[WC] GDT: Group C -> 1/ Argentina - 2/ Holland

10/06
Argentina 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire (9 PM)

11/06
Holland 1-0 Serbia M. (3 PM)

16/06
Argentina 6-0 Serbia M. (3 PM)
Holland 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire (6 PM)

21/06
Argentina 0-0 Holland (9 PM)
Serbia M. 2-3 Côte d'Ivoire (9 PM)

1-Argentina 7 points +7
2- Holland 7 points +2
3- Côte d'Ivoire 3 points -1
4- Serbia 0 points -8

Go Oranje!! But with all the recent injuries. I start to worry.

Tight, tight group.
I seriously have no idea who will go through.
Logic would be Argentina and Holland, but I doubt both teams go through since the other two will create at least one upset.

Very hard group for all the teams, but should be an exciting one to watch. The prediction for me is Holland and Serbia to make it through.

I really think the Serbs will give the Argies a hard time and sneak a 1-0 game against them.

DROGBA POWER!!
I love Argentina, and I really like Holland..but I see Ivory Coast pulling an upset.

Argentina/Ivory Coast

Definitely a tough group but I still think Holland and Arggentina will go through.

With a healthy van der Vaart and Sneijder, I think the Dutch will advance, finishing 2nd behind Argentina. If not, Serbia will squeek in.

serbia is so going to go through

1-0 against argentina
1-1 against netherlands
1-0 against cote d'ivoire

This must be the most watchable group.. very exciting.

I predict 1-1 in virtually every game (similar to the England/Ireland/Holland group in Italia '90)

Cote D'Ivoire!!! :handclap:

I predict Agentina/Serbia go through, which is tough for me because I like to watch the dutch play and im a big fan of Van Nistelrooy

ORANJE BOVEN! HUP HOLLAND HUP!

The Dutch have finally gotten rid of the egotistical stars that caused the downfall every year in the past. They have a great mix of youth and veteran leadership, and to top it all off a bench boss that isn't in it for the ego for once.

All I can say is that this is a totally different Oranje team from the past and they are being vastly under rated by everyone around here thinking that they won't advance.

holland and argentina will advance, but serbia and the ivory coast will make this group interesting.

With a healthy van der Vaart...

Good News! (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/holland/5046840.stm)

He's baaaaaaaaaaack ;)

Gio is back training as well Sneijder and Cocu are expected to be back for Sunday...so it's looking good so far.

I'm kind of hoping that if de Jong is completely fit...that they drop Gio for him. :dunno:

Good News! (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/holland/5046840.stm)

He's baaaaaaaaaaack ;)

Gio is back training as well Sneijder and Cocu are expected to be back for Sunday...so it's looking good so far.

I'm kind of hoping that if de Jong is completely fit...that they drop Gio for him. :dunno:

GREAT NEWS!! GO ORANJE!!!

I don't see Argentina coming out of their group for 2 reasons:
- Questionable choices by Pekerman (where are Zanetti and Veron?)
- Riquelme is not the only star on the team, which will make him far less effective than he is with Villareal.

That being said, it will still be a close fight with Holland and Côte d'Ivoire going through.
I wonder if you have seen Argentina play. this team is incrediblily good. Riquelme, Saviola, Aymar, Messi, Tevez, Mascherano. and I really like Peckerman's formation. I say Argentina gets 1st place Holland 2nd

I have no idea who will come out of this group. Yep, that's my prediction ;)

Seriously, logic says it'll be Holland and Argentina, but both Serbia and Cote D'Ivoire are so underrated it's not funny. It'll be a dog fight to the very end.

Argentina if they score the chances they create should sail through.The only worry is the relative slowness of the centre backs.

Serbia hopefully finish second & have the requisite tools to do so.As ever they are extremely technically gifted .

The same applies to Holland .But for reasons of history I hope they are KOed. Ivory Coast will run all day & are physically capable & could knock anyone off their stride but their lack of experience at this level may count against them.

I'm kind of hoping that if de Jong is completely fit...that they drop Gio for him. :dunno:

I don't get it. You want Marco to drop our most experienced defender, a left back, who has been a starter on the best team in the world for more than 3 years for a right sided midfielder who's having a poor season and isn't half as experienced?

Gio is more of a lock than anyone on the team not named Cocu and van der Sar.

Anyway, was just watching Czech - Holland of the past EC 2004 again. Never quite realised what a game it really was. If Robben can reach that level again we'll be hard to stop, man he was awesome.

So out of VdV, Sneijder, RVP, and Robben, who are starting?

I'm taking 2 out of the 4... As of now I have RVP and Robben because they aren't hurt. But who will start?

I'm banking my firepower of my pool on the Dutch...

I want Ruud to score 800 goals to shove it in Ferguson's face.

Who will start out of van der Vaart and Sneijder depends fully on who's more healthy. I'm leaning towards van der Vaart..

------------------- van Nistelrooij ---------------
Robben -------------------------- van Persie ---
---------------------- vd Vaart -------------------

I don't see Argentina coming out of their group for 2 reasons:
- Questionable choices by Pekerman (where are Zanetti and Veron?)
- Riquelme is not the only star on the team, which will make him far less effective than he is with Villareal.
Pekerman must be a complete idiot by selecting Julio Ricardo Cruz in favour of some others. I somewhere read that he sucked. :sarcasm: :snide:

I don't see Argentina coming out of their group for 2 reasons:
- Questionable choices by Pekerman (where are Zanetti and Veron?)
- Riquelme is not the only star on the team, which will make him far less effective than he is with Villareal.

That being said, it will still be a close fight with Holland and Côte d'Ivoire going through.


Agree. Holland and Ivory Coast will go through. Oh, can't wait to see the games of this group!

ORANJE!!!

Van Bommel is a starter right?

Who will start out of van der Vaart and Sneijder depends fully on who's more healthy. I'm leaning towards van der Vaart..

------------------- van Nistelrooij ---------------
Robben -------------------------- van Persie ---
---------------------- vd Vaart -------------------

Definitely VD vaart ahould be in if he is healthy enough to play. But I would prefer Kujt rather than V Persie in the lineup.

Nevertheless. Nederland zal de kampioen zijn!!

Definitely VD vaart ahould be in if he is healthy enough to play. But I would prefer Kujt rather than V Persie in the lineup.

Mwah. Van Persie has much more offensive creativity and is playing great lately. Kuijt is a hard worker and not even doing bad considering he plays out of position, but for the RW position, van Persie offers a lot more IMO.

Van Bommel is a starter right?

Seems like it.

Mwah. Van Persie has much more offensive creativity and is playing great lately. Kuijt is a hard worker and not even doing bad considering he plays out of position, but for the RW position, van Persie offers a lot more IMO.

That's true. I have no complain at all if v Persie can play up to his potential. I am just happy the Oranje has the so damn good future... Robben, V,Persie and Babel...and so on.... all good forwards!!

Holland and Ivory Coast

The Dutch have finally gotten rid of the egotistical stars that caused the downfall every year in the past. They have a great mix of youth and veteran leadership, and to top it all off a bench boss that isn't in it for the ego for once.

All I can say is that this is a totally different Oranje team from the past and they are being vastly under rated by everyone around here thinking that they won't advance.


This includes Davids? I noticed he isn't on the Roster.

