OK lets continue the discussions over here now. Only 7 more hours to go till Australia vs Brazil.

I wonder if Ronaldo will take another day off. :D I honestly don't understand why the coach keeps fielding him, while Brazil has so many more talented players, who actually DO enjoy playing the game. Robinho for instance.

I'm not going to try and stay up Tim, the best bet for me will to get a couple of hours sleep before the game. At least I do not have to work tomorrow

*Curses the Europeans for being able to watch at normal times* [img]tongue.gif[/img]

You call that normal times ? I miss most of the day matches, and some early evening matches because of work. :(

Eyup, by the time the match is finally played. ZZZZZZzzzzzZzzzz

Im hoping my excuse for being late to work on tuesday will go down smooth. It should - It'll be true!

Not too many other people in my home town are getting caught up in World Cup fever, though. :(

Uh oh....

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/stor...t/sport1.shtml

Aussie players bet on me to get the opening goal - Cahill

By Jim Keat

GAMBLING revelations by Premiership stars Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka have put Australia's World Cup campaign in the balance.

Every World Cup player, official and administrator signed a FIFA fair play "World Charta" before the tournament in Germany.

The document has a clause promising NOT to bet on matches and last night FIFA confirmed this includes gambling among themselves. Everton star Cahill's confession that team-mates Lucas Neill and Archie Thompson bet on him to score the Aussies' first ever goal in the World Cup finals has sparked a FIFA probe.

Cahill did just that in Australia's 3-1 victory over Japan on Monday.

And he admitted to Australian paper the Herald Sun: "They both backed me to score.

"That's why when I got the first goal I ran straight to them."


Clauses


A FIFA official said: "I can confirm that the declaration set out by FIFA and signed by all players and staff of each of the 32 nations clearly states that no betting is allowed for the members of the delegations.

"This includes internal betting within the players of any team, which is also strictly not allowed.

"The committee has made it very clear that no betting in any form should be taking place and they will investigate any case thoroughly."

All the players were asked to sign the 'Charta' which contains five clauses concerning doping, racism and sports betting:

1. I admit that fair play is the basic rule of the game and I will follow it no matter what. And, especially, I promise not to take illegal or banned substances for bettering my performances during the game.

2. I will make sure to have an impeccable conduct towards my opponents. I will condemn any racist or discriminatory action inside or outside the field.

3. I will observe and respect the FIFA ethic code. I will see to respecting and acting correctly and respectfully towards FIFA, the organising committee and the members of this organisation, as well as the state and private institutions.

4. I am stating that I will never participate in sports betting, directly or indirectly, during the World Cup and I will not involve a member of my family in these kind of betting.

5. I will respect all these rules, to make sure that we will have a healthy World Cup.

FIFA, who have unlimited powers, promised to punish anyone who does not obey the rules. Viduka, the Middlesbrough striker and Aussie captain, said on the Australian Football Federation website: "The other day, some of the boys were taking bets on who was going to be the first to score.

"Spider (back-up keeper Zeljko Kalac) was the bookmaker."

FIFA set out clear and strict rules on betting in Germany amid fears that football's greatest showpiece would be targeted by Far East gambling rings.


Shape


And the FIFA official added: "All players and every member of each country's official delegation was sent a document in which it says they are not allowed to bet at all during the World Cup, not only on their matches but on any other match, in any shape or form.

"Every player completed a declaration regarding betting, ethics, the appropriate conduct with respect to non-discrimination and racism.

"If they breach any part of these conditions, and that included betting among themselves, then it would be brought to the attention of FIFA's disciplinary committee who will analyse the case and decide what measures will be taken."

Cahill came off the bench to score two goals as Australia staged an amazing late comeback from a goal down to beat Japan 3-1 in their first game. The Aussies take on world champions Brazil this afternoon but some players' future in the competition now seems to be in serious doubt.

Following our investigation, FIFA have revealed they will launch a PROBE into the Aussies' crass behaviour before deciding on any punishment.

