Cup Crazy - 17 June
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Day 9 saw Group E turn into utter chaos and the Portuguese look more and more like a contender. Brian continues his yeoman's work with another fabulous edition of "Cup Crazy"...
Italy Drops the Ball
Saturday's bizarre 1-1 draw between Italy and the United States obviously generated a number of talking points. I could easily focus on the impressive underdog performance from the shorthanded US team. But it's hard to give too much credit to a team that didn't have a single shot on goal and still has not had one of its own players score a goal. The Azzurri could have taken a stranglehold on this group with a win over the nine-man American team. But now there's a chance that Italy could be on the outside looking in if the results don't go their way. But what a crazy game. The US received two very harsh red cards. The Americans did a great job of frustrating the mighty Italians. In fact, the American midfield outplayed Italy's for long stretches before they went a man down. If not for an over-zealous referee, who knows what could have happened. But the red cards - one of which Italy's Daniele De Rossi rightly received in addition to the two questionable ones the US received - were all part of the drama in what many are calling the most exciting game to date at this World Cup. Both goals were suspect. Eddie Pope, who didn't have one of his better games, was clearly at fault on the Gilardino goal. And Zaccardo's own goal was bizarre. Give the Americans credit - they did not lay down for the Italians and put up a fight they can be proud of (in contrast to their feeble performance last Monday).
Black Stars are the Stars of the Day
What a day for Ghana! The debutantes scored a shocking win over the Czech Republic. After looking like world beaters last week against the Americans, the Czechs looked like the old, shorthanded, overrated team that I suspected they'd be today against the Black Stars. Once again, a very early goal turned the tide of a match. The Czechs looked desperate for the entire match after a second-minute stunner from Asamoah Gyan. The Czech Republic's offense was in trouble, as we suspected, without injured stars Jan Koller and Milan Baros. The defense, untested against the US, looked vulnerable. And the midfield, so dominant a week ago, was outplayed for most of the game. With Vratislav Lokvenc picking up a yellow card, the Czechs will be without their top three forwards for their game against Italy. But the bigger story today is the inspired play of Ghana. What a midfield the Black Stars have! The nation of Ghana should be very proud of its football team tonight. And what a day we'll have in store for us next Thursday. With all four teams needing wins, expect some serious fireworks. Good stuff, kids. Good stuff.
Making Sense of Group C
Today's results made a mess of Group C. There are far too many scenarios of how things could play out. But we'll try to make it simple. If Italy wins, they'll win the group. If Ghana or the Czech Republic win their games, they're in the Round of 16. For the USA to make it, they'll need to beat Ghana and get Italy to beat the Czech Republic. If there are draws, a number of circumstances can play out that are just too confusing for our simple minds. Regardless, next Thursday will be mighty interesting!
Yay, Port-u-gal-la-le!
While they weren't dominant, the Portuguese were certainly effective with a respectable 2-0 victory over Iran today. With the win, Portugal needs only a draw with Mexico on 21 June to win Group D. What remains to be seen is if winning the group is actually beneficial, since the Group D teams will match up with the Group C teams - Argentina and Holland - in the Round of 16. The Portuguese benefited today from the return of the mercurial Deco and inspired play from Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. What's gone largely unnoticed is the excellent play by Portugal's back line, which has yet to surrender a goal in two games. A convincing performance against the stuttering Mexicans will go a long way in preparing the Portuguese for a tempestuous showdown with either the Argentines or the Dutch.
Tomorrow's Predictions
So, not a great day as far as predictions go. After correctly predicting a 2-0 Portugal win over Iran, I missed on the Ghana-Czech Republic game and the USA-Italy game. Let's see if I can do better tomorrow:
Croatia 2, Japan 1
Brazil 2, Australia 0
France 1, Korea 0
Goodnight now.
Pics courtesy of fifaworldcup.yahoo.com. Send your emails to bookableoffense@gmail.com.
Italy Drops the Ball
Saturday's bizarre 1-1 draw between Italy and the United States obviously generated a number of talking points. I could easily focus on the impressive underdog performance from the shorthanded US team. But it's hard to give too much credit to a team that didn't have a single shot on goal and still has not had one of its own players score a goal. The Azzurri could have taken a stranglehold on this group with a win over the nine-man American team. But now there's a chance that Italy could be on the outside looking in if the results don't go their way. But what a crazy game. The US received two very harsh red cards. The Americans did a great job of frustrating the mighty Italians. In fact, the American midfield outplayed Italy's for long stretches before they went a man down. If not for an over-zealous referee, who knows what could have happened. But the red cards - one of which Italy's Daniele De Rossi rightly received in addition to the two questionable ones the US received - were all part of the drama in what many are calling the most exciting game to date at this World Cup. Both goals were suspect. Eddie Pope, who didn't have one of his better games, was clearly at fault on the Gilardino goal. And Zaccardo's own goal was bizarre. Give the Americans credit - they did not lay down for the Italians and put up a fight they can be proud of (in contrast to their feeble performance last Monday).
Black Stars are the Stars of the Day
What a day for Ghana! The debutantes scored a shocking win over the Czech Republic. After looking like world beaters last week against the Americans, the Czechs looked like the old, shorthanded, overrated team that I suspected they'd be today against the Black Stars. Once again, a very early goal turned the tide of a match. The Czechs looked desperate for the entire match after a second-minute stunner from Asamoah Gyan. The Czech Republic's offense was in trouble, as we suspected, without injured stars Jan Koller and Milan Baros. The defense, untested against the US, looked vulnerable. And the midfield, so dominant a week ago, was outplayed for most of the game. With Vratislav Lokvenc picking up a yellow card, the Czechs will be without their top three forwards for their game against Italy. But the bigger story today is the inspired play of Ghana. What a midfield the Black Stars have! The nation of Ghana should be very proud of its football team tonight. And what a day we'll have in store for us next Thursday. With all four teams needing wins, expect some serious fireworks. Good stuff, kids. Good stuff.
Making Sense of Group C
Today's results made a mess of Group C. There are far too many scenarios of how things could play out. But we'll try to make it simple. If Italy wins, they'll win the group. If Ghana or the Czech Republic win their games, they're in the Round of 16. For the USA to make it, they'll need to beat Ghana and get Italy to beat the Czech Republic. If there are draws, a number of circumstances can play out that are just too confusing for our simple minds. Regardless, next Thursday will be mighty interesting!
Yay, Port-u-gal-la-le!
While they weren't dominant, the Portuguese were certainly effective with a respectable 2-0 victory over Iran today. With the win, Portugal needs only a draw with Mexico on 21 June to win Group D. What remains to be seen is if winning the group is actually beneficial, since the Group D teams will match up with the Group C teams - Argentina and Holland - in the Round of 16. The Portuguese benefited today from the return of the mercurial Deco and inspired play from Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. What's gone largely unnoticed is the excellent play by Portugal's back line, which has yet to surrender a goal in two games. A convincing performance against the stuttering Mexicans will go a long way in preparing the Portuguese for a tempestuous showdown with either the Argentines or the Dutch.
Tomorrow's Predictions
So, not a great day as far as predictions go. After correctly predicting a 2-0 Portugal win over Iran, I missed on the Ghana-Czech Republic game and the USA-Italy game. Let's see if I can do better tomorrow:
Croatia 2, Japan 1
Brazil 2, Australia 0
France 1, Korea 0
Goodnight now.
Pics courtesy of fifaworldcup.yahoo.com. Send your emails to bookableoffense@gmail.com.
posted by Brian at 6/17/2006 09:45:00 PM 
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