World Cup 2010 Blog: “The Weekly Quiz: World Cup Eye Test II” plus 9 more |  |
- The Weekly Quiz: World Cup Eye Test II
- ‘Ghana Will Win The World Cup’: The Festival Of Bold Predictions
- North Korea World Cup Team Profile
- World Cup Friendlies Recap: Everybody’s Awesome.
- Daily Dose: May 26th, 2010
- World Cup Drug Tests & Red Cards: Getting Higher.
- Switzerland World Cup Team Profile
- Robbie Findley, Twitter, and Why This World Cup Will Be Different for American Fans
- The Maradona Files: Diego Will ‘Get Naked’.
- The Final Pre-World Cup Rankings
| The Weekly Quiz: World Cup Eye Test II Posted: 27 May 2010 05:10 AM PDT Same rules as last week: all currently sit on a World Cup squad and all have eyes. You probably knew that already. A slight change, however: behind this line there is a unibrow. There might even be two unibrows, which sadly does not wash out to the normal double brow. Ye have been warned. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
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| ‘Ghana Will Win The World Cup’: The Festival Of Bold Predictions Posted: 27 May 2010 03:10 AM PDT
Succumbing to the same airborne wave of confidence, North Korean coach Kim Jong-Hun has declared his squad of question marks will make it to the knockouts despite being the ‘Death’ in the Group O’Death. Not to be out done, Ghana president John Atta Mills has declared Ghana will win the World Cup. Why even bother with the games? So when they weigh in, it’s with a chuckle and a “you’re so silly”. Yet we aren’t the players, and hearing “you will win” from the president carries a different tone. So no pressure on Ghana in The Other Group O’Death.
Will Ghana win? Probably not, even though that’d be genuinely fantastic. Will Japan make it to the semifinals? Not bloody likely. Will North Korea be good enough to make it past Brazil, Portugal and/or the Ivory Coast? Well…we don’t know. (No.) But it does bring up an interesting question: Which is the most likely? I say North Korea’s 5-4-1 pulling a Greece – what say you?
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| North Korea World Cup Team Profile Posted: 27 May 2010 12:10 AM PDT
FIFA drew both North and South Korea into the same qualifying group just because they were feeling frisky. The first game was forced to China because the North would not allow neither the South Korean anthem nor their flags at their home leg; they then accused South Korea of poisoning their players after losing in Seoul in the second leg. Since then they’ve just decided not to show for a friendly against Oman, lost their strips during a flight to Venezuela for friendlies, forcing them to wear Venezuela’s away kit for the game, and stood tall as the only nation to name a flat 23 players with no replacements from the go. Oh yeah, this should be great. FIFA World Ranking as of May 26th 2010: 105th Group G Matches: Brazil v North Korea, June 15th, 8:30p, Johannesburg Buy your North Korea tickets here. Kit: True to form, North Korea has not released its kits yet. Coach: Kim Jong-Hun. Hun, just like everything surrounding the squad, is a bit of mystery. What we do know is he is not immune to the wave of delusional goals sweeping across Asian football coaches.
