Couldn't agree more. Matches have been won and lost due to blown calls rather than the efforts of the team. It's a fucking disgrace.

Para gritarle a la FIFA
Que ellos son el gran ladron!

holy shit, 7-0? finally!

jico, you lucky dog, you can stop crying now

oh wow. yes that'll do.

and this is what i think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcsTMl4g9V8

damn, the chileans needed a compass to find the goal. a miracle they scored once, even against just 10 players; they even let the swiss create some danger for them. i like chile's aggressive style, but they lack the goods to make much of it. spain *should* kick their ass when they meet. ref was "oversensitive" and dished out cards like candy.

I am so fucking HYPE to get to the USA match damnit!

Yeah, the referee sort of spoilt that game i thought. N Korea and Portugal was great though. Bit of a virtuoso performance from Ronaldo. Sort of annoying seeing him showboating towards the end, especially in the run up to his goal. Brilliant performance though, at least in the second half.


It's a real shame that the scheduling for the third round means England play simultaneously with the USA. Both those games are gonna be immense.

I think it is actualy pretty clever, by making all of groups A-H play at the same times it keeps teams from learning where they stand until the matches are all actually complte, and that way teams have less reason to "phone it in" as it may be.

Yeah, it can't be any other way but it is still a shame. The third round is gonna be so intense.

the fucking jinxes finally score! sweet shit on rye, they won't shut up about it now. "oh, spain, spain...." aghhhhh. awesome goal though.

That looks like a great film, knox! Well spotted.

On topic - It was a shame that Portugal served up North Korea their head with a side order of fries and coleslaw, but it bodes well for a Brazil-Portugal final game. Will Portugal take the game to the Brazilians, or will they be beguiled by the Samba Boys' reputation?

that WAS a great play by the Spanish player to get that goal!

yeah. kicking with such precision while dropping to the ground is no easy skill. the kick itself was genius.

very nice goal from Villa

Ivory Coast cans still stay in it if they kick ass against Portugal.

I do believe Ghana is going for sure, SA can possibly make it both Mexico or Uruguay beat the other by 3 goals and SA also takes France by 2-3 goals.. Cameroon is out for sure though, probably Algeria too..

Actually Nigeria still has a chance if they kick ass against greece..

Its Africa week.

i'w waiting friday to see how we kill to the "eternal favourites" GO CHILE...

i hope you do!

An upset is always interesting but I think the tournament as a whole will suffer if Spain don't progress beyond the qualifying rounds. They looked brilliant last night - the best football I've seen in the tournament so far, I'd say - and I'd hate to see the back of them on that form.

I won't mind if France or England go out simply because they've shown nothing. I could watch England and France's off-pitch self-destruction all day long.

Terry's failed attempt at a coup has definitely been my non-footballing highlight of the tournament so far.

^That was hilarious.

John Terry, the captain without captain's arm band:
We're going to have a crisis meeting, whether Capello likes it or not!

Don Fabio:
Shut up John, I'm the boss here. There won't be a meeting.

John Terry, the captain without captain's arm band:
Of course. I'm sorry, boss.

Impressive display by Portugal yesterday. Shame I only watched the first half. I'd imagine it's not how the North Korean leaders had imagined the first ever live sports broadcast in their country. Hopefully their players won't get deported to a labor camp upon return.

Spain looked good from the little I saw, but let's not forget it's Honduras they played. What should be worrying for them is that after the Switzerland game it's the second time that they've wasted lots of opportunities to score. Torres is off-target and if Villa gets suspended then it could become very difficult for them to beat Chile. I want Spain to go far.

umm, both those matches already happened

Greece 2:1 Nigeria
Cote D'Ivoire 0:0 Portugal

cote d'ivoire is fucked, if portugal beat brasil they're done, if portugal loses and cd'i beats korea they'll be tied, but after portugal scored 7 goals yesterday...

nigeria has a chance, that grup is open at the moment but nigeria is the only team without a win

ghana is leading their group but they have their last game against germany, they could advance, but if they lose to germany and serbia beats aus. they'll be out

With a goal difference of 9 between Portugal and Ivory Coast, the Ivorians don't stand a chance, even if Portugal lose to Brazil.

Algeria still have a slim chance, but I really don't think they'll make it. I think Germany will beat Ghana too. Not sure if Australia are capable of keeping Serbia from victory either, so I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with no African teams making it to the knock-out stage.

i want mexico to win

hopefully forlan can provide one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_A6QHdWcXg

I'm (somewhat) watching the other one, between France and South Africa.
It's not bad so far. Both teams seem to try and get at least one good result before going out.

Is the Mexico v Uruguay one a real game or are they cautiously passing the ball around in their own half?

mexico and uruguay are in ATTACK mode!!!!!!!! awesome!

Awesome, fair play to them! I just flicked the channel and saw that shot from Mexico bouncing off the bar.... wish I could watch both matches.


The misery for France continues: South Africa are leading 1-0 and Gourcuff has been sent off for elbowing.

edit: 2-0!!

edit edit: and that would've been 3-0, if it hadn't been offside.. whoa. :eek:

what a game! i love it. mexico has had more control of the ball but they failed to convert. uruguay's counterattacks have been deadly. guardado and dos santos have had a great game so far, no goals unfortunately but a shot to the goalpost by guardado. fucile on the uruguayan defense has been great, and perez (the uruguayan, not the mexican) had to step out for a while cuz an elbow to the side of the head had him bleeding. at 43' a great goal from suarez put uruguay ahead. wow! the hungarian ref has been fair so fair, has a good handle of the game while allowing a fluid game.

mexico needs to even the score; south africa is even in points at the moment and trying to even the goal difference, south africa qualifies it would be a damn shame, totally undeserved, but that's football.

this 2nd half should be great.

---

barrera came in to replace guardado.

France have scored. Good news for Mexico.

i'm happy that mexico and uruguay have passed...though i think this game was a bit disapointing..i really enjoy south american football

Yeah, I watched the S'th Africa game but I'm glad the group finished the way it has.

EDIT: Domenech refusing to shake the S'th African coach's hand. Someone needs to write a book about the French in this tournament.

the first half was great, actually. the game deteriorated a bit in the 2nd half, because it's impossible to keep up the same fast pace all 90 minutes. mexico had no resolution on the offensive, but the uruguayan defense was rock-solid and didn't allow anything. dos santos remains a very able and smart player who is unable to resolve an offensive play. i don't know if it's nerves or what-- he's barely 21.

mexico should be playing argentina, i think that will be their end--they are a nice team, but they lack scoring power.

the first half of Mex/Uru was fucking HYPE.

Glad to see both 'panic countries advance.

what was it with the handshake? The French completely collapsed huh? I missed that FRA/S.AFR. match

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QfX0nZc2pA
I don't understand the Arab commentary, but I reckon his attitude will have been interpreted in a similar way all over the world.

Once again, Domenech is making a complete arse of himself in front of the entire planet. Maybe he can say something stupid at the press conference afterwards to finish it off... I can't wait for the movie.

the pantomime that is french football has left the building.

jesus man, that was UGLY.

It's so outrageous. I've no idea why he wouldn't do it. The red card was soft, but hardly the S'th African coach's fault. It's great to watch though. I'm sort of sad the French are going, just for the spectacle of it all.

.....i cant help but smile at frances self destruction but i am not going to say the word "justice"!

demon..why sad the french are going???? they were absolutely shocking! terrible football!!!

I'll miss them too. Maybe if we're lucky they'll have one last argument during the flight home... after that Capello or Maradona will have to fill his shoes.



Tonight's feature presentation:



He still has a good feel for the balls.