadium anymore. Somebody's always watching!

And congrats to Italy. Not to excessively plug my home country (well, I am, but still), but don't forget who achieved the best result against them in the entire tournament. With two lame ejections, no less!

(But yeah, way to make Group E proud.)

[dratinihaunter13]

zidane's had an awesome career, but everybody star in every sport has to go through trash talk either from other players or fans (sometimes fans who really do their research >_<). in SUCH a critical part of the game, of the tournament!, that guy has to keep his cool. he's the savvy vet and handling some words from some guy isn't that tough. most players just attribute to the other guy's ignorance and move on. but i'm glad it happened, cuz italy won =D!

[Alucard]

I wouldn't exactly call "you're the son of a terrorist whore" trash talking.

Italy still suck anyway. Winning the world cup means nothing when the team is nothing but filthy cheating ****ers.


Serie A sides Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have been demoted to the second division for their involvement in Italy's match-fixing scandal.

AC Milan will stay in Serie A but will lose 15 points and will be kicked out of the Champions League.

Juventus were also stripped of their last two titles and had 30 points deducted meaning that they are almost certain to stay down for two seasons.

Lazio were penalised seven points while Fiorentina suffered a 12 point penalty.

Proof Italy are dirty cheating fuckers.