The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Discussion Thread

[Deefstes]

A question : when will the Vuvuzella ( or somethin' ?) be forbidden ?

Answer: Ain't gonna happen. The Vuvuzela is here to stay. If it's too loud, you're too old

But seriously, after the Confederations Cup this question was asked and I believe for a short period the idea was actually entertained to ban the vuvuzela. FIFA ultimately said something along the lines of "look, the vuvuzela is an ingrained part of South African soccer culture. We picked South Africa to host the World Cup so we'll have to accept them blowing their vuvuzelas."

What I can add from ground level here is, it's actually barrels of fun. You wouldn't believe the spirit that's going around here and the vuvuzela certrainly contributes towards it. It's great!

Now some comments on some of the games so far:

South Africa - Mexico: Wow! A game of two halves. In the first half Mexico was all over SA and in the second half SA was all over Mexico (well sort of). I was pleasantly surprised by South Africa and while they didn't really appear like a very solid team I think they stood their man. I was also pleasantly disappointed by Mexico. I expected that they'd thump us.

France - Uruguay: What a lackluster performance by both teams. I think the first two games spell good news for South Africa and bad news for Uruguay. If they're going to continue playing like that they'll probably lose to Mexico and even South Africa. Same goes for France but then they've shown in the past that they can draw a rabbit from the hat when it matters most. It can be argued that France didn't even deserve to go through the group stage at the 2006 World Cup but they did and they ended up losing only in the final.

You'll recall that they drew their first game 0-0 against Switzerland and then managed to draw their second game 1-1 to South Korea. They managed to defeat Togo (the weakest team in the group) 2-0 and only qualified to go through because South Korea somehow lost to Switzerland!

I'm hoping something like this doesn't happen again, partly because it will probably come at South Africa's expense but mostly because I also believe France CHEATED Ireland out of their World Cup spot.

South Korea - Greece: I loved the way South Korea played but I think the margin of the victory also reflects how poorly Greece performed and not just how well the South Koreans performed. The Greek defense was poor and at times dangerous. The Greek team showed no spirit and no sportsmanship. I'm looking forward to see what South Korea will pull of in the next two weeks. I think Nigeria had better be worried.

Argentina - Nigeria: My favourite game so far (with the England - USA a very close second). The Nigerians didn't do particularly well so I don't think they ever stood a chance against the Argentines. That said the Argentines played a very precise game and it was just beautiful. Their long passes were executed with pinpoint accuracy, their control of received balls were perfect and they dribbled circles around the Nigerian defence. They just lacked some precision (or luck) at finishing off.

England - USA: Like I said, my second favourite game so far. I was routing for England but I loved the USA's goal and I'm glad the game ended in a draw. The USA certainly did not deserve to lose and I'm glad they held their own. Their defence (and you'd have to single out Onyewu) was superb! They played like a cohesive team and they were wonderful to watch. That's not taking away from England having played a brilliant game as well. I really enjoyed the way the English could switch their attacking side seamlessly and seemingly without any effort at all. The way these two teams played, i think they're going to wallop Algeria and Slovenia. The top position in the group will be determined by who wallops Algeria and Slovenia by the bigger margin.


So, in 45 minutes the game between Algeria and Slovenia kicks off (but I suspect this game won't matter much, given what's happened between England and USA. Looking forward to it nonetheless though. And at 16:00 I'm watching Ghana - Serbia live in Pretoria!!!!!!

 

[marinediva]

the most important question of the day will be can Germany beat Australia.?????lol

 

[iztok]

So, in 45 minutes the game between Algeria and Slovenia kicks off (but I suspect this game won't matter much, given what's happened between England and USA. Looking forward to it nonetheless though. And at 16:00 I'm watching Ghana - Serbia live in Pretoria!!!!!!

Why it wouldn't matter? If either SVN or ALG score 3 points while ENG and USA have only 1 it would not be bad. Actually it would put the winning team today into a bit of an advantage. Best thing for both ENG and USA would be a draw today.

Obviously I am rooting for SVN since I was born and raised there.

So go boys in Charlie Brown jerseys!

 

[iztok]

Yay! SVN is leading ALG 1:0! That should put some damper to both ENG and USA as now they pretty much need to win both games left or they might find themselves a little short. Would be fun if SVN manages to eliminate either ENG or USA

 

[Air One]

I also believe France CHEATED Ireland out of their World Cup spot.

