2010 World Cup - South Africa

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am glad everything is going well over there. I will admit I was very unsure if South Africa was ready for it. So far so good though...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

South Korea just beat Greece 2:0.

 

[rochie]

looking forward to seeing Argentina in about 20 mins then England v USA later tonight

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

USA and England all tied up 1:1. What a lucky goal for the US. Green made a big mistake and should held that goal. Either way the tie is just deserved in my opinion. Even though the US is not as good as England they are playing a very good game at the moment with a lot of heart.

Go USA!

 

[tonyb]

What a shocker from Green!
Cheers,
Tony.

 

[Colin1]

That was a great game to watch.
England started technically the better side and I thought the first half was theirs.
The US imposed themselves alot more in the second and there were spells when the US looked technically better and England, in all honesty, looked a wee bit ragged.

We should have won that 1 - 0 but no qualms with the result, I'll hazard a guess that, in that match, we were watching the two teams that will qualify from the group.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

One of those teams will be the opponent for Germany in the 8th Finals.

Here are today's scores and the numbers after the 2nd day:

South Korea 2:0 Greece
Argentina 1:0 Nigeria
USA 1:1 England

Goals Scored
1. Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa) - 1
2. Rafael Marquez (Mexico) - 1
3. Jung Soo Lee (South Korea) - 1
4. Ji Sung Park (South Korea) - 1
5. Gabriel Heinze (Argentina) - 1
6. Steven Gerrard (Engalnd) - 1
7. Clint Dempsey (USA) - 1

Goal Assists
1. Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) - 1
2. Oscar Perez (Mexico) - 1

Yellow Cards
1. Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) - 2
2. Kagisho Dikgacoi (South Africa) - 1
3. Tsepo Masilela (South Africa) - 1
4. Efrain Juarez (Mexico) - 1
5. Gerardo Torrado (Mexico) - 1
6. Diego Lugano (Uruguay) - 1
7. Mauricio Victorino (Uruguay) - 1
8. Frank Ribery (France) - 1
9. Patrice Evra (France) - 1
10. Jeremy Toulalan (France) - 1
11. Vasileios Torosidos (Greece) - 1
12. Jonas Guiterrez (Argentina) - 1
13. Lukman Haruna (Nigeria) - 1
14. Steven Gerrard (England) - 1
15. James Milner (England) - 1
16. Steve Cherundolo (USA) - 1
17. Jay DeMerit (USA) - 1
18. Robbie Findley (USA) - 1

Yellow - Red Cards
1. Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) - 1

Red Cards
None

Shots
1. Argentina - 24
2. France - 18
3. South Korea - 18
4. England - 18
5. Mexico - 14
6. USA - 13
7. Nigeria - 11
8. South Africa - 9
9. Uruguay - 7
10. Greece - 6

Shots on Goal
1. England - 8
2. South Korea - 7
3. Argentina - 7
4. Mexico - 5
5. South Africa - 5
6. USA - 4
7. France - 3
8. Uruguay - 3
9. Greece - 2
10. Nigeria - 1

Goals
1. South Korea - 2
2. South Africa - 1
3. Mexico - 1
4. Argentina - 1
5. USA - 1
6. England - 1
7. France - 0
8. Uruguay - 0
9. Greece - 0
10. Nigeria - 0

Goals Allowed
1. France - 0
2. Uruguay - 0
3. Argentina - 0
4. South Korea - 0
5. USA - 1
6. England - 1
7. Nigeria - 1
8. Mexico - 1
9. South Africa - 1
10. Greece - 2

Tomorrows Games
Algeria - Slovenia
Serbia - Ghana
Germany - Australia

 

[Marcel]

That was a great game to watch.
England started technically the better side and I thought the first half was theirs.
The US imposed themselves alot more in the second and there were spells when the US looked technically better and England, in all honesty, looked a wee bit ragged.

We should have won that 1 - 0 but no qualms with the result, I'll hazard a guess that, in that match, we were watching the two teams that will qualify from the group.

I thought England was quite poor. No movement in their attackers. They stood like salt-pillars. That way you hardly create opportunities as was proven by the second half. Passes were regularly inaccurate or behind the man. They directly started defending with all 11 after their early goal. England had no real initiative and although a bit lucky, th US deserved that goal.

