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| Sir Jack Regan |
Rooney gets the green light! Looks like he's in the squad.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/5057514.stm |
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| charlotte |
hmmmmmm....1966??? did he really score that goal????
my pick:
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| The Wick |
Unfortunately, Team USA got stuck with a terrible draw. Otherwise, they would likely have done well. They are still in with an outside shot, but it looks unlikely. Beasley looks like a super player. |
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| charlotte |
maybe I have changed my mind...Go Brasil!!!
[Edited by charlotte] |
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| Scot Rocks |
As a Scotland fan I will be off course supporting Trinidad and Tobago! With their star striker Jason Scotland, who plays in Scotland, for St Johnstone hopefully bagging a few goals!
ps I know there is only 1 day left before it all kicks off but was wondering if anyone was interested in having a rocks off fantasy world cup league. I have set up a rocksoff league on this site just for an added bit of interest!
http://fantasyfootball.metro.co.uk/index.html
register, pick your team and then click leagues, in the join private league box enter this code and you will be added to the league.
177810-25882
[Edited by Scot Rocks] |
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| Gazza |
quote:
charlotte wrote:
maybe I have changed my mind...Go Brasil!!!
[Edited by charlotte]
Christ on a bike....what a pair of twin strikers...
For you (and every other red-blooded male)...
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| Jumacfly |
Hi!
I ve joined the league right now.
Great idea Mark!
Come on guys, it's easy to use and we need more bastards for a real fight 
see ya there
jU |
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| BILL PERKS |
I'LL BE ROOTING FOR THE UK! |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
BILL PERKS wrote:
I'LL BE ROOTING FOR THE UK!
The UK???
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| BILL PERKS |
quote:
Honky Tonk Man wrote:
The UK???
ENGLAND |
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| caro |
Damn, a bad start for the french team - Djibril Cissé just broke his leg. Poor guy, the photos of the accident were totally sickening. |
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| Scot Rocks |
quote:
Jumacfly wrote:
Hi!
I ve joined the league right now.
Great idea Mark!
Come on guys, it's easy to use and we need more bastards for a real fight
see ya there
jU
cheers Ju, anyone else wanna sign up?! you have until the first game tomorrow! |
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| Jumacfly |
quote:
Scot Rocks wrote:
cheers Ju, anyone else wanna sign up?! you have until the first game tomorrow!
1rst game in a few hours...hurry up guys!! |
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| marko |
Which one is it today,Germany or Costa Rica? |
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| Gazza |
germany v Costa Rica is the first game. Poland v Ecuador later this evening
Schedule here (all UK times which is one hour behind Germany)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/schedule/default.stm
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| Jumacfly |
Gazza join us!!! |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
I just sat down with the brackets and made my picks.
Group A--Germany, Poland
Group B--England, Sweden
Group C--Argentina, Netherlands
Group D--Mexico, Argentina
Group E--Czech Republic, USA
Group F--Brazil, Croatia
Group G--France, South Korea
Group H--Spain, Ukraine
Round of 16
Germany
Argentina
England
Netherlands
Czech Republic
France
Brazil
South Korea
Quarter Finals
Argentina
Czech Republic
England
Brazil
Semi Finals
Czech Republic
Brazil
Third Place Game
England
Championship Game
Brazil
Kick off in about 90 minutes! I look forward to talking about the matches with you all...and I'm sure that there will be PLENTY to talk about! There always is!
One thing that all fans can agree on...no matter what team they support. The Referee sucks! Good luck to all. Play well, and may the best sides win.
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| Jumacfly |
Once again, we need more players at the RO league, come on !!! |
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| Highwire Rob |
Man! That opener was fun to watch!
That Frings corkscrew blaster to put the game away for Germany was just unbelievable.
My hats off to Costa Rica, though, for capitalizing on the few shot opportunities that they did create.
Plenty more of the World Cup to go!
[PS. fellow U.S. Americans: If you can't get in to the excitement of that first game's shots, saves, and scoring then you need your vital signs checked.]
It's only gonna get better. 
[Edited by Highwire Rob] |
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| Angiegirl |
Hmm, just saw the final 10 minutes. Luckily I can watch Poland in half an hour...  |
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| stewed & Keefed |
Germany 4-2 Costa Rica
Brilliant strikes from Philip Lahm and Torsten Frings lit up the opening match of the World Cup as hosts Germany won in entertaining style.
Lahm's stunning sixth-minute drive from distance put Germany ahead, but Paulo Wanchope slid home to level.
Miroslav Klose converted from close range, then followed up his own header to put the home team 3-1 ahead.
Wanchope produced a smart finish to give Costa Rica hope, but Frings' sensational 30-yarder sealed victory.
It was the perfect start for Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose side triumphed in the highest-scoring opening match in World Cup history.
But he will know the hosts face tougher challenges ahead, as Costa Rica offered his side huge, inviting gaps in defence.
The Costa Ricans were quick to demonstrate how generous they were to be at the back - Danny Fonseca's slip giving Lahm space to cut inside on the edge of the box.
Philip Lahm's stunning early strike started the party in Munich
Nevertheless, no goalkeeper in the world would have saved the full-back's unstoppable curling shot which flew into the top corner of Jose Porras' net.
The Germans were threatening a rout - Lahm's strike was bracketed by efforts from Frings and Bernt Schneider which both flew just over.
Yet their lead proved short-lived as former Derby County and Manchester City marksman Wanchope timed his run to perfection before sliding the ball under Jens Lehmann on 12 minutes.
But Munich's party mood was only interrupted for five minutes.
Klose, celebrating his 28th birthday, produced an accomplished finish, converting Schneider's low cross.
