Every game is broadcast. The England game was followed by the Sweden game on ABC, starting at 9 a.m. EDT. According to the ABC affiliate in DC's sked, they did show World Cup today. Baffled as to how you missed it.

Also, I am one to rip US coverage, but hard to fault it so far. ESPN2 had an hour pre- and post-game yesterday and the feed is identical to what the world gets. The announcers seem fine.

[ June 10, 2006, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: Jim at Outsports ]

When does the US team play anybody?

[ June 10, 2006, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

first game is against the Czechs, Monday 10:55a (Central)

Trinidad & Tobago is now Paraguay's new best friend after TNT held Sweden to a scoreless tie, after Paraguay had an own-goal loss to England. TNT played the 2nd half with only 10.

Right now Argentina leads Ivory Coast 1-0, but from what I've watched Ivory Coast has had much more scoring opportunities than Argentina.

[ June 10, 2006, 12:36 PM: Message edited by: Boltergeist ]

and blown them pretty well thus far (the lead was 2-0 at the half). They may have 80% of their players with Euro-experience but they are playing with a case of nerves worthy of the WC debutantes which they are.

Loved the mastery of the UK in the Paraguay game even if the score was low. Gerrards two wild shots over the goal looked like a serious case of nerves - too much testosterone flowing. Calm down kid!

Becks bender would have gone in without the assist from Paraguay IMO, from the replays I saw. Man that guy is smoother than Larry Bird with his no-look reverse passes off the back/side of his foot. And he is so effecient, never wasting energy on horizontal motion or show dribbling. And unselfish to boot.

Sweden v Trinidad&Tobago had to be one of the most boring 0-0 games I've ever seen. Both teams looked a bit out of shape from too much pre-game partying. Loved the inter-squad camaraderie half-way through the second half. Both teams seemed content to play through with a tie at that point.

Maybe they shoud do their partying together. Love to be in that orgy, woohoo!!

All in all I'm loving this Cup.

The World Cup is such a fun time. I work in the financial district in Toronto, and a number of the office tower food courts have set up big screen TVs so people can watch the games at lunch (one even set up mini bleachers indoors in front of 2 TVs). With the time difference, the games fall nicely: morning, lunch and afternoon.

I watched part of the Argentina-Cote D'Ivoire game and I agree that CD'I had plenty of chances, but couldn't finish. The game ends 2-1.

England were MISERABLE. They won, yes. But they played terribly. Peter Crouch was bad, Michael Owen was bad, David Beckham was bad...the only decent player was Joe Cole. They need to improve drastically or they will be out of the tournament quicker than anyone expected.

I had a funny thing happen this morning. I usually go out for Mexican breakfast on Saturdays as a good way to start a day usually devoted to errands and too often work. My current favorite place doubles as a bar (YES!) and often has fights, baseball, etc. on so I thought I'd be able to finish watching the SWE/T&T game there. When I walked into the quiet restaurant and asked if they'd turn on the Cup, the waitress said they were trying to keep it peaceful and relaxing in the morning, which was OK with me too. About ten minutes later, though, a family arrived with three bawling toddlers and almost immediatly turned on some sort of boom box to keep the kids quiet. I caught the waitress' eye, we both smirked and did a and she turned on the tube straightaway. :cool:

I'm feeling I'm going to get into this year's Cup like no other. It'd be nice if Univision had closed captions in English, because I get the feeling their coverage and comentary is better.

I'm now watching the latter part of the Sweden-T&T game on replay. Oh my goodness, Sweden is getting so many point blank shots and can't score. They should have 3-4 goals, but instead get the 0-0 tie.

Sportin, I thought T&T vs. Sweden was thrilling! T&T, one of the oldest teams in the Cup and the smallest country ever to make it in played one man down after Avery John was expelled on a red card, and still managed to hold of Ibrahamovic, Larsson and Ljungberg. 0-0 was equal to a win. And let me not forget, Carlos Edwards is HOT! Sweden, please lose those mullets!

Argentina has looked to be one of the class teams this year. Ecuador beat Poland easily but I'm not sure how good they are. England was overhyped and just not impressive. Germany's defense at first looked shaky, but they can score and are one of the top teams, at least after 1 game. I can't wait to see how Ivory Coast does in its next match.

