Holland-Portugal (no spoiler)

[Dan Loney]

What.

Was.

That.

It was like the championship game in "Slap Shot." Can we boot them both out and just give England a bye to the semis? Holy mother of pearl.

[DCUSA]

Mother of Pearl
so semi-precious in your detached world
it's the same old story, all love and glory is a pantomime


I've been up all night (again?), party time wasting is too much fun.



Anyheisel, I love Roxy Music, but to the point, what's happened to the beautiful game? This is Holland-friggin'-Portugal, not Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka vs. the Iron Sheik. Either Fifa or the refs have gone too far, this is kind of a joke now. I got a yellow for not putting the seat down last night so I guess it's in the air. I'm assured a red when this chimichanga kicks in.

[rufus55]

What.

Was.

That.

It was like the championship game in "Slap Shot." Can we boot them both out and just give England a bye to the semis? Holy mother of pearl.

Hilarious.

That was an unbelievably ridiculous game. But I blame the players more than the ref. These guys kept trying to kill each other even though the ref was giving out yellows and reds. I think the ref should have given a straight red for the Ronoldo foul and a yellow to Figo for diving. But other than that, I'm not sure what the ref could have done. These guys were acting like fools. What's the official supposed to do if the players won't calm themselves down?

Too bad. I was looking forward to that game.

[fronton]

If you are upset by watching England play,have a look at http://www.kingofdefenders.com and try to win the world cup yourself thanks to John Terry's goals.
You will enjoy it!

[Kaiser]

joga bonito!

[Alan S]

That game had 4 red cards, but it really deserved 6 to 8. Good-bye: joga bonito, hello: steal cage death match. Material for the new nike commerial. Where is that evil bald guy with the microphone when you need him?

[itaLiano]

van basten should have put van nistelroy to the game second half. holland should blame van basten for all of these losses because he shouldnt keep van nistelroy on the bench! and also about ref. he was absolutely stupid. Red cards were absolutely nonsense :) we have to pray to god that fifa will send this russian ref to his village :D

[rabble-rabble]

What.

Was.

That.

It was like the championship game in "Slap Shot." Can we boot them both out and just give England a bye to the semis? Holy mother of pearl.

Only thing missing was someone running around the pitch at the end of the match in their jock strap.

Quite an ugly "but admittedly entertaining" match. The survivor now faces a quarter final with a depleted squad due to suspensions.

[Nowhere Man]

I also don't blame the ref for this one. Only Collina, maybe, would have had the force of personality to stop the nonsense. Portugal has a history of this (I think the '04 Euros, where the ref was attacked by a number of the players for deserved cards being issued...Figo was involved then too). Unfortunately, the Dutch always seem to fight this kind of fire with fire, and it really didn't help them.

And what is up with RVN and his managers these days?!

[ScorpionX]

Yes a terrible game for those non-portuguese neither dutch. Brilliant show, it had more dramatic than football yes, but well, portuguese games are allways like that, well except when we have all the players and when that happens, well EURO 2000 and Euro 2004. Yes we lost the final, our fault.

[ScorpionX]

I also don't blame the ref for this one. Only Collina, maybe, would have had the force of personality to stop the nonsense. Portugal has a history of this (I think the '04 Euros, where the ref was attacked by a number of the players for deserved cards being issued...Figo was involved then too). Unfortunately, the Dutch always seem to fight this kind of fire with fire, and it really didn't help them.

And what is up with RVN and his managers these days?!
Err, no it was Euro 2000.

[DSM1]

This was like watching a train wreck. Riveting in a sick, destructive way. Plenty of blame to go all around. Holland started it with that horrendous foul on C. Ronaldo, but Portugal was just as bad. England must have been watching this hackfest with glee, knowing whichever team survived would be much weakened.

[2-0 Baby]

Yeah, let's give England a bye. They've been scintillating!!! :rolleyes:

[chrizzah]

Err, no it was Euro 2000.

It was Euro 2000 and in the last World Cup, Joao Pinto punched the ref in the chest after getting a red card. That resulted in a nine month ban. Abel Xavier was also banned for nine monthsfor grabbing the ref.

The Dutch started the nastiness last night and the whole throw-in incident was an atrocious lack of class.

[Nowhere Man]

This is not meant to condone the throw-in incident at all, but it seemed like Heitinga was just following Cocu's lead when he passed the ball forward to him from the drop ball. I think it was right after the incident b/w Boulharouz and Figo resulting in the red card to Boulharouz. It seemed much as if the Dutch thought the Portugese weren't following the rules of fair play (i.e. Figo acted to draw the red...), so why should they? For what it's worth, I thought the replays of that incident were inconclusive.

All in all, a disappointing game, since it seems to guarantee England virtually a free pass to the semis..and the way they're playing, I certainly don't look forward to seeing them again and again.

[ToonUSA]

The Dutch started the nastiness last night and the whole throw-in incident was an atrocious lack of class.
The Portuguese are atrocious. How can anyone stand to watch them when they play like that? If I wanted to watch a poor drama I would watch replays of the Ghost Whisperer.

[Crimen y Castigo]

I am a peaceful man, of a generally forgiving nature and even temperment, but Luis Figo cannot die enough deaths.

May the heads of a thousand pigs rain down on his hunched back. Why would you join Madrid after being loved like a son in Barcelona? Why? Especially when you are a bona fide superstar at the time and could have gone anywhere.

Why would you pout like a 6 year old girl with braces and march straight down the tunnel when you're subbed out of a Euro2004 match -- in which you stunk to high heaven -- and not support your teammates in a historic victory?

How could you have the audacity to cry foul play after that display in Germany? Many players were at fault, Dutch and Portuguese alike. But Figo, as a captain and leader, deserves the deepest circle of hell for that performance.

Deco was the best player on the pitch, but I detest that guy. Ever since those diving displays with Porto during the Champions League a few years back. And I could care less about ManU.

I was really hoping the Dutch would pull it together. But they just can't seem to make it happen.

[Alan S]

Question: Is it possible for Portugal to win there next match and then have to forfeit in the semi-finals?

For example they have 23 players on the roster. 3 are goalies leaving 20 field players. In this game they lost 1 to injury, 2 for red cards and 7 yellows. If in the next game they had the same result 1 injury, 2 red cards, and 7 yellows (assume to the same seven players) then that would leave.

20 - 2 injures. = 18 players
18 - 4 red cards = 14 players.
17 - 7 with 2 yellow cards = 7 players.

What is the rule about the minimum number of players needed to start a World Cup match?

[VFish]

Question: Is it possible for Portugal to win there next match and then have to forfeit in the semi-finals?

For example they have 23 players on the roster. 3 are goalies leaving 20 field players. In this game they lost 1 to injury, 2 for red cards and 7 yellows. If in the next game they had the same result 1 injury, 2 red cards, and 7 yellows (assume to the same seven players) then that would leave.

20 - 2 injures. = 18 players
18 - 4 red cards = 14 players.
17 - 7 with 2 yellow cards = 7 players.

What is the rule about the minimum number of players needed to start a World Cup match?To answer your hypothetical, you need 7 to start.

[NHRef]

Need 7 to play, if at any time it drops below 7, game over.