World Cup 2006
 

OK guys! It's coming up, and if anybody needs the full TV schedule I have that available :)

Who are your picks?
1st place
Group A: Germany
Group B: Sweden
Group C: Argentina
Group D: Mexico
Group E: Italy
Group F: Brazil
Group G: France
Group H: Spain

2nd place
Group A: Ecuador (Poland has had some unreliability this year, but they're possible)
Group B: England
Group C: Netherlands
Group D: Portugal, though that's not my reason, but it's a fun article
Group E: Czech Republic
Group F: Croatia
Group G: South Korea
Group H: Ukraine

I chose Sweden over England mainly in terms of the record between them, and Sweden is remarkable this year. I'm still kinda undecided on Group C, with Argentina and Netherlands. The two have a history together, though Netherlands has an exceptional team this year. So on and so forth. If USA can pull out something good, good for them, but I confess that I have much more confidence in Italy.

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When I first saw this list I thought to myself "New Zealand is the only country I know of that has a Seg Polo team" ... :confused:

But then I realized you were not talking about the Woz Challenge Cup.

Sorry ... :p nevermind ... :o

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Good picks.

Group A: Germany - one of my favorites, just by default
Group B: England
Group C: Argentina
Group D: Mexico
Group E: USA - can't not vote for, Czechs are a powerhouse though
Group F: Brazil
Group G: France
Group H: Spain

Brazil is obvious, however group D may have some changes with the addition of Angola, never know.

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Though Brazil is obvious, Group F is going to be an absolute beast.

Japan has a lot of momentum, Australia I don't know about with performance but their fan base seems to be through the roof, and Croatia is just plain incredible recently. So that second place spot in the tournament is going to be hot, hot hot!

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So after staying away from this FIFA-UEFA-MANCHIE (according to Genia)-EuroLeague fever for three years, I'm trying my best to catch up. I'm gonna try my best not to take sides, but pardon if i offend someone.

Its good to see that veteran like Beckham, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are coming back, but keep in mind there are alot of newbies on the field too. Not to mention the-new-beasts Rooney (Eng) and Schweinsteiger (Germ).
Since i gained my consciousness I've been told that no one can easily beat Brazil, and I've witnessed this team winning FIFA cup twice. Although in 1998 France was able to steal it, but they were not able to keep up with it. SO there goes Brazil again in 2002 for the FIFTH :ahh: time.
So i think we need a new rival. In my lifetime so far Brazil has hammered it twice, but now I'm looking froward to an upset and some new team becoming a rival.
I think Germany has a pretty good chance as they are playing on the home ground and have alto of audience support; but you never know about Argentina, Australia, Japan (looks tough), etc.

Well thats what i think so far.

~Maddi

PS I'm going to support USA no matter what because its the my current mother country.

PSPS I didn't like the new song 'Our Lives' for FIFA 2006, so I'm still gonna sing 'Cup of Life' from 1998

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Switching 2nd place Group F pick from Croatia to Japan.

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Yay! I <3 Football (If it's called Soccer it tends to lose intrest) Last World Cup I got up at 4:00am to watch England vs. Germany, I wonder if I'll get the chance to watch another crazy match.
1st place
Group A: Germany
Group B: England (I get up at 4am to watch them, I'm taking them)
Group C: Argentina
Group D: Portugal
Group E: Czech Republic (This is a Group worth getting up at 4 for)
Group F: Brazil
Group G: France
Group H: Spain

2nd place
Group A: Poland (Ecuador has only won 1 World Cup match ever, don't discount Costa Rica though)
Group B: Sweden (Well they are better than Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago)
Group C: Netherlands (It'd be tough to win their group after not qualifying, however they are 3rd in the World)
Group D: Mexico (These guys have a lot of hype this year, but I don't think they can win)
Group E: Italy (The conservative, wait until the other side makes a mistake and then exploit it strategy works well when you have a powerhouse group, an American footballers should have some mistakes to exploit)
Group F: Croatia (I love these guys since they suprised everyone back in 98)
Group G: Switzerland (These guys may not beat France, but they got the style of play to beat the South Koreans)
Group H: Tunisia (The England-Tunisia Soccer Holligan riots in 98 have a special place in my heart, this is the best African team by far)

I can't wait, this is the greatest event to watch/take part of in the world

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This is going to be ridiculously fun to watch.
Group A: Germany
Group B: England
Group C: Argentina
Group D: Portugal
Group E: Czech Republic (maybe Italy)
Group F: Brazil
Group G: France
Group H: Spain

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Score Update - 6 / 09 / 06

Germany 4, Costa Rica 2
Ecuador 2, Poland 0

Yay for good predictions

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The games tomorrow:

Trinidad and Tobago - Sweden - definitely an easy game for Sweden. Although their first goly won't be playing and their second goly lacks experience, I am convinced Sweden's Larson and Ibrahimovic will do the job.

