Thursday, June 29, 2006

Down to the Big One's !!



QUARTERFINAL ONE
Germany Vs. Argentina
30th June


# Deutschland :
Key Players :
Michael ballack , Klose-Podolski pair, Philip Lahm , Frings, Klismann (their young enthusiastic Manager)
Strenghts :
Home nation, Efficient well organised stable attack, front two (Klose-Podolski in great form), All players fully fit and in form, Have tightened up their defence after intial hiccups, They have the status of the underdogs(so nothing to lose), Young team, Hungry for sucess, Klinsmann has given their nation a new hope and belief !
Weakness :
Their only weakness so far (unless the Argetines expose some other) has been their young un-experienced defence , but the Germans know their weakness as well as their strenths so u expect them to work on that !!

# República Argentina :
Key Players :
Juan Requilme, Maxi Rodriguez, Hernan Crespo, Lionel Messi, Roberto Ayala
Strengths :
has to be their Attack, they are playing the beautiful game the beautiful way, they have the right mixture of experience and youth
Weakness :
There are doubts still that will their style pf play work against good old european defensive set-up (they have struggled to score in their last 2 matches), thier defence isnt fool-proof.


# Well it doesnt get bigger than this, by far the biggest game of the WC yet , many fans are considering it to be the final itself. Two teams with rich WC history and tradition , 5 titles between them meet in the 72000 seater Berlin Stadium. The only disappontment bieng, its just a quarterfinal, but what the hell , its still special.
Its a repeat of the 1986 and 1990 world cup finals (Argentina and Germany won them respecively.) and there was nothing to choose between them at that time and the situation hasnt changed much today too. Though the Germans will go into this game as Underdogs but they have a tradition of doin well against the run of play , against the expectations , surprising everyone.
Both teams have brilliant attacks ; though differnt styles of play altogether, both defences are young and unexperienced , though Argentina hold the advantage here with the ageing veteran Ayala in their army. It could very well turn out to be a game of midfield battle (Ballack&Frings Vs. Riquilme&Co.)
Also Germany have had a easier run , havent really been tested as yet while Argentina had to swet it out against Ivory Coast,Holland and Mexico on their way.
So lets wait and watch as the two giants battle it out to get into the last four of what has been a really exciting world cup so far !!


QUARTERFINAL TWO
Italy Vs. Ukraine
30th June


# Italia :
Key Players :
Buffon, Nesta, Cannavaro, Pirlo, Totti
Strenghts :
The good old italian defence is as strong as ever with Cannavaro-Nesta central defence bieng rock solid and Materazzi filling in for injured Nesta once in a while. Midfield is strong with Gattuso , Cameronesi doing the holding job and Pirlo providing the creativity.
Weakness :
The forward line is a bit weak so could find it tough to score goals sometimes. Del Piero and Inzaghi have the expirience but are too old to run around for 90 minutes while Toni and Gilardino have the energy but lack the experince and temperament.

# Ukrayina
:
Key players :
Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Vorobyey
Strenghts :
good attack, status of underdogs, and also the tradition of one surprise semi-finalist supports them.
Weakness :
Big holes in the defense.

# Italy go into this match as hot favourites and Ukraine have nothing to lose , their world cup campaign bieng already a success having reached the quarterfinals in their first world cup appearance ever. Ukraine will go all out and give their everything , their star strikers against the reliable italian back four(they havent conceded a goal except that blunder own goal against US in the group stage.) but Italy would like to kill this game off early rather than leaving it to the 90th minute(like against Aussies). Lets hope Marcello Lippi doesnt take up the defend-and-counter-attack approach again and we get to see some exciting football from both sides rather than Shevchenko & Co. sweating it out against Cannacaro-Nesta and still ending on the losing side.
Prediction : Italy to win 1-0.

Top of the Tops !!

Top Matches : (in order they were played)

Germany Vs. Costa Rica (4-2) :
The best opening match EVER !! it was a thriller , a roller coaster ride , a perfect way to kick off things.

Italy Vs. USA (1-1)
Crazy Match No. 1

Sweden Vs. England (2-2)
One of the best goals, Late drama, End to end stuff, Joy to watch for the nuetrals.

