Official 2010 World Cup

[mcsluggo]

IIIIIIIII

<this post was GOING to be the first of how ever many it took to get this thread to the second page, so that it could reformat, and the text would start wrapping again..... I am glad it only took one!>

[Dirkenstien]

US looking god awful and already down 0-1 in the first part of this first half. No continuity, no play development...just a bunch of long ball rubbish from the US. No one can keep their dribble once they get near the opposing box and actually encounter some defensive pressure. On top of this, our defense looks very porous and unable to anticipate the Slovenian runs.

Ugh.

[Dirkenstien]

Down 0-2 now with a couple minutes remaining in the half. This is looking really bad.

[Kirobaito]

That yellow card to Findley hurts. Can that be revoked after the match? US had all the momentum until Slovenia was handed the ball back on that unforgiveably bad call.

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by Kirobaito

That yellow card to Findley hurts. Can that be revoked after the match? US had all the momentum until Slovenia was handed the ball back on that unforgiveably bad call.

It doesn't matter, that yellow is the least of our troubles. Our defense is absolutely terrible and we won't win playing like this. On both Slovenian goals there were US defenders around but for whatever reason they didn't pick up the open man.

Edit: But I agree the card was terrible. I think it can be revoked as it was obviously an unintentional hand ball.

[Flacolaco]

Hey whadya know? The NBA Finals and World Cup finished within 12 hours of each other.

[Dirkenstien]

US down 1-2 now with plenty of time left in the second half.

Donovan was played a beautiful ball that left him open on the right side. He dribbles it towards the goal along the goal line, and once he's about seven yards out ... just as a defender is closing in he blasts it in past a flinching keeper to the roof of the net. Beautiful goal.

[Dirkenstien]

Just a note on the importance of this game.

If we lose this game and England wins theirs this afternoon then we'll have to win our third (final) game and hope England lose to even have a chance at advancing on goal differential. At the very least we need a draw but it's almost a must win if we wish to advance.

If Slovenia wins they'll be the first team to advance to the next stage and the last spot from our group will go to either us or England.

[Zaknaf3in]

Well, I am totally gutted. But I still love this team - fighting till the end, beyond exhaustion. Poldi hat one of his bad shooting days and the decision to take of Özil, well, I guess Löw knows that this was crap by now.

The whole back line had yellow already - you need a guy able to do the deadly pass to get fouls, cards, 10vs10, win.

Oh well. Went out right after the game to play a game of "Hochhausputten" with a couple of friends to cool down.

Good luck US!

[Zaknaf3in]

Equalizer! And all around me, crackers are fired - there's either some real US loving or some deep slovenia hating going on.

[Flacolaco]

Wow

[Flacolaco]

Holy crap....Germany lost?

[Flacolaco]

Son of a bitch.

What are the refs doing in this game?

[AngieO41]

All I can say is WOW.... This game is crazy.

[bernardos70]

Amazing game! I wish I was watching!

[Dirkenstien]

We just got robbed of a victory goal!! Why must all refs absolutely suck!?

[Dirkenstien]

3 minutes stoppage time. Going down to the wire.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

Just a note on the importance of this game.

If we lose this game and England wins theirs this afternoon then we'll have to win our third (final) game and hope England lose to even have a chance at advancing on goal differential. At the very least we need a draw but it's almost a must win if we wish to advance.

If Slovenia wins they'll be the first team to advance to the next stage and the last spot from our group will go to either us or England.

Not really. If England beats Slovenia and we beat Algeria, which will both be the most likely results, we should advance. Hell, if England wins today, all we need is a win over Algeria and for England-Slovenia to not be a draw.

[Flacolaco]

Amazing... we go from stabbed in the heart-dead... To "amazing, what a comeback!"

To "F$%K the refs suck."

[Dirkenstien]

That's game. We draw again. We were robbed of an amazing victory goal. We're still alive in this tournament, though.

[Fidel]

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

We just got robbed of a victory goal!! Why must all refs absolutely suck!?

Because Sepp Blatter and Fifa insist they must be amateurs and they must come from all over the world in the world cup. Even if that means you have guys like the one that just robbed the US of a victory with his absolutely rediculous call. US are still in pretty good shape. They just need to win against Algeria no matter what happens in the other games.

As for the german game. I knew something like this would happen as soon as I saw we got a spanish ref. Doesn´t matter, we can still win the group by beating Ghana.

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Not really. If England beats Slovenia and we beat Algeria, which will both be the most likely results, we should advance. Hell, if England wins today, all we need is a win over Algeria and for England-Slovenia to not be a draw.

Great point. Things are still looking good for the US. This should make the England Algeria match a lot of fun to watch.

[Windmill360]

"who knew bennett salvatore was refing the world cup"

[dalmations202]

cracks me up that Reffing ends up being the biggest thing I have heard about this game -- everywhere I have been watching.

[Fidel]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Not really. If England beats Slovenia and we beat Algeria, which will both be the most likely results, we should advance. Hell, if England wins today, all we need is a win over Algeria and for England-Slovenia to not be a draw.

