World Cup 2010 - Match day 14

[ethicalstrategy]

Afternoon

Paraguay v. New Zealand

Slovakia v. Italy

Evening

Denmark v. Japan

Cameroon v. Netherlands

More potential for shocks this afternoon. A Slovakian win would see Italy on their gondola home. Even more exciting is that both Italy and New Zealand have identical records. If they match each other again today then I believe that we will have the drawing of lots.

Tonight it is a straight "winner takes all" encounter between Denmark and Japan for second spot.. (except Japan only need a draw, but you know what I mean :blush: )

[mad_mac]

Italy trailing, Stoch looking decent. Just gone HT

[Maksimov]

Italians have no shame... :o

[geezer]

Ciao Italia

[Phillip]

Was New Zealand really that poor, and incapable of mounting any offense whatsoever, or did they somehow think that a 0-0 result would be respectable for them, even though it would not get them through to the next round?

[Lady Diehard]

Italians have no shame... :o

Oh, piss off, Maksimov - truly! Content yourself with the fact that we're out, without resorting to the usual sad old racist chestnuts. There was enough play-acting from the Slovaks. I just hate the fact that minnows progress at any competition. I don't do 'little men' - never have. That's why I was actually glad England got through. The seeded teams should be in the last 16. Slovakia are going home when they meet Holland in any case, and the only reason they won today was because Italy played total sh*te for 85 minutes. And I'm sorry, guys - but saying Stoch looked good says a lot more about Italy than it does about Stoch.

Lady Diehard signing off - feeling very sorry for herself but knowing that her team did not deserve to advance.

She'll be back to normal in 24 hours....

Edited June 24, 2010 by Lady Diehard

[Mikstaw]

Quagiarella scored a really nice goal!

[Andreas]

Well, that was one dramatic match to watch.

[Mikstaw]

Yeah, very dramatic. But goals was really superb!

[sals]

Was New Zealand really that poor, and incapable of mounting any offense whatsoever, or did they somehow think that a 0-0 result would be respectable for them, even though it would not get them through to the next round?

NZ tried very hard at the end to get a goal and got very close as well, there is very little attacking talent in the country and they did themselves very proud. The whole nation is very very proud of what they accomplished, the fact that they have managed to stay undefeated is a remarkable feat and if you doubt that then your knowledge on football is quite similar to the goal scoring prowess of rory fallon (our striker). To describe NZ as poor is a clear sign of your understanding of the game as it is

[Valerie]

Tonight Holland will learn which team they will play next, Paraguay or Slovakia. I have a slight preference for Slovakia, they are tenacious but not too imaginitive. Paraguay will prove to be more of a handful and happy to kick lumps out of their opponents.

Chelsea old boy Boulahrouz will start as right back, Robben should be on the bench.

[m_girl]

Lippi taken full responsibility .... but the play was really bad!

The first half was a nightmare ... I feel sorry anyway

[TheWestwayWonder]

I really really really hope the FIGC isnt going to try and get Carlo to take over the NT now. But if Lippi is going, I suspect Carlo is near the top of any list of replacements

NZ tried very hard at the end to get a goal and got very close as well, there is very little attacking talent in the country and they did themselves very proud. The whole nation is very very proud of what they accomplished, the fact that they have managed to stay undefeated is a remarkable feat and if you doubt that then your knowledge on football is quite similar to the goal scoring prowess of rory fallon (our striker). To describe NZ as poor is a clear sign of your understanding of the game as it is

Agree Sals, you guys should be very proud. Watching a bit today, I could see NZ just didnt have the moment of inspiration a "world class" talent which could have broken that goalless game open. Try as they might the paraguayans were just too organized to let you through. But I (and i suspect most of the world) wouldve given anything to see NZ get that last minute goal and go through at Italy's expense.

But the kind of heart they displayed in this tournament was magnificent. The fact that each game was being rebranded "the greatest moment in NZ football history" said alot about how immense those performances were.

[Lady Diehard]

Westway - Cesare Prandelli is to be the next manager of the NT. It's a done deal apparently.

[TheWestwayWonder]

Westway - Cesare Prandelli is to be the next manager of the NT. It's a done deal apparently.

Ahh, thanks Lady Diehard, I remember hearing rumors about it, but had totally forgotten.

Thats a relief, because Im thinking that would be one of the few jobs Carlo would definitely bolt for

[Mikstaw]

Tonight Holland will learn which team they will play next, Paraguay or Slovakia. I have a slight preference for Slovakia, they are tenacious but not too imaginitive. Paraguay will prove to be more of a handful and happy to kick lumps out of their opponents.

Chelsea old boy Boulahrouz will start as right back, Robben should be on the bench.

