World Cup 2010

[BoyBrumby]

Would be North's first finals since '66, I think, when they set the tone for their southern neighbours by hilariously ejecting the Italians.

Lead QF by 3-0 v Portugal until Eusebio woke up too. Might even be first Asian team to have made the Quarters, actually.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Would be North's first finals since '66, I think, when they set the tone for their southern neighbours by hilariously ejecting the Italians.

Lead QF by 3-0 v Portugal until Eusebio woke up too. Might even be first Asian team to have made the Quarters, actually.

Yup. Only the third team from Asia ever to qualify, too. (Dutch East Indies - now Indonesia - lost 0-6 in 38, South Korea lost 0-7 and 0-9 in 54)

India could have been the first non-colony from Asia, but withdrew as they weren't allowed to play barefoot, and the subcontinent was lost to hockey and cricket. Israel could have qualified from 58 as the Muslim nations all conspicuously withdrew, but FIFA decreed they had to play at least one match to qualify, so they lost to Wales.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Yup. Only the third team from Asia ever to qualify, too. (Dutch East Indies - now Indonesia - lost 0-6 in 38, South Korea lost 0-7 and 0-9 in 54)

India could have been the first non-colony from Asia, but withdrew as they weren't allowed to play barefoot, and the subcontinent was lost to hockey and cricket. Israel could have qualified from 58 as the Muslim nations all conspicuously withdrew, but FIFA decreed they had to play at least one match to qualify, so they lost to Wales.

That last one is one of my fav trick football trivia questions: "Who was Asia & Africa's representative in the 1958 world cup?".

Handy to have swift reflexes to avoid the flying objects that will head towards you when you tell them it's Wales tho, but.

 

[Johnners]

Cahill!

Fantastic qualifying campaign, huge credit to Pim. Kinda annoying that some people are likely still complaining because they didn't have a "Uruguay moment", and believe it or not are actually criticising Verbeek for apparently not trying to go all out attack despite it not exactly being the teams greatest strength. Stoked Carle got a run as well, for those who got to watch the full game, how'd he play? (only got bits and pieces of it, stupid stream/net wasn't working properly )

 

[BoyBrumby]

Cahill!

Fantastic qualifying campaign, huge credit to Pim. Kinda annoying that some people are likely still complaining because they didn't have a "Uruguay moment", and believe it or not are actually criticising Verbeek for apparently not trying to go all out attack despite it not exactly being the teams greatest strength. Stoked Carle got a run as well, for those who got to watch the full game, how'd he play? (only got bits and pieces of it, stupid stream/net wasn't working properly )

Would drive me mental. "Oh no, we qualified really easily. Curse your effective tactics & sensible selections, Verbeek!"

 

[Magrat Garlick]

The night's results from the Arab peninsula:

Bahrain 1-0 Uzbekistan (Mahmoud Abdulrahman 74; the diminutive Kuwait-based striker nicknamed "Ringo" sends Bahrain into the play-offs...)
North Korea 0-0 Saudi Arabia (where they'll face Saudi Arabia, who despite numerous missed chances stay alive in the qualification. North Korea knew they'd go through with a draw, and killed the game successfully with 30 % possession. Hope they get some African side in the World Cup and lose 0-6.)

Australia  12-1  20 Q South Korea13-4  16 Q
Japan      10-5  15 Q North Korea 7-5  12 Q
-------------------   -------------------
Bahrain     6-8  10 P Saudi Arabia8-8  12 P
- - - - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - -
Qatar       4-13  6 E Iran        8-7  11 E
Uzb'stan    5-10  4 E UAE         6-17  2 E

Bahrain face Saudi Arabia at home on 5 September and away on 9 September.

The winner on aggregate face New Zealand at home on 10 October and away on 14 November.

 

[Ausage]

Cahill!

Fantastic qualifying campaign, huge credit to Pim. Kinda annoying that some people are likely still complaining because they didn't have a "Uruguay moment", and believe it or not are actually criticising Verbeek for apparently not trying to go all out attack despite it not exactly being the teams greatest strength. Stoked Carle got a run as well, for those who got to watch the full game, how'd he play? (only got bits and pieces of it, stupid stream/net wasn't working properly )

I thought he didn't inject himself enough in the first half, but we weren't playing particularly well in general at that point. Second half he was very good. Looked lively, one sublime bit of skill to get past 2 defenders (no doubt you'll see that on the highlight reel at some point), fired in a shot which needed to be acrobatically saved, and our second goal came off one of his brilliantly delivered corner. If we're going to play with one striker consistently, I think we need someone like him who can create something out of nothing.

Completely agree about Verbeek. Full credit to him, he's played this group like a pied piper. One goal conceded in the entire second qualifying phase is an awesome achievement. Still I think we were massively helped by the draw. Group B would have been a much more daunting prospect. We still would have made it imo, but maybe not in such a dominant fashion.

 

[Craig]

How many North Korean players will try and do a runner and claim asylum in South Africa? Mind you it better be a thought out plan because they never see their families again and if it doesn't work and they get sent back to the North where they face a bullet in between their eyes.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

How many North Korean players will try and do a runner and claim asylum in South Africa? Mind you it better be a thought out plan because they never see their families again and if it doesn't work and they get sent back to the North where they face a bullet in between their eyes.

Well, given that they've already travelled to the South and not jumped off, you'd think "not many"...

 

[social]

The night's results from the Arab peninsula:

Bahrain 1-0 Uzbekistan (Mahmoud Abdulrahman 74; the diminutive Kuwait-based striker nicknamed "Ringo" sends Bahrain into the play-offs...)
North Korea 0-0 Saudi Arabia (where they'll face Saudi Arabia, who despite numerous missed chances stay alive in the qualification. North Korea knew they'd go through with a draw, and killed the game successfully with 30 % possession. Hope they get some African side in the World Cup and lose 0-6.)

