Word Cup In Russia - So Far So OMFG!!!

Sports - Football - World Cup - OMFG!!!

And breath. The group stage is over and we have a day to recover from a crazy, unpredictable, just different World Cup in Russia. AND ENGLAND ARE THROUGH!!! Germany are not. That’s a first since 1938! My cheeky fiver on Egypt went down the drain very quickly as well (poor Momo)! So, anyway, I just thought to scribble down the main talking points and my thoughts on them - the best form of therapy for such a traumatic and shocking experience. ;-)

VAR

Love it or hate it, it is looooong overdue and definitely makes a difference. Good or bad, in the end it’s always better when you can double-check and it’s up to the ref = still all subjective in the end, so, it is impossible to get everything and everyone 100% and happy. Nearly every other sports have a review system - cricket, rugby, tennis, ... - and it definitely adds to the post-match talking points. But there is still one thing that annoys me most about football and has to change, which brings me to my next point:

Cut the drama!

The players’ attitudes to the game have to change! The way they playact and roll around as if they have been hit by a bullet, or two or three, and in the next breath they jump up and are in the ref’s face - SHOW SOME RESPECT! YOU CALL YOURSELF MEN! STAY UP AND PLAY THE GAME, YOU’RE ON CAMERA FFS!!! And the ref is a (hu)man as well, so, treat him like one and in the end he decides the game, so, like in the other sports - cricket, rugby, tennis, ... - BE PROFESSIONAL ABOUT IT, I mean, come on, the soccer stars get paid enough for it!!! 

The fans

What has entertained and impressed me most is what has been going on off and around the pitch. The fans have been awesome! The costumes, the songs, the unity. It is not often you get Koreans and Mexicans partying together. The Senegalese players dancing. The famous Icelandic shout and clap. Iranian fans partying hard and loud. That's how and why I love football, bringing everyone together! Russia has, so far so good, positively surprised me as the hosts! And their team hasn’t done too bad either! After thrashing Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match, Stanislas Cherchesov's men could not have asked for a better start. It is the first time since 1986 the biggest country in the world has qualified past the group stage, which takes me to the next bit:

The records

The stats kept rolling in, every match, every twist, every turn, records tumbling here, there and everywhere. There have already been 24 penalties and that is (more than) double than in the last three completed world cup tournaments, and we're only just at the end of the group stage! Thanks very much to the VAR for that! 
We watched 38 gripping thrillers with goals galore until France and Denmark shared a comfortable goalless draw, the most matches of all world cups without deadlocks (in the 32-team version = since 2002). 

It was the worst World Cup for Africa in 36 years after Senegal's exit on Thursday, with no side from the continent in the knockout stage for the first time since 1982.
And there have been plenty of blunders, wtfs and late late late drama and goals, including England's Harry Kane's winning header against Tunisia and Cristiano Ronaldo's equaliser to make it 3-3 for Portugal against Spain (who sacked their manager Jule Lopetegui just two days before the tournament kicked off for them), headache but also late saviour for Messi and co, not forgetting Maradona's middle fingers. And of course most recently South Korea's winner(s) against Germany, crashing out Joachim Löw's men. 
I could go on and on, here's a good article I read earlier with more on that, including pics and videos.

Last and least, predictions...

Ha! They went out the window a long time ago and I won’t even try it from here! For the first time there is a general feeling of anything can happen and anyone can win (or lose) it! As much as I’m an England fan and want Gareth Southgate and co to win, I love the idea of a surprise winner, the underdogs, against all odds, the OMG moments! And there have been plenty of those already!!!

Click here for my previous article.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC website,this article and match reports, Twitter and beIN sports coverage.

England, England, England... Sad but true!

Sports - Football - International Friendly

England 2-1 Hungary

And Steven Gerrard was there to save the day. Sad the effort came over a month too late.

Apart from the two goals, England looked woeful as always. No pace, no coordination, no communication. The whole game was just a charade, no one looking like they wanted to be there, just like in South Africa, no change there.

No wonder, with the new season just a couple of days away, where the players can continue their high lives, getting cheered, hailed and paid tens of thousands of pounds (per week) for only a fraction of the trouble.

Hungary took the lead just past the hour mark when Vladimir Koman's shot was deemed a goal although Phil Jagielka looked to have cleared it off line line.

