798 replies to this topic

[TheYellowDart5]

Hahah, double middle fingers by the Aussie fans.

I was hoping someone else caught that. Spectacular.

[EP Sox Fan]

So they can play US and Uruguay instead of UK and Argentina. Seems like enough incentive.

Fair enough. Wasn't looking at the quarterfinal match-up.

[mahky bellhorn]

Yeah, I thought of that immediately after posting. I was also too lazy to try and understand the full implications of letting one in. Germany-England is a fucking awesome 8th-final game.

I love how we're looking at matchups like Germany-England and possibly Spain-Brazil in round 1 while the US gets to play tiddlywinks with Ghana and then hopefully South Korea.

[Shelterdog]

You seem to have an unhealthy obsession with SydneySox's penis.

I've heard it's like a koala's arm.

[EP Sox Fan]

USA - Ghana on Saturday it is. I like that match-up. However, you have to figure that Ghana is going to draw a ton of support being that they will likely be the only African team left in the tournament.

[cheekydave]

I've heard it's like a koala's arm.

MOST Koalas have chlamydia

http://www.telegraph...a-outbreak.html

[SydneySox]

By the way, this won't even be front page news today (it's 6.30am).

Our sitting Prime Minister has been rolled by his deputy so we're going to have a new Prime Minister (and our first female PM) in about 3 hours.

Extraordinary day.

[Jamoked]

Suck it Subotic!

[shawnrbu]

USA - Ghana on Saturday it is. I like that match-up. However, you have to figure that Ghana is going to draw a ton of support being that they will likely be the only African team left in the tournament.

So the horns are going to be louder?

[Zososoxfan]

I love how we're looking at matchups like Germany-England and possibly Spain-Brazil in round 1 while the US gets to play tiddlywinks with Ghana and then hopefully South Korea.

This. It blows my mind that one of Uruguay, Korea, Ghana, or the US WILL BE in the semis. If Uruguay doesn't make it, they should be ashamed, but my god, this draw is forgiving. Just look at the other 1/4 bracket that's set - Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and England!?!? Egads.

[soxfan121]

If you hate flopping floppers, you'll love this.

[URI]

So they can play US and Uruguay instead of UK and Argentina. Seems like enough incentive.

Are England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland joining forces, Voltron style?

[TheYellowDart5]

Are England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland joining forces, Voltron style?

Wales is clearly the ass of that particular Voltron.

[SydneySox]

Alright you racist fucks, I'm going to work.

Thanks for holding my hand through this.

[rajendra82]

MOST Koalas have chlamydia

http://www.telegraph...a-outbreak.html

I can't even imagine how the outbreak first started.

[teddykgb]

Man, it's unbelievable how this draw shook out. One unexpected team is making a deep run, as stated above. Other half is shaping up to be absolutely brutal. The English must be killing themselves.

[Shelterdog]

Alright you racist fucks, I'm going to work.

Thanks for holding my hand through this.

Of course we'll hold your hands. Might get a vd holding anything else.

[cheekydave]

I can't even imagine how the outbreak first started.

Well, actually, I think you already have.




How did koalas get Chlamydia?

It is not certain how koalas have come to be infected with Chlamydia. Some of the possible explanations are via introduction of infected mammals to Australia on one or more occasions over the last 40,000 years, exposure to it during the koala's evolution, or or a combination of these factors. Whatever the case, most populations of koalas carry antibodies for the disease, indicating some level of exposure (Reed 2002).

Edited by cheekydave, 23 June 2010 - 03:38 PM.

[Tony C]

Man, it's unbelievable how this draw shook out. One unexpected team is making a deep run, as stated above. Other half is shaping up to be absolutely brutal. The English must be killing themselves.

It won't be EASY for the English. But fuck 'em.

[mahky bellhorn]

Are England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland joining forces, Voltron style?

If you play too many Sporcle quizzes and don't watch enough soccer, it would make sense that they do.

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

This. It blows my mind that one of Uruguay, Korea, Ghana, or the US WILL BE in the semis. If Uruguay doesn't make it, they should be ashamed, but my god, this draw is forgiving. Just look at the other 1/4 bracket that's set - Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and England!?!? Egads.

It reminds me of the Sweden-Senegal-Japan-Turkey quarter of the draw in 2002.

[URI]

If you play too many Sporcle quizzes and don't watch enough soccer, it would make sense that they do.

They all have their own national teams, and take it seriously to the point that NI, Wales, and Scotland have all said they will not send teams to the 2012 Olympic soccer tournament, and will not send their players to play with the English. But England can play under the UK banner if they so wish.

Though I'm not sure if Voltron could beat the Germans anyway, since they are all like 11 mini-Voltrons that look like Biff from Back to the Future. Master race indeed.

[jon abbey]

Man, it's unbelievable how this draw shook out. One unexpected team is making a deep run, as stated above. Other half is shaping up to be absolutely brutal. The English must be killing themselves.

Rooney missed a pretty easy chance to make it 2-0 today, between that and the gift they gave the US, yow.