I am most waiting to see the USA on Monday, and then Brazil. Please, Ronaldinho, put on a show!

Depends on who you're listening to. Some of the play-by-play people (JP Dellacamera) are excellent, as are some of the analysts (Marcelo Balboa, Shep Messing, John Harkes). The only guy who really annoys me is Dave O'Brien; I just feel like he doesn't show enough emotion. He seems so reserved...scoring a goal in a World Cup is an emotional thing- there's no reason he shouldn't show SOME excitement...

Anyway, that's all for tonight...I have to get up for Holland-Serbia and Montenegro tomorrow...

Hey Metro:
I enjoy your commentary on these games. Good stuff.

Congrats to PortugueseSensation for taking the early lead in the Outsports World Cup Fantasy Pole.

Wish now that I'd had time to read the rules on scoring and exchanges. Could have sat Ballack out for the first game and had a better score. But I wouldn't necessarily trade a good player for bieng injured so I'll suffer on principle. wink

The pool is far from over, but I'll enjoy my time in first hahaha.

Gotta get ready for Portugal x Angola...but I promise tonight to post my thoughts on all the World Cup up to this point.

The Netherlands looked great in the first half. Arjen Robben was totally on as so with v. Persie. They controlled the ball and drew a few key fouls off the S&M defensive line. Second half the Men of Orange didn't look as on. I think partly because S&M picked up the physical nature of the match. The Dutch responded by taking out v. Nistelrooy early. Maybe it was also a message to him by the coach about his lack of creating opportunities and not being able to shake off the defense. Ok. gotta go - Mexico Iran just started.

[ June 11, 2006, 09:43 AM: Message edited by: simontexas ]

I was impressed with Holland. They only scored one goal, but they looked strong and composed. Arjen Robben was brilliant, showing flashes of the individual skill that propelled Holland to two straight World Cup finals in the 1970s. I was also impressed by their phenomenal ability to switch the ball from one side of the field to the other. All of the players felt comfortable hitting 30-40 yard cross-field passes and bringing these passes out of the air with traps off the chest and feet. Brilliant soccer...

On the other side, Serbia and Montenegro were much better in the second half. Their huge 6'8" striker Zigic was neutralized. Other than that, they looked more confident as the match went on.

Personally, I developed a crush on Robin Van Persie... I was pretty pissed off that Ruud Van Nistelrooy didn't play better- he was my captain for the fantasy games today. Hopefully, Jared Borgetti will produce in the second half of Mexico-Iran.

Just wanted everyone to know that I have found my next husband, he's the goalie for Iran. Holy shit what a good looking man! I have no idea what his name is, but we will be married soon.

Mirzapour is his name...but I prefer the Polish keeper! It's too bad Ecuador got past him twice...

So day three is in the books. Holland was impressive in possession, but need to improve their finishing (and Arjen Robben needs to start passing to Ruud Van Nistelrooy). Serbia and Montenegro were ok, but they need to finish their chances; they should have tied Holland. Mexico were good, especially Zinha, who I still remember for a wicked goal in Mexico City against the U.S. during World Cup qualifying. I hope Borgetti's injury isn't serious...he is one of the best players in Group D. Iran need to be more careful; they could have walked out of the Mexico game with a tie had they been a little more focused. Portugal started brightly, but Pauleta and company were less than impressive. Cristiano Ronaldo needs to keep his temper in check, and coach Luis Felipe Scolari needs to get his team to play better- Portugal are much better than a 1-0 win over Angola suggests. On the other hand, Angola should be proud of their performance; in a match that was being touted as a potential blowout, the Angolans defended well (after some lapses in the opening 15 minutes) and looked decent going forward. They also need to capitalize on their chances; Akwa is a very good striker.

Tomorrow brings the first Australia game in the World Cup since 1974 and two games from the "other group of death". The US opens their World Cup journey against the Czech Republic tomorrow at noon on ESPN2. Should be a hell of a match...

[ June 11, 2006, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

Indeed, just be certain to sneak him out of Iran before you make any such move. No need to be beheaded/executed as such.