Argentina Vs. Mexico (2-1)(ET)
Argentina had to sweat it out against a bold Mexican team , it took one of the best world cup goals ever by Rodriguez to finally jump the mexican hurdle !

Portugal Vs. Holland (1-0)
Crazy Match No. 2

Spain Vs. France (1-3)
A brilliant come-from-behind victory by France, Heartbreak for the underachieving Spanish. The ageing French superstars announced their arrival led by Zizou !!


Top Goals :

Torsten Frings Vs. Costa Rica , 4-2
A stunning unstoppable 40 yard drive was a joy to watch. The 87th minute strike also took off the pressure and put the game beyond Costa's reach.



Cambiasso Vs. Serbia , 2-0
A mersemerising 24 pass move by the argentines saw one of the best ever team goals in world cup finals, brilliant one touch football before Crespo's cunning backheel proved to be the killer pass that Cambiasso finished off.


Joe Cole Vs. Sweden , 1-0
A breathtaking 30 yard , diagonal volley from the young england star looped over as the goalkeeper stretched as fr as humanly possible only to brush the ball which went into the top-right corner. UNSTOPPABLE !!

Maxi Rodriguez Vs. Mexico , 2-1 (ET)
This has got to be the best Goal , not just quality wise but also because of the context in which it was scored. 8th minute of extra time and both teams were too tired to create anything when suddenly the genius in Rodriguez took over as he chested a lose ball and let in a scorcher from the corner of the penalty box and the whole world missed a heart beat as they saw the ball loop in over the goalkeeper's stretched hands in to the top left corner of the goal.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Heartbreak for Australia as Italy ride their luck..!!

Italy Vs. Australia

Score: Italy 1 : 0 Australia
Verdict: Italy ride their luck.

Key Moments :
a. Matterazi was sent off in the 51st minute and this changed an otherwise open game into one completely dominated by long spells of Australian possesion of the ball, but they failed to find the back of the net.
Italy meanwhile couldnt even get the ball into the oppositions half let alone create any chances.
b. Subsitute Totti scored from the penalty spot to break aussie hearts after Grosso tumbled down over Neill's body after 2:55 minutes of the 3 minute extra time.
The penalty was a bit harsh/unlucky , as Niell's initial challenge had missed both the ball and Grosso but he fell down on the ground. Now Grosso could have very easily jumped over him or taken a turn and gone around him but he chose to tumble right over him and referee pointed the spot.Very Unlucky :-(







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Switzerland Vs. Ukraine

Score : Switzerland 0 : 0 Ukraine ( 0-3 after penalties)

# Switzerland are now the only team ever to be knocked out of the world cup without conceding a goal. They kept 4 clean sheets in their 4 matches in these finals.
# Switzerland also became the only team to miss all their penalties in a penalty shootout in World Cup Finals.
# Ukraine have now reached the quarterfinals in their first ever World cup finals appearance.

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QUARTERFINAL TWO

ITALY Vs. UKRAINE

30th June

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Sunday, June 25, 2006

England crawl through, Holland Out !

England Vs. Ecuador

Score : England 1 : 0 Ecuador
Verdict : It was anybody's match

Key Moments:
a. Tenario missed a gem of a chance in the 11th minute after some poor defending by Terry found the ecuador striker in a one-on-one situation with Robinson, but Ashley Cole recovered just in time to make the tackle and Tenorio's strike got deflected and hit the bar.
This was to be Ecuador's only real chance in a dull game.
b. Bekham curled one in the 60th minute from 35 metres out and scoreds the only (deciding) goal of the match. The match was a dull one in contrast to the two awesome matches yesterday, and was restricted to long spells of midfield battles.




# David Beckham became the only English player to score in different World Cups. He scored against Colombia in 1998, Argentina in 2002, Ecuador in 2006. Interestingly all his goals have come against South American sides and none from open play. Penalty kick against Argentina , Free Kicks against Colombia and Ecuador.
# Frank Lampard has now taken 22 shots at goal in this World Cup , highest by any player, but is yet to score.
# England have now played four un-convincing games in this competition and still find themselves in the quarterfinals. The lady luck surely looks to be on their side this time, but they will have to improve soon or pack their bags.