This IMO is the group of death. Each team is quite good, and while I like Serbia's team, I don't see them advancing. I'm gonna go with Holland and Argentina but I could see the Ivory Coast slipping in there.

This includes Davids? I noticed he isn't on the Roster.

As much as I hate to say it...yes. He is one of my favorite players, but I have faith in van Basten. It's the first time I've actually had faith in a manager for Oranje in quite a few years because of the decisions he's made. He won't put up with BS and he's brought in players that want to play and not for their ego's. If Davids is/was one of them...so be it. I want a cup more than I want to see Davids play.

Damn, I always liked Davids

Anyways Holland and Ivory Coast advances IMO

First match to really look foward to comes tonight in this very group, Argentina - Ivory Coast.

If they can keep their tactics sorted out Ivory Coast will be a very tough opponent, even for powerhouses like Argentina and Holland

Holland and Ivory Coast


Here's to hoping! :handclap:

I'm so so excited about this game later. LET'S GO CIV

I can't believe I'm missing this game, I wish life would stop for the WC or something.

Having watched a boring England - Paraguay matchup and a decent Sweden - Trinidad matchup... I hope this will be a great game. Really looking forward to watch (the hyped) Ivory Coast play.

Having watched a boring England - Paraguay matchup and a decent England - Trinidad matchup... I hope this will be a great game. Really looking forward to watch (the hyped) Ivory Coast play.

Me too, I'm pumped up for this game!! :yo:

Bunch of former 'belgians' on Ivory coast, too bad Aruna's on the bench and Kone is playing, I personally think Aruna is more consistently fun to watch, Kone has more invisible games.

Frank ***** ing De Bleeckere (Belgian) reffing tonight, prepare for Argentina and Drogba's diving to have a lot of effect , I hate this guy's guts :madfire: :madfire:

3rd game of the day...I'm just going to have to take the next month off work :D

man this hour between games is too long

they need to make it like 15 minutes between or so, Im anxious after that Sweden/T&T match

The birds are chirping in Germany :D and im not talking about the one's that fly. Hotties all over the place, good work by the camera men

The birds are chirping in Germany :D and im not talking about the one's that fly. Hotties all over the place, good work by the camera men

:D

I love The Ivory Coast, spent a week there on vacation.

But 3-1 Argentina.

omg that was close. :confused:

omg that was close. :confused:

Not only close im betting that was in

Not only close im betting that was in


nah

Not only close im betting that was in

But was the whole ball in? A few cm to short what i could see. :dunno:

Argentina doesn't know which way is up right now.




These 2 announcers are dreadful

There's a goal. Crespo.

1-0 Crespo! Always in the right place at the right time.

Is that one dude's hair for Ivory Coast teal?

Cote D'Ivoire has some very talented players... that one midfielder is just flying around.

Even though its 1-0 Argentina, I'm not impressed with them at all. Ivory Coast is looking good and very underrated imho. They are fun to watch too.

That was their chance right there.

Its fun looking at all these different hairstyles, Sorin looks like an extra on Conan the Barbarian.

Saviola 2-0 :clap:

2-0 Yawn.

Cote D'Ivoire has some very talented players... that one midfielder is just flying around.
That was Zokora.

That was Zokora.
Yup. Reffing has been good so far.

Well, well, after this half, I'm sure our dutch friends now know what the fuss is about that CIV team.
They had more opportuinites than Argentina in this half, but Argentina scored two goals out of three chances (and the one that was missed was damn close).
However, the ref really has to whistle the small fouls made by argentinians, otherwise we should see this game going more in the sense of fouls.

Easily the best game of the WC so far.

However, the ref really has to whistle the small fouls made by argentinians, otherwise we should see this game going more in the sense of fouls.
Easily the best game of the WC so far.

Absolutely.
I like this Ivory Coast team. They were really carrying the play at times.

Wow, great game, teriffic pace and two great teams. Best game from the tournament so far and two best teams we've seen (as expected more or less)

Argentina have the cutting edge up front and thus they are in the lead. Ivory coast's been the better team but can't score so they shouldn't expect any points against a deadly professional team like Argentina.

Ivory Coast are playing very attacking though, that surprised me a bit. I think they gave Riquelme a bit too much space most of the time. However they did create a bunch of chance but Kalou isn't that much of a goalscorer for the NT.

I feel bad for CIV... they deserve more than 2-0 down.

Cote d'Ivoire better put two or markers on Riquelme. With one marker, he's absolutely deadly.

Very entertaining game and a two goal lead for Argentinia which might be a bit undeserved.

Is that Maradona's daughter right next to him?
She doesn't look all that bad ;)

Beckenbauer is all over the place today, he was at all three games, I wonder how he managed to do that as he didn't leave early in the first two.

BTW, that foul that resulted in Argentina's first goal was bogus.

Henri Michel put four forwards on the pitch, and I think he's right.
With Meite on central D, CIV will win through offense and will give up lots of goals.
Keita, Akale, Drogba and Kalou, that's a lot of talent right there. And they still have the two Kones and Aruna Dindane on the bench.

By the way the two goals given up were stupid errors, which was a bit of a shame.

The first goal Yaya Touré was really caught sleeping by Crespo, Yaya was ball watching and Crespo did what strikers do. The second goal you can see the offside trap was used in untimely fashion. The concentation level has to stay up for 90 minutes or you get burned in this game, CIV showed that today.


Hopefully there will be more to come in the second half. :yo:

Very entertaining game and a two goal lead for Argentinia which might be a bit undeserved.

Is that Maradona's daughter right next to him?
She doesn't look all that bad ;)

Beckenbauer is all over the place today, he was at all three games, I wonder how he managed to do that as he didn't leave early in the first two.
He plans to assist 48 games out of the 64 games of the WC.

Beckenbauer is all over the place today, he was at all three games, I wonder how he managed to do that as he didn't leave early in the first two.


Maybe he has stunt doubles :D


It has to be something Helicopterish though, still pretty impressive by de Kaiser.


By the way I was watching German coverage (can't stand most of the Flemish commentators) and I had no idea that CIV was so beautifully called Elfenbeinküste auf Deutsch :)

Mascherano can book his place in Hollywood's next blockbuster.

Saviola with a major dive :shakehead

CIV should have gotten a PK, and then to top it off the ball goes 10 feet over the net from 10 feet away

Another dive, Sorin this time. This is almost as bad as England! :madfire:

Mascherano can book his place in Hollywood's next blockbuster.
He should be joined by Saviola and Sorin... :handclap:
I'm not sure why the ref continues to screw CIV like that. :dunno:

Ivory coast deserves better than to be down by 2. Pity.

Drogba!!!!!!

Finally they get one.

I think they'll get another, they fully deserve it for the match they've played.

Drogba Powaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Come on guys!

Drogba gets it to within 1

My prediction BTW :
Argentina 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire (Crespo)
Looking pretty good, though I'd like to lose if it means CIV ties the game!

WooooooHoooooooooo! Beauty goal! Let's go Ivory coast :handclap:

Maxi scores, but offside.

My prediction BTW :
Argentina 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire (Crespo)
Looking pretty good, though I'd like to lose if it means CIV ties the game!
Wow, my 3-1 prediction was literally inches away from happening...

Still, I'm going for Cote d'Ivoire, what a team, what spirit.

