The Official World Cup Thread

[WYNESS101]

Germany 4-0 Argentina

[SMEE]

I cant see The Germans getting beat....they are looking pretty awesome!

[tm4tj]

Argentina made England look good. I agree with smee, the Germans are looking very efficient, working hard as a unit and counter attacking at pace. They will be a difficult team to beat.

[SMEE]

^Yarp....Looks like the German machine could be back to its best. The ominous thing for other teams is, the core of it is a pretty young team and has a few yrs to develop before the next major championship.

[CaleyStag]

I've never been prouder of Germany. I hate Argentina, and I'm so glad that short, fat, coked-up disgrace of a human being won't be getting his dirty cheating 'Hand of God' on the World Cup.

England at least scored against ze Germans. That makes us better than Argentina. That's how it works right? And Messi has been shown to be the over-hyped one trick pony that he is. I hate him, and his dismal, goalless World Cup campaign has delighted me to no end.

Here's some interesting reading:

Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo = 1 Goal.

Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Robert Vittek (Slovakia) and Landon Donovan (USA) = 11 Goals.

Stick that in your stats pipe and smoke it.

[SMEE]

I cant actually think of one..so called "star" who has upped their value (nor come to think of it...lived up to their value) in this world cup. That sed...ad still love to see a Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney in an ICT shirt!

[+DoofersDad]

Some intersting stats on Germany's games against the English and the Argies. In both games Germany had less possession, fewer shots at goal, fewer shots on target and won fewer corners than their opponents and yet were comfortable winners looking very much the better side.

The thing is that they are playing really well as a team and that is good to see as football is at it's best when the team works as a unit. They are well organised and force their opponents to shoot at distance. They are then counter attacking well, keeping their composure and actually looking to find their team mates rather than shooting speculatively. Much as it pains me to say it, I'm almost wanting Germany to win this now.

Argentina were poor. They relied on their stars to do individual bits of magic. There was no plan B when the Germans snuffed out their threat and Maradonna was revealed to have a coaching brain more in line with his right foot than his left. Hopefully that will be the last we see of him.

[Renegade]

Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo = 1 Goal.

And that one goal was scored against.......North Korea!

[Tug]

spain paraguay

2 penalties

1 retake

2 saves

approximately 5 mins

wow

1-0 Spain 82 mins gone

Edited July 3, 2010 by Tug

[gordyfromsneck]

Well I'm gutted for Ghana. They played well and the game could've either way, but it would've been nice to see an African side do well (even though technically, Ghana are the furthest going African side in a WC ever. Senegal and Cameroon were beaten in extra time, while Ghana went to penalties!). Asamoah Gyan in particular I'm gutted for, for missing his penalty, but then having the courage to step up and take the first one and hit it perfectly. He's played very well throughout the tournament as well. Obviously there's the whole argument about the actions of the Uruguayan handballer, what he did I suppose was punished but morally what he did benefited his team, which really isn't gentlemenly and in the spirit of the game.

What this game does show tough, is that you have to take your chances, and the fact that Ghana didn't and some of their players took some horrible penalties cost them. We'll see an African winner one day, and it could well be them. It might not happen in the next couple of WCs but it'll happen one day, of that I have no doubt.

I have followed The Blackstars throughout this competition and the last one, and hoped that they would make the semi, and whilst the best African team at the tourney, were probably pushing their luck. The draw had been kind to them with Uruguay and if they were going to progress this was their chance.

I too think the Uruguayan acted instinctively, (just as a striker does when heading a corner for example) but that excuses nothing. As the Uruguay coach said, he broke the rules, he paid the penalty, but we did not make Gyan miss the kick. tbh I suspected a lot worse from the U's due to a lot of previous cheating.

I thought about Rooney, when Gyan stepped up for his shoot out kick; Adam did someting the same recently - was it against Partick - where he missed one then slotted in the other soon after. The problem penalty wise was Mensah, who looked sluggish the whole game, and the young lad who took the last one. You would be hard pushed to find two worse penaltys.