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Portugal Vs. Holland

Score
: Portugal 1 : 0 Holland
Verdict : Crazy Match No. 2

# Holland were the team i was supporting this finals , and they are out now , in a really agonosing way. So i am not going to say anything this tim except :-((

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QUARTERFINAL THREE
ENGLAND Vs. PORTUGAL
1st, July

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Saturday, June 24, 2006

Germany Brush Sweden aside, Argentina Sweat it out.. !!

Germany Vs. Sweden

Score : Germany 2 : 0 Sweden
Verdict : Fair result

Key Moments:
a. Podolski put one past Swedish goal keeper right in the 4th minute after some horrible defending and a nice turn by Klose just inside the penalty box. Dream start for Germany.



b. Podolski scored his and Germany's 2nd of the match(3rd goal of the tournament for him) in the 12 minute again after some poor defending and nice work by klose just inside the penalty box.



c. Lucic was sent off in the 35th for a second bookable offence in the in the space of 6 minutes. Sweden now had a mountain to climb.



d. Henrik Larsson missed Sweden's only chance to get back in the game when he shot the penalty he earned right over Lehmann's bar in 52nd minute. You got the feeling that it was Germany's day after that miss.




Key Players :
Klose-Podolski : even though podolski scored both the goals, Klose deserves equal credit as he was the architect of both the goals.
Ballack : He is just too creative of a player and doesnt hestate shooting from distance too. was really unlucky not to get a goal today.




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Argentina Vs. Mexico

Score : Argentina 2 : 1 Mexico (ET)
Verdict : Both teams played equally well, but in the end Argentina had just a bit too much of class for Mexicans.

Key Moment :
Rodriguez scored a scorcher froma left footed volley in the 10th minute of 1st Extra time after score was locked at 1-1 at 90 minutes.



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QUARTERFINAL ONE
GERMANY Vs. ARGENTINA
30th June


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Friday, June 23, 2006

Controversies

Note : the previews for the Round of 16 are in the previous posts.

Some controversial events :

1. Well those of you who are confused regarding the 2nd swiss goal against S.Korea, The goal was legitimate. Alex Frie inspite of bieng ahead of the last korean defender was not offside beacuse of the fact that last touch was from a korean player.
But the goal turned out to be the most controversial yet, because the linesman had first shown the offside flag and the referee hen ruled out his decision and allowed the goal.
In fact for a second or two all the players including Frie, had stopped, convinced that he was offside but still Frie put the ball in the net and the goal was awarded.


Photo : Swiss players celebrating the controversial 2nd goal.

But what i dont understand is why have there been such horrible offside decisions at such a big stage as world cup.

2. Referee Graham Poll is under review after he committed a first-of-its-kind blunder, when he issued 3 yellow cards to the same player in the Croatia Vs. Australia encounter on 22 June. Josip Simunic was the player, he was booked in 62nd , 90th and 93rd minute of the match !!

Photo : Referee Graham Poll issuing 3rd (!!!) yellow card to Simunic.

Well, to be fair the referee just commited a humane mistake when he forgot that he had already booked Simunic and did not send him off when he got his second yellow , but whats even more fascinating is the fact that even the Linesman or 4th or 5th did not care to inform referee Graham Poll abt his mistake.

3. De Rossi was rightly punished with a 4 match ban for his unethical elbow assault on Mcbride in the Italy-US group stage match.


Photo : De Rossi was sent off after a moment of madness which has also earned him a 4 match ban now.

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Gotta knock them out now !!


Game One (24,June)
Germany Vs. Sweden

Germany have a well organised attack and defense, Strong midfield, Home support, Tradition and Habbit to win !! They like to keep it simple , no-nonsense kinda team, so u wont find them doing anything special but they do all the basic things with perfection.
Sweden are a hardworking lot and can perform well on their day. They have two great strikers in Larrson and Ibrahimovic but still are having troubles finding the back of the net.
The only chance they have is that German defence looks a bit shaky sometimes, Wanchope & Co. found a few holes in the opening game.

