Day 4..

mewso

In fairness Lampard had some insightful comments on Saturdays game. He said if they had been offered 1-0 before kickoff they would have taken it.

Necronomicon

Totti off, looked like his leg was stamped on. He was rushed off pretty fast. Anyone know if it was the foot that was broken? Hope it was just precautionary taking him off, he'd been terrific up to that point.

MrJoeSoap

Necromomicon wrote:

Totti off, looked like his leg was stamped on. He was rushed off pretty fast. Anyone know if it was the foot that was broken? Hope it was just precautionary taking him off, he'd been terrific up to that point.

Hadn't spat on anyone or stamped on anyway. Thats a first.

PHB

Italy's defense is incredible tbh.
They have an incredible defense and an incredible attack, the only thing missing is width.

They are playing a really nice formation,

with a flat back 4

3 defensive midfielders, with Pirlo at the center playing the typical Italian playmaker role
1 offensive midfielder - Totti
2 big strong center forwards

It's very tight, but they've got the skill for it.
It'll be interesting to see it against a really good defense.

Oddly enough, despite the goal, Pirlo hasn't had a great game. Totti was immense.

p.s.


That's twice the linesman has gotten it wrong and Italy woulda been in.

Why isn't that a red/yellow card anyway? Sure it should still be a foul for the offside, but surely the ref should punish the foul itself which was reckless, just as an off the ball incident

county

good call for a peno there

Pepe LeFrits

They're effectively using France's world cup winning formation, and have a similar degree of quality. Very impressive, they definately have enough ability to win this but whether they have the mentality remains to be seen. They're doing well against a very good Ghana side tonight anyway.

galwaydude

Italy are definately one of the favourates for the WC but ghana are giving a good show now.

Luca Toni is incredible for such a big man. The italians to score another goal.

Necronomicon

Oohhh Sami Kuffour is a lucky, lucky man. He brought down Iquainta, who was the last man. Ridiculous tackle. But Iquainta was offside so no punishment.
Lucky, lucky man.

MrJoeSoap

Best unpunished tackle ever!

Referee is a joker.

Pepe LeFrits

oooh lucky, lucky Italy that time!

mewso

Great shot of the mime artists on the Italian bench.

Necronomicon

Good shout for a penalty! I just missed the replay there, only saw it when it happened, was he brought down? Surely he should be booked if he wasn't?

county

2-0 game over

Pepe LeFrits

There it is, game over. Iaquinta seemed a bit pleased

Twas a penalty, the Ghanaian made a bit much of it though which is probably why it wasn't given.

Necronomicon

I wonder does Kuffour believe in karma?? Terrible mistake.

MrJoeSoap

2-0, LA-quinta (according to Jimmy Magee).

Massive deja-vu with Sammy Kuffour.

evilhomer

Kuffor I think is getting a bit of Karma for the horrendous tackle on Iquanta.
Italy 2-0 up, well done.

Ghana have played their hearts out, with a winger and a striker they would be very dangerous!

Pepe LeFrits

LMAO at the Pirlo theatrics

bohsman

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Twas a penalty, the Ghanaian made a bit much of it though which is probably why it wasn't given.

Or because he felt guilty for not sending the Ghanain off?

Necronomicon

FT 2-0, Italy and the Czechs in the driving seat.

gimmick

Great game. Really enjoyed it. Both teams played some great stuff. Pity Ghana arent playing the States next, as I believe they would brush them aside easily, then their tournament would definitely go to the last group game at least.

The Italians look solid. Despite all of Ghanas possesion, I dont believe Buffon was troubled once..

Good day of football all round.

mike65

Did'nt know about the first offence rule, Italy offside so hacking challange by Ghanaian does'nt get punnished.

Mike.

YeatsCounty

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Twas a penalty, the Ghanaian made a bit much of it though which is probably why it wasn't given.

That was never a penalty to Ghana, the player dove between the two Italian defenders. He was looking for it, there was a tiny bit of contact but not enough to upend him.

Italy were great, they could go a long way in this tournament.

herbieflowers

Haha "dove"!

Pepe LeFrits

YeatsCounty wrote:

That was never a penalty to Ghana, the player dove between the two Italian defenders. He was looking for it, there was a tiny bit of contact but not enough to upend him.

