World Cup 2006 Blog |  |
- In Defence of the Vuvuzela…
- Confederations Cup Recap and Highlights: Brazil and USA (yes, USA!) go Through
- Confederations Cup Group B Liveblog: Egypt vs. USA AND Italy vs. Brazil
| Posted: 22 Jun 2009 03:40 AM PDT …it actually sounds pretty good in the hands of those who know how to play it.
More importantly, I watched the Egypt vs USA game yesterday with precisely zero vuvuzela induced pain. Mostly because I forgot they were even there. Maybe that was because I spent most of the game doing maths in my head (goal difference, goals scored, etc) or maybe because I couldn’t quite believe what was happening (are the USA really through to the semis?). But most likely it was because I’d just gotten used to the sound after a week of watching (and listening to) the Confederations Cup. It was annoying to begin with, mostly because I wasn’t used to it. But five matchdays in, I’m 100% vuvuzela adjusted. For a completely different opinion, read Chris’s Death to the Vuvuzela post. |
| Confederations Cup Recap and Highlights: Brazil and USA (yes, USA!) go Through Posted: 21 Jun 2009 03:12 PM PDT
Okay, show of hands. Who, before today, predicted that USA — with one goal (a penalty), zero points and an excruciating -5 goal differential up to this point — would progress out of the group stages ahead of World Cup winners Italy and African champions Egypt? Anybody? You, there, in the back? No? Yeah, me neither. For that to happen, Italy would have to lose by three to Brazil, and Egypt (a team I’ve always considered underrated) would have to lose to the US by a similar score. Improbable, right? Maybe even impossible? And yet that’s exactly what happened. The US will have to hope they haven’t used up their miracle quota, because now they play Spain in the semis. And in the other match, Italy had a night to forget. They especially won’t want to think much about a ten-minute period at the end of the first half, when Brazil scored all three of their goals. Although they did have some help from Andrea Dossena, who capped off the half with an own goal, put in like he meant it. Ouch. I caught a lot of the replay, and outside of those ten minutes, Italy had plenty of opportunities and didn’t really look bad. It’s just that Brazil looked better. And (dare I say it?) younger. Robinho and Luis Fabiano in particular looked on fire, and Italy had nothing to match that. I think we may be seeing some housecleaning (and maybe younger players?) in this team before World Cup. And here’s what the semifinals will look like: Spain vs. USA, Weds., 6/24 |
| Confederations Cup Group B Liveblog: Egypt vs. USA AND Italy vs. Brazil Posted: 21 Jun 2009 10:48 AM PDT
Final day of the group stages in the Confederations Cup. What are we doing to celebrate? A great big jumbo liveblog. Both games, one liveblog, all your main-page bloggers in one spot. I think Chris is going to take charge of Italy-Brazil, Daryl is going to head up USA-Egypt, and I’ll maybe bounce back and forth between the two. At least until the pain of watching Bob Bradley’s men (On the plus side? Gold Cup coming up. We can OWN that one.) Liveblog below, and be sure to leave lots of comments.
Starting Lineup Italy according to FIFA: Buffon, Chiellini, Cannavaro, Toni, De Rossi, Iaquinta, Camoranesi, Zambrotta, Montolivo, Pirlo, Dossena. Brazil: Egypt: USA: (And it took me till I got to the US to realize that these are in numerical order, not team position order. I need more caffeine.) |
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