Saludos Pileta de Mundial –
Whew, today was the first day with no World Cup soccer since the tournament started. The quarterfinalists have been set and only eight more matches until it is over. Then it will be 1400 some odd days until another World Cup game, so enjoy them while you can.
If you don’t count France going on strike, South America continues to be the 2010 story. Chile is the only team to depart as the continent holds half of the final 8 spots. Chile was also the only one unfortunate enough to have to play another South America country in getting steamrolled by Brazil on Monday 3-0. Paraguay persevered against Japan Tuesday in the first match decided on penalty kicks – a rather boring 120 minutes of scoreless midfield play before the excitement of goals going into a net.
And the European matchups also saw the favorites move on, Holland 2-1 over Slovakia and Spain 1-0 over Portugal. Holland featured the return of Robben, who scored the first goal and looked like his hammy is fully healed. Slovakia’s goal was a penalty on the last touch of the match. David Villa (of course) scored Spain’s goal allowing Spain to show off half an hour of precise keep-away to close out the match.
As an aside, Villa has in my opinion the 2nd best goal of tournament so far with his zigzag score in the Honduras match -- behind Tevez’s laser shot from way outside the box last Saturday.
So, with our quarterfinal matchups, it is entirely feasible that the final four could all be South American. Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are all favored. Paraguay over Spain would be a significant upset, but not entirely surprising given Spain’s history at this level.
Soccer picks up again Friday morning with Brazil v. Holland at 7 am Pacific followed by Uruguay v. Ghana at 11:30. Saturday features Argentina v. Germany in the early game, Paraguay v. Spain in the late.
On to the pool. The leader board looks familiar, though finally a few USA entries are showing up towards the top. Charles Curran has leaped into 4th place by picking 7 of 8 quarterfinalists correctly. Paul also has 7, jumping him to 2nd only one behind Ben. Fernanda is in third with the highest entry that has all four semifinalists still alive.
You’ll see below I included a column “Paid?” which is my record of who still owes money. Kindly let me know of any payments I’ve missed recording, and apologies in advance. My address is: 242 Yale Ave, Kensington CA 94708.
Enjoy what’s left!
Chris
P.S. Personal request – I intend to time shift the Friday games for a camping trip, so please no emails, texts, or phone messages that mention what happened!
P.P.S. Did you hear that Sepp Blatter warned Nicolas Sarkozy not to interfere with his country’s football team or face suspension? The president of FIFA actually has the power to threaten the president of a G7 country.
P.P.P.S. Not to knock a country when its down, but our Norwegian contingent provided a set of actual quotes of English football players. I added it to this email after the scoring.
At Least When England Leave The World Cup The Players Can Rely On Their Great Oratory Skills For Work
“My parents have always been there for me, ever since I was about 7. " David Beckham
"I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won theleague." Mark Viduka"
Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well, he's the only manager I've actually had at this level. But he's the best manager I've ever had." David Beckham
"If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day." Neville Southall
"I've had 14 bookings this season - 8 of which were my fault, but 7 of which were disputable." Paul Gascoigne
"I've never wanted to leave. I'm here for the rest of my life, andhopefully after that as well." Alan Shearer
"I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona " Mark Draper
"You've got to believe that you're going to win, and I believe we'll winthe World Cup until the final whistle blows and we're knocked out." Peter Shilton
"I faxed a transfer request to the club at the beginning of the week, but let me state that I don't want to leave Leicester " Stan Collymore
"I was watching the Blackburn game on TV on Sunday when it flashed onthe screen that George (Ndah) had scored in the first minute atBirmingham . My first reaction was to ring him up. Then I remembered he was out there playing." Ade Akinbiyi
"Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match." Ian Wright
"I'm as happy as I can be - but I have been happier." Ugo Ehiogu
" Leeds is a great club and it's been my home for years, even though I live in Middlesborough." Jonathan Woodgate
"I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel." Stuart Pearce
"I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country."Ian Rush" Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11 internationals out there today." Steve Lomas
"I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock." Barry Venison
"I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what religion yet." David Beckham
"The Brazilians were South American, and the Ukrainians will be more European." Phil Neville
"All that remains is for a few dots and commas to be crossed." Mitchell Thomas
"One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my best." Alan Shearer
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd." Johnny Giles
"Sometimes in football you have to score goals." Thierry Henry
No comments:
Post a Comment