Argentina is lucky coming out with that win.

Well, 2-1 final, a tie would have reflected the game better.
Still, I'm sure Holland and Serbia are shaking their heads right now, as they now know exactly what's ahead : two of the best teams of this WC.

England and Germany should take note : these two teams are better than them so far.

De Bleeckere sucked it up in the second half, Saviola and Sorin were clear dives yet he blew his whistle and even gave a yellow to Eboué.
Then at the end he was helping the Argentinian timewasting.

Great courage by CIV but in the end it was not enough, too bad I would have had a nice bonus with a draw in our prediction game.

BTW, Argentina has moved up first on my hated list thanks to all these dives....
:shakehead

Argentina is lucky coming out with that win.

Absolutely. Ivory Coast was the better team.
Not very good officiating in this one :shakehead

De Bleeckere .
Belgian ref?
Ah, that explains it... :D

BTW, Argentina has moved up first on my hated list thanks to all these dives....
:shakehead

:biglaugh: I found myself feeling the same way half way through this game.

Argentina didn't look very good IMO. That said, I honestly see Oranje losing 3 times, in fact that's what I predict.

Wow, CIV is the best team I've seen in the WC so far. Forget the tie, they should have won that game outright. Let's see what they can do from now on.

Jesus Christ people. Every team is diving. Argentina, England, Brasil, Togo, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, United States, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, hell even Norway.

Jesus Christ people. Every team is diving. Argentina, England, Brasil, Togo, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, United States, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, hell even Norway.

Yes, exactly. Almost all the teams dive. It's a really despicable thing. They need to hand out more yellows when it's obvious that they are diving/wasting time.

I don't think we ever get close enough to the ball to dive.

Heh..

BTW, the player in your avatar won't start tomorrow. Just thought I'd share it.

Jesus Christ people. Every team is diving. Argentina, England, Brasil, Togo, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, United States, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, hell even Norway.
I'd say every team embelish.
But these guys not only embelished, they simply dive to get other players carded without reason.

Jesus Christ people. Every team is diving. Argentina, England, Brasil, Togo, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, United States, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, hell even Norway.

Yea, they do, but at least most dives come after at least a "little" contact :D

Jesus Christ people. Every team is diving. Argentina, England, Brasil, Togo, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, United States, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, hell even Norway.

Nobody disputes that every team is guilty of diving at some point.

It's the way some players do it that is obscene. Saviola and Sorin today were perfect examples. Saviola was brushed lightly behind his thigh, threw himself to the ground, spectacularly piroutted on his shoulders while simultaneously grabbing his ankle and hoisting it five feet high in the air.. not to mention a scream sara michelle gellar would have been proud of. It was utterly riduculous - if you're seriously injured, you do not wave your injured part around like a break-dancing routine. Sorin was not even touched yet went through a five minute rigamarole of grimacing, aching and hobbling before racing 80 metres in the next minute.

Not only that but the way they try (and very often succeed) to get innocent opponents booked / sent off is disgusting.

Easily the two best teams on display today though, some great football.

Well, well, after this half, I'm sure our dutch friends now know what the fuss is about that CIV team.
Excuse me ?

You don't have to tell me that CIV is a very talented and entertaining team, so is Cameroon always.


Argentina-Ivory Coast 2-1, the facts and I'm sure you know now what I meant.

Cheers

Not from this group, but to the issue of diving, the players from Sweden were an embarassment against TnT.

Another dive, Sorin this time. This is almost as bad as England! :madfire:
Yeah !!

He was still in pain afterwards and wasn't even touched. What a gangster.

Yeah !!

He was still in pain afterwards and wasn't even touched. What a gangster.

He might have hurt himself falling down like that. Can`t rule out the possibility of Sorin getting some of his hair in an eye either. That **** hurt like hell you know.

Not from this group, but to the issue of diving, the players from Sweden were an embarassment against TnT.

Both teams dived more or less. Its all a part of the game. (sadly) And every team will do it at the WC.

To single out Sweden.. Nah.

Both teams dived more or less. Its all a part of the game. (sadly) And every team will do it at the WC.

To single out Sweden.. Nah.


True enough.
I suppose I was more struck by their theatrics more than those of the other players

Great game but shame on the Argies and Drogba for the Luganis routines.

This is why they need a video ref to tell the ref on the pitch who's diving.

Sorins one was real bad, the linesman had a perfect view of it but didn't have the balls to give a free kick to IC.

Excuse me ?

You don't have to tell me that CIV is a very talented and entertaining team, so is Cameroon always.


Argentina-Ivory Coast 2-1, the facts and I'm sure you know now what I meant.

Cheers


I don't get the lovefest for the Ivory Coast, either. They have some good individuals, but they don't play the system fitted to their skills the most, do not have great chemestry and despite some decent individuals, have a rather bad defense, not to mention their goalkeeper. They didn't impress me during the Africa Cup (despite their finish) and haven't impressed me during exhibition games.


Let them first learn to play a system because I agree what O=S said, they are still a bunch individuals who are running around like chickens without their head.

Let's say you two were doubters beofre the game, huh? ;)

Great game but shame on the Argies and Drogba for the Luganis routines.
The only time Drogba dived, he quickly put himself up and continued the action...

Let's say you two were doubters beofre the game, huh? ;)Of course and I still am. Ivory Coast, nor any other African team, will reach the semi's but that doesn't have anything to do with the talent that they have.
The only time Drogba dived, he quickly put himself up and continued the action...
:eek:

You must have missed a lot of action. He's lying an awful lot on the ground with that strong big body of his.

I didn't miss any. Drogba was fouled the whole game, just like he was when Heinze elbowed him twice in the head and not only got away with nothing, but Drogba was called for the foul!
He was fouled many times, I thought emblished once, but overall, everytime he was down, he was fouled, except on that occasion I'm talking about.

ivory coast played well but credit goes to the argentinian defence for limiting them to a few half chances. I thought ivory coast's midfield was caught upfield quite a bit giving argentina chances to counter

sorin and mascherino had some memorable dives.

the Dutch fans are certainly awesome today, should be a cracking match

Holland with a very good first half, especially the first 20 minutes.
Robben is doing everyting for that dutch squad.
They should be careful though, as Serbia seemed much better after that substitution and Djordjevic playing as #10.
Should be a great second half.

Robben played beautifully. He'd better keep it up though...

Another very good match. opefully they can keep it going in the second half in th heat

The Dutch look very good going forward, Robben's been outstanding.

However I have to say that Holland left a bit to be desired on the defensive side of the ball. They were way to soft in the 50/50's and the Serbians managed to dribble by them way to easily at some point, and they created a few very good chances of that.


And what a silly decision to try and play offside on that one moment... they were always going to get beaten that way.

After five and a half games, Robben is the most impressive player so far. Serbia has 2-3 defenders on him all the time, and it's still not enough. Overall, the game is going exactly the way I thought it would- Holland is dominating in ball posession, Serbia is counterattacking (pretty effectively at times). Seems like Kezman and Milosevic get in each other's way a bit- they collided twice, both going for the ball.

I was out sunbathing. What`s going on? Oranje in the lead? Olala

Hard to imagine this is Robben out of shape.. He was everywhere.

Oranje! :bow:

1-0 final.
Good game by both teams, a draw would have been logical to some, but I thought Holland had the best opportunities (not in quantity, but in quality).

