World Cup 2006: Day 14
I actually had the schedule of games for today mixed up! I thought the USA game was going to be played at 8 pm Irish time, and so, went on a day tour along the western coast of Ireland! Which, by the way, is extremely beautiful and especially so, since this was the first absolutely gorgeous, sunny day of the week I've been here. Still only 18 deg C for the high though. Anyhow, as a result of my tourist adventures, I ended up missing all the drama of the USA v Ghana game and had to rely on just highlights to get a flavor for it!
With a win absolutely necessary for their survival, the Americans started well against Ghana but went down 1-0 in the 22nd minute when USA captain Claudio Reyna made an uncharacteristic error, losing the ball in his own half. Good finish from the Ghanian forward nevertheless. The USA came back strongly and equalised in the 41st minute when Clint Dempsey thumped the ball home from close range after a neat buildup down the left flank involving the much-maligned DaMarcus Beasley! 1-1 and there appeared hope for the US! However, a dubious penalty decision on the stroke of halftime for a foul by Oguchi Onyewu gave Ghana the perfect chance to ahead again before the break. They did that emphatically. In the second half, Ghana were content to play on the break, and the USA pressed forward in search of more goals. They came close several times, especially when Brian McBride hit the post with a firm header, but were unable to breach the Ghana goal. A good performance from the Ghanian keeper also ensured that the scoreline remained 2-1 in favor of the Africans. The USA were knocked out of the Cup, and they can blame only themselves for putting on a terrible showing in their first game against the Czechs! In a group this tight, they knew every game would be crucial and yet, failed to even put on a spirited display against the Czechs. Recovering from that blow was always going to be hard, and though the Americans improved their performance tremendously in their next two games, they were simply unable to catch up the ground lost. The Ghanians now waited with bated breath for the result of the simultaneously-played Italy v Czech Republic game.
The heavily bruised Czechs started star striker Milan Baros against Italy, despite questions over his fitness. It didn't matter in the end, as the impressive Italians dominated the game for large portions, and ran out comfortable victors 2-0. The goals came from defender Marco Materazzi in the first half and substitute forward Pippo Inzaghi 4 minutes from the final whistle. A sad end to a tournament that began so well for the Czechs that some people expected them to reach the final! Unfortunately, they'll now have to watch the final on TV!! The Italians progressed to the next round as group leaders, and avoided a certain clash with Brazil, while Ghana went through in second place after winning their last two group games!
The night games, I was able to watch, and what sensational games they were! Brazil rested a number of key players in their final game against Japan, and yet their starting lineup boasted Ronaldo, Robinho, Juninho, Kaka and Ronaldinho! Unbelievable depth! The game started well, with both sides able to pass the ball around nicely. Brazil found their rhythm early on and tested Japanese keeper Kawaguchi several times in the first 20 minutes. Kawaguchi seemed to be in inspired form as he repelled shots from Robinho, Juninho et al. Shockingly, it was Japan that took the lead on 34 minutes! Keiji Tamada slammed home an impressive left-footer after being played through by Alex. Japan's Brazilian coach Zico could barely hide his delight on the touchline, and the world champions now had to come from a goal down for the first time in 5 World Cup games! They did so in typical Samba style, however! "Fat" Ronaldo got his World Cup tally off the mark just before halftime when he nodded home from close range after a terrific setup from Ronaldinho and Cicinho. 1-1 was still a scoreline that the Japanese would have loved to take home, but the mighty Brazilians came out strongly in the second half and took the lead on 53 minutes. The excellent Kawaguchi made a terrible blunder and let Juninho's long range effort go straight through his hands and into the goal! From then on, it was total domination from Brazil as they kept the ball with considerable ease and attacked the Japanese goal at will. Ronaldo missed a glorious chance after a sensational one-two with Ronaldinho but made amends for it by driving home in the 81st minute after another one-two, this time with defender Juan! In between, leftback Gilberto got his first ever goal for the Selecao when he finished sweetly after a delightful throughball from Ronaldinho. 4-1 it ended for the world champions, and "fat" Ronaldo equalled Gerd Muller's record of 14 World Cup goals! As every match goes on, the Selecao just seem to get a little bit better! The other teams better beware!
Australia v Croatia started out with Croatia needing a win and Australia a draw to progress. The Croatians struck first in just the 2nd minute when Darijo Srna curled home a superb free kick. Australia fought back and won a penalty when Croatian defender Tomas inexplicably handled the ball in the penalty box (this seems to be a recurring theme at this World Cup for some crazy reason!). 34 year old defender Craig Moore stepped up and calmly scored the penalty for the Socceroos. It was 1-1 at the break, and Croatia pressed forward again at the beginning of the second half. Another goalkeeping blunder, this time by Aussie reserve keeper Kalac, gifted Croatia the lead. He completely muffed a long range shot from Croatian skipper Niko Kovac! The gutsy Aussies fought back again, and managed to tie the game with 11 minutes to go when Harry Kewell netted from close range after some chaos in the Croatian penalty box. Then came some utterly farcical scenes. Referee Graham Poll showed Croatia's Josip Simunic his second yellow card, but failed to realise that it was indeed his second booking! So the defender played on!! Amazingly, Simunic then earned himself a third yellow card in the game in the dying minutes of the match, and this time referee Poll did show him the red card and sent him off!!! Totally nuts, but the game ended 2-2 and Australia made it to the second round for the first time in their history!!
4 more teams qualified for the round of 16 today amidst high drama. Australia will face Italy next, and the World Champions Brazil take on African flagbearers Ghana in what will surely be a fascinating clash of styles. Speed and power against skill and flair. Only 4 more spots remain in the round of 16, and powerhouse nations France and Spain will seek to book their places in that round tomorrow....