Stevie G. scored two outstanding goals that turned the match around just minutes later. He celebrated and tried to lift the team and crowd, like a captain should... Sorry, but what's the point? The team's hopeless, the manager miserable all the way through, the whole match was just pointless!

Okay, let me just draw out a little scenario... What if...

...Gerrard would not have scored, Hungary would have won, the fans would have been outraged as always, booing and calling for Fabio Capello's head, once again...

...Capello would no longer be England manager (which I am surprised he still is to be honest after the miserable World Cup) and the hunt would be on for a better replacement; an Englishman if possible as many have been pointing out that that would make the difference because of national pride, a man leading his own country, and...

Bla bla bla bla bla! I'm honest, I was over-optimistic predicting England as finalists in the first place as were many others and I knew it!

For over 40 years now the so-called experts have been waffling on about who and what would be better and best for England to finally get back on top of their game. Since THE world cup win - the odd one out, that's for sure - 13 managers have tried their best. Of those 13, only TWO were not English (Sven Goran Eriksson from Sweden and Italian giovane Fabio).

So, how can you lay the blame on the nationality or the language of the manager as all the "experts" are now trying to do?! EVERY TIME the new manager goes from hero to zero within a couple of years - until the next tournament, Euro or World Cup. It's an impossible job!

In the end it is the 11 men on the pitch it comes down to. Of course, the manager represents the team and has to take responsibility, but looking at the above record, and at the International football record in general, Euro and World Cup, there are some things that are just facts and will never change:

I don't know and cannot imagine international football without the Brasilian temperament, French w(h)ine, Portuguese drama (queens), Spanish flair, Italian scandal, Dutch boom, Argentinean glare, German efficiency... And English tears! And I don't think that will change, not in my lifetime anyway!

Green howler costs England two points

Sports - Football - International - 2010 World Cup South Africa

England 1-1 USA

"Sometimes a forward misses, sometimes a keeper makes a mistake - that's football." - that's how manager Fabio Capello summarised a painful draw for England against the USA.

The match could not have started better when captain Steven Gerrard tapped in an Emile Heskey cross past US keeper Tim Howard with not even four minutes gone on the clock. England fans could not have wished for a better start.

But the Americans did not let that stop them, they kept up the pressure on England and enjoyed most of the possession. England keeper Robert Green did not have much to do as the England back four and their skipper stayed solid and kept tackling continuously and clean.

James Milner's England debut however, ended disappointingly early after half an hour. He was taken off minutes after he was booked and replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Things went from bad to worse for England when one of those full-dreaded disasters for every goalkeeper happened: Aussie Clint Dempsey twisted and turned through the back line and got a low shot through from about 25 yards. It looked like a comfortable take for the England keeper, but somehow the ball slipped off and past Green's gloves and rolled over the line.

He must have seen it happen in slower motion, looking on in horror whilst it passed over the line, just like every England fan. "At half time I walked in, apologised to the lads and moved on." Green recounted after the match.

The second half saw both teams share plenty of possession, chances and pressure between them, both Wayne Rooney and Heskey missing good chances for England and sending Capello into fury on the sideline.

Frank Lampard pulled a good save from Howard with a free kick from about 25 yards out with just under half an hour to go. Just minutes later, US star striker Jozy Altidore outpaced sub-defender Jamie Carragher and fired in a goal-bound shot, for Green to make a fine save to see the ball deflect off the post and go across goal.

For the final ten minutes Peter Crouch came on for Heskey, who showed a fine display as provider but his own shots lacked aim staying off target. But neither side looked like they were going to be able to grab the match by its horns* and take all three points late-on. (*a.k.a. vuvuzelas)

According to Opta statistics, Green made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the Premier League last season. But former skipper John Terry backed the England keeper after the match: "It's one of those things. Mistakes happen and we're in this together. We need to get behind Rob - he's got good friends here."

England can take encouragement from the fact that defending world champions Italy also drew their group match against the US 1-1 back in 2006 and went on to win it. Hopefully, England can gain confidence from that and make similar improvement and progress.

Quotes taken from the BBC website.

England Green; Johnson, A Cole, Terry, King (Carragher 46); Gerrard, Lennon, Lampard, Milner (Wright-Phillips 30); Rooney, Heskey (Crouch 79). Bookings Milner 26, Carragher 59, Gerrard 61. Subs not used James, Hart, Dawson, Warnock, Upson, J Cole, Barry, Carrick, Defoe.