Australia  12-1  20 Q South Korea13-4  16 Q
Japan      10-5  15 Q North Korea 7-5  12 Q
-------------------   -------------------
Bahrain     6-8  10 P Saudi Arabia8-8  12 P
- - - - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - -
Qatar       4-13  6 E Iran        8-7  11 E
Uzb'stan    5-10  4 E UAE         6-17  2 E

Bahrain face Saudi Arabia at home on 5 September and away on 9 September.

The winner on aggregate face New Zealand at home on 10 October and away on 14 November.

These matches will have to be played in the middle of the night as both fall within Ramadan where it's nil by mouth until sunset.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

These matches will have to be played in the middle of the night as both fall within Ramadan where it's nil by mouth until sunset.

Probably better for the players, tbh. 40 degrees while sun is up not conducive to decent football.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Yesterday's matches:

Group A, Rabat: Morocco 0-0 Togo (Things are still not going right for Morocco, who look set to miss their third successive African Cup of Nations despite the presence of Eredivisie top scorer Mounir el-Hamdaoui. He missed a penalty. Emmanuel Adebayor missed the match with suspension, so Togo will be pretty happy they got away with one point.)
Group B, Nairobi: Kenya 2-1 Mozambique (Kenyan news outlet Daily Nation praised the visitors for their pace and technique, and claimed Kenya were lucky to get away with all three points - anyway, Kenya have given themselves a two-point lead in the chase for the third spot which gives an Africa Cup of Nations berth, the stated aim of coach Antonie Hey after the team could only take one point from the first two games.)
Group B, Rades: Tunisia 0-0 Nigeria (the hosts will be most frustrated with this result - the Super Eagles defended staunchly under a lot of pressure, yet created chances in what reports suggest was quite an entertaining game. Tunisia lead by two points ahead of the return leg in Abuja in September, where Nigeria can move into pole position with a home win.)
Group C, Chililabombwe: Zambia 0-2 Algeria (an impressive away win by Algeria, who improve their goal difference as well as yet again going one better than Egypt - who could only manage 1-1 at home to the Zambians. Egypt will now have to win in Kinshasa to deny Algeria their first World Cup appearance since 1986. Which, considering Egypt's result against Italy in the Confederations Cup, would be disappointing for the tournament)
Group D, Omdurman: Sudan 0-2 Ghana (another good away result from a group leader; Ghana is yet to concede a goal, and still have two home matches remaining. Breda striker Matt Amoah scored twice for the visitors, who are almost a lock to qualify at this stage.)
Group E, Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso 2-3 Ivory Coast (Ivory Coast continue their rampage through this group's defences, having now netted ten goals in three qualifying matches, and a total of 20 including the preliminary round. All five goals came in the second half, opened by an own goal from Portugal-based Mamadou Tall. Two Bundesliga players scored for Burkina Faso, while illustrious names were on the scoresheet for Ivory Coast: Yaya Touré and Didier Drogba.)

Today

17.00, Conakry, grp E: Guinea vs Malawi (in a group that has developed into a top- and bottom-tier, Guinea need to win at home to make the Africa Cup of Nations. Which should be possible as the Elo ratings have the visitors below Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.)
19.00, Bamako, grp D: Mali vs Benin (Mali squandered most of their chances by losing 0-2 at home to Ghana; Benin, at least, held Ghana to 0-1 and look likely to qualify for their third Africa Cup of Nations in six years.)

Group A               Group B               Group C
Gabon (2)   5-1   6   Tunisia     4-1   7   Algeria     5-1   7
-------------------   -------------------   -------------------
Togo        1-3   4   Nigeria     3-0   5   Zambia      2-3   4
Morocco     1-2   2   Kenya       3-6   3   Rwanda (2)  0-1   1
- - - - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - -
Cameroon (2)0-1   1   Mozambique  2-4   1   Egypt (2)   2-4   1

Group D               Group E
Ghana       5-0   9   Ivory Coast10-3   9
-------------------   -------------------
Benin (2)   1-1   3   Burkina Faso7-5   6
Mali (2)    1-3   1   Guinea (2)  3-6   0
- - - - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - -
Sudan       1-4   1   Malawi (2)  0-6   0
Group winners to World Cup, top three to Africa Cup of Nations

Two matches from this round have been postponed: Gabon vs Cameroon to September due to the state funeral of long-time dictator Omar Bongo, Egypt vs Rwanda to July due to Egypt's participation in the Confederations Cup.

 

[Craig]

Was there a reason why Sulley Muntari didn't play for Ghana? I looked on Inter's website and all it said was that he didn't play. I guess it was the coach decided to give somebody else a run.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Was there a reason why Sulley Muntari didn't play for Ghana? I looked on Inter's website and all it said was that he didn't play. I guess it was the coach decided to give somebody else a run.

Knee injury. Didn't play against Mali either. His mum apparently went on radio and said the Ghana side would lose without Sulley's contributions.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Not strictly WC 2010 related, but just watching the US lead Spain 2-0 in the Confed semi. Spain living down to their serial chokers tag. Scaly's back must be sore from him patting himself on it.

 

[Jono]

Not sure if this is where I post about it, but I just saw USA beat Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup

 

[Scaly piscine]

Not chokers particularly, just are hugely over-rated.

At this level they're a solid side that look good when you let them. I'd fancy a decent well disciplined side to at least keep them to a 0-0. As I say they're the CDMs of international football.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Quite funny listening to Dixon & Keown () on Ramos's defending. Both properly disgusted.

 

[Craig]

Was Ramos at left back or right back?

 

[roseboy64]

Right.