The Germans' long-range shooting had left Porras looking decidedly nervous and he was thankful to see the ball cleared after he fumbled a long-range effort from Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The Costa Ricans could have stunned the Germans again at the start of the second half had Fonseca been able to head home when he was left unmarked in the box.
For all their possession, Germany occasionally looked uncertain in defence, but Costa Rica did not appear to have the pace to trouble them.
And they were made to pay on 61 minutes when Klose followed up to shoot home after his own header had been parried by Porras.
Yet Wanchope soon joined Klose by netting his second in classy fashion to seemingly set up a nervy finish.
The striker produced a cool finish past Lehmann after Walter Centeno's crisp through-ball - although the Germans felt he was offside.
But still the chances came. Per Mertesacker's header from a corner produced a fine reflex save from Porras.
And Frings had the final say with an unstoppable effort which may have even bettered Lahm's as it curled away from the Costa Rica keeper into the corner to leave the home fans in party mood.
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Germany: Lehmann, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Borowski (Kehl 72), Schneider (Odonkor 90), Podolski, Klose (Neuville 79).
Subs Not Used: Asamoah, Ballack, Hildebrand, Hitzlsperger, Huth, Jansen, Kahn, Nowotny.
Goals: Lahm 6, Klose 17, 61, Frings 87.
Costa Rica: Porras, Marin, Umana, Gonzalez, Martinez (Drummond 67), Fonseca, Solis (Bolanos 78), Centeno, Sequeira, Gomez (Azofeifa 90), Wanchope.
Subs Not Used: Alfaro, Badilla, Bernard, Hernandez, Mesen, Nunez, Rodriguez, Saborio, Wallace.
Booked: Fonseca.
Goals: Wanchope 12, 73.
Att: 64,950
Ref: Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (Argentina).
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| Madafaka |
Great match. The first opening with six goals, isn't? |
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| Angiegirl |
quote:
Madafaka wrote:
Great match. The first opening with six goals, isn't?
This week?
Yes. |
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| Gazza |
I would guess so...surprisingly good opening game, theyre usually very cautious and low scoring |
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| Soldatti |
Great game, Germany is a good team with a weak defence. They're candidates of course. |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
Well done Ecuador! 
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| The Wick |
Ecuador looked really good, although I think the referee was pretty weak and was very lenient towards them throughout. If Ecuador tighten up some areas they can be a very good side. Their attacking play was a joy to watch. Even though they deserved it, Poland were unlucky to hit the bar twice and again, the ref was weak. |
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| marko |
German defence is more likely too slow.and they need kahn
back. |
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| stewed & Keefed |
Poland 0-2 Ecuador
Goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado proved enough to give Ecuador a deserved victory over World Cup Group A rivals Poland in Gelsenkirchen.
Tenorio, 27, nodded past Poland keeper Artur Boruc after connecting with a headed flick-on from Delgado.
Delgado tapped in the second after Ivan Kaviedes sprung the offside trap to lay the ball into his path.
Poland came closest when Ireneusz Jelen and Pawel Brozek hit the woodwork with fierce shots in the second half.
The result is a massive boost for Ecuador and their chances of taking second spot in Group A.
And from this performance they may even give Germany something to think about when the pair meet in the final group match on Tuesday 20 June.
Apart from a few nervy moments courtesy of Christian Mora's eccentric keeping, the South American side looked solid at the back, in particular captain Ivan Hurtado, and rarely let the roving pair of Ebi Smolarek and Celtic's Maciej Zurawski have a look in on goal.
Poland did most of the pressing in the opening 20 minutes, but a high and wild free-kick from Jacek Krzynowek and an equally inaccurate Zurawski 20-yard shot were all they had to show for their efforts.
Ecuador looked nervous during the first exchanges, but Tenorio's header midway through the first half changed the team's mood.
The striker outjumped the Poland defence to connect with Delgado's flick-on and head past the outstretched right hand of Boruc.
Another long throw nearly caught out Pawel Janas' men again, but Delgado blazed Tenorio's pull-back, following a jinking run, over the Poland bar.
Shortly before half-time Ulises De La Cruz walked through a static defence, but saw his shot turned away for a corner.
Edison Mendez then forced Boruc into making a smart save from a 30-yard free-kick, before Luis Valencia also tried his luck from long range only to find the Poland keeper alert once again.
Poland increased the tempo in the second half, but found Hurtado and his backline troops in valiant form, obstructing every ball that came in from the flanks.
The woodwork also came to the rescue of the Ecuadorians on two occasions - first when Jelen struck the crossbar from a tight angle before Brozek's fierce effort rebounded off the right-hand upright.
But with 10 minutes to go, and against the run of play, Ecuador sealed all three points when substitute Kaviedes beat the offside trap to set up Delgado who scored from four yards out.
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Poland: Boruc, Jop, Baszczynski, Bak, Zewlakow, Sobolewski (Jelen 67), Krzynowek (Kosowski 77), Szymkowiak, Smolarek, Radomski, Zurawski (Brozek 84).
Subs Not Used: Bosacki, Dudka, Fabianski, Gancarczyk, Giza, Kuszczak, Lewandowski, Mila, Rasiak.
Booked: Smolarek.
Ecuador: Mora, De la Cruz, Hurtado (Guagua 69), Espinoza, Reasco, Mendez, Castillo, Valencia, Edwin Tenorio, Delgado (Urrutia 83), Carlos Tenorio (Kaviedes 65).
Subs Not Used: Ambrossi, Ayovi, Benitez, Borja, Lanza, Lara, Perlaza, Saritama, Villafuerte.
Booked: Hurtado, Mendez.
Goals: Carlos Tenorio 24, Delgado 80.
Att: 52,000
Ref: Toru Kamikawa (Japan).
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| marko |
I really want Sweden to win today,because they are our
neighbours after all.they have very good players. |
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