World Cup 2010 Blog: “Group C Liveblogs: USA vs Algeria, England vs Slovenia” plus 9 more

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• Group C Liveblogs: USA vs Algeria, England vs Slovenia
• Leo Messi Hearts Oasis
• The World Cup Awards: June 22nd, 2010
• The Many Faces Of Robinho
• Preview: Slovenia vs. England
• Raymond Domenech Is No Fan Of Handshakes
• Match Review & Highlights: Nigeria 2 – South Korea 2
• Preview: USA vs. Algeria
• Yakubu’s World Cup Sized Sitter Miss
• Preview: Ghana vs. Germany

Group C Liveblogs: USA vs Algeria, England vs Slovenia Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:18 AM PDT Welcome to the liveblogs for the final games of Group C. You can see from the group table above that it’s all a bit tight. Today it’s USA vs Algeria and England vs Slovenia, with simultaneous kickoffs. As I understand it, both USA and England need a win to guarantee progression. Algeri needs a win too, but also needs help from Slovenia. Slovenia just need to avoid defeat and they’re golden. We have two liveblogs below. One for USA vs Algeria, one for England vs Slovenia. USA vs Algeria   USA Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter USA World Cup Jerseys | USA Soccer Tickets   Algeria Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Algeria Jerseys | Algeria Tickets England vs Slovenia   Slovenia Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Slovenia Jerseys | Slovenia Tickets   Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter England Jerseys | England World Cup Tickets

Leo Messi Hearts Oasis Posted: 22 Jun 2010 10:11 PM PDT This is one story I did not expect to come out of World Cup 2010, but apparently Leo Messi has discovered Manchester band Oasis, via Carlos Tevez. Bear in mind I read this not just in The Sun, but in The Sun’s gossip column. So it’s not exactly watertight. But it’s still fascinating, and – if true – a nice little window into Leo Messi’s world. “On the plane on the way to the World Cup Carlitos made me listen to their first two albums. I have to say I wasn’t expecting much but it is some of the best material I have ever heard. They are absolutely amazing. “Their songs are incredible. I would have to say Supersonic and Live Forever are my favourites. I have been listening to their stuff on my iPod dock in the hotel room, on the way to the matches and in the dressing room. I can’t believe it’s taken me all this time to finally listen to them. “I’ve been watching their live performances on YouTube and they look like they’d be amazing to see in concert. “I asked Carlitos if we could go and see them in Manchester or London in concert, but he told me they have split up. “I showed the rest of the boys in the Argentina squad their stuff and I promise you, everybody absolutely loves it. “A few knew a couple of their songs but for most of them it was their first listen. “We have agreed that if we win the World Cup we want to fly them over to Argentina for our celebration party. “We just need them to name their price.” I can’t help but picture Leo Messi’s sad little face when he found out his new favourite band was no more. But he’s going to look even sadder when he listens beyond those first two albums. In fact, I’m hoping Messi’s excellent World Cup form isn’t related to his progression through the Oasis back catalogue, because if that’s the case then by the time he gets to Don’t Believe the Truth we’ll be lucky if he can kick a ball straight.

The World Cup Awards: June 22nd, 2010 Posted: 22 Jun 2010 07:39 PM PDT Team of the Day: A bittersweet award: South Africa. A staggering performance, begging the question: were they holding back or was France really that bad? Little bit of both, probably. Player of the Day: Siphiwe Tshabalala. The saving grace is that Tshabalala was so integral to South Africa he’s due a move to Europe – should he so choose – based on his footballing merits alone. The billions of Tshabalala shirts and scrunchies whichever club wins his lotto will be able to sell will simply be a bonus. YouTuber of the Day: Most French fans can laugh at this point. I think. Stat of the Day: Via Eurosport. Diego Maradona Oh go on then. His men racked up a frightening 82 per cent possession against Greece – the highest of any World Cup match since 1966 – to keep their 100 per cent record intact. I propose a new international footballing law which states Greece shall be punished with lashes of Claude Makelele’s noodle in relation to possession, the number of which shall be determined by their possession differential – in this case, 82 -18= 64 lashes from Claude The Beer Can. And if they shall ever earn the majority of possession, will be rewarded with an equal number of euros. ie 52 – 48 = €4. They’d be a few 60-40 games away from saving their economy. We’re changing worlds here, people. The Jabulani Award: This vid’s purpose was originally to highlight how brilliant Tzorvas was on the day. Then I got to the :23 mark – watch where that booming hit from Veron drops. It’s like he’s throwing a curveball with exact placement on the break. Greece 0-2 Argentina (Highlights) Ricardo | MySpace Video FIFA should still probably pee test Argentina’s Jabulani – just to be sure. Quote of the Day: Whilst the rest of the media was busy fluffing Cristiano for scoring an accidental goal, Mick McCarty was speaking truths: Between this and throwing out his reserves against ManU, this man’s a legend. (Three meaningful halves, three completely anonymous performances.) What It Means: Seoul, South Korea. The Putting A Wig On A Cardboard Cutout Of Salma Hayek At A Football Game Award: This is easily grounds for jail in some countries. What’s Spanish for “put the lotion in the basket”? (Nery Castillo?) Fans of the Day: Embracing failure is always respectable. Especially when you had nothing to do with said failure. Matchup of the Day: South Korea takes on Greece. v.

