The Official 2010 World Cup Thread

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Disjointed intervals taint dramatic U.S. comeback

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 19th, 2010 2:05AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][USA-SLOVENIA ANALYSIS] [/color]For all the harping on positioning and team shape by the U.S. national team coaching staff, there's still a disquieting tendency for the U.S. to disconnect. The spirit of the Americans can't be questioned. They are very hard to beat. But they are also fatuously prone to falling behind. Sometimes they rally, as they did in the Hexagonal at El Salvador and at home against Costa Rica, and have done in both of their 2010 World Cup matches.

Slovenia twice capitalized on suspect positioning and decision-making to score its goals in a 2-2 tie Friday, and on a few other occasions simply hit a poor final pass or squandered the shot. The craft and guile displayed by midfielders [b]Robert Koren[/b] and [b]Valter Birsa[/b] proved to be just as troublesome as the height (6-foot-3) of forward [b]Milivoje Novakovic[/b].

[b]Jose Francisco Torres[/b] has hardened his ability to tackle and win balls, and his ball skills are among the best on this 23-man squad, but he looked completely lost amid the positioning and tactical acumen typical of European teams. The game in Mexico and Concacaf is often more linear, straight up and back, rather than the maze of triangles and other geometric shapes that appear and vanish as the ball and players move. He wasn’t alone in this regard yet once again the Americans were reminded of how costly a few extra yards of space can be.

Maybe [b]Ricardo Clark [/b]or [b]Maurice Edu[/b] wouldn’t have blocked Birsa’s shot but they certainly would have been closing him down as he hit it. And [b]Oguchi Onyewu[/b]’s failure to step up adds an intriguing subplot, that of his charge-down of [b]Wayne Rooney[/b] in the England game that opened up a space for[b]Steven Gerrard[/b] to dart through and score.

What’s the difference? Onyewu didn’t check his challenge on Rooney when the ball ran past him to[b]Emile Heskey.[/b] If Rooney traps it and shapes to shoot, he needs a half-second or so to do so, and that’s when Onyewu charges up to challenge. Once the ball ran past Rooney, Onyewu needed to reverse direction.

Birsa had all day to line up his shot. Onyewu and Torres and Bradley and even Donovan, who had tucked into the middle, needed to get at least some pressure on him, and didn’t. Maybe Onyewu was thinking about the England game, and once again, he made the wrong decision; by not moving at all from his spot at the edge of the box, he cut off the view of keeper [b]Tim Howard[/b], who didn’t see Birsa’s swerving shot until too late to even dive.

A promising run of U.S. pressure triggered by Bradley, Dempsey and Donovan nearly bore fruit in the 41st minute. [b]Robbie Findley[/b]’s ball released Dempsey on the right, and his diagonal ball nearly reached Donovan at the back post, but [b]Miso Brecko[/b] kicked it to safety. Within a minute, Slovenia had scored again by exploiting a lack of pressure in midfield and a disorganized back line. Novakovic beat the offside trap with a through ball for [b]Zlatan Ljubijanki[/b]c, who glided into the box to slide a shot past Howard.

Findley didn’t exhibit a good touch during his 45 minutes, but he usually had just one option: link with Altidore. If he ran down a ball on the flank, there was no sign of a midfielder as an option for a knockback and maybe a one-two. The Slovenian center backs were all over Altidore, who nonetheless fought through grabs and bear hugs and half-Nelsons to at least cause some mayhem in the box. Had the U.S. midfielders pressed higher when balls ran for Findley, he could have been more effective, as was the case when he linked with Dempsey.

With the insertion of halftime subs Edu (for Torres) and [b]Benny Feilhaber [/b](Findley), the center of midfield tightened up, and Feilhaber’s calm, confident touches unsettled the Slovenians far more than had Findley’s pace. Dempsey took more of a free role, drifting in the spaces between Feilhaber and Altidore, which confused the Slovenians sufficiently for Bradley punch through into the attacking third and draw attention away from Donovan on the opposite flank.

The U.S. got a break when left back [b]Bojan Jozic[/b] fell on his butt chasing a ball lofted up the wing by right back [b]Steve Cherundolo[/b], yet even had Jozic kept his feet, Donovan would have been able to run at him one-v-one in a large parcel of space. Such a favorable U.S. scenario never occurred in the first half. As it was, Donovan took the ball near the end line and waited as long as he could for a runner to come free in the box, but when nobody did, he boomed a powerful shot dead-center into the roof of the net in the 48 th minute.

One of several well-hit dead balls from Donovan nearly produced an equalizer two minutes later when Dempsey flicked it on to the back post where Onyewu was a just a yard short of tapping it in. Altidore drew a foul just outside the box in the 70th minute and after a brief scramble from the free kick he fired a shot right to keeper [b]Samir Handanovic[/b] as Dempsey tumbled under a heavy body-block ignored, or not spotted, by the referee.

Slovenia came back into the game and created a few chances to up its lead to 3-1 by neutralizing DeMerit’s ability to step forward to break up plays. Mindful of two and three players in addition to the one he was marking, DeMerit simply couldn’t take the risk. He did get in several vital tackles, as did outside backs Cherundolo and [b]Carlos Bocanegra[/b] to get balls out of danger.

Altidore got his reward for a gritty night’s work by outmuscling his marker to head down a lofted ball from Donovan in the 82nd minute. Substitute [b]Herculez Gomez[/b] drew a defender with a run across the goalmouth and a perfectly worked move concluded with Bradley racing onto the bounce and to bang the ball high into the net.

Another crisp set play yielded an apparent winner, but referee [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b]’s ruling of a foul annulled Edu’s volley of Donovan’s free kick. A dramatic comeback and sharper set plays are encouraging positives, yet a more cohesive performance front to back will be needed in the group finale Wednesday against Algeria. [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38570/disjointed-intervals-taint-dramatic-us-comeback.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38570/disjointed-intervals-taint-dramatic-us-comeback.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Thank you, Koman Coulibaly

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size=1]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size=1], June 19th, 2010 12:55AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][MY VIEW][/color] There is a positive to [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b]'s blown call that cost the USA a win over Slovenia. He accomplished what no one else could in more than 100 years. He made Americans care passionately about soccer.

Talk shows throughout the day and evening led with the Coulibaly's call that negated [b]Maurice Edu[/b]'s call -- ahead of second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament, reaction to Game 7 of the NBA finals, and baseball.

It didn't matter that just about everyone knew nothing about soccer or the World Cup or Coulibaly -- where's Mali? -- they all had an opinion on the game and soccer and FIFA.

Much of the anger was directed at FIFA, which now has a big problem on its hands because it is perceived as a joke in the one country where it needs for soccer to take hold.

It would have been one thing if Coulibaly's call had cost the USA a 1-0 win, but the call cost the USA a historic comeback victory over Slovenia.

Only a couple of days earlier, these same talk show hosts and fans -- the neophytes -- were ready to give up on the World Cup, which could never possibly live up the hype of the ESPN promotional machine tournament.