Come on ! This was a referee error, the referee is a part of the game, you have to accept that.
As I said, the Irish themselves cheated the georgians,Roy Keane perfectly knew there were no penalty so we should have played against Georgia instead of Ireland.
Roy Keane himselve said he would have done just like Henry, if there is a fault it is the defence and the referee's he said.

When we won the WC in 1998, there were many bresilian who said that they had been cheated ( we've even been acused of poisoning Ronaldo !)
WC 1982 : semi final France vs germany : we were all saying we had been cheated by Schumacher the brutal german goalkeeper who nearly killed Batiston.
Europe cup 2002 semi final and final : the Portuguese and then the Italian were cheated by the french they said.
WC 1966 : everybody is now OK to say that the ball did not completely pass the line, it was not a 2-2, it was 1-2 for Germany, they have been cheated.
WC 1990 : Argentina cheated by the German? Was it a real penalty ?.
etc...
I can even say that we've been cheated during the last WC final, the referees did not see Zidane punching Materrazzi, the 4th referee had a look at the video and told the main referee that it was a red card, and it really was of course, but it's a completely illegal process : the referee can't use the video during the match.
So, if you wan't to look at each match and look at every fault, every yellow or red card, every penalty, every offside : everything is important and can obviously change a match.
The game is the game, when it's finished, it is finished.

 

[Deefstes]

Come on ! This was a referee error, the referee is a part of the game, you have to accept that.

I agree, ultimately it was the referee's error but it was Henry's transgression. It was bad sportsmanlike and against the spirit of the game. I can not accept that a player could do something like that and get away with it simply because the referee didn't see.

By the same token it could be argued then that Maradonna's "hand of god" goal was perfectly acceptable simply because the referee didn't see it. No, it wasn't. However brilliantly skilled a soccer player he may have been, to me Maradonna will always be a cheat and a fraud and that's not the referee's fault, it's Maradonna's fault. It's one of the reasons why I (and probably many others) consider Pele to be the greatest footballer of all times and NOT Maradonna.

The point is, there are some things that you may get away with on the pitch simply because the referee didn't see it but you don't get away with it in the eyes of the world's football fans. Henry's blatant hand ball that cost Ireland their place in the World Cup is one of those.

But let's not continue dwelling on the past and rather get back to the here and now.

Algeria - Slovenia: I only saw the first half as I had to get to Loftus for the next game but I wasn't particularly enthused by either team. I'm happy for Slovenia's goal, their first ever in World Cup history, but I think it is rather academic. The way these two teams played and the way England and USA played leaves me with little doubt that neither Slovenia nor Algeria stand any sort of chance in this group. Sorry iztok, no offense intended

Serbia - Ghana: All I can say is - WOW! I'd have to be honest though that I can't really comment accurately on the team's playing styles as you get a completely different view when watching them live. We sat almost directly behind the goalposts so a lot of the game takes place where you don't have much of an appreciation for depth and it becomes difficult to really gauge the accuracy and distances of passes etc. What I can say is that for the first half the majority of the game took part in the far end of the pitch while, in the second half the majority of the game took part on our side of the pitch. The goal was scored in front of our eyes and if it wasn't for the net, the ball would probably have hit my face

Judged by that I'd think it was already clear that Ghana was the stronger team. What was unmistakable though is that the Ghanian supporters were absolutely brilliant! I'm not sure how well that could be seen on the TV but they were something else. I cannot describe the way they set that stadium alight - and that was even before the goal was scored. Once Ghana scored it was just sweet beautiful chaos.

Posing with some Ghanian supporters.


Posing with some Serbian supporters.


Ghana in action


Serbia in action


The Ghanian fans were just wonderful!


Contributing to the noise that all of you so despise


No Dr. Freud, males can indeed experience penis envy. I'm experiencing it right here



Germany - Australia: How about that for a thumping! I really felt sorry for the socceroos but the German team played with such clinical precision that I don't think Australia ever had any chance really. The German forwards made beautiful runs which sliced through the Aussie defence like a hot knife through butter. Being fed then with such excellent passes from the midfield (and even defense as in Lahm's case) it was a bit surprising that they didn't rattle in more than just 4 goals.

I think Cahill straight red card was a bit harsh though. I didn't see any malicious intent on his part and I really think it was an honest misjudging of speeds and he lost his balance. Either way, with or without Cahill, the socceroos were comprehensively outplayed by what might well turn out to be this year's world champions. We'll see.

 

[Air One]

I can not accept that a player could do something like that and get away with it simply because the referee didn't see.