I'm sure Flyhigh won't try his USA>Serbia argument now... :D

All of these four teams have sure made it pretty clear they're the best group.
We might have seen the four best teams of the tournament so far, and that includes England and Germany.

Holland was way too soft in the middle and lost a lot of balls in the midfield.

Van Bommel didn't go out full throttle as he has been bothered by a knee injury, he still played a great game but wasn't his physical self. Cocu was calmness himself but nor he played his nasty game. I think it was more nerves on his part, no matter how many caps he has under his belt.

Robin van Persie wasn't involved alot at all, they continuesly searched for Robben. He had the nice assist on the Robben goal though.

Didn't quite get van Basten's tactics of choosing to defend after they had the lead. Sure they had to stay behind more but our strenght is at the front. Ruud was kept in check nicely..

Really hoping for van der Vaart though, Sneijder was decent but van der Vaart can add something extra.

Cocu was mising a lot of passes.
Worst dutch player IMO.

Cocu was mising a lot of passes.
Worst dutch player IMO.

Cocu's contribution goes beyond play. He directs and makes sure everybody is line-ing up properly. Regardless of his play, which I agree was beneath his usual capability, he remains our most crucial player not named Robben.

Cocu was mising a lot of passes.
Worst dutch player IMO.
Concur considering he doesn't have to create or score goals like RVN. He must control and lead but played very bad.

Holland was way too soft in the middle and lost a lot of balls in the midfield.Yes, it annoyed the hell out of me.

Robben dived a lot too. As usual.It might have been worse. Not half as bad as usually IMO.

1-0 final.
Good game by both teams, a draw would have been logical to some, but I thought Holland had the best opportunities (not in quantity, but in quality).

I'm sure Flyhigh won't try his USA>Serbia argument now... :D

Hehehe, I will make one more post in that thread and let it die.

I missed the last 80 minutes of this game (forced to go to church), so I can't comment too much. From what I saw Holland had all the possession, Serbia looked sound at the back, but offered nothing going forward. I may DL the game though, so I'll have some comments then.

Hehehe, I will make one more post in that thread and let it die.

I missed the last 80 minutes of this game (forced to go to church), so I can't comment too much. From what I saw Holland had all the possession, Serbia looked sound at the back, but offered nothing going forward. I may DL the game though, so I'll have some comments then.
Yep, you should see it again.
Because Serbia was hardly an easy opponent and was very very good. Much better than the US.
Then again, a team featuring Djordjevic, Kezman, Milosevic, Vidic (didn't play, he was suspended), Stankovic, etc... is obviously better than the US, and many many teams.

Hard to imagine this is Robben out of shape.. He was everywhere.

No Sheet...but it's kind of sad that the only time we get penetration was when he was on the ball. Where was v. Persie? He seemed to always be 20 feet behind everyone else except for a few occasions.

Very hard group for all the teams, but should be an exciting one to watch. The prediction for me is Holland and Serbia to make it through.

I really think the Serbs will give the Argies a hard time and sneak a 1-0 game against them.

Dear lord, what have you been smoking? The Argies and Ivory Coast are frighteningly good sometimes, the Dutch are eternal underachievers too but will probably sneak through. My prediction:

Argentina P3 W3 D0 L0 9
Holland P3 W2 D0 L1 7
Ivory Coast P3 W1 D1 L1 4
Serbia P3 W0 D0 L3 0

Robben dived a lot too. As usual.

Seriously, if you saw him freewheel like this in the EPL, Mourhinho would sit his Dutchass down for like 3 games.

Yeh, just like he does with Drogba.... :dunno:

Great game it was! I don't like such a defensive football by the Serbs...

As for the game yesterday, CIV wih Hiddink or Murinho as a coach would be the best team in the world.

After convincing his team as the favorite prior to the game against Oranje, talking down on most players, Serbian coach Petkovic did an 180 and praised Robben after the game:

Robben was de grote man aan Oranje-zijde. De aanvaller was niet alleen de maker van het enige doelpunt, maar zorgde vaak voor gevaar. “Dit is een voetballer van de categorie Ronaldinho. Het is soms ongelooflijk wat hij allemaal laat zien”, zo sprak Petkovic zijn bewondering uit aan het ANP.

Petkovic zag zijn spelers weggespeeld worden door Robben. “In de eerste helft was hij te sterk voor Nenad Djordjevic. Na rust kon Nadj hem niet bijbenen. Dat is geen schande hoor. Op Robben stond vandaag geen maat.”

Robben was the big man on the Oranje-side. The attacker didn't only provide the only goal but also created plenty of danger. "He's a player of the Ronaldinho calibre. It's incredible what he can do".

Petkovic saw his players being embarassed by Robben. "In the first half, he was to strong for Nenad Djordjevic. In the second half, Nadj couldn't keep up with him. It's not a disgrace, not at all. You just can't keep up with Robben at times.

I meant "Freewheel" as in 'not distribute the ball"

Robben did not pass the ball when he had it on the wing at all. Didier Drogba on the other hand did some great passing work last year

Freewheel means 'going downhill on a bike whilst not peddling' :p

You don't have to pass the ball to be a great winger. In fact, most of the great wingers through history haven't exactly been known to move it on too often...

All of these four teams have sure made it pretty clear they're the best group.We might have seen the four best teams of the tournament so far, and that includes England and GermanyCould not watch tioday's game, but i found yesterday's one pretty disappointed. A slow paced one especially for a game in the night, and Cote d'Ivore probably paid the debut emotionally.
Argentina is not as good as it could be.

A slow paced one especially for a game in the night

Are you sure you didn' thave the game playing at 66% of the speed or so? I thought that one was very fast paced, great pressure on the ball all over the pitch. :confused:

Thus far the only game that looked like a high paced European game to me.

Are you sure you didn' thave the game playing at 66% of the speed or so? I thought that one was very fast paced, great pressure on the ball all over the pitch. :confused:eh eh, i must admit i wasn't alone watching so maybe i was not 100% focused on it.. but the rythm was slow imo, especially in the first part of the game. Teams were adamant to not give up room, so yes, spaces were pretty tight, but the Africans were not putting the game on the athletical side like they should have imo.

Btw, don't know it that's been mentioned in the game's comments, but Mascherano was disappointing: he had 5 horrible minutes around the 75' minute mark, colletcing more mistakes in 5 minutes than in the sum of his other games i've seen. :(

Thus far the only game that looked like a high paced European game to me.Slow paced games overall.. stupid weather is not helping i guess! I was in Gemany the other week and it was always raining and COLD like it was Winter :cry: , one week later (now) they say it's hot. :madfire:

Slow paced games overall.. stupid weather is not helping i guess! I was in Gemany the other week and it was always raining and COLD like it was Winter :cry: , one week later (now) they say it's hot. :madfire:

True about the tempo, although I think every games has been very enjoyable thus far, with the possible exception of England - Paraguay where the last 70 minutes were crap.

That was also the game with the worst ref so far so maybe that has an influence.


By the way, 7 games yet and no penalty? I bet Portugal get one in the next game ;)

Got up early today to watch the match and..

HOLY **** ROBBEN IS A STUD!!!

I was absolutely ecstatic in the Holland-Serbia game.

