16 Yellows & 4 Reds – Was It Really That Bad?

After a dull England v Ecuador game the Holland v Portugal promised so much. But referee Valentin Ivanov had other ideas.After Graham Poll managed to book Croatian defender Josip Simunic three times before actually sending him off against Australia midweek.

But tonight saw 16 yellow cards and 4 yellows! Apparently a new record in the World Cup. I’m one for breaking records.

Portugal won the game 1-0 with a smart goal from Maniche.

Good work from the Brazilian-born playmaker Deco on the right wing saw him pick out Pauleta on the edge of the box. The PSG striker flicked the ball into the oncoming Maniche, who managed to move away from a Dutch defender and shoot into the corner in one movement.

A really good goal!

But by this time Valentin Ivanov had really stamped his authority on the game with Maniche, Van Bommel and Costinha already in the book.

And then just before half time Costinha lost the plot and got a second yellow for deliberate handball. Even before this it was clear with this referee that it would not end 11 versus 11 – although I though if anyone was going to be sent off it would be Van Bommel who was as dirty as ever.

Petit came on for striker Pauleta at half time and got booked within 30 seconds of the restart. No surprise there then.

But Scolari showed his tactical expertise and played Maniche and Petit just ahead of the defense with the skillful Deco behind Figo and Simao. The system was designed to stifle the Dutch and it worked as Holland only had one or two decent half chances to equalise.

On 49 minutes The Netherlands came as close as they would all night as Philip Cocu smashed the underside of the bar from only 5 yards out. How costly that miss would prove at the end of the night.

Then another mêlée of yellow card ensued until the 73rd minute, when the referee lost control not for the first time as Portugal played the ball out so that a player could receive treatment. But the Dutch refused to return the ball to Portugal and Deco hacked down Heitinga in retaliation. Deco got sent off only 5 minutes later for apparently wasting time. This didn’t matter as Ivanov added about 7 minutes injury time!

Portugal managed to hold on to their slender lead and progressed into the Quarter Finals against England.

As the Holland v Portugal match turned into one of the farces of the tournament, England fans everywhere were smiling as influential Portugese players Deco and Costinha would be suspended and a further 5 are now on yellow cards. The skillful Cristiano Ronaldo also picked up a nasty unjury and could be out of next weeks showdown.

It might have been a crazy game but England will not have a better chance of getting into the Semi-Finals as the Portugese ended tonights game with only 9 men and played most of the 90 minutes a man less than Holland. They’re not exactly in top shape going into England’s match!

Although they showed glimpses of brilliance, Holland just didn’t perform and Portugal deserved to go through.

Arsenal’s representative Robin van Persie struggled in a Dutch team that couldn’t get their game going and found it hard to break down a determined Portugese side.

However he almost scored another wonder goal on 37 minutes when he tore apart Nuno Valente on the right hand side and clipped the ball towards the far post. Unluckily for Robin the ball swerved away from goal and out for a goal kick.

There were several other interesting sub-plots in the game, including how Arjen Robben escaped punishment for several blatant dives, why didn’t Van Nistelrooy even make an appearance and why didn’t Figo get sent off for clearly head-butting Van Bommel?

Red cards: Gio Van Bronckhorst, Khalid Boulahrouz, Deco & Costinha.

Yellow cards: Ricardo, Valente, Maniche, Figo, Petit, Mathijsen, Sneijder & Van Bommel.

For F*cks Sake!

I’m not sure what to think after the England game yesterday. We were top of the group, had 6 points, 2 wins and hadn’t conceded a goal.

We should all be happy right?

But the fact of the matter is Group B is a joke group.

Trinidad & Tobago are full of players who are comparable with a League 1 side. And that is not an exaggeration! Paraguay are a nothing team, who’s best player is an injured Santa Cruz.

Sweden are nothing special, but believe me will give England a good game.

The sad thing for England fans was that yesterday our best player – by a mile – was centre back John Terry!

I had to laugh through out the game when ‘expert’ co-commentator Gareth Southgate came would say how hard it is to play games against weak sides because there is too much expectancy!

Would you rather we played Brazil? Or maybe the Czech Republic?

There was no excuses this time. The wasn’t ‘too hot’ and the strange shadows on the pitch weren’t there anymore.

But maybe this is just all part of Sven’s masterplan.

