Dave Yadallee's personal blog - International soccer

Post World Cup 2006 frenzy

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 18:03:30 -0600

With search terms like:

yahoo world foot ball 2006 finals

zidane headbutt materazzi

making search engine work overtime, you know Italy vs France will not go down quietly.

I wonder if that old brit Soccer Steve of Edmonton would be interested.

WC 2006 Cup Game France Vs Italy

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:50:37 -0600

From Benny of Soccer-europe:

9 July 2006

ITALY 1-1 FRANCE

Materazzi 18 Zidane 6 (Pen)

In the 6th minute Malouda made the most of Materazzi's clumsy challenge to win

a penalty. Zidane took one step forward then chipped the ball against the

underside of the crossbar and fortunately for him and France it bounced over the

line. Materazzi, who was clearly rattled, almost doubled France's lead with a

poor header which had Buffon scrambling at his past. Italy began to take

control and equalised when Materazzi punished abysmal marking in the French box

to head in Pirlo's corner. From a throw-on Gattuso burst past two players before

giving the ball to Totti, Totti rode a tackle from Vieira as he ran inside the

box, Gattuso fed the ball to Toni and just as he shot Thuram slid in to clear.

That was the one moment of magic Italy provided in the entire match. From the

resulting corner Toni headed against the underside of the crossbar.

At the start of the second half Henry gathered a loose ball, ran through

Gattuso's tackle and darted between two defenders in the box but hit a weak shot

with Buffon easily saved. Pirlo flashed a free kick just wide of Barthez's left

post.

A fabulous move in which the French strung together 11 passes ended with Ribery

cutting inside Iaquinta and sliding a ball through to Malouda, who was flattened

by Cannavaro's heavy tackle from behind on the edge of the box, Ribery gathered

possession and a subtle feint took him clear of De Rossi but he dragged his shot

wide of a post. Seconds later he made way for Trezeguet. Another wonderfully

constructed move started with Gallas intercepting a Iaquinta pass and giving the

ball to Zidane, who was deep in his own half. The ball was worked down the right

through Zidane before he eventually passed out wide to Sagnol and ran into the

box where he met the defenders cross with a fantastic header which was matched

by Buffon's spectacular one handed save.

Early in the second half Wiltord came on for Henry who appeared to be struggling

with a minor knock. In an incident which will go down in World Cup infamy,

Zidane was sent off for head-butting Materazzi in the chest after the two

exchanged words when walking away from the Italy penalty area. This was similar

to the Rooney mess in that the ref missed the incident but on the advice of one

of the officials took action, well we assume that's what happened. In any case

it was a deserved red card and a sad way for Zidane to bring an end to a

glittering career. Despite their numerical advantage Italy couldn't put together

any meaningful attacks and the game went to penalties but without Zidane,

Henry and Vieira, who went off injured mid-way through the second half, the odds

were in Italy's favour.

Penalty Shoot-Out

Pirlo hits the ball high straight down the middle, awful penalty but Barthez

goes the wrong way

Wiltord blasts the ball into the bottom right corner, perfect penalty

Materazzi copies Wiltord by smashing the ball into the bottom right corner

Trezeguet crashes the ball against the underside of the crossbar

De Rossi. CRACKERJACK, top left corner, no chance for Barthez

Abidal sends the ball left of centre at a perfect height for Buffon who once

again dives early

Del Piero. I sure as hell thought he'd miss but he didn't thanks largely to

Barthez diving early

Sagnol hits the ball with extreme prejudice, poor height, poor placement, poor

goalkeeping, Buffon has been useless in this shoot-out

Grosso. Championship point. Top right corner, unstoppable. Great penalty

France were as good in the second half and extra-time as Italy were in the

first. The game was played at a painfully slow pace. Toni dived more in 120

minutes than Cristiano Ronaldo has in his last three matches. Pirlo reverted to

type i.e. kept giving the ball away, Totti was beyond useless and Cannavaro

didn't look anywhere near as assured as he has done in previous matches. Good

job Gattuso was off the charts, as he has been all tournament. IMO Malouda was

France's best player. Nothing Materazzi said can excuse Zidane's headbutt.

Zidane is no stranger to red cards.

France were the better side on the day but in the 2002 European Championship

final they came away with the silverware having been outplayed. What goes

around, comes around.

Italy survived the group of death, survived a cheap red card against Australia

(and got the break of a last second penalty) before crushing Ukraine and beating

an excellent Germany side in the game of the tournament. France peaked last

week, with their excellent victories over Spain and Brazil. It would have sucked

had they won the World Cup on the back of two dodgy penalties, they haven't

scored in open play since beating Spain. Anyway two World Cups for one

generation of players is beyond greedy.

I enjoyed this tournament far more than the last World Cup, largely because the

traditional powers made it to the knockout stages. Germany played the best

football, Gattuso was the best player.

England are edged out by Portugal as the worst team in the tournament. Both

teams played negative football, Portugal showed more imagination, in bursts,

but cannot be forgiven for their histrionics and I loath teams with second rate

players that punch above their weight.

Penalties are a stain on the face of humanity but nothing will change while the

current, corrupt regime are in charge of the game. Let's hope by 2010 either

Sepp Bladder is out of power or six foot under and someone who has actually

played the bloody game at a high level is in charge i.e. Beckenbauer and not

Bladder's stooge Platini.

Congratulations to Italy supporters everywhere and thanks to everyone for

reading. Stats will follow and enjoy your summer.

Italy win 5-3 on penalties

Attendance : 69,000

Red Card : Zidane 110 (France)

Assists : Malouda (won pen), Pirlo (fk)

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Contraversy still rages on this game.

World Cup 2006 Germany vs Portugal for 3rd Place

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 07:44:08 -0600

FRom Benny:

8 July 2006

GERMANY 3-1 PORTUGAL

Schweinsteiger 56, 79 Gomes 88

Petit 61 (og)

Metzelder headed down a Schneider free kick and Kehl flashed a volley just wide

of a post. Simao dribbled from the half-way line and played in Pauleta with a

lovely disguised pass, Kahn covered his near post and like an idiot Pauleta shot

straight at him. Ricardo, trying to look busy for the cameras, made an

un-necessarily spectacular save from a Podolski free kick.