Don't watch soccer all that much, yet I found myself watching and enjoying the full tripleheader today.

Should I give up my US citizenship for doing this wink ??

I beg to differ; it's channel 14 in DC. Elsewhere, I wrote:

*It's live.

Univision in the DC-area is, according to DCRTV, WFDC, actually located in Arlington.

I believe they use the same feed as ESPN and ABC. Univision showed three games Sunday, I guess; I couldn't sit through Roland Garros and three WC games and went out to work in the yard. I missed the first eighty minutes of yesterday's Sweden vs. Trinidad and Tobago game too.

I'd rather watch the WC on Univision than on ABC any day, as the Univision narrators really get into the game. Of course, every goal brings out that famous, drawn out "G-g-g-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-!-!-!-!" cry. Univision also devotes more time to the games than ABC, showing opening festivities that ABC omits. The closed captions are in Spanish, but you can figure things out. Try it; you won't go back.

Here's the schedule:

Horarios de TV para la Copa Mundial Alemania 2006

Mañana, Australia Vs Japón at 8:30 a.m in the DC-area, followed by Estados Unidos Vs República Checa at 11:30 a.m. and Italia Vs Ghana at 2:30 p.m.

¡En Vivo!

We will be posting links to the best images from the event.

My vote for hottest player I've seen so far.

A win is a win and I'll take three points any day of the week. Yet somehow I feel as if Portugal lost to Angola.

They came out so quickly and played with such flare and brilliance that brought a smile to my face and tear to my eye. FIFA calls soccer "The Beautiful Game" and those first few minutes were a prime example of "Jogo Bonito". Portugal were dancing on the field and made everything look so easy. Luis Figo showed why he was considered one of the best Portuguese players to have ever lived. Showing why he was a part of the "Golden Generation". Pedro Pauleta had a terrific start as did Cristiano Ronaldo.

And that's when it all came crashing down. Portugal got too cocky and instead of playing 100%, they figured that Angola was way too easy and they brought themselves down to 60% effort. It showed as the game was dull and embarrassing. It was a crying shame that Portugal played the way they did and they were lucky to come away with a 1-0 victory.

After the inital disappointment wore off, I threw away the "fan" in me, and put on my "work" attitude. Analyzing the game and cutting the hilites, I came to a couple of realizations.

1. The substitution of Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the smartest moves by Scolari and will be a turning point in Ronaldo's time in the World Cup. Scolari is once again showing that he's not afraid to make unpopular moves. No player is guarenteed a spot on this team, and if he feels that someone is getting just a tad bit angry/frustrated, he'll take them off. He did it in 2004 with Figo...and Figo came back to be better in the semi final and Final. The same will happen with Cristiano.

2. The game was more of a practice than anything else. I'm not trying to disrespect Angola, but if Portugal played 100% the full 90 minutes, it WOULD have been a blowout. Instead, by letting up, Scolari had an opportunity to see what needs adjusting and what players should start and what not. It's obvious that Maniche needs to start as he was dominant the second he came on. While Hugo Viana was virtually silent when he was subbed on.

3. Ricardo looked strong in between the pipes. He appeared to handle crosses and corner kicks better than he did in 2004 which is a BIG plus.

So while Portugal certainly didn't impress, I still walked away feeling confident in the team. Iran proved that they will be no pushover and they'll provide a terrific test for the Portuguese. I'm certain Portugal will come away victorious, and it'll be the first time that we catch a glimpse at just how good the "Brazilians of Europe" really are.

***********************************

Other quick thoughts...

- Is anyone else as disgusted in Togo as I am? Demanding $200,000 and threatening to boycott the games at the World Cup just makes me want to vomit. Whatever happened to playing for pride and for your nation? To make matters worse, their head coach quit and it appears the assistant coach has quit as well. If I were FIFA, I would ban Togo for at least the next four years from any FIFA sanctioned events. This is just inexcusable.

- Players from Serbia and Montenegro were publically criticizing their head coach for choosing too much of a defensive style of play in their game against Holland. Stuff like this needs to remain behind closed doors, because all it does is create a distraction and creates problems. With only two games left in the Round Robin, the last thing you want to do is rock the boat.