And from this we can also decipher he hasn’t yet been informed of his group mates. That’s two (!) things. Move over Wikipedia, here we come. Key Players: The problem with knowledge about North Korean teams is that a) Asian qualifying and friendlies get very little global pub and b) twenty of the twenty-three play in the North Korean league, which is surely awesome, and even if it isn’t, it is. Therefore North Korea have three key players. Who? You guessed it. Ahn Young-Hak, one of the Japanese born, a defensive midfielder; Hong Yong-Jo, a forward playing for Rostov in Russia; and there’s the Japanese-born star, Jong Tae-Se, one of the best forwards in the J-League and North Korea’s best hope for any goals in South Africa. Which will be a big surprise since there are also rumors they will run out a 5-4-1. They’ll have to, won’t they? (There’s also Ri Myong Guk, the keeper, who was nominated for Asian Footballer of the Year.) Player with best YouTube video: Player with best name: Yeah, it’s a bit of a toss-up, so we’ll use this as an escuse to sneak this quote from Ri Myong-Guk in:
Oh really. Player with best nickname: Jong Tae-Se – The Asian Wayne Rooney. And since there’s no “Asian Lionel Messsi” quite as prominent, this might make Jong – known as Chong Tese in Japan – the best player in Asia by comparison. Yes, it’s flawed logic. No, we don’t care. Qualification: North Korea started way down at the bottom of the pyramid, thumping Mongolia, who export phenomenal sumo wrestlers, which can’t be good for its football program. Through controversy and more controversy, they qualified by the skin of their teeth way up in round 4 with a final game nil-nil draw against Saudi Arabia, thus bumping them through to the finals on goal difference. Interesting: Six players on the team come from a North Korean club named April 25. It has military roots, but every domestic league should have a club named after a date. But what does April 25 do when they lose on April 25th? (Oh. They don’t.) National Anthem: “Aegukka” (”The Patriotic Song”) World Cup History: Expectations: Everybody, including us, expects them to get absolutely buried to within an inch of their footballing lives by everyone in their group. Squad: North Korea World Cup squad. Blog: Alan has an ear to the ground over at the North Korea World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.
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| World Cup Friendlies Recap: Everybody’s Awesome. Posted: 26 May 2010 10:40 PM PDT
Of course it helps that those in action are supposed to be decent, at the least, World Cup teams, with the Netherlands, France, Chile and Uruguay all expected to either progress or be right there on the final day. But more, the week of the debutant continues: after Lucas Barrios scored Tuesday with his hot-off-the-press Paraguayan passport in hand, Matthew Valbuena opened his French account, free checking, on Wednesday with the winner versus Costa Rica. Clearly every World Cup team should be running out eleven international virgins each game. Damn the details. Netherlands 2 – Mexico 1 Everybody sit back and watch some international class defending… Nevermind. Three lovely goals in their own way, and proof that van Persie is back with further proof that Ibrahim Afellay is the honey dripping off the bee’s knees, but you have to believe they won’t have it quite so easy in a World Cup game. At least you hope not. Young phenomenon Alexis Sanchez got the brace after coming on as a halftime sub, but the control by Jorge Valdivia on ball over the top to set up his first combined with his goal, Chile’s third, made generations of babies in Santiago. Well maybe not, ’twas Zambia after all, but it was still quite phenomenal for a guy playing in the United Arab Emirates. (For the football, obviously.) Of course Sanchez’s second goal was nothing to scoff at. That would be why he’s one of the most highly rated youngsters on the planet. Poor Israel never stood a chance – not with Luis Suarez in the house. Setting up the first two goals, the first after some nifty work in midfield to keep possession, and causing fits for the Israeli defense which his teammates then converted. Which is really what he does: cause fits. (Scored one or two goals this year as well.) Sebastian Abreu finished off nicely with a late brace, helped by Edinson Cavani, to pad the friendly scoreline and practice his celebrations, which mostly involve running a few yards and allowing the little people to hug him. Less is more. France 2 – Costa Rica 1 We can safely say Steve Mandanda hates the Jabulani too. Thierry Henry was also trying to catch the flight of the ball. Just why, no one knows. Costa Rica were sympathetic to Mandanda’s plight with the flight and expertly put Ribery’s cross into the back of their net, making it 1-1 until Mathieu Valbuena was run out in a France shirt for the very first time, and he didn’t disappoint. Winner in the 83rd, all while wearing the number 10 and Pat Riley’s hair. He’d like that back.
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| Posted: 26 May 2010 09:40 PM PDT The real reason Herculez Gomez made the US World Cup squad?
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| World Cup Drug Tests & Red Cards: Getting Higher. Posted: 26 May 2010 06:40 PM PDT
Huh. Before the World Cup actually kicks off roughly 35% of players (eight per team) will be selected at random for drug and urine testing, which an awfully big number – equating to 256 tests. Another 256 tests will take place during the tournament, so the whole thing’s on the up and up. Or not on the up and up, as it were. FIFA medical chief Michel D’Hooghe:
All of which is very good until the world’s best player fails a drug test midway through the tournament and the whole thing falls apart and…yadda. (Don’t drink the water, Leo!) In other news there will be a crackdown on harsh tackles which will see red cards flying around willy nilly. FIFA medical chief Michel D’Hooghe:
You’ll notice that’s D’Hooge once again, not the head of referees. So a man who may or may not have the authority to do so will whisper orders into a referee’s ear. Sounds like Italy.
