Posted on 06/19/2006 2:54:14 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
Switzerland and Togo meet in a Group G match at 8:55 a.m. ET (ESPN2) in Dortmund. Saudi Arabia and Ukraine match up in the day's second game, a Group H affair that starts at 11:55 a.m. (ESPN2) in Hamburg. In the final match of the day, Spain encounters Tunisia at 2:55 p.m. (ESPN2) in Stuttgart.
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Yes, this applies to the cowardly keyword trolls as well.
is Spain the highest ranked of the six? Spain seems to be the most antiAmerican country there, though, granted, most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. The Spaniards as a culture seem to be antiAmerican since they returned to a representative government after Mr. Franco.
Well done to your boys for drawing with Italy the other day. I could only listen to the match on the radio as I was driving at the time but it sounds like the USA played the better of the two teams. The commentators were scathing about the ref but people at work have told me that there was something of a case for the US reds so best not dwell on the officiating. What with Ghana winning, that has do go down as a good day for the USA.
In fact Spain's anti-Americanism is so great that it makes France look like Rush Limbaugh. Greece is the worst of the lot in the western world though.
Hard to believe things are still so unsettled. A surprise win by Ghana? Who saw that coming?
Another great week ahead!
We had great games this weekend. Somebody explain about the US soccer team being fouled so much.
The US Fouled Italy nearly twice as much as they fouled the US. Arena had his men fighting for every ball and succeeded in disrupting the flow of Italy's game.
Italy (ITA) Statistics USA (USA)
10 Shots 8
3 Shots on Goal 0
13 Fouls 24
7 Corner Kicks 3
1 Free Kicks (shots on goal) 1
0 Penalty Kicks 0
11 Offsides 1
1 Own Goals 0
2 Cautions 2
1 Expulsions 2
54% Ball Possession 46%
29 Actual Playing Time 25
All those cards--must have hired an NBA ref ;)
Will be interesting to see whether Ukraine can start their turn around today, and whether Spain can keep up its impressive form, and lastly whether Togo will get payed or not :-)
Will be interesting to see if Spain maintains their impressive form. If so, they will be strong contenders. I think Switzerland should do ok against Togo.
I was really shocked that France let the victory slip away from them yesterday (although they did score a second goal that wasn't counted). If they had played the entire match with the same urgency with which they played after S. Korea equalised then they would've won.
As it is, that might be the last time anyone ever sees Z. Zidane play. It's a shame because he was a really classy guy and an extraordinary player. It's really even doubly sad because he got a yellow card for no apparent reason- the ref just imagined the foul (much the same as he didn't see the second goal France scored).
Having said all that- South Korea are a really gutsy and motivated side. I find myself continually wanting to count them out because they are really newcomers to the World Cup stage but they keep impressing me. I could see them making it to the quarters or even semis again.
I was totally impressed with their fans yesterday. They sang the entire match through- they were even singing Beethoven's 9th (the Ode to Joy). I found that especially nice to watch the match with that being sung in the background.
The World Cup is the greatest sporting event on Earth for a good reason.
When Brian McBride was elbowed in the face, he calmly walked off the pitch, received treatment and came back on later. When the Italians were fouled, they collapsed to the ground as if they had been shot dead and had to be stretchered off.
The referee was a disgrace and I'm glad USA managed to get a draw with only nine men.
Agree about the Korean fans -- they were great at the stadium and they had 20,000 in the Staples Center at Los Angeles.
I think that suspending players for a second yellow card when the first wasn't in the same game is STUPID! It was bad enough before, because it put starts out of games (like Ballack) which is never a good marketing move, but with all of the yellows now it has become ridiculous.
About Zizou -- is he planning to retire from international competition only, or is he also leaving club competition?
Headline in Bild (Germany's top-selling tabloid):
"9 Amis Stoppen Italien"
SUI : TOG 
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KSA : UKR 
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ESP : TUN 
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Question: Earlier in the Cup someone mentioned that Group E cannot qualify as the "Group of Death" because one team lost 3-0 (good point I think).
However, after the second games, has Group E now become the "Group of Death"?
With the top team only on four points, I would say "YES".
It would be nice however for Team USA to actually score a goal on our own.
I have no problem with Arena's substitution pattern in the last game under the circumstances (except Pope should have been taken out -- that second yellow was inevitable), but I would like to see Eddie Johnson in there against Ghana for at least 30 minutes.
Still, under the circumstances, a draw was an excellent result.
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