2010 World Cup

Goot · June 5, 2010 1:13AM

Less than a week before the opening match so I figured I'd go ahead and get this started... USA picked up a solid 3-1 win over the Aussies today without a few of the starters. Time to rest up for England!

ajaan · June 5, 2010 1:30AM

This is one World Cup I'm really have trouble picking a winner. I just can't find a favorite to win, which is a good thing. IMO it's a wide open tournament.

As a side note, I find it really annoying watching the games from South Africa with the horns they blow that sound like a hoard of bees. My wife watched about 5 minutes of the game today and commented on the annoying sound. Just our opinion.

VitoCo1972 · June 5, 2010 3:26AM

My best guess is a final four of Argentina v. Spain and Brazil v. France. I've looked at it a bunch of ways and I would think the best upset chance of the tournament would be the Netherlands beating Brazil in the quarters. The Ivorians were a great underdog pick in the Group of Death but without Drogba they just don't have enough firepower. Don't be surprised by the Cameroon team. They might make some noise. If I had to pick a team to win the whole thing right now it would be France.

jdip9 · June 5, 2010 8:35PM

If France wins the World Cup after the Henry handball, it would be the biggest travesty since....the Jim Joyce blown call last week!

Spain and Argentina seem like locks for the Final 4...I'm not ready to put Brazil there yet...I agree with ajaan that the tournament is pretty wide open.

My squad is Italy, I enjoyed every minute of their run in 2006...this time around, I'm just hoping they can win their group and get to the quarters vs. Spain.

VitoCo1972 · June 6, 2010 2:46AM

I agree that winning after the Ireland fleecing would make the world hate the French even more but Henry, Anelka and Malouda are all on top form right now. That's a strong team.

Goot · June 6, 2010 3:02AM

I'm relieved to see that Altidore put in some work today.

LINK

ajaan · June 6, 2010 9:46AM

I would love to see a repeat of 1950 for the US in their first match.

sagard · June 6, 2010 3:28PM

<< My squad is Italy, I enjoyed every minute of their run in 2006...this time around, I'm just hoping they can win their group and get to the quarters vs. Spain. >>

You enjoyed their perfection of the dive and whine? I actually enjoyed their run in '94 when Baggio was so brilliant, but the '06 squad was everything that is wrong with soccer.

I'm rooting for anyone but Mexico and the Europeans.

Goot · June 11, 2010 1:02AM

Opening match is taking place right now!

RipublicaninMass · June 11, 2010 3:00AM

my two favorites Italy then Brazil

jdip9 · June 11, 2010 8:58AM

<<<You enjoyed their perfection of the dive and whine?>>>

Let's not pretend they are the only side that takes dives....they may do it better and/or more often than most, but just about every country has their share of floppers.

Regardless, you can't say they didn't deserve the title...they gave up 2 goals all tournament - an own goal and a PK...it wasn't pretty like Brazil or Spain, but was certainly effective.

sagard · June 12, 2010 12:51PM

If Zidane doesn't go crazy I think the French would have scored in extra time. I do realize there is a saying about if/butts/candy/nuts, so yeah they deserved it. The Italians play the Euro sissy game of dive and whine, hopefully this cup the refs don't reward it.

****

Bad result for the US today in my opinion. Only the one chance in the second half. Oh well. Win the next two and let the Brits choke away another point and we can hopefully win the group. Need a lot better and a lot more ball control though.

ShawnyD · June 12, 2010 3:35PM

woohoo an exciting TIE GAME. USA USA USA!

this is like the superbowl, except its every 4 years. and you can end the game in a tie.

LAME.

Goot · June 12, 2010 3:59PM

<< woohoo an exciting TIE GAME. USA USA USA!

this is like the superbowl, except its every 4 years. and you can end the game in a tie.

LAME. >>

Please visit the other World Cup hate thread

And the game today was not like the Super Bowl... the knockout rounds haven't started yet. No ties then. Oh, and the NFL has ties in the regular season, which is pretty much what the group stages are in the World Cup.

