World Cup
 

Have any of you been following the world cup ? Whos gonna win ?

I'm rooting for Germany, being largely German by ancestry and beer taste. I don't tend to bet or predict since I don't know much about football, but I do enjoy watching it.

I am also glad that South Africa tied their game against Mexico and scored the first goal of the Cup. South Africa exceeded many expectations (at least for non-South Africans), and it was fitting that the host should score the first goal. *
*not saying it should be rigged that way, but nevertheless, it is pleasing.

I was tickled that Team USA tied with England today. They weren't supposed to have a chance in that game, and even if the tying goal was scored on a goalie fumble, I'll take it. They're ranked 14th in the world right now, which isn't great but is a big improvement from where they've been. It's going to be interesting to follow them and I hope they make it to the knockout round at least.

And yes, I watched the South Africa versus Mexico match, and watching them score the first goal of the competition was electric.

Now, could someone ask the good fans there to stop blowing on those horns? Nearly two hours of that at a stretch is starting to threaten my sanity!

Oh God. Those horns were awful. They all melded into one constant, throbbing, undulating buzz that would have drove me mad if it were not for my mad skillz at drowning things like that out.
I'm excited for the Germany-Australia match tomorrow. I'm going to my parents' so I can watch it in HD. Streaming/watching On Demand from CBC is choppy and jpeggy and makes it hard to see the ball and see what's going on, which is VERY FRUSTRATING when speaking of sports. I don't watch sports often (actually, for only about a month every two years...) but it is nice to be able to watch them in decent quality.

England drew with the yanks, and that kinda bums me out.

Bums me out too, Mir. At least England didn't lose.

Ghana won their game against Serbia. :D

Germany won.... CONVINCINGLY!

Can't wait to see Spain, Brazil, Netherlands and Portugal in action - imho, teams that can actually win the Cup.

I noticed England didn't make your list. Yeah, based on their showing against Team USA, I don't think they're as good as they've been hyped up to be.

BTW, did you know that the U.S. bought more tickets to The World Cup than any other visiting team? Who says we're not into soccer over here. I could even hear them chanting in the crowd during the US/England match, through the din of all those horns, "USA! USA! USA!" Well, I hope they get a few more good games for their money.

I'm a fan of Team USA. I'm also a realist.

I'm with you on Spain, Portugal and Brazil. Netherlands? Really???

Hey! I wish Mr. Maelstrom still hung out here. Then you'd see some real cheering for Portugal!

Netherlands have consistently underperformed on the world stage, but they do have players that are world class. I want to see how they do in their first game which should give us an inkling.

Gernany, Argentina, Spain and Brazil are teams I think can go all the way. Portugal - I don't think they can win it, but they have some super players who are fun to watch.

Who is Mr. Maelstrom?

Mr. Maelstrom was a guy from Portugal who was one of the more interesting regulars around here in 2005 and 2006. He gave himself the nickname "Bradbury City Fire Chief" and he was pretty much either very passionate about a thing or silent ... and I liked him a lot.

I remember him getting worked up about Portugal for the last cup ... and he wasn't subtle about it ... but that was fun. He's responsible for me first taking an interest in soccer.

He was also a total flirt.


Personally I would like to see the US do well as we are actually starting to embrace soccer and a lot more effort has been put in to this World Cup than in the past. I don't expect us to win but it would be nice to see us go on for a bit.

That would be good. :D

The Dutch weren't too shabby.

The number of U.S. viewers who watched the first five matches of the World Cup is up 108% from 2006. Nearly 17 million "yanks" tuned in for Saturday's 1-1 tie between the U.S. and England. That's a step in the right direction.

Canada hasn't had a team in the cup since before I was born.
Hence, I cheer Germany. Incidentally, I drink phenomenal beer when I watch a Germany-[someone] match...

The phenomenal beers ... now there's a team I think we can all get behind! :D

If the USA does well, it should draw more interest in the game here. I liked the Dodge Challenger commercial that was played on ESPN the day of the USA vs. England game-George Washington driving a muscle car, LOL.
I don't know how FIFA goes about setting up the matches, but I see North Korea's first match is with Brazil. It will be rough introduction for them to the World Cup.

Ivory Coast Vs. Portugal turned out to be a fascinating game. Brazil to follow tonight. Yeah!

I found these notes from a special report to ESPN.com from Chris Jones, under "What we learned from Day 4":

1) Tim Howard is made of a flexible, agile type of steel

American Keeper Tim Howard -- who was named the Man of the Match after Saturday's 1-1 draw with England, during which he was speared in the ribs by Emile Heskey -- is expected to be available to play for the United States against Slovenia on Friday, according to U.S. Soccer. Translation: He'll probably play for the United States against Slovenia on Frdiay. Which means the United States has a chance to win against Slovenia on Friday.

2) African optimism is fading.

With Cameroon's semisurprising 1-0 loss to the Japanese today, African teams have scored exactly two goals in five games. Nigeria and Algeria also lost 1-0 in their opening matches, and South Africa played Mexico to a 1-1 tie. Only Ghana has won so far --- 1-0 over Serbia on a penalty shot --- leaving continental hopes for Africa's first World Cup semifinal berth not dashed, but not looking like destiny either.

3) If history repeats ...

The last time Italy played as the defending World Cup Champion -- in Mexico in 1986 -- the Azzurri opened with a 1-1 tie against Bulgaria. Today, it was the same result against Paraguay. In 1986, Italy failed to advance past the round of 16. This year?


Regarding North Korea, I found the following from the same report to ESPN.com from Chris Jones, under the subsection "What we learned from Day 4: Three Things to Watch for Tomorrow":

1) Who dies first in the Group of Death?

Group G -- the group that terrifies every other goup with it's gnashing, sharp teeth and long, pointy claws -- finally gets let out of its cage. In Port Elizabeth, Cristiano Renaldo and 10 other Portuguese guys will take on the Ivory Coast and maybe, possibly, one-armed Didier Drogba. Then perennial favorite Brazil will play North Korea in Johannesburg. Speculation is rampant that North Korea, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, will employ it's vaunted 8-1-1 formation to prevent a rout -- and coporal (or capital?) punishment upon its return home.

YIKES!

At the 65' mark, with Brazil leading North Korea 1-0, one of the announcers on the ESPN USA feed mentions that he's heard that all the North Korea supporters in the stadium crowd are actually Chinese actors hired to portray happy North Korean fans.

WTF?

At the 88' mark, the North Koreans score one off Brazil for pride, leaving the score 2-1 in Brazil's favor. Maybe that will help them out when they go back home to the PRK.

Fuck England. They think they´re gonna win every time. The only time they came close to winning the cup again was when Robson was the manager.

I'm Happy Ivory Coast drew with Portugal. Portugal win entirely too often.

I'm just hoping England ends up facing Argentina, like they usually do in a World Cup. They have a historic grudge over the Malvinas/Falkland? islands. So its always interesting to see both teams batter each other out in the field.

My favorite teams thus far are Nigeria, Brazil, France, Germany.

Mejico!!!!!!