Football: Fifa World Cup 2006 Thread

Yeah i was thinking why Adu wasn't there..

We took Theo Walcott and he is just turned 17.. He hasn't played him yet but im sure Sven will use him at some stage. The guy hasn't even played a game for his club (Arsenal) yet either..

Wayne Rooney and Owen was only young when they started for England, i think 17 aswell..

Italy v Ghana on soon, i don't know too much about how good Ghana are but i hope its a half decent game.

Some great games so far, some teams have done alot better than i thought they would. Namely Ecuador, Trinidad and Australia. But we musn't get carried away as its just the first games.

Looking at the teams that have played so far, Argentina look pretty good but the Ivory Coast was unlucky not to get a draw as they came on strong towards the end. The Germans only played Costa Rica and they need a stiffer test to see how their defence holds up as Costa Rica put two goals past them and they are pretty poor.

England got off to a slow start but that was expected, they boast one of the best defences in the World Cup, but they are carrying a few injuries and unfit players so they should improve as they go along. The group isnt exactly a difficult one and they should go through with ease. If they beat Trinidad, which they should, Sven will rest a few for the Sweden game im sure.

Poland didnt play well at all. Sweden played ok, they played some good football but lacked around the goal area and never got that bit of luck. With Ibrahimovich and Larssen in the side i'm sure they will score a few goals.

Holland played well and its a tough group they are in, but i think they have the right players to see them through. Czechs played well today, but they was only playing the US. They have an old side and the way some players have been found wanting in the temperatures, i think they might struggle a bit in the later stages, but they should qualify from there group..

I'm waiting to see how Brazil kick off their World Cup.. In style i guess!

Just to add, im watching the Italy against Ghana match and Italy are not having it all there own way. But its the same story, the lesser fancied teams are playing above themselves but are lacking that goalscoring touch in front of goal. The Ghanan's are getting some great chances but failing to capatalize..

Good game so far and both teams have had good chances. Italians look strong and i would be surprised if they fail to score. But while its still at 0-0 the Ghanan's still have a chance. They look a strong. physical side and it will be interesting to see if they can sustain it.

Pirlo just scored a cracking goal. I remember seeing this guy play for the Italian U21's a few years ago and he looked good then. He played with Maccaroni who is at Middlesborough and they was rating him higher than Pirlo but i think they might have got that wrong lol!.

Yeah fantastic goal, just what the Ghanan's didnt want 5 mins before half time as they was doing pretty good.

Yeah Pirlo is turning into a great midfielder and does score some great goals.

Pretty good 1st half, much better game that i expected..

Ghana will have to go for it in the second half. One thing i have noticed is that they seem to fall asleep at set pieces (corners and throwins). They are not quick enough to close the ball down but i guess thats due to there lack of experience. But they have defended pretty good but it cost them big time as no one picked up Pirlo from the corner when he scored and he all the time in the world to get his shot off.

Ghana are looking a bit ragged at the moment. Italy are basically running the game and keep creating chances. Ghana are getting some joy down the left wing and Essien just let rip a great show which needed a very good save. But they are playing in snatches, if Italy get another goal which is looking likely it will finish them off.

Totti who just came back from a bad broken leg just took a nasty tackle on his shin. They didnt even think twice about it and substituted him straight away. It will be a big blow if they loose him for the World Cup as he was playing really well.

What is that stench? Oh, wait, its our US soccer team. BAH!!

Crayon, you didn't expect them to do that great did you?

They are still relative newcomers to the world of football.

US was ranked in the top 5. (actually tied for 5th).

I expected better of them. But they did play the 2nd ranked Czech Republic team. Of course Itally is in the top 15 and Ghana is in the top 50.

The rankings are not all they are cracked up to be, alot of the teams got them by playing in the qualifiers against pretty crap teams.

The Czechs sussed the US team out after 10 mins, just sit back, invite them on and hit them on the counter attack. It was working everytime and the US couldnt deal with it.

Originally posted by crayon
What is that stench? Oh, wait, its our US soccer team. BAH!!

Will they fare any better against the Italians? That issurely doubtful. Ghana, maybe they will do a bit better. That is my uneducated guess.

BTW, anyone know a good, clean site that shows the games?

Originally posted by Gibbs Baby!!!
BTW, anyone know a good, clean site that shows the games?

From what I understand there are no free sites showing the games. But I could be wrong. I don't have the latest flash player at work, so I don't know if espn360.com is free or not.

Anyone see the France game? I caught the last bit of the first half and the second half. I almost fell asleep...


Just watching the Brazil v Croatia, Croatia are just about holding their own. Brazil look like they are strolling around like its a practice match lol..

Originally posted by TRD
Anyone see the France game? I caught the last bit of the first half and the second half. I almost fell asleep...


Just watching the Brazil v Croatia, Croatia are just about holding their own. Brazil look like they are strolling around like its a practice match lol..

nah man... i didnt see any of that game though i heard it was pretty poor! France prob didnt want the same as embaressment happening like the last world cup.

With the Brazil - Croatia game, i thought Prso and crew were unlucky not to grap a point. They had a fair ammount of chances and if they had scored, Brazil would have had to dig deep.

I thought Kaka's goal was cracking, and Ronaldhino was showing some great touches and control. I thought it was a shame though that Ronaldo didnt try, the fastest he ran was going off the pitch when he was subbed. He didnt go looking for the ball, and that was him supposed to be fit. I thought Adriano was pretty poor too

Looking at France's group and the way they played, they could be heading for an early exit.

Isn't France normally competitive in this?