04/25/24
May 22, 2006
World Cup KickOff: is all you will ever need for knowing all the match details for the upcoming World Cup 2006.
Group E does look pretty tough. Anybody got a thought on whether the US makes it out?
posted by DudeDykstra at 04:02 PM on May 22, 2006
No, no they don't. They're improved, but I don't care if FIFA ranks them #1 in the world and gives them a pony, the Czechs and the Italians go through. Of course, Italy's Juve contingent may already know the results...
posted by Mr Bismarck at 04:17 PM on May 22, 2006
Are the games going to be broadcast live online?
posted by dusted at 04:31 PM on May 22, 2006
I'm sure that there's somewhere to find them broadcast live. Then soccernet will be running its "Gamecast" thingy. Luckily every game is shown in full in Europe, either live or delayed depending on if two games kick off together.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 04:48 PM on May 22, 2006
Anybody got a thought on whether the US makes it out? Must beat Ghana, tie both Italy and the Czechs and hope that one of them beats the other. (I'm assuming Ghana will lose to both.) Not impossible. They will play Ghana last, at the same time Italy plays the Czechs. Those teams will not be playing for a draw, if the U.S. has two points going into the final match.
posted by tselson at 04:50 PM on May 22, 2006
Are the games going to be broadcast live online? I don't know about live internet broadcasts but ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 will be showing all the games.
posted by Folkways at 04:59 PM on May 22, 2006
The Czechs and Italians may be playing for a draw if that result puts them both through. The Italians are still smarting from the way they went out in Euro 2004, and would probably prefer a guaranteed second round game with Brazil than to mess around and end up going home. It's definitely, definitely not impossible for the US to make it out of the group, but my money is firmly on the Czechs and Italians.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 05:05 PM on May 22, 2006
Must beat Ghana My offer still stands. Fifty bucks says you don't. As Mr Bismarck (and Milton Friedman) says, go with where you'd stick your own money.
posted by owlhouse at 05:14 PM on May 22, 2006
Are the games going to be broadcast live online? I don't know about live internet broadcasts but ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 will be showing all the games...and they're all live and in HD for the first time in the U.S.. Anybody got a thought on whether the US makes it out? Only a slight possibility, but we'll take that over nothing. I hate to put too much on one player, but if Kasey Keller has games similar to his performance against Brazil in '98, anything is possible. He's definitely a better 'keeper now than he was 8 years ago and the team around him is vastly improved. Yea...I kind of like our chances of progressing.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 05:16 PM on May 22, 2006
The Czechs and Italians may be playing for a draw if that result puts them both through. A draw won't guarantee putting them through, if the U.S. has two points going into the final match. I know that's a big if... but not impossibly big. On preview, my money is with these guys.
posted by tselson at 05:25 PM on May 22, 2006
Tnelson, you're going with the Dutch to win it all? That's a brave prediction. I think the US result will be sigificantly affected by the football scandal discussed in yesterday's thread. If the Azzuri are off their game because of it, we have a much better possibility of going through. OTOH, I was looking back at the 2002 games recently and you know, nobody thought America would get three points in the first round, much less make it to the round of eight. So I'm gonna cheer my boys and hope everyone else overestimates them.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:09 PM on May 22, 2006
If you look at the Fifa rankings, I think the Czechs are overrated (2), the Italians are underrated (13) and the US is definitely not 5th. I would say Italy and the Czechs are in the 5-6 range and the US is around 10. This makes it certainly not a good bet that we'll make it out of the group (the US that is), but nowhere near out of the range of possibilities. Not only did we make it to the top 8 last World Cup, we outplayed the Germans in their 1-0 victory in which the referee missed a blatant handball 2 feet in front of the goal mouth which would have tied the match late (if the penalty was converted) and who knows what would've happened from there. Our next opponent would've been the hosts South Korea who we previously tied 1-1 in the group stage so they were definitely beatable. Then on to Brazil who most likely would have thrashed us off the pitch, but I'm just saying it wasn't a fantasy for the US to reach the Finals last time. And the only reason we ended up in this group of death (the real one by the way) is because Fifa took into account the 1998 World Cup when Steve Sampson coached our team into the ground. Not to mention our team changed alot in those 8 years.
posted by Ricardo at 08:06 PM on May 22, 2006
What's the over-under on fake injuries leading to yellow cards? Or even better...the over-under on those glorious flowing mullets on the field at once? Even money says 7. I'll take the over.
posted by herecometheirish at 09:33 PM on May 22, 2006
Tnelson, you're going with the Dutch to win it all? That's a brave prediction If South American teams struggle in Europe, I am going with the best European team. (Yes, I am biased) I'm American! Grandma is from Sweden/Holland! Other Grandma is from Ireland/England! However, the KNVB philosophy is second to none. They will outplay anyone, regardless of the score. The U.S. is four years more experienced, our goal keeping is second to none, if our defense doesn't blow...we can draw anyone!
posted by tselson at 11:12 PM on May 22, 2006
The Dutch will be helped by the fact that Cheating Horseface is likely pimping himself for a move this summer, as the powers that be at Old Trafford don't seem to like him anymore. He won't have any trouble securing a move elsewhere, but a few goals for the Dutch will help raise his price tag and signing fee a bit.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:02 AM on May 23, 2006
98% off topic: Am I the only one bugged by the fact that the commercial for the Scottish National Team's fans continuing to pull for their side (even though they didn't qualify for the World Cup) uses, of all things, a U2 song as its stirring anthem music? In my experience, Scots and Irish don't much like it when you get them mixed up.
posted by chicobangs at 01:25 AM on May 24, 2006
Scots and Irish don't much like it when you get them mixed up I present as contrary evidence, Celtic Park, Glasgow. Where your Irishness and Scottishness go hand in hand. Or hand in face of any Rangers supporters present
posted by owlhouse at 02:31 PM on May 24, 2006
This is a double, right? I can't find it anywhere...