World Cup 2010 Blog: “Lionel Messi Beats Brazil With The Patented Wondergoal” plus 2 more |  |
- Lionel Messi Beats Brazil With The Patented Wondergoal
- Romelu Lukaku Announces His International Arrival
- FIFA Gives 2018 & 2022 Bids The White Glove Treatment
| Lionel Messi Beats Brazil With The Patented Wondergoal Posted: 17 Nov 2010 11:10 AM PST What more can be said at this point? The boy’s not only on another planet, but should have one named after him. (Messium, or something.) In a friendly which is never, ever a friendly, Lionel took the ball at the half in the 92nd minute, played it ever so briefly off Ezequiel Lavezzi, and then proceeded to run right through the Brazilian defense before going through Brazilian hearts with a late, late winner, not long to be forgotten in Argentina – and certainly not by Messi, who’d yet to score against the rivals. He’s as jawdropping as they come, and it probably wasn’t even his best goal in the last week…
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| Romelu Lukaku Announces His International Arrival Posted: 17 Nov 2010 10:40 AM PST They weren’t brilliant, they weren’t terribly difficult, and he did get a helping hand from the normally dependable Igor Akinfeev, but these are the first two goals – in his eighth game – for a young boy who’s going to score loads before his career is over. The first will require a team of scientists to explain how it snuck back through to the center of the box – which is of no matter to Romelu, who’s clearly chuffed. The second makes one think someone needs to check this boys passport. Seventeen? Please. This man-beast is flat steamrolling grown men. And with that, Romelu ushers in a little revenge on Tricky Dick. Could Belgium love him any more?
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| FIFA Gives 2018 & 2022 Bids The White Glove Treatment Posted: 17 Nov 2010 10:08 AM PST
Their report on each of the bids for 2018 & 2022 has been released, with lots of interesting insights. But no clear indication where the World Cups might go. Although bland but safe England sounds like a decent bet.
In England’s favor, it sounds more as though FIFA was looking for problems rather than presented with obvious shortcomings. However, Russia has the distinct advantage of being fresh, different, and possibly willing to offer up more in the arena of handshakes. (You know.) And it appears FIFA’s no fan of co-habitation after Soouth Japan 2002, so that’s a distinct advantage. From the Asian (plus US) perspective, the two most interesting stories come from South Korea and Qatar, two bids with wildly different hype as we approach the deadline. The latter has generated extraordinary buzz with its throw-money-at-it solution to the heat that is mid-summer in Qatar – about which FIFA appears very skeptical – while the latter has generated almost no buzz at all. That, however, changes with the revelation that it could hold some games in North Korea should they be awarded 2022. And you just know Sepp would love nothing more for the mere opportunity to take credit from bringing the Koreas together. Sounds like a deviously cunning plan on the part of South Korea, and one which might be effective. Incredibly, we’re only 14 days from the official announcement. Stay tuned as more “confidential” reports are publicly leaked by the day.
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A fickle bunch, these FIFA people, which they sort of need to be at this point in time with allegations flying from every direction.| 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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Of course there is but one true answer: 
Once again, the calendar has rolled around to an international friendly date. As clubs pray to whatever gods will hear them for an injury-free break, most international fans get their last chance in 2010 to see their national sides in action, and with several regional rivals going head-to-head, there are sure to be some interesting stories. Argentina-Brazil? Spain-Portugal? England-France? Delicious. In addition to all the local derbies, there are some nice additional matchups like Holland vs. Turkey and Egypt vs. Australia, and viewers wanting to make sure they don’t miss the next Zlatan karate kick (to friend or foe) shouldn’t miss Sweden vs. Germany. All the fixtures are listed below. 
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