THE WORLD CUP 2010!

[♫anna♫]

RESULTS FROM JUNE 16!
South Africa. 0 : 3 Uruguay
Spain .........0 : 1 Switzerland
Honduras ....0 : 1 Chile

I'm amazed that favorite Spain lost to Switzerland! I'm surprised by South Africa's poor showing and Uruaguay's strong showing as well.
In football ( soccer ) there are many more upsets on the average then in most other team sports! The winner of the World Cup is quite often a big surprise!

GAMES FOR THURSDAY; JUNE 17!
Argentina vs. South Korea .. 17 Jun 1:30pm (South Africa Time)
Greece vs. Nigeria............. 17 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
France vs. Mexico.............. 17 Jun 8:30pm (South Africa Time)

GAMES FOR FRIDAY; JUNE 18
Germany vs. Serbia - 18 Jun 1:30pm
Slovenia vs. United States - 18 Jun 4:00pm
England vs. Algeria - 18 Jun 8:30pm

GAMES FOR SATURDAY; JUNE 19
Netherlands v Japan 12:30 Durban Stadium
Ghana v Australia...... 15:00 Royal Bafokeng Stadium
Cameroon v Denmark 19:30 Loftus Versfeld Stadium

GAMES FOR SUNDAY; JUNE 20
Slovakia v Paraguay 12:30 Free State Stadium
Italy v New Zealand 15:00 Mbombela Stadium
Brazil v Ivory Coast 19:30 Soccer City Stadium

[♫anna♫]

At the start of the football/soccer world cup the following 5 teams were believed to be the favorites by this source at least!
thebiglead.com/index.php/2009/05/29/five-favorites-for-the-2010-world-cup/ QUOTE:
Spain – The same team returns that won Euro 2008. Their forwards score goals, and their Barcelona-based midfield provides topflight service. Iker Casillas is no slouch in goal. Different coach, but they should not miss much from Aragones, besides his darling opinions about black people.

Argentina – They have the best player in the world, Leo Messi, the best defensive midfielder in the world, Javier Mascherano and a number of talented youngsters, such as Sergio Aguero. Their manager knows what it takes to win. Argentina did lose 6-1 to Boliva, but they don’t play the World Cup at extreme altitude after flying halfway across the world.

Italy – Known for their catenaccio style, Italy is often cynical. Sometimes they do not wake until the knockout stages, but they are always a danger no matter how decrepit they look, as they showed in 2006. Younger players, such as Rossi, Chiellini and De Rossi are assuming leadership roles. Mario Balotelli could be a monster by then.

Netherlands – They have the talent to be ruthlessly effective going forward. They are 5-0 so far in qualifying, outscoring opponents 12-1. They were arguably the most impressive team in Euro 2008, before their extra-time collapse against Russia. If Robben and Van Persie can stay healthy, they can beat anyone.

Germany – What they miss in talent, they make up for in cohesion. They play effective German soccer. They have made at least the semifinals in three of the past four major tournaments. Players like Ballack, Podolski and Schweinsteiger go incredible hulk when they throw in a German shirt.

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

Thanks for starting a new thread Anna. I've been kicked out of June's thread.

I will follow along as the drama unfolds. Today I noticed that Switzerland trampled Spain and ran up the score on them. It ended 1 to zero. How exciting!

[♫anna♫]

Jun 17, 2010 1:39:22 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

Thanks for starting a new thread Anna. I've been kicked out of June's thread.

I will follow along as the drama unfolds. Today I noticed that Switzerland trampled Spain and ran up the score on them. It ended 1 to zero. How exciting!

Hi Das!
Well in baseball a 1-0 final score is an exciting pitcher's duel! The thing that seems to be unique in football-soccer is that the underdog has a much better chance to win! Maybe the low scoring is the reason. There was a US attempt to make football-soccer into a higher scoring game by increasing the size of the goal! That, i believe, would have would killed the upset chances.

[randomvioce]

Jun 17, 2010 1:39:22 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

Thanks for starting a new thread Anna. I've been kicked out of June's thread.

I will follow along as the drama unfolds. Today I noticed that Switzerland trampled Spain and ran up the score on them. It ended 1 to zero. How exciting!

Spain are the European champs though, they went into the game as red hot favourites, the Swiss turn them over with a narrow victory. A top class result against a top team. A real hard fought victory.

The Spainish have a repuatation for bottling it in the big games though.

[randomvioce]

Jun 17, 2010 2:26:35 GMT ♫anna♫ said:

Hi Das!
Well in baseball a 1-0 final score is an exciting pitcher's duel! The thing that seems to be unique in football-soccer is that the underdog has a much better chance to win! Maybe the low scoring is the reason. There was a US attempt to make football-soccer into a higher scoring game by increasing the size of the goal! That, i believe, would have would killed the upset chances.