The World Cup was oversold and underdelivered with a string of low-scoring and frankly boring games

The second-half comeback from 2-0 down drew all these neophyte fans into the U.S. team, the World Cup and soccer.

They were hooked, and they felt robbed. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38567/thank-you-koman-coulibaly.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38567/thank-you-koman-coulibaly.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Desert Foxes growing in strength

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size=1]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size=1], June 19th, 2010 2AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][ENGLAND-ALGERIA][/color] Algeria coach [b]Rabah Saadane[/b] was not surprised at his team's strong game in its 0-0 tie with England on Friday.

The performance was in sharp contrast to the Desert Foxes' opening game they lost to Slovenia, 1-0, and sets the stage for their final group game against the USA on Wednesday in Pretoria.

An Algerian win would put it in the second round of the World Cup for the first time.

"I got our injured players rather late," Saadane said of Algeria's pre-tournament camp, "and certain players only recovered just before the World Cup. It took some time to get better but we've improved from game to game. We were more confident compared to the first game. There was also some quality in our game."

The major change in the Algeria lineup was [b]Rais Ouben Mbohi[/b] in goal in place of the injured [b]Fawzi Chaouchi. [/b]Saadane came in for criticism for taking Mbohi, a virtual unknown discovered playing in Bulgaria.
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[/b]"When I picked Mbohi," he said, "everyone criticized me. I said I'd reserve my response for what would happen on the field. I hope my critics saw what happened."

Mbohi had the game's big save, stopping [b]Frank Lampard[/b] on a low shot to the near post.

Saadane said he wasn't concerned about the status of key midfielders [b]Karim Ziani [/b]and [b]Hassan Yebda[/b], who both left the game with injuries.

But he admitted he's under intense pressure to get the Desert Foxes to the second round.

"It's a heavy responsibility," he said. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38571/desert-foxes-growing-in-strength.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38571/desert-foxes-growing-in-strength.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Goalless Jozy Altidore contributes

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 20th, 2010 2:29AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][UNDER THE MICROSCOPE] [/color]A forward is supposed to shoot, and score goals, so on that basis, [b]Jozy Altidore[/b] didn't do much in the 2-2 tie with Slovenia Friday. Altidore took just one shot, a first-time, right-footed attempt from inside the penalty area following a brief melee triggered by a [b]Landon Donovan[/b] free kick. His shot went straight to Slovenian keeper [b]Samir Handanovic[/b], who held it firmly. At least he put the shot on goal, but a single shot during 90 minutes of play isn't a lot of production. On other criteria, however, Altidore scored well.

He set up the equalizer for [b]Michael Bradley[/b] by heading down a Donovan free kick right into the Bradley's path, and drew several fouls that rewarded the U.S. with free kicks in good positions. So relentlessly did he battle for balls that both Slovenian center backs,[b]Marko Suler[/b] and [b]Bostjan Cesar[/b], were cautioned for fouls on Altidore.

The furor in the final minutes over a disallowed [b]Maurice Edu[/b] volley started with a free kick, awarded when Altidore – hardly the nimblest American at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds – backed into Cesar while shielding a bouncing ball and then lobbing it over the defender’s head. He and Suler were among many players wrestling and jostling during the free kick; Donovan aimed his free kick over Altidore, whose pressure prevented Suler from jumping to the ball, and Edu slammed the ball into the net.

In the first half, when played a was ball up the right flank, Altiore muscled his way past left back[b]Bojan Jokic[/b] and touched the ball forward towards Cesar, whose attempted tackle tripped Altidore – or so referee [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b] ruled – and also earned the defender a yellow card. On that free kick,[b]Jose Francisco Torres[/b] hit a bending shot that Handanovic dived left to parry.

Altidore’s move was similar to that he used to set up one of his goals last year against Trinidad and Tobago, and also something like the touch that set up his powerful run past England defender [b]Jamie Carragher[/b] to bang a shot that keeper [b]Robert Green[/b] deflected onto the post. Altidore isn’t all that fast, and it’s sometimes frustrating to see teammates launching long balls he has little chance of getting to, but he’s learning how to wedge his body into a tackler and keep him away from the ball as he angles for goal.

He and Suler had tangled outside the edge of the penalty area in the 61st minute on a ball played straight upfield along the ball by [b]Maurice Edu[/b]. Altidore shook off his marker and dribbled towards goal, but Suler made up the ground to tackle the ball away as Altidore tried to nick it past Cesar, who had taken away his shooting angle.

Altidore forced Suler into a desperate body-block at the edge of the penalty area in the 69th minute when he got inside the defender to pursue a Donovan diagonal ball. The Americans protested Suler had denied a goalscoring opportunity and should be sent off, but since Altidore had yet to play the ball and was moving toward the wing, not directly towards goal, the referee decided on a caution.

He barely touched the ball in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game, and seldom got into sync with forward partner [b]Robbie Findley[/b], whose speed enabled him to run down balls. But Altidore did check back numerous times to link with teammates on short passes, finding Donovan and Bradley each on several occasions.

One element seldom seen in the U.S. attack is a ball played to Altidore close to the penalty area; once he knocks it back or square to a teammate, he bursts into the box for a return pass or a cross. On the shot he put on frame, he needed to react quickly in a crowded penalty area and hit the ball first-time, and got the job done.

As Altidore has showed, he’s rather effective getting out wide and going one-v-one, and since on the flank is where [b]Clint Dempsey [/b]and [b]Landon Donovan[/b] often operate, this is another facet of attacking play that can be developed. In the 25th minute, both Altidore and Findley were in the box as Dempsey came through the right channel, but neither could shake free of their markers and Dempsey couldn’t get the ball to either of them.

Donovan’s great shot into the roof of the net arose partially because Altidore couldn’t get free as Donovan brought the ball toward the near post. In these situations, if nothing else, Altidore needs to make a hard, early run to draw as many defenders as possible, and not wait for the ball to find him.

With Findley suspended, he’ll have a different forward partner in the Algeria game Wednesday, when once again, his contribution will be vital. [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38588/goalless-jozy-altidore-contributes.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38588/goalless-jozy-altidore-contributes.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Records broken for USA-Slovenia broadcast

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size=1]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size=1], June 20th, 2010 12:15AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][TELEVISION WATCH][/color] More than 3.9 million households watched Friday's USA-Slovenia game on ESPN, making it the most-watched game in terms of households in the history of ESPN networks. Just as it was for the USA-England game, San Diego had the highest rating of any market with a 8.5.

The USA-Slovenia game ranks third among viewers (5,200,000), behind the Germany-Italy semifinal (5,850,000) in 2007 and the USA-Germany quarterfinal in 2002 (5,335,000).

There were 798,911 unique viewers on ESPN3.com, making it the most-viewed event ever on ESPN's online network.

Through Friday, the 2010 World Cup is averaging a 1.9 U.S. rating (for the two-hour match window) on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 -- up 60 percent from 2006 (1.2).

