World Cup 2006

[owbjhx]

...and blame a second half lack lustre performance on the hot weather!!! seriously Sven Erikssen needs a better excuse. Everyone suffers from the heat.

It's an excuse, and a crap excuse too, but I think it's fair to say that England naturally suffer more from heat than any other major team in international football. It's not so much a matter of English players being unaccustomed to the hot weather (although this is true); rather, the distinctive 'style' in which English football is played - i.e. high-tempo, physically combative, heavy on running & chasing - isn't very sustainable in hot climates. This is one of England's fundamental weaknesses.

[Black Night Sea]

Shaka Hislop (West Ham) takes a beating. But if Sweden could break into the box on countless occasions, England should be able to manage it. They just have to make sure they take their chances and not allow Crouch to be stranded with 6 opposing players like they did on Saturday.

Germany did well against Costa Rica.
England didn't perform that well in my opinion. they were lucky to have that goal. also their excuse is always the hot weather.. they blamed it on the weather 4 years ago, and now their coach is saying the same thing...

It's the same old excuse they come up when England failed to defend their World Cup at Mexico 70'. Not to mention branding a scapegoat in the manager that took the team to glory in 66'. The English press loves scapegoats.

[yittz]

It's an excuse, and a crap excuse too, but I think it's fair to say that England naturally suffer more from heat than any other major team in international football. It's not so much a matter of English players being unaccustomed to the hot weather (although this is true); rather, the distinctive 'style' in which English football is played - i.e. high-tempo, physically combative, heavy on running & chasing - isn't very sustainable in hot climates. This is one of England's fundamental weaknesses.

Question:
What are the styles of the main teams?

And how did the Netherlands, Mexicans and Portuguese perform?

[- L1n -]

Question:
What are the styles of the main teams?

And how did the Netherlands, Mexicans and Portuguese perform?

all the teams u mentioned won lol hahaha, nic eone.

Holland 1 Serbia 0 Robben star-ed (best goal of the 3 matches).
Mexico 3 Iran 1
Potugal 1 Angola 0 Pauleta scored the winning goal

[yittz]

They were the teams i picked to go through . So far I am on track. Wondering how they performed ie was it convincing, potential etc.

[strife_au]

So let's get into the groups then:


GROUP A:


Germany


Costa Rica


Ecuador

Poland

Germany should come out first. No questions asked. Having the advantage of playing at home, and the fans really standing behind them, means that the team should at least progress to the Quarter Finals. At least...everything else could be regarded as a failure! Poland looks a strong second, but has struggled a little bit, therefore Ecuador comes in as a close follower. Costa Rica is just here to have some fun really.....

GROUP B:

England


Paraguay


Trinidad & Tobago


Sweden

England seems to be on top of things, with some convincing wins over the past few days, just yesterday against Denamrk. Though they are still missing Rooney (who still seems to be recovering), they should definately come out on top. It's a little trickier calling for second spot, as Sweden and parguay battle it out, when they clash in their first round match.


GROUP C:


Argentina


Netherlands


Côte d'Ivoire


Serbia & Montenegro

The group of death! This group may as well feature the biggest game of the first round between the Netherlands and Argentina, and both of those teams should progress to the Rund of 16, though Serbia & Montenegro could play their little part in an upset. Côte d'Ivoire really has no part to play in this!


GROUP D:


Mexico


Iran


Angola

Portugal

This is going to be a close call! Though Mexico seems like a clear winner here, Portugal and Iran could mix things up a little. And even Angola has the right spirit to cause an upset. I really hope for Portugal to progress, but honestly, it's quite hard to tell, which team will make it to the next round!


GROUP E:

Italy


Ghana


USA


Czech Republic

Again, very close call on this one for second spot, as Italy is sure to come out first in this one (though they recently had to settle with a draw against Switzerland). Ghana won't have much to say in this one, as the Czech Republic and the US would have to come to terms with each other, deciding who will progress!


GROUP F:


Brazil


Croatia


Japan


Australia

This actually is the the 'group of death'. Excluding Brazil, each of the 3 teams will want to make it the final 16. Croatia, just because they usually come across as a strong side. Japan, (scaring the **** out of Germany as they scored a draw against the host nation) being Asian Champion, could may as well surprise. And Australia, in such high spirit, having made it the the finals after such a long absence. Once again, too close to call, but if I had to bet on it, I'd say Croatia will "just" scrape in a tight second place!


