Posted on 06/16/2006 5:38:56 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
Friday's World Cup action begins at 8:55 a.m. ET as Argentina meets Serbia & Montenegro. The Netherlands and Ivory Coast follow that match at 11:55 a.m. If the Dutch and Argentines both win, both advance to the Round of 16 from Group C. Mexico and Angola conclude the afternoon at 2:55 p.m.
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Right. Or a very high scoring Angolan victory. Probably, not very likely though.
OK, so I wasn't paying attention closely. I do have to get some work done here!
Actually there have been very few upsets so far in this cup. About the only surprise has been how well Ecuador has done. Early advancing by Germany, England, Argentina and Holland is no surprise; Sweden, Mexico & Portugal are likely to advance also. Africa still stinks; CONCACAF is not much better; South America is doing very well.
The biggest mystery still to be resolved in this tournament is whether or not France will score. How can any team with Thierry Henry not score?
see above. Not beyond realms of possibility. Portugal is a very good side, Iran is a weak side. And an African team has unexpectedly advance in every world cup since Cameroon made it to the quarters in 1998...
Sorry, it is inconceivable to me for the moment. Angola can not advance on draws with a 3 pt. win system.
And to win you have to score a goal.
So how does Angola advance without scoring?
The question is, can they score on an Iranian team that has nothing to play for?
Possibility is one thing, realistic outcome entirely another.
I do not see Iran as a weak side.
They have some balance to their squad. And you need some offense to get to the next round. Portugal is not impressive so far and may be overrated (again).
Figo's exit could come sooner than later. I dont' want to see that as I've admired Portugal tremendously for a while, but Iran is the challenger here, not Angola.
Angola just won "their" World Cup with a draw today. I think that's the most they expect.
They have no chemistry. I don't think Zidane's heart is in it anymore. They had to beg him to come back.
I have no idea, but may the drought be long lasting :-)
I hear you about African teams advancing in 1998 and 2002, but so far in this Cup they stink. Two draws and the rest losses.
Tunisia probably has the best chance of advancing, but I think Ukraine will come back and Spain should throttle them. A late draw against Saudi Arabia is not exactly proof of excellence.
Ivory Coast is done; Ghana is in too difficult a group; Angola is almost done; Togo can't decode on a coach -- it's a wreck for the Dark Continent.
As Chris Berman says, "That's why they play the game." We shall see.
True, there is no Senegal this time.
Plus Zidane has to play so many games for Real Madrid and that takes its toll at his age.
Why do you think Iran has nothing to play for?
Pride is a big thing for a young WC nation.
This World Cup needs one shock outcome so I'm putting my faith in possibilty and a shock upset by Angola.
One of the things that made the last World Cup good was the number of upsets in the group stages, with both France and Argentina going out while Senegal, Turkey and Soth Korea all made the quarters and the last two the semis.
So how about a bet?
If Angola fails to qualify you can have my girlfriend (she snores). What are you laying on the table?
A stat I would like to see for every nation at the WC is how many total Champions League games the players on the team played in. That would give a good indication of the talent disparity.
I'm going further out on a limb, I am picking Australia to at least tie, or beat Brazil.
Ivory Coast deserves better and has done themselves proud. They were beautiful in defeat(s).
Ghana is not done. Their physical and technical ability could provide some surprises. Czechs have some key injuries. We'll see if Ghana can avoid a defensive lapse.
I don't see their situation as fatal.
You can take my ex-wife to Moscow if Angola qualifies.
In fact, please take her in any case.
OK but you have to stake your woman too.
We need to liven things up around here.
Does she snore?
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