[b]USA-SLOVENIA RATINGS:[/b]
San Diego (8.5)
Washington (6.4)
Miami (6.2)
West Palm Beach (5.9)
San Francisco (5.7). [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38580/records-broken-for-usa-slovenia-broadcast.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38580/records-broken-for-usa-slovenia-broadcast.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Irish celebrate France woes

[/size][b][size=1]June 20th, 2010 1:15AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][OFF THE POST] [/color]Commentators on Ireland's national TV broadcaster RTE wore sombreros while covering the France-Mexico game. Electronics chain Currys will offer a discount on TVs when France is knocked out of the World Cup. Pizza Hut in Ireland offering free pizzas every time a French opponent scores. And the Irish, still smarting from being eliminated from World Cup qualifying on a French goal set up by a handball, are celebrating France's World Cup struggles, which included a 2-0 loss to Mexico on Thursday.

"We had our sombreros out last night," out-of-work Dublin construction worker Paddy McCafferty told [url="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hsUIvAPLQAwj1_aUK8zkz0rh_dswD9GE6R780"]Reuters[/url]. "On Tuesday we'll be blowing our vuvuzelas in support of the South Africans."

Currys catch phrase is: "When the French lose, the Irish win." Pizza Hut's slogan is, "Pizzas 1, France 0," as unsportsmanlike. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38583/irish-celebrate-france-woes.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38583/irish-celebrate-france-woes.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color="#FF0000"][color="#000000"][size="5"]Total meltdown in Bleus' camp

[/size][b][size="1"]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size="1"]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size="1"], June 20th, 2010 12:41PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]

[color="#FF0000"][FRANCE][/color] The French national team was thrown intro disarray on Sunday when it players boycotted a public training session at its base in Knysna in support of [b]Nicolas Anelka[/b], who had been sent home after he insulted Coach [b]Raymond Domenech[/b] and refused to apologize.

The move followed a dispute between captain [b]Patrice Evra[/b] and fitness coach [b]Robert Duverne[/b].

Evra had earlier blamed the problems on a "traitor" who leaked what Anelka said to Domenech to the French newspaper L'Equipe.

That person has not been identified.

France team director [b]Jean-Louis Valentin[/b] left the field in tears, saying he was not the traitor and announcing he was quitting.

"It's a scandal for French people, for the youngsters who came here to watch them train," said Valentin. "I'm resigning, I'm leaving the Federation. I have nothing more to do here. I'm going back to Paris."

France lost to Mexico, 2-0, on Thursday and has little chance of advancing to the second round. The Bleus play host South Africa on Tuesday in Bloemfontein. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38590/total-meltdown-in-bleus-camp.html"]http://www.soccerame...bleus-camp.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Robbed of a World Cup goal: Lalas has been there

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/40/mike-woitalla/"][size=1]Mike Woitalla[/size][/url][size=1], June 20th, 2010 1:54AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][FLASHBACK][/color] The [b]Maurice Edu[/b] goal nullified by referee [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b]'s phantom call wasn’t the first time the USA was robbed of a World Cup goal, although the last time it wasn't nearly as painful.
In the 49th minute of the USA's first round game against Colombia,[b]Alexi Lalas[/b] broke through the Colombian backline and rifled a shot into the upper corner of the goal.

The goal was incorrectly called offside. But the U.S. won the game, 2-1, to earn three points that paved passage into the second round.

Lalas said after the 1994 Colombia game:

"Twenty years from now, I'll roll the tape for my kids and stop it before the call. I'll just say, 'Oh, I scored in that famous '94 game.' They'll never have to know."

Lalas is spending this World Cup as an ESPN analyst. [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38586/robbed-of-a-world-cup-goal-lalas-has-been-there.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38586/robbed-of-a-world-cup-goal-lalas-has-been-there.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]U.S. players accept bizarre decisions

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 21st, 2010 3:15AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][MY VIEW][/color] Sad to say, soccer players are used to referees erring at critical points of important matches, and the World Cup is not immune. [b]Diego Maradona[/b]’s fisted goal that helped Argentina beat England in the 1986 quarterfinals is perhaps the most egregious example, but there are dozens of others. Co-host South Korea reached the 2002 final four in part thanks to terrible officiating decisions in their knockout matches against Italy and Spain. True, the Koreans still needed to score a golden goal to eliminate Italy and defeat Spain on penalty kicks to get that far, but in a tight match with tension infecting every touch, it's inevitable that the officials be affected as well as the players.

On Monday, perhaps, FIFA will address the [b]Koman Coulibaly [/b]issue. He won’t be running the center at this World Cup again, as the disallowed [b]Maurice Edu[/b] goal is just one of numerous strange decisions he made during the 2-2 tie with Slovenia last Friday. On a free kick swung into the penalty area by[b] Landon Donovan [/b]and volleyed into the net by Edu, little evidence of a foul committed by a U.S. player could be found.

He could have even punished [b]Clint Dempsey[/b] after the fact; on a previous set play, Dempsey had his arms wrapped all over an opponent – and vice versa – and Coulibaly might have been looking for a similar infraction to punish. So many pairings were wrapped around each other, the penalty area looked like the floor of a dance marathon with a few survivors struggling to stay upright.

At a press conference Sunday, the U.S. players voiced assurances they would be able to put the incident behind them and concentrate on Algeria. Even if the hype machine that is ESPN and several Web sites haven’t let go, the players seem ready to move on . “Some of those stories have been trickling into our camp, how people are up in arms and can’t believe the call, and that’s pretty cool," said [b]Tim Howard [/b]with a big smile on his face.

“For most people who are soccer fans, that’s a small detail of that game, it was so up and down. At the end of the day it was just a referee’s call that got the American fans to show that: one they care, and two, that they are getting into the game and understand how it all works.”

How it works at a World Cup is that games are marred by officiating, and even very experienced referees err, as occurred in 2006 when English referee [b]Graham Poll[/b] cautioned [b]Josip Simunic [/b]three times in the same game. Sometimes regional imbalances are blamed, as was the case at those games in 2002 and in the case of Coulibaly, a native of Mali who was working his first World Cup match. Yet referee [b]Alberto Undiano[/b] of Spain took severe criticism for his handling of the Germany-Serbia match in which [b]Miroslav Klose[/b] was sent off with two cautions, both of which were borderline calls.

The hue and cry emanating from America ignores the stark fact of its own sports: bad calls by referees and umpires are not subject to review, no matter how glaringly obvious. Umpire[b] Jim Joyce[/b]will forever live with his blown first-base call that deprived [b]Armando Galaragga [/b]of a perfect game. Baseball umpires are only permitted to use video in deciding whether a batted ball has cleared the line or fence or other barrier that denotes a home run.

We can hope and dream that one day FIFA will at least use goal-line cameras to determine if a goal has been scored, and don’t be surprised if one such incident arises at this tournament. In the case of goalmouth grapple-fests, the only solution is more eyes on the action. A second, and equal, referee is one possible solution; FIFA is experimenting with goal-line sentinels to scrutinize the action more closely.