The US impressed by the way they played. I always think of them as second rated, but they proved to be much better than that. They were a good match against poor playing England. I would like to see them go through the the next phase, they deserve it.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I thought England was quite poor. No movement in their attackers. They stood like salt-pillars. That way you hardly create opportunities as was proven by the second half. Passes were regularly inaccurate or behind the man. They directly started defending with all 11 after their early goal. England had no real initiative and although a bit lucky, th US deserved that goal.

The US impressed by the way they played. I always think of them as second rated, but they proved to be much better than that. They were a good match against poor playing England. I would like to see them go through the the next phase, they deserve it.

I agree. I personally think that if the US had scored a 2nd goal it would have been deserved as well. They played with more heart and determination than the English.

 

[rochie]

for the first 30 minutes i thought the USA were in for a walloping but then england seemed to run out of idea's.
Rooney wasn't in the game all night, Heskey can't score a goal to save his life, Carragher isn't up to international footbal and the rest wern't any better, was very frustrated watching the game and hope we improve in the next game !!!!!

 

[Colin1]

...Heskey can't score a goal to save his life...

Oh come on Karl
that's a bit unfair. Heskey didn't score but he was terrific in every other way, winning everything in the air, strong when holding the ball up, and of course the exceptionally-weighted pass for Gerrard's opener. The idea that a striker is there only to score goals and is a failure if he doesn't, is outmoded. If Heskey contributed less elsewhere, he would not be worth his place in the side, but he was arguably England's best all-round player.

Some will say 'Defoe/Bent would've buried that'. Possibly. But would Defoe/Bent have played a similar pass for Gerrard, or made such an important contribution to the rest of the game? Not a chance.

Rooney had a quiet game, opened up later and that quick effort from range demonstrated the opportunism and invention we're going to need to win matches later in the tournament.

Never that sure about Carragher, even when he was four years younger.

 

[rochie]

Colin i'm the first to admit i'm not a Heskey fan but will admit he won every thing in the air and held it up well but other players can do that, ok maybe not as well as Heskey but would be more likely to score given the same couple of very good chances he had.
and it all well and good holding the ball up for other players but if they are having a quiet game who is going to score ?
i think teams need to win as many games as they can as its not like a league where a few draws can keep points ticking over.

i also dont know why Lenon stopped going past the left back and started passing inside all the time he was roasting his man early on and should of kept it up and his passing still must improve.

 

[Marcel]

Oh come on Karl
that's a bit unfair. Heskey didn't score but he was terrific in every other way, winning everything in the air, strong when holding the ball up, and of course the exceptionally-weighted pass for Gerrard's opener. The idea that a striker is there only to score goals and is a failure if he doesn't, is outmoded. If Heskey contributed less elsewhere, he would not be worth his place in the side, but he was arguably England's best all-round player.

Yes, but the fact that an attacker is best player in a supporting role says a lot about the whole team. Attackers have to move, keep the other defenders busy and give them a hard time, try to walk free. Your attackers did none of this, apart from playing a role in the build-up (at least Heskey). You could clearly see the Italian influence on the English from their coach: "defend when you have the lead, even against a weaker opponent." I disagree with that policy. The English started brilliant and should have gone for gold in those first 15 minutes. A 2 against would have discouraged the Americans, but they didn't. Hopefully they'll do better next time. It would be a shame to take them from the candidates-list.

 

[syscom3]

The NY Post has the US-England game summed up perfectly.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

45 minutes to the beginning of World Cup Glory! Lets go Germany!

 

[The Basket]

England have been lucky with the teams in thier group.

But I have to agree that any other side in the competition will look at the USA - England match and not be fazed by playing either side.

England have to shape up or they will be shipped out. USA are not going to get thier hands on the trophy either.

 

[CharlesBronson]

I really liked the first 20 minutes of England, I was specting more of Rooney though. So far the best team has been Argentina, let see what brings Germany to the table today.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Germany 2:0 Australia at halftime.

Germany is playing very very good. Australia can be lucky that it is not 4:0 right now!

 

[The Basket]

The Germans played very well.

Or was Australia rubbish?

Either way...the Germans were very good...and certainly a team that England would like to avoid.

 

[CharlesBronson]

Crushing Germany, poor australia.