Ghanaians, and Africans in general, do not do "pressure". Anyone who has waited in a post office queue for the clerk to finish their nap, will know about that. But things are changing, as the raw talent and enthusiasm, of which there is an anormous amount, gets taken up by European sides.

They will continue to fourish, though gradually, but the Blackstars caught the imagination and later sympathy, of the world.

[SMEE]

Well I'm gutted for Ghana. They played well and the game could've either way, but it would've been nice to see an African side do well (even though technically, Ghana are the furthest going African side in a WC ever. Senegal and Cameroon were beaten in extra time, while Ghana went to penalties!). Asamoah Gyan in particular I'm gutted for, for missing his penalty, but then having the courage to step up and take the first one and hit it perfectly. He's played very well throughout the tournament as well. Obviously there's the whole argument about the actions of the Uruguayan handballer, what he did I suppose was punished but morally what he did benefited his team, which really isn't gentlemenly and in the spirit of the game.

What this game does show tough, is that you have to take your chances, and the fact that Ghana didn't and some of their players took some horrible penalties cost them. We'll see an African winner one day, and it could well be them. It might not happen in the next couple of WCs but it'll happen one day, of that I have no doubt.

I have followed The Blackstars throughout this competition and the last one, and hoped that they would make the semi, and whilst the best African team at the tourney, were probably pushing their luck. The draw had been kind to them with Uruguay and if they were going to progress this was their chance.

I too think the Uruguayan acted instinctively, (just as a striker does when heading a corner for example) but that excuses nothing. As the Uruguay coach said, he broke the rules, he paid the penalty, but we did not make Gyan miss the kick. tbh I suspected a lot worse from the U's due to a lot of previous cheating.

I thought about Rooney, when Gyan stepped up for his shoot out kick; Adam did someting the same recently - was it against Partick - where he missed one then slotted in the other soon after. The problem penalty wise was Mensah, who looked sluggish the whole game, and the young lad who took the last one. You would be hard pushed to find two worse penaltys.

Ghanaians, and Africans in general, do not do "pressure". Anyone who has waited in a post office queue for the clerk to finish their nap, will know about that. But things are changing, as the raw talent and enthusiasm, of which there is an anormous amount, gets taken up by European sides.

They will continue to fourish, though gradually, but the Blackstars caught the imagination and later sympathy, of the world.

I feel pretty gutted for the Ghanians. They were CHEATED out of their place in the semis. Even a Penalty kick was no compensation, as, as it was proved, penalties are missable......their shot which was handled on the line was a dead cert GOAL!

[Yngwie]

Clearly a penalty is not compensation for the goal they would have got. Maybe football should introduce the equivalent of the "penalty try" you can get in rugby when a deliberate infringement stops a certain score?

[RiG]

I feel pretty gutted for the Ghanians. They were CHEATED out of their place in the semis. Even a Penalty kick was no compensation, as, as it was proved, penalties are missable......their shot which was handled on the line was a dead cert GOAL!

Utter rubbish. Even before that incident Ghana were at it with their play acting and diving. Uruguay should also have had a penalty during the course of ET for a cynical trip by a Ghanian defender. They were just as bad if not worse for cheating than Uruguay. Even after the handball by Suarez Ghana still had a chance to score and bottled it. Any other player would have done what Suarez did.

[Yngwie]

Maradona's keener than ever to get his hands on the trophy.

South American creativity

[+DoofersDad]

Maradona's keener than ever to get his hands on the trophy.

South American creativity

He already has.

[tm4tj]

ooft

Thats a mighty spectacular goal from van Bronckhorst...........whooooosh

[Snow]

ooft

Thats a mighty spectacular goal from van Bronckhorst...........whooooosh

Just beautiful.

[tm4tj]

Wooooosh again, spanker from Forlan, although the keeper won't want to watch the replays.

[Yngwie]

Cracking game between 2 wee nations.

If only Scotland had finished runners up to Netherlands in qualifying, we would perhaps be able to claim to be the 2nd best team in the world after Sunday's final.

