World Cup 2010 Blog: “Liveblog: Netherlands vs Japan” plus 9 more

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• Liveblog: Netherlands vs Japan
• The Diego Maradona Vuvuzela Q&A
• The World Cup Awards: June 18th, 2010
• Preview: Ghana vs. Australia
• Preview: Cameroon vs. Denmark
• Preview: Netherlands vs. Japan
• Match Review & Highlights: England 0 – Algeria 0
• Liveblog: England vs Algeria
• Soundoff: Which Refereeing Decision Was Worse? Germany’s Red Card or USA’s Disallowed Goal
• Match Review & Highlights: USA 2-2 Slovenia

Liveblog: Netherlands vs Japan Posted: 19 Jun 2010 03:10 AM PDT Welcome to the liveblog of Netherlands vs Japan in World Cup Group E. Make your comments before, during and after the match in the liveblog window. Below the main liveblog are videos of the goals so far, and then a feed of trusted Twitter accounts either broadcasting from the match or talking about it. Read up on the match with our Netherlands vs Japan preview. Goal videos: Bet on Netherlands vs. Japan Don’t just take our word on the match. Check out match comments from carefully selected Twitter accounts: FAN RESOURCES   Netherlands Netherlands Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Netherlands Jerseys | Netherlands World Cup Tickets   Japan Japan World Cup Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Japan Soccer Shirts | Japan World Cup Tickets

The Diego Maradona Vuvuzela Q&A Posted: 18 Jun 2010 07:26 PM PDT Q: What do I do with this vuvuzela thing? A: Blow! - Thanks to Marco from mCalcio for sending to tips[at]theoffside.com - Don’t call the police, it’s Photoshopped

The World Cup Awards: June 18th, 2010 Posted: 18 Jun 2010 07:03 PM PDT Team of the day: Algeria. Were England that bad? Or were Algeria just a bit good? USA comes a close runner up for their second 45 minutes, but Algeria went the full 90. Man of the Day: Mr. Koman Coulibalu. Because a real man never explains his actions. Even when he’s wrong. Best fake Twitter account: Koman Coulibalu. “Bio: Hey guys! I’m a referee in the FIFA World Cup!” Best fake YouTube video: Someone is recording Robert Green’s daydreams. Worst birthday present: The single point that the England players gave Fabio Capello for his 64th birthday. Hope they kept the receipt. Worst fans: England fans. I can say this because I am one. Why boo your team after a 0-0 draw? Do you want to make Wayne Rooney bitter and sarcastic? Save your booing until something genuinely bad happens people. Most increasingly inaccurate headline: Nothing’s ever as easy as it looks. Most incredible thing that happened today: Germany failing to convert a penalty. End times are coming. Best match review: Matchup of the Day: England vs Germany

Preview: Ghana vs. Australia Posted: 18 Jun 2010 05:18 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE Australia were absolutely mullered in their first game, 4-0 by Germany. Factor in Tim Cahill’s red card and his suspension for today, and you can see the problems mounting. Midfielder Cahill was easily the Socceroos main source of goals, and apparently Pim Verbeek’s solution to his team’s lack of strikers. One option is Harry Kewell of Always Injured FC. Apparently “Socceroos medicos believe Kewell, who is down on match fitness having played just 58 minutes of football since December, has no more than 45 minutes of football in him.” There’s a potential fairy tale ending there, but only if you like fairy tales where famous players play injured and have disappointing games. More at Australia World Cup Blog. Ghana won their first game, beating Serbia 1-0. Obviously there’s no Michael Essien, but the after the way what I’m calling the A-Team: Kwadwo Asamoah, André Ayew and Anthony Annan played against Serbia, they seem to be coping just fine without him. More at Ghana World Cup Blog. WHAT’S AT STAKE Australia’s whole World Cup is at stake. If they don’t win here, I’d argue their minus four goal difference makes it impossible to advance with only three of four points. Ghana should be confident of a win, and their six points would be enough to play Germany in the final game without too much pressure. Bet on Ghana vs. Australia OUR PREDICTION A bad day to be a Socceroo. Ghana 2-0 Australia. FAN RESOURCES   Ghana Ghana Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Ghana Jerseys | Ghana World Cup Tickets   Australia Australia World Cup Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Australia Socceroos Jerseys | Australia World Cup Tickets