- Trouble in Holland? Van Pierse (and yes Metro, I've developed a crush on him as well) criticized Robben for not playing the ball to the right side enough. A fair comment but if anything, that's a concern to take to your coach and for the coach to deal with it.

- Despite what some people think, I thought England played well against Paraguay. Considering the heat, and the fact that anytime Peter Crouch went near the ball the whistle was blown, they did pretty good. David Beckham had one of the best games I've seen him play in a well...minus his crosses and passes. I expect some big things from Sven Gorran Eriksson's side.

- Looking forward to USA/Czech Republic tomorrow...I really believe the Americans are gonna shock the Czech's and win by a couple of goals.

- And finally...players that caught my eye for their looks hahaha...

Lukas Podolski - Germany
Robin Van Persie - Netherlands
John Heitinga - Netherlands
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal
Niclas Alexandersson - Sweden

Big day for the USA, and I am really excited and looking forward to this game. Read a nice story about the US goalie this morning, and turns out he is a Washington State boy, from the Tacoma area. Kinda cute too, nice sqaure jaw and all... wink Anyway lets go USA!!!

Enigma, you are far too kind...

England WERE miserable, and Portugal WERE NOT as good as people were expecting. Both have other chances to show the world how amazing they are, but to call either opener anything but "disappointing" is silly.

Halfway through Australia-Japan, and already there's controversy...Japan scored through a cross that bounced in after an apparant foul on the Australian goalkeeper. The goal should not have counted, but the ref didn't see/didn't call the foul. Australia had their chances, but they need to improve in this half...

Well Japan sure fell apart at the end. Had one point within grasp, but end up with none. They won't be able to beat Brazil -- and will end up back at home after this round.

Three little words right now: Lets GO USA!!

Not looking good for US. Down 2-0 at the start of the second..... Step it up guys BIG TIME!

Aarrrrghhh!!! Our team is down 2-0 to the Czechs! Why isn't there ever a US player ready near the Czech goal??? I don't get it! Can't Arena get this across to them? The left attacking seems pretty weak, unfortunately, so at least plant Beasley or somebody near the goal whenever there's crowding to get a quick strike. The US is not going to beat the Czechs at ballhandling and control, it's becoming clear.

Well I will be the first to admit, I am not a huge fan of soccer, I like it, and I do not know all the rules, but having said that, the US team in my opinion, has not lived up to all the hype it has garnered, and most certainly has not matched the Czechs in intensity, sprit, drive and biggest of all, emotion. What a flat, horrid performance. And the photo ops of US Coach Arena, sitting back, looking like he wants to take a nap, arms crossed casually behind his head, etc. etc., have not impressed me alot either....
US needs a shot of adrenaline, and a big wake up call, which they very well may have recieved today.

God, I hope they have. Maybe Arena was on tranquilizers, or maybe his doctor told him not to get upset if the US squad started screwing up.

I really wanted the US to do better, really. But it's almost as if they just don't have it. The US players were slow and often walking when the Czechs were running, they couldn't control the ball, they didn't seem to have a strategy most of the time when they got it, they kept falling down (!) or getting beaten, and that last goal was just heartbreaking, because NONE of the US defenders were there to help Keller, who doesn't seem to be up to the level of some of the other teams' goalies. Onyewu made some mistakes, but his headers kept the ball out of the US danger zone about 4-5 times; can't they find 2-3 more players with his talent? HE even took out Koller, the giant Czech midfielder, for most of the game. Then Eddie Johnson almost scored two goals, but one was wide, and the Czech goalie snatched the ball before he could get the second. On other chances, there was NO US player around the Czech goal to get the rebound or a loose ball. Where was Landon Donovan??? The other forwards? When I played soccer, this was drummed into our team. I hope they wake up, because this loss really verged on embarrassing. And the way the Czechs were taking chances, it could easily have been 6-0 in their favor.

As an Indy Colts fan, the U.S. performance reminded me of the last few playoff games by the Ponies. The US fell on its face. The only saving grace is that fewer people saw it with the game being on a weekday.