GROUP G:

France

Switzerland

Korea

Togo


France should make first place in this group, really leaving it to Switzerland and Korea to battle for second place. Togo can't hold much ground as a newcomer. Korea may just have the upper hand, after their previous World Cup campaign was quite convincing, thanks to a great coach mainly (who now watches over the Australian side).


GROUP H:


Spain


Ukraine


Tunisia


Saudi Arabia

The last one! There's always a certain hype and expectation that Spain should definately progress. And it will. Really, Spain deserves so much more, and has been quite unlucky in some many of their campaigns. Ukraine is currently coming acorss as a very developed team, and should snatch second place from Tunisia. Saudi Arabia, thugh having players strewn across top European teams, can only hope for a few goals!

[NetDriftr]

This actually is the the 'group of death'. Excluding Brazil, each of the 3 teams will want to make it the final 16. Croatia, just because they usually come across as a strong side. Japan, (scaring the **** out of Germany as they scored a draw against the host nation) being Asian Champion, could may as well surprise. And Australia, in such high spirit, having made it the the finals after such a long absence. Once again, too close to call, but if I had to bet on it, I'd say Croatia will "just" scrape in a tight second place!

Australia will scrape through!!!
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
Oi! Oi! Oi!

[strife_au]

1st half of England game was fun to watch..second half was shit..They deserved to win that match...I think they will get better as tourny goes on..

[Neo26988]

Australia will scrape through!!!
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
Oi! Oi! Oi!

FIRE UP NETDRIFTR!!! FIRE UP!!!


We're gonna smash Japan, we're gonna smash Brasil and we're gonna smash Croatia!!!




FIVE HOURS AWAY!!!

GO AUSTRALIA!!!

[strife_au]

SBS sport ftl! bad reception

[NetDriftr]

SBS sport ftl! bad reception

ahh too bad strife - i get better reception with SBS than the commercial stations

[NetDriftr]

FIRE UP NETDRIFTR!!! FIRE UP!!!

FIVE HOURS AWAY!!!

GO AUSTRALIA!!!

ahhaah if Australia wins, I'm gonna hoon around in my car!!! LOL

[0-0-0]

dammit... school, plus morning classes

[strife_au]

ahh too bad strife - i get better reception with SBS than the commercial stations

blasphemy ! last year I couldn't view the ashes properly damnit .
Wish they had it on channel 9 or 7

[owbjhx]

What are the styles of the main teams?

I'd say that there are two really distinctive styles of play in modern football - what I'd call "The English Style" and "The Latin Style". The English Style (as played in England) makes football a macho sport of power & determination: high tempo; direct, long-range aerial balls; an emphasis on physical strength; and aggressive defending. Nan zi han da zhang fu! The Latin Style (as played by Brazil, Argentina, Spain & Portugal) makes football an artistic game of skill & imagination: slow/fast tempo; intricate, short-range passes; an emphasis on technical skill; and cultured defending. At its best, it can be very pretty to watch - like listening to a good jazz band improvising.

Most teams are actually somewhere between these two styles, but the top international teams besides those mentioned will tend more towards the Latin than the English. Playing the Latin style effectively against decent opposition requires talented, confident players, so it's often not an option for the majority of teams.

Also, Latin-type teams have noticeably more effeminate hairstyles than English-type teams.

[Neo26988]

SBS sport ftl! bad reception

Set top box would help, wouldn't it???

Get yourself to a pub or anything... Damn, as long as it's clear enough to see!!!

Just under two or so hours...


FIRED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C'MON AUSTRALIA!!!!

[c13:4567]

lets go socceroos! thrash the japs!!!!!!

[strife_au]

Set top box would help, wouldn't it???

Get yourself to a pub or anything... Damn, as long as it's clear enough to see!!!

Just under two or so hours...


FIRED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C'MON AUSTRALIA!!!!

I need a tv tuner or online stream!

[NetDriftr]

SOCCEROO WINS!!!!!!!!

Woot i was hoping for a draw but 3 - 1 in the last 10 minutes!!!!

[Black Night Sea]

Watched the game.
Nice one! 3 goals with 9 mins to go on normal time, 2 of them by Cahill. But honestly, Japan should've killed the game off when they had their counterattacking chances. Cahill was lucky not to have gotten sent off right after the first one.