Prediction : Germany to win 1-0.

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Game Two (24,June)
Argentina Vs. Mexico

Argentina are the hot favourites to win this competition and have already shown what they can do (6-0 demolition of Serbia). They play free-flowing football with lotsa short and one touch passes.Though there are doubts whether their style would work against european defensive play( failed to score against Dutch). The only way to break them is to catch them on the break as they have a tendency to push all their players forward.
Mexico havent really impressed. They qualified through one of the easier groups and even though put up a spiritd performance against Portugal still have a lot to improve.

Prediction: Argentina to win 2-0.

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Game Three (25,June)
England Vs. Ecuador

England havent really played upto their full potential as yet. Their defence looks shaky (as Sweden found out) . Owen is out so Crouch will partner Rooney (The Man) upfront. They will have to be really alert against Ecuador otherwise they could be punished.
Ecuador have been the surprise package this time. Really impressed everyonewith two solid wins over Poland and Costa Rica in the first round. But they lost to Germany rather easily so still have a point to prove against the big teams.

Prediction : England to win 1-0

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Game Four (25,June)
Holland Vs. Portugal

This is the big one. Portugal are stronger both on paper and form. Portugal beat them in the Euro 2004 semi-finals too.
The Dutch have got a young team and lack experience but their mantra is clear : DONT LOSE , as they followed it succesfully against Argentina, they will sit back and ensure that they dont concede a goal and then try to score on the break, and with Robben on fire they can do that.

Prediction : match will end in a draw 1-1 , and go into shoot-out. Cant predict after that. ;-)
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Game five (26,June)
Italy Vs. Australia
Italy, after an initial scare, came through comfortably and are looking solid. Their defence is probably the best in germany right now(Cannavaro-Nesta partnership is pretty hard to break.) and they conceded just one(an unfortunate owngoal) in the group stage. They look to score goals from Set-pieces and can be succesfull too with pirlo delivering inch perfect balls in the box.
Aussies have put up a brilliant display, its their first finals in 40 years and they've reached the 2nd round. They have good attacking line up with Kewell and Viduka upfront. Almost scored against Brazil, though i have my doubts regarding their defencive abilities. So if they are to advance they shouldnt sit back, rather they should go all out and try to score because italy will surely score at some stage.
Prediction : Italy to win 1-0
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Game Six (26,June)
Switzerland Vs. Ukraine
Swiss are the only team not to concede a goal in the first round. Needless to say they have tight defence. Also have goalscorers in Hakan and Frie. They have a real good opportunity here to reach the quarterfinals as i feel they can beat Ukraine if they perfoem as well as they have been.
Ukraine, after the initial drubbing by spain came back strongly against saudi arabia, but they lack international experience. They have one of the Europe's hottest strikers upfront (Shevchenko) but he still has a point to prove on the big stage. Overall they are a nice side but will have to improve if they are to beat the Swiss.
Prediction : Switzerland to win 2-1.
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Game Seven (27,June)
Brazil Vs. Ghana
After two sluggish wins the Brazilians finally found their touch back in the 2nd half against Japan and most importantly Ronaldo scored(He is now the joint all time top scorer in world cups). I dont really see Ghana causing them any troubles.
Ghana : the only African team in the 2nd round(btw there is no Asian team). They have been brave and confident but now they will need something more than that specially when they will be without their talisman striker Gyan against World champions and title favs. Brazil.
Prediction : Brazil to win 3-1
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Game Eight (27,June)
Spain Vs. France
This is the other big game of this round besides the holland-portugal match. Spain are better on form. Torres looks sharp and they will definitely score so if they can keep french at bay from their goal they cud win.
France look lost as ever in front of goal. Though the win against Togo will boost their confidence and Zidane will return for the next game but they still cant finish off and their passing is average. But they have some great players in Henry, Zidane, Viera and with Saha on the bench you never know ,they could send spain off to catch an early flight back home.
Prediction : Spain to win 1-0
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