Why? The referee booking Koroman for unsporting behaviour. Koroman was fouled (not even seriously fouled) and jumped up demanding a booking. Merk turned on him and booked him instead. Made him look incredibly stupid and I was delighted. Please god, let the other referees and players take note.

Angered by the defensive tactics in Sunday's 1-0 World Cup loss against the Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro players launched a barrage of criticism at their coach Ilija Petkovic.

''I don't see any logic starting an opener at the World Cup with such a closed formation.'' said midfielder Ognjen Koroman. ''If we attacked them from the start, we could have scored.

''We also might have lost by several goals, but at least it wouldn't be in such a cowardly fashion,'' said Koroman, who came into the game in the 42nd minute instead of surprise starter, defender Nenad Djordjevic.

Wow, a mutiny in the Serbia camp :amazed:

Dear lord, what have you been smoking? The Argies and Ivory Coast are frighteningly good sometimes, the Dutch are eternal underachievers too but will probably sneak through. My prediction:

Argentina P3 W3 D0 L0 9
Holland P3 W2 D0 L1 7
Ivory Coast P3 W1 D1 L1 4
Serbia P3 W0 D0 L3 0



Yeh, just like he does with Drogba.... :dunno:

you might wanna re-do the points prediction....you show an ivory coast draw, but no one else has a draw to go with it :sarcasm:

Robben would probably be my favourite player if he didn't play like such a pansy at times.

Angered by the defensive tactics in Sunday's 1-0 World Cup loss against the Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro players launched a barrage of criticism at their coach Ilija Petkovic.

''I don't see any logic starting an opener at the World Cup with such a closed formation.'' said midfielder Ognjen Koroman. ''If we attacked them from the start, we could have scored.

''We also might have lost by several goals, but at least it wouldn't be in such a cowardly fashion,'' said Koroman, who came into the game in the 42nd minute instead of surprise starter, defender Nenad Djordjevic.

Wow, a mutiny in the Serbia camp :amazed:

Now that's what I call a healthy attitude! :handclap:

I must say Serbia is quite arrogant. Before the game almost every player thought they were better than Holland. They lost and now it's the coach fault or without Robben they would have won.

Angered by the defensive tactics in Sunday's 1-0 World Cup loss against the Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro players launched a barrage of criticism at their coach Ilija Petkovic.

''I don't see any logic starting an opener at the World Cup with such a closed formation.'' said midfielder Ognjen Koroman. ''If we attacked them from the start, we could have scored.

''We also might have lost by several goals, but at least it wouldn't be in such a cowardly fashion,'' said Koroman, who came into the game in the 42nd minute instead of surprise starter, defender Nenad Djordjevic.

Wow, a mutiny in the Serbia camp :amazed:

I absolutely agree with all that! I couldn't believe the cowardly tactics they chose...

Okay, I'm going to put this here for Evilo, hopefully he'll see it.

I just watched Holland vs. Serbia and here are my thoughts.

Serbia were very well organized at the back. Even when a player like Robben would break through and cross, the defenders were well prepared and they dealt with it. Robben's goal was more a good counterattack by Holland and a great pass by RvP than a Serbian breakdown. Most of Holland's other chances came from long-range shots.

I thought the rest of Serbia didn't live up to that backline. The midfield was terrible. Stankovic had little to no impact on the game. Koroman was alright when he came on, but eventually spent too much time begging for fouls. The only player there that impressed me was Djordjevic who created a couple of good opportunities.

I thought that all the strikers were pathetic. Kezman and Milosevic managed to collide twice in the first 25 minutes, the first collision was especially costly after Djordjevic had done some great work on the left wing. The Serbians didn't even appear to know how to use Zigic. He came on at half-time, but the first time I saw a good ball played to his head was about the 63rd minute. Milosevic had a couple opportunities, but was unable to convert, both of his attempts never stood a chance of going in.

To compound matters, I thought that Holland were terrible. For some reason, they only attacked up the left wing. I'm not sure if this is part of some greater strategy by van Basten, but it was pretty dumb. The sad part is that the Serbians should have figured out what was happening, but they still couldn't stop the attacks. Van Nistelrooy didn't play very well, I still don't see why they didn't take Makaay by the way. I thought that RvP did just as well as Robben when he had the ball, but the problem was that he never got the ball because he was on the right for most of the match. If Holland figure out how to distribute to both wings effectively, they will become dangerous. They also need van der Vaart back. I thought that Sneijder was very poor and wasted possession several times.

The Holland back line was also quite shaky at times. Mathijsen especially was pretty bad. I also thought that Heitinga was more of a CB, but he was at RB for some reason. Still though, Serbia couldn't take advantage.

Of course we know about Serbia's supposed team unity as demonstrated after the match when they all decided to criticize the coach instead of looking at their own performance. I still prefer the US to be honest. The US seems to be stronger as a team even if they don't have the individual talent. The fact that Serbia couldn't beat or at least tie Holland on a day when the Oranje were far from their best tells me a lot about that team.

Milosevic looked out of shape and slow. The clock is ticking.....

Stankovic was terrible and Kezman was slipping and sliding all over the place out there. There was no offense form them at all.

I really expected more from S&M and feel that they should have tried to push the Dutch a lot more.

Robben was everywhere.

To compound matters, I thought that Holland were terrible. For some reason, they only attacked up the left wing. I'm not sure if this is part of some greater strategy by van Basten, but it was pretty dumb. The sad part is that the Serbians should have figured out what was happening, but they still couldn't stop the attacks. Van Nistelrooy didn't play very well, I still don't see why they didn't take Makaay by the way. I thought that RvP did just as well as Robben when he had the ball, but the problem was that he never got the ball because he was on the right for most of the match. If Holland figure out how to distribute to both wings effectively, they will become dangerous. They also need van der Vaart back. I thought that Sneijder was very poor and wasted possession several times.

The Holland back line was also quite shaky at times. Mathijsen especially was pretty bad. I also thought that Heitinga was more of a CB, but he was at RB for some reason. Still though, Serbia couldn't take advantage.
No offense but I can't imagine you have ever played football. Of course it wasn't strategy they only attacked up the left wing. Those things happen and are a result of little room on one side. Anyone who has ever played wing knows what I'm talking about.

RVN was crap and I don't understand why Mathijssen was pretty bad. I could name a few others who were bad but he played a decent match.

I agree that defense looked shaky

No offense but I can't imagine you have ever played football. Of course it wasn't strategy they only attacked up the left wing. Those things happen and are a result of little room on one side. Anyone who has ever played wing knows what I'm talking about.

RVN was crap and I don't understand why Mathijssen was pretty bad. I could name a few others who were bad but he played a decent match.

I agree that defense looked shaky

I usually play central mid and I completely disagree with you. There were numerous times when van Bommel or even Cocu had the ball on the right, but deliberately tried to switch it over to the left. I don't think this was just because of Robben because the same thing happened when RvP was on the left. In all the matches I've played, I've never played one when for 90 minutes, a team attacks exclusively up one side. They didn't even try to attack on the right side. In most matches I play, my team has spent 10 minutes trying out various strategies and trying to find a weakness. But Holland attacked left for the entire match.

Of course it wasn't strategy they only attacked up the left wing. Those things happen and are a result of little room on one side. Anyone who has ever played wing knows what I'm talking about.


