Posted on 06/14/2006 5:46:34 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
1-0 SPAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Spain!
Sorry Poland, but you have to go home - your bad that you lost against Ecuador!
Spain 2-0!!
Espana 2-0. A little luck doesn't hurt.
2-0 SPAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is exactly what my wife said... The upset of the tournament is coming this saturday the USA will beat Italy.
Could you later tell me what they think about the organisation, the hosts, etc? Thanks!
I have wondered for years... who in heck is BRUCE ARENA anyway? (the US coach), in soccer terms?.... Was he a great player in a decent team somewhere?... Why is he the couch of the US Team? What is the criteria? I am not trying to blame him, alone. The whole American Soccer scene has produced nothing of substance really. But Arena, is certainly an important piece of puzzle. Why not import a first class couch from somewhere?... Someone who has actually won something. Someone who can tech a system? The US, seem confused in their playing, they seem to try to play all styles (short slow game, long fast as well), but can not master either... Now it would be nice if they combine the two styles, the melting pot of soccer styles so to speak... I truly want to know what you think on this.
The refs like in the 1988 Olympics were the problem in Korea. Ask Roy Jones.
Ukraine is going uphill and Shevchenko is playing but no one knows his fitness since his injury last month. Spain got an early corner goal and a top of the box shot off a foolish foul. It's 2-0 and not even halfway into the first half.
Shevchenko is now carrying a heavy load on a day into the 90s.
Don't let America's bad performance fool you. The Czechs are that good. I would think that with Koller healthy they could beat Brasil.
Spain looks very good with these 2 early goals.
Let's hope. It's really USA's only chance of advancing -- a draw keeps them alive, but only barely. Wins over Italy and Ghana get them through to the second round, and could even win them the group in the unlikely case that the CR goes draw-draw or draw-loss with Ghana and Italy. In a two-way tie with Italy, head-to-head takes precedence over goal diff.
Yes.
That second goal free kick was awesome.
Goalkeeper never knew what hit him, or rather, what didn't hit him. :)
NEW YORK (AP) -- The United States' 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic was watched by 2.14 million households, the most to see a soccer game on ESPN2.
Monday's match received a 2.4 cable rating, the network said Tuesday. It was the most-watched program on the network this year.
At the 2002 tournament in South Korea, the Americans' 3-2 opening win over Portugal was watched by 998,000 households on ESPN2. The 2002 game began at 5 a.m. EDT, while Monday's game in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, started at noon EDT.
In 1998, when the tournament was played in France, the Americans' opening 2-0 loss to Germany was broadcast by ABC and was watched by 3.33 million households in a game that began at 3 p.m. EDT.
ESPN2's previous high audience for soccer was 1.62 million households for Argentina's 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Saturday. ESPN2's households tuned in for the first weekend were up 197 percent from 2002.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/soccer/specials/world_cup/2006/06/13/bc.soc.wcup.usratings.ap/index.html
Do not kid yourself. Name one US player that could start ahead of any player on the azzurri. Didn't think you could.
The US team is composed of second division talent, with the possible exception of Reyna, Keller, and O'Brien. We are week in the back, too small up front, and our midfield is fair to middling.
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