The World Cup Thread

[Misanthrope]

I know it may seem crazy, but the friendly between Greece & Australia actually out-rated Wednesday's opening State of Origin game...

 

[Samwise]

Australia wide it did, but in NSW and QLD it rated about half what origin did.

 

[Misanthrope]

1-0 to the Netherlands at halftime. Australia looked very poor in defence for the first half hour or so, but began to find some inroads late in the game. Viduka had a very good chance to equalise but Van Der Sar made a damn fine save to keep him out.

 

[Alex28]

the Dutch are a class above us thats for sure. Defence was ordinary when Ruud scored but tightened up later in the half...we created some opportunities but Netherlands look so complete across the field...

 

[astrogirl]

Do you reckon we can improve much before the world cup? Or do we not have the class to step it up a notch?

 

[Alex28]

1-1 against the Number 2 team in the world is MASSIVE. They were at full strength, they weren't going easy on us - plus we did it with 10 men for 25 minutes. Brilliant result!

 

[Misanthrope]

They're actually world #3 (Czech Republic are #2), but the result is no less impressive. To do that against one of the world's finest teams and a Cup favourite without Kewell and with a man down for half an hour is huge.

Once again Schwarzer shows why he is far and away our best keeper. If it weren't for him it could have been 3 or 4-0 at halftime.

EDIT: Stupid football

 

[Alex28]

Was just on my way back to correct - my bad.

 

[Misanthrope]

I thought they were #2 as well, I didn't even realise the Czechs were that good :lol:

 

[Frederick]

Who scored for Australia? I kinda fell asleep at the end of the first half, then when I woke up it was all over and they were interviewing Hiddink, mentioned the score but from memory didn't mention who scored for Aus. But maybe they did, and I'm just really tired.

 

[Misanthrope]

Cahill scored with his first touch - got the ball on the rebound after Viduka hit the crossbar from a direct penalty.

 

[The Devil]

CWBush i hope you meant GK when you said fullback hehe

Viduka was brought down in the box, he took the the penalty and, like against Uruguay, missed - hit the bar. Cahill picked up the scraps and scored with his first touch of the game

 

[Frederick]

Ahh, cheers guys.
*goes back to sleep*

 

[B-dos]

It was a great result to get 1-1 against the Netherlands. We really looked outclassed in the first half but did very well to remain composed and get the equaliser. Its a bit worrying that Viduka missed the penalty. Very worrying in fact. Thank god Cahill was there to pick up the scraps. If i were Guus, id be thinking of relieving Dukes of his duties there.

 

[astrogirl]

1-1 against the Number 2 team in the world is MASSIVE. They were at full strength, they weren't going easy on us - plus we did it with 10 men for 25 minutes. Brilliant result!

Good point. Perhaps I expect too much

 

[pennywisealfie]

netherlands may be #3 on the world rankings but the rankings are a joke. USA is number 5 in the world. Australia is number 44 or something ridiculous. but reguardless, holland are a good team. i was ok with the match, i dont think we got what we wanted out of it, we will have to wait for leichtenstein to test combinations some more. Viduka should never take penalties!

 

[astrogirl]

When's the next game on?

I need to write it in my diary so I don't forget to watch it!!!

 

[B-dos]

The final friendly before the WC is Australia v Liechtenstein which is on SBS at 3am on Thursday morning.

You'll probably need your alarm clock as well as the diary astro!!

 

[astrogirl]

Thanks B-dos

LOL I can see my sleeping patterns will be totally out of whack in the coming weeks!

My plan of attack will be to try to go to bed at 10pm on Wed night (very early for me!), so I can get 5 hours sleep, watch the match and then get an hour before I go to work.

 

[Misanthrope]

PWA, while you're spot on with regards to USA not being even close to being worth of #5, you're crazy if you don't think the Netherlands are deserving of #3 (or #2).