The problem is that you don't have so much time to think in these occasions.
It's just an instant in the middle of the action, it takes time for the player to analize what he really did, and it's too late.
The german player yesterday did not tell the referee that he stopped a ball which was going straightly to the goal with his hand, he could have done it, they'd have won anyway...but he did'nt.
Same thing for the red card, the soccerroo tried to take off his legs but too late, it was an obvious fault but it was not dangerous, the german player could have say it, but he did'nt.
Henry realized after the game what he did, and he said it, he proposed to replay the game ( like his last coach Arsene Wenger did with Arsenal) but the FIFA refused, there are rules and we have to manage with them.
I think that if he had scored with his hand he would have said it, but he was'nt the scorer.
When the game is important, decisive, the fair play is usually forgotten.

I'm like you, I don't like that but I think that continuing to talk about Henry's fault is ridiculous.

 

[Deefstes]

I'm like you, I don't like that but I think that continuing to talk about Henry's fault is ridiculous.

OK I agree, I'm happy to leave that behind now.

I'm very frustrated that I'm sitting at the office while Netherlands and Denmark is about to kick off - especially since my colleague is right there at the stadium and I'm having to field his phone calls

 

[ACT651755]

Wow, England supporters anger me so much! After the USA game everybody was devastated, like the media spin had finally proven to be tosh and the reality had been there for all to see. That is, the reality that we are a tiny island and that we have a top-eight team... not top one. The USA are a good side, not the side that everybody expects to be whipping boys. 1-1 is a good result, as I'd predicted, and the goalkeeping error was the only difference between ourselves and Argentina that day.

South Africa were very impressive and I still expect them to reach the quarter-finals. I hope the Mexico equaliser doesn't take the momentum out of them.

Now for Germany who, as I also predicted, raced out of the traps and covered bookmakers' faces in palms all around the world. 14/1! What kind of mug wouldn't stick a tenner on that?! The answer is me, I kept putting it off until I didn't bother. Now I feel very silly. One game it may be, but I still fully expect Germany to make the final.

Didn't catch the Italy game last night, so I'll check out the result on the BBC page shortly. I'm looking forward now to seeing Brazil. Must be the weakest Brazil side for at least a decade, but I have them in the sweepstake!!

Great start to the tournament!

 

[Deefstes]

Yeah, great start. I'm enjoying every moment of it. I just wish I could attend more games.

Some more thoughts on recent games:

Netherlands - Denmark: I only saw the second half of the first half and the first half of the second half (go figure that one out). I saw the own goal by Poulsen (actually I see it is officially attributed to Agger as the ball bounced off his back) and I reckon that was just plain old bad luck, not really bad defending. Seeing as I missed the last quarter of the game I seem to have missed the most exciting part of the game as that must be when Holland started to get their act together. They did appear more cohesive during what I saw of the second half but I didn't find them particularly inspiring. I'm disappointed to have missed the last quarter (and Kuyt's goal which I only saw on highlights that evening).

I'd be interested to hear what others think of Holland's chances. I thought they'd be very strong contenders but after what I saw of this game I think the jury is still out.

Japan - Cameroon: I couldn't watch this game and only followed it on radio so I can't comment but it looks like we might have our first proper upset of the tournament. Would love to hear what others think of this game.

Italy - Paraguay: I will make no secret of the fact that I am no fan of the Italians. I just can't stand their acting when they're supposedly injured. They're notorious for that and still they continue doing it. Obviously they're not perturbed by the bad reputation they've achieved because of it. So I was delighted to see Paraguay take the lead, and with a brilliant header I might add. Gigi Buffon was left standing like a sightseer as the ball zoomed in the other side of the net.

The Paraguayan defense was brilliant. They clamped down every effectively on the Italian wingers making their feed to the forwards almost impossible. Once De Rossi scored Italy's goal though they seemed to gain momentum but fortunately never capitalised on it again.

The tactical lineups of the two teams (4-5-1 vs 4-4-2) meant that there were an awful lot of midfielders on the pitch. I never really enjoy such games as it clogs up the midfield so much that most of the game is spent fighting for the ball in the midfield with very little end to end movement from either team.

Two big games today! Portugal vs Ivory Coast should be a fascinating game and tonight my all time team (yes, I support Brazil even before I support South Africa) is playing in what should be (and I'm hoping will be) the massacre of the tournament. Of course Dunga might choose not to field their key players like Kaka and Luis Fabiano so as to save them for the later games. Let's see.