Ricardo, who is an accident waiting to happen, was beaten for the second time in

the tournament when he misjudged the flight of speculative shot from

Schweinsteiger. Five minutes later he was picking the ball of his net again when

Petit sliced a Schweinsteiger free kick past him. It took the Portuguese over an

hour to really trouble Kahn, Deco forcing the Bayern 'keeper into a superb two

handed save. Minutes after coming on as a substitute for Klose, Neuville sprayed

a ball out wide to Schweinsteiger, Petit backed off as the midfielder ran in on

goal, Schweinsteiger took a step inside and let rip with an amazing right foot

shot which arched away from Ricardo before nestling into the corner of the net.

Kahn was almost caught by a ferocious 40 yard Ronaldo free kick, deceived by the

flight of the ball he managed to make a split second adjustment and punch the

ball clear. Figo, in his last ever international appearance, and Gomes combined

to score a consolation goal. Gomes met Figo's outswinging cross with a brilliant

diving header.

That reprehensible cheating Ronaldo, who was once again booed unmercifully,

should have been booked for an outrageous dive in the box at the end of the

first half. He's in for a long season regardless of whether he stays at Man

United or leaves for another club.

Attendance : 52,000

Assists : Kehl, n/a, Neuville, Figo

http://soccer-europe.com

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AFAIK, Christiano Ronaldo is a punk he should be tossed into the dunk!

World Cup 2006 Game 2 France takes on Portugal

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 07:40:21 -0600

From Benny:

5 July 2006

PORTUGAL 0-1 FRANCE

Zidane 33 (Pen)

The Portuguese defence got caught on a longball out of defence, Malouda,

probably because he was being shadowed by the brilliant Miguel, wasted the

opportunity by snatching at his shot. Barthez flapped at a tame Deco effort but

no one was on hand to take advantage. Just past the half hour mark Malouda

dribbled his way past a couple of Portuguese players before giving a reverse

pass to Henry and he made the most of Carvalho's clumsy challenge as he turned

inside the defender to win a penalty. Up stepped Zidane to blast the ball into

the bottom left corner. Henry wasted a good opening with a poor finish and

Ricardo, like slap-head Barthez, made hard work of a tame long range shot.

The French should have finished off Portugal on the break early in the second

half but Zidane screwed up a pass to Henry with the striker open in the box.

Les Blues made no concerted attempts to attack probably confident in the

knowledge that Portugal's strikers would have problems scoring in the MLS &

J-League let alone in the World Cup but with prize clown Barthez in goal there's

always a chance. He dropped an almighty bollock when he scooped a Ronaldo free

kick high in the air with both hands but Figo bailed him out by heading over. In

injury time Thuram fell under a challenge from Postiga when they battled for a

longball but Meira smashed it into row Z.

After last night's classic both teams served up a magnitude of shite. As far as

Portugal are concerned good riddance to bad rubbish. One goal in three games

in the knockout stages speaks for itself and their part in the disgraceful match

against the Dutch cannot be overlooked. I expected more from Scolari, especially

given the way Brazil played in 2002 and Portugal in 2004 but I guess, given the

abysmal quality of the squad he had to work with, surely one of the worst teams

to ever play in a World Cup semi-final, he did well to get them this far.

Ronaldo was unmercifully booed by the French, presumably because people thought

he was disingenuous in his comments over the Rooney red card and because he

continues the long tradition of simulation that plagues Portuguese players

(Greeks and Turks are equally as bad). Ronaldo and Postiga should have been

booked for diving in the box.

Zidane looked exhausted after 60 minutes, as did many of the other players which

makes Sunday's midfield battle all the more intriguing. Gattuso and Pirlo can

keep going for 90 minutes and beyond, can Vieira and Makelele? Unfortunately for

Italy Saha is out of the final having picked up his second yellow of the

knockout stages which means Trezeguet will play some part and we all know what

happened last time he played against Italy.

Attendance : 66,000

Assist : Henry (won pen)

http://soccer-europe.com

Chat room : http://www.lhcw.net/WorldCup

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SO Saturday Germany and Portugal and the BIG game:

France versus Italy. In Euro 2000 France 2 Italy 1

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!

World Cup 2006 Semi-Finals Game 1

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 06:33:47 -0600

From Benny

4 July 2006

GERMANY 0-2 ITALY

Grosso 118

Del Piero 120

Totti chipped a delightful pass to Roma team-mate Perrotta but a poor first

touch was the invitation Lehmann needed to come off his line and smother the

ball. Germany's forwards tore through the heart of the Italian defence with a

rapid series of one-twos but as Klose played the ball out wide to Schneider the

imposing figure of Buffon had advanced off his line to close down the angles and

Schneider blazed over.

Early in the second half Klose gathered a pass 30 yards from goal and headed

straight from the centre of the box and showed tremendous strength to hold off

Gattuso then probably became the first player in this tournament to beat

Cannavaro but Buffon rushed off his line and kicked the ball clear. Schneider

dropped a ball between Grosso and Gattuso, Podolski rolled Materazzi as he

turned before drawing a good save from Buffon and Friedrich snatched at the

rebound.

With the spectre of penalties looming Italy made an aggressive start to extra

time. Metzelder fell on the right edge of the box as he battled with Gilardino

for a loose ball, Ballack arrived to cover, as Gilardino got to the by-line he

cut inside Ballack only to see his shot come back of Lehmann's post, shades of

Milan vs Barcelona. A minute later Zambrotta rattled the crossbar after Pirlo's

corner was only half cleared. Late in first half injury time Podolski, who did a

tremendous amount of work in midfield, wasted what was arguably Germany's

clearest opening. As Grosso backed off from the jet heeled Odonkor the

midfielder floated a super deep cross to the back post and Podolski headed yards

wide.

Seconds after Del Piero wasted a good opening by getting the ball caught in his

feet the Germans poured forward on the break through Kehl and Odonkor, Kehl's

angled pass took Podolski wide of Cannavaro but his shot was brilliantly saved

by Buffon. Gilardino laid off Iaquinta's delightful back heel to Del Piero but

he slashed his shot horribly wide. Iaquinta helped setup another chance with a

volleyed pass infield to Pirlo, he took advantage of Kehl's slip to unleash a

shot from 25 yards which Lehmann tipped out for a corner. Kehl didn't get enough

on Del Piero's corner, clearing the ball as far as Pirlo who was standing inside

the D, he took four steps forward (and three defenders with him) before slipping

a disguised pass to Grosso who struck a fantastic, first time left foot shoot

into the bottom left corner of Lehmann's net, queue Marco Tardelli style

celebrations from the Palermo defender. Cannavaro headed out a deep Ballack

cross then burst out of his box to follow up as Podolski intercepted, Cannavaro

headed the ball down and continued to run forward before Totti took the ball off

him and sent Gilardino racing down the left, Gilardino turned off the pace as he

approached the box and stepped past Metzelder before playing in the galloping

Del Piero with magnificent reverse pass, the Juve forward curled the ball first

time into the top corner of the net and seconds later the ref blew for full

time.

