Here are the friendlies been played by WC teams this wednesday. Should be interesting to see how the teams play since most of their starters will be there with this being a FIFA sanctioned date. Angola vs Korea Republic Argentina vs Croatia Australia Brazil vs Russia Costa Rica vs Iran Cote d'Ivoire vs Spain Czech Republic vs Turkey Ecuador vs Netherlands England vs Uruguay France vs Slovakia Germany vs Italy Ghana vs Mexico Saudi Arabia vs Portugal Paraguay vs Wales Poland vs USA Serbia & Montenegro vs Tunisia Sweden vs Ireland Switzerland vs Scotland Togo Trinidad & Tobago vs Iceland Ukraine vs Azerbaijan The games which look most interesting are Germany vs Italy, Ghana vs Mexico and Cote d'Ivoire vs Spain. What do people think of these games?
Re: March 1st Friendlies by WC teams Thanks for the reminder scaryice. Here are the results so far: Japan vs Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-2 Ukraine vs Azerbaijan 0-0
Re: March 1st Friendlies by WC teams Germany 3-0 Italy Ghana 1-3 Mexico Cote D'Ivoire 1-1 Spain These could be completely wrong, but it's my view.
Re: March 1st Friendlies by WC teams Azerbaijan 0:0 Ukraine Neutral Venue Bosnia 2:2 Japan Trinidad 2:0 Iceland
Re: March 1st Friendlies by WC teams (R) How about using an "R" if you are going to post results!?! It's not that difficult people.
Re: March 1st Friendlies by WC teams *sighs* We forgot one of the big games. I think you'll all blow it off, but Iran vs. Costa Rica will be a good test for both teams. It just started.
... mod's note ... I added an [R] to the thread title. I probably should have been there to begin with.
Re: ... mod's note ... Holland won I'm happy. England barely won. Italy crushed Germany. France crubled under the pressure. Portugal played very well. Croatia proved they are a force to be reckoned with. Brasil were very unconvincing.
England got through by the skin of their teeth. The US beat Poland in a blizzard so it's difficult to assess who was better despite Poland's possession in the first half. The Italy win over Germany must be troubling for Germany, the Czechs and the US (who Italy meet in the WC). I didn't see the match but either Germany is utter crap (you don't expect a thrashing like that in a match between 2 so-called powers even in a friendly) or Italy is so good they will beat or draw the Czechs and the US in the World Cup. I know...friendlies mean nothing. Let's wait and see. I still think that Germany maybe the first host nation ever to go out in the first round.
Argentina: Expectations might now be lower which is not a bad thing for them. They are a good team. Messi, Terez and Riquelme can turn things around. England: They won, but not a good performance at home. They are still the BEST team in Europe. They had a good draw and should make at least the semi-final. Brazil, Poland, USA: The weather spoiled those two matches. The Americans do not win much in Europe. So this is a good victory for them. But Poland should not worry too much. Brazil should have never played against Russia in this time of the year. Is Germany that cold in July? Italy: Plus the victory against Holland, Italy really, really made a big, big statement. I hope expectations do not kill them in the end.
Yes, Germany will go out in the first round, methinks. If we beat them on the first, that should just about seal it. I mean, 4-1 to Italy? Italy isn't crap, obviously, but GEEZ!
Final Results: Angola 0:1 Korea Republic Argentina 2:3 Croatia Australia --- Brazil 1:0 Russia Costa Rica 2:3 Iran Cote d'Ivoire 2:3 Spain Czech Republic 2:2 Turkey Ecuador 0:1 Netherlands England 2:1 Uruguay France 1:2 Slovakia Germany 1:4 Italy Ghana 0:1 Mexico Japan 2:2 Bosnia-Herzegovina Saudi Arabia 0:3 Portugal Paraguay 0:0 Wales Poland 0:1 USA Serbia & Montenegro 1:0 Tunisia Sweden 0:3 Ireland Switzerland 3:1 Scotland Togo --- Trinidad & Tobago 2:0 Iceland Ukraine 0:0 Azerbaijan Teams that made a statement: Italy, Portugal Teams that had big problems exposed: France, Germany, Sweden Most exciting affairs - Argentina vs Croatia, Italy vs Germany Sorry, forgot to add the [R]
Argentina, France and Germany were all disapponting today but these all teams will be better in WC. Specially Argentina as they have individual players who can make the difference at any time, i hope so atleast.
The Japan-Bosnia match was actually on the 28th of February. Here are the highlights for all the goals: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WaCcI8XlcW4 I hope that ref is going to the World Cup, look at what he gave Bosnia a PK for. But this seems to happen a lot when Japan plays a European team in Europe.. A clip of just the PK: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kOl3rYA5OeQ Anyone know what the commentator is saying? He can't possibly justify that call. And soccerway.com says "The Bosnians took the lead on 67 minutes when Emir Spahic beautifully converted a free kick..." . not sure what they mean, since it was clear Kawaguchi made a terrible play on it.
That has to be one of the worst PK calls ever. The Japanese defender wasn't even close. And yeah, the Japan goalkeeper just bungled the header off the free kick. Nothing "beautiful" there.
I did not include Argentina because they did not have any of their defensive starters. Ayala, Zanetti, Sorin etc were all out. That is why even though Messi, Riquelme and Vedez were spectacular upfront, the defense was leaking goals. They should impress come WC time.
That's true, Argentina missed some importnt defensive players but Croatia did too: R.Kovac, Simunic were injured and both argentinian goals were products of amateur-like mistakes of craotian defense, which is usually best part of the team. On the other hand, this croatian victory shouldn't be overvalued, was very lucky. Argentina has better individuals in the offense and is still a favorite for taking WC, they can do much better than yesterday. We Croatians really adore argentinian football and it's always an honour to play against such a great team, which such ingenious players like Messi, Riquelme, Tevez, Crespo, Aimar, ... I think, we exposed their weaknesses, which they will surely notice and improve and on the other hand we showed that we can compete against any team, that's good psychologically. Yes, was a very interesting and useful match for both, but result is secondary.
If Croatia keeps playing like they're playing they could make a run much like '98, the only major problem is the murderous match they'll probably have in the Round of 16, much tougher than the likely Quarterfinal matchup.