USA Howard; Bocanegra, Onyewu, Cherundolo, DeMerit; Bradley, Depmsey, Clark, Donovan; Altidore (Holden 86), Findley (Buddle 77). Bookings Cherundolo 39, DeMerit 48, Findley 74. Subs not used Guzan, Hahnemann, Spector, Bornstein, Goodson, Beasley, Torres, Edu, Feilhaber, Hercules Gomez.

Match Stats: England-USA

Attempts: 16-12

On target: 9-5

Corners: 8-4

Free kicks: 8-10

Possession: 58%-42%

Man of the match: Tim Howard

Ground: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Referee: Carlos Eugenio Simon

Attendance: 44,026

Details and stats taken from the BBC website.

2010 World Cup South Africa Countdown

Sports - Football - International - 2010 World Cup South Africa

With just a couple of days left until the World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg, expectations are high and the nerves in tatters - who will cry tears of joy and glory, whose sobs will be in grief and defeat? We will not know the answer until the final whistle is blown and the competition concludes on the final day on 11 July, but, here are my thoughts and predictions, the winners highlighted bold:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France: Despite their home advantage, I do not think South Africa will be able to contend successfully against the established likes of Mexico and France. Although "les bleus" were lucky to scrape through against the Republic of Ireland, the heartbreaking encounter should have been a good enough wake-up-call for them to make up for the blushes and make the best and most of the competition.

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece: Argentina's strong lineup which includes Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano and with none other than Diego Maradona at the helm, there is no question about who will top this group. Who will follow them into the last 16 is a tougher one to answer with South Korea's and Greece's success-stories being long, distant memories. I think Otto Rehhagel's men will be able to make the push.

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia: England have had their fair share of scandals and injuries as always before major competitions, but were let-off by a comparatively easy draw for a change and could not have been given a much easier pass into the last 16. The US look stronger than ever though under manager Bob Bradley and captain Landon Donovan. I would not be surprised to see them make this their best competition display and progess yet.

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana: This one's my dark horse/shocker-prediction: Having followed Germany's friendlies, dire displays, injury setbacks and crises talks, I think it gives the rest of the group the best chance to capitalise on. Australia have Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neill to keep them out and Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell to knock them down and in; whilst Serbia can count on Nemanja Vidic and Milan Jovanovic along the same lines.

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameron: The European sides take pole position again with experienced players and strong lineups. World number three Netherlands thrashed their way through the warm-up games in preparation to the competition and I see them continue in that fashion with Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar et al over-filling the scoreboards.

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia: The defending world champions are a shadow of the side that won the cup in 2006, but should be able to top the group with their star keeper Gianluigi Buffon, world cup winning skipper Fabio Cannavaro and energy source and runner Daniele de Rossi. Paraguay should follow them into the last 16 with their focal men in attack Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Haedo Valdez.

Group G: Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil, North Korea: With Ivory Coast's top striker Didier Drogba out with a fractured arm, the 2006 semi-finalists Portugal and record world champions Brazil should cruise through the group stage. Both sides are star-struck with their lineups including Ronaldo, Simao and Nani; Kaka, Lucio and Robinho, respectively. Finals without those well-established names is unimaginable.

Group H: Honduras, Chile, Spain, Switzerland: Ottmar Hitzfeld had tears in his eyes to see his home country qualify for the world cup and I see this as his best chance to make the dream-come-true get even better. World number one and world cup favourites Spain should be able to yawn and sleepwalk their way through this stage with star men like Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and Cesc Fabregas.

So, my European bias sees ten European countries progress into the last 16, joined by four South American countries, USA and Australia. My German bias normally gives Germany the advantage as they have always proven to be successful no matter how miserable their form or display has been. But this time round, under Joachim Löw, I see their luck has run out and I forecast their demise against more competitive and hungry opponents. I am optimistic for England, more than ever, and hope they can enjoy some sweet revenge and success, but am prepared for heartbreaking scenes as always...

Last 16: France v Greece, Mexico v Argentina, England v Serbia, USA v Australia, Netherlands v Paraguay, Denmark v Italy, Portugal v Switzerland, Brazil v Spain

Quarter Finals: Netherlands v Portugal, France v England, Argentina v Australia, Italy v Spain

Semi Finals: England v Portugal, Argentina v Spain

Third Place: Portugal v Argentina

Final: England v Spain

Shame on Henry

Sports - Football - Internationals - World Cup Qualifier

The more I watch it, the clearer it gets to me: If Fifa want to set a stance against cheats, they should take action to warn all the other offenders-to-be, in this case disqualify France and fine and suspend Thierry Henry.