Klinsmann consoled his players after the match. He has proved all his critics

totally and utterly wrong and took the German football back 2 decades, back to

when the team played an aggressive brand of direct, attacking football. They

have a bright future with him as coach.

One of the all time great football matches played in a wonderful spirit by two

adventurous teams matched by Mexican referee Benito Archundia's officiating.

High on precision, high on flair and composed defending, especially from the

Italians. In extra time Italy were playing with three forwards (Gilardino,

Iaquinta and Del Piero) in addition to Totti and Pirlo. Pirlo and Gattuso were

outstanding and there aren't enough superlatives to describe the level of

performance of Fabio Cannavaro.

"Some foreign critics have too negative a view of Italian football. No top level

Italian club for example play the old-style man-marking game. Our football

has evolved." - Marcello Lippi, World Soccer April 2006

"This team often plays with three men up front, we play an attacking game and

one that calls for me and the other strikers to help out in midfield too. It

calls for the whole side to be involved all the time and it a long way from the

old catenaccio label that people like to stick on us."

Alberto Gilardino, World Soccer April 2006

Attendance : 65,000

Assists : Pirlo, Gilardino

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So Germany in Saturday's Games and Italy in Sunday's Game.

Today determines the other halp with Portugal vs France

World Cup 2006 QFs Day 2

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:21:31 -0600

From Benny's Report on Quarterfinals Day 2:

1 July 2006

BRAZIL 0-1 FRANCE

Henry 56

Ronaldo passed up what was by most forwards standards a great chance from a

Ronaldinho free kick but then in the air he's about as useless as Henry. On the

stroke of half time Zidane received possession on the edge of his box and burst

forward, pushing the ball wide of Lucio's despairing sliding tackle and leaping

over Gilberto's dangerous challenge before threading a pass through the heart of

the Brazil defence but Vieira's run was cynically brought to an end by Juan.

Early in the second half another chance went begging for Vieira when he headed

an immaculate Zidane free kick wide of a post. However it seemed only a matter

of time before the French would make their dominance count and in the 56th

minute they broke through. Zidane, standing on the left touchline, floated a

free kick towards the back post and the unmarked Henry slammed the ball into the

roof of the net, Zidane's first ever assist to Henry in a France shirt. Ribery

mugged Lucio on the left touchline, rolling the ball away from the powerful

defender before firing the ball across the face of goal and as Juan tried to

clear he almost sliced into his own net. Dida saved at the feet of Ribery on a

Henry lead counter attack. Govou and Saha wasted chances on the break and it

would have been a travesty had Ze Roberto equalised in injury time but he

volleyed substitute Cicinho's driving low cross well wide of a post.

A magnificent performance from a France side in which Zidane was at his

enchanting best. Vieira and Makelele absolutely massacred the Brazilian midfield

with an awesome display of power. France should have won by a larger margin and

playing football of this quality who would begrudge them a second World Cup?

It's ironic to see Brazil repeat the EXACT same mistake as France did 4 years

ago by continuing to field past it's like Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo

(record of nor record) with better alternatives on the bench (Gilberto, Cicinho

and Fred) and more left at home.

Attendance : 48,000

Assist : Zidane (fk)

ENGLAND 0-0 PORTUGAL

Lennon came on for the injured Beckham on 51 minutes and manufactured the games

first genuine chance. Running inside from the right flank, he skinned Valente,

took the ball past Carvalho and Meira, let it roll to Rooney who miss-kicked

horribly, the ball fell to Cole and he ballooned high over the bar. TWAT. Rooney

stamped on Carvalho's bollocks after the defender wrestled him to the ground. He

appeared to be sent off after Ronaldo had a word with the ref, which was

irrelevant as he deserved to go. The Portuguese, who were even less of an

attacking threat then 10 man England finally drew a good save from Robinson when

Figo almost caught him out with a clever first time shot. A minute later

Portugal's joke of a 'keeper Ricardo (yes he's good on penalties but he's

hopeless at everything else) parried a Lampard free kick up into the air but

substitute Lennon's weak follow-up was easily saved. Miguel made a fantastic

clearance as Crouch, who was climbing all over him, was about to head in a

Gerrard cross.

Penalty Shoot Out

Simao drills the ball low into the bottom corner

Lampard. What did I say about the player most likely to miss a penalty?

Telegraphed, low, right of centre and not hit with enough pace

Viana strikes the outside of a post

Hargreaves strikes a firm penalty low to the left, in off a post

Petit goes to the left and, just like Viana, hits a post

Gerrard. Despite shouts of 'Come on Gerad you bastad' from my 2 year old (don't

let toddlers in the room when watching shoot-outs) Liverpool's captain hits an

awful penalty too centrally and at a poor height, no challenge for a penalty

expert like Ricardo

(Benny teach you children some manners!!)

Postiga sends Robinson the wrong way. Robinson is FAT and needs to go on a diet

Carragher scores but has to re-take as the ref hadn't blown his whistle.

Predictably his second effort is saved

Ronaldo curls the ball over Robinson who finally tries something different by

actually diving but misses completely

Portugal win 3-1 on penalties

England bottled it and despite playing with ten men had the chances to win the

match, well two of them. I was disappointed in Scolari's negative approach but

that isn't going to work against France. What must be galling for England is

that this is a decidedly average Portugal team who were missing their best

player (Deco) and they still couldn't take advantage. Typical of the

limp-wristed performances we have come to expect of England under Eriksson. On

the bright side they've sparred themselves a through thrashing from the French

in the semi-finals and Hargreaves was great.

Attendance : 52,000

Assist : n/a

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End result, France vs Portugal

WC 2006 Quarter Finals Day 1

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:17:23 -0600

From Benny's QF Day 1 Report:

30 June 2006

ITALY 3-0 UKRAINE

Zambrotta 6

Toni 58, 69

Camoranesi had already gone close for Italy before Zambrotta hit the back of the

net. He started the move with a ball into Totti, the Roma captain returned it

with an extravagant back heel as Zambrotta cut in from the right flank, he ran

unchallenged towards the centre of the box he let rip with a left foot drive

from 25 yards which found the bottom corner via Shovkovskys left hand, he

probably should have done better.

