[Sir Thursday]

I didn't think England played that well, even in the first half. They were giving the ball away all the time...they had some good runs but couldn't put in a decent cross to save their lives. And in the second half they were even worse!

What about that referee though? He made some really strange decisions...it seems he judged the severity of a tackle with how well the 'victim' playacted, something Paraguay did extremely well. In particular, Parades, who I thought was a really dirty player.

Still, a win is a win, however unconvincing the performance.

Vox

[Dolmen 2.0]

I agree with all of that VOX. I don't think england played to half my expectations and as one of the four european teams I want brazil to meet up with I don't think they're playing to standard. Hopefully they'll improve as the pressure starts to build.

AND HOW WAS BECKHAMS STRIKE?!!! He never ceases to amaze me, even without the help from the paraguay player

[Orfantal]

Well the first game's always tricky, they survived and got the 3 points which is all important, besides Paraguay aren't a bad team so it was never going to be easy. I also think the heat made a difference and didn't help and neither did the referee!!

I'd hope our performances will get better and more consistent, the Paraguay/Sweden game may be interesting. The best thing is it takes the pressure off, we'll beat Trinidad and Tobego comfortably, so there's not likely to be much pressure gping into Sweden which is probably the trickiest game...in fact the pressure's now on them. The other plus point is that noone from the other group, other than Germany, looks much cop, so the first knock out game shouldn't be too bad if we finish top :)

[Folken]

*waves German flag*

Though I am confused...why is Oliver Kahn a sub:Erm:

[Chaos]

I don't get why people are saying it's our best chance in ages.. they always say that. Judging from today's performance, where we failed to capitolize on a weak side playing like crap for the vast majority of the game it's not exactly looking good. A draw would have been the proper result for that game otherwise, despite our better posession we did little with what we were given.

[Sir Thursday]

Go Trinadad and Tobago!!!!

The STV coverage of this game was shocking...three minutes analysis at the end and Jim Rosenthal sums up the game with the line: above all, a belter of a result for England.

I'm and England fan, but I'm truly embarrassed by the England-centric view the STV team had on that match. It was a true fairy tale for T&T, but it was spoiled for me by that.

I mean come on! A team that plays half the game a player short in a match they were expected to lose by as many as 6 goals by some people, and they keep Sweden out for the whole game! The word England did not deserve to be mentioned in post game analysis at all.

Thanks for allowing me to get that off my chest,

Vox

[Satan]

The problem with England, as I see it, is that there's no balance on the center midfield. They got two of the worlds greatest midfielders there in Lampard and Gerrard, but it seems they don't know how to cooperate. It would probably be better if they played Hargreaves (spelling?), Carrick or Carragher as a defensive midfielder and so free up either Gerrard or Lampard to concentrate at the offensive play, which is what they're good at.

And great defending by Trinidad and Tobago! Grey or Lawrence for Man of the Match.

[Tiste Simeon]

Jen said:

*waves German flag*

Though I am confused...why is Oliver Kahn a sub:Erm:

He's old man.

OK, so England didn't play as good as they could have done, but we are now heading the group, and could quite comfortably win it. (The group I mean, not the whole world cup... )

And it was a good result for England. If Paraguay beat Sweden on thursday, and England win, they are going to ownz00rz the group!

[Dolmen 2.0]

OKAY, shocking as it was I think Trinidad and tobago are just the beginning. I get the feeling we gonna see alot more underdogs in the knockoff rounds. I just hope Ivory Coast carry the spirit.

GO DROGBA, GO!!!!!111!!

*plays vuvuzela*
(weird trumpet thing for the unenlightened)

[Tiste Simeon]

It would be fun to watch a Togo/Ivory Coast final!

[Dolmen 2.0]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

and again I say eek. That 2nd argentine goal came from nowhere.

*trinidad/Ivory Coast final dreams have just been shot.*

[Illuyankas]

That ref for the English game must be heightist. Every time Crouch got the ball, instant free kick. By near the end, we had a guessing game of, "The English player won the ball, the ref's going to call it for Paraguay!" We were right, every time...

[GardenGnome]

Tiste Simeon said:

It would be fun to watch a Togo/Ivory Coast final!

The difference being is that Ivory Coast is actually a decent team, with some superb players. Also, T&T impressed me immensly, mostly because I haven't heard about them before

[Sir Thursday]

Dryad said:

Go T&T! That was a great game, Shaka Hislop deserves a medal...or a big Cup.

Missed the Argentina/Cote d'Ivoire game, though. Oh well, who's up tomorrow?

dryad

Not quite so interesting tomorrow IMO.



Netherlands v Serbia & Montenegro

Serbia & Montenegro have a superb defense - they conceded only one goal in qualifying. As good as the Netherlands are, my prediction is a 0-0 draw, without as much drama as T&T v Sweden.

Mexico v Iran

I don't know much about Iran...but Mexico is a seriously underated team. My prediction was 2-0, but that's just a guess really.

Angola v Portugal

A potential grudge match here, seeing as Angola is a former colony of Portugal. I expect the ex-colonial masters to be too strong for Angola, who were poor in the African Cup of Nations (at least that is my memory of them).
There could be fireworks though - last time they played Angola had 4 players sent off.

Vox

[Mezla PigDog]

Ahh, at last it has begun. I went to a boys World Cup cocktail party on Friday night and almost didn't make it out of bed for the England game :eek: Boys don't do cocktails with fruit juice in them .....

Anyway, with the heat, the ref and Sven against us, I'm happy to take the 3 points and look for a good performance on a later kick off.

I wish the Ivory Coast had got a 2nd goal last night. Twas a good game. Damn Argies

Looking forward to Holland today. They're always my second team for when ... I mean IF, England get knocked out