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| Switzerland World Cup Team Profile Posted: 26 May 2010 03:07 PM PDT
Certain teams were going to get the luck of the draw, and Switzerland wasn’t on that list. They’ll open up their World Cup festivities with the tournament favorites, a game where even a close loss will have to be considered a success, before meeting the high-flying Chileans, their biggest competition for that second spot and a team generating an awful lot of hype at the tournament. The Swiss nabbed adopted citizen Ottmar Hitzfeld because he can work miracles – those abilities might be called upon.
FIFA World Ranking as of May 26th 2010: 24th Group H Matches: Spain v Switzerland, June 16th, 4p, Durban Buy your Swiss World Cup tickets here. Kit: Red polo with collar and strange looking white mechanism near the throat, plus picture book across the torso.
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld The man they call The General is as Swiss as a German can get. Born on the border of Germany and Switzerland, much of his career was spent in the country south and his accent is famed because it’s far more Swiss-German than German. On the sidelines he’s a phenomenal coach, one of the best in the world, who’s prone to doing wonders with big and small teams alike, and makes Switzerland incredibly dangerous all by his lonesome. Key Players: Hitzfeld has favored an old fashioned 4-4-2 in qualifying, starting with national team scoring record holder Alexander Frei and Blaise Nkufo, older than Switzerland itself and on his international swansong. This means lurking in the shadows will be young talent Eren Derdiyok, big and skillful in the air. In addition to fine chocolates and timepieces, Switzerland exports more tweeners in the world, which is pretty fitting. In other words: Is he a defender or is he a midfielder? Valon Behrami, who runs all over the right flank and used to be a defender, will start at right mid and will have Stephan Lichtsteiner’s feet running up behind him quite often. On the left hand flank it’ll be perhaps their most skilled player, winger Tranquillo Barnetta, waiting for the footsteps of Ludovic Mangin. (Then there’s also tweeners Reto Ziegler and Marco Padalino.) Getting dizzy in central midfield will be Gokhan Inler (and his huge left foot) and Beni Huggel, Swiss Footballer of the Year, two players who don’t exactly fall in line with Swiss “neutrality”. (Whether Ottmar allows them to play to their natural tendencies is another matter.) In central defense making sure the whole thing doesn’t fall apart will be Stephane Grighting and Philippe Senderos; and Diego Benaglio, one of the more underrated keepers in Europe, will be there just in case it does. Player with best YouTube video: Diego Benaglio. Every keeper should have his own YouTuber. Player with best name: Tranquillo Barnetta. He’s so calm. Player with best nickname: One of the hundred or so wingback-types on the roster, Stephan Lichtsteiner has earned Forrest Gump for running like him. Or maybe being slow. One or the other. Qualification: It was rather humiliating at one point, a loss at home to powerhouse Luxembourg, but ultimately they finished atop a rather weak group, one point ahead of Greece. Certainly not the best team in all of qualifying, but good enough. Interesting: Straight from good ol’ Wikipedia: Trivia: Switzerland was the only team in tournament not to have conceded a goal during regulation time in their matches. And we thought the Italian defense was good. National Anthem: Swiss Psalm World Cup History:
Expectations: Defensively, they do not have the quality to beat Spain and might be exposed by Chile. However, you can never discount The General, and this might make the tussle for second in Group H the one to watch. Squad: Switzerland World Cup squad. Blog: Adrian works his own miracles at the Switzerland World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.