Having failed to show up in the first half Ukraine came out fighting in the

second. Buffon was almost KTFO when he collided with a post when saving Gusin's

point blank header. Milevsky turned onto a miss-hit shot and played in Gusev

with a superbly weighted pass, Gusev hit the ball with everything he had, Buffon

parried and Tymoshchyuk's follow-up was chested off the line by the outstanding

Zambrotta. Less than a minute later Toni broke his duck. Totti worked a short

corner with Grosso before whipping a teasing cross to the back post and despite

Gusin's concerted attempts to concede a penalty for shirt pulling, the giant

striker headed low into the net. Italy had another escape when the unlucky Gusin

headed a free kick against the crossbar. Zambrotta capped off a stunning

performance by laying on the third goal. Grosso volleyed a pass inside Gusev, a

sharp turn took Zambrotta away from Vashchyuk and he poked the ball forward to a

delighted Toni.

Italy have a fantastic record against Germany and won't be too concerned at the

prospect of playing underdogs. They seem to be peaking at the right time of

course if it goes to penalties Italy are doomed.

Attendance : 50,000

Assists : Totti, Totti (ck), Zambrotta

GERMANY 1-1 ARGENTINA

Klose 80 Ayala 49

I'm not sure of the intention of the teams in the first half. Maybe they were

conserving energy for the second half because they did nothing with the ball,

Argentina especially who had most of it. Ballack had the only chance following a

superb counter attack but headed wide.

Ayala, who but for Cannavaro would be this tournaments outstanding defender,

gave Argentina the lead with a spectacular header from a Riquelme corner. The

game began to open up. Crespo intercepted Lahm's hospital pass, Tevez tried to

dribble past the German defence but spotted Rodriguez in a better position free

on the right of the box, the midfielder lashed wide. Germany won a throw in near

goal. Borowski flicked on Ballack's cross and Klose got in front of Sorin to

header into Franco's bottom corner (Abbondanzieri went off with a injury in the

first half). Rodriguez was booked for diving in the box two minutes from time,

with team-mates in the centre waiting for a cross, match point.

Extra time was... thirty minutes of my life I won't get back.

Penalty Shoot-Out

Neuville's kick is at a good height for Franco but hit with too much pace

Cruz smashes the ball into the top left corner

Ballack sends Franco the wrong way

Ayala hits an awful, power puff shot which Lehmann saves with ease

Podolski drills a low shot into the bottom right corner

Rodriguez is only a fingertip away from seeing his penalty saved

Borowski's penalty is almost a carbon copy of Podolski's

Cambiasso's strike the ball wide of centre and at mid-height, Lehmann takes a

step off his line before saving

As the Germans were celebrating Cufre, who was an unused sub, kicked Metzelder

square in the balls, sending him rolling to the ground in agony and a bench

clearing scuffle ensued. Heinze had to be restrained from getting to Bierhoff

and Maxi Rodriguez leapt over a posse of bodies to slap Schweinsteiger in the

back, pussy.

Pekerman's decision to substitute Riquelme and replace him with DM Cambiasso

on 72 minutes is one of the all time moronic and arrogant decisions in World Cup

history, as was taking off Crespo on 78 minutes and replacing him not with Messi

or even Saviola but Cruz. Pekerman resigned in disgrace minutes later, and so he

should.

Germany win 4-2 on penalties

Attendance : 72,000

Red Card : Cufre 120 (Argentina)

Assists : Riquelme (ck), Borowski

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Pekerman closed up shop too early.

Semi-Final Germany vs Italy, and the Italians will fee the German heat.

World Cup Round of 16 Day 4

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:15:29 -0600

From Benny's Report on the last day of the Round of 16

27 June 2006

SPAIN 1-3 FRANCE

Villa 27 (Pen) Ribery 41

Vieira 83

Zidane 92

France failed to clear a corer and as the ball was played into Pablo, Thuram

stamped on the back of his right ankle, penalty. Barthez guessed right but

Villa's spot kick had too much pace. Spain's naive, high offside trap was bound

to get them in trouble sooner or later especially against a French side

featuring Henry who is an absolute master at using the 'not interfering with

play' nonsense to his advantage. Henry and France's DMs combined for the

equaliser. Makelele turned away from Raul and passed to Ribery, Ribery played

the ball into Vieira and as he turned he skipped away from Pablo's sliding

tackle and looked at Henry, who was standing yards offside on the left, before

playing a disguised pass through to Ribery on the opposite flank, Ribery left

Pernia and Puyol for dead, rounded Casillas and rolled the ball into an empty

net.

Vieira and Zidane combined to create a chance for Malouda, the Lyon midfielder

forcing Casillas into making a spectacular one handed save with an equally

acrobatic volley. Aragones made two early, brave substitutions 10 minutes into

the second half. Joaquin replaced the non event that was Raul (he should never

have started) and that thumb sucker Luis Garcia came on for the static Villa.

Joaquin skinned Abidal on the edge of the box but dragged his shot wide of

Barthez's near post. That was as close as Spain got in open play all match.

Henry tried to get Puyol a second yellow card by clutching his face after the

defender's elbow brushed against his chest when they chased down a ball.

He only got a free kick but it enough to win the official, FIFA sanctioned,

Diving Twat of the World Cup (TM) Award. Zidane's delivery was pure evil, just

above head height, an utter nightmare to defend, Xabi Alonso tried but failed

miserably, heading straight to the back post and Vieira thumped a low header

into the bottom corner off Ramos. The hungry French weren't finished, Zidane and

Wiltord mugged Cesc on the half way line, Govou gathered the ball and as Cesc

approached, passed to Wiltord, Wiltord chipped the ball first time out wide to

Zidane on the left, Zidane controlled a high bounding ball with his right thigh,

took two touches as he cut inside Puyol, ran through the defenders outstretched

leg, passing up a stone wall penalty, and fired a low shot past Casillas.

MAGNIFICENT, and I don't even like Zidane.

Premature ejaculation. After handing out a 4-0 thrashing in their opening game

Spain were suddenly among the favourites, despite past history. Doesn't anyone

ever learn? Vieira, Zidane, Ribery and Makelele were off the charts. Vieira, who

was made to look like a tired, old man by Cesc in Juventus' Champions League

clash with Arsenal, turned the tables with an intimidating, imposing

performance. Spain's young pretenders were totally and utterly schooled. It's

taken France 8 years to turn in a performance that made them the best, the most

feared side in the World and on this showing Brazil are in for one hell of a

game. Best match of the World Cup so far and it was an absolute privilege to

watch some of the greats of the modern game rise to the occasion, apart from

Henry whose two notable contributions were standing still and feigning injury.