But, I know that will never happen. Football is the only sport where cheats get away and on a regular basis, too, especially of the big teams. So, it is no surprise we have seen and will see it again and again. But at some point it has to stop and something has to change!

It is rhetorical question whether a video referee would have made a difference. The clear answer is, YES! France would not have been awarded the goal, Henry would have been booked, a free kick would have been awarded to the Republic of Ireland and play would have continued with Ireland still in the qualifier, with more than a shout as they were the better side throughout the match.

We obviously do not know how the match would have developed from there, if it would have gone to penalties, or one of the sides would have caught a late (but fair) winner - but we surely know how it would not have ended: An unfair shame and scandalous cheat!

One can only speculate how Fifa would have reacted if it would have happened the other way round, Robbie Keane the offender and France the losers. I suspect we would have read a clear statement the next morning about what actions will be taken.

When I reflect back at how many times they threatened and had a dig against England and their fans, with fines and suspensions, up to disqualification, it would be more than hypocritical if, as I suspect and expect, nothing will follow on this offence.

But presidents Sepp Blatter (FIFA) and Michel Platini (UEFA) were never the ones to jump in for the underdogs or ring in big changes. Instead, they just waffle on and ignore the problem-maker(s) when it matters most (and it is especially amusing regarding that the latter is a Frenchman).

My question to them and all football associations' presidents, executives and directors (managers and players, too) is: When will they learn from the other sports to make football a true sport again???

Five-star England outclass Croatia

Sports - Football - World Cup Qualifier

England 5-1 Croatia

England erased bitter Euro 2008 memories by outclassing a poor Croatian side, beating them comprehensively 5-1 at Wembley to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, for the first time ever with two games to spare.

From kick-off, Croatia were not able to cope with all the pressure England put them under, especially at the back. The guests gave away a penalty just six minutes into the match when vice-captain Josip Simunic brought down Aaron Lennon in the box with a clumsy tackle. Frank Lampard converted the spot-kick confidently and comfortably as always.

A slow and afray-looking Croatian side struggled with all the England players in the box for most of the first half. Gareth Barry, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney and Lennon all had their share of misses and saved chances. Steven Gerrard's long-range header from the far post in the 18th minute was the only other conversion of the first half, to make it 2-0 to the home side at half time, but it could have been six or more.

The second half did not see much change. Lampard and Gerrard both netted within the first 20 minutes: The prior converted a Glen Johnson headed cross from the right outiside the box into the centre of the goal, the latter heading in a rumbled Rooney cross cleverly over the goalkeeper.

With just under 20 minutes left, the Croats saw their first real chance and were rewarded for all their sweat and torment. Eduardo put in the second rebound, leaving Robert Green unhappy after his hard work and saves and Fabio Capello cursing his side for the first time and despite their strong performance and dominance they had enjoyed so far.

But that was the only breather Croatia got. Rooney topped the show off with his ninth goal for England in the qualifiers, making him the top scorer. He was slightly embarrassed by the manner he achieved that record:

He was handed the chance by the Croatian goalkeeper Vedran Runje who slipped the ball off his left foot through to Rooney, served on a silver plate, right in front of the goal. He left celebrating with an embarrassed smile. It summed up the night-to-forget for the Croats and brought a smile even onto Capello's face.

Man of the match: Aaron Lennon

England Green; Johnson, Upson, Terry, Cole; Lennon (80 Beckham), Barry, Lampard, Gerrard (81 Milner); Rooney, Heskey (60 Defoe). Subs not used Foster, Brown, Bridge, Crouch. Bookings 85 Terry.

Croatia Runje; Srna, Krizanac, Simunic, Pranjic; Mandzukic, Vukojevic, Pokrivac (HT Rakitic), Kranjcar, Eduardo (73 Klasnic); Olic (HT Petric). Subs not used Subasic, Drpic, Calo, Leka. Bookings 44 Simunic.

Sky Sports Stats:

England - Croatia
Goals: 5-1
Attempts: 12-9
On target: 9-5
Blocked shots: 0-2
Offsides: 8-3
Corners: 2-3
Free kicks: 9-16
Bookings: 1-1