American players also expressed their frustration at what they perceived to be Coulibaly’s inconsistency in such situations. Batters gnash their teeth when a home-plate umpire’s strike zone seems to vary from game to game, or even inning to inning. On other hand, in the Germany-Serbia match, referee Undiano had called the game tight from the opening kickoff, so maybe the players had been warned and just didn’t adjust.

As previously stated, Dempsey and his teammates believed Coulibaly had established he’d tolerate a fair amount of pushing and grabbing. Apparently not. Against Algeria, they will monitor how the game is being called, and take it from there.

“We’ll have to gauge that, said Dempsey. “If someone has their arms around me, I’m going to sit there and say ‘OK, that’s fine.’ I’m going to try to bust out of that and get in position to try to score a goal. If they let that type of thing go on, then that’s how you play. If the ref is calling it tight, then you’re not going to do that. You have to adapt to the game and that’s what we’ll do.” [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38599/us-players-accept-bizarre-decisions.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38599/us-players-accept-bizarre-decisions.html[/url]

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[font=verdana, arial, sans-serif][size=4][font=Helvetica][font=verdana, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][font=verdana, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4][font=verdana, arial, sans-serif]
[b][size=5]World Cup 2010: Dressing room invader told England team: You're a disgrace - see video[/size][/b]
[font=inherit][size=1]EXCLUSIVE by [/size][url="http://www.mirror.co.uk/authors/simon-wright/"][size=1]Simon Wright[/size][/url][size=1] [/size][url="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-cup/2010/06/20/"][size=1]20/06/2010[/size][/url][/font]

[font=inherit][size=4][b]Mortgage advisor Pavlos Joseph stumbles into dressing room while looking for toilet and reads stunned team the riot act[/b][/size][/font]

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[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]This is the fan who burst into the England dressing room on Friday night – and gave the Three Lions flops a piece of his mind as they sat naked and open-mouthed in shock.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Speaking on behalf of millions of raging England supporters, Pavlos Joseph, clad proudly in his red replica shirt, told the multi-millionaire failures: “You are a disgrace.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Pavlos’s shock appearance in the dressing room led news bulletins in the hours after the desperate 0-0 draw with Algeria, widely condemned as England’s most shameful performance in years.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]And as South African police hunted high and low for Pavlos, unaware of his name and scouring CCTV for his face, the man at the centre of it all was calmly sitting down to breakfast with the Sunday Mirror.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“The crazy thing is I only went looking for the toilet,” says Manchester United fan Pavlos, 32, from South-East London, who has followed England home and away since he was a schoolboy.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[/font][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica]“I walked round the outside of the stadium to meet my two cousins and their dad who were at the opposite end of the ground.[/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“We’d arranged to meet at a certain lamp-post on the stadiun concourse. When they still hadn’t arrived after half an hour, I started needing the toilet.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I found a security guard, who sent me off back along a walkway underneath the stand out on to the pitch in the direction of the players’ tunnel and explained that there were toilets near there.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“This was 45 minutes after the game had finished. There were a few photo graphers packing up their stuff, there were six or so groundsmen working on the grass and a dozen police doing a practice march, but no-one else around.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I walked across the grass and up through the tunnel. Eventually, I took a right, down a corridor and before I knew it I found myself in the dressing room. There was no door.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“The next thing I knew, there was David Beckham standing in front of me.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“He was wearing his grey England three-piece suit, wandering around with his hands in his pockets and looking at the floor. I froze and looked round the room. I couldn’t believe where I was.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I saw Joe Cole walk naked out of the shower a few feet away from me. He glanced at me and then did a massive double take.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“Then David looked at me. His face seemed to drop. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The room was dead silent. The ­players were sitting on benches with towels round their waists just looking at me. They looked like they were in shock. No-one was moving. It was surreal.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“Suddenly David spoke. He took a step towards me and said, ‘Whoa, who are you?’[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“At first I didn’t know what to say. I glanced around at everyone again and then looked back at him. I said, ‘I’m Pavlos and I actually need the toilet.’ For a moment, no-one said a word. Then I thought, ‘What the heck. I’m in the England dressing room. Why not say something?’[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I looked David straight in the eye and said, ‘David, we’ve spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it?’”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]He was met with stunned silence. Then Pavlos, whose Greek Cypriot parents came to Britain in 1959 and run a fish and chip shop in Crystal Palace, where he was born and brought up, said he fixed the other players in his gaze.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I told them, ‘That was woeful and not good enough’. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The players’ chins were on their chests – they looked pretty ashamed.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“David’s face changed as if he was going to say something back to me.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“Then, just as quickly, the look turned to confusion and his mouth closed. Straight away, a FIFA official in a suit was alongside me.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“He told me I had to leave and led me out the way I’d come in. I didn’t say another word to the players and I didn’t get an answer from Becks.” Mortgage adviser Pavlos appeared in the dressing room 10 minutes after Princes Harry and William had been in to commiserate with the team, booed off the pitch by many of the 30,000 England fans in the Green Point stadium in Cape Town.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]At about midnight South African police released a statement that “an ­unidentified male has entered the England dressing room” and said CCTV footage was being examined in a bid to identify him. Around the same time, the FA said it had made a formal complaint about the “security breach” to World Cup organisers FIFA.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[/font][/font][/size][/font]
[font=verdana, arial, sans-serif][size=4][font=Helvetica]“The funny thing is that FIFA has my phone number because it’s on the card I gave to their guy who led me out,” laughs Pavlos.[/font][font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“His name is Mark Lindon. According to his card, he’s FIFA’s competitions co-ordinator, whatever that is. But no-one has rung me. The South African police are supposed to be trying to find me to arrest me but I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“It WAS the worst England performance in years. They DID let the fans down. It WAS a disgrace.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I didn’t rant or shout or get out of order. I was calm and quiet. I left when I was asked to. The FIFA guy who led me out actually showed me to the toilet I had been looking for.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“It was funny because as we walked away, I said to him, ‘The atmosphere in there is shocking’. He said to me, ‘If you think that was bad, you should have been here at half-time’.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Pavlos is in South Africa with his second cousin George, 22, George’s brother Andrew, 26, and George’s dad Leo, 47. The foursome have spent £4,500 each on the trip.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]He says: “I’m a massive England fan and I love these players. But they’re also ordinary people, just like you and me. They’d played awful.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Pavlos insists he only said what any other fan would have said in such dire circumstances, with England’s progression in the World Cup in serious jeapardy.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]He says: “They’d let the fans down. Most of them didn’t even try. Some of them looked like they didn’t even want to be there. I just spoke my mind.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I’m no different to any other England fan over here. I just want the team to play like we know they can and to do well.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“The whole thing lasted no more than 25 seconds. I was totally calm the whole time. I didn’t get worked-up or agitated. I never do. I’m not that sort of person.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]After the incident Pavlos’s cousin George called on his mobile phone asking him where he was.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I told him I’d been inside the England dressing room but he didn’t believe me,” says Pavlos. “I passed the phone to the FIFA guy and said, ‘Here mate, tell my cousin where I’ve just been’.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“The guy told George but George still thought he was being wound up. A moment later, we parted.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“We left on good terms. There was no anger and no-one tried to stop me leaving. No police or security officers were involved. It happened, then I left.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Pavlos has a ticket for our next game against Slovenia at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]He is now unsure whether the authorities will ban him from the match or even kick him out of the country altogether.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I’m an England supporter and I will always be an England supporter. I want the fans to get behind the team and not to boo them or slate them. I did what I did on the spur of the moment and I don’t regret it.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“It’s not every day you get a chance to tell the England team what you think of them – directly to their faces.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I hope that after I walked out they looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, that’s what it really means to all the fans’.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“I hope they say to each other, ‘We’ve got to get our acts together for him and all the others’.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]He adds: “It must have been a shock for them to have me turn up out of the blue like that but maybe it will do some good.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]Meanwhile, after seeing England at such close hand, he has some tactical advice for under-fire coach Fabio Capello…“I think Capello should go three at the back rather than four, with Terry, Cole and Johnson,” he says.[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=inherit][size=2][font=Helvetica][size=4]“Also I think Gerrard should be allowed to roam a little more and Rooney is being forced to come too deep to see anything of the ball.”[/size][/font][/size][/font]

