Worst World Cup Ever? There’s No Doubt About It…
I just caught the Portugal v France semi-final and it was a dire game.
And it seems every game I’ve seen was rubbish; Switzerland v Ukraine, France v Switzerland, Brazil v Croatia and every other game, not to mention every England match.
What the hell is wrong?
There seems to be a big effort to play negative, boring football and when very, very average teams such as Germany, France and Portugal reach the penultimate round of a World Cup then something is very wrong.
I will admit to falling asleep as I tried to watch quite a few of these ‘world class’ matches. Do I have narcolepsy? Possibly but I doubt it.
Past it players like Zidane suddenly become a match-winner again, after playing poorly for the last few seasons. Hell, even Patrick Vieira looks half decent in this World Cup.
They’ve even made the ball lighter to make things more difficult for the goalkeepers but there is still a lack of action on the goal front.
The most exciting action is from the referees and how many yellow and red cards they will produce!
I hate to think what the World Cup Final is going to be like on Friday Sunday.
(Edit: The World Cup Final is obviously on Sunday, not Friday. Maybe I do have narcolepsy…)
Final’s are usually boring anyway and this World Cup is going to guarantee possibly the longest 90 minutes you will ever witness.
July 5th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
You are right - this world cup has been nothing but a display of negativity, panicking, long balls and boredom.
Seems the 4-5-1 is now as big a trend as it is doign a ‘CRonaldo’ (diving and cheating and trying to get players sent off.
July 5th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
haha good joke u cunt-this is one of the most exciting world cups in the last 20 years for me, with far more goals being scored and good attacking football being played-and zidane is a legend , to call him mediocre is shows what an asshole ur,viva la franceeeeeeeeeeeeee
July 5th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
You’re right.
The thing is, PELE, who loadsa people slag off, said before the tournament that all teams are the same now. He said the reason that Brazil were so good in ‘70 was because of the defece, not the attack. When the other team attacked, Brazil put 9 behind the ball. Pele also said that everyone does that now, attacks with six, defends with ten. That’s what we’ve seen. Sorry, but the old viagra-wallah (unlike most pundits) got it right.
If only some of the teams could counter attack fast like the Arse…..
GANPATI bless
July 6th, 2006 at 12:04 am
You’re on your own with this one. This is one of the best World Cups in recent years. What have you been watching.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:09 am
isiz because english out of world cup??? hahaa
July 6th, 2006 at 12:20 am
This has to one of the poorest World Cups - C. Ronaldo couldn’t stand on his feet over the last ninety minuets. Still no card.
Is there any reason the rules seem to have completely changed since the group stages ?? From hundreds of cards to almost none and the games have not changed….
The Officials have helped make this one of the Worst World Cups I can remember - just no consistency.
The Officials have had a big helping hand in deciding to many games. Then we have the 4-5-1 with Ballter and other FIFA reps critising England and other teams playing such a formation is not there place - ask Chelsea - they have won back to back titles playing dull defencive football - do they care - should the FA step in and deduct points as they are not playing the way they want them to? No of course not.
For those whom are saying this is the Best World Cup ever - I take it your new to the game? There have been a few great games - but far to many that haven’t reached the mark, far to many players that haven’t shown there true potential. Have we had any new players make a name for themselves? No not like in previous World Cups.
Blatter has to go - he has had the major say in the refereeing - and has well and truely confirmed what most thought of him - a useless tw@t.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:39 am
“Blatter has to go - he has had the major say in the refereeing - and has well and truely confirmed what most thought of him - a useless tw@t.”
I agree. He’s a monkey.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:41 am
You’re talking shit
July 6th, 2006 at 12:44 am
You think the world cup final will be on Friday, this shows how much you know. As for Zidane and Vieira, they are truly world class.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:50 am
People sometimes have short memories. I’ve been watching the world cup since 1990, and in each tournament there weren’t more than 3-4 great games. I also think this world cup is better than the 2002 world cup, since the teams that reached the semi-final were better than S.Korea and Turkey, and most of the good teams (apart from the Ivory Coast and the Czech Republic) reached the knock-out stages. Don’t develop high expectations from these big tournaments, and you won’t be disappointed.
Oh. And Blatter is a c*nt. FIFA is such a corrupted organization, and it should be rebuilt by someone with some integrity.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:54 am
The final is on Sunday not Friday I believe.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:56 am
True not a great world cup as far as the standard of play goes. Think about the finals socre lines, Germany-Argentina 1-1, Engalnd-Portugal 0-0, Australia-Italy 0-1, France-Portugal 1-0, Brazil-France 0-1, and all the mathces were pretty boring. They all promised great clashes but failed to deliver.
July 6th, 2006 at 1:03 am
I would agree with that - although 2002 was another Blatter World Cup and S. Korea if you remember should have been knocked out by Spain and Italy but the officials chalked off good goals for both teams.
With all the corruption in Italy and the rest of football - it is time for video evidence to be bought in.
Nothing to major - just a fourth offical with radio contact withth e ref. advising on major decisions with the aid of replays.
It’s not rocket science.
Beckenbauer is favourite to take over next year and will be very positive for the whole of football.
July 6th, 2006 at 1:52 am
The tactics of world football have changed in the past 2 or 3 years thanks to Greece’s fluke in Euro 2004. All sides are now adopting that style to make it harder to beat them. I think the days of great world cup finals and semi finals is long gone - no more classics like ‘82 or ‘86 ever to come again.
July 6th, 2006 at 2:18 am
i fell asleep many times too …. lots of boring stuff. there were some great stuff as well and i was impressed italy played offensively against germany. one of the african teams will win wc2010
July 6th, 2006 at 2:45 am
Vieira4 hit the nail on the head. Look at Arsenals progression in the Champions League and also Chelsea.
Crowding the Midfield kills off games - but reduces the goals scored. But it all comes down to winning.
If England won the World Cup playing as unattractively as they did - would you care ??
I wouldn’t - and it would go down in history as world cup winners not the way we played.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:05 am
England were very average in this world cup, but I still think it has been a beauty. The games have gotten tighter as the tournament has progressed, but that is to be expected. Italy’s goals against Germany were world class, the French have looked brilliant, really the standard of football has been fantastic. You sound like a bitter English supporter trying to make (more) excuses. Even though the Italy-Germany game was 0-0 for 120 minutes I still thought it was a great game. Lets hope the final has a few goals (unlikely though) but really just shut up with the negativity I’m over it.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:53 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRO626ImQek
I think this sums up this world cup adequatly.
That and lots of defending with noone willing to commit anyone forward since the games meant anything.
July 6th, 2006 at 6:04 am
international football is a joke and should be stopped. shit games, shit refs, boredom, corruption, rather watch netball lol
July 6th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Haha! That video is brilliant!
July 6th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Football isn’t the ‘beautiful game’ anymore - it’s just business these days.
Winning has got so important that entertainment will suffer because of it. The guys at the top don’t give a shit if the matches are boring and the fans don’t like it.
There’s no money in playing great football if you’re going to come second. Winning at any cost is what matters now.
I might start watching cricket instead…
July 7th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Hi are you interested in a link exchange