Day 9

06.17.2006

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The US is still alive in Group E. Yes! Despite some of the worst officiating in the entire tournament (I wouldn't be surprised if the ref is suspended), the US pulls off crucial a 1-1 tie against Italy, despite playing w/ only 9 men for much of the game. But what a performance. The US really dominated most of the game, totally shutting down the Italian offense & breaking down their defense. If they'd been allowed to keep 11 (or even 10) players on the field, we'd easily see a route of the Italians.

Still, because of the Ghana 2-0 upset over the Czech Republic (ranked 2nd in the world), the US is still alive. The US can advance out of the group in three ways:

  1. If the USA beats Ghana (by any score), and Italy beats the Czech Republic (by any score).
  2. If Italy ties the Czech Republic, and the USA beats Ghana by at least 2 goals.
  3. If the Czech Republic beats Italy, and the USA beats Ghana by at least 4 goals.

So, really, we're just hoping Italy beats the Czechs & the USA beats Ghana. But what an amazing performance by Ghana against the Czech Republic. Just dominated them, and totally shut their offense & midfield down. Just crushed them. Amazing.

This morning's Portugal v. Iran game was rather sad. Sure, it finished w/ a 2-0 Portugal victory. But Iran played so poorly. And Portugal played just well enough to beat them. Sure, they'll emerge from Group D. But I seriously doubt Portugal (as poorly as it's played in its two games) can beat either Argentina or Holland. So unless they transform themselves into a team, they're just a warm-up game for the winners of Group C.

Posted by Miguel at 05:28 PM

Comments

I saw the game on ABC. Does this mean ABC will now cover all the games, or was that just because the US played? It's weird to know there's the World Cup going on and I am like in the 1930s, just seeing it in words. Cheers, N.

Posted by: Nenad at June 17, 2006 08:24 PM

Despite some of the worst officiating in the entire tournament (I wouldn't be surprised if the ref is suspended)the US pulls off crucial a 1-1 tie against Italy.

The ref is called here the best man of yesterday's game. Doubt he's getting suspended.

Posted by: Melli at June 18, 2006 08:52 AM

Well, I think the refs (in all the games) are being far too liberal w/ handing out yellow/red cards. I do think that at least two of the red cards in the US-Italy game were deserved. But in large measure because the ref was calling things rather arbitrarily, and so sometimes a minor offense was a card, while a major infraction wasn't even called. Stuff like that encourages players to take their chances, unfortunately.

So far, there's an average of 5 cards per game. That's far too much. Yes, in part the players should learn that the refs are calling this very very very tightly & play accordingly. But FIFA should reconsider some of its instructions to its refs. They're ruining the tournament -- especially Game 3 of the first round. It's just too much.

But, in my humble opinion, the Italy-USA ref was incredibly bad. And not just because I support the US team. He was just incredibly bad. And I really do hope he gets fired. He was, after all, sanctioned in 2002 for "irregularities" already. So I'm not sure why he was invited back.

More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Larrionda

Posted by: mcentellas [TypeKey Profile Page] at June 18, 2006 11:18 AM

What was up w/all the red and yellow cards that ref was tossing out? Frankly, I didn't appreciate the make-up card that booted Eddie Pope. He didn't deserve to get tossed from the game for the same sliding tackle that occurred several times theretofore - and after - sans penalty.

Thus, in the game I thought it unfair to call some marginally offensive fouls and not others. If they were playing it strictly, then all would be called, not just some of them. I think arbitrary is an accurate characterization...

Now the US will be going into the Ghana game without one of their fastest defenders. Bah!

Posted by: tom at June 18, 2006 11:53 AM