ethicalstrategy Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Japan v. Paraguay 15:00 BST Spain v. Portugal 19:00 BST Last of the second round matches today. The match tonight looks very interesting. Spain should go through but the Portuguese defence has been very solid and Spain's " tiki-taka" game may come unstuck.
Spiller86 Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Plenty of good judges have been saying that Portugal can win this one. If Riccy and co. can keep a handle on Villa and Torres then they are a real chance. Have been impressed with a few of Portugal's players notably Coentrao and Meireles, and I could see this one being nil-all and going all the way to pens.
BigIzz Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 I think Japan has played the same eleven for all four matches, I wonder what effect fatigue will have on the squad as this game goes on?
Virosh Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Well, we have the first shoot-out in the tournament. Oh, the drama.
dkw Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Glad for some drama as that was a terrible match played by 2 teams terrified to attack.
Ruh Buh Juh Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 That was one of the less exciting penalty shoot-outs I've seen in my time...
The Moos Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Damn! I was hoping that Japan would win. Great penalties though, apart from the one that hit the bar.
Phillip Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Damn! I was hoping that Japan would win. Great penalties though, apart from the one that hit the bar. Disagree. There was one horrible one taken by a Paraguay player, I think the 3rd one, and it was no where near the right post. Thankfully for him, the keeper went the other way. Kind of reminded me of Anelka's penalty at CL final -- poorly placed and not going very fast.
Randy36 Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 So Paraguay, one of the most defensive oriented teams in the tournament go through to the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout. The Japanese keeper looked clueless in the situation. I believe Spain has the players to crack their defence. Against Portugal it could turn into another penalty shootout!
Phillip Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 So Paraguay, one of the most defensive oriented teams in the tournament go through to the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout. The Japanese keeper looked clueless in the situation. I believe Spain has the players to crack their defence. Against Portugal it could turn into another penalty shootout! The Japanese keeper almost got to one of the penalty kicks -- he guessed correctly, and just missed getting his hand on the ball. On the last one, with the long run-up by the Portugal player, the Japanese keeper left way to early, allowing the Paraguay player to easily kick the ball into the other side of the net. Otherwise, I thought the Japanese keeper did well -- just a bit unlucky in his guesses of which way the ball was to be shot.
Mikstaw Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Maybe there will be penalty shootout in the match Spain-Portugal? I'd like to see some drama too! :D
Spiller86 Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Interesting that Spain have gone with a 4-2-2-2, no wingers in sight. Hope their lack of width doesn't come back to bite them later on.
Virosh Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Portugal are being given a lesson in holding football. Barring a mistake, I don't see how Spain can lose this.
Hutch Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 for the second game in succession Spanish play-acting gets a player sent off. last time it was Torres hurling himself to the floor, tonight it was Capdevila holding his face. not only do i not want Spain to win this World Cup, i would truly love to see them kicked off the park. literally. felt a little sorry for Japan earlier because of a string of truly awful refereeing decisions. Honda was booked for raising his arms, apparently, even though neither if hi arms was anywhere near a Paraguyan player. another Japanese player was similarly booked for non-contact. contrast that with the time a Paraguayan player (i think it was Da Silva) felled a Japanese player with a forearm smash, the ref told the Japanese player to get on with it. and then what looked to be a sure-fire penalty was awarded as a free kick to Paraguay when Da Silva clattered into a Japanese player.
Spiller86 Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 Not sure exactly what happened for the red card, but from what I saw it looked like a straight dive. I really can't believe that FIFA haven't clamped down on this kind of behaviour. Until players can be suspended retrospectively for this kind of rubbish, players (mostly from Latin countries) will continue to threaten the legitimacy of the game.
TheWestwayWonder Posted June 30, 2010 Posted June 30, 2010 I was really hoping Portugal would pull the upset, namely for our contingent and Tiago. But also because their rout of North Korea really made me like them. Cant argue with the result, I guess, Spain controlled the match, but like Stride I had a sour taste in my mouth. Capdevila cheaply ensured the comeback would never happen, and with the likes of Sergio Biscuits and Puyol in the side, it was hard enough to be happy for them. Wish we'd gone for David Villa, amazing player. Came here to post the exact same thing, god I wish this guy played for us, he is a killer in front of goal.
sdsdsdsd Posted June 30, 2010 Posted June 30, 2010 Carvalho played very well...probably Chelseas best player in the tournament. Unfortunately no more Chelsea players =(
PloKoon13 Posted June 30, 2010 Posted June 30, 2010 I seem to get more and more disgusted with Spain every time I see them play. I hope they get their comeuppance.
Hutch Posted June 30, 2010 Posted June 30, 2010 (edited) on the bright side: Ronaldo left 'a broken man' Portugal star heartbroken at World Cup exit Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he was left with a feeling of 'unimaginable sadness' following Portugal's elimination from the World Cup. "I feel a broken man, completely disconsolate, frustrated and an unimaginable sadness," he said in a statement released on the website of Gestifute, which is owned by his agent. "I was not in a position to explain what was what. I am a human being, and like any human being I suffer and I have the right to suffer alone. Edited June 30, 2010 by stride
icecoolguy22 Posted July 1, 2010 Posted July 1, 2010 At least he didn't cry this time. He has nothing to complain these days, it was 10 Portugal players plus a spectator on the filed yesterday.
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