Play absolutely shocking in the group stages, and no-one will thing we’re any good.

And once the knock-out stages begin then that’s when we play our real football!

I doubt it though – looking back on our 2002 & 2004 showings.

England have some great footballers, like Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney – but for some reason always hit 60 yard passes.

The reason is Beckham and Crouch.

With those two in the team, England refuse to play football!

Do England need to play so one-dimensionally?

Rant over.

He Plays For Arsenal You Know…

Well the world’s biggest football tournament is officially underway, and here’s a little recap of how the Gunners are doing in Germany…

Germany won the opening World Cup game 4-2 against Coasta Rica, with Jens Lehmann conceding two goals against the seemingly awesome Paulo Wanchope! This guy just can’t stop scoring in the World Cup! Anyway, I’d say the two goals Germany conceded where due to, well, sh*t defending rather than anything Lehmann did (or didn’t do).

Then the big game on Saturday. England beat Paraguay 1-0 from an own goal from Gamarra after David Beckham sent in one of his trademark freekicks. Not much really happened after that – although I was too pissed to care when the final whistle came! Ashley Cole slipped a few times that on another day would have cost England – and it looks like he struggled (like all the other England players) in the heat. But that life lads – the other teams will have to play in that heat too you know! Sven took off Owen in the second half for Downing (please explain that one) and apparently his favourite player Owen Hargreaves made ANOTHER appearance. Don’t get me started…

Later on T&T managed to get a draw against Sweden against all odds. Caught bits of the game but Freddie looked lively enough and offered a decent attacking threat. Freddie apparently had another bust up with Melberg. Probably over Calvin Klein underwear no doubt. That or something over flat packs and fancy furniture.

Then Kolo and Eboue played for the Ivory Coast as they lost 2-1 to Argentina in the Group C opener. Kolo as ever ran all over the pitch but couldn’t stop the Argies scoring twice, with Saviola and Crespo on the scoresheet. Drogba managed to pull one back with about 7 minutes remaining but it was too late… Eboue didn’t look that great though. Still, the lad is young and you can forgive him for having one bad game. Well as long as it isn’t for Arsenal. Obviously.

Yesterday Holland beat Serbia & Montenegro 1-0 thanks to a goal from Arjen Robben. Didn’t see much of the game but apparently Robin Van Persie had a good game and he did create the goal so it looks like he’ll impress in the World Cup.

And then to the best news of the World Cup (not including England winning, obviously) which involved new signing Tomas Rosicky who helped the Czech Republic win 3-0 against the United States – scoring two brilliant goals.

Rosicky had a fantastic game and it appears once again that Arsene Wenger has pulled off a transfer coup. The guy was reported to be only about £6.8 million which looks like a right bargain now! His first goal must have been over 25 yards out and was a bullet into the corner, and his second was a cool chip after linking up well with Nedved.

Good to see Van Persie and Rosicky on good form!

There’s Only One Winner Here…

With the biggest tournament in world football only 4 days away, I couldn’t be more excited.

My England shirt is ready, my car flags are soaring beautifully in the air as I drive by and I’m ready to watch England really impress in this World Cup.

But can we really see past Brazil?

For me this team is simply immense.

All their players are at their peak, and all the major players ply their trade in Europe – which is a major factor come World Cup summer.

Kaka’ is outstanding for AC Milan, Robinho was impressing in Brazil but now has a decent season in Spain under his belt, Ronaldo looks like he’s really got in shape for Germany, Adriano is as good as he has ever been, Emerson and Gilberto are big players for Arsenal and Juventus – then of course they have Dida, Roberto Carlos, Cafu and Belletti in defense.

If they have a weakness it’s at centre-back, but by the time most teams have exposed it Brazil will be 4-0 up!

And we haven’t even mentioned Ronaldinho.

This guy is one of the best players in the world and can destroy you in a split-second.

People argue who is better – Andriy Shevchenko, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho Gaucho.

But the fact is with a supporting cast like Brazil have then it doesn’t really matter.

But we know they are not unbeatable, as Argentina showed in the World Cup qualifiers – but Brazil have, like England, had an impressive warm up to the tournament. And they still managed to finish top of the South American qualifying group ahead of Argentina.

Only a team with an excellent defensive unit could shut out Brazil – but who’s it going be be? If anyone?

I’ll post up what I think are the decent outside bets closer to the World Cup…