[/size][/font][font=Helvetica][size=4]And he’s happy to lend a helping hand to the players too…“If any of the England boys ever need any mortgage advice, I’m here for them – and I’ll get them a good deal.”[/size][/font] [/quote]


[url="http://www.mirror.co.uk/2010/06/20/dressing-room-invader-told-england-team-you-re-a-disgrace-115875-22345683/"]http://www.mirror.co.uk/2010/06/20/dressing-room-invader-told-england-team-you-re-a-disgrace-115875-22345683/[/url]

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[font=georgia,][color=#000000][size=2][color=#333333][size=2]
[b][size=5]In Brazil’s Victory, Not All Is Sweet[/size][/b]
[/size][/color][/size][/color][/font]
[font=georgia,][color=#000000][size=2]
[/size][/color][/font]
[font=georgia,][color=#000000][size=2]JOHANNESBURG — Carlos Dunga’s Brazil will never be the Beautiful Game. It is powerful, pragmatic and still a strong-enough team to be a contender to win this World Cup. And its willingness to mix the ugly with the excellent is a sad reflection on the world’s most gifted soccer country.[/size][/color][/font]
[font=georgia,][color=#000000][size=2]
[/size][/color][/font]
[font=georgia,][color=#000000][size=2]Brazil’s 3-1 victory Sunday against Ivory Coast, Africa’s greatest hope, was never in doubt after Luís Fabiano scored the first goal. The video of[url="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/goals/video/video=1252917/index.html"]Fabiano’s goal[/url] could be used to teach children how to shoot.[/size][/color][color=#000000][size=2]Show them the anticipation with which Fabiano sets off between two defenders, knowing that Kaká will release the ball at the right second. Point out the balance, the composure, and then the singlemindedness with which Fabiano strikes the ball, generating awesome power with his shot from the instep of his boot into the top of the net.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]His [url="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/goals/video/video=1252920/index.html"]second goal[/url], however, and what came after, is perhaps less suited for those learning the game.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]In 1986, [url="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/diego_maradona/index.html?inline=nyt-per"]Diego Maradona[/url] scored against England on what became known as the Hand of God. It was a scoundrel’s hand, and the world knew it. Now Fabiano has doubled the deception. He used his bicep to control the ball not once but twice, and the French referee Stephane Lannoy managed to miss both.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]This hasn’t be the best of days for the French, or for match officials.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]Watching the game for television, Luis Felipe Scolari, the man who coached Brazil to the 2002 World Cup, joked: “Once with the hand is a foul. Twice with the hand is no foul. Is a new rule.”[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]Ivory Coast Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said: “The first goal Brazil took very well. A quick combination between Kaká and Fabiano, they did it very well.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]“It’s difficult to cope with Fabiano, but its more than difficult when he is allowed to handle the ball not once, but twice. They got a goal free, and its a 2-nil goal that changed everything.”[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]Eriksson, however, was less eagle-eyed on the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-__PRe8h-jM"]sending off of Brazil’s playmaker Kaká[/url].[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]“Brazil shouldn’t complain,” he said. “He pushed Keita, I don’t know how hard, but he pushed him, and for that you get a red card.”[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]If only the coaches, and the players, were more honest. The truth was that Kader Keita barged into Kaká, who used his arm to fend off the aggressor. Kaká’s elbow brushed Keita’s chest, whereupon Keita fell to the ground, clutching not his ribs but his face. The referee was duped and showed Kaká his second yellow card of the game, and thus an expulsion.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]It will not greatly harm Brazil because the victory assures it of a place in the second round. Kaká will miss one match, against Portugal, a match that is of little consequence in terms of points to Brazil. He will then return fresh, rested, and with a clean disciplinary slate for the second round.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]But what of Keita? If FIFA’s slogan “Fair Play” is to mean anything, the organization should review the video, which clearly shows that Keita cheated the spirit and the letter of the law. And if Kaká’s card is not rescinded, then a match ban for the deceiver would send a message that soccer is a game, not a battlefield where one man deliberately gets another ejected.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]There was no question that Brazil deserved the points. But how many games should FIFA give to a referee who misinterprets two of the three most significant moments of a game? Fabiano laughed when he was asked about the handball, laughed and admitted he did it. Keita seems to think it was a clever play to get one of the great players in soccer wrongly ordered to the stands.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]Justice could only be served by a complete review of this match by the referees’ committee. And wrongs righted for the good of the game.[/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=2]It will not happen. After the refereeing commotion at the end of the United States-Slovenia game, FIFA pre-emptively told journalists not to bother to ask at a referee’s open day on Monday any question specific to match decisions.[/size][/color]

[/font][font=georgia,]What might the news media be allowed to ask then? The authorities’ lips are sealed.[/font] [/quote]



[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/sports/soccer/21brazilcol.html"]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/sports/soccer/21brazilcol.html[/url]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Coulibaly won't work first set of final group games

[/size][b][size=1]June 21st, 2010 12:36PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][REFEREES] [/color]Malian [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b], who disallowed [b]Maurice Edu[/b]’s apparent winning goal against Slovenia, won't referee any of the first eight matches that will complete group play at the World Cup this week.FIFA's assignments announced Monday included the selection of Belgian [b]Frank De Bleeckere[/b] to work the USA's deciding match against Algeria on Wednesday.

At a media day on Monday, the FIFA Referee Committee did not answer questions about specific decisions at the World Cup.



Coulibaly was not among the referees or referee's assistants in attendance. [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38605/coulibaly-wont-work-first-set-of-final-group-game.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38605/coulibaly-wont-work-first-set-of-final-group-game.html[/url]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Algeria poses formidable challenge for USA

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 22nd, 2010 2:24AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][USA-ALGERIA][/color] Algeria, which held England to a tie and lost to Slovenia 1-0 on a goalkeeping gaffe while down to 10 men, could advance to the round of 16 with a victory over the USA on Wednesday.