England - Paraguay - I think it will be one of the better games in the first round. Although the odds are for England, Paraguay is a strong team and they have a good chance against England who is missing Wayne Rooney.

Argentina - Ivory coast - Although Ivory coast may surprise, I think Argentine will take this one easily.

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Anybody know where I can view highlights from today's games online? Can't watch it when I have to work all day. I don't think I will be able to handle it when Le Tour de France and the WC are on at the same time.

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Hmmmm...you may try seeing the website, or looking on ESPN's website for clips.

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GO ENGLAND!!!!!!!!! wooo. My grandparents are coming over from England next week and my Grandpa LOVES "football". Its only fitting that i cheer for my heritage country :) Anyone with me on MSN would be able to tell which country i was cheering for. :P

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There's no chance Brazil will see a sixth victory any time soon, since its England's turn to reign again, waiting 40 years to emerge as victors anew.

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The fact that I am pro-Brazil & anti-England makes this a controversial statement...agree to disagree heheh.

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hmm........... i doubt it. I'm still cheering for England (as they are my mother team)

Ohh god!............we'll see ;-)

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Oh don't get me wrong, I think that England can take Paraguay and T & T, but after that is where the hatin' begins. :P

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WOAH...WHAT AN UPSET...

Sweden vs Trinidad & Tobago...

Sweden came in with a 41:1 chance of winning the cup
T & T with a predicted like, 2001:1.

And it's a draw! And T & T was down one man because of a red card! Oh man, so for those of you Football illiterate fellows, this means that T & T and Sweden each get 1 pt in the standings (the reward for a draw).

The current Group B scoring is as follows:
England beat Paraguay 1-0, so...
England: 3, Sweden: 1, T & T: 1, Paraguay: 0

Upcoming matches for Group B:
England vs T & T: June 15
Paraguay vs Sweden: June 15
England vs Sweden: June 20
Paraguay vs T & T: June 20

So we can see a lot happening here...
If England wins 1 match and gains a draw, they are gauranteed entrance, since they'd be taking those 3 points away from T & T or Sweden. But who gets 2nd place...that is the question!

And next, we have Argentina vs Ivory Coast.

Fun fact! The Ivory Coast was in the process of a civil war, which has been postponed in honor of the World Cup.

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first:
brazil
england
argentina
spain

second:
germany
or anyone else that was put in first place but didn't win.

sorry to break it to you guys, but Brazil is going to win. and if they weren't playing, Venezuela would have played/won.

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You have a point with Brazil's win record, and I agree that they're the most likely, but before you fix it keep in mind Germany's stellar performance with quick scoring earlier in the match. Additionally, Iran & Mexico are scheduled today, and a few other powerhouses are coming shortly. Czech Republic is also showing a lot of potential this year, so those first four places may not be as concrete. Ignoring my passionate dislike for England, I wasn't wholly impressed by their performance against Paraguay. It seemed a bit weaker than they had been in prelims - a bit too reserved. It'll interesting to see how it advances.

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They may have scored quickly but that was not a stellar performance of a game. Germany is not good enough all around and will not make it past the second round.

Personally, I'm still waiting for the 2007 World Cup.

Wetzel

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Really good match tommorow!

Match of the Day:
USA vs Czech Republic - 12:00 EST
Number 5 in the world, USA vs. Group E favorite, and Number 2 in the world, Czech Republic! Should be a great match to watch, who ever loses this match has a great chance of not making it to the next round. If someone loses this match, they'll have to beat Italy and Ghana to stay alive into the next round.


Italy vs Ghana - 3:00 EST
The other two teams from the very tough Group E. Should be intresting watching the top team of Africa square off against the notorious defence of Italy.

