Final Group A & B Games today

rcs

Headin into the final stages of the group games, groups A & B draw to a close today, we have:

Group A:

Germany v Ecuador
Costa Rica v Poland

Group B:

England v Sweden
T&T v Paraguay

In group A its all down to Germany & Ecuador as to who gets top spot, I'm gonna go with Ecuador to get a result (draw or win) and finish top.

In group B, looks like it is between England & Sweden, but Trinidad are in with a shout if they beat Paraguay well. Gonna go for England to beat Sweden by 1. And can't see Trinidad beating Paraguay by much in order to boost their GD in order to pass Sweden.

Bacchus

I really hope Ecuador beat Germany tonight and I think they can. Germany haven't impressed me much and I'v really enjoyed Ecuador's style in their first two games. Also it'd be nice to see a team that's not Argentina, Brazil or European do well.

England v Sweden should be a great game. I'll cheering for Sweden (not coz I hate England, I picked Sweden a long time ago as my team to support). Really don't know how this game will go. Whatever the result, it'll be exciting especially so if T&T take the lead against Paraguay.

I'm going for an Ecuador win and a draw between England and Sweden.

evad_lhorg

what happens if england beat sweden 2-0 and trinidad beat paraguay 1-0? that would mean sweden and trinidad would be on the exact same points and GF and GA.

The Rooster

The English team will be of big interest. He's indicated he'll rest Gerrard and Crouch. Playing Owen and Rooney up top, but he hasnt indicated what midfield he'll go with. Most seem to be a predicting a straight swap of Hargreaves for Gerrard - but that would be very unpopular with the media (coz they hate Hargreaves because the only thing they know about him is he plays in Germany and is from Canada ) -so he may go for Becks to play inside and Lennon on the wing. That would be hugely popular. So I hope he does that and England win 3-0 with Lennon playing great and Owen on the socresheet - then Sven won't have a notion what to do for the knockout stages! I also hope for a draw between the Ecus and the Germans.

The Rooster

evad_lhorg wrote:

what happens if england beat sweden 2-0 and trinidad beat paraguay 1-0? that would mean sweden and trinidad would be on the exact same points and GF and GA.

Drawing of lots

evad_lhorg

lots of what?

Bacchus

MULTI-BALL!!!!

If it happens that two teams have the same points, goal difference, GF and GA the rank is based on...

a) greatest number of points won in the group matches between the teams concerned
b) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
c) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned
d) drawing of lots by FIFA

rcs

England could also potentially be thinking that if they lose tonight they potentially mite avoid Germany!!!

The Rooster

rcs wrote:

I think it goes down to number of goals scored before they draw lots

Indeed, but evad said that GF and GA would be identical.

evad_lhorg

so itd be like flipping a coin? thats harsh

county

rcs wrote:

England could also potentially be thinking that if they lose tonight they potentially mite avoid Germany!!!

no chance mate

rcs

county wrote:

no chance mate

But they are playing Owen Hargreaves

A Dub in Glasgo

These games should really be played at the same time as England will know who they will play in the next round should they win, lose or draw. Either have the games at the same time or do not have the next stage decided until after the goup phase.

eirebhoy

Poland v Costa Rica is on ITV2 if anyone wants to watch that.

Bacchus

Sorry for being blunt but the first part of what you just said is stupid. You want 4 games (2 from each group) to be played at the same time!! Also, could you imagine England winning, say 2-0, and Ecuador go ahead in the last few minutes of their game. What do England do? Open shop and let Sweden score 3 goals??

The second part I agree with though. In a way it's nice to work out all the different permutations of who will meet who in the 2nd round/quarters/semis/final but a draw after the group stages would make it more important for teams to get the top spot. There is the knock on affect of arranging venues, travel, tickets, accomodation for the team and the fans. At least the way it is, fans and teams know where they will be if they make it through to the next round.

Necronomicon

England should concentrate on their own game, Germany have been no more impressive than Ecuador.

LordSutch

I think it will be a miracle if England beat Sweden tonight, seeing as the Swedes seem to be England's nemisis in footballing terms! its nearly always a draw or a 1-0 to Sweden, so lets hope that England are finally firing on all cylinders tonight, resulting in the miracle result, although I would nearly bet on a draw (again).

Germany V Ecuador = German efficiency V South American style!
Should be a cracker.........................................

fade2black

1-1 in the Poland Costa Rica Game.

Fairly happy with my draw bet at the minute. Germany are piling on the pressure upon Ecuador but the "away" side are well capable of hitting them on the break. We could be set up for a good 2nd half. Personally I don't think any team will sit back because they're already true. This is the world cup, and every game is vital.

fade2black

However, at 2-0 to Germany...that could be it.

therecklessone

Bang goes my cheeky €5 accumulator (@58-1 )

Lemlin

Who scored the second for ze Germans? I'm hoping Ballack was involved in some shape or form.

fade2black

Klose scored again. Ballack set it up.

Lemlin

fade2black wrote:

Klose scored again. Ballack set it up.

Excellent. A few assist points in the Fantasy League.