DeutscherGeist · June 12, 2010 8:50PM

DeutscherGeist · June 12, 2010 9:00PM

The USA did well against England. Project 2010 has worked out nicely! The USA team is challenging anyone right now.

They got to the second round in 1994, a coaching change in 1998 produced an underachieving team that did not get past the 1st round. A revitalized team in 2002 had a quarterfinal finish, but the team in 2006 came up short. There has been some growing pains in USA soccer, but this is a good year for them. The team is talented and well organized and the coach is new and hungry for victory.

I like the USA team because these guys play a sport that has been the black sheep of America. It is not the most prestigeous or glamorous sport here, but these players have their hearts in the sport and work just as hard as any athlete. They play because they want to. They don't earn the big bucks that other pro-atheletes make in NFL, MLB or NBA. The heroes of USA soccer are unsung, low profile and love the sport. This is why I like the USA soccer team. Against all odds, these athletes came to appreciate soccer and did not let all the taunting during childhood bother them. They loved the sport and went after it. Love USA soccer!!

swartz1 · June 12, 2010 9:25PM

Great game yesterday - both forwards had a chance to put it in the net for their respective squads...

should make the "other" Group C game today watchable...

jdip9 · June 12, 2010 11:59PM

I went to a bar outside of Fenway to watch the US/England game before heading in to watch the Sox. The atmosphere before the US game was more electric than any Boston sporting event I've ever watched in a bar. I couldn't believe it. The energy fizzled as the game wore on (mainly because US fans don't have any cool chants to keep themselves entertained during the lulls in play), but I was surprised in how many people were genuinely excited for the game.

edmundfitzgerald · June 13, 2010 12:11AM

The cream will rise to the top in this tournament. Neither England nor the USA are the cream.
Having said that, I do like our chances to make it to the second round.

jdip9 · June 17, 2010 8:23AM

Time to get this thread back on the first page.

Glad to see France on the brink of elimination. Hopefully justice is served.

Argentina looks really strong, two dominating performances so far.

sagard · June 20, 2010 3:23AM

Fun to see all the Euros struggling. France looks to be done. Germany, Spain, Italy, England, and Portugal could have bad things happen if they don't get wins in their next match.

Hopefully the US can get the win vs. Algeria, but with their sloppy play I don't see any way of getting a shutout. Scoring twice is a burden for almost every team, so I'm guessing they will draw 1-1 and fail to get out of group play again. They hit a board vs. England, and obviously things could have gone better vs. Slovenia, but they have no one but themselves to blame for their current situation. They just don't have the depth of skill to control games at this level.

Best quote of the day. "I'm proud to be Italian, but the Italian soccer team is a bunch of babies and divers...pretty embarrassing."

Hopefully the refs swallow the whistle a bit for the last games of group play next week.

Goot · June 20, 2010 8:24AM

Breathe in....Breathe out........

WE LOVVVVVEEE SOCCCCERRR

BTW, I have to work on Wednesday during the USA game! I made sure I set that baby to record. Luckily no tv's or phones at work so I won't have any spoiler alerts!

jdip9 · June 20, 2010 11:46AM

<<<Best quote of the day. "I'm proud to be Italian, but the Italian soccer team is a bunch of babies and divers...pretty embarrassing.">>>

Totally embarassing effort by the Italian side today. If Lippi starts Iaquinta and Gilardino again, I'm going to pull my hair out. Those guys are absolutely useless. I can't wait for Pirlo to take the field, hopefully with DiNatale at one of the striker positions.

Boopotts · June 20, 2010 12:00PM

<< Time to get this thread back on the first page.

Glad to see France on the brink of elimination. Hopefully justice is served.

Argentina looks really strong, two dominating performances so far. >>

I have completely fallen in love with the French team. Guys getting kicked off the squad, squabbles between the captain and the trainer, the entire team retreating to the team bus, drawing the shades and refusing to practice... And now we have the director or something of an entity called the 'French Football Federation' saying he doesn't know what's going on, he's disgusted with the team, and he thinks they're representing the country in a poor fashion.