[Joe D Reid]

ENG now looking at a potential GER-ARG-SPA-BRA run-in. That obviously assumes all kinds of things, but still.

And the Ghana draw is about as good as the US could have hoped for, because the US has allowed a ton of chances in each of its group games, and is terrifyingly reliant on its opponent failing to convert those chances.

In fact, I feel like the defending has actually gotten worse each game. They actually weren't bad against ENG after the initial jitters wore off, and did a good job of standing on Rooney's enormous ginger head. But they defended poorly for an entire half against Slovenia, and to my eyes were never convincing against Algeria (though you sort of have to throw out the last 15 minutes or so, when I think Benny Feilhaber might have been part of a three-man defense). If Algeria had anything like a real striker, that would have been ugly.

Thankfully, Ghana haven't demonstrated that they have a real striker yet, either, so there's hope.

[Lars The Wanderer]

Wales is clearly the ass of that particular Voltron.

This made me laugh.

[Zososoxfan]

They all have their own national teams, and take it seriously to the point that NI, Wales, and Scotland have all said they will not send teams to the 2012 Olympic soccer tournament, and will not send their players to play with the English. But England can play under the UK banner if they so wish.

Though I'm not sure if Voltron could beat the Germans anyway, since they are all like 11 mini-Voltrons that look like Biff from Back to the Future. Master race indeed.

Sigged.

[Paradigm]

We might get Italy/Netherlands, Brazil/Spain, and Germany/England in the Round of 16.

[URI]

We might get Italy/Netherlands, Brazil/Spain, and Germany/England in the Round of 16.

Well, we already have Germany/England, and the others matchup if the current results hold, which one team will fuck up.

If Spain defeats Chile, for example, Spain will win the group and miss Brazil.

[Paradigm]

Well, we already have Germany/England, and the others matchup if the current results hold, which one team will fuck up.

If Spain defeats Chile, for example, Spain will win the group and miss Brazil.

So then we'll get Portugal v. Spain. Terrible!

[RedOctober3829]

What stadium do they play in on Saturday?

[Rossox]

What stadium do they play in on Saturday?

Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

[cheekydave]

Was it Lisa Olsen?


http://www.weei.com/...female-reporter

algerian-player-slaps-female-reporter

Edited by cheekydave, 23 June 2010 - 04:55 PM.

[Paradigm]

So, the U.S. faces Ghana in the Round of 16. If they advance, they play the winner of South Korea/Uruguay.

It's all very unlikely, but still quite possible - and if you want to talk rankings, they are the highest ranked team of that four.

But if the US are playing for a spot in the World Cup Final, is that the biggest game in the history of American sport?

Added bonus: it could be v. Brazil.

[nvalvo]

So, the U.S. faces Ghana in the Round of 16. If they advance, they play the winner of South Korea/Uruguay.

It's all very unlikely, but still quite possible - and if you want to talk rankings, they are the highest ranked team of that four.

But if the US are playing for a spot in the World Cup Final, is that the biggest game in the history of American sport?

Added bonus: it could be v. Brazil.

As I'm thinking these match-ups over, I think RoK have a decent chance against Uruguay. On first blush, I was thinking that Uruguay should be heavily favored, but as I consider it more closely, two things stuck out. Both teams are tough, physical teams with a handful of flair players up front, and RoK showed themselves to be fucking lethal on set-pieces in their 2-2 draw against Nigeria. Take a look at their goals again.

Depending on the officiating, there could be a lot of set-pieces, and RoK seems to convert those at a decent clip. Anybody's game.

[mahky bellhorn]

The Vegas odds are 50/29/21 in favor of Uruguay...so we're looking at ~ 1/3 for Korea to advance.

US is favored over Ghana -123/+114. But the odds might be skewed in our favor with a significantly larger fan base who would be lining up to make patriot wagers, so I would be comfortable calling it 50/50.

[Joe D Reid]

Small point, but the ESPN guys just have to stop calling this the biggest win in US soccer history. This team went to the damn quarters in '02.

[mahky bellhorn]

People tend to have short term memories, and it at least has to qualify as the most exciting win.

[Spacemans Bong]

Small point, but the ESPN guys just have to stop calling this the biggest win in US soccer history. This team went to the damn quarters in '02.

Biggest win we've ever had was Colombia '94, or even Trinidad '89.

[Joe D Reid]

I understand the historical, grow-the-sport angle you're taking, but for me, the biggest win is the one that achieves your best result. Also, it was 2-0 over Mexico outside of the US, which would be big regardless of setting.

[dwightinright]

Was it Lisa Olsen?


http://www.weei.com/...female-reporter

algerian-player-slaps-female-reporter

The best part is she punched the guy in the face in response.

[Spacemans Bong]

I understand the historical, grow-the-sport angle you're taking, but for me, the biggest win is the one that achieves your best result. Also, it was 2-0 over Mexico outside of the US, which would be big regardless of setting.