Even if they draw, the US just needs to get a win and finish with a better goal difference (1st tiebreaker) or more goals scored (2nd tiebreaker). So it depends on the result between England and Algeria too. But to beat out Slowenia a 2-0 win by the US against Algeria is definitly enough if Slowenia loses or draws against England. If England wins tonight but loses against Slowenia any win for the US would be enough. So they are in pretty good shape still.

[mcsluggo]

well.... THAT call was a kick in the jewels.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Fidel

Even if they draw, the US just needs to get a win and finish with a better goal difference (1st tiebreaker) or more goals scored (2nd tiebreaker). So it depends on the result between England and Algeria too. But to beat out Slowenia a 2-0 win by the US against Algeria is definitly enough if Slowenia loses or draws against England. If England wins tonight but loses against Slowenia any win for the US would be enough. So they are in pretty good shape still.

Yeah, if they beat Algeria 2-0 or better, they advance no matter what. The only trouble comes if they win 1-0 (and even then, there's only trouble if the chips all fall the wrong way), draw, or lose.

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by dalmations202

cracks me up that Reffing ends up being the biggest thing I have heard about this game -- everywhere I have been watching.

It was very bad. There were several calls made that the media still cannot figure out. Hopefully FIFA takes note.

Even so, the US should not have played as poorly as they did in the first half. Two games in and they still haven't experienced playing with a lead yet. I give them tons of credit for the second half performance but there were many ways we could have avoided relying on the ref to determine our victory. Hopefully we take this experience and knowledge and apply it to our next match.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Windmill360

"who knew bennett salvatore was refing the world cup"

Gotta love Followill.

[bernardos70]

Btw, that was the same stadium in which Brazil beat the USA 3-2 after trailing 0-2 at half. And Brazil also had a goal badly thrown out also (not rubbing it in, I just thought that that was quite a coincidence). No lead is safe there apparently!

[Dirkenstien]

England - Algeria is a slow one so far with five minutes until the half. Only two or three quality scoring opportunities in the match. I expected to see the English be a little more creative in the attack. The Algerians are doing a good job of crowding the box area and cutting off passing lanes.

[Flacolaco]

So...what is the best outcome for us Americans here with this match?

[bernardos70]

isn't it for Algeria to lose? that way they can't pass the USA if the USA beats them in the next game. Algeria 0 points. England has to win both games: England 7 points. USA beats Algeria: USA 5 points. So the final standings would be:

England 7 Points (2 wins, 1 tie)
USA 5 points (2 ties, 1 win)
Slovenia 4 points (1 win, 1 tie, 1 loss)
Algeria 0 points (0 wins, 0 ties, 3 losses)

That's ideal.

[Dirkenstien]

Yeah if the Algerians lose here they're out. If England wins, all we have to do is win our next match and we're in, even if England loses their final match against Slovenia but if Slovenia and England tie in the final match it would come down to tie breakers between the US, England, and Slovenia.

25 minutes to go ... score is still all nil. Rooney has been a complete non factor so far.

[bernardos70]

If this is 0-0 the USA is still 2nd in the group by number of goals scored. If it's 0-0 Algeria vs England, then the standings should be

Slovenia 4 points
USA 2 points (3 goals scored)
England 2 points (1 goal scored)
Algeria 1 point (no goals scored)

[bernardos70]

Unfreakingbelievable that another major team sucks. So far the only big teams that rose to the occasion........ Argentina. That really is it. Brazil might join them Sunday, but this is just sad.

Germany with a stellar win and a disappointing loss
Spain with a loss
England with two ties
France is sucking as they have always been as of late.

What in the world is going on here....?

[Dirkenstien]

England and Algeria draw 0-0.

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by bernardos70

Unfreakingbelievable that another major team sucks. So far the only big teams that rose to the occasion........ Argentina. That really is it. Brazil might join them Sunday, but this is just sad.

Germany with a stellar win and a disappointing loss
Spain with a loss
England with two ties
France is sucking as they have always been as of late.

What in the world is going on here....?

lol, no kidding. This WC has been completely unpredictable. I have a feeling Brazil will put on a very strong showing Sunday. No doubt they're watching all of this licking their chops.

[bernardos70]

I forgot Italy......... that's how forgettable their performance was.

I'm hoping Brazil plays well on Sunday.... but once again, we play another team that is not really gonna play an open game. My hope is that Ivory Coast thinks they can hang and play back and forth. That way we'll have a chance to display some good soccer.

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by bernardos70

If this is 0-0 the USA is still 2nd in the group by number of goals scored. If it's 0-0 Algeria vs England, then the standings should be

Slovenia 4 points
USA 2 points (3 goals scored)
England 2 points (1 goal scored)
Algeria 1 point (no goals scored)

So let's try to get this squared away on what we need to advance.

Correct me if I'm wrong:

If England beats Slovenia then we need to get a win against Algeria.
If Slovenia beats England then we need to at least tie Algeria.
If England and Slovenia draw then we need to at least tie with Algeria and at that point would go into tie breakers with England.
If we lose to Algeria we're out.

Both games (England vs. Slovenia) and (USA vs. Algeria) will be on the same day at the same time lol. This thing is going to go down to the wire. Matches will be next Wednesday, June 23 at 10AM Eastern.