World Cup: Discussion

[beer good]

When the BBC says something you know it's true:

England are destined to never beat Sweden ever again.

38 years... and counting. The Germans are gonna kick our asses, but so what.

 

[Ice]

38 years... and counting. The Germans are gonna kick our asses, but so what.

Germans?? A little premature there aren't you The only way England will now meet Germany is if they both reach the final

Well I watched the game and my initial thought was that England were very poor at defending against set pieces. What Ashley Cole was doing for Sweden's second goal i'll never know! Joe Cole's goal was rather good though.

 

[beer good]

Germans?? A little premature there aren't you The only way England will now meet Germany is if they both reach the final

Uh, yeah. But Sweden face Germany in the next round, so that's the "we" I was referring to.

(And the chances of England reaching the final? Again: snowball, meet Hell.)

 

[Ice]

Uh, yeah. But Sweden face Germany in the next round, so that's the "we" I was referring to.

Oh, I didn't realise you were Swedish Sorry

(And the chances of England reaching the final? Again: snowball, meet Hell.)

Well yes, those are rather my sentiments

 

[DontGoAway17]

What Ashley Cole was doing for Sweden's second goal i'll never know! Joe Cole's goal was rather good though.

I thought that! It was if he wasn't even watching the ball What luck! Soon as we finally get our best forward partnership back, Owen gets stretchered off before he'd barely kicked the ball!

England are looking weak to be honest.

 

[Samerron]

England are destined to never beat Sweden ever again.

That's really funny. I though England was going to win the game, but no they simply can't, hahaha. Although I don't believe in superstition, but there are exceptions...

 

[beer good]

Yup, Sweden's cooked. Thanks for that red card, ref. I mean, he almost TOUCHED the German, can't have that.

 

[beer good]

OK, just to clarify so I don't look too much like a sore loser: yep, Germany definitely deserved to win. They were the better team and we were pretty much gone right from the get-go. Our defence was sound asleep for the first 20 minutes and when we miss a penalty we have only ourselves (or, more precisely, Henrik Larsson) to blame.

But still; when you see the ref surrounded by German players calling for a carding, then putting on a huge shit-eating grin and sending a Swedish player off for something that was barely a free kick, getting patted on the back by the Germans and applauded by the home crowd afterwards... I'll just say it: chicken. Just like the Swedish team, he doesn't deserve to do any more games in this World Cup.

 

[Ice]

Dear God! Did anyone just watch the Holland vs Portugal game? The ref was an absolute nightmare He equalled the record number of yellow cards in a game (16) and broke the record for the number of red cards issued in a World Cup game (4). I felt sorry for Deco, being dismissed for timewasting. He had played rather a good game and will now miss the quarter final . I thought Scolari was prudent to take Figo off, especially after he only received a yellow for his headbutt. He was getting rather frustrated in the end and I could just see him being booked for a second offense (and summarily dismissed), thus meaning he would miss the quarter final against England. I thought the ref's actions were summed up by Van Bronckhorst and Deco in the final moments of the game, both standing together talking and looking in disgust at the ref. I feel Holland have a large amount of talent for a young team and think they will do rather well in Euro 2008 if they continue as they have been.

I watched the England vs Ecuador game earlier and England were rather disappointing. They are scraping through but the quality just isn't there.

 

[Sofia]

I saw most of it....that ref was worthless! He was handing em out like candy....next uportugal vs. England....hope you enjoyed yourselves England, it's the end of the road

 

[blueboatdriver]

It was a miracle one of the only players who didn't get booked, one of the biggest cheats in the game, Robben; he had a brilliant dive early in the first half that deserved at least a yellow.
England; crap first half but more promising in the second half by keeping the ball on the ground a bit more. Still a lot of very poor passing though and when will Lampard have a decent shot on target?
Anyway, at least Portugal have given us half a chance by getting some of their best players suspended.

 

[beer good]

It seems obvious that the referees have been given orders to be much harsher and are overcompensating - which of course leads to even more dives and displays of pain worthy of an Oscar or two from the players. Some of the Dutch players acted like they were stuntmen in a Chuck Norris movie tonight. It's a real pity since these are two teams capable of fantastic football when they put their mind to it...

 

[Ice]

It was a miracle one of the only players who didn't get booked, one of the biggest cheats in the game, Robben; he had a brilliant dive early in the first half that deserved at least a yellow.

Robben really frustrates me - he has the talent to be an excellent player (and is when he puts his mind to it) but he is also one of the biggest cheats in the game and I cannot stand that!

Anyway, at least Portugal have given us half a chance by getting some of their best players suspended.

That is what I thought, hardly makes it fair though. Costinha was an idiot - I agreed with Gullits assesment of him, I couldn't believe Scolari welcomed him back (unless he didn't see the incident) I would have been absolutely furious with him!

 

[Ice]

It seems obvious that the referees have been given orders to be much harsher and are overreacting

The ref's were told to crack down on foul play but tonight's game was a complete sham

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Ref tried his best to ruin the Holland v Portugal game. I dislike the idea that yellow and red cards can lead to players missing later games, with the way they're being given out at this world cup then the later stages are going to be played with sides missing a number of thier best players.

 

[blueboatdriver]

The diving's here to stay but it doesn't make it right though; Sometimes you wonder whether it's built into their training program as it often creates a pivotal situation in a match. Being an England fan it's Joe Cole who worries me. He never just falls down does he? There's always a few rollovers and a prolonged clutching of some fake injury; shame, he's a really good player.

 

[Zolipara]

Ref tried his best to ruin the Holland v Portugal game. I dislike the idea that yellow and red cards can lead to players missing later games, with the way they're being given out at this world cup then the later stages are going to be played with sides missing a number of thier best players.

Well the players did their best to help ruin the game as well.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Well the players did their best to help ruin the game as well.

Absolutely, the Dutch players in particular gave us some of the best ensemble acting outside of a BBC costume drama.

But as always tends to be the case, players take advance of a weak or poor referee. Would 16 yellow and 4 red cards have been seen if Colina had been in charge? I suspect not.

 

[Zolipara]

Maybe not but these are all professional football players, and should not need a babysitter. They know what a yellow or red card means for their team in the rest of the competition, yet they kept on behaving like idiots. Portugals coach should have substituded costinha not long after his yellow card. It was a red card waiting to happen, and he got it for a pointless offense that was totally unnecessary.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

No ones suggesting that the two teams had a brian cell between them.

Btw: Perhaps a yellow card should also mean you have to play in your underpants? Like when you forgot your gym kit at infants school?

Edit: I'm worried by my use of 'you' and 'your' in the underpant suggestion. Wishful thinking?