Agreed, that ánd having a guy beating his man up every single time helps the decisionmaking by the playmakers a lot.

I usually play central mid and I completely disagree with you. There were numerous times when van Bommel or even Cocu had the ball on the right, but deliberately tried to switch it over to the left. I don't think this was just because of Robben because the same thing happened when RvP was on the left. In all the matches I've played, I've never played one when for 90 minutes, a team attacks exclusively up one side. They didn't even try to attack on the right side. In most matches I play, my team has spent 10 minutes trying out various strategies and trying to find a weakness. But Holland attacked left for the entire match.
Well, I guess you play on a lower level. ;) Why would you even try ? This is no chess.

The room was on the other side and Robben's was playing great over there as well. What more do you want. Van Persie should stick around the sideline and that's what he did. Unfortunatley for him, not very satisfying but ala.

Well, I guess you play on a lower level. ;) Why would you even try ? This is no chess.

The room was on the other side and Robben's was playing great over there as well. What more do you want. Van Persie should stick around the sideline and that's what he did.

I'll admit I'm no Maradona, but I'm not too bad either. :)

I still think they should have gone up the right at least a couple times. RvP was playing really well in qualifying. I still don't quite understand it. Maybe we play differently over here, but I've never seen one side just get ignored like that, even when there is space on the other side.

I'll admit I'm no Maradona, but I'm not too bad either. :)

I still think they should have gone up the right at least a couple times. RvP was playing really well in qualifying. I still don't quite understand it. Maybe we play differently over here, but I've never seen one side just get ignored like that, even when there is space on the other side.

When you have the best winger of the world getting comfortable, why not appoint him go-to-guy? I really don't see the fuss not using van Persie more often.

When you have the best winger of the world getting comfortable, why not appoint him go-to-guy? I really don't see the fuss not using van Persie more often.

Well honestly, I think there should be some fuss considering that Holland only scored 1 goal and considering that if Serbia could finish, the game might have ended up a draw. I won't deny that Robben was exceptional, but Holland only ended up with 1 goal to show for it.

Well honestly, I think there should be some fuss considering that Holland only scored 1 goal and considering that if Serbia could finish, the game might have ended up a draw. I won't deny that Robben was exceptional, but Holland only ended up with 1 goal to show for it.

and that was all they needed. I certainly wouldn't want to play the Dutch any time soon...

but Holland only ended up with 1 goal to show for it.


More importantly, 3 big points.

and that was all they needed. I certainly wouldn't want to play the Dutch any time soon...

If Holland score 1 goal per game in this WC, they aren't going to get very far and while Serbia have a good defense, there are other countries that have better.

If Holland score 1 goal per game in this WC, they aren't going to get very far and while Serbia have a good defense, there are other countries that have better.

In group play 1 goal should beat TNT and maybe tie Argentina. After that it's anyones guess what happens in the knockout stages. Holland is in as good as shape as England and Portugal. They had trouble but did the job and came away with 3 important points.

In group play 1 goal should beat TNT and maybe tie Argentina. After that it's anyones guess what happens in the knockout stages. Holland is in as good as shape as England and Portugal. They had trouble but did the job and came away with 3 important points.

England is in good shape...?

I wasn't too high on Portugal either, but if my team is in the same shape is England, I'm worried.

England is in good shape...?

I wasn't too high on Portugal either, but if my team is in the same shape is England, I'm worried.

What's so bad about England?

If Holland score 1 goal per game in this WC, they aren't going to get very far and while Serbia have a good defense, there are other countries that have better.

Who said anything about them only getting 1 a game? They looked capable of getting many many more and whilst they didn't get them yesterday, they got exactly what they needed to get.

England is in good shape...?

I wasn't too high on Portugal either, but if my team is in the same shape is England, I'm worried.

Sorry I meant Ivory Coast not TNT. I can't believe that a victory puts peoples perspective out of whack???

What is wrong with England?

Barring an embarrassing result to TNT and a loss to Sweden, England should (key word) be thru. And when it comes to Portugal, I'm always worried no matter waht, they do things the hard way. :(

What's so bad about England?

The fact that they were terrible against Paraguay maybe? And I'm not so sure that 1 goal would beat Ivory Coast.

:yo: GO HOLLAND GO :yo:

(My pick to win it)

:yo: GO HOLLAND GO :yo:

(My pick to win it)

Win what? The Fair play award?

Win what? The Fair play award?

With Robben in the team? :biglaugh:

With Robben in the team? :biglaugh:

True, true.. Guess we're going home entirely empty handed then.. ;)

True, true.. Guess we're going home entirely empty handed then.. ;)

Well, I've heard that Robben and Ruud may be in the running for an Oscar, but it's still a little early. :)

Well, I've heard that Robben and Ruud may be in the running for an Oscar, but it's still a little early. :)
Well, they have to play Schaars! :D

Well, they have to play Schaars! :D

I forgot about him, they're a virtual lock now.

I forgot about him, they're a virtual lock now.

Wilhelmsson >>> anything the dutch have to offer

Wilhelmsson >>> anything the dutch have to offer

Well, he does have that movie star hair. :D

Well, he does have that movie star hair. :D

He had a 'coupe Legolas' as well a season or two ago:

http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/2186468476
http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/2228233442

If that's not worth an Oscar nothing is :D

He had a 'coupe Legolas' as well a season or two ago:

http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/2186468476
http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/2228233442

If that's not worth an Oscar nothing is :D

my eyes hurt. :eek:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Holland and Argentina secure a spot in the next round today.

Out on a limb for that prediction for sure. :sarcasm:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Holland and Argentina secure a spot in the next round today.

Out on a limb for that prediction for sure. :sarcasm:

One of the two is going to get upset I think today...

Argentian is off to a very quick start...damnit.

Argentinians all sport wonderful Caniggia mullet/hippie/manes in true rebel fashion.

Edit: Wilhelmsson's disgusting 80s synth-tail needs to go.

One of the two is going to get upset I think today...

Argentian is off to a very quick start...damnit.

:p:

Dayum, the rout is on.

Bye bye Serbia.

Wow, what a 45 minutes.

Saviola justifying his coach's decision.

Amazing performance by Argentina. the first two goals were simply :amazed: :amazed:


Awesome passing, not giving anything away... most impressive performance yet.

24 passes for that second goal BTW.

Very good half by Argentina. They will be really dangerous in this tournament if they can keep this play up.

From eurosport.com "And just to rub salt in the wound, Crespo is booked for continuing to play on after the whistle...and what's more, he was actually onside, and by some distance...that was a very bad decision by the linesman."

I am not watching the game on tv, can any one plz comment on that? Thanks!

Argentina look like champions in the making. They're making Yugoslavia, a pretty decent European team, look like Andorra.

Argentinians all sport wonderful Caniggia mullet/hippie/manes in true rebel fashion.

Edit: Wilhelmsson's disgusting 80s synth-tail needs to go.
So should Sorin's.


Argentina is playing some great football.

Marvellous goal by Cambiasso. Great positioning, 25 ball connections or so without any player from S&M being involved.

From eurosport.com "And just to rub salt in the wound, Crespo is booked for continuing to play on after the whistle...and what's more, he was actually onside, and by some distance...that was a very bad decision by the linesman."

I am not watching the game on tv, can any one plz comment on that? Thanks!
True, what you said.