Czech Mate! The Czech Republic showed why they were one of the favorites at Euro 2004 and again now at World Cup 2006. A beautiful display of football which resulted in a 3-0 victory over the United States.

I feel for the Americans as I really thought they'd walk away victorious against the Czech's. I never imagined that they'd look so good and the U-S would come out so flat. Let's face it, the Americans were out-classed, out-worked, out-played and looked more like a team ranked 50th in the world than 5th.

Particularly shocking was the American defence. They looked disoriented out there and completely out of place. As mentioned by HockeyTom, I too was shocked to see the reactions of Bruce Arena who appeared to not care or not worry about the result.

Despite how bad the U-S played, you can take some positives out of it. Johnson played very well and deserved at least a goal for his efforts. Add in some energy and capitalize on your chances, and the result would have been very different.

The pressure is now squarely on the U-S. With the Azzuri expected to defeat Ghana in 45min, the Americans MUST defeat Italy next week to have any chance of advancing to the Round of 16. A loss would eliminate them -- assuming the Czech's defeat Ghana next week as well.

So my condolences to all you American fans out there but remember...keep your chin up, try and remain positive, and above all else...KEEP SUPPORTING YOUR TEAM NO MATTER WHAT!!!

FORCA!

What is there to say about the US's performance that hasn't been said yet?

Well, I was optimistic as always heading into this match, but "atrocious" can't even begin to describe how poorly they played.

Communication was a problem from the first minute of the match. That's how the Czech's right back was able to slip down the sideline unmarked: Eddie Lewis pushed forward and didn't tell Bobby Convey to drop back. Thus, the ball gets played out wide, Grygera serves it in, and the monster Koller nods it home. Communication was nonexistant on the offensive side of the ball; the few times the US held the ball in the Czech's defensive third, there was no one communicating as to which runs to make.

There's another problem: the US looked, as Marcelo Balboa, Eric Wynalda, Alexi Lalas, and Julie Foudy all said, completely flat from the opening whistle. No one made runs off the ball for the US, a problem which plagued Paraguay, Serbia and Montenegro, Ivory Coast, and Australia (in the first half of their game today). The US, when they managed to carve out some good plays (Reyna's shot off the post and Convey's cross that barely missed an outstretched Eddie Johnson are the only ones that come to mind), did not have players moving into space. Thus, the Czechs were able to compact the field, making it seem like the US was playing in 10 yards of space instead of 30-50.

Wide play, which looked strong in the Send-Off Series, was also not present. Cherundolo had two crosses in the first half, one onto the roof of the net and one to a Czech defender. Lewis had some good chances, but all his crosses were off. But I was most disappointed with the outside midfielders. In a 4-5-1, the key is wide play, especially from the wide midfielders. Convey lacked the incisive dribbling and crossing that he showed vs. Venezuela and Morocco. DaMarcus Beasley put in his poorest offensive performance since the 2002 World Cup. He was afraid to take players on, and he and Convey both passed back to the defenders and central midfielders. The inability to get wide again collapsed the field, making the Czechs appear even stronger defensively and preventing lone striker Brian McBride from getting a shot on goal.

Defensively, the US was extremely poor. Oguchi Onyewu was horrific; he had more fouls than tackles. About the only postive he brought was a few headers he won. Eddie Pope was the best defender, as usual, and stopped Pavel Nedved from breaking away in the first half. Steve Cherundolo and Eddie Lewis were just bad; I think Arena made a huge mistake in starting both of them.

That leads us to another problem: coach Bruce Arena. In 8 years in charge, I can remember only a couple of games where Arena wasn't really at his coaching best, but never a game where he was outcoached. Simply put, this was the first: Karel Brueckner was phenomenal. He obviously scouted every US player, and he prepared his team excellently. Arena relied too much on his team's self-confidence, and when that collapsed, there wasn't a lot he could do. I think he made a couple of fatal errors. He should NOT have started both Eddie Lewis and Steve Cherundolo. That gives the US a very offensive backline, but Cherundolo's lack of height and Lewis's attacking preferences left the US looking like they had two defenders at times. Starting Carlos Bocanegra or even late replacement Gregg Berhalter would have made the US more defensive, but more equipped to deal with Poborsky, Nedved, Rosicky, and Koller. I also did not agree with the halftime substitution of Pablo Mastroeni. Though he was off in the first half, he is one of the team's sharpest tacklers and his presence was missed in the second half when the team looked afraid to make any sort of physical challenge. Also, I didn't like the substitution for Josh Wolff; Wolff is a speedy player, but he's been predictable this year. I would have much preferred to see Clint Dempsey come on for the US; though he's not as experienced as Wolff, he is very unpredictable and has added a spark to the games during which he's come off the bench. As other people noted, I also did not appreciate Arena's lack of emotion, but I feel he was really shocked to see his team go down 2-0.

