FIFA Results

25/06: This last week went pretty quickly, shock exits by Italy and France (France weren’t destined to much better things according to the media but it’s still sad to see such a great team brought to their knees by in-house fighting and disrespect). ‘Cos I love the Italians I was sad to see their side not making it to the next group but such is the thing of soccer. Just don’t hedge any bets and you’ll be safe. Going into round of 16 is gonna be interesting – I think the game to watch here is England versus Germany – there is more to this than just the match. South Africa has of course thousands of English fans living there, likewise Germany has a huge population in Nambia.  Of course I would not place any bets here – BUT having said that Germany is going to be frightening to watch – I would like to see a fast tactical game with no shootouts at the end.  Is this possible? I don’t think so. There’s going to be a lot of tension and a lot of yellow cards. And then of course we have the Uruguay/South Korean game which is going to be interesting to watch as well – I’d love to see the two Asian teams make it to the next round.  As mentioned before the Dutch and Portuguese also have a very large fan base in South Africa which puts either of these two teams in a very strong position.  Having been following the news reports religiously I can say without contradiction that sports writers may know their topic but when it comes to fleecing out the top teams they seem to be at odds at whom has the best chance of walking away with the cup. And my favourite team at present: without a doubt if it was not for the ever present and hilarious Maradonna I would be putting money on the Dutch. The Argentina side, I think, have played some very good games and all credit goes to them – they show they wanted to win all their games in their Group B and did so admirably. There is nothing better than watching a bit of comedy on the sidelines and Maradonna gives that in spades. Also, of course their rugby side is very good – fast and tactical. They have huge support in South Africa amongst their rugby fans so why not in their football as well.  Watch this space.

20/06: Cameroon were all over the Danes but the Danes played smarter. One thousand ball movements = 1 and five ball movements = 2. Cameroon however should not be pushed to the back because they lost – they have some brilliant players. Question is, what would have happened if they played Cameroon football instead of European football?  The Dutch lacked sparkle in their 11:30z game against the Japanese side, possibly were instructed to slow down and just win.  Looking forward to see Netherlands against Cameroon on the 25th.   The Australians playing a vital game against Ghana with just ten men put in a spirited performance ad I’d like to see them make the second leg. Final score 1:1.  Todays big game is ‘tonight SAST / 18:30z Brazil against Côte d’Ivoire. Ummm, this is going to be interesting – I’d like to see Côte d’Ivoire take it, if only for Africa. Actually if Côte d’Ivoire take it they may win the cup!

18/06: WOW! Germany lose to Serbia, England draw 0:0 with Algeria.  I don’t know about Germany but if England don’t pull the proverbial finger they’re out.  I watched the game and 10 points to Algeria, they were all over the place. England missed some and gained nothing.  In the first half I thought they had found their pace but this was short lived. I think these top sides underestimate their opponents. There were snide comments made about Algeria before the game which must have made the embarrasment worse for the English. Still to come is Côte d’Ivoire against Brazil 18:30z on the 20th. Is this going to be another surprise?  Today (19th) we see the Dutch against Japan – this is going to be an interesting one. With Japan’s shock victory over Cameroon I don’t underestimate this side.  No odds on favourites but at a guestimate I see the following teams in the top 8:  Mexico, Argentina, England (if…), Germany, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Chile.

16/06: Well,now for Spain and Switzerland. What a let down – were the bookies smoking ganja weed…?  Wish the Swiss knock the Spanish off the board – watching the Spanish makes me think of a bar full of  softdrinks. Just no spirit. The most dangerous man on the field is the ref.  Hoping that the Arggies are in the finals – they had the team and the finger of God on their side.  As a side note for the rugby fans don’t you think that the Pumas make a great side? They come on the side as underdogs and always leave with their pride intact.  And hey, the Swiss have just scored into the 51st minute. LOL, bookies back to their computers and the bets are on. As the news media state – why the hell are all the teams playing so defensively? This is an extreme competition – do you see Rossi playing silly buggars in the MotoGP (sorry Doc,  know you’re out of the team). Viva Switzerland.

13/06: The world cup certainly is starting off slowly. Today fans were disappointed by the slow start of the  Slovenia/Algiers game but let’s be honest, Slovenia haven’t made it in the last three and were deserved winners of the game this afternoon at 1200 GMT.  Currently the board looks like that of below with Australia and Germany next in the line up at 1830 GMT. This is going to be an interesting game.

Current scoreboard:  (25/06/2010)