True, what you said.

Worst thing: he got a yellow for that. These rules are so stupid these days...

So should Sorin's.


Argentina is playing some great football.

Marvellous goal by Cambiasso. Great positioning, 25 ball connections without any player from S&M being involved.

I'm @ work, but I'll watch the re-run tonight :D
Good to see Argentina goin strong, but at the same time I'm surprised S&M can't put up better resistance than this.. especially as they were equally helpless vs The VanBasten Band...

especially as they were equally helpless vs The VanBasten Band...

Well that's really underastimating the Argentinian performance. Holland pushed forward a lot and hardly created chances.

Argentina toyed with them from a position of total control and scored when they wanted. Different styles - different result. But the Argentinians are making it much tougher on S&M then the Dutch did.

That was probably the best 45 mins I've seen by any team and I cant stand the Argies.

No need to award them a cup just yet but theri attacking firepower is outstanding. Saviola, Teves, Riquelme, Messi, Crespo and Ortega left at home!

Second Argentinian goal was a thing of beauty. :clap:

Straight red card for winning the ball, more acting from the Argies. :shakehead

It could have been called a foul and a yellow at worst.

S&M never stood a chance.

S&M never stood a chance.
They seem to enjoy the pain of getting hammered.

It's getting ugly. 6-0 already.

This is sad.

I love it.

6-0... Poor Serbia. Argentina is pure poetry.

Those Asian teams have no place in the World Cup :sarcasm:

Im supposed to be writing a school essay but had to come on here and say :eek: . We have to beat the Iranians and Mexicans to avoid the Argentines. Though if we make it to the final 8 there will be no avoiding them :eek:

I really don't want to play Argentina...

To quote Ian Wright: S & M got whipped :D


Seriously, something quite extraordinary was on display today. The Serbians didn't really try hard after the (unjust) red card. Tevez and Messi showed their quality. Crespo's goal was pure instinct, what an amazing run, only true goalscorers would make that bit of movement.
It should have been 8-0 as well, goal unjustly disallowed and then a clear cut penalty not given.

Best performance we've seen thus far. But that doesn't mean much of course at this stage of the tournament.



By the way the refereeing at this World cup is starting to piss me off. Since when did a tackle or a shoulder charge become illegal? It's like watching indoor football right now :rant:

Those Asian teams have no place in the World Cup :sarcasm:
From my understanding is Argentina still South-America.

From my understanding is Argentina still South-America.


He was implying that it's not only the Asian teams that get embarassed out there.

He was implying that it's not only the Asian team that get embarassed in there.
I see, that was really a brain teaser then.

Wow!
Serbia is highly disappointing, but Argentina is just : WOW!

Congrats to Argentina! Very well played!

I was thinking about it throughout the match (not only after the red card) but Serbia faced a lot of unfair officiating in both of their first two games. The way refs treated them really wasn't nice. It's not that they stole something from the Serbians because they were outplayed in both games so far and deservingly have two losses, but it just wasn't right! The 3rd Argentinian goal came after Saviola's foul. Kezman's red card is totaly laughable! I cannot believe that! That wasn't even for the yellow card! Disgrace!

Seems like politics still interfere in football... On the other side Serbians played poorely both games. Really didn't deserve more than 0 points. But I would blame it all on the coach! Such coaching ruined the whole team. Even players critisized it. What kind of coach starts defending so desperately not even wanting to attack from the first minute of every game. What happens then? Of course, they allow few goals and then like morons start attacking in the second half when everything is just too late and too little... Didn't he learn something from the first game? Idiot!!! Serbia is too good to play such desperate defensive football. They are not Trinidad & Tobago or Saudi Arabia. That coach should be banned from the country!

After seeing pretty much every game of the tournament, Argentina is for me #1 favourite of the tournament. Great played, I enjoyed watching them!

I will go even further and say that the 2nd Argentinian goal was the best goal I have ever seen! Not the goal itself (because there have been many more impressive Pele, Maradona, Ronaldinho etc. solo efforts) but the whole action! It was a total team goal whit a beautiful finish! But the whole action before, the whole building of the play, the combinations... WOW!!! Argentinians controling the ball for more than a minute! 25 passes and 26th touch was a shot on the goal! I believe pretty much every coach in the world would agree with me because that's exactly what coaches want to see; all 10 players building the play, making fools out of their opponents and then scoring! WOW!!!
__________________

We have to beat the Iranians and Mexicans to avoid the Argentines. Though if we make it to the final 8 there will be no avoiding them :eek:Provided they all finish top of their group and reach the last eight, Portugal would then meet England and Argentina would face Germany.

By the way the refereeing at this World cup is starting to piss me off. Since when did a tackle or a shoulder charge become illegal? It's like watching indoor football right now :rant:As Mick McCarthy said, by the next WC, FIFA will have outlawed any body contact.

I hate FIFA, bunch of money grabbing, corrupt old gits.

I was really impressed with Tevez. From the moment he was put in the game he played 100%, great goal he scored too.

Congrats to Argentina! Very well played!

I was thinking about it throughout the match (not only after the red card) but Serbia faced a lot of unfair officiating in both of their first two games. The way refs treated them really wasn't nice. It's not that they stole something from the Serbians because they were outplayed in both games so far and deservingly have two losses, but it just wasn't right! The 3rd Argentinian goal came after Saviola's foul. Kezman's red card is totaly laughable! I cannot believe that! That wasn't even for the yellow card! Disgrace!

No foul on the third goal, that was a good challenge by Saviola. The red card was rediculous for sure though (but completely meaningless really). I don't think the official was against S&M, he was just not very good.

Straight red card for winning the ball, more acting from the Argies. :shakehead

It could have been called a foul and a yellow at worst.

As if English players dont play act & are completely innocent of cheating.Yes it was unfair but the referee had warned Kezman beforehand abou a previous lunging challenge.

And I know which teams I'd rather watch as opposed to England.Argentina Brazil Holland France Spain Portugual Italy Czech Republic all teams that can play with great style technical ability & flair.

Any team with Lampard and Gerrard knows a thing or two about acting and diving... :D

If anyone should really be worried right now, it’s Australia. Don’t think for a second that Brazil will stand by and watch Argentina grab this WC by the throat and declare themselves as the team to beat. I’m expecting a Brazilian blitzkrieg on the Australian team and a similar result at the end of that game.

No foul on the third goal, that was a good challenge by Saviola. The red card was rediculous for sure though (but completely meaningless really). I don't think the official was against S&M, he was just not very good.

No, that was a foul. You can see that if you watch the slowmotion and pay attention to Saviola's hands.

How was it meaningless if Argentina scored 3 more goals after it??? :shakehead

And once again, no; the officals were against Serbia in both of the games! And that's not even debatable!

Wow, RVP an impressive strike!!! What a goal

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

As if English players dont play act & are completely innocent of cheating.Yes it was unfair but the referee had warned Kezman beforehand abou a previous lunging challenge.

And I know which teams I'd rather watch as opposed to England.Argentina Brazil Holland France Spain Portugual Italy Czech Republic all teams that can play with great style technical ability & flair.
I dont like teams that cheat so that the Argies and Italians off the list for me straight away. They dive and play act more than anyone else.

Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud 2-0

I genuinely feel bad for Cote D'Ivoire. Any other group, they'd go through.