When the 2010 World Cup draw came out and placed Algeria with the USA in Group C, the America camp gained even more appreciation for a 3-0 defeat of Egypt last summer at the Confederations Cup.

Bitter rivals Egypt and Algeria play a somewhat similar style, in the view of Coach [b]Bob Bradley[/b] and his coaching staff. They also finished dead-even in their qualifying group, which necessitated a one-match playoff in Sudan that was marred by scuffles between fans. Claims by Egypt fans that they were assaulted by celebrating Algerians after a 1-0 victory did not prompt an investigation from FIFA, and relations between the nations have yet to be repaired.

The nations also met in an African Cup of Nations semifinal last January and Egypt gained some measure of revenge with a 4-0 victory on its way to winning the title. Yet Algeria hasn’t been awed in its World Cup matches against Slovenia and England while displaying a blend of polish and toughness the Americans must be wary of.

“Qualifying in Africa, playing teams like Egypt home and away, is not easy,” says U.S. midfielder[b]Michael Bradley[/b]. “We watched a good bit of tape on them and have a good feel for their players. A lot of guys are comfortable on the ball, but they’re still an athletic team that’s fit and mobile, so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.”

Algeria has yet to score a goal in the World Cup. It scored 16 goals in 12 qualifying matches with the scoring spread out: [b]Refik Saifi, Antar Yahia[/b] and [b]Karim Ziani[/b] sharing the lead with three goals apiece. Forward [b]Karim Matmour[/b], a teammate of Bradley at Borussia Moenchengladbach, is often joined by a pair of supporting attackers. [b]Ryad Boudebouz[/b] and Ziani were the starters against England. Right-sided midfielder [b]Foued Kadir[/b] – one of seven players who work for clubs in France – and Ziani are tricky dribblers adept at slipping balls into good spots.

“When you look at their players, like I said before, they have a lot of guys who are skillful on the ball and like to get the ball in dangerous areas, run by guys or be creative in their own ways to get shots,” said Bradley. “Certainly Karim [Matmour] is good at that, his ability to use his speed to run by defenders and get shots and crosses, I know that well from playing with him every week. So that’s something we need to keep an eye on.

“When you look at their whole team they have a lot of different threats. [Karim] Ziani, who plays at Wolfsburg, is a creative player who can stay wide, he can come inside and find dangerous spots.”

The back line is screened by two central midfielders, [b]Hassan Yebda[/b] and [b]Mehdi Lacen[/b]. Left back[b]Nadir Belhadj[/b], a confident tackler who is also good on the ball, and Yebda are teammates at English club Portsmouth, which was relegated from the Premier League last month. Their presence and experience helps Algeria at times defend with a line of five players who are adept at clogging up passing lanes and winning loose balls, and it also pulls back its wide players at times to secure the wings. Belhadj’s runs up the left flank will require monitoring.

“As they go forward and get the right numbers in the attack, they have the ability to create one-on-ones and go by you,” says Bob Bradley. “They have found a balance of defending with numbers, and they take their chances well with some of their creative attacking players going forward. It means that our ability to be disciplined and to finish attacks is going to be very important.”

Algerian coach [b]Rabah Saadane[/b] dropped goalkeeper [b]Faouzi Chaouchi [/b]after his gaffe on a [b]Robert Koren[/b] shot gifted Slovenia its goal. His replacement, [b]Rais M'Bolhi[/b], didn’t start out well himself against England. He had to stretch full-length and leap to catch a harmless lob he’d misjudged, and minutes later played a kick off the ground right to [b]Wayne Rooney[/b], only for the English to lose the ball right back.

Yet Bolhi also repelled a close-range shot from [b]Frank Lampard[/b] by diving quick and low to his left, and smothered everything else England sent his way without giving up rebounds, which have been costly to several keepers at this World Cup.

By winning, the Americans clinch a spot in the round of 16 no matter what happens in the England-Slovenia match, which will kick off at the same time (10 am ET on Wednesday). They have yet to play a solid 90 minutes at this World Cup and anything less might not be enough for that vital three points.

“It’ll be interesting to see how they approach the game,” said[b] Landon Donovan[/b]. “They have no choice but to win, there are scenarios where we could tie and advance so their approach to the game would most likely be an aggressive approach to get a goal and win the game.

“But they’re a team that, as much as we can watch tape and know about their players, as a team they can be unpredictable. On their day they’re a very good team. We have to see what the game presents early, but our clear objective is to go out and try to win the game.” [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38610/algeria-poses-formidable-challenge-for-usa.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38610/algeria-poses-formidable-challenge-for-usa.html[/url]

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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]The Best and Worst ... so far

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 22nd, 2010 2:24AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][WORLD CUP 2010][/color] With the conclusion of play Monday, the World Cup is half over: 32 games in the books and 32 more to go. Here’s a few categories and incidents of note during those 11 days of drama, spectacle, and controversy.

[color=#FF0000]
BEST GAMES [/color]
[b]1. Denmark 2, Cameroon 1.[/b] Defensive miscues can make for great entertainment, and a game that featured long stretches of end-to-end play produced 36 shots and somehow only three goals.

[b]2. Slovenia 2, USA 2.[/b] Referee [b]Koman Coulibaly[/b]’s bizarre decisions marred a disturbing start and thrilling comeback for the Americans, whose fans back home lit up switchboards and chat rooms complaining about a disallowed U.S. goal that would have meant a spectacular 3-2 win.

[b]3. Switzerland 1, Spain 0.[/b] Regarded in many circles as second favorite behind Brazil, Spain instead reverted to its long history of World Cup stumbles by losing its opener to a [b]Gelson Fernandes[/b] goal in the 52nd minute. The Swiss ran their incredible shutout streak in the World Cup to five matches.

[b]4. Italy 1, New Zealand 1.[/b] Outshot 23-3, New Zealand held on to hand the Italians their second straight World Cup tie after [b]Shane Smeltz[/b]’s goal stunned them in the seventh minute. [b]Vincent Iaquinta[/b] equalized with a penalty kick but that’s all Italy could muster against a spirited band of Kiwis.

[b]5. Germany 4, Australia 0.[/b] The impressive Germans ran through Australia before and after [b]Tim Cahill[/b]was sent off late in the first half. Spearheaded by forwards [b]Lukas Podolski[/b] and [b]Miroslav Klose[/b], the potent German attack dominated for long stretches.

[color=#FF0000]BEST GOALS[/color]
[b]1. David Villa (Spain). [/b]His gliding dribble through three opponents and spectacular shot into the top far corner eased Spanish anxieties against Honduras, and set them on their way to a 2-0 victory.

[b]2. Landon Donovan (USA). [/b]With teammates in the goalmouth marked up and space running out, Donovan’s blast into the roof of the net from an acute angle cut a 2-0 Slovenian lead in half and breathed life into a compelling comeback.

[b]3. Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark).[/b] He slid to strike the ball home from point-blank range after two of his teammates conjured a chance out of nothing. Center back[b] Simon Kjaer[/b] dropped a long, diagonal ball behind Cameroon left back [b]Benoit Assou-Ekotto[/b] that [b]Dennis Rommedah[/b]l ran down to center first-time for Bendtner.

