Robbery at Fritz-Walter-Stadion

Damn Divers. Thats all they know how to do. DIVE DIVE DIVE!

They probably have the most advanced submarine fleet in the whole world, with the Azzuri the captains. DIVE DIVE DIVE!

HOW CAN THAT BE A PENALTY! LUIS MEDINA CANTALEJO! WHAT TYPE OF REFEREE ARE YOU!

Neill got the ball, and Grosso DIVED!

He tripped over the guy, and its a foul?

Sigh.

A 94th minute decision to give a penalty to Italy was harsh on the Australians. More so because there was only supposed to be 3 minutes extra time. THREE! NOT FOUR!

Australia will now go home, but still. They did their country proud. No self deserving Australian will blame Lucas Neill. He was on the end of a bad call, and he did much in the way of paving the way for Australia.

Well done Australia. Shame on you Italy.

World War: Battle of Nuremberg

No longer the World Cup, its now World War. What happened to Fair Play?

Italy 1:2 USA

Czech 2:1 Australia

and now

Portugal 2:2 Netherlands

No, this are not goals. These are the RED CARD COUNTS.

The most recent being FOUR red cards. FOUR I tell you. And one injury.

Christiano Ronaldo also left the field, albeit with an injury. Teary eyed, the young player was replaced my Simao Sabrosa. He was brought down in the 2nd minute by Mark Van Brommel, and later in the 7th minute by Khalid Boulahrouz, who earns a yellow card for the high tackle. The tackle results in Ronaldo walking off in the 34th minute, being unable to walk off the injury.

One down.

The first to receive a red card was Costinha for a deliberate hand ball. His second yellow card of the match, he walked, and things looked up for the Dutch.

Then, it was back on even terms, as Khalid Boulahrouz received his second yellow for an elbow in Luis Figo's face in the 63rd minute. A fight broke out after the incident, with the referee having to break it up. Luiz Felipe Scolari had to hold back many of the players on the bench, as the event happened right in front of them. He looked like he wanted to be the first to go after Boulahrouz though.

In the 73rd minute, Portugal looked to have broken through after a failed attack by the Dutch which was broken by a clearance by Ricardo Carvalho, but with the defender injured, the referee stopped play. With the restart however, Portugal were left protesting as the Dutch did not return possession to them. Deco then took matters into his own hand, with a vicious tackle on John Heitinger. He gets a yellow card, but another fight breaks out, as Wesley Sneijder pushes Petit away from the fallen Heitinger. Rafael Van Der Vaart also gets in on the action, and both Sneijder and Van Der Vaart receive their yellow cards.

Deco then gets his second yellow card 5 minutes later, after he throws the ball away from a waiting Dutch player. He gets wrestled to the ground for his efforts, and is given his yellow and red cards upon getting up.

Giovanni Van Bronkhorst then evens it up to 9 men each deep into injury time, receiving his second yellow in the 95th minute for his second bookable offence.

A rough match, seperated by only one goal.

Maniche struck in the 23rd minute, after a beautiful lay off by Pauleta. He took one step inside a challenge and fired, leaving Van Der Saar with no chance. It must have been De Ja Vu for the Dutch, as Maniche's goal saw them off in the European Championships 2 years ago.

Portugal now go into the quarter-finals against England without Deco and possibly Ronaldo, making it that much harder for them.

Lots of red as Matilda Waltzes again

Australia go through to the next round of the World Cup with Brazil, following a 2-2 draw with Croatia. Japan failed to beat the reigning champions, going down 4-1, giving Australia their first chance at the World Cup knockout stage.

There were 3 Red cards that night, coming of 2 Croatians and 1 Australian. Amazingly, Josip Simunic was given THREE yellow cards. And this all happens in the last 8 minutes. Yow.

Darijo Srna opened the Croatians account early, with a powerful free kick that beat second choice keeper Zeljko Kalac. In the first minute, Captain Mark Viduka took down Captain Niko Kovac to give Croatia a free kick, and Srna wasted no time in putting the ball in the back of the net to give them a lead in the 2nd minute.

Mark Viduka is brought down by an unknown Croatian player in the penalty box, but no foul is given by the referee, or indicated by his assistant. Replays however clearly show a Croatian arm wrapped around his waist.

Australia draw level in the 38th minute however, after Stjepan Tomas handled the ball in the penalty area. Somehow, there have been a LOT of hand balls this tournament. Anyone keeping count? I have at least 5 or 6 in the penalty area. Craig Moore steps up and duly puts the penalty kick past Stipe Pletikosa to draw Australia level. They deserve it after all that pressure they put on the Croatian defense.