Another disappointing element of the game for me was the team's refusal to be physical. Minus Onyewu's fouling, the team did not make the physical commitment to the game. Although I appreciate beautiful soccer, I think physical play is just as important. In this match, the US had neither, and I think it would have been much easier for the players to make some hard tackles than to suddenly become Brazilians.

The single thing about this game that hurts me the most was the lack of leadership. This US team has so many veterans, from Pope to Reyna to Keller to even Donovan and Beasley. None of these players looked like leaders in today's game. In the second half, it was especially apparant. With the US reeling from the amazing first strike by Rosicky, the team needed one of these players to step up, to get the team back together and say "Hey, we're 2-0 down, but we can pull a result out of this. We just need to work one step at a time. We need to get one goal back, and then we're right back in this game." Instead, the team looked leaderless, playing disorganized soccer. No one even ventured to lead by example: no players tried to take the game into their own hands.

Overall, I don't think I would be so disappointed about this loss, if the team had actually played decently. But the US looked NOTHING like the dangerous team I watched here in Cleveland. They looked NOTHING like the dominating force we saw in Columbus against Mexico. In fact, I'd say they looked no better than another experienced US team that fell apart: the 1998 World Cup team. That team lost the opener and imploded. This time around, we've been hearing about the confidence, the team atmosphere, the "swagger" Dave O'Brien loves talking about. There are two matches left for this team. Bruce Arena knows what he needs his team to do; if they don't perform, Arena could be out the door just as fast as Steve Sampson was following the debacle of 1998.

The US fans deserve better than this. Fortunately, some of us are Metro/RBNY fans and have been dealing with disappointment for 11 years. But no MLS team was ever hyped like this US squad was; that's what makes the loss so bitter: the fact that after all that hype, all that talk about the confidence this team has and their new attitude towards the game, they still looked completely overwhelmed.

The Czechs might progress, but they will be torn apart as soon as they meet up with a team who can spread them out and open the gaps in their defense.

Edited to add-
I forgot one thing HockeyTom said: Keller doesn't appear to be at the same level as other teams' keepers. No doubt about that. Alexi Lalas was talking about him like he was Jesus Christ before the game. I had a moment during the Send-Off Series, after Tim Howard made a fantastic save on a Venezuelan free kick, that I wondered if the team might be better with him in goal. I brushed it aside at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder what might have been. Even looking at Keller's national team games this year (4-1 loss versus Germany, 1-0 loss to Morocco, 1-0 win over Latvia where the Latvians nearly broken through on several occasions), he hasn't looked as sharp as he did during World Cup qualifying. Yeah, it's easy for me to look back and say Tim Howard should have started, and it's stupid to debate about it because that's not what happened. But one has to wonder if Arena's unwavering loyalty to his players might end up being his downfall...

[ June 12, 2006, 12:58 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

The Italians got lucky with a 2-0 victory over Ghana. TWICE Ghana was denied a penalty shot...DESERVING penalty shots!

Granted after the way Ghana's goaltender played in the first half, Italy should have won 1000000 - 0...man was he brutal in that first half. Just brutal!

Great that you're arguing with me about what I was able to see on tv on Saturday morning, brother.

Btw I wasn't in DC on Saturday. I didn't think I needed to post that, since it wasn't relevant to my point. My little complaint was just that I was trying to watch the match but couldn't. The cable system where I was did not have Univision and did not show the match on ABC or ESPN on Saturday morning. That's all.

