Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho (R) fouls France's Thierry Henry in the penalty box. France's Zinedine Zidane, right, scores the opening goal with a penalty kick against Portugal's goalkeeper Ricardo
Posted on 07/05/2006 7:31:00 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
Portugal takes on France at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN) in Munich.
Discuss.
(Excerpt) Read more at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ...
LOL
Very odd first half. I don't like the signs I'm seeing from France. Bickering and lethargy to name two. Zidane looks spent and Portugal has seven men on defense most of the time to tackle three or four French players.
I wonder what they were saying to Zidane after he scored the PK. It looked something like, you da man, be the man, you da man.
Portugal seems better organized offensively except they stop to complain on every other play. Maybe that will cost them.
It was karma that they got that penalty. Henry didn't cheat or make a meal out of it. Had that been Ronaldo, he would have gone flying to the ground.
>>Portugal seems better organized offensively except they stop to complain on every other play
Let's hope so. Normally I'd be inclined to support Portugal but their constant diving and whining has made me change my tune.
Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho (R) fouls France's Thierry Henry in the penalty box. France's Zinedine Zidane, right, scores the opening goal with a penalty kick against Portugal's goalkeeper Ricardo
That Holland - Portugal game was like the Iran - Iraq War. Both of those teams deserved to lose. I was sorry to see England lose to Portugal for two reasons -- I like England, and I can't stand Portugal.
I hate drama queens.
It's odd because I've never seen so many guys stop to complain on offense.
Figo has looked better than I thought he would and Maniche to me always dangerous.
Hey look a new soccer commercial by Nike with that loser Ronaldinho.
Send him to do some tricks in a circus.
Figo earned a ride on the stretcher with this dive. He was back on the field for the next play.
Portugal's main function seems to be to make all the other teams in the World Cup look less obnoxious. Everyone has forgotten about Italy's shady tactics since Portugal began their tricks against Holland and continued them against England and now France.
>>That Holland - Portugal game was like the Iran - Iraq War. Both of those teams deserved to lose.
I agree. Too bad they don't have that option.
One of the things I liked about the Italy-Germany game was that the ref just ignored most of the BS diving, and it ended up in a match with less diving. Well at least obvious diving.
I agree. They should be called the Portugese National Diving Team :)
Speaking of losers, Ronaldo (the fat Brazilian one, not the sneaky, winking Portuguese one) should become the new poster boy for McDonalds.
Portugal has far surpassed Italy on grounded playacting since Italy played so well yesterday in comparison to Portugal throughout, including today.
That's funny.
That is costing them control of the midfield. While their players whine, petition the ref, and roll on the ground, the French defense pushes the ball through the midfield for a counter attack.
Makelele is ramming the ball through midfield every time.
That's because the Italy - Germany game had a Mexican official -- keeping the yellow and red cards in his pocket that other officials keep showing.
Maybe he was hoping to turn in his extra red and yellow cards for a green card.
Makakele is the unheralded engine of the whole French team. He isn't as showy as Henry and Zidane but gets through a lot of work and wins a lot of tackles.
Good observation and very important for the French to release quickly.
They need counters to be effective.
By "real appeal" do you mean appeal in America? Internationally, soccer is by far the most popular sport, and the World Cup is by far the most watched sporting event in the world.
In the US professional soccer ranks a distant fifth behind football, baseball, basketball and hockey, but it's just a matter of time before it surpasses basketball and hockey in terms of popularity. I've followed soccer since I played as a kid in the '70s, and I'd give it 15-20 years before it's the fourth-ranked sport.
Ricardo with an odd misplay. Saves the ball that he misblocks toward his own goal!
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