Preview: Cameroon vs. Denmark Posted: 18 Jun 2010 05:00 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE Cameroon and Denmark were both losers in the first round of games, neither can afford a second defeat, while both will desperately wan’t a first win. Morten Olsen’s Denmark simply met a superior opponent when they lost 2-0 to the Netherlands, and may have a slightly fitter Nicklas Bendtner to call on. Paul Le Guen’s Cameroon were a massive disappointment while losing 1-0 to Japan. As Shane put it, the Indomitable Lions need to be fixed, which could mean recalls for either Alexandre or Rigobert Song, and hopefully Achille Emana. It’s also possible Le Guen will try Samuel Eto’o playing in the center, rather than wide right. Because Le Guen is not Jose Mourinho and Cameroon are not Inter. WHAT’S AT STAKE I’d argue that Cameroon need the victory more than Denmark. Because Cameroon’s third game will be against the Netherlands, while Denmark’s will be against Japan. You don’t want to play against the Netherlands needing a result. We’ll see whether Le Guen agrees, but I suggest he goes big or goes home to France. Bet on Cameroon vs. Denmark OUR PREDICTION I’m optimistic that Cameroon will perform under pressure and get the win. I’ve already predicted that Smauel Eto’o will score 400 goals in Group E. I see two of those in this game, with the rest to follow and a 3-2 win for Cameroon. FAN RESOURCES   Cameroon Cameroon National Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Cameroon Football Jerseys | Cameroon World Cup Tickets   Denmark Denmark Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Denmark Football Jerseys | Denmark World Cup Tickets

Preview: Netherlands vs. Japan Posted: 18 Jun 2010 02:23 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE Japan made history against Cameroon but not just because it was their first World Cup win away from home soil. They also became the first team since 1966 to win a tournament match with a mere 3 shots at goal. Some would call this precise, most would call it very, very dull. They will not get the same luxury against Holland who began their tournament in just the right way, a comfortable win that didn’t get people talking about potential final opponents. The sort of position fancied teams love to be in, just going about their business with no fuss. They certainly didn’t reach their potential against Denmark, but they didn’t have to, nor should they need to in this match up. Japan will be on a high after their defeat of Cameroon but a Cameroon side playing their star striker on the right wing will be very different opposition to the formidable Dutch side, whose manager probably Bert van Marwijk probably has a better knowledge of the word ‘tactic’ than that of Cameroon’s Paul Le Guen. WHAT’S AT STAKE Whoever wins this will know they’ve all but secured progression to the next stage. Both victorious in the opening round, the pressure is somewhat off but that won’t stop the Japanese trying to keep it cagey. A draw for them here, against arguably one of the favourites for the tournament would give them a real chance of going through no matter what the outcome of the Cameroon Denmark match. They’ll be all too aware of the Dutch strength going forward and will try and contain the threat at every opportunity. This will most likely mean a training game ‘attack v defence’ clash and it’ll be entirely up to the Netherlands to set the tempo. Bet on Netherlands vs. Japan OUR PREDICTION Like many games so far, this hinges on how early the Dutch can break the deadlock. An early goal will force Japan on the offensive, but they won’t be looking to attack unless they’re absolutely have to. Even a narrow loss wouldn’t be the end of the world, as a showdown with Denmark on the last day would still give them a strong chance of progressing. Holland to win 1-0 for me in somewhat of a yawn fest. FAN RESOURCES   Netherlands Netherlands Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Netherlands Jerseys | Netherlands World Cup Tickets   Japan Japan World Cup Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Japan Soccer Shirts | Japan World Cup Tickets

Match Review & Highlights: England 0 – Algeria 0 Posted: 18 Jun 2010 02:00 PM PDT One of these teams is going to be really disappointed with the result, the other will be positively giddy. No prizes for guessing which is which. The myth of this new England now seems well and cooked after witnessing a dismal affair which wasn’t pretty on the eyes of the neutral, and probably wasn’t particularly aesthetic for anyone not waving their flag behind the Algerian line. Neither side were particularly close to scoring and the whole thing had that drab inevitability of a nil-nil draw into the second half. The story coming in on both sides, of course, was the keeper position. Both coaches decided second chances are for non-World Cup games and took out their keepers, instead preferring David James and Rais M’Bolhi. Didn’t really matter a whole lot. Neither team had a glittering chance, shook the woodwork or could fall back on dodgy refereeing – Algeria were better than expected, England were worse than expected, and they met somewhere in the middle for a nil-nil draw. The only thing of note, really, is how little of note there was, particularly from England’s “one man show”, Wayne Rooney. Karim Zaini looked brilliant and Algeria were a more technical side, a much better side than the one which took on Slovenia in the first match (although Slovenia’s tactics were largely responsible), but the game was lacking in many, many areas. The result obviously favors Algeria, as without it their World Cup was over. Now it sets up a four-way horse race on the final day with the group structured like so: [The tie-breakers run goal differential, goals scored and head-to-head.] There was one interesting thing which happened, actually: at the end of the game while England fans were booing the team, Wayne Rooney looked into the camera and said “Nice to see your own fans booing you, you football ’supporters’.” So at least that’s something fresh to keep the papers churning.