FIFA's competitions committee set out the terms and conditions of the declaration and our story was referred to them last night.

They confirmed that the Australian player have broken clear instructions by betting on who would score first in the Australia v Japan match.

The FIFA official confirmed: "All players and every member of each countries official delegation was sent a document in which it says they are not allowed to bet-at all-during the World Cup.

"Not only on their matches but on any other match, in any shape or form, at the Fifa World Cup.

"Every player who is at the tournament completed a declaration regarding betting, ethics, the appropriate conduct with respect to non-discrimination, and racism.

"If they breach any part of these conditions, and that included betting among themselves, then it would be brought to the attention of FIFA's disciplinary committee who will analyse the case and decide what measures will be taken."

Each of the 736 players in Germany were told of the pitfalls of flouting these rules but the Australians have chosen to ignore such warnings.

Clause 4 of the declaration clearly-and strictly-states:'The undersigned declare that I shall not participate in any lotteries or betting games, etc, that shall have a direct or indirect connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I am also responsible for ensuring that all members of my family refrain from taking part in such activities.'

FIFA's spokesman confirmed to the News of the World that they would impose harsh punishments on anybody found to be breaking these rules.

He said: "Regarding the possible decisions that may be taken in any particular situation, we cannot make any suppositions, as each case is analysed individually and therefore not comparable to another case.

"The committee has made it very clear, however, that no betting in any form should be taking place, and they will investigate any case thoroughly."

Well according to the discussion I heard of this last night he said it in jest and it shouldn't constitute a breach. I can't recall if they were saying that was FIFA's decision or what since I wasn't paying attention properly, but I'm sure that will turn out to be the case. Just a poor choice of words from Cahill describing a prematch bit of fun from the Aussie boys.

Anyway, I'm impressed by our boys in the first half! They seem to be matching Brazil all over the field. Need some more serious scoring shots though.

1-0 Brazil now, but they still look everything but convincing, perhaps Australia can still get away with a point today.

And if not, they still hold the best papers to advance from this group, a draw against Croatia will be enough, and after seeing Japan-Croatia today, i no longer think of Croatia as favourites over Australia.

bah.. aussie had so many chances.. they keep missing it

Brazil win 2-0. Not a great performance from them but they controlled the game when they needed to and they took advantage of their opportunities. For OZ, we played as well as we could, but our finishing just wasn't there and we couldn't convert any of our chances. We created chances, and we took the game to Brazil, but you always had the feeling that Brazil were in control of the game, even when we were attacking. Brazil dominated possession in the 1st half, in the 2nd things were more even. The game opened up in the 2nd half as we pushed forward to try and get an equaliser, and Brazil punished us when we made a mistake. Brazil's just one of those teams that can strike at any time, they turn defence into attack so quickly.

We did as well as we could within the limitations of the team, but we just couldn't finish off any of the chances we created in the 2nd half. Kewell had a pretty bad miss with a wide open net, I think he panicked a bit.

I thought a 1-0 scoreline was a fair result, 2-0 was harsh. Brazil weren't that a 2-0 better team. But it's frightening to think that they can win 2-0 not playing well. They'll get better and better as the tournament wears on, like in 1994 and 2002. Our performance should give heart to those other countries who are looking to beat Brazil - they're not unbeatable in this WC. The Socceroos did themselves and our country proud today, but we were just outclassed. Brazil just had too much class all across the park.

I like our chances against Croatia though. Still alive! Biggest problem for us is our finishing - we need to convert our chances into goals. We just don't have someone in the midfield who can deliver the ball to Viduka. And Viduka's finishing is terrible for a top-line striker, he just can't find the back of the net. Also, we need some more creativity in the midfield - it's all good to keep delivering crosses into the box, but if your striker can't finish them it's pretty pointless.

Well - we couldn't convert a hatfull of chances. Can't fault Guus's tactics though - went down to 2 defenders at the back and chased an equaliser to get a result. Unlucky a few times there with Kewell and Viduka having the best opportunties. I can't help thinking that losing Popvich to injury in teh first half upset the balance at the back, because he had allowed very little space to Adriano.