Honest to God, you can't find this kind of entertainment anywhere on the N.American sports landscape. The only thing that could compare would be if we had a team where all the players, the coaches and upper management had channeled Terrel Owens' behavior for an entire year. It's like what the Texas Rangers could have been during the Rocker/Everett era if things had worked out a hair differently.

yawie99 · June 20, 2010 2:52PM

As a huge Thierry Henry fan, I'm kinda pained to see his international career (presumably) end in such a fashion. Then again, you had to see this kind of meltdown coming. Why the FFF let Domenech continue as a lame duck is beyond me. France is certainly toast; crazy to think that England and Italy could fail to advance, too.

Connecticoin · June 21, 2010 4:56AM

Aw, poor North Korea.

MeteoriteGuy · June 21, 2010 5:07AM

Maybe I am just an outsider (not a soccer fan in general)....but there sure seems to be more drama off the field then on the field this year.

jdip9 · June 21, 2010 5:17AM

Yeah, they were making the point on ESPN that the blown call against them last game did more for soccer in this country than any single game or tournament ever had before. I'll agree with them for now, although if the US makes a miraculous run to the Final 4 this year, soccer might finally take the next step up in popularity.

billwaltonsbeard · June 22, 2010 10:09PM

big games today! at the same time

sagard · June 23, 2010 2:34AM

Landy Cakes in extra time! US wins the pool and will likely get either Ghana or Serbia in the round of 16.

billwaltonsbeard · June 23, 2010 2:58AM

That was awesome!!

Almost as exciting as a Nascar race!!!

jdip9 · June 23, 2010 10:17AM

U.S. gets screwed out of another goal, yet still pull out the win! Should be a good match with Ghana, definitely winnable for the U.S.

jdip9 · June 26, 2010 9:53PM

Disappointing result for the U.S. If anything has become painfully obvious it's that they need to be better (or at least more consistent) in the back. I thought they showed a lot of creativity on offense thoughout the match (and tournament). Good mix of long balls, one-twos up the wing, quick counters, Dempsey was great heading balls to guy's feet. For the first time, I feel like U.S. can compete on the big stage. I haven't felt that in the past.

stevek · June 26, 2010 11:01PM

Ghana?

megatron · June 27, 2010 1:37AM

<< Disappointing result for the U.S. If anything has become painfully obvious it's that they need to be better (or at least more consistent) in the back. I thought they showed a lot of creativity on offense thoughout the match (and tournament). Good mix of long balls, one-twos up the wing, quick counters, Dempsey was great heading balls to guy's feet. For the first time, I feel like U.S. can compete on the big stage. I haven't felt that in the past. >>

At least we are improving on our dives and acting abilities and should be on par with our European counterparts in a couple of World Cups.

Germany and England is a good match thus far.

Soccer needs instant replay!!!

Connecticoin · June 27, 2010 1:51AM

<< 

<< Disappointing result for the U.S. If anything has become painfully obvious it's that they need to be better (or at least more consistent) in the back. I thought they showed a lot of creativity on offense thoughout the match (and tournament). Good mix of long balls, one-twos up the wing, quick counters, Dempsey was great heading balls to guy's feet. For the first time, I feel like U.S. can compete on the big stage. I haven't felt that in the past. >>

At least we are improving on our dives and acting abilities and should be on par with our European counterparts in a couple of World Cups.

Germany and England is a good match thus far.

Soccer needs instant replay!!! >>

Yup, they probably will get it for 2014.

jdip9 · June 27, 2010 11:28AM

If they are going to institute replay for goals (and I think they should), they should review all games after the fact, and hand out yellow cards for guys that took dives. Some of these dives are happening 30-40 yards from a ref, and are impossible to detect live.

That would really clean up the one part of the game that the casual fan hates the most.

sagard · July 3, 2010 3:48PM

All kinds of awesomeness in the quarters.

Ghana. Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of fellows. Next time don't bend over for Germany in the final game of pool play. And quit beating us.

Paraguay will be missed. Great effort vs. Spain. Too bad about the close offsides and the failure to convert the PK.

Congrats to the Dutch and the Germans for playing so well.

2010 World Cup

Comments