Italy were great, they could go a long way in this tournament.

Well he certainly couldn't have run between the Italians seeing as they had their legs in the way! De Rossi made sure he wasn't continuing his run.

Italy like the Argies were good for the win, Ghana like the Ivory Coast showed a lot of positive attributes but just didn't have enough quality at the two ends that matter. The African nations are getting better though.

Today's results haven't changed my mind; Italy to beat Spain in the final, Czechs to eliminate Brazil (though Koller being out makes that less likely ).

herbieflowers

I thought Italy's midfield looked a bit porous at times, and exposed in the wide areas. Against a better side (with wingers) they may struggle...

YeatsCounty

herbieflowers wrote:

Haha "dove"!

Well, perhaps it wasn't that dramatic but my point still stands.

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Well he certainly couldn't have run between the Italians seeing as they had their legs in the way! De Rossi made sure he wasn't continuing his run.

Very true but they didn't trip him with their legs either. They played it perfectly. There was minor contact but he made far too much out of it IMO.

I would love to see the Czechs beat brazil and go all the way. Agreed that Koller's probable absence will certainly hinder them. :-/

eirebhoy

herbieflowers wrote:

I thought Italy's midfield looked a bit porous at times, and exposed in the wide areas. Against a better side (with wingers) they may struggle...

I think the two Roma lads (Perrotta and De Rossi) didn't seem to have much influence on the game. Perrotta was getting further forward with De Rossi being the furthest player back. I expected De Rossi to be getting a lot further forward but I assume his role was to stay back. Camoranesi and Gatusso can still come into the team if needed and I after last night Camoranesi might be in against the US.

shatners basoon

herbieflowers wrote:

I thought Italy's midfield looked a bit porous at times, and exposed in the wide areas. Against a better side (with wingers) they may struggle...

Its possibly of course but i figure the fact that they play with a flat back four will prevent them from ever getting properly caught out in that regard and as mentioned previously if Gattuso is fit then they'll have someone who can cover them well.

I was very impressed with how they counterattacked yesterday, the two strikers seem to work pretty well together and have fantastic movement, however, they've still to be tested. I'm hopeful for them though, ya gotta root for the team which has Toni!!!!

cruiserweight

Looks like Koller's injury is not as bad as was first thought

Czech striker Jan Koller will be breathing a sign of relief today after learning that his injury is not as a serious as first thought.

The 33-year-old was stretchered off the pitch after pulling up in agony during the Czechs 3-0 win over USA in the World Cup yesterday.

There were fears that he may have torn a hamstring and could miss the rest of the competition.

However, the injury has turned out to be a thigh problem and a scan has shown that there is no real muscle damage.

Koller has accepted that he is unlikely to be involved against Ghana this Saturday, but says he is confident of being fit for the latter stages of the World Cup.

redspider

Some good games yesterday.

Australia 3-1 Japan
Australia were lucky enough. Japan had chances but failed to put them away to make it 0-2 up. Their first goal was clearly a foul though. Cahill made the difference, whilst in the first half it was Viduka who was the main threat. Kewell in the 2nd half was reduced to walking pace. Good goals from Cahill. Overall, a fair result.

Czech Republic 3-0 USA
Two class goals by Rosicky it has to be said and he hit the bar as well. The Americans dont have enough creatie players so rely on grit. This time they didnt show enough of that, and the Czech's class showed. CZ should finish in the final 8.

Italy 2-0 Ghana
The Italians put in a good display. Ghana were no slouches and were clearly physical. The result was a fair one but Ghana can be proud of what they did. They dont seem to have a finisher though. They definitly had a shout for one penalty, the push. The other one the player clearly jumped. He may have been fouled but if you dive at the same time it makes the ref's job much more difficult.

One thing about the Brady/Dunphy/Irwin analysis, and that was that they seemed to go overboard in terms of Italy's success, saying how brilliant they were, etc. It was good, good defensively and given the travails of the Italian football situation at the moment, but it was not brilliant. I reckon Italy are a top-8, but not a finalist candidate as Brady/Dunphy are predicting. Liam loves Italian football, and no-one can blame him for that, but in this case it is blinding his judgement.

mike65 wrote:

Did'nt know about the first offence rule, Italy offside so hacking challange by Ghanaian does'nt get punnished.