[MissICT]

WELL DONE TO NETHERLANDS

[+DoofersDad]

ooft

Thats a mighty spectacular goal from van Bronckhorst...........whooooosh

Absolute perfection - but he should never have got the chance. The referee should have blown for a horrendous, potential leg breaking challenge by Van Bommel which could and probably should have seen him red carded. If the Uruguay lad had writhed around like the Dutch do rather than just picking himself up and getting on with it, things may have been different. The more the match went on the more I wanted Uruguay to win.

[Renegade]

How come Uruguay have always had a pretty decent side, yet are only about the size of Wales? What are they doing right that others aren't?

[SMEE]

How come Uruguay have always had a pretty decent side, yet are only about the size of Wales? What are they doing right that others aren't?

I was wondering this myself....they have won it something like 3 times previously. Pretty amazing feat!

[tm4tj]

Uruguay have won it twice. They won the first one ever held and that was in Uruguay and won it again in 1950 in Brazil. They beat Argentina in 1930 and Brazil in 1950. Here's some trivia from the 1930 Finals.

?The first world cup soccer match kicked off on July 13th, 1930 with France beating Mexico 4 to 1

?France's captain in the first World Cup match, Alex Villaplane, was killed fifteen years later for alleged collaboration with the Nazis. Villaplane was shot dead by French resistence fighters in July 1945.

?A record that will surely never be beaten, the lowest recorded attendance for a match was 300 spectators for the match between Romania & Peru in Montevideo on 14 July 1930.

?The Romanian team in World Cup 1930 were selected by their King. The 'football-crazy' King Carol II of Romania personally selected the team, and asked the employers to grant each player a three-month leave with full pay.

?Uruguayan goalkeeper Antonio Mazzali returned home before kick-off of the 1930 finals as he had sneaked out from the hotel without permission. The Uruguayan team had been isolated in a Montevideo hotel for almost eight weeks before Mazzali sneaked out one night to visit his family. Mazzali was a member of Uruguay's Olympic gold medal teams in 1924 and 1928, but he had never appeared in any World Cup finals.

?The match between Argentina and France on 15 July 1930 was terminated by the referee by mistake six minutes before time. The Brazilian referee Almeida Rego whistled to end the match at the 39th minute in the second half when Argentina was leading 1-0. He resumed the match half an hour later, but no goal was scored in the 'extra' time.

?The USA trainer had to be carried off unconscious during the 1930 Semi-Final against Argentina after he ran to the pitch to attend an injured player, dropped his medicine box, and broke a bottle of chloroform. When he tried to pick up the broken bottle, he took in the fumes and fell to the ground immediately. The injured player recovered without any treatment.

?The two semi-final matches saw identical 6-1 scores, as Argentina beat the US and Uruguay defeated Yugoslavia.

?Thousands of Argentinian supporters failed to attend the 1930 Final as their boats were delayed due to thick fog. Eight of the ten chartered boats were unable to arrive in time for the Final, though fortunately the match referee was on the first boat that arrived.

?Uruguay and Argentina tossed up before the 1930 Final to choose the ball, as both teams wanted to use their own 'home-made' ball in the Final. Argentina won and their ball was used in the first half and the Uruguayan ball the second half.

?Hector Castro, who scored Uruguay's winning goal in the 1930 Final, had only one hand. He had lost one hand and part of his arm in a childhood accident.

?An unexpected consequence of Argentina's defeat in the 1930 Final was that the Argentinian president was overthrown several days after the Final. Argentinian president Irigoyen was overthrown in a military coup flamed by the deeply disappointed citizens.

?After winning the World Cup in 1930, the Uruguayan players were treated as national heroes, and each player was presented with a plot of land and a new house by the municipality of Montevideo.

Cor blimey, I can just see some of these things happening nowadays.

[Renegade]

Here's another WC fact for you - no goalkeeper has ever scored in the WC finals.

But this is probably the closest ever (1:17) -