Japan vs Australia - 9:00am EST
Should make for an intresting match, two up and coming teams, both with a lot of offense, these are the two weaker teams behind Brazil and Croatia, it'll be intresting to see how these teams will play in the "easy" game of a very tough group.

Hope everyone is having fun and acting European watching the Matches!

Go England!

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Italy has Juventus CF. *drool* Can you say, incredible football tradition?
And Czech is Czech.

Those are still my predictions for winning that group.

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Yessss!!!! Mexico won!!! Viva Mexico! :toss sombrero into air: :) :p :] :D :)

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1st

A: Ecuador (because of defence)
B: England (partial bias, partial due to Trinidad v. Sweden)
C: Argentina
D: Portugal
E: Italy
F: Brazil
G: France
H: Ukraine (one word; Shevchenko)

2nd:
A: Germany (poor defence means I'd tip Ecuador to beat them. Should beat Poland and have beaten Costa Rica)
B: Paraguay (will benefit from Trinidad-Sweden draw)
C: The Netherlands (aka Holland. Played well against 2 countries at the same time yesterday:) [Serbia & Montenegro; Montenegro declared independence last month])
D: Mexico
E: USA (The Czechs may be a good side and faves but it's a tough group and I'm not sure they'll be able to beat both the States and Italy. All 3 are strong and it'll be 2 of them, ask me again tonight and I'll have a better idea)
F: Croatia
G: South Korea
H: Spain



#Three Lions on a shirt,
Jules Rimet still gleaming,
No more years of hurt,
No more need for dreaming.# (Three Lions '98)

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

By the way, bookies put Brazil as faves (not won the cup in Europe since '58), England second (not won the cup full stop since '66), Germany third (defence too poor, last won in '90 as West Germany)

That prediction above would put England v. Germany in the second round; last time we met was in Munich a couple of years ago and it finished Germany 1-5 England.... My prediction would also currently doom the USA to meeting Brazil in the second round.

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I can't believe I have to miss the U.S.A. v. Czech Republic game today because of internship.
My thoughts, yes Czech is the #2 team in the world according to the FIFA rankings, BUT they are missing 2 key players. This may make it a little easier for the U.S. to keep up.
And we have seen a few upsets so far anyways. (Sweden v. Trinidad and Tobago)
I think we (U.S.A.) might have a chance.
(but in the meantime, how about them Mavericks ;) )
So what do you guys think about the Togo incident where the players had a dispute over pay and now they are pulled from the World Cup?

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The players didn't quit, the coach quit over a dispute of bonuses not paid to the players. And as of today (6/12) the coach is reinstated. The story doesn't say whether the players got their bonuses or not - but that they wanted the coach back.

Durn - 38' and US is down 0-2.

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I'm still a huge fan of both Italy and Czech. Sorry USA, but my loyalty in this match is with Eastern Europe.

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I gotta admit, seeing the entire T&T team partying after their match was rather fun. but after watching them play, I've come to the conclusion that they are my top pick for a underdog team lol (their goalie, Hislop did an awesome job). Other than them, I'll be rooting for Brazil, France, or Czech Rep. to take the win.

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Ok, I said that I might have to revise my prediction for group E after the 1st games as it was too close for me to call on Monday; I now think the Czechs will win that group and (hope) that the USA will come second. They are better than that performance showed.

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I will wait to see how the US fairs against Italy, who still has a qualification point advantage (3 & 3 for them and Czech, with 0 for each USA & Ghana).

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alright... of course you got brazil the top favortie and rightly so but they did seem to have a tough time against Croatia who is likely to be the #2 team out of thier group...

France also had a very dissapointing outing in thier first game with a 0-0 tie...

Germany is looking to be the favorite in thier part of the bracket with thier 4-2 win...

also a surprising favortie that i didnt notice was Spain who won 4-0 against ukraine who was on a 7-0 run i belive in worldcup play/qualifying...

USA hope is not lost... they need a win over italy and over Ghana while italy will have to at least lose to Czech... i still have hope for my country... unlike otheres here *tears*

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^^ For the record, I didn't have much hope for the team since before the Cup started, it's not that the hope technically went anywhere after that match...no harsh feelings. It's all personal opinion. I admire your loyalty to USA, and I would appreciate respect for my longheld loyalty to Europe.