Ronan|Raven

Fantastic breakaway, podolski 3-0

Aquos76

Poland are 2-1 up now.

Necronomicon

Necromomicon wrote:

England should concentrate on their own game, Germany have been no more impressive than Ecuador.

Ha, must have put the kiss of death on Ecuador

Lemlin

The Germans are gathering momentum. I think they'll be very tough to beat.

rcs

Yeah, have to say ze Germans looked very good today. Attacked extremely well.

I'd say it'll be a good game 2nite between Engerland & Sweden as they will both be trying to avoid Germany in the next round after todays performance

mike65

Hmmmm, how good were the Huns? I was kind of hoping England would be forced to play them in the next round as they have a better chance of beating them now than later on (asuming both teams progressd further).

Mike.

rcs

mike65 wrote:

Hmmmm, how good were the Huns? I was kind of hoping England would be forced to play them in the next round as they have a better chance of beating them now than later on (asuming both teams progressd further).

Mike.

Got to watch the match and they looked very good, especially going forward. They weren't really threatened to much at the back, altho having said that they looked a lot more solid than in their previous two games.

They will give anyone they meet a decent run for their money, especially when/if they meet the auld enemy given the history and that, form will go out the window

Attractive Nun

Glad Podolski scored, should up his confidence a bit. I like a successful host nation in the World Cup, keeps everyone happy. Can't really see them troubling Argentina or Spain, but they'd give England a run for their money. Based on form, the Germans are probably in my top 5 teams atm.

Lemlin

mike65 wrote:

Hmmmm, how good were the Huns? I was kind of hoping England would be forced to play them in the next round as they have a better chance of beating them now than later on (asuming both teams progressd further).

Mike.

Judging England on their performances so far, they wouldn't beat Germany. That said, England could always come out and impress tonight.

At least they are playing a holding midfielder for once.

DOLEMAN

What do you reckon about a low cards bet on the England game tonight? Considering both teams are through you would expect them to NOT play like dirty bastards...

eirebhoy

DOLEMAN wrote:

What do you reckon about a low cards bet on the England game tonight? Considering both teams are through you would expect them to NOT play like dirty bastards...

You'd want to read up about the ref as Poland's match today was far from a dirty encounter and there was 10 players booked.

Attractive Nun

DOLEMAN wrote:

What do you reckon about a low cards bet on the England game tonight? Considering both teams are through you would expect them to NOT play like dirty bastards...

On the other hand, for players that don't have a yellow already, any booking they get will be wiped for the next game. So there's hardly all that much point in holding back. Shouldn't be any reds though.

BOHSBOHS

lets not get carried away , ecuador were resting half their squad for the next round , made germany look good... no hurtado ,castilla, tenorio ,delgado etc
germany played their 1st eleven ... would have liked to see ecuadors best 11 go up against germany but they seemed happy for 2nd place

KdjaCL

What scores do we want England to hammer Sweden and tobago to win by?


I hope England win just to show Sevn what DMF is and see if he has the balls to drop one of them for the next game.

Have Klose for top scorer so happy with him today. Hope England Sweden make a game of it.

kdjac

mike65

Heard an alarming stat earlier, the England and Sweden have between them punted 400 long balls in 4 matches!

Mike.

eirebhoy

KdjaC wrote:

What scores do we want England to hammer Sweden and tobago to win by?


I hope England win just to show Sevn what DMF is and see if he has the balls to drop one of them for the next game.

Have Klose for top scorer so happy with him today. Hope England Sweden make a game of it.

kdjac

Probably won't make much difference at Lampard will just play in a more attacking role now that there's a more defensive minded player beside him.

Aquos76

owen been substituted after 3 mins. Crouch on. Looks like a bad injury

mewso

Gotta feel for the guy. Could be the end of his tournament. Looked bad.

Ponster

Damn that looked sore. Feel sorry for Owen or any player that goes out like that.

Roddy23

Ouch, looked painful alright. Whats the story with Walcott, good enough to be called up, but not good enough to play??

fade2black

If only he was a more humble person...(joke...get well soon etc)

The_B_Man

wat happened wit Owen? missed it!!

p.pete

AF will be loving that, puts more pressure on Rooney to play. Also makes Sven seem all the more clever given his squad selection.

After this match they'll really need to consider playing Gerrard in the Rooney position behind the striker (which can only be Rooney or Crouch now) in what seems to be Sven's favoured system.

mewso

fade2black wrote:

If only he was a more humble person...(joke...get well soon etc)

If only I hadn't put a fiver on him to score first.

fade2black

musician wrote:

If only I hadn't put a fiver on him to score first.

Don't worry my friend....you get money back if the player is taken off at 0-0 within the first 15 mins.

Aquos76

The_B_Man wrote:

wat happened wit Owen? missed it!!

From BBC

1 min: Michael Owen is off the field with an injury. The striker is forced to crawl off the pitch after falling awkwardly on the left of midfield and injuring his right knee. The physio is straight over to him - and it looks serious.

tbh..it looked really bad.

KdjaCL

Rooney looks up for it.


LOL 11 minutes gone and its best Englands best performance of the WC.


kdjac

The_B_Man

thanks Aquos