Attendance : 43,000

Assists : Pablo (won pen), Vieira, n/a, Wiltord

BRAZIL 3-0 GHANA

Ronaldo 5

Adriano 46

Ze Roberto 84

In their three group matches Ghana defended deep and defended hard so I would

love to hear Ratomir Dujkovic's explanation for playing a high offside trap

against of all teams Brazil who in Kaka' have the best counter attacking player

in the World? The only feasible explanation is that he is a complete IDIOT.

Kaka' gathered a pass from Lucio and rarely misses an opportunity to have a run

at a defence only he didn't have a defence to run at, they were all on the

halfway line, so he hit an angled pass through to Ronaldo and he rounded

Kingston and tapped into an empty net to claim himself a piece of history as the

World Cup's all time leading scorer (15). Adriano should have made it 2-0 as

Brazil once again tore through Ghana's shambolic offside trap but dived over

Kingston, earning himself a well deserved yellow card. Slack marking allowed

Mensah a free header in the box but he headed down at Dida's feet and the

'keeper slashed clear. Ghana were sort of threatening before they were suckered

on the break. Gyan played a one-two with Appiah on the edge of the box before

running into Lucio then theatrically falling down, Juan took possession before

Appiah flattened him with a superb tackle, Lucio ran onto the loose ball and

charged to the half way line before flicking the ball out wide to Kaka', who had

an overlapping Cafu in support, Kaka' pushed the ball to Cafu, he swung a cross

to the back post and Adriano, who was offside twice (when Lucio passed and when

Cafu centred) put the ball into an empty net with his knee.

Ghana had Brazil chasing shadows in the second half but despite their pace,

power and excellent technique, everything broke down in the final third.

Gyan got a second yellow for diving. Ze Roberto punished Ghana's offside trap

for a third time to complete a slightly flattering victory.

Ronaldinho was even more useless than Adriano in this match. Still I figure he's

good for at least one blockbuster performance.

Attendance : 65,000

Red Card : Gyan 81 (Ghana)

Assists : Kaka', Cafu, Ronaldinho

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World Cup 2006 Round of 16 Day 3

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:12:13 -0600

From Benny's Post Round of 16 Day 3

26 June 2006

ITALY 1-0 AUSTRALIA

Totti 94 (Pen)

In the second minute Toni wasted a superb Del Piero cross, heading wide from

6 yards out. The Fiorentina striker headed down a cross to Gilardino, he took

the ball high off his chest and struck an acrobatic volley which Schwarzer

parried with ease. His save on another Toni effort was considerably more

impressive. Pirlo chipped a ball into the box, Toni rolled his maker, Grella,

and hit a low shot which Schwarzer sliced clear with his left foot, the less

said about Gilardino's 'header' on the rebound the better. It took the Aussies

half an hour to get a shot on target. Chipperfield shot straight at Buffon

following a mix-up in the Italian defence on a set piece. Toni missed another

sitter, Perrotta helped on a Pirlo cross but the giant striker headed over the

bar. Moore was lucky not to be sent off for a lunging foul on Toni, he escaped

without a booking.

Materazzi scythed down Bresciano on the edge of the box and he made sure the ref

noticed by rolling over four times. Materazzi's foul was no different to Moore's

challenge on Toni in the first half, in fact that was arguably worse, but the

ref showed Materazzi a red. Despite their man advantage the Australians failed

to put the Italian's under a great deal of pressure and Hiddink waited until the

80th minute before bringing on Aloisi, Lippi had already introduced Totti and

Iaquinta. In the last minute Iaquinta missed an absolute gift. Perrotta had run

into traffic in a packed penalty area, when attempting to smashed the ball

clear, a defender kicked it against Iaquinta, it bounced off Iaquinta,

against Moore and back to Iaquinta again but he shot straight at Schwarzer.

Grosso burst down the right flank and turned inside Bresciano before running

into the box, Neill went in with a sliding tackled, Grosso turned away from him,

hooked his left foot over the defender and took a dive and the ref pointed to

the spot. Totti smashed the ball into the top left corner. It was hard luck on

Neill who had been outstanding all match but he only has himself to blame.

Attendance : 46,000

Red Card : Materazzi 50 (Italy)

Assist : Grosso (won pen)

SWITZERLAND 0-0 UKRAINE

During a brief spell in the first half this was shaping up to be a decent game,

despite telling a friend this had penalties written all over it. Wicky

intercepted Tymoshchyuk's square pass and let fly with a shot from the edge of

the box which Shovkovsky made an unnecessarily theatrical save. Shevchenko

clipped top of the crossbar with a diving header from Kalinichenko's free kick.

Frei rattled the crossbar with a ferocious free kick.

Gusin shaved a post with an excellent flick header from a corner. The remainder

of the second half was a complete non event. In extra time Gusin made a

fantastic block tackle to deny Streller when the forward was sent in on goal.

There were two notable substitutions in extra time. Milevsky, on for Voronin,

gave an instant spark to the Ukraine attack though I'm not sure what taking off

Frei and bringing on Lustrinelli was supposed to achieve.

Penalty Shoot-Out

Shevchenko sends the ball low to Zuberbuhler's right but it's saved. That's one

thing Milan won't miss.

Streller's kick is delayed by his own goalkeeper Zuberbuhler, who is standing on

the right hand side of the box, the ref tells him to walk off the pitch.

Streller, who looks nervous as hell, hit's a weak shot towards the centre which

Shovkovsky saves with ease.

Milevsky who looks like a cross between a rock star and Thor the God of Thunder,

does a Panenka. He takes a few steps before chipping a gorgeous right foot shot

which starts curling towards the right hand post before dropping towards the

centre of goal, a prostrate Zuberbuhler watches the ball hit the back of the

net. Brilliant penalty, so good I'm putting on DVD.

Barnetta rattles the crossbar with violent shot.

Rebrov with an awful penalty, poor height, poor placement but Zuberbuhler dives

the wrong way.

Cabanas hits the ball just right of centre but Shovkovsky maintains his policy

of diving at the last second and saves.

Match point to Gusev and he doesn't let his team down, slamming the ball

into the bottom left corner.

I've given Shovkovsky hell in the past but he came up big today. The Ukraine

probably deserved to win but in truth neither team showed much ambition.

Milevsky has already been dubbed the new Shevchenko and from what I have

seen at the U21 European Championships and briefly in this match he's got

tremendous potential.

Ukraine win 3-0 on penalties

The weekend football died, yes I know it's Monday. To those who were complaining

about how the first round, are you satisfied now?

Attendance : 45,000

Assist : n/a

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Did Neill impeded the attacker?