The Many Faces Of Robinho Posted: 22 Jun 2010 04:35 PM PDT There is a person somewhere in this world so curious as to Robinho’s longterm plans with his facial patch a website has been developed in which his potential future faces are pondered. It’s called Barbeia Robinho, and if it’s not the best thing you see today, you’re lying. A few of the faves after the jump.

Preview: Slovenia vs. England Posted: 22 Jun 2010 04:03 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE England’s first two games did not go well. There was the Robert Green spill for the 1-1 draw with USA, and the sedated (maybe literally?) performance for the 0-0 draw with Algeria. The tabloid’s knives are out. But Fabio Capello is still confident that England can win this game and go all way. The suspended Jamie Carragher will be replaced by Matty Upson in central defence, while it’s possible we could see Jermain Defoe start up front alongside Wayne Rooney. Slovenia sits on top of Group C right now as the only team with a win to their name. Anything but defeat and they’re through to the Round of 16, so expect to seem them defend and counter, and challenge England to find the creativity that has been missing so far. WHAT’S AT STAKE If Slovenia wins they take first place in the group. If England wins and has a better goal difference than the USA, then they take first place. But I suspect both teams would settle for top two at this point, and worry about first place later. Slovenia qualifies with a win or a draw. England with a win for sure, but a draw is good enough provided the US either loses to Algeria or has a low scoring draw with Algeria (which would allow England to catch up the US in number of goals scored). More details of the Group C qualification scenario are available, but basically England needs a win, Slovenia a draw, so expect Slovenia to sit back and England to look frustrated. KICKOFF 4pm local, 10am US eastern. Bet on Slovenia vs. England OUR PREDICTION All depends on whether England can find a goal. If they can score just the one, then the blood will return to their cheeks and all will be well. The longer Slovenia hold them (or if they scored on the counter) the worse it gets for England. Heart over head, I’m predicting England find the goals and win 2-1. FAN RESOURCES   Slovenia Slovenia Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Slovenia Jerseys | Slovenia Tickets   England Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter England Jerseys | England World Cup Tickets

Raymond Domenech Is No Fan Of Handshakes Posted: 22 Jun 2010 03:23 PM PDT Al was well between both teams at the end of France v South Africa and then it comes time for Raymond Domenech to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira and Rayray just…loses it. For what, we do not know. Was he so inspired by Zidane splotching his legacy in ‘06 he decided to do the same in his French finale? We may never know. But perhaps we can take hint from his postgame quote: “I think we need to be dignified both in victory and defeat.” Maybe not.

Match Review & Highlights: Nigeria 2 – South Korea 2 Posted: 22 Jun 2010 03:20 PM PDT The game had all the right ingredients to be an exciting game: two teams needing either wins and/or results in their favor combined with two suspect defenses. And it was every bit as good as advertised. (So long as you appreciate games with sloppy defending.) Nigeria problematically included some suspect finishing as well, thus their World Cup is good and finished, exiting with one point and three goals scored. A valiant performance against Argentina in the first; a moment of internal madness sinking the ship against Greece in the second; and a sitter miss nearly impossible to believe which may or may not have sent Nigeria on to the kayos. And thus it’s South Korea who will be tasked with the suddenly very impressive Uruguay. The first two goals took advantage of those suspect defenses. In fact you could say all of the goals were the result of some poor defending: the first two the inability to clear the ball, the third a rare miscue from Vincent Enyeama on a Park Chu-Young free kick, and the fourth a poor, poor tackle from behind by Kim Nami-Il, who’d been on the pitch for mere moments. Nigeria have to be pretty disappointed not to win this one, with Kalu Uche throwing a stunning ball at the post, Yakubu’s horrible miss and Obafemi Martins chipping a ball just wide of the post. In fact it has to burn quite badly they couldn’t net three or more. But it’s heartening going forward, as Nigeria made huge strides under Lars Lagerback and did so without John Mikel Obi. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be a very long time before they can strut their stuff at an African World Cup. For South Korea, it’s a huge victory as they’d yet to advance beyond the groups on foreign soil – and it’s not undeserved, if Nigeria may have had the better chances today. They’ll just have to patch up that back for Uruguay after being exposed the last two games.