Liveblog: England vs Algeria Posted: 18 Jun 2010 10:35 AM PDT Welcome to the liveblog of England vs Algeria in World Cup Group C. Make your comments before, during and after the match in the liveblog window. Below the main liveblog are videos of the goals so far, and then a feed of trusted Twitter accounts either broadcasting from the match or talking about it. Read up on the match with our England vs Algeria preview. Goal videos: Bet on England vs. Algeria Don’t just take our word on the match. Check out match comments from carefully selected Twitter accounts: FAN RESOURCES   England Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter England Jerseys | England World Cup Tickets   Algeria Algeria Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Algeria Jerseys | Algeria Tickets

Soundoff: Which Refereeing Decision Was Worse? Germany’s Red Card or USA’s Disallowed Goal Posted: 18 Jun 2010 10:20 AM PDT We’re not even done with June 18th yet, and we already have what look to be two horrendous refereeing decisions that affected the outcome of two different World Cup games. My question: Which of them was worse? Earlier today we saw Alberto Undiano waving cards around in the Germany vs Serbia game. In the 37th minute he gave Germany’s Miroslav Klose a second yellow (which equals red) for this foul: Chris nailed it in the Germany Serbia match review when he called it a “striker’s foul”, while going for the ball. That happened in the 37th minute, and a still confused Germany conceded in the 38th minute and went on to lose 1-0. Germany will also be without Klose for the now very important final group game vs Ghana. In the next game we have referee Koman Coulibaly ruling out what looks to be a perfectly legitimate goal from Maurice Edu in the 85th minute: I still can’t see anything wrong with that. There’s already a discussion started on the disallowed Edu goal – head over there and add your thoughts. The sad thing is this tournament had been going along brilliantly, beginning with that very much correct offside call against Carlos Vela in the opening game. But seems June 18th is the day it all started to go a bit wrong. So the big question: Which of the above refereeing calls was worse?

Match Review & Highlights: USA 2-2 Slovenia Posted: 18 Jun 2010 09:30 AM PDT Obviously the Maurice Edu goal that referee Koman Coulibalu disallowed in the 86th minute is the big story here. But we’ve already covered that once. Click the link to see the video and join the conversation. I want to focus on what happened before the controversy, which was a strong start from Slovenia and an excellent second half comeback from the USA. In world class cliché fashion, this was a game of two halves. The first half was all about Slovenia. Playing 4-4-2, they took a 13th minute lead when Valter Birsa was give so much time and space at the of the US box he could have applied for planning permission and built a house. Instead he did this: Is it me, or does Oguchi Onyewu duck/fall over? You might have expected Slovenia to drop back and defend that one goal lead, but they stuck to 4-4-2, and right before halftime struck again, counterattacking after a short spell of US pressure: Bit of revenge for goalscorer Zlatan Ljubijankic, who had received an (accidental?) elbow in the head from Clint Dempsey straight from kickoff. It would be easy to criticize Onyewu again there. I’ve got some symoathy in that he seems to be between a rock and a hard place, between Milivoje Novakovic with the ball and Ljubijankic on the run, but he put himself in that situation by failing to step up for offside with his teammates. So things looked bad. The USA had that heroic draw against England in the bank, but it was only worth point. This defeat would be worth zero, and so Bob Bradley’s team would be on the way out. Bradley made two changes at halftime. Of came Jose Francsisco Torres, the midfielder who was supposed to help the USA possess the ball, but for some reason forgot how the bouncy thing worked, and off came Robbie Findley, whose pace looked a threat, but only if he could loan it to someone else. On came Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber, to bolster the US midfield. Seemed to work, because three minutes into the second half Landon Donovan had made it 2-1 with this menace of a close range shot: Smart stuff from Donovan, who seems to fake to pass across the box before banging it hard as he can into the far top corner. So hard that I swear both goalkeeper and goalframe flinched. Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic can claim he was unprepared for the shot, but I don’t think there’s any excuse for ducking out of the way in a World Cup match. There followed prolonged US attacking, with occasional Slovenian counterattacking, until Michael Bradley ran onto a Jozy Altidore (who’d looked a little clumsy all game) knockdown in the 82nd minute and copied Donovan by finding the roof of the net: That strike looked, and still looks, in serious danger of going over. But it didn’t, and so the US players had drawn level at 2-2 and rescued their World Cup 2010 campaign from the edge of disaster. What happened a few minutes later was confusing, and will quite rightly make several US fans very very angry. Seems they have denied a glorious come from behind 3-2 win. But they still get a glorious come from behind 2-2 draw, and a near certain opportunity to progress should they beat Algeria in their final group game. That’s not a bad consolation prize when compared to the situation at halftime.

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