World Cup

Vajradhara

Vajradhara

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Namaste all,

any members here following the World Cup? here in the States the coverage is somewhat spotty. the U.S. National team has its first test on June 12, so i don't know how much they will be showing prior to that.

i would hope that team USA does well, though i suspect that Germany or Argentina are going to be one of the finalists.

metta,

~v
 
What the European delegation calls "football" (us Americans call "soccer".) You know, the Bend It Like Beckham sport.

Oops, sorry about this. :eek: *heads for the mope corner, :kitty: in tow*

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Will be watching, too. :)

I'm not a big sports fan, but once the stakes become high in the international games, you can get some pretty entertaining football. :)
 
I'll be watching through the night.

As for a winner, obviously my heart says England, but my head just can't get past those Brazilians.
 
the Brazlian squad seems to be a perinniel favorite to take the Cup. I think that England has a solid chance to make it far in the tournament though i suspect there could be an upset or two. the African teams are showing some real improvement in the past two Cups.

metta,

~v
 
I hope I'm wrong, and as you rightly point out there will be a few upsets (who predicted Senegal would beat France 4 years ago) but I think the draw has been very tough on the African teams. Tunisia has a decent chance of getting out of Group H, but the continent's best teams in Germany, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, are both in tough groups.

There are so many strong squads there, there are at least 6 teams with a real chance of winning.

Here's to football
 
indeed! long live the Cup!

it does seem a bit of a tough draw for the African teams. that always seems to be the case, though. of course, they have tended to fair better than the Asian teams, at least in the Mens division.

this is *the* sporting even that i look forward to :)

here's a link to all the teams and their groups:

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/group/index.html

metta,

~v
 
It's here, the big day has arrived. Last night I felt like a little boy on Christmas Eve, all nerves and excitment.

Tonight's games should be interesting, I want to see how Germany do. Tomorrow though will be fantastic.

Don't know about the Asian teams, look at South Korea last time. I think both they and Japan will qualify from their groups but then will have tough ties against strong European teams.

I hope there will be some upsets, it's good to see these teams coming through.
 
i was surprised by Ecuador and their result against Poland. good show for those guys. the Central American teams have a tough go round in this Cup.

did you see the German-Costa Rica match? that was a brilliant 40-yard strike, truly supurb.

i've heard something about the use of a new ball this time around.. i'll see what i can find out about it.

metta,

~v
 
Didn't see the Ecuador game, (it was on at 3am here and I was really tired) but am also very surprised by the result. Saw some highlights this morning and it looks like Poland had a decent goal ruled offside and then hit the woodwork twice.

Germany 4-2, I was surprised, but I think the German defence looks a bit fragile.

Yeah, the new ball, Apparently it's a lot lighter and the goalkeepers aren't too happy with it because it doesn't have true flight through the air. I guess FIFA just want more goals.

Tonight's the big night though, come on England.
 
i think that you are right about the goals.

whilst for a purist, a 1-0 match is a great game, it often doesn't sell as well on television, so it would seem.

we saw a similar phenomena in American baseball where the balls were wound tighter and thus allowed more home runs to be hit.

i'm looking forward to Englands match today as well. the Poles are in a tough spot now, it's difficult to win when you get 0 points for the first match. though, they could show up against a regional rival like Germany.

metta,

~v
 
The Germany game was decent enough - plenty of goals to entertain. The Poles so so unlucky - only saw the last 10 minutes, and it was like watching an old England match!
 
England was typically frsutrating to watch - all too often once they're one goal ahead, they start to go to sleep and waste the ball a lot.

Was really great and nail-biting to watch Trinidad & Tobago force Sweden to a goal-less draw. Although there were no goals scored, T&T played with brilliant energy & enthusiasm, not least considering they are complete rank outsiders.

Hopefully the urgency by both teams to win to stay in the tournament will help force England to play with more passion, too.
 
T&T really impressed after they were down to 10 men within the first moments of the second half. really an outstanding effort for them, truly surprising in this Cup!

the England match wasn't what i was expecting from the England side at this point in the Cup. i agree, Brian, they will have to focus their efforts if they expect to go far in the tourney.

metta,

~v
 
Yeah, same old story with England, the midfield dropped too deep and we just started pumping the long balls.

Thought the sending off of that T&T chap was a bit harsh. I was also impressed by how well they played. Maybe there really aren't any easy World Cup games any more.
 
Anyone see the Argentina vs Ivory Coast match? Saw the last half hour and the Africans were impressive - Argentina were demonstrably one of the most skilled teams competing, but the Ivory Coast refused to be beaten and showed some excellent energetic and skillful football themselves - enough to pull a goal back for themselves towards the end. Will be interesting to see how Ivory Coast play in the rest of the group.
 
Yeah, I saw the game, they were a good side, big and physical, but also had a good touch and were composed on the ball. I saw on TV here that they're one of the favorites for the tournament, that could say more about Taiwanese TV than it does about their chances though.

It will be interesting to watch them play Holland, I wouldn't want to predict a winner.
 
Team USA has their match in about 30 mins. i'm looking forward to a good contest.

i must say, i was surprised at how pooly Portugal played. they won but that seemed more like chance than skill. should be an interesting tourney for them.

metta,

~v
 
I didn't catch the USA game but am sorry for the result, you're going to have a tough time in that group.

Did you see the Mexico, Iran yesterday? great game. Don't know how to explain, it was the first game where I felt like I was watching the World Cup.
 
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