World Cup and European leagues

[David Collinge]

Don't misunderstand; I'm not criticizing Beckham or Crouch or any other Englishman (not now, anyway); I'm criticizing O'Brien.  Becks may have provided beautiful service time and again, but so long as they don't result in goals, they can hardly be described as "deadly."   

[Greek Tragedy]

Can England be any more boring?

Did I read Balboa correctly?  I could've sworn he said Beckham was 34.  I think he's 31 or so.

Exciting teams to watch:

Brazil
Australia
Argentina
Ghana
Spain

Need a nap?  Watch these teams play:

England
France
Togo

[sac]

Well as good as England were in the 1st they were equally as dreadfull in the second.............Swedan should have scored 4 and did I really just see a throw-in for a goal?   I don't think a Swede touched it.  England should feel lucky.  If it weren't for J. Cole England would have been embarrassed today.

I give Swedan a good shot at beating Germany, England would have been crushed by the Germans.

England will have a tough game with Ecuador, esp if its hot.  They'll be lucky to get past them and then its Ye Olde Nemesis ...........Argentina.  Unless they sharpen up big time this week by Sunday night they'll be on a plane back to the island.  Ecuador can beat them.

Swedan might be the sleeper in this tournament.  They seem to get more chances out of nothing than most.  I like the way they played today.

Can Jermaine DeFoe (Jose's goalkeeper) be called in to replace Owen?

[sac]

Did I read Balboa correctly?  I could've sworn he said Beckham was 34.  I think he's 31 or so.

Beckham turned 31 in May..........being married to posh spice I'm sure he feels younger. 

.....and England can be more boring.

[David Collinge]

Can Jermaine DeFoe (Jose's goalkeeper) be called in to replace Owen?

Defoe's not on the roster; can you change the roster in mid-tournament?  (Maybe I'm just repeating your question.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

I was surprised by the lack of urgency near the end of the game by Sweden.  Surely they knew on the sideline by then that Trinidad was NOT going to win; thus with either a loss or a draw they still go through as the #2 team.  Only a win was of any relevance, yet they dawdled, wasting precious seconds on every throw-in, etc.  Go for broke (and if England scores on a counter, so what)!  (Perhaps they wanted to protect their non-losing streak against England, approaching, I believe, 40 years.)

[Browneagle64]

Its a do or die situation for the U.S. two days from now. Can team U.S. respond with the same sense of urgency as it did and tried against a good italian team. Or will they fall asleep? In my opinion, the U.S. is going to surprise Ghana on thursday. Look for Demarcus and the Donavon to step up.

It sucks that Pablo masteronni (if thats how you its spelled) and Pope will be missing the game.


To be honest the Mexico team also needs to excite many. THey have not lived up to much to their bill as being a high ranked team. WHat do you guys think.


GO TEAM U.S.A

[Tuxguy]

I too am sorry the U.S. will be without 2 very good players. Anyone else think there have been way to many cards given out in the first rounds?

Seems when the  FIFA heads think too many cards have been given there is a problem. And this is just my opinion, but it seems some of the games have not been called the same for both teams!

Good luck to the USA, win won for the red white and blue!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Something I've just GOT to toss out:  what is with Brazilian star Kaka?

As I'm sure many of you know, 'caca' is the Spanish equivalent of 'sh*t', and Portuguese and Spanish are very closely allied languages (besides, MANY of Brazil's matches will be against Spanish-speaking teams).  Does that term not exist (or have a different meaning) in Portuguese?  Does he simply enjoy the notoriety of a really bizarre name?  Was he a really lousy junior player, and his nickname persists to this day?

Any info, anyone?

In terms of USA-Ghana, Ghana's absences SHOULD be more hurtful than ours.  They'll be missing 2 of their best goal scorers, and reportedly Ghana is a much less deep team than USA.

[mybleedinghands]

Something I've just GOT to toss out:  what is with Brazilian star Kaka?

As I'm sure many of you know, 'caca' is the Spanish equivalent of 'sh*t', and Portuguese and Spanish are very closely allied languages (besides, MANY of Brazil's matches will be against Spanish-speaking teams).  Does that term not exist (or have a different meaning) in Portuguese?  Does he simply enjoy the notoriety of a really bizarre name?  Was he a really lousy junior player, and his nickname persists to this day?

Any info, anyone?

In terms of USA-Ghana, Ghana's absences SHOULD be more hurtful than ours.  They'll be missing 2 of their best goal scorers, and reportedly Ghana is a much less deep team than USA.

kaka: the name has an accent on teh second a, therefore it is not pronounced the same as caca.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Something I've just GOT to toss out:  what is with Brazilian star Kaka?

As I'm sure many of you know, 'caca' is the Spanish equivalent of 'sh*t', and Portuguese and Spanish are very closely allied languages (besides, MANY of Brazil's matches will be against Spanish-speaking teams).  Does that term not exist (or have a different meaning) in Portuguese?  Does he simply enjoy the notoriety of a really bizarre name?  Was he a really lousy junior player, and his nickname persists to this day?

Any info, anyone?

In terms of USA-Ghana, Ghana's absences SHOULD be more hurtful than ours.  They'll be missing 2 of their best goal scorers, and reportedly Ghana is a much less deep team than USA.

kaka: the name has an accent on teh second a, therefore it is not pronounced the same as caca.

You think opposing fans are going to worry about that technicality?!

[mybleedinghands]

Something I've just GOT to toss out:  what is with Brazilian star Kaka?

As I'm sure many of you know, 'caca' is the Spanish equivalent of 'sh*t', and Portuguese and Spanish are very closely allied languages (besides, MANY of Brazil's matches will be against Spanish-speaking teams).  Does that term not exist (or have a different meaning) in Portuguese?  Does he simply enjoy the notoriety of a really bizarre name?  Was he a really lousy junior player, and his nickname persists to this day?

Any info, anyone?

In terms of USA-Ghana, Ghana's absences SHOULD be more hurtful than ours.  They'll be missing 2 of their best goal scorers, and reportedly Ghana is a much less deep team than USA.

kaka: the name has an accent on teh second a, therefore it is not pronounced the same as caca.

You think opposing fans are going to worry about that technicality?!

when he's scoring goals to beat the opponent they'll wish they had someone with that name!

[sac]

The worst thing about Thursday is that we (US) have to root for Italy. 

Of all the teams I've seen play I have the least respect for how they play.  Dive, Dive and then Dive.

Chances are their disdane for the US will cause them to play for a tie vs Czech instead of the win.

The US better win by 5, because they can't count on the Italians.

[Greek Tragedy]

Defoe's not on the roster; can you change the roster in mid-tournament?  (Maybe I'm just repeating your question.)

no.

[Hoosier Titan]

Michael Owen's injury has been confirmed to be a ruptured ACL.  Eriksson says he plans to use Walcott, as well as having others such as Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, and Aaron Lennon take on the second striker role.

Michael has always been a classy guy; it's a shame to see this happen to him now.