WC 2006 Round of 16 Day 2

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:50:51 -0600

from Benny of Soccer Europe:

25 June 2006

ENGLAND 1-0 ECUADOR

Beckham 60 (fk)

Tenorio latched onto poor headed clearance from Terry, leaving him one on one

against Robinson, he pulled the ball down and just as he shot Ashley Cole

arrived from nowhere to make a fantastic block, deflecting the ball against the

crossbar. Beckham, whose delivery from set pieces and open play were poor all

match, scored with a brilliant free kick, the ball catching the inside of Mora's

post. Robinson made a good save from Valencia after the England defence went to

sleep on a cross. Rooney gathered a huge Robinson free kick on the left wing and

destroyed Hurtado with the Ronaldinho lollipop then pulled the ball back for

Lampard who blazed over the bar, probably the third good chance Lampard wasted.

Attendance : 52,000

Assist : Lampard (won fk)

PORTUGAL 1-0 NETHERLANDS

Maniche 23

'The Battle of Santiago' is one of the most infamous matches in World Cup

history. Contested between Italy and hosts Chile in the 1962 World Cup, two

Italian players were sent off, one had his nose broken from a left hook and the

game degenerated into a brawl. With 16 yellows and 4 reds, this match will go

down in history as the modern day equivalent.

The insanity started in the seventh minute. Boulahrouz was only booked for a

bringing his boot (studs showing) down into Ronaldo's left thigh, leaving the

midfielder writing in painand with a nasty bruise. It was actually the second

foul on Ronaldo, five minutes earlier Van Bommel was booked for tripping him

from behind. Robben taking a stage dive between two Portuguese players, no

booking for diving however Ivanov decided to give a yellow to Maniche for a

foul on Van Bommel a minute earlier in the build-up. In between the hacking

and diving there was a great goal Deco volleyed on Miguel's throw-in to Ronaldo,

the midfielder wriggled free of Giovanni van Bronckhorst (GVB) and Ooijer before

passing the ball back to Deco, Deco hit a superb low cross into the box, Pauleta

stopped the ball, laid it back to Maniche, with his first touch he evaded

Boulahrouzs sliding tackle then blasted into the top right corner of the net.

Ronaldo collapsed and was subbed just past the half hour mark. Costinha should

have been shown a red for an awful two footed lung on Cocu but got away with a

yellow card. Van Persie turned Nuno Valente inside out six times on the right

flank, Carvalho arrived to help him out only to join Valente on his backside but

van Persie shot wide. The absolutely hopeless Kuijt, he's so bad you clamour for

Kluivert, tried to overhead kick a cross, he sliced the ball as Robben was about

to shoot Nuno Valente flew in with a high kick to his shoulder, red card,

penalty the works but the ref had already blown for some other infringement so

took no action. Maniche found Simao in acres of space on the right with a superb

crossfield pass, Simao teased (GVB) before hitting a low centre into the box,

Figo back heeled and Pauleta hammered a shot on the turn which van der Sar saved

brilliantly with his feet. At the end of the first half Costinha got a second

yellow for a stupid handball.

Cocu and that waste of space Kuijt worked an opening down the left, Cocu darted

into the box, Kuijt swung in a cross, van Bommel attempted an overhead kick but

missed, the ball hit a Portuguese defender, bounced to Cocu and from six yards

out he slammed it against the underside of the crossbar. As the players were

readying themselves for a free kick after Deco had been fouled by GVB on the

edge of the box, Figo ran upto Van Bommel and gave him what can only loosely be

describe as a headbutt behind the referees back so why was Figo booked? Minutes

later Figo went down clutching his face after Boulahrouz caught him with a

stray, unintentional elbow. Second yellow, only 55 minutes too late. Carvalho

hurt his bollocks when blocking from Sneijder, as the Portuguese launched a

counter attack the ref stopped play so Carvalho could get some treatment.

The ref gave a drop ball to the Dutch and instead of giving it back to the

Portuguese, the unwritten rules of footballing etiquette, the Dutch ran

downfield and attacked, a furious Deco chopped down Heitinga from behind,

yellow card. As everyone argued with Petit standing over Heitinga, Sneijder ran

in and pushed over Petit, right in front of the ref and only got a yellow card.

Two minutes later the Dutch won a free kick on the half way line, Deco was slow

to move away so Cocu came up from behind and hurled him to the ground, second

yellow to Deco for time-wasting, nothing to Cocu. More bullshit. That waste of

space Kuijt missed a great chance when put clean through on goal. GVB got his

marching orders for tripping Tiago after loosing possession on the edge of his

box.

I remember Ivanov from a Champions League match between Inter and Milan. He let

several Inter players get away with murder, failing to punish some brutal fouls.

Every time I've seen him he's done the exact same thing and his failure to send

off Boulahrouz for a criminal foul on Ronaldo is what lead to this match

becoming a clusterf*ck, he is entirely to blame for setting the precedent.

Players are obviously going to take advantage and seek retribution if they see

their team-mates get kicked and chopped down. The Dutch may have taken the game

into extra time had Van Basten not persisted with the wretched Dirk Kuijt, he

makes the Japanese strikers look World Class, and introduced Van Nistelrooy.

Attendance : 41,000

Red Cards : Costinha 45 (Portugal), Boulahrouz 68 (Netherlands),

Deco 78 (Portugal), van Bronckhorst 94 (Netherlands)

Assist : Pauleta

I forgot to add something.

There can't be another coach in the World who is as reliant on the media

as SGE is for his tactics. They've been clamouring for Carrick to play

as DM so Lampard and Gerrard can support the attack so that's EXACTLY

what he does. I hope they've got some ideas on how to beat Portugal.

In the end QF on 1 July 2006 5:00 p.m. CEST England takes on the thugs from Portugal.

Round of 16 Games 1 and 2

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 07:18:03 -0600

Thank you Benny!!

24 June 2006

GERMANY 2-0 SWEDEN

Podolski 4, 12

Germany were rewarded for an aggressive start with two early goals from 'Das

Wunderkid' Lukas Podolski. Klose headed down a longball out of defence to

Podolski and he laid it back to Ballack, Ballack hit a first time pass to Klose

who brushed aside two Swedish defenders with ridiculous ease but as he

was about

to pull the trigger Isaksson dived at his feet to block, the ball broke to

Podolski and he fired at an empty net, via Lucic's hilarious spectacular diving

header. The defending on Germany's second goal was even worse. Three players

tracked Klose as he edged towards the right hand side of the box, Podolski ran

into the space, Klose gave him the ball via a slight deflection and he fired

past Isaksson. The ref blew for a foul against Lucic following a tussle with

Klose, they were both pulling each others shirts. Two German players

(Frings and

?) then talked the ref into giving Lucic a second yellow, and Podolski patted

the ref on the back after Lucic walked. An absolute disgrace.