Officially the play has stopped, as its offside, but the ref certainly has the discretion for booking a player or indeed sending him off. I think the least he should have dished out was a yellow. It was a free out to Ghana but a yellow should have been given, even if the ref presumed that the player didnt hear the whistle, which was clearly the case.


France and Brazil are on today, so it will be interesting to see how they get on.

So far, no major shocks in the tournament, the Ecuador and T&T results werent major surprises. The goal rate is reasonably healthy as well, at 2.45 goals per game. A good world cup so far from a neutral perspective.

redspider

herbieflowers

cruiserweight wrote:

Looks like Koller's injury is not as bad as was first thought

Yay!

finnpark

finnpark wrote:

Czechs are my tip to win it, I cannot see them not winning tonight. Dont know much about Ghana but Italy are usually slow starters although one would expect them to win this. The other math could be draw.

I see the Czechs have been cut to 27/1 now on Betfair. They are still over priced. They are much better than Engurland while Engerlund are less than 10/1. Desn't make sense to me but anyhow I hope Croatia win tonite. Those Brazilians think they are the best (probably because they are the best) so I would like to see them get a good thrashing. Croatia are a tough team with huge pedigree and tradition and I fancy the draw at around 3/1. I seen Brazil play a few times and to be honest I wasn't impressed.

eirebhoy

I don't agree redspider. I think atm Italy are the best team in Europe and if it's going to be a European team winning this, Italy have the best chance. The only way I can see them going out early is if they meet Brazil in the last 16.

shatners basoon

eirebhoy wrote:

I don't agree redspider. I think atm Italy are the best team in Europe and if it's going to be a European team winning this, Italy have the best chance. The only way I can see them going out early is if they meet Brazil in the last 16.

I'd agree with that. As far as i see it they've by far the best rounded team in Europe and have no weaknesses bar (as mentioned) the lack of width but as we saw yesterday the forwards are all very comfortable there too so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. They've probably the best defence in the world (perhaps matched with Argentina), a creative yet strong midfield and as always with some real talent up front. I wouldn't be surprised to see them winning it to be honest if they can keep their act together, worthy outside favourites for sure.

herbieflowers

I'm not sure if their defence is as good as everyone thinks. Was it just me or were the Palermo full backs Grosso and Zaccardo out of their depth? Cebtre backs are strong but their weakness is definitely the flanks. I thought that if Ghana had a bit more cutting edge up front they would have caused more problems. The Italian defence imo looked shaky in parts of the first half. If they want to win it, it depends on how verstile they are, if they can revert to four in midfield (as in a flat four) they could go far. I was surprised Gattuso didn't start, I would've played him instead of De Rossi and he knows Pirlo from Milan so they've played together, know each others' games.


You have to cosider also that the Ghana side defencsively were atrocious. At times - even in the first half - they only had two men back, their full backs seemed too lazy to do their job! Oh and that Kuffour tackle on Iaquinta reminded me of Pro Evo - pure cyncicism! Even the way Iaquinta fell! Haha!

eirebhoy

herbieflowers wrote:

I'm not sure if their defence is as good as everyone thinks. Was it just me or were the Palermo full backs Grosso and Zaccardo out of their depth?

Zambrotta is still to come back from injury. He might be available to face the US.

herbieflowers wrote:

I was surprised Gattuso didn't start, I would've played him instead of De Rossi and he knows Pirlo from Milan so they've played together, know each others' games.

Gattuso was injured and will miss the next game aswell. De Rossi deserved to start anyway, it would have been Perrotta that missed out if Gattuso was available.

eirebhoy

Nakamura was injured for the last half hour of yesterday's game which is why he wasn't doing much running. His tournament could be over.

herbieflowers

eirebhoy wrote:

Zambrotta is still to come back from injury. He might be available to face the US.


Gattuso was injured and will miss the next game aswell. De Rossi deserved to start anyway, it would have been Perrotta that missed out if Gattuso was available.

Oh right, I didn't realsie. Cheers for clearing that up!