Australia is without Tim Cahill. Can they muster any offense without him or will they be drained by the speedy Ghanaians?
Randinho wrote at Balloon Juice from 2010-16.
"Hi, everyone, my name is Randy Paul. I normally blog at my own blog, Beautiful Horizons. John has graciously accepted my offer to blog about the upcoming soccer World Cup..."
Twitter: @randinho
Japan v Netherlands Open Thread
If Eljero Elia starts for the Dutch today, expect to see a fast game.
he claims that his father named him after Al Jarreau.
Some Thoughts on Friday’s Games 6-18-10
Let’s be clear: Miroslav Klose being sent off was not the cause of Germany losing the game. A horribly weak penalty kick and Arne Friedrich’s failure to mark Milan Jovanovic were the direct causes of their loss.
Memo to Nemanja Vidic: you’re not Jerry Rice.
I don’t know what it is about Spanish referees, but in November 2000 on a three week trip to Spain my wife and I attended a game at the Camp Nou stadium between Barcelona and Villarreal. Barcelona lost 2-1 in a game in which 15 or 16 yellow cards were distributed, including a yellow to then coach Carles Rexach. At one point three Barcelona players were lining up for a free kick and he cautioned all three for not moving fast enough for him. Amazingly, no one in the game got more than one.
Nikola Zigic: all is forgiven.
Lots of chances for Podolski even when they were down to ten. He should rue his poor finishing.
Despite the win, Serbia had one shot on target (i.e., the goal) and ten shots overall. When you’re up a man for 54 of 90 minutes, you should do better. Germany had two shots on target and 16 overall..
The yellow card for Robbie Findley may be a blessing in disguise as he is not an option for Bob Bradley against Algeria.
Michael Bradley’s goal was terrific, but much of the credit should go to Herculez Gomez. His run drew Bostian Cesar away and provided a clear path for Bradley.
In scoring his goal, Landon Donovan showed that one of his best skills is his reading of the game. Noting his narrow angle you can see him look up twice to see if there’s a better option with Clint Dempsey and Benny Feilhaber running into the box. Once they collide he realizes his only option.
Don’t be afraid Samir Handanovic; the ball doesn’t bite.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kouman Coulibaly.
I credit Bob Bradley with subbing out a defender for an attacker. It was a good tactical move in a difficult situation.
I’ve long been a fan of Oguchi Onyewu, but he’s not 100% no matter what he says. Anyone think it might be worthwhile to spell him with say, Clarence Goodson?
Slovenia’s flurry of deserved yellow cards (3 over the course of 6 minutes) should give their coach pause.
If it hadn’t been for Kouman Coulibaly’s phantom foul call, the US v Slovenia game would have been a nice mirror image of the Confederations Cup Championship Game against Brazil last year.
The US is getting better in the comportment area: one undeserved yellow for Robbie Findley today. Michael Bradley hasn’t gotten any cards.
Yes you showed a lot of heart in coming back from 2-0 deficit, USAMNT, but an even better way to win is to not go down 2-0 in the first place. Of course you know that. Just be sure not to do that against Algeria and don’t give up early and easy goals.
My man of the match (look, there has to be one) for the Algeria v England match would have to be Algeria’s goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi: five skilled saves in his very first cap.
Did Fabio Capello pick Wayne Rooney for this game? Anyone see him?
As for Rooney, stop whining. You’ve had four touches in the penalty area in two games: three today and one against the USA. Certainly you should expect better for yourself.
As Jamie Carragher is ineligible for the Slovenia game, I wonder if Capello will start Michael Dawson. Given so many of his poor tactical decisions, he’s probably wondering if he could find some way to bring Ledley King back.
I honestly cannot remember seeing in a major game such a highly ranked team as England playing with such lassitude.
Here’s the definitive analysis on how the US can advance out of this round.
Algeria-England Open Thread
Go Desert Foxes! Draw with England!
Slovenia v USA Open Thread
Which of these two countries in which football is not the number one sport will win?
Germany-Serbia Open Thread
Wonder if Serbian Coach Radomir Antic will use Nikola Zigic or if Serbia’s defenders will be able to contain the German attack.
Some Thoughts on Thursday’s Games 6-17-10
Gonzalo Higuain was not offside on his second goal. Remember, the ball rebounded to Messi and he shot again. The ball was deflected to Higuain who was level with Messi and a Korean defender with the keeper close to the line. He was in an offside position on the first shot, but was not involved with play and the ball didn’t go near him.
Did Park Ji-Sung play today? Anyone see him?
Amidst the celebrations, Diego Maradona needs to worry about his defense. Martin Demichelis gifted South Korea a goal, Walter Samuel is injured, Gabriel Heinze is, well, slow and Jonas Gutierrez is out of the next game due to an accumulation of cards. While Gutierrez will be back and they won’t have much problem against Greece, if they face a team with some speedy attackers that doesn’t roll over and play dead in the midfield, they could be vulnerable.
I’m betting Ahn Jung-Hwan is South Korea’s answer to Martin Palermo. Anyone want to speculate on how many minutes, if any, either one will play?
Yes, Higuain got the hat trick , but he ought to treat Leo Messi to dinner as a thank you.
An ongoing criticism of African teams and one that I don’t buy is that they lack discipline. Unfortunately, Sani Kaita’s red card has done nothing but add fuel to that argument.
That notwithstanding, Nigeria could still go through: Right now South Korea and Greece have minus 1 goal differentials. Nigeria has minus 2. If Nigeria beats South Korea by 2 to 0 and Argentina beats Greece by any score, Nigeria goes through. Nigeria must win by at least two goals and Argentina must defeat Greece for Nigeria to go through.
One Oliver Kahn-in-the-2002-championship-game-moment should not negate the nine saves made by Vincent Enyeama in goal for Nigeria. He was named man of the match again and deserves attention from some bigger clubs.
The possession momentum really shifted after the red card for Nigeria. I believe that this may be the most damaging yellow card I’ve ever seen; far worse than Beckham’s against Argentina in 1998.
How bad is Raymond Domenech? He started two forwards (Sidney Govou and Nicolas Anelka) with a combined 24 goals in more than 100 combined appearances. Karim Benzema has 8 goals for France in 27 appearances.
Anelka continues to disappoint for Les Bleus. He has scored one goal in a major tournament for France: in the 2001 Confederations Cup against South Korea.
This is painful for me to write as an Arsenal fan, but Alex Ferguson must be really happy that he’s got Javier Hernandez.
Sidney Govou? Really? Mathieu Valbuena for Sidney Govou? Really?
How bad is Raymond Domenech? He’s losing the game 2-0 with 16 minutes to go, has one substitute remaining and doesn’t use it. Psst! Raymond, mon ami: Thierry
Henry et Djibril Cissé sont disponibles . . .
France could still go through by beating South Africa by at least three goals and hoping Uruguay beats Mexico by at least two. It almost would be worth it to see them face Argentina.
The only team from the Americas that has lost so far is Honduras and they lost to Chile.
Some Thoughts on Thursday’s Games 6-17-10Post + Comments (33)