Larsson went down theatrically in the box under minimal contact from

Mertesacker

but the ref pointed to the spot. 10 years ago it would be unthinkable to

award a

penalty against Germany, how times have changed. Sweden's coach, Lars

Lagerback,

then made one the dumbest decisions of all time. With Larsson ready to take the

penalty he decided this would be a good time to make a substitution.

Needless to

say after Wilhelmsson came on for Jonson Larsson blazed the penalty into orbit.

Obviously there's not guarantee Larsson would have scored even if the

substitution hadn't been made but we've seen in the past how easily some

players

can lose their concentration in the built-up to a spot kick. Isaksson tipped a

stinging drive from Ballack onto a post and there was a major lull in the play

until late chances for Ballack and Schneider.

Attendance : 66,000

Red Card : Lucic 35 (Sweden)

Assists : n/a, n/a

ARGENTINA 2-1 MEXICO

Borgetti 10 (og) Marquez 6

Rodriguez 98

Mendez flicked on Pardo's free kick and Marquez slid in at the back post

to slam

a volley into the room of the net. Borgetti, under pressure from Crespo, headed

Riquelme's corner against Crespo's high boot, the ball rebounded off his head

and into the net. Crespo should have given Argentina the lead following

a lovely

flowing move but having ran onto Cambiasso's pass he lifted the ball over the

advancing Sanchez and wide of a post. Heinze escaped with a yellow card for a

lunging last man foul on Fonseca, having lost possession with a terrible first

touch on a pass from his goalkeeper.

The Argentineans continued to ride their luck, Morales found Borgetti with a

fantastic pass, he controlled the ball on his chest just as he was about to

shoot Sorin leapt in the air and kicked him in the face, catching the ball a

split second before catching Borgetti, clear as day penalty and dangerous play,

nothing given. Argentina immediately broke and Saviola was denied by an

excellent save from Sanchez. Fonseca missed an easy header with a weak leap and

Messi had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside minutes before full time.

Sorin hit a deep crossfield pass over to Maxi Rodriguez who was standing on the

right hand edge of the box, Rodriguez juggled the ball off his chest, took two

steps forward then hit a magnificent left foot volley, the ball flew

through the

air before dropping into the left corner of the net. As good as Cole's goal

against Sweden and a goal worthy of winning any match.

I think the refereeing has been of a decent standard in this tournament but

Massimo Busacca and his linesman were terrible. Argentina's quality was the

difference overall but they did get the breaks from the officials, they won't

against Germany.

Attendance : 43,000

Assists : Mendez, n/a, Sorin

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I was at the Edmonton Strachcona Elephat and And Castle with Soccer Steve and the Mexicans weree out in force.

In the end, QF1 : Germany takes on Argentina

WC 2006 Round 2 Game Set and Match

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:55:57 -0600

Results from Group 1 stage from http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/group/index.html:

Group A

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Germany 3 3 0 0 8 2 9

Ecuador 3 2 0 1 5 3 6

Poland 3 1 0 2 2 4 3

Costa Rica 3 0 0 3 3 9 0

Group B

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

England 3 2 1 0 5 2 7

Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 5

Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 3

Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 1

Group C

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Argentina 3 2 1 0 8 1 7

Netherlands 3 2 1 0 3 1 7

Côte d'Ivoire 3 1 0 2 5 6 3

Serbia and Montenegro 3 0 0 3 2 10 0

Group D

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Portugal 3 3 0 0 5 1 9

Mexico 3 1 1 1 4 3 4

Angola 3 0 2 1 1 2 2

Iran 3 0 1 2 2 6 1

Group E

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Italy 3 2 1 0 5 1 7

Ghana 3 2 0 1 4 3 6

Czech Republic 3 1 0 2 3 4 3

USA 3 0 1 2 2 6 1

Group F

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Brazil 3 3 0 0 7 1 9

Australia 3 1 1 1 5 5 4

Croatia 3 0 2 1 2 3 2

Japan 3 0 1 2 2 7 1

Group G

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Switzerland 2 1 1 0 2 0 4

Korea Republic 2 1 1 0 3 2 4

France 2 0 2 0 1 1 2

Togo 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Group H

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Spain 3 3 0 0 8 1 9

Ukraine 3 2 0 1 5 4 6

Tunisia 3 0 1 2 3 6 1

Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 2 7 1

Group 2 looks like and courtesy of http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/bracket.html

Round of 16

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

49 24 June 2006 Munich GER:SWE 17:00

50 24 June 2006 Leipzig ARG:MEX 21:00 Preview

51 25 June 2006 Stuttgart ENG:ECU 17:00 Preview

52 25 June 2006 Nuremberg POR:NED 21:00

53 26 June 2006 Kaiserslautern ITA:AUS 17:00

54 26 June 2006 Cologne SWI:UKR 21:00

55 27 June 2006 Dortmund BRA:GHA 17:00

56 27 June 2006 Hanover ESP:FRA 21:00

Quarter-finals

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

57 30 June 2006 Berlin W49:W50 17:00

58 30 June 2006 Hamburg W53:W54 21:00

59 1 July 2006 Gelsenkirchen W51:W52 17:00

60 1 July 2006 Frankfurt W55:W56 21:00

Semi-finals

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

61 4 July 2006 Dortmund W57:W58 21:00

62 5 July 2006 Munich W59:W60 21:00

Third Place

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

63 8 July 2006 Stuttgart L61:L62 21:00

Final

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

64 9 July 2006 Berlin W61:W62 20:00

World Cup 2006 Round 1 The Home stretch!!

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:14:47 -0600

66.6667% of games played.