This size of goals thing is a red herring. What would be the point of having a goal every time you got possesion? We don't need games ending 99-97, what would be the point of that. Football is supposed to be a low scoring game 3 or 4 nil shows a gulf in class, 99-97 shows a boring game.

[♫anna♫]

Jun 17, 2010 8:57:59 GMT @randomvioce said:

Jun 17, 2010 2:26:35 GMT ♫anna♫ said:

Hi Das!
Well in baseball a 1-0 final score is an exciting pitcher's duel! The thing that seems to be unique in football-soccer is that the underdog has a much better chance to win! Maybe the low scoring is the reason. There was a US attempt to make football-soccer into a higher scoring game by increasing the size of the goal! That, i believe, would have would killed the upset chances.

This size of goals thing is a red herring. What would be the point of having a goal every time you got possesion? We don't need games ending 99-97, what would be the point of that. Football is supposed to be a low scoring game 3 or 4 nil shows a gulf in class, 99-97 shows a boring game.

I agree RV!
But your typical basketball fan prefers a high scoring game. Different strokes for different folks!

[♫anna♫]

Team USA must win against Slovenia or they're in trouble! If they lose they're out and a draw means tougher matches!

[♫anna♫]

France 0 : 2 Mexico
Greece 2 : 1 Nigeria
Argentina 4 : 1 South Korea


I hate to see France lose! Greece beating Nigeria is no surprise. I expected Argentinia to win, but South Korea is tougher than expected. I wouldn't have bet on them beating Greece as they did earlier!

TODAY'S GAMES! June 18
Germany vs. Serbia - 1:30pm (South Africa Time)
Slovenia vs. United States - 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
England vs. Algeria - 18 Jun 8:30pm

I expect Germany to beat Serbia, which means there will a lot of drunks on the streets. There are enough Serbs in Germany to block the streets too, if they score a surprise win or draw.
I think the US and England will win, but somehow i don't expect a strong showing. Hope i'm wrong, about the US!

[♫anna♫]

YIKES! Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia! I guess it'll be a quiet night except where the Serbs are clebrating!

[♫anna♫]

Bad news for the US! A referee's disputed call nullified what should have been the winning goal for team USA.
USA - Slovenia 2 to 2

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

If the USA wins the World Cup it will make the front page of our newspapers no doubt.

The man on the street will then be asking one another, "What's the World Cup?"

Hopefully it won't happen. Too disturbing for Soccer fans.

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

Based on what's happened so far it looks like USA is destined to win the World Cup tournament without scoring more than a tie into the championship match. Then, with a flourish, the USA will not score once again. The most amazing thing about soccer is that a tie game is considered a good thing.

So the USA wins it all with their incredible lack of scoring. They know how to tie.

It really doesn't matter. No one in the USA really cares except illegal Mexican immigrants.

[♫anna♫]

Jun 18, 2010 22:55:17 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

If the USA wins the World Cup it will make the front page of our newspapers no doubt.

The man on the street will then be asking one another, "What's the World Cup?"

Hopefully it won't happen. Too disturbing for Soccer fans.

Dearest Das!
I'm certainly NOT a fan of this sport either in the sense of being loyal and 100% positive positive towards it! BUT you have to root for team USA against Algeria or i'll have to notify the committee for un-American activities about your suspicious behavior! ;D

Imagine the cultural shock that Americans would feel, if say the Europeans could put together a US football team ( and call it a bootball team ) and beat any AFL or NFL team with it. I'm sure patriotic Europeans would love to humilate the US that way!

[♫anna♫]

Jun 19, 2010 2:23:10 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

Based on what's happened so far it looks like USA is destined to win the World Cup tournament without scoring more than a tie into the championship match. Then, with a flourish, the USA will not score once again. The most amazing thing about soccer is that a tie game is considered a good thing.

So the USA wins it all with their incredible lack of scoring. They know how to tie.

It really doesn't matter. No one in the USA really cares except illegal Mexican immigrants.

Yes Das! It's true that "theoretically" you can advance in the early part of the World Cup with draws. You're forgetting the 11 meter showdowns to decide games that need a winner.


As for Illegal Mexican immigrants importing soccer in the US? Wrong on that Das!
I suppose a lot of Americans a 100 years ago dismissed baseball as being a Russian ( Lapka ) or English ( Rounders ) import!
The following profi soccer/football teams are all American, as far as all American goes!