With a win absolutely necessary for their survival, the Americans started well against Ghana but went down 1-0 in the 22nd minute when USA captain Claudio Reyna made an uncharacteristic error, losing the ball in his own half. Good finish from the Ghanian forward nevertheless. The USA came back strongly and equalised in the 41st minute when Clint Dempsey thumped the ball home from close range after a neat buildup down the left flank involving the much-maligned DaMarcus Beasley! 1-1 and there appeared hope for the US! However, a dubious penalty decision on the stroke of halftime for a foul by Oguchi Onyewu gave Ghana the perfect chance to ahead again before the break. They did that emphatically. In the second half, Ghana were content to play on the break, and the USA pressed forward in search of more goals. They came close several times, especially when Brian McBride hit the post with a firm header, but were unable to breach the Ghana goal. A good performance from the Ghanian keeper also ensured that the scoreline remained 2-1 in favor of the Africans. The USA were knocked out of the Cup, and they can blame only themselves for putting on a terrible showing in their first game against the Czechs! In a group this tight, they knew every game would be crucial and yet, failed to even put on a spirited display against the Czechs. Recovering from that blow was always going to be hard, and though the Americans improved their performance tremendously in their next two games, they were simply unable to catch up the ground lost. The Ghanians now waited with bated breath for the result of the simultaneously-played Italy v Czech Republic game.
The heavily bruised Czechs started star striker Milan Baros against Italy, despite questions over his fitness. It didn't matter in the end, as the impressive Italians dominated the game for large portions, and ran out comfortable victors 2-0. The goals came from defender Marco Materazzi in the first half and substitute forward Pippo Inzaghi 4 minutes from the final whistle. A sad end to a tournament that began so well for the Czechs that some people expected them to reach the final! Unfortunately, they'll now have to watch the final on TV!! The Italians progressed to the next round as group leaders, and avoided a certain clash with Brazil, while Ghana went through in second place after winning their last two group games!
The night games, I was able to watch, and what sensational games they were! Brazil rested a number of key players in their final game against Japan, and yet their starting lineup boasted Ronaldo, Robinho, Juninho, Kaka and Ronaldinho! Unbelievable depth! The game started well, with both sides able to pass the ball around nicely. Brazil found their rhythm early on and tested Japanese keeper Kawaguchi several times in the first 20 minutes. Kawaguchi seemed to be in inspired form as he repelled shots from Robinho, Juninho et al. Shockingly, it was Japan that took the lead on 34 minutes! Keiji Tamada slammed home an impressive left-footer after being played through by Alex. Japan's Brazilian coach Zico could barely hide his delight on the touchline, and the world champions now had to come from a goal down for the first time in 5 World Cup games! They did so in typical Samba style, however! "Fat" Ronaldo got his World Cup tally off the mark just before halftime when he nodded home from close range after a terrific setup from Ronaldinho and Cicinho. 1-1 was still a scoreline that the Japanese would have loved to take home, but the mighty Brazilians came out strongly in the second half and took the lead on 53 minutes. The excellent Kawaguchi made a terrible blunder and let Juninho's long range effort go straight through his hands and into the goal! From then on, it was total domination from Brazil as they kept the ball with considerable ease and attacked the Japanese goal at will. Ronaldo missed a glorious chance after a sensational one-two with Ronaldinho but made amends for it by driving home in the 81st minute after another one-two, this time with defender Juan! In between, leftback Gilberto got his first ever goal for the Selecao when he finished sweetly after a delightful throughball from Ronaldinho. 4-1 it ended for the world champions, and "fat" Ronaldo equalled Gerd Muller's record of 14 World Cup goals! As every match goes on, the Selecao just seem to get a little bit better! The other teams better beware!
Australia v Croatia started out with Croatia needing a win and Australia a draw to progress. The Croatians struck first in just the 2nd minute when Darijo Srna curled home a superb free kick. Australia fought back and won a penalty when Croatian defender Tomas inexplicably handled the ball in the penalty box (this seems to be a recurring theme at this World Cup for some crazy reason!). 34 year old defender Craig Moore stepped up and calmly scored the penalty for the Socceroos. It was 1-1 at the break, and Croatia pressed forward again at the beginning of the second half. Another goalkeeping blunder, this time by Aussie reserve keeper Kalac, gifted Croatia the lead. He completely muffed a long range shot from Croatian skipper Niko Kovac! The gutsy Aussies fought back again, and managed to tie the game with 11 minutes to go when Harry Kewell netted from close range after some chaos in the Croatian penalty box. Then came some utterly farcical scenes. Referee Graham Poll showed Croatia's Josip Simunic his second yellow card, but failed to realise that it was indeed his second booking! So the defender played on!! Amazingly, Simunic then earned himself a third yellow card in the game in the dying minutes of the match, and this time referee Poll did show him the red card and sent him off!!! Totally nuts, but the game ended 2-2 and Australia made it to the second round for the first time in their history!!
4 more teams qualified for the round of 16 today amidst high drama. Australia will face Italy next, and the World Champions Brazil take on African flagbearers Ghana in what will surely be a fascinating clash of styles. Speed and power against skill and flair. Only 4 more spots remain in the round of 16, and powerhouse nations France and Spain will seek to book their places in that round tomorrow....
posted by Manoj at
2:17 PM
1 Comments:
Having fun in Ireland are we :-)!?Good job dude! Yeh the US were unlucky and Ghana hopefully take the Brazilians out of the equation. Togo to bid farewell to France tonight. Look forward to the knockout games!
By
karthik, at 12:19 AM
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