You must be very careful with Slovakia. They are very dangerous when they are playing against strong opponents.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Mikstaw

[ace]

Japan with 2 free kick goals...and Nakamura on the bench....damn.

[dkw]

2 belting free kicks from the Japanese, they are playing really well. Massively impressed by Matsui and Honda, but Matsui in particular.

[Maksimov]

Oh, piss off, Maksimov - truly!

Nice day to you too!

I didn't intend any racial slur with my comment. I don't like racial stereotypes, but I also won't like it when teams try to bully their way into a win. The way they tried to get the Slovakian keeper sent off was the reason I wrote that and I stand by my earlier post. I didn't write a longer reply at the time as the match was still on and didn't remember to come back and comment on it a bit more. For that I apologize, but I still think it was well out of order. Fight until the end, but do it like the team USA did it. There's absolutely no need for bullying like that.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Maksimov

[Hutch]

in that respect i actually had a lot of sympathy with the Italians. the Slovakia goalkeeper began his time-wasting tactics almost as soon as they went 1-0 up after 25 minutes and kept up this behaviour throughout the rest of the game. watching Japan v Denmark later i wondered whether the way the Slovakians were wasting time had any effect on the referee who I thought undeservedly booked a couple of Japanese players for time wasting.

also the way the Slovakians were throwing themselves to the floor was irritating in the extreme. the one thing they didn't do (or at least not that i noticed) was cover their faces with their hands, rivaldo style, which has become one of the least savoury features of tthis World Cup.

[dkw]

in that respect i actually had a lot of sympathy with the Italians. the Slovakia goalkeeper began his time-wasting tactics almost as soon as they went 1-0 up after 25 minutes and kept up this behaviour throughout the rest of the game. watching Japan v Denmark later i wondered whether the way the Slovakians were wasting time had any effect on the referee who I thought undeservedly booked a couple of Japanese players for time wasting.

also the way the Slovakians were throwing themselves to the floor was irritating in the extreme. the one thing they didn't do (or at least not that i noticed) was cover their faces with their hands, rivaldo style, which has become one of the least savoury features of tthis World Cup.

And the Italians never do any of this?

[Hutch]

And the Italians never do any of this?

i didn't see much of that kind of thing from them yesterday. did you? and after all it's yesterday's game we're talking about here. however:

the infuriating thing about the Italians is the way they don't come out of their shells until it's too late. with luck, they could have snatched a win yesterday, but it serves them right for displaying the same old "don't do any more than we have to" type mentality. they have plenty of talent and experience but choose to sit back until, as yesterday, it was too late. in this respect, i don't have any sympathy for them; this is where the Italians are their own worst enemies.

[Virosh]

i didn't see much of that kind of thing from them yesterday. did you? and after all it's yesterday's game we're talking about here. however:

the infuriating thing about the Italians is the way they don't come out of their shells until it's too late. with luck, they could have snatched a win yesterday, but it serves them right for displaying the same old "don't do any more than we have to" type mentality. they have plenty of talent and experience but choose to sit back until, as yesterday, it was too late. in this respect, i don't have any sympathy for them; this is where the Italians are their own worst enemies.

Well no, you do need to be winning to do this, don't you ?

[dkw]

i didn't see much of that kind of thing from them yesterday. did you? and after all it's yesterday's game we're talking about here. however:

Yes, yes i did. Plenty of falling over going on as usual from both teams. Look, if Italy had needed to draw and go through they would have been wasting as much time as the Slovaks did, i doubt anyone can argue. The fact they were chasing the game meant they were hardly gonna waste time yesterday now were they.

[Hutch]

Yes, yes i did. Plenty of falling over going on as usual from both teams. Look, if Italy had needed to draw and go through they would have been wasting as much time as the Slovaks did, i doubt anyone can argue. The fact they were chasing the game meant they were hardly gonna waste time yesterday now were they.

i really don't know what you're arguing about. fact is the Slovakians were wasting time outrageously, especially the goalkeeper/. i think you criticised the Italians for "bullying"? well the way the keeper in particular was wasting time i'd have had no sympathy if he'd been literally kicked off the park. if the circumstances had been reversed and the Italian keeper had been performing in the same way, then i'd have said the same about him.

similarly you state that "if Italy had needed a draw.. " but they didn't. they needed to win yesterday and the fact remains that i'm talking about yesterday's game, which means that any point about how they might have behaved in different circumstances is pretty much irrelevant.. do you honestly think brazil v portugal would have been played the same way had either team needed to win? of course it wouldn't.

Well no, you do need to be winning to do this, don't you ?

yes but they weren't were they. and like i said, they're their own worst enemies. but i'll say it again if you like. Italy have the talent and the experience to have gone out and attacked Slovakia from the word go. that they didn't and paid the price is their own fault.

Edited June 25, 2010 by stride