The good news is none of the defenders drew a 2nd yellow. It now comes down to needing a result against Croatia, and to date I firmly believe we have played better football than they have in the tournament.

No bad fouls in the game (not surprising given the yellow card picture), but the ref certainly went overboard blowing for the slightest of contacts at any opportunity. Can't help thinking they would have let the game flow a bit more if it was England or Germany or Argentina.

Funny you mention that, I thought it was a lot more freeflowing than other games in this WC so far. And my mate who actually watched the match at the stadium in Munchen (luckiest bastard in the world) reckoned that the ref was too lenient and should have blown more fouls.

Did anyone see that footage from after the game, where Brazil's coach walked up to Chipperfield and offered him Roberto Carlos' shirt ? Chipperfield looked at the back to see what name was on it, and when he saw it was Roberto Carlos' shirt, he returned the shirt as if he was saying "sorry mate, that's below my standards". :D

France looks completely burned out, what a dissapointment so far.

Well that was disappointing, but the Aussies played so well. Especially disappointing that the Kewell chance wasn't converted - that would have made 1-1 which might have changed things a lot. On a plus, we withstood a lot of pressure in defence in the second half, which could have made the scoreline a lot less favourable.

Realistically, it was always going to be tough to win this match though - at this level you need to convert your opportunities as you may only get one or two. Unfortunately we couldn't while Brazil could, which is why they're the best team in the world. But we're still in with a show, and I'm liking our chances against Croatia. We'll need to considerably improve our finishing, it's terrible. And we're not creating enough chances.

I wonder if Ronaldo (who ate all the pies) will start the next match? Brazil looked better with Robhino (the dwarf) but maybe that was a result of australia attacking more.

I think they should definately put Robinho on over Chubbs, I mean Robinho showing some interest in the game and not the pies has to be a positive. :D

Incidentally do you think the germans will be serving optional pies an bovril for the UK support?

Pies and bovril!! Can't beat 'em on a freezing cold day down by the Riverside!

2pm Togo Switzerland
5pm Saudi Arabia Ukraine
8pm Spain Tunisia

None of them matches really appeal to me today..

LOL @ the Bovril [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

I have just read that

"A player with one booking from the group stage has the caution removed from the record at the start of the knock-out stages."

If this is true then the last matches in the group are going to be a foul - a - thon surely, If you have no danger of being banned then why not kick out?

Can anyone tell me if it is true?

Well, we have 6 players with one yellow card right now, three of which will most likely be replaced for the match against Argentina. If they would get a yellow card in that game, they would have a total of two yellow cards, which means they're out for the first knockout stage game. Van Basten is not going to take any unnecessary risks with players like van Bommel and Robben, especially since there's nothing at stake in the Argentina game. We know it's going to be either Mexico or Portugal in the next round, and both teams are pretty much equal in strength, so no need to try to avoid either one of them.

Players with only one yellow card will have a clean sheet once the knockout phase begins.

Gah! Tuesday?! Where did i pull that date from? For some reason i thought Australia v Brazil was on monday night. I ended up missing the entire first half. :mad:

As it is, most of my thoughts on the game have already been stated. I'm glad Hiddink opted for a dinkum shot at an upset instead of resting the yellow card players. It's disappointing that they lost, though i don't necessarily agree that they were outclassed. I'm still proud of 'em.

There's been a lot of bitching on Aussie TV about the referee's decisions during that game. What for? Honestly. I didn't think it was that bad. And as for Kewell's post-match "animated" discussion with the ref, i think he was still frustrated at missing an open goal whilst under considerable pressure. But it'll certainly be interesting to see what becomes of that.

Anyways, bring on the Croats.

Sever I have to disagree, I think the ref castrated Australia in the first half with his ruthless freekicks.

I did watch the first half this afternoon on the replay and i can honestly say i didn't see anything that hasn't already occured to other teams and players so far in this tournament. It was pretty much par-for-the-course. Australia (a physical team, as has been mentioned) went out hard to try and stop Brazil. Fouls were innevitable.