I'm risking getting involved with something that doesn't involve me. But...I have to say that A. I think you're misunderstanding twin's post (I don't think it was intended to be sarcastic) and B. I think the match on Saturday morning was on ESPN2...but even if it was on ABC or ESPN, it's nothing to get worked up about...except if you're so obsessed with the World Cup that you might develop withdrawal lol (like me!)

[quote]metromathis13
[/quote]I'm risking getting involved with something that doesn't involve me. But...I have to say that A. I think you're misunderstanding twin's post (I don't think it was intended to be sarcastic) and B. I think the match on Saturday morning was on ESPN2...but even if it was on ABC or ESPN, it's nothing to get worked up about...except if you're so obsessed with the World Cup that you might develop withdrawal lol (like me!) [/QB][/QUOTE]
Oy, what's the best response to that? Don't know, because I don't understand why I keep being told that I was wrong, that the match was on tv, when it wasn't on the tv/cable I was watching. Not on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 (cable didn't have Univision) on the cable I was watching.

When I couldn't find the match on Sat. morning, all I did was get on here and lament that I couldn't find the match on the tv when it was supposed to be on. That's all. Now I've been corrected twice and then told that it's nothing to get worked up about (the assumption being that I actually got worked up about not seeing a soccer match, which is not the case.)

I didn't see the remark as sarcastic, but as argumentative when there was no reason for it. If I got "worked up" at all, it was about being corrected when my statement was valid. Hope that makes it clear. And I'll know in the future to leave my laments off my keyboard. Now back to the real thread.

[ June 13, 2006, 05:34 AM: Message edited by: Good Hands ]

Very sad for our team. I know they barely get support here, but had they won, maybe they may have been looked at a bit more. But just so so sad for them. They knew it was an opportunity to boost whatever popularity soccer has here.

Getting back to important matters:

Aussies are blimping out on the World Cup

God when I think of all those beautiful AFL'ers bloating out like the Hindenberg my whole world starts to crumble.

USA fans should be grateful we lost a game.

And on the subject of that lose, USA broke at what I consider their eakest point and the most critical aspect of the game: defense.

Did anyone see the photo of the five Argentinian players surrounding one Ivorian? Those guys swarmed like the best college basketball teams. Given a younger more aggressive defense USA could have delayed against a better offensive team until fresh strikers could have come in in the second half (a la Mexico) and gone for the kill.

On to the rest of group-play. I am looking forward to some great football here on out. France is always a treat to watch and not enough can be said of the beauty of the Brazilian game. Renown for their showy offense, I bet they are underrated for their ability to hold a lead once they get it - with teamwork.

[ June 13, 2006, 04:29 AM: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

Man, has Arena been going off on the mouth and naming names and blame about the pathetic loss yesterday. There were artciles a-plenty in my sports section here today. Maybe its just what the team needs before playing Italy on Saturday..but then maybe not...but it will be interesting seeing how the US performs in the first few minutes of the next game. They need to play with much more emotion.

I think Arena naming names, esp. publicly criticising Donovan and Beasley, was fine. Their play was uninspired. Maybe it will shame them into a better performance on Saturday. I'm much more concerned that Beasley, for one, later mouthed off about the criticism -- disagreeing with one's coach like that is not good form.

Ghana showed great tenacity against Italy -- nearly made it 1-1 at one point. Arena needs to study that game tape and pick up pointers if the USA has any hope of winning.

Upon more consideration, I've decided to cut Beasley some more slack. Listening to Eric Wynalda and Julie Foudy this morning, I have changed my opinion.

I'm going to put more blame on Bruce Arena. The line-up he put out was defensive in the midfield and attacking in the backline. I think everyone knows it should be the other way around! Beasley was given way too much defensive responsibility and not enough offensive responsibility. Arena played him out of position; he is way more comfortable on the left side of midfield.

People are calling for massive changes to the starting line-up, but if you ask me, I don't think that's the right route. Some changes need to be made, but a Steve Sampson 1998-like overhaul of the starting 11 after the opening game will only destroy confidence. Beasley or Convey needs to be taken out; not both, because the US doesn't have enough wide players to take both out. Eddie Johnson needs to be a starter, and, if he's healthy and fit, I'd like to see John O'Brien as a substitute again.