Well for the sake of speculation, let's play the qualifying points game.

Basically, to summarize for those of you who don't want to read all that stuff, assuming everybody beats Ghana (which isn't 100% reliable), Czech pretty much automatically qualifies except for 1 condition. USA qualification is very dependent not only on the performance between US & Italy, but also between Czech and Italy.

To qualify for the next round, the USA pretty much MUST either draw with Italy or somehow beat them.

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The Czech Republic should win against Italy; I'd forgotten they had Petr Cech in goal. He's the first-choice keeper at Chelsea for good reason.

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Don't forget crazy Rosicky and his lovely double goal scoring.

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England beat T&T (2-0) with two goals after the 83rd minute.

It was awesome to see Rooney back, as well as Beckham and Crouch in top form. :)

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Crazy Rooney & Beckham...that was a good match. I was pleased to find out that Hoslip was again keeper for T & T. For those who don't know the story about him, he wasn't supposed to be the keeper for their match with Sweden, but did splendidly and thus T & T created a huge upset in that match.

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As it is the end of the year here and I'm done with finals, I had a lot of free time today and watched all three games (yeah I know it's a lot).

Anyway, I was very impressed by Ecuador. They controlled the game most of the time and played well. A very good team that deserved the place in the QF.

England - T&T - I didn't like the game. England played weak for the first half, then got a little better in the second. They really kept me in suspension for the first 80 minutes, but in the end the justice has been done and they scored...twice.

Sweden - Paraguay - Definitely the best match of the day. Most of the game was very close. Larsson and Ibrahimovic had great shots...too bad they were stopped by Aldo who is a great goly. Sweden is a great team with excellent players...I really enjoyed watching them. The next match against England is going to be a very interesting one.

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I just got a chance to watch the Spain vs Ukraine game and I must say wow. Spain played well and Ukraine had a lot of bad luck (the red card etc.).

I am fans of both Italy and UK, but I must say that I am kind of dissapointed with their first round performance. (I am a fan of US too, don't worry ;) ) Both Italy and UK are playing great offense and great defense, but they both lost soooo many opportunities to score. I choose to believe that Beckham is holding back in the early rounds for UK right now though.

Cannot wait for the Italy vs USA showdown on Saturday. A lot of people from my school are going to Germany for that match(If I had a few thousand spare dollars I would be right there with them :D )

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What an amazing finish to the Angola - Mexico game.

I caught the second half today, and after the Andre dismissal the rest of the field just came to life with play after play!

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i agree! 0-0!

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I was sad because Mexico didn't win today, I'm visiting my family here and it was crazy nobody worked everybody was watching the game.
but I liked the end how Mexico was trying until the very end.
I go for england or Germany to be that world cup winners!!!

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As much as i would Love to agree with you; don't forget there are some REALLY good teams out there. (Group F, Spain and Argentina (they totally owned last tow matches) )

June 20th is going to be a critical day.
England vs Sweden
Germany vs Ecuador
It might turn the table for Germany and England.
If the current standings remain the same (which there is a huge chance) England will play against Germany in quarterfinals.......
wohohohoh.......!!

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Wow...I stand surprised...

Ujfalusi (CZE) just got red carded, and Ghana is already 1 goal up in Czech.

*EDIT BELOW*

Wow. I stand surprised and humbled and corrected. Congratulations to Ghana on their first match win against a European team in over 40 years.

So this changes all of the dynamics of the group. The scores are as follows:

Italy: 3
Ghana: 3
Czech: 3
USA: 0

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Italy vs USA update.

Oh my goodness what a game: US has very high possession, very admirable. However...Italy has the goals it seems.

Italy 1, USA 1 (Italy own-goal)

TWO Red Cards. Not 1, 2. Both before half-time so things are back down to even.

*EDIT*

Make that 3. Game ended in a draw, 1-1, with US 9 men and ITA 10. The general consensus is a hatred of the referee, it seems.

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Wow that was quite a game. Italy vs USA was supposed to be a predictable game in favor of Italy, but that was not the case. The USA dominated in terms of possession of the ball up until the middle of the second half. The referee destroyed the game as he ejected 3 players in which 2(both US players) were unnecessary. By the end of it, you could tell that everyone was worn out completely especially since both sides were down players. The US came out looking like a completely different team today after playing Czech Republic as their defense strengthened and Keller(US goal keeper) made some great saves. I am a fan of both Italy and USA, so this was a tough match for me to watch. But judging by the way Italy was playing, I'd say that they were lucky they didn't lose to the US. On to USA vs Ghana on Thursday... this is USA's last chance to make it to the next round.