Fromhttp://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/schedule.html :

Matches and Results

Group A

Match Date Venue T eams T ime/Score

1 9-Jun-2006 Munich GER:CRC 4:2 (2:1)

2 9-Jun-2006 Gelsenkirchen POL:ECU 0:2 (0:1)

17 14-Jun-2006 Dortmund GER:POL 1:0 (0:0)

18 15-Jun-2006 Hamburg ECU:CRC 3:0 (1:0)

33 20-Jun-2006 Berlin ECU:GER 16:00 Preview

34 20-Jun-2006 Hanover CRC:POL 16:00 Preview

Group B

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

3 10-Jun-2006 Frankfurt ENG:PAR 1:0 (1:0)

4 10-Jun-2006 Dortmund TRI:SWE 0:0

19 15-Jun-2006 Nuremberg ENG:TRI 2:0 (0:0)

20 15-Jun-2006 Berlin SWE:PAR 1:0 (0:0)

35 20-Jun-2006 Cologne SWE:ENG 21:00 Preview

36 20-Jun-2006 Kaiserslautern PAR:TRI 21:00 Preview

Group C

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

5 10-Jun-2006 Hamburg ARG:CIV 2:1 (2:0)

6 11-Jun-2006 Leipzig SCG:NED 0:1 (0:1)

21 16-Jun-2006 Gelsenkirchen ARG:SCG 6:0 (3:0)

22 16-Jun-2006 Stuttgart NED:CIV 2:1 (2:1)

37 21-Jun-2006 Frankfurt NED:ARG 21:00 Preview

38 21-Jun-2006 Munich CIV:SCG 21:00

Group D

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

7 11-Jun-2006 Nuremberg MEX:IRN 3:1 (1:1)

8 11-Jun-2006 Cologne ANG:POR 0:1 (0:1)

23 16-Jun-2006 Hanover MEX:ANG 0:0

24 17-Jun-2006 Frankfurt POR:IRN 2:0 (0:0)

39 21-Jun-2006 Gelsenkirchen POR:MEX 16:00

40 21-Jun-2006 Leipzig IRN:ANG 16:00 Preview

Group E

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

9 12-Jun-2006 Hanover ITA:GHA 2:0 (1:0)

10 12-Jun-2006 Gelsenkirchen USA:CZE 0:3 (0:2)

25 17-Jun-2006 Kaiserslautern ITA:USA 1:1 (1:1)

26 17-Jun-2006 Cologne CZE:GHA 0:2 (0:1)

41 22-Jun-2006 Hamburg CZE:ITA 16:00

42 22-Jun-2006 Nuremberg GHA:USA 16:00

Group F

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

11 13-Jun-2006 Berlin BRA:CRO 1:0 (1:0)

12 12-Jun-2006 Kaiserslautern AUS:JPN 3:1 (0:1)

27 18-Jun-2006 Munich BRA:AUS 2:0 (0:0)

28 18-Jun-2006 Nuremberg JPN:CRO 0:0

43 22-Jun-2006 Dortmund JPN:BRA 21:00

44 22-Jun-2006 Stuttgart CRO:AUS 21:00

Group G

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

13 13-Jun-2006 Stuttgart FRA:SUI 0:0

14 13-Jun-2006 Frankfurt KOR:TOG 2:1 (0:1)

29 18-Jun-2006 Leipzig FRA:KOR 1:1 (1:0)

30 19-Jun-2006 Dortmund TOG:SUI 0:2 (0:1)

45 23-Jun-2006 Cologne TOG:FRA 21:00

46 23-Jun-2006 Hanover SUI:KOR 21:00

Group H

Match Date Venue Teams Time/Score

15 14-Jun-2006 Leipzig ESP:UKR 4:0 (2:0)

16 14-Jun-2006 Munich TUN:KSA 2:2 (1:0)

31 19-Jun-2006 Stuttgart ESP:TUN 3:1 (0:1)

32 19-Jun-2006 Hamburg KSA:UKR 0:4 (0:2)

47 23-Jun-2006 Kaiserslautern KSA:ESP 16:00

48 23-Jun-2006 Berlin UKR:TUN 16:00

And from http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/group/index.html and analysis:

Groups & Standings

Group A

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Ecuador 2 2 0 0 5 0 6

Germany 2 2 0 0 5 2 6

Poland 2 0 0 2 0 3 0

Costa Rica 2 0 0 2 2 7 0

Ecuador and Germany on their way to Round 2, just a matter of position.

Group B

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

England 2 2 0 0 3 0 6

Sweden 2 1 1 0 1 0 4

Trinidad and Tobago 2 0 1 1 0 2 1

Paraguay 2 0 0 2 0 2 0

England on their way but who else joins them?

Trinidad can join if theyh beat Paraguay 2+ and England tosses Sweden 2+ otherwise

Sweden. Just a matter of position.

Group C

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Argentina 2 2 0 0 8 1 6

Netherlands 2 2 0 0 3 1 6

Côte d'Ivoire 2 0 0 2 2 4 0

Serbia and Montenegro 2 0 0 2 0 7 0

Argentina and the Netherlands are through just a matter of position.

Group D

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Portugal 2 2 0 0 3 0 6

Mexico 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

Angola 2 0 1 1 0 1 1

Iran 2 0 0 2 1 5 0

Portugal goes through but will Mexico or Angola join them?

39 21-Jun-2006 Gelsenkirchen POR:MEX 16:00

40 21-Jun-2006 Leipzig IRN:ANG 16:00 Preview

If Mexico wins big and Angola wins big, it could be interesting

Group E

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Italy 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 3 2 3

Ghana 2 1 0 1 2 2 3

USA 2 0 1 1 1 4 1

Anyone can be one or 2.

41 22-Jun-2006 Hamburg CZE:ITA 16:00

42 22-Jun-2006 Nuremberg GHA:USA 16:00

Tell me what the possibilities are?

Group F

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Brazil 2 2 0 0 3 0 6

Australia 2 1 0 1 3 3 3

Croatia 2 0 1 1 0 1 1

Japan 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Brazil has won the group but who is second?

43 22-Jun-2006 Dortmund JPN:BRA 21:00

44 22-Jun-2006 Stuttgart CRO:AUS 21:00

Group G

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Switzerland 2 1 1 0 2 0 4

Korea Republic 2 1 1 0 3 2 4

France 2 0 2 0 1 1 2

Togo 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Anyone's group

45 23-Jun-2006 Cologne TOG:FRA 21:00

46 23-Jun-2006 Hanover SUI:KOR 21:00

Group H

Key

Overview | News

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts

Spain 2 2 0 0 7 1 6

Ukraine 2 1 0 1 4 4 3

Tunisia 2 0 1 1 3 5 1

Saudi Arabia 2 0 1 1 2 6 1

47 23-Jun-2006 Kaiserslautern KSA:ESP 16:00

48 23-Jun-2006 Berlin UKR:TUN 16:00

Spain has won this group but who is number 2?

World Cup 2006 shapes up

nospam@example.com (DSY) — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 08:37:46 -0700

England 4 NI 0 - Total strategic knockout play.

Italy 2 Scotland 0 move all scottish distilleries out of Scotland into the Manchester Liverpool area!