Eastern Conference
1 New York Red Bulls
2 Columbus Crew
3 Toronto FC
4 Chicago Fire
5 Kansas City Wizards
6 New England Revolution
7 D.C. United
8 Philadelphia Union
Western Conference
1 Los Angeles Galaxy
2 Real Salt Lake
3 Colorado Rapids
4 San Jose Earthquakes
5 Houston Dynamo
6 Seattle Sounders FC
7 FC Dallas
8 Chivas USA

[♫anna♫]

England 0 : 0 Algeria
Slovenia 2 : 2 United States
Germany 0 : 1 Serbia
Again the results from yesterday June 18 above!
In Group C
Slovenia( ! ) and the USA ( ! ) are in 1st and 2nd place respectively. Since England couldn't score a single goal against Algeria they drop to 3rd place and Algeria is in 4th place!

On Wednesday, June 23 all 4 teams play and only 2 will advance!

Today's matches June 19:
Netherlands vs. Japan - 19 Jun 1:30pm (South Africa Time)
Ghana vs. Australia - 19 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
Cameroon vs. Denmark - 19 Jun 8:30pm

[riotgrrl]

Jun 19, 2010 5:16:52 GMT ♫anna♫ said:

Jun 18, 2010 22:55:17 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

If the USA wins the World Cup it will make the front page of our newspapers no doubt.

The man on the street will then be asking one another, "What's the World Cup?"

Hopefully it won't happen. Too disturbing for Soccer fans.

Dearest Das!
I'm certainly NOT a fan of this sport either in the sense of being loyal and 100% positive positive towards it! BUT you have to root for team USA against Algeria or i'll have to notify the committee for un-American activities about your suspicious behavior! ;D

Imagine the cultural shock that Americans would feel, if say the Europeans could put together a US football team ( and call it a bootball team ) and beat any AFL or NFL team with it. I'm sure patriotic Europeans would love to humilate the US that way!

I'm not sure that there is such a thing as a patriotric European. Europeans tend to be patriotic about their own country, not the federation.

I'm also not sure that they would want to 'humiliate' the USA. From the Americans on message boards, it seems that Americans feel that Europeans are anti-American, but my experience is that few are. Of course we love to have fun with you pointing out the differences between us (and, of course, claiming the way we do things is better), but I think it's just that, poking fun.

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

riotgrrl - I agree it's poking fun. However, RV may be the exception to that :-)

However, I do have a good friend who takes European vacations every year but won't go to France because he and his wife believe that the French are rude toward Americans. I've always found the French to be gracious and friendly. Guess it's where you are and who you happen to encounter on a given day.

[june]

The french like a bit of effort - a few words in their own language goes a long way.

[riotgrrl]

Jun 19, 2010 17:35:40 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

riotgrrl - I agree it's poking fun. However, RV may be the exception to that :-)

However, I do have a good friend who takes European vacations every year but won't go to France because he and his wife believe that the French are rude toward Americans. I've always found the French to be gracious and friendly. Guess it's where you are and who you happen to encounter on a given day.

Funnily enough in the UK too the French have a reputation for being rude.

But, like you, I have always found the French in France to be perfectly fine and helpful. Indeed, when my daughters were still quite young and I took them to Paris, the French were positively friendly and welcoming to the children.

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

I suppose we err when we judge all of the people in an entire country a certain way. I'm an American but I'm very different from many Americans. This is such a large country. There are regional differences. Someone from a small town in Arizona near the Mexican border is bound to have very different views from someone who is a gay person living in downtown San Francisco or a stevedore working on the docks in Boston. An American violinist probably won't have a lot in common with a long haul truck driver. And a 26 year old Silicon Valley software software engineer probably won't see eye to eye with an offshore drilling rig worker in Louisiana. Putting all of those diverse personalities into the same bucket and describing Americans as being a certain way isn't valid.

And how about English stereotypes? These are all correct aren't they?
->Men in London all wear bowler hats, pin striped suits, and carry a newspaper under one arm and an umbrella in one hand.
->The English are very serious, they don't use body language, they're very stiff and punctual (except at football matches)
-> Brits do have a unique dry sense of humor. What they think is funny doesn't resonate with the rest of the world.
-> The English subsist on fish and chips, tea, and warm beer.
-> Brits are snooty and pretentious. They place great value on tradition (example: pander to the royal family)
-> Hygiene challenged -- don't all shower or bathe every day. You'll find some really bad body odors in London elevators. Doesn't happen in America.
-> The English are sexually repressed and uptight

[june]

Jun 19, 2010 20:54:17 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

I suppose we err when we judge all of the people in an entire country a certain way. I'm an American but I'm very different from many Americans. This is such a large country. There are regional differences. Someone from a small town in Arizona near the Mexican border is bound to have very different views from someone who is a gay person living in downtown San Francisco or a stevedore working on the docks in Boston. An American violinist probably won't have a lot in common with a long haul truck driver. And a 26 year old Silicon Valley software software engineer probably won't see eye to eye with an offshore drilling rig worker in Louisiana. Putting all of those diverse personalities into the same bucket and describing Americans as being a certain way isn't valid.