Ghana beating Czech Republic, simply amazing and once again it wasn't expected.

Today was a great day for soccer and for fans of the underdogs.

And yes... that referee is probably never going to see the light of another World Cup match, at least not in this tournament.

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I just saw Martinez on the local news. Jeff you drove all the way from Binghamton to watch soccer in a bar on East ave? :ahh:
I had no idea Binghamton was so dead.

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i too just saw him, too lazy to post baout it. twas pretty cool.

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I caught the Ghana - Czech game during my lunch break at the barn and I have to say it was very well played!

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Uh, we haven't beaten Sweden since 1968? Plus we have a Swedish manager...

I'd rather face Germany than Ecuador I think, the German defence isn't as good. Plus the last time we played them in Germany we won 5-1 (Munich, World Cup {Japan/Korea 2002} Qualifier in 2001) Plus if we don't win the group, Argentina will be waiting in the Quarters.

Oh, and come on USA for later in the week, I hope you can beat Ghana :)

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Sweden - England starts soon.
I think it will be a great game. Personally I would like Sweden to win. England has been pretty disappointing so far and Sweden is a team with a lot of potential and great players.
But on the other hand, if England losses they will meet Germany, and we all know that no matter how it ends, one side will not be happy. You can only imagine what the hooligans will do...

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England vs Sweden 2-2......
it was an amazing game..... what a come back from Sweden
Paraguay vs T&T..... 2-0 ..
so now we have Germany vs Sweden
and England vs Ecuador.

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Yeah it was a great game. Joe Cole had an amazing goal, probably one of the best in the tournament so far. Sweden had some really close shots, too bad they missed them. At least they got to the round of 16 and kept their 38 year streak of not loosing to England (I doubt Sweden will be able to pass Germany in the next round, but you never know).

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whos going to be watching tomorrow, england vs portugal>??

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I watch every world cup match :) So, that makes 2 of us I think

For the benefit of everybody else here, I provide a listing of upcoming matches in the quarter, semi and finals. All times are in EST, if you're confused about that...California is 3 hrs behind EST, Chicago is 1 hr behind, and some stuff in the middle is 2 hrs behind.

30 June 2006 (Quarterfinals Day 1)
11 AM - Germany vs Argentina
3 PM - Italy vs Ukraine

1 July 2006 (Quarterfinals Day 2)
11 AM - England vs Portugal
3 PM - Brazil vs France

Updated finals schedule once it's revealed who makes it...

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Germany vs Argentina.... to be honest, its going to be a BOMB!.. football at its BEST
England vs Portugal...that one is going to be a tough one too. England doesn't look that good in the mid-field and defense. But on the other hand (Portugal) you're missing two amazing players too. Its gonna be a tough match.
Brazil vs France....... Brazil is as always looking tough. But France played well against Spain, so you never know.

Bottom line is, from now to on, every single match is going to be really interesting.
you really don't want to miss out on any one of those matches ;)

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I don't think you can discount Italy or Ukraine - both teams have the potential to "sneak up", persay. One of the two is also going to go on to challenge Germany vs Argentina. Ukraine is fairly strong, but Germany & Argentina & Italy are all powerhouses, and they all eliminate each other down to 1 for the final, and for the glory of the Beautiful Game!

I love football...

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I forgot to mention Italy n Ukraine, but for sure Italy has the potential to strike hard against Germany. So as for the recap, we have our Teams for the first Semifinals!
Germany vs Italy.
:)

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Too bad Argentina had to finish their great tournament in such a cruel way.

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WHAT a day in Fifa World Cup history!!

England vs Portugal (Portugal Wins)
As much as i wanted motherland England to win, i think they didn't deserve it. Even without two great players, Portugal was able to play great against the English team, who loses Beckham and Rooney too. Both sides play even (especially Portugal) and finally when it went to the penalty kicks. I stood up and simply called Portugal (looking at the history of English team; they were never able to win the penalty kicks, same they did today).