Hmmm...Clint Dempsey looked especially hot in the little feature they just did on ESPN about him...

This game against Italy is going to be a HUGE game, one of the biggest since the 2002 World Cup.

Today on the menu is the first course of the defending champs! I'm very excited to see Brazil play, especially Adriano! Ronaldo has a chance to top German Gerd Mueller on the all-time World Cup scoring charts with 3 goals in this tournament, so we'll see how he and Brazil do.

Togo and South Korea did battle earlier; I was very impressed with Togo. They did much better than I was expecting. Kader scored a great goal to give them the lead. The ejection of their captain changed the entire game though, and sadly, they let up 2 goals. Excellent performance though...

Next up, it's the aging French against the Swiss...I'm quite interested to see how Zinedine Zidane performs in his last tournament of his very successful career.

When I said the Swiss would beat the French I did so with a little more hope than I did actually meaning it. But after watching most of the first half (still on-going) I'm impressed at how well the Swiss are playing. I knew they were good but they're definately impressing me.

And thanks to Cyd and Jim for that AWESOME picture of the Swiss Twins...man are they ever hot!

I can not wait to see Spain vs Ukraine tomorrow morning...Andrei Schevchenko's World Cup debut...it's gonna be awesome and I'm predicting a Ukraine victory

No doubt -- they had tied the French both times they played in the prelims so it figures they can hang with them in Germany too.

France screwed up two great chances to score near the end of the first half -- miscommunication right in front of the goal. One time Ribery should have shot it himself, but instead passed to Henry, who clearly wasn't expecting the ball.

I just want to give a congratulations to two people/groups:

1. Switzerland- EXCELLENT defensive performance, and a near copy of "the hand of God" goal by Alexander Frei...

2. Vikash Dhorasoo- the first player of Indian descent to play in the World Cup (India qualified for the World Cup in 1950, but withdrew when FIFA wouldn't let them play barefoot!)...I have to give a shout-out to my fellow Indian bretheren!

Brazil just won 1-0, but the Croatians were very good and exposed Brazil's weak defense. Had Dida not been as sharp and tenacious, it could have been 2-1 Croatia. Brazil had some excellent chances, though, and when they were moving the ball around and towards the goal, they showed some of that dazzling jogo bonito. They also made up for the fact that Ronaldo was walking around the whole time he was in; he looks SERIOUSLY out of shape, and coach Parreira should have brought Robinho in sooner. Other than one good shot, Ronaldo was huffing and puffing in the small square he'd marked out. Sort of à la US style, only the US unfortunately doesn't have Ronaldinho, Kaká, and the speedy Brazilian defensemen behind them.

I thought the Croatians played extremely well and deserved a draw with the mighty Brazilians.

As you mentioned, Brazil's defence was exposed as they seem to be vulnerable down the wings...though quite strong in the middle. Of course, when you have one of your defencemen acting like a striker *cough* Roberto Carlos *cough* it's natural to see a hole or two open up in the back end.

Ronaldo played awful and looked like a shadow of his old self. Ronaldinho seemed lost out there I thought...though there were a few times that he showed that spark that we all know he has. But by far the best player on Brazil was Kaka. The kid is a machine and I look forward to seeing him against Australia.

You guys are gonna think I'm crazy but as I've said before...I really think the Australians can beat Brazil.

I do think you are crazy, Enigma, but it would be a lot of fun to see the underdog knock off the top team.
Croatia put up a good fight, but at the end they looked like they were all going to fall over after trying to run with Brazil for the whole match.
All 3 matches today were excellent. This has been a great start so far. It is much more exciting to be able to watch it live compared to last World Cup in Japan/Korea where the games were in the middle of the night.

Indeed, I got to catch all three of the matches myself and they did hold my interest throughout.

DEFINITELY agree about the time thing, it's been plenty of fun to see the games live. I remember back in '02 how much I really tried to enjoy the USA run but it was impossible to watch live. I'd go to bed hoping that I'd wake up during the game so I could flip on the TV for a few minutes and catch the rest of the game.

I actually kinda liked waking up in the middle of the night to watch games! Then again, I could also sleep in to insane hours, because I didn't work...