Very poor goalkeeping, he moved the other way just as the ball was kicked because he put so many men in the wall that he couldnt see the ball.

Hopefully the Dutch get 5 more so they only have to draw then next game to win the group.

Robben show his true class with a horrid dive. The guy is an extraordinary talent, but I don't know why he resorts to that type of behaviour.

Ivory Coast comes right back. That was a laser.

There is nothing wrong with diving in football, it's always been like that and always will be. An extra show on the field...

Good game so far.

Penalty not given on Eboué, I think CIV is at least the equal of the Dutch. Defensively Holland are complete shambles, what a gap between the midfield and the defense... Where are Cocu and Van Bommel? Each time they loose the ball the Ivorians have a ton of space to run into.


Second half should be awesome as well :yo:


By the way, Robben gets the yellow for diving, KARMA :yo: :yo:

Baki Kone with one of his trademark goals.
I liked IC's starting lineup against Argentina better though.
Romaric and A. Kone aren't as good as Keita and B. Kalou.

The biggest bad news is that even if IC comes back in this game (very possible), Drogba will be suspended for the last game.

I'm sorry but Robben should have seen red for that one. Unbelievably pathetic, up 2-0 and to shamelessly dive like that is just...Wow.


What the hell was Drogba thinking on that 2 on 1?

Final score will be 2-2.

Penalty not given on Eboué
No idea why it wasn't called.

BTW, how about that Drogba move?
Wonderful.

Where are all the Drogba doubters these days?

Wow, RVP an impressive strike!!! What a goal

Good strike, but awful goalkeeping, in that corner the keeper has to get this. Once again the keeper jumped on the wrong moment and couldn't react to it.

I think CIV is at least the equal of the Dutch
For Holland :
Two chances, two goals.
For CIV :
One goal, one crossbar, one penalty not called, one missed pass by Drogba on a 2 on 1.

Where are all the Drogba doubters these days?

Well I didn't think he was impressive, he completely blew that two on one, awful play there. And letting his foot hang on VD Sar was not very sympathetic either.

But he'll keep battling that's for sure. He also could have had a penalty I thought, at one stage Ooier had both arms tightly around him, though that was probably too light for a penalty.

Penalty not given on EbouéI think so.

I think CIV is at least the equal of the Dutch.
Only when Holland took two steps back after the 2-0. Before that certainly not.

Midfield needs some inmprovement though. I would replace both Sneijder and Cocu.

For Holland :
Two chances, two goals.
For CIV :
One goal, one crossbar, one penalty not called, one missed pass by Drogba on a 2 on 1.
Yes completely undeserved lead.

Yes completely undeserved lead.
Obviously, what I said. :thumbu:


Van Bommel destroying Boka's ankle, and as usual getting away with it.

Penalty not given on Eboué, KARMA :yo: :yo:
Fixed. :)

So IC must be pretty screwed over without Drogba in their final group match??

God, it annoys me to see players (and fans) calling for play to be stopped when an injured player is lying OUTSIDE the field. Holland whinging away today, and France did it the other day, too.

Yep, makes no sense at all.

Well, Ivory Coast is totally dominating now, and Gio didn't touch the ball on his tackle against Eboue.

What players should understand is that when they dive too obviously, the ref thinks there's no foul, even when there is.

Another undeserved loss for Côte d'Ivoire. :shakehead

Still, congrats to Argentina and Holland for coming out of this group. I thought one at least would be upset.

Wew we just hung in there and managed to squeek it out.

Van Persie, by far, our best player IMO. Not only offensively, but also defensively. Mathijsen also defended Drogba extremely well. Other than that, no real worthy praises from Oranje. Defending the lead really isn't our game, and it nearly showed.

Robben show his true class with a horrid dive. The guy is an extraordinary talent, but I don't know why he resorts to that type of behaviour.
Him and Drogba are the worst divers in the Prem, they both do it all game long.

Of the six teams that are through, CIV looks better than at least 4 or 5 of them. It just wasn't meant to be.

Van Bommel should have had two reds, he got Boka's ankle and later got Zokora's knee after the ball was outside of the pitch.

Dutch fans and players showing their ignorance when calling for the ball to be put outside when Van Bronckhorst (who dived BTW) was laying OUTSIDE the field, getting treatment.
At least the reasonable people (like Van Basten and the commentator and our very own Frolov ;)) understood the situation

Van Persie diving three yards after he had barely been touched and then wanting a red card...

Weak display from Holland all round, but then again the winner is always right I guess.



Seriously Ivory Coast at least deserved a draw, but they kind of lacked a real plan, there was too many individuals trying to do something rather then a structured team trying to pressure Holland.

Group of death more like group of minnows now. The Serbs got fed a beating and the two teams that most thought would get out did get out.I will be watching the Holland/Argentina game with alot of interest as I believe Portugal matches up alot better with Holland then Argentina.

God, it annoys me to see players (and fans) calling for play to be stopped when an injured player is lying OUTSIDE the field. Holland whinging away today, and France did it the other day, too.
Still not as bad as Reyes getting injured off the field and rolling back on, only for another player to push him off and then trying to roll back on again. :propeller

It annoys me that FIFA clamp down on all sorts of useless things like a yellow for taking your shirt off yet do nothing about all the acting and cheating.

'Good' thing from van Bommel is that he does all this nasty stuff when the ref thinks the play is dead and thus is no longer looking. He's a master at this.. He's a pain to play against, and he's strong too. He broke the mechanics during a medical test in Barça.

So IC must be pretty screwed over without Drogba in their final group match??
I guess it doesn't really matter now does it. ;)

Seriously Ivory Coast at least deserved a draw, but they kind of lacked a real plan, there was too many individuals trying to do something rather then a structured team trying to pressure Holland.Hey when have I heard that before. :sarcasm:

Ivory Coast --> semi-finals my ***. First round exit. ;)

'Good' thing from van Bommel is that he does all this nasty stuff when the ref thinks the play is dead and thus is no longer looking. He's a master at this.. He's a pain to play against, and he's strong too. He broke the mechanics during a medical test in Barça.

:dunno: Did you mean some kind of mechanism?

Congrats to Holland!

But again, I was dissapointed in the ref! There were at least 2 (probably 3) uncalled penalty shots for CIV. The referee really didn't want to call a penalty shot against Holland.

The results thus far have told me that there isn't a group of death, just a group or two of possible weakness.

:dunno: Did you mean some kind of mechanism?

I mean the apparature which measures your strenght, as in power, speed, stamina, endurance, etc. They all showed 'error' when he was done with them, pretty funny.

Hey when have I heard that before. :sarcasm:



Yeah, well let's say Mr. Michel has a lot of work to do :)
I thought Drogba didn't really come through today for his team. Even though Ooier and Maathijsen got away with a lot on him.

I think Yaya was a bit poor as well, usually he's the one bringing structure in the play but he plodded along with the rest of them. When Zokora has more of the ball then Yaya you know Ivory Coast aren't going to be playing academic football switching the flanks all the time.
Maybe that was a tactical move by Marco to limit Yaya's time on the ball, don't know.

The results thus far have told me that there isn't a group of death, just a group or two of possible weakness.

Ture, but I trust it the actual games didn't. Holland didn't do anything special against S&M and were outplayed by Ivory coast today.