Posted on 06/14/2006 5:46:34 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
The first cycle of group play in the FIFA World Cup comes to a close on Wednesday with all four Group H teams in action, Spain taking on Ukraine at 8:55 a.m. ET (ESPN2) and Saudi Arabia facing Tunisia three hours later (also on ESPN2). Then Cup hosts Germany start the second series of matches in the groups when they face neighbors Poland in Dortmund.
Spain finally get a chance to get the ball rolling in Leipzig, facing a Ukraine team looking for a result in its first-ever World Cup match. But just because the Eastern Europeans are new on the world stage doesn't mean they don't have the talent to make an impact. In fact, they were the first team apart from the hosts to secure passage to the World Cup, topping a difficult Group 2 that also included Denmark, European champions Greece and a Turkey team that finished third in the World Cup four years ago.
Ukraine also boasts one of the most deadly strikers in the world in Andrei Shevchenko, a new arrival to London's Chelsea FC after a stunning career at AC Milan. However, "Sheva," as he is known, has been battling a knee injury and it remains to be seen if he will be in the starting 11.
Shevchenko isn't the only lethal striker that will be on the field; Spain has several of their own, as well, including Real Madrid legend Raul. Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes is also a danger and could start, especially since Spain coach Luis Aragones often lines his side up in a 4-3-3 formation. Spain is looking to break their World Cup curse in Germany, having never advanced to the final in the competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlsnet.com ...
I still expect Spain to score 5 goals against the Saudis.
It's not a matter of winning (sure Poland and Germany have easier opponents), it's the fact that they must win by x number of goals. The USA has no such burden to win by a certain number of goals, just win.
Poor Poland. Tough way to lose after fighting so hard a man down.
It's still conceivable that the US won't advance even with 6 points, if Italy beats the Czechs, there would be a three-way tie in that case, and most likely the US would be eliminated due to an adverse goal differential, assuming they didn't beat Italy by at least two goals.
That's an awful big "If"
If the US doesn't come out of the cup with a win, how far back do you think it will set back US soccer?
Hard to say. We came back nicely in 2002 after the 1998 debacle. You take steps forward, and you take steps back. That's true for pretty much every national side.
As long as the US is a shoo-in to qualify for the WC, and there is no reason to think that will not be the case (I mean come on, all we have to do is be better than Canada).
What the US needs is a bona-fide superstar, with a solid supporting cast. There were a lot of hopes for Freddie Adu, the best thing that can be said about that is that the jury is still out on the 17 year-old.
Adu is a great talent but no one man should be placed with the burden to carry a team.
The US needs to make a good showing to aid stability for MLS. ESPN2 had record ratings for the first game, beating the previous record in the Argentina - Ivory Coast match.
There's plenty of love for the game. It needs to be coaxed along. And we need to develop some better technical players.
The handful we have now have carried US soccer a LONG WAY.
That's going to be hard to accomplish considering the number of haters around who belittle the entire sport, most of whom have probably never watched an full game. Anyone who saw today's terrific Germany-Poland game and still says that soccer is boring and wimpy is totally ignorant. There is plenty of love for the game from the minority in this country who follow it. Unfortunately most people in this country refuse to even give this sport a look. Things may be changing but I'll be surprised if very many people are talking about soccer a few months after the World Cup is over.
What does the article say, if I might ask?
The only two words I understood were "niemcami selekcjoner" *LOL.
The USA's attention has turned to the all-important clash vs. Italy, and assistant coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick drops by Wednesday's episode of Studio 90 to preview the match
Watch here: http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/mens/fwc/index.jsp.html
I would simply looooove to see the US beat Italy (well, I would love to see any team beaten that poses a threat to Germany, but hey, I also like the US team a lot), especially in front of a "home" audience in K-Town (aka. Kaiserslautern), which is just a stone's throw from Ramstein air base.
Probably I'll drive to Kaiserslautern (which is 50 miles from where I live) and check out the "fan fest" there. Anybody else there?
Exactly. It was foreseeable that the US team wouldn´t come too far. The Czechs and Italians would be hard to beat also for the German team! No need to feel bad.
And Poland? Well, it was predictable that they lose against us - but I thought they´d win against Ecuador and Costa Rica. Now Germany needs to win against Ecuador: we´ve never won all three games in the first round before, and the last world cups we started with two victories were 1974 and 1990! :-)
It was good that you told vox_PL that his words are not appropriate. It wasn´t a fair game, with 5 yellow and one red-yellow card, but that was somehow to expect in a "final match" for Poland. It´s not our fault that you lost against Ecuador, and I think everybody expected you and us going ahead as No. 1 and 2 of group A. It was definitely a good and exciting game, and though there weren´t many goals, it was good advertising for soccer!
I grew up admiring the German team in the eighties. Karl Heinz Rumenigge was my man :-)
Later, I have followed Germany fairly closely. Lots of great players like Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matheus, Diver Klinsman (I even got his autograph :-), Thomas Hasller (sp?)...
It is kinda if weird this time around, since the new German team is virtually unknown to me. I was impressed by the first game. Yesterday, was more of a battle against a desperate Polish team, but you guys came through it unscathed.
Good luck in the final group game, and might you make it to the final. I want a replay of 1966 :-)
BTW. Kudos to Germany as a host. You seem to be doing an impressive job, and the atmosphere around the games in the different cities seems excellent. The Norwegian reporters have been really impressed by the organisation and the atmosphere.
Cheers.
The Brits haven´t been that successful after their 1966 lucky victory. If they wouldn´t continue the propaganda war of WWII, I´d say they deserve the trophy.
Thanks, I´m confident that the happy mood goes on even if Germany doesn´t make it to the final match. My guess is, that we´ll lose in the quarter finals against Holland or Argentina. But that´s ok, we´ll be among the eight best team then.
On the other hand, we became World Champion in 1954, 1974 and 1990. Now multiplicate 54 with 74 and take 1990 - the result is 2006!! :-)
Many here are surprised that we - the German people - can present ourselves as a patriotic nation, but a nation that does it best to be a good host to everyone (except the Iranian president). I have never seen so many flags from around the world here, and people partying together. We pay tribute to good games and honor those who perform better than expected. I never expected Saudi-Arabia to make a goal, that Trinida&Tobago reaches a draw against Sweden, or that the weather would be that good. Where´s our rainy summer?
I´m really looking forward for the next weeks.
Hey it's not that bleak considering the numbers of young folks playing the game. They will be influenced by their exposure to the game and this World Cup.
The future of soccer in the US is not impacted by the indifferent overweight folks who have never played the game as the NBA is not impacted by the KKK.
Neither are going to be your audience. It's nothing to get upset about.
Soccer is still the future in this country. The MLS needs to continue to follow its business plan and it's a good one.
But how I miss the NASL. As a kid, I grew up watching the Cosmos on TV and saw them at Giant Stadium.
What great games they had, what teams they fielded!
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