Brazil vs France (France wins 1-0 :ahh: )
That was an upset. More like an UPSET!
Brazil really didn't play the "Brazilian Football", in fact i saw France playing that way in the first half, and moving on they done what they were their for in the second. Brazil took it a little easy, and were knocked out.

But to be honest, i had a bag in my hand during the both games and i was blowing air in it (yes i was that excited :) ), similar to what i did during the FIRST championship :) .

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This is truly a huge surprise. My picks for the team splaying in the finals. France and Germany. My pick for it all, France. I want to see Zidane go out on top.

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My picks for this rest of this tournament would be Germany and France in the final, with Germany taking it home. Although France is playing some of the best football I have seen from them in a while, Germany is riding a huge momentum wave.

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I'm going to disagree and vote for Portugal and Italy :)

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I am predicting Italy vs France in the finals. Zidane Zinedine played well against Brazil and I think that he is going to help lead France to another title victory.

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Both Portugal and Italy have only given up 1 goal in the world cup (with Italy's being an own goal against the US). Italy and Germany have a goal differential of +8 while France's is +7 and Portugal's is +5.

Italy beat Germany 4-1 in a friendly earlier this year.

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i see either italy or france i just couldnt see any other team winning it right now germany maybe but i dont think they can do it

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Well I still protest the Ref was poor and that the sportsmanship from Portugal was not the best I've seen but when we play for penalties, we get knocked out. I'm struggling to remember the last time England won a Penalty shoot-out.

Anyway, I don't blame Rooney (that was a Yellow, no way should it have been a Red unless he booked 3 of the players for the shoving leading up to it) and it's a big change of the guard now... hopefully we'll have a chance in 2010.

Good luck Germany

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The shoving, yes...but he also stepped on someone's (I don't remember who) groin...and despite that, he still went on to shove Cristiano Ronaldo, etc. rather than helping the other guy who Rooney hurt.
I'm not saying that England lost because of Rooney, I'm just saying that this is why he got a red card.

Anyways, I predict that it's France vs Italy for the finals...that'll make an absolutely awesome match to watch...in my opinion at least (they're my top 2 teams) lol

[edit] lol oops i was talking to sum1 on msn about portugal :P lol i meant italy [/edit]

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Try again.

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/bracket.html

That's a semifinals match...

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lol oops...fixed :p

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ITALY WINS!

France was playing pretty dirty towards the end, serves Zidane right to be thrown out of his final game of his career.

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First of all, CONGRATS TO ITALY!!!!!

Now, while I understand that Materazzi might have provoked Zidane, i dont really see that as an excuse to headbut somebody, and with the way the game was going, chances are it either would've been a French win or penalties. With this being the last game of his carrier, what could honestly provoke you to do such a thing? Considering a lot of people wanted France to win, just so Zizou could finish his career off with another world cup, I find myself wondering just what was going through his head.

[/stands off soapbox]

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It was a great game today. When it was tied up around the 15th minute, I knew it would be a good show. I know it was the right thing to do to Zidane, but it was a shame to see him go that way at the end of his career. I also do agree, that because soccer does not have instant replay, they should not show the video clips in the stadium for the referees to possibly catch view of.

Hopefully this will help Italy get through their current debates with a little more ease, and get back to the game.

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I laughed so hard when Zidane headbutted whoever he did (It was on Mute and I never heard who was hit). Th goalies did poorly in the shootout with the only miss was on that was off the crossbar and looked to me like it was in. The Azzuri played well and desevered their win, however France probably could have won it if Zidane didn't make what might have been the dumbest move in sports history.

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So, which moment wins...........Rooney's loss of control, or Zizou's?

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My vote goes for Zidane on that one.
My friends and I burstedinto laughter at that one. He didn't look like he put much effort into that headbutt and still landed the guy on the ground. Zidane is one of the calmest players I have seen play. I too wonder why he did that, but man it was funny. Barthez did poorly in the PK's but Buffon did too. Who was the guy that missed the PK in for. Wasnt he a sub?
Either way, great game.

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The guy who missed that PK would be David Trezeguet, who went in for Frank Ribery in the 100'. For a second, it looked like it would be a repeat of Zizou's PK in the 7th minute (You know, the one that never was.), but instead of angleing past the line, the ball did not pass into the goal mouth.