Let's face it, it's pretty easy to blame the ref if the your team loses. And after that particular game, "ref this, ref that" is all i seem to be hearing. :shrugs:

There's no denying that the referees make an awful ot of mistakes, sometimes even miss 100% goals, like in the France-Korea game. Vieira's header was behind the line, no doubt. That would have given France a 2-0 lead, and most likely the victory. Football needs a system like they use in the NFL, where ref decisions are made after viewing a monitor that's keeping track of the game, but for some reason FIFA refuses to use that technique. Do i smell corruption perhaps ?

Breaking news...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ia/5094458.stm


Harry Kewell could miss Australia's crucial Group F game against Croatia after being charged by Fifa with insulting referee Markus Merk.
The Liverpool winger was reported for swearing at the German official after the Socceroos' 2-0 defeat by Brazil.

Kewell has until Tuesday to respond and the verdict will be announced before the final group game on Thursday.

Australia need to beat Croatia to be certain of qualifying for the knock-out stages for the first time.

Fifa communications director Markus Siegler said: "Fifa have opened disciplinary procedures against Harry Kewell.

"It was reported in the referee's report that he insulted the referee several times."


Merk awarded 25 free-kicks to Brazil while Australia won only nine, but Kewell later defended the referee and said his behaviour after the final whistle was in the "heat of the moment".

"You're frustrated, you're losing the game, every referee puts up with it," said Kewell.

"I mean, it's part and parcel of the game. He knows there's no harm meant by it.

"You go out there and play so well against the world champions and you come off losing, whereas you think you should have come off with something. He understands that, that's the way it is.

"It was a hard match to referee, and he did a good job."

Strewth! First gambling then abusing the ref. Looks like the ocker (rowdy) image we portray to the world is being kept alive *sigh* :(

The arguments put forward are that mistakes are part of football, which is rubbish. Mistakes were accepted because there was no way to avoid them in the past. There is now.

Critics also say that the NFL style video reffing would slow the game down. I reckon all they have to do is either put a chip in the ball to determine goals, or have one referee for each half, like they do in AFL. A linesman in each half and a referee who has to run a diagonal across the entire field is not enough these days, given how much scrutiny of the game there is with multiple TV angles, etc.

Kewell got off - I did NOT expect that. Apparently conflicting statements from amongst the 3 match officials. I thought they woulda nailed his hide to the wall.

Well, i think it's only fair, it's good to see that people still understand that sometimes, in the heat of the game, players do or say something they don't really mean. Unless he threatened to kick the refs ass or something similar this is the right verdict.

Cole man of the match! :D

That was a totally AWESOME goal :D .

It was pretty amazing [img]smile.gif[/img]

At least they're not just lying down after Owen's injury. Hopefully his recovery won't be too drawn out!

Sweden - England 2-2. Not too shabby, if you as me. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 06-20-2006, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

2-2

Bah stupid Sweden. We never beat them. *grumbles*

I knew as soon as Crouch was on his own our only goals would come from the midfield. I just hope Sven doesn't underestimate Ecuador.

Nope, but now there's some serious work up ahead, you have to face the Germans, who are in a winning mood.

England hasn't convinced me at all so far, despite being in one of the weaker groups. Their luck continues to last with a match against Ecuador ahead, but after that they better bring their best game to the field, because then there won't be any little fish left.

Yes, the Germans wont be easy.

*grumbles more* [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Thought we had that one in the bag! Sweden looked strong towards the end though!

What is the deal with Walcott? Why hasn't he been played?!

Because he hasn't played one minute in the Premiership? Because Sven regrets bringing him and wishes he brought someone proven to score goals at the highest (domestic) level, like Bent?

I do hope he comes on and is Rooney number 2, mind.

Yep, walcott was a miscalculation, he'd better taken Defoe along, who has about a ton more experience. Proves what a tactical nitwit you have for a coach. Can anyone tell me why on earth the FA pays him 7.5 million Euro a year ?