Posted on 06/13/2006 6:05:50 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
World Cup favorite Brazil will kick off its World Cup campaign on Tuesday as the opening round of the tournament continues in Germany. The defending champions will face Croatia at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in Berlin in the second Group F match, following Australia's come-from-behind victory over Japan Monday.
The match will feature the highly-anticipated debut of FC Barcelona great Ronaldinho as he looks to lead the South Americans to a record sixth championship. But the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year is hardly the only weapon in coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's arsenal. Also at his disposal are Ronaldo, Kaka, Robinho and Roberto Carlos -- just to name a few -- who could leave the Croatian defense in for a busy day.
In the day's first match, first-time qualifiers Togo will be looking to upset 2002 semifinalists South Korea (9 a.m. ET, ESPN2). Though the Asian side does not have home field advantage as they did four years ago, the side is very experienced and boasts much talent, including 10 players returning for their second consecutive finals. The Koreans will be looking to Ahn Jung-Hwan for offense.
Togo enters the match as one of the surprise teams in the field, having secured qualification for the first time in the tiny nation's history. With many players coming from the French, Swiss and English leagues, they are a side capable of raising a few eyebrows.
Also making their 2006 World Cup debuts on Tuesday will be France and Switzerland, the neighboring nations squaring off at 12 noon ET on ESPN2. 'Les Blues' are chock full of world-class talent, including Arsenal's Thierry Henry and former FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane, who led the French to their only World Cup title on home soil eight years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlsnet.com ...
Hey, you were a good sport and we're cool.
Now -- whaddya think about Brazilian soccer chicks?
What did the Swiss do to get the Turks all riled up? Did they insult them in some way?
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Come on, only 15 more minutes for another French scoreless game.
There might have been something about booing the Turkish anthem.
At the end of the game, all hell broke loose. Turkish police joined in, and started attacking the Swiss players. Blatter threatened with expelling Turkey from the next World Cup qualifications. The Swiss instated a kebab boycott. Untill, kurds protested, claiming THEY were the major players in the Swiss kebab industry.
It was a mess. LoL.
Not unless someone pulls off a miracle. It was bad enough that we lost, but we lost without playing much. A team can lose 3-0 and still have put put up a good battle, but as many freepers commented already, our strategy seemed to consist mostly of standing and watching.
I simply don't know what the problem was - we have the players to put in a much better performance. There just didn't seem to be any passion.
Anyway, I don't think we'll ever reach the top echelons of the sport unless and until somehow young people start playing on their own - our players all learn from being coached, and it eliminates some of the creativity (IMHO) you see from players like Ronaldinho, Maradonna, or Pele.
Freddie Adu is the best US hope, but he needs a lesson in humility. And playing in the MLS isn't going to get it done. He's got the raw talent, but he needs to play in Europe with other players have the same raw talent.
McBride can clearly play at this level - witness his 2 goals against Man U. in a single match.
Yes, the Koreans looked good in the last one, but the only reason they advanced was helpful refs. Spain clearly beat them, but the refs handed the game to Korea. It was the most flagrant example I've ever seen of either partial or incompetent officiating.
France did not score at all during the 2002 World Cup.
I see Zidane got a yellow.
What an embarrasment if France can't advance from the easiest group in the tournament.
It is kind of amazing with players like Saha, Sidane and Henry.
Almost got some help from the Swiss goalie there.
Looks like this will be the 2nd 0-0 match of the tournament
Jeez! So, so close.
A "hand of god" attempt by the Swiss. Stupid.
And, it is all over.
Ha, France still has as many goals as the US.
"Switzerland getting the draw they set out for" There you have it, they did not play to win.
It was nice and "neutral" of them, to share the points equally :-)
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