And how about English stereotypes? These are all correct aren't they?
->Men in London all wear bowler hats, pin striped suits, and carry a newspaper under one arm and an umbrella in one hand.
->The English are very serious, they don't use body language, they're very stiff and punctual (except at football matches)
-> Brits do have a unique dry sense of humor. What they think is funny doesn't resonate with the rest of the world.
-> The English subsist on fish and chips, tea, and warm beer.
-> Brits are snooty and pretentious. They place great value on tradition (example: pander to the royal family)
-> Hygiene challenged -- don't all shower or bathe every day. You'll find some really bad body odors in London elevators. Doesn't happen in America.
-> The English are sexually repressed and uptight

you are wavering between British and English. But they are all correct!

Must dash it's almost midsummer and time for one of my baths (the next due just before christmas)

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

hahahah - You're OK June!

[fretslider]

Jun 19, 2010 21:24:15 GMT @june said:

Jun 19, 2010 20:54:17 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

I suppose we err when we judge all of the people in an entire country a certain way. I'm an American but I'm very different from many Americans. This is such a large country. There are regional differences. Someone from a small town in Arizona near the Mexican border is bound to have very different views from someone who is a gay person living in downtown San Francisco or a stevedore working on the docks in Boston. An American violinist probably won't have a lot in common with a long haul truck driver. And a 26 year old Silicon Valley software software engineer probably won't see eye to eye with an offshore drilling rig worker in Louisiana. Putting all of those diverse personalities into the same bucket and describing Americans as being a certain way isn't valid.

And how about English stereotypes? These are all correct aren't they?
->Men in London all wear bowler hats, pin striped suits, and carry a newspaper under one arm and an umbrella in one hand.
->The English are very serious, they don't use body language, they're very stiff and punctual (except at football matches)
-> Brits do have a unique dry sense of humor. What they think is funny doesn't resonate with the rest of the world.
-> The English subsist on fish and chips, tea, and warm beer.
-> Brits are snooty and pretentious. They place great value on tradition (example: pander to the royal family)
-> Hygiene challenged -- don't all shower or bathe every day. You'll find some really bad body odors in London elevators. Doesn't happen in America.
-> The English are sexually repressed and uptight

you are wavering between British and English. But they are all correct!

Must dash it's almost midsummer and time for one of my baths (the next due just before christmas)

English is not British is not Scottish nor Welsh.

Dirty girl

[♫anna♫]

Jun 19, 2010 8:28:46 GMT @riotgrrl said:

Jun 19, 2010 5:16:52 GMT ♫anna♫ said:

Dearest Das!
I'm certainly NOT a fan of this sport either in the sense of being loyal and 100% positive positive towards it! BUT you have to root for team USA against Algeria or i'll have to notify the committee for un-American activities about your suspicious behavior! ;D

Imagine the cultural shock that Americans would feel, if say the Europeans could put together a US football team ( and call it a bootball team ) and beat any AFL or NFL team with it. I'm sure patriotic Europeans would love to humilate the US that way!

I'm not sure that there is such a thing as a patriotric European. Europeans tend to be patriotic about their own country, not the federation.

I'm also not sure that they would want to 'humiliate' the USA. From the Americans on message boards, it seems that Americans feel that Europeans are anti-American, but my experience is that few are. Of course we love to have fun with you pointing out the differences between us (and, of course, claiming the way we do things is better), but I think it's just that, poking fun.

Hi Riotgrrl!
Maybe my choice of the word "humiliate" misses the mark, but if you love sports, competition and a challenge it's a lot of fun to try to beat another sport lover at his/her own game!

Call it "patriotism" or "politically correct hypersensitivity", but Europeans are as a rule much more sensitive to criticism or teasing towards their national sports, ethnic foods, etc. etc..than Americans! I can ridicule American sports and food and Americans will laugh with me!

Certain German football/soccer fans may resent it, if i poke fun at their sport. I had to learn that the hard way! I find the American way of learning to laugh and not being two faced about things refreshing!

I think a lot of nationalities, not just Americans, feel they're misunderstood in other cultures and think the negative stereotypes of their nation prevail!