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| Robbie Findley, Twitter, and Why This World Cup Will Be Different for American Fans Posted: 26 May 2010 12:58 PM PDT
When the USA’s 23 man World Cup squad was announced today, big news was the unexpected inclusion of Real Salt Lake striker Robbie Findley (over the more experienced Brian Ching). A surprise to USA fans maybe, but not the sort of story that you expect to make a splash on Twitter. Surely there are too many tweets about Justin Bieber and Jersey Shore for an MLS striker to cause even a ripple the water. Yet minutes after the USA roster announcement… splash. Findley became a global trending topic on Twitter. Don’t believe me? Check the screenshot (left) taken earlier today. (I see Pellegrini and Florentino in there too, which has to be Real Madrid related). Findley’s global Twitter splash didn’t last long. But the fact that it even happened has become a small story in its own right. I first spotted the phenomenon via @kevinmccauley’s tweet “Findley is a worldwide trending topic. Wow.” and Tom Dunmore’s Pitch Invasion post The Twitter World Cup. And as WCB’s Ian noted, it’s a surprise it’s the not the whole phrase – “Robbie Findley wtf”. But this is more than just another example of how dominant the World Cup will be on Twitter. This is also about soccer’s progress in America. Robbie Findley’s moment of social media infamy might not have lasted long, but it’s hopefully an example of how World Cup 2010 will be a bigger event in the USA than ever before, with fans driving the stories instead of mainstream media driving fans crazy.
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| The Maradona Files: Diego Will ‘Get Naked’. Posted: 26 May 2010 11:40 AM PDT Oh yes, he shall streak.
Thankfully, his coaching abilities should prevent any impromptu appearances of Little Diego at the Obelisk. This can’t be said for any unsuspecting women, South African or Argentinean, so lock your doors and watch out when Big Diego comes tumblin’ through. You can also make your own jokes about the phallic nature of Buenos Aires Obelisk. At least something will put Diego back in his place. More and more every day this World Cup is becoming one which is hosted by South Africa, but is being held in the traveling circus on the outskirts of town known as Maradonaland. It’s a freak show for sure, and we won’t know until it’s over whether it was a decent enough performance or whether the lion bit the head off the trainer. The good money’s on the lion.
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| The Final Pre-World Cup Rankings Posted: 26 May 2010 10:10 AM PDT
There haven’t been any big leaps – Ecuador dropping off the mountain 8 spots is the biggest mover, but that’s of no interest – and the only change in the top 15 is that Egypt moved up to make 10, 11 & 12 a nice trifecta of World Cup absentees. The World Cup, one to thirty-two, after the jump. 1 Brazil 2 Spain 3 Portugal 4 Holland 5 Italy 6 Germany 7 Argentina 8 England 9 France 13 Greece 14 USA 15 Serbia 16 Uruguay 17 Mexico 18 Chile 19 Cameroon 20 Australia 21 Nigeria 24 Switzerland 25 Slovenia 27 Côte d’Ivoire 30 Algeria 31 Paraguay 32 Ghana 34 Slovakia 36 Denmark 38 Honduras 45 Japan 47 Korea Republic 78 New Zealand 83 South Africa 105 North Korea The remaining teams who will feel tremendously unloved for the next six weeks plus.
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Ah, the wind-filled sails of patriotism, hope and World Cup fever. They inspire many things, like bold proclamations, regret and public humility – traditionally in that order. Takeshi Okada has learned first hand, and has become something of a whipping boy for the World Cup – with no one flogging harder than the Japanese – provided the complete mental block of Diego Maradona has begun. He still won’t back down from his statement Japan will make the top four even though FIFA have them 
As most know, North Korea isn’t exactly the most social of nations, therefore they, and relevantly their football team, is a bit of a mystery. What we do know, however, is awesome. And if it isn’t, they’ll still tell us it is.
Quite the turn of events these last 24 hours, we must admit. From World Cup teams going 0-4-2 across five games yesterday to a 4-0-1 record today – with that lone loss, Mexico, coming against the Dutch, who are a World Cup team (dontchaknow). 
Would you believe FIFA announced the new drug-testing regulations on the same day Diego Maradona proclaimed he would 
Switzerland just finished up co-hosting a lovely European Championships, one won by Spain, and they were rewarded for their efforts with…Spain.
We’ve been told that World Cup 2010 will 
One last time before the World Cup the powers at FIFA have laid out their rankings of every national team in the world. But more importantly: in the process they’ve ranked the World Cup teams from 1-32. | You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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