[b]4. Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa).[/b] The only goal scored by the host in its first two games sent the Soccer City Stadium, and the nation, into a frenzied celebration. Ten minutes into the second half of the opening game, a fluid South African attack yielded a a diagonal through ball by [b]Kagisho Dikgacoi[/b] that Tshabalala dribbled into the penalty area and drilled into the top far corner.
[b]
5. Gonzalo Higuian (Argentina).[/b] The game had been decided by the time he completed a hat trick in a 4-1 thumping of South Korea, yet his header polished off a sweet, classy display of attacking soccer. [b]Lionel Messi[/b] clipped a ball to the left wing, where[b] Sergio Aguero[/b] flicked the bouncing ball with the outside of his right foot to the back post, where Higuain nodded it down past the keeper and into the side netting.

[color=#FF0000]WORST GAFFES (players-only!) [/color]
[b]1. Robert Green (England).[/b] The West Ham keeper isn’t the only one to fumble a shot with a “schoolboy error” that is an insult to any schoolboy, but his flub of a bouncing [b]Clint Dempsey[/b]attempt in a 1-1 tie with the USA rates the top prize. So far.

[b]2. Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Serbia).[/b] Goalies aren’t the only players to badly misjudge the soaring eccentricities of the Jabulani ball. The Serbian midfielder jumped for a cross that flew two feet over his head and instead flagged it down with his right hand. [b]Asamoah Gyan [/b]converted the ensuing penalty kick for a 1-0 Ghana win.

[b]3. Faouzi Chaouchi (Algeria).[/b] [b]Robert Koren[/b]’s shot dipped just as it reached the Algerian keeper, whose clumsy attempt to short-hop the ball instead ushered it into the net for the goal in a 1-0 win by which Slovenia took control of Group C.

[b]4. Martin Demichelis. (Argentina).[/b] When he flubbed the simplest of traps of a ball headed toward goals by [b]Park Chu Young[/b] just outside the penalty area, [b]Lee Chung Yong [/b]pounced to pick his pocket and score South Korea’s only goal in a 4-1 Argentine victory.

[b]5. Richard Kingson (Ghana).[/b] Unlike Green and Chaouchi, Kingson got his body behind a shot that came to him on the bounce from [b]Mark Bresciano[/b], but the ball rebounded off his chest right to [b]Brett Holman[/b], who hit it home for Australia’s goal in a 1-1 tie. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38612/the-best-and-worst-so-far.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38612/the-best-and-worst-so-far.html[/url]

[|Bengal Migration|]

France

[MAGICTOUCH]

[quote]
[font=arial, sans-serif][size=2][size=3]
[b][size=5]Donovan thinks the best is yet to come for US[/size][/b]

[size=5]
[/size][/size]

IRENE, South Africa (AP)—Landon Donovan thinks the best is yet to come for the U.S. soccer team.

Yes, 2006 was a disappointment and even the quarterfinal finish in 2002 wasn’t completely satisfying.

“The two World Cups I’d been a part of, we hadn’t strung together three consecutive good results and good performances,” he said Monday. “I think this team has the experience and the ability to do that, and we’ll find out on Wednesday night.”

By beating Algeria, the Americans would advance from the group phase for the first time in eight years. Even with a draw against the Desert Foxes, the U.S. could advance as long as England fails to beat Slovenia and doesn’t gain a point and wipe out the American advantage in goals scored.

[/size][/font]
[font=arial, sans-serif][size=2]Algeria, coming off a 1-0 loss to Slovenia and a 0-0 tie with the English, can advance only with a victory. That likely means wide-open play.“Their approach to the game would likely be an aggressive approach to try to get a goal and win the game,” Donovan said. “A lot of our guys play with or have played with or against their players. As a team, collectively, they can be unpredictable and on their day they are a very, very good team.”

On the first day of winter in South Africa, the U.S. held its last practice at Pilditch Stadium before the match. Because FIFA wants to preserve the field at Loftus Versfeld, the site of the match, Tuesday’s training was moved to Eersterust Stadium in Pretoria.

In many ways, the Americans know Algeria much better than Slovenia.

Center back Madjid Bougherra is a teammate of DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu on the Glasgow Rangers; midfielder Karim Matmour plays alongside Michael Bradley on Borussia Moenchengladbach; midfielder Adlane Guedioura plays on Wolverhampton with Marcus Hahnemann; midfielder Riad Boudebouz is at Sochaux with injured American forward Charlie Davies; and defender Nadir Belhadj and midfielder Hassen Yebda play for Portsmouth, where they regularly face the U.S. Premier League contingent.

“They have a lot of guys who are skillful on the ball and who like to get the ball in dangerous areas and run by guys or be creative in their own way and get shots,” Bradley said. “Certainly Karim is good at that—his ability to use his speed to run by defenders and to get shots and crosses. I know that well. I play with him every week. So that’s something that we need to keep an eye on. But when you look at their whole team, they have a lot of different threats.”

With both teams facing elimination, it figures to be a fiercely fought game.

“Today’s football is very physical. Skill is just for the final meters,” Matmour said. “I’m quite happy to see everybody play the most simple game possible.”

Algeria reached the World Cup for just the third time, following first-round elimination in 1982 and 1986. Egypt forced a tiebreaker playoff by beating Algeria 2-0 in Cairo, a match Algeria’s Rafik Halliche and Khaled Lemmouchia played wrapped with head bandages after their team bus was pelted with stones. Four days later, Les Fennecs qualified by beating Egypt 1-0 in a tiebreaker playoff in Sudan.

The Americans have been toughened in a different way. Needing a three-goal victory over Egypt to reach last June’s Confederations Cup final—and doing just that—taught them they can overcome adversity. That lesson was intensified in this World Cup, when the U.S. rallied to tie England 1-1 and then came back from a two-goal halftime deficit to tie Slovenia 2-2. The Americans nearly won that one, too, but Maurice Edu’s 85th minute goal was disallowed for reasons that are still unclear since referees don’t have to explain their decisions.

Donovan said the team is fortunate to have had a lot of experiences “that have brought us together, both good and bad.”

[/size][/font][font=arial, sans-serif][size=2]“Being down 2-0 with your World Cup on the line is a difficult and daunting task to overcome,” he said, “but the way we’ve been hardened in a lot of ways over the years has made that possible, and I think we’re extremely excited for Wednesday.”[/size][/font] [/quote]



[url="http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/donovan-thinks-the-best-is-yet-to-come-for-us--fbintl_ap-wcup-us.html"]http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/donovan-thinks-the-best-is-yet-to-come-for-us--fbintl_ap-wcup-us.html[/url]

[sois]

haha Mexico

[MAGICTOUCH]

Have to disagree with Lalas. I don't care about "watching" Mexico because of perception of how well they play. No matter what, I root against Mexico and France. So, that certainly made for an interesting Group A.