In the second half however, the Australians were left wondering if Zeljko Kalac was playing for them or against them. He fumbled a weak looking shot from Niko Kovac to give Croatia the lead in the 58th minute.

Kewell then defied his critics, striking with his right foot in the 80th minute. While he normally favours his left foot, Kewell showed why he earned the man of the match title by shooting past Pletikosa for the equaliser.

Then, it all became confusing.

Dario Simic received his second yellow card in the 86th minute, after a rash tackle. He had earlier received his first yellow by throwing a ball away from an overeager Australian. He goes of with the first red card of the match.

The next yellow card from the referee is given to Brett Emerton from Australia, after a Croatian kick caused the ball to contact his upper arm. He was given a yellow for the handball, and as that was his second, he too was sent off.

Josip Simunic then received his SECOND yellow card in the 91st minute, after a terrible tackle on Joshua Kennedy. He is shown a red card, but he still stays on the field and continues play.

Then, after Cahill scores, and the goal disallowed in the 92nd minute, Simunic argues with the referee on some dubious item. He is given a yellow card *again* and a red card *again*. He doesn't have time to go off however when the referee blows the whistle for full time.

Australia go through to meet Italy. One wonders what Lygon street down in Melbourne is going to be like. Knowing the fiercely patriotic Italians down there, its gonna be interesting.

Whos next

Well. Portugal and Mexico are through to the next round.

The final score of the game being 2-1, and with Iran drawing with Angola, Mexico make it through by the skin of their teeth.

Maniche opened the scoring in the 6th minute, with a great shot on goal. Simao Sabrosa played a huge role in setting up the goal, and Maniche finished off with a superb touch.

In the 24th minute however, Rafael Marquez put his hand to the ball inside the penalty area off a Portugal corner. Even though he quickly pulled his hand away, the referee spotted the infringement, and penalty to Portugal.

Simao Sabrosa stepped up, and after feinting, drove the ball hard into the net, despite Oswaldo Sanchez doing his best to put off Sabrosa by moving side to side.

In the 28th minute however, Omar Bravo was denied a goal by Ricardo, but from the resulting corner, Jose Fonseca put the ball in the net. There was no man on the far post for Portugal, and that cost them, as Fonseca's well placed header left Ricardo standing.

Referee Lubos Michels caught a handball on the other end of the pitch in the 57th minute, when Miguel handled the ball. Omar Bravo stepped up to the resulting free kick, but missed completely. Putting plenty of power behind the ball, he forgot that he needed to put the ball in the net, blasting the ball over and into the crowd.

A few minutes later, in the 61st minute Luis Perez went down in the penalty area, but with Miguel in front of him, he was deemed to have dived. His second dive gave him a yellow card, and as he had a yellow card in the first half, he was duly sent off. He can also expect a $10,000 fine from FIFA for diving.

The referee was spot on however, as replays showed that Miguel was no where near him when he fell.

The score held to full time, and Mexico were waiting anxiously for the Iran-Angola match.

With that match tied at 1-1, Mexico go through to the next round in second place, having to play the loosers of the Argentina-Netherlands match which happens in an hour.


Ole! Figo with his souvenir

Seeing RED

FOUR red cards in TWO games.
THREE coming in the Italy - USA game.


Red

Red

What... no red?

Goodness.
Czech Tomas Ujfalusi, Italian Daniel de Rossi and Americans Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope all got on the books within several hours of each other.

Scorewise, Ghana beat Czech Republic 2-0, and 10 man Italy was held to a 1-1 draw by 9 man USA.

With Jan Koller and Milan Baros injured, the Czech Republic was relying on their attacking midfield, especially Tomas Rosicky who nailed two goals in the Czech-USA game. But it was not to be, as Ghana opened the scoring in just over a minute, with Asamoah Gyan nailing a shot past Petr Cech after a pass from Stephen Appiah.

It would come undone for the Czech Republic when Vratislav Lokvenc picked up a yellow card in the 47th minute. It would be his second in two games, putting him out of the next game. With the other two strikers injured, the Czechs are going to be without their first, second and third best strikers.

Tomas Ujfalusi earned his red card in the 65th minute, when he brought down Matthew Amoah in the penalty box. Gyan Asamoah stepped up for the penalty, but he only managed to put a dent in the upright.

Sulley Muntari made up for his teammates error in the 82nd minute however, firing in a shot from 15 yards.

The Czechs put up a brave fight, but Ghana was more than up to it. They thoroughly deserved the win.

In the Italy - USA match however, it was action all the way.