Preview: USA vs. Algeria Posted: 22 Jun 2010 03:17 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE This game has a momentous feeling about it for the USA, as if the future popularity of soccer in America rests on the US making it out of Group C and into the knockouts. Team USA were (wrongly) denied victory against Slovenia by temporary referee insanity, but should still be feeling good about coming from two goals down in that game to draw 2-2 with Slovenia, as well as that 1-1 draw vs England in the first game. There are rumours that star striker Jozy Altidore has had a dodgy belly, but apart from that the US is all set. A win here sends them through, no questions asked. Algeria have yet to win a game or score a goal at World Cup 2010, but were more than a match for England again whom they earned a 0-0 draw, and only lost the first game to Slovenia 1-0 after going down to 10 men. Algeria can still make it out of Group C, but have to win here and hope England loses, so don’t expect to see them sit back. Look for Karim Ziani to lead the charge, and Nadir Belhadj to advance from left back again. WHAT’S AT STAKE USA definitely advances with a win. A draw is also good enough, provided England draw with Slovenia in the other game without catching up the US in the goals scored column. So best try for the win. Algeria need a win, plus needs Slovenia to beat England. Should make for an entertaining game of football. More on Group C qualification scenarios. KICKOFF 4pm local time, 10 am US eastern. Bet on USA vs. Algeria OUR PREDICTION I’m not sure Algeria has the necessary firepower to outscore the US if this game opens up. Which is why I’m predicting a rather exciting 3-2 win for the USA. FAN RESOURCES   USA USA Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter USA World Cup Jerseys | USA Soccer Tickets   Algeria Algeria Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Algeria Jerseys | Algeria Tickets

Yakubu’s World Cup Sized Sitter Miss Posted: 22 Jun 2010 02:37 PM PDT [101gg] Normally these are treated with a healthy dose of schadenfreude. This, on the other hand, is truly painful to watch. With African teams dropping by the day, Nigeria had the chance to pull it back to 2-2 with the simplest of tap-ins from Yakubu. And he did something else entirely. Yakubu would score a penalty later, but the game would still end 2-2 and Nigeria would be going home. The game changes entirely with a simple finish, so perhaps no penalty, but just one goal tacked on…

Preview: Ghana vs. Germany Posted: 22 Jun 2010 02:31 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE It wasn’t supposed to be like this, was it? After the way both teams ran out winners in the first game, it seemed like Germany would roll into the semis and Ghana would do to Australia what they’d done to Serbia in the opener, given how well the Aussies had defended against Germany. Apparently learning from the mistakes of the first game is perfectly a-okay, at least for Serbia and Australia, and now Germany and Ghana are left to fight it out for their World Cup lives. Hardly what was expected of the tournament’s most impressive team in the opening round; and equally surprising for Ghana is that they find themselves in first place – but can’t be particularly happy they squandered a bigger gap with the advantage against Australia. And while the world will wait to see what Germany turns up – whether they’ve refound their form – the true story paints a much bigger picture: Ghana is effectively Africa’s last hope. The Ivory Coast approach a near insurmountable goal difference, and the trio of South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon are already out. They are now the only nation saddled with the hopes and dreams of an entire continent. WHAT’S AT STAKE None of the teams in Group C have been impressive enough to warrant worrying too much about final position – not to mention the mess of that group – so both will merely need to worry about qualification. That’s all. Ghana 4 points from 2 matches, +1 goal differential Wins the group with: * A win over Germany * A draw with Germany, combined with an Australia-Serbia draw Qualifies with above scenarios plus: * A draw with Germany (regardless of other result) * A loss to Germany, combined with an Australia-Serbia draw that leaves Ghana ahead of Serbia on goal difference / tie-breakers. * A loss to Germany, combined with an Australia win that leaves Ghana ahead of Australia o goal difference / tie-breakers. Germany 3 points from 2 matches, +3 goal differential Wins the group with: * A win over Ghana, as long as Serbia doesn’t win by enough to beat Germany on goal difference. Qualifies with above scenario plus: * A win over Ghana (regardless of other result) * A draw with Ghana combined with an Australia-Serbia draw (Germany win on goal difference). * A draw with Ghana combined with an Australia win that leaves Germany ahead of Australia on goal difference / tie-breakers. For all Group D scenarios check here. Bet on Ghana vs. Germany OUR PREDICTION Despite the loss, Germany were down to ten and a decent showing from Lukas Podolski away from at least drawing with a much improved Serbia. Ghana, on the other hand, couldn’t capitalize against a weakened Australia. Neither ideal, but you’d have to think the Germans are the favorites. 2-0 Germany. FAN RESOURCES   Ghana Ghana Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Ghana Jerseys | Ghana World Cup Tickets   Germany Germany Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Germany Football Jerseys | Germany World Cup Tickets

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