[MAGICTOUCH]

[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]U.S. defensive success depends on Jay DeMerit

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], June 22nd, 2010 1:14PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
[color=#FF0000]
[/color]
[color=#FF0000][UNDER THE MICROSCOPE][/color] The knee cap tendon that [b]Oguchi Onyewu[/b]ruptured back in October has dominated coverage of the U.S. back line, yet his partner, [b]Jay DeMerit[/b], has rather quietly played two very solid games. The DeMerit-Onyewu pairing in the middle of the U.S. back line is, on paper, an ideal melding of the smaller, quicker defender with a bigger, stronger counterpart. Their personalities are as different as their physiques.

DeMerit's quickness and tenacity enables him to step forward out of the back line and nick balls away before they reach the intended target or get in an early challenge as the receiver tries to collect or turn with the ball. In this manner he can break up plays and kill off attacks before shots are generated, but he can also give away free kicks or leave a big hole if his timing is off.

England scored against the USA in the fourth minute when DeMerit pushed out to square up with [b]Emile Heskey[/b], who instead of trapping the ball simply cut it diagonally into space for [b]Steven Gerrard[/b] to collect. In this situation, communication between the two central defenders broke down; when Onyewu also pushed out to challenge [b]Wayne Rooney[/b], who let the ball run to Heskey and left Onyewu stranded, there wasn’t any cover in the middle.

Heskey occasionally caused the Americans problems by drifting out of the middle and pulling Onyewu with him. DeMerit would provide cover if possible but also had to keep an eye out for Rooney or someone else making a run into the goalmouth. Rooney dropped back into midfield during much of the second half not only to escape DeMerit, but also find the ball earlier and more often. After scoring his goal, Gerrard only sporadically got into attacking positions, and not until late in the match did [b]Frank Lampard[/b] emerge as an offensive force.

Though he’s three inches shorter than Onyewu, DeMerit – honed by many seasons in the English game – is adept at either winning balls in the air or jarring an opponent as they challenge. DeMerit narrowly missed scoring his first U.S. goal with a header from the edge of the penalty area against Slovenia; that’s a play that draws notice, but more important are the duels he wins in the air or on the ground.

[b]Milijove Novakovic[/b] and [b]Zlatan Ljubijankic[/b] gave the U.S. back line problems with their movement and interchanging of positions. DeMerit tangled frequently with Ljubijankic; he blocked a cross by the forward near the goal line, and fouled him with a push well outside the box. In the second half, he knifed into a perfect tackle that stripped Novakovic of the ball as he collected a cross from[b]Andraz Kirm[/b].

Midway through the second half against England, Rooney came back into midfield to play a ball for Heskey, and Onyewu’s late arrival resulted in a foul. Nothing came of the free kick from about 30 yards out, yet it is in this part of the field where DeMerit’s aggressiveness can be either a valuable asset or a risk.

In the normal U.S. back line, DeMerit plays the right-central position, between Onyewu and right back [b]Steve Cherundolo[/b]. While the connection between Onyewu and DeMerit in the middle is often discussed, DeMerit and Cherundolo also need to be in sync to fend off attacks down that flank. If there isn’t support from midfielders, those two defenders are sometimes confronted by two or three attackers in a very critical area of the field.

DeMerit covers for Cherundolo when he goes forward to produce the runs and crosses that are an important facet of the U.S. attack. While the U.S. defenders are often criticized for lumping too many long balls forward, such passes are often hit to relieve pressure as much as start attacks. DeMerit has a ready outlet in Cherundolo, who is one of the best U.S. players on the ball, and whichever wide midfielder – [b]Clint Dempsey[/b] or [b]Landon Donovan[/b] – is playing on his side of the field.

On Wednesday, Algeria’s attacking array that includes balls played along the ground and combination play will seriously test the ability of DeMerit and his teammates to track patiently and time their tackles and double-teams well. The security of the back line will depend in part on how wisely DeMerit decides when to step up, and how cleanly he tackles. [/quote]




[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38619/us-defensive-success-depends-on-jay-demerit.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38619/us-defensive-success-depends-on-jay-demerit.html[/url]

[MAGICTOUCH]

[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]What the USA must do

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size=1]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size=1], June 18th, 2010 5:18PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
[color=#FF0000]
[/color]
[color=#FF0000][SCENARIOS] [/color]Friday's Group C matches -- the thrilling 2-2 USA-Slovenia game and dreadful 0-0 England-Algeria -- left all four teams still in contention for berths in the second round. Here's what the USA and its rivals must do on Wednesday to advance ...

[b]USA advances if ...[/b]<br style="font-weight: bold; ">
-- It beats Algeria;

-- It ties Algeria AND Slovenia beats England;

-- It ties Algeria AND Slovenia and England tie if the USA is not outscored by England by more than one goal.

[b]Slovenia advances if ...[/b]<br style="font-weight: bold; ">
-- It beats or ties England;

-- It loses to England AND the USA and Algeria tie .

[b]England advances if ...[/b]

-- It beats Slovenia;

-- It ties Slovenia AND the USA and Algeria tie if England outscores the USA by three or more goals.

[b]Algeria advances if ...[/b]

-- It beats the USA AND Slovenia beats or ties England.

-- It beats the USA AND England beats Slovenia if the margins of victory in the two games are three or more goals.

[color=#FF0000]Note:[/color] Other scenarios -- notably, ties in both games (eg. USA-Algeria 0-0 and England-Slovenia 2-2) or England and Algeria wins (eg. Algeria 3-2 win and England 1-0 win) -- could lead to teams being tied on goal difference and goals scored.

If the USA and England tie on goal difference and goals scored, the tiebreaker will be ... the drawing of lots.

If Slovenia and Algeria tie on goal difference and goals scored, Slovenia advances by virtue of its 1-0 win over Algeria. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38565/what-the-usa-must-do.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/38565/what-the-usa-must-do.html[/url]

[|Bengal Migration|]

Let's go USA!!!

[MAGICTOUCH]

Bradley?!?! WHAT THE....

You do know we need to WIN this one?

What kind of XI is that in a must win???????????????



[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/default/machinegunyellow.gif[/img]

[MAGICTOUCH]

[quote name='MAGICTOUCH' date='23 June 2010 - 09:01 AM' timestamp='1277301706' post='894412']
Bradley?!?! WHAT THE....

You do know we need to WIN this one?

What kind of XI is that in a must win???????????????



[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/default/machinegunyellow.gif[/img]
[/quote]




Bornstink...ugh

[BengalRep85-9]

and the US gets fucked AGAIN. This is unbelievable.

2 disallowed good goals in 2 straight games.

The reffing in the World cup has been atrocious to put it lightly

[MAGICTOUCH]

Deuce had a goal there. And he's on my fantasy team. Stupid AR! [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/default/machinegunyellow.gif[/img]

Jozy blew his chance.

England up 1-0, we have to win.

The defense is making me very nervous. When Algeria has the ball 30-50 yds out we are tracking them 10-15 yds off the ball and giving them way too much space to line up shots. Fortunately Algeria in turn are taking 20+ yd shots.