Eddie Pope earned a yellow card in the 21st minute, with a foul on Alberto Gilardino. A minute later, Pablo Mastroeni brought down Francesco Totti, giving the Azzuri a free kick. Cristian Zaccardo sent in a free kick, which Alberto Gilardino duly put behind Kasey Keller.

6 minutes later, Daniel De Rossi brought down Brian McBride with a flying elbow, sending the American off for his bloody nose. De Rossi is sent off, and a minute later, Claudio Reyna whips in a free kick, which goes in off Cristian Zaccardos foot. From providing an assist, to scoring a goal, in 7 minutes. Pity it was an own goal though.

In the 45th minute however, Pablo Mastroeni, one of the dangerous players of the night, is sent off for a late, two footed tackle on Andrea Pirlo. Both players leave the pitch, Pirlo on a stretcher, and Mastroeni on a red card.

Both teams go into the second half with ten men.

At the start of the second half however, Alberto Gilardino is brought down by two men. Onguchi Onyewu, and Eddie Pope. Eddie Pope is then sent off with a second yellow card, having earned the first one for a tackle on Alberto Gilardino as well.

Now with 9 men, USA fight on.

The drama continued in the 66th minute however, when DaMarcus Beasley put the ball in the back of the net. The referee waved it off however, when he and his assistant thought that Brian McBride was in an offside position. While it looked like Beasley went for the goal, and did not intend to pass the ball to McBride, the fact that McBride was in the direct path of the ball, possibly obstructing the view of the keeper, perhaps even providing a slight touch of the ball, caused the referee to overule the goal.

With Ghana beating the Czech Republic, this game could possibly decide if the Group was left wide open. Both sides kept at it, trying to score.

However, despite all their efforts, it ended 1-1.


Coach joining in the action...

Mixed emotions

Well. Mixed emotions.

Interesting feeling.

Why?

The Portugal - Iran game.

Why?

I said Portugal would win. They did. Yay.

I said it would be 2-0. It was. Yay.

I said Deco will score one. He did. Yay.

I said Christiano Ronaldo will score the other. He did. Yay.

I nailed the match.

Yet. Mixed feelings?

Simply put, my bet for 2-0 Portugal was not put in. :(

I asked for it, but no game.

Anyway. Domination by Portugal. But only two goals to show for it. They had TWO THIRDS of the possession at the end of the first half. 8 shots on target compared to none by Iran. Yet. They walked off the pitch at half time EVEN at Nil-Nil.

THEN, in the SECOND half, they did not quite have as many chances, 2 shots on target compared to one by Iran. Yet they walk off with two goals. Amazing.

Still interesting game. Luis Figo for one will remember it. He went crashing down in the 36th minute, following a rash challenge by Hossein Kaabi. It was a very high tackle, and Kaabi gets to leave the match with a bit of Figo! Yes! His skin is now on the spikes of his boot. Figo gets to have Kaabis imprint on his face. At least it wasnt Ronaldo. The girls would have been yelling if it was him. *snicker*. No yellow card though, interestingly. I would have thought the cut would be sufficient evidence, but no.


That is going to scar...

In the 48th minute though, Portugal gets back at Iran. Deco comes flying in with his high kick, nailing Mohammad Nosrati on the arm. Now Deco has Nosrati's skin to remember him by. How sweet. Still. Nosrati goes off to treat the cuts, and Deco gets a yellow card. Hey! Boot in face = no card, boot in arm = card? Something wrong with the referee I think. Hmmm.


HIIIYAK!

In all seriousness though. Deco finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with a glorious strike from outside a box. After a squared pass from Figo, the Brazilian (former?) unleashed a superb shot that left Ebrahim Merzapour standing. It just nailed the left edge.

In the 79th minute however, Luis Figo won a penalty for his side, going down just on the edge of the box. The TV replays looked like he tripped, but the referee pointed at the spot, and Ronaldo stepped up. The goalkeeper dived left. Ronaldo shot right. GOAL! 2-0 Portugal.

The drama isn't over yet however, when Christiano Ronaldo wins a free kick from Yahya Golgohammadi. Golgohammadi fails to get up however, lying on the ground holding his shoulder. Three minutes later, he finally gets up, having refused a stretcher. As he walks away though, the referee stops him, and gives him a yellow card. Talk about adding insult to injury. Its his fault though, so I'm not going to comment. His teammates were trying to talk to the referee though, pointing at Golgohammadi. I wonder if they were trying to weasel a way out for him to not get the yellow. Hmmm.


Portugal: This is how you dance.
Iran: NO! This is! Cross your legs!


Not a card. I'm begging you. No. No. NOOOOO!