Well, the 2-0 win over Paraguay in 1930 to win the group and put us in the semis would technically be it, but I know what you're saying. I disagree though, since soccer is still a growing game in the US, and these two wins built the platform for 2002 and today.

Trinidad '89 was crucial because the USSF really, really, really wanted to qualify for Italia '90. Not participating in a World Cup for 44 years would have been an incredible embarrassment and qualifying gave an important boost to US soccer. Furthermore the experience in Italy (we got turfed by the Czechs before losing only 1-0 to Italy and 2-1 to Austria) was crucial for 94 as it showed us that we weren't that bad and guys like Caliguri, Wynalda, Ramos and Meola got World Cup experience under their belts.

Colombia '94 is important because I can't understate how completely petrified we were at the idea of becoming the first World Cup host to ever fail to make it out of their group. The fear was really palpable and even though I was a kid at the time I still remember it. This was US soccer's chance to show itself to the country and three and out could potentially have put the game back into the abyss. Beating Colombia basically guaranteed us getting out of the group and gave everybody a huge sense of relief. Losing to Mexico in '02 would have sucked but it still would have been a successful tournament for the US. The fear US soccer fans had throughout the 90s was that one bad tourney could fling us back to the dark ages and in '98 when we finished last, lost to Iran, played 3-6-1 and had a mongoloid for a coach in addition to two MLS franchises going kaputsie really did make people think that was going to happen.

Also, Landycakes's goal was one of the three or four sporting moments in my life where I went completely delirious with joy. Up there Bill Mueller's single, Johnny Damon's grand slam, and Eric Davis picking off Troy Aikman for six. I screamed my head off, hugged Bon Jovi roadies, and fell to my knees. Beat that, people.

Edited by Spacemans Bong, 23 June 2010 - 06:38 PM.

[SydneySox]

[Joe D Reid]

After watching the first half of the replay of USA-ALG on Univision, I take back some of my negativity about the US defense. After the first 10 minutes, they actually did a god job of keeping Algeria to the outside. Extending the safe zone another 5 yards would be nice, but it's fine they didn't risk losing their shape.

Also, this Univision dude's call of Jonathan Boooorrrrrrrnnnnnnnnsteeeeinnn's name is awesome. He's clearly doing it intentionally, though I'm not sure why.

Edited by Joe D Reid, 23 June 2010 - 07:17 PM.

[Paradigm]

Also, Landycakes's goal was one of the three or four sporting moments in my life where I went completely delirious with joy. Up there Bill Mueller's single, Johnny Damon's grand slam, and Eric Davis picking off Troy Aikman for six. I screamed my head off, hugged Bon Jovi roadies, and fell to my knees. Beat that, people.

You and millions of others. Our office went berserk. There are a lot of football fans in my office (English and American) and this tournament has gripped the non-fans among our office. Many were sitting down watching games every day even when the US wasn't playing.

This group stage went from depression to mania with one flick. Had Donovan not scored that goal, a lot of the lay fans would have been turned off by the game because of the two goals disallowed against Slovenia and Algeria. And we all would have been upset as well if four points that would have put us out of the group in first place had been taken from us and we finished third. I think things were really teetering there.

Mind you, these are people who won't remember most debatable pass interference calls, won't recall or blame the refereeing in this year's NBA finals, and won't gripe about called third strikes years later. But those are sports that are ingrained in our culture and football is not. If the US had crashed out of the group stage when it should have gone through, it would have set the game back.

But it's all forgotten. There are legions of new fans who are going to follow this team and the game from this point on. I think when our office went delirious, it was in celebration of the goal and the team's advancement, but also a welcome sign for football.

Edited by Paradigm, 23 June 2010 - 08:12 PM.

[teddykgb]

I'm loving the Univision replay, the enthusiasm of the announcers is tremendous.

Altidore looking dangerous, can't help but miss Davies when jozy gets going on these runs. Can't believe Buddle didn't score on that header.

[nvalvo]

After watching the first half of the replay of USA-ALG on Univision, I take back some of my negativity about the US defense. After the first 10 minutes, they actually did a god job of keeping Algeria to the outside. Extending the safe zone another 5 yards would be nice, but it's fine they didn't risk losing their shape.

Also, this Univision dude's call of Jonathan Boooorrrrrrrnnnnnnnnsteeeeinnn's name is awesome. He's clearly doing it intentionally, though I'm not sure why.

Less Gooch?

I love the guy for the physical dimension he brings to the side, and playing in Milan he clearly has the most prestigious club assignment of the Americans, but he's looked not quite match fit in a pretty damn important role.

[BrazilianSoxFan]

This is great:

http://tv.gawker.com...ith-john-oliver

[Nick Kaufman]

Irony of it all was that the one time they try to put together a decent attack, the US counterattacks the shit out of them and scores.

Not ironic. This is why you don't give space to a superior opponent.

[AusTexSoxFan]

Here's the link to Andres Cantor's call of the US goal.

Fucking awesome.

http://www.fanaticos...landon-donovan/