This is so wrong. SO wrong. Check out the guys expression too. :S

Arsenal 1 - Man United 0

Hmmm. I thought this was a World Cup post?

It is.

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal) scored.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Nistelrooij?)(Man Utd)) scored.
Edwin Van Der Sar (Man Utd) let a goal in.

So 1-1 = 0

Therefore Arsenal 1-Man Utd 0

Jokes aside. The Netherlands join Argentina in the next round of the World Cup following their 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast.

Goals from Robin Van Persie in the 23rd minute and Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the 27th minute gave them the win, despite Ivory Coast getting a goal back in the 38th minute with a Bakary Kone strike.

Van Persie nailed a superb free kick to give his side the lead in the 23rd minute, after being fouled by Arsenal teammate Kolo Toure. A beautiful free kick it was too.

Jean-Jacques Tizie of the Ivory Coast then had to go face to face with Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the 27th minute, following superb play by Arjen Robben. Nistelrooy rarely looses in one-on-ones with keepers, and he placed the ball past the helpless Tizie to give his side a two goal cushion.

Bakary Kone pulled one back in the 38th minute however, with arguably the best strike of the match. Surging past several defenders, he strikes the ball past Van Der Sar, pulling the Ivory Coast to within one of Holland.

Sadly, there are no more goals for them, dooming them to an exit from the World Cup.

Netherlands go through to the next round, along with Argentina. The next game, between the two will decide who goes through in first spot.

How to Score Goals

How to score goals is a book published by the Argentine Football Association.
It is co-written by several players of note, including Maxi Rodriguez, Esteban Cambriasso, Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi.
The book highlights the importance of teamwork in scoring goals. A good example of the book in action is the latest Argentine World Cup score.

They decimated Serbia and Montenegro SIX - NIL.

People were so talking about Spain, yeah they won four - nil, highest margin of the tournament so far, they've stamped their mark, etc etc. But Argentina stamped their mark all over that Spanish mark.

Superb play, in an exceptionally one sided match. Its not like the Serbs are a weak team. Remember, they only let in one goal in the whole of the qualifying stage. ONE! And here they are. Trashed. No wonder Argentina is one of the favourites to win the Cup of Life.

It started early for the men in blue, with Javier Saviola putting a superb ball through to Maxi Rodriguez in the 6th minute. From 12 yards, Rodriguez could not miss, putting the shot past Dragoslav Jevric in the Serbian goal.

In the 17th minute, Luis Gonzalez suffered an injury, prompting Esteban Cambiasso to come on in his place. This change is well worth it, when on the 31st minute, Cambiasso teams up for a one-two with Hernan Crespo for the second Argentine goal. Following a long string of passes, Javier Saviola (again) passes the ball to Esteban Cambiasso, who one touches it to Hernan Crespo. The Chelsea striker backheels it to Cambiasso, who wastes no time in putting the ball in the back of the net. 2-0 Argentina.

It could have been 3-0 in the 38th minute, but Hernan Crespo was deemed offside. Replays showed that he was onside at the time, but with the goal disallowed. Crespo was shown a yellow card for not stopping when the whistle was blown. He claimed not to have heard it, but the card was given.

Javier Saviola again put his magic to work, when he dispossesed Mladen Krstajic in the left corner of the Serbian half. He embarks on a crazy run in towards the box, then squaring the ball in. Crespo misses it, but Maxi Rodriguez is in the right place as he latches on to score his second goal, off the upright in the 41st minute.

In the 29th minute, Roberto Ayala fouled Mateja Kezman. He had to be treated by the "DOC"s, but he came back onto the field. He would rue that decision when he was given a red card in the 65th minute, following a rash, two footed challenge on Javier Mascherano. With 3 fouls in 7 minutes, the referee gave him a straight red, and he was sent off, compounding Serbias worries.

Goal scorer Maxi Rodriguez is substituted for Lionel Messi in the 75th minute, and his impact is felt 5 minutes later, when he feeds Hernan Crespo who fires the ball home. 4-0 Argentina.

Carlos Tevez, another substitute adds on a fifth goal in the 84th minute, following a superb solo run. The only goal that didn't have the Argentinian teamwork in it.

Lionel Messi gets his own goal in the 88th minute, showing everyone why he is Diego Maradona claims the teenager to be his successor.

With one minute of extra time to play, and the ball in their possession, the Argentines keep the ball at their feet, passing it around. The dejected Serbs make no real effort to get it back, and the referee blows his whistle for full time early, seeing as how there would be no difference if he waited a minute more.


Hey! Thats me!


Uhhhh... Hmm.