Hey...
World cup fever is now on and it's been amazing watching all those matches man...Now it's on the road to semi-finals and sad to say that the teams I'm supporting aren't moving forward. I'm supporting England, Spain, Australia and Ghana and Liverpool players haha. Even though they are out of the world cup, all 5 teams played a great game.
The suprising teams that really caught my eye was Australia and Ghana. Ghana's match against the Czech really impresses me when they beat Czech with 2-0. Czech has been known for its skillful players like Milan Baros and some others.But the way Ghana defended their territory was amazing man and you should look at the way they handled the ball. I was damn impressed man...
And the socceroos, they played a great game against Italy but towards the crucial closing minutes(93min if not mistaken), luck was on Italy's side when they gain a penalty which in my opinion was totally bull but it's over so moving on...haha...
Just caught the England match against Portugal.It was a heartbreaking match man. On the record, England has never won a match against Portugal but I had my hopes that the record will be broken...Throughout the whole match, I was very sure that England got it on. I mean as compared to their previous group matches (even though they've won all), they played better today. They were attacking more and defending better but their build up is still weak. And more of the players are stepping up. Owen Hargreaves really impressed me with his tackles...Gerrard too haha...he set up quite a number of goals but just a case of the ball not meeting with someone's head/leg and the back of the net. That's the sad part. In the end, it was a draw 0 - 0.
The way Rooney was sent off was quite harsh in my opinion. I mean you can tell that the step,on the guy's crotch,was accidental. And before they even came down to Rooney stepping on the guy(tiago, i think), the guy was pulling Rooney and Rooney was surrounded by 2 players. I mean after Rooney was pulled, I expected a free kick to England. But bloody hell, the refree just stood there and watched. He only reacted when Rooney stepped on the damn thing. I mean was the ref blind or something. Then if that wasnt enough, Cristiano Ronaldo feels like making an appearance so he ran 40metres to the scene and cause Rooney to be sent off. Cos I guess Rooney wants to say something like 'lay off' and push Ronaldo so the ref pulled Rooney aside and gave the card. The decision to me was a bit harsh man. Then I saw the bloody smirk look on Ronaldo's face after Rooney was sent off. He winked and did like 'shh' action towards the bench area. That got me thinking man...I maybe wrong but it looks like a bit of a set up. I know that I'm making a bias opinion here cos I'm supporting England but it just looks kinda suspicious. Furthermore Ronaldo and Rooney are from the same club and Ronaldo knows that Rooney has a very short fuse. So may be he try to nose in to ya know get Rooney to be sent of. But hey I could be wrong like I said it's just my view on it. Personally though, I can't stand Rooney because of his temper and arrogance at times. I've watched him play in EPL and he's good and I respect him as a player but temper wise, he can sometimes screw up a game ya know haha...Aite enough about the Rooney case.So yea it end up in a draw so it was on to extra time.
During this part of the game, everyone was desperate for a goal that everyone was shooting from every direction, esp Portugal. Then England was denied two penalties during the game. I thought it was a direct penalty but the bloody ref says play on. In the end, it also came up to a zero draw. That got me to the edge of my seat. I was praying really hard for England to win man...then the line up for penalty shootout....I heard that Portugal is strong when it comes down to shootouts but I still hold on to hopes of seeing England through to the next round. So I prayed and prayed everytime someone takes a shot...but..haiz...in the end I guess I didn't pray hard enough either that or I prayed for the wrong team haha...In the end Portugal beat England 3-1. Even my 'brother' (haha...I wish...) Gerrard missed his shot...I almost wanted to cry when Ronaldo from Portugal sank in the deciding shot but since everyone was up, I hold it in haha...but it was really sad man....then seeing the players cry made it worse...They played so hard yet they lose out on penalties...But it was great game overall. Both teams put in their best efforts and both deserved the chance to go through but in the end the better team won. I guess Portugal deserved the win too cos overall during other matches, they played well...and if not mistaken this will be their first time in the semi. Well all the best to them...
As for Spain, where my other 'brother' (hahah again I wish), Xabi Alonso, is at, they too played well against France. During the first part of the game, they were leading by 1 -0, so I had my hopes that they will beat France. Cos looking at France past matches, they underperformed in my opinion. They were not able to concede that many goals and most of their matches end up in draws. But that celebration was short lived when France scored a goal, then another and yet another. When Zidane scored the third goal, I literally cried man...at that point, I was the only one watching the match so it's ok haha...
After Spain went out of the World Cup, I put my hopes on England. Hoping they'll hold on and make it to the semi if not finals...but after today that dream was short lived too...When I saw Gerrard sitting down with his head in between his knees in a defeated position, my heart goes out to him man..I think overall, he played his best...attacking and defending when needed and the performance he put up today and during the match against Paraguay was his best.
Now that all the teams I'm supporting are out, I don't know whether to continue watching man haha...the previous world cup finals, I supported Brazil cos everyone was hyped about it and at that time, Gerrard and Alonso weren't part of world cup haha...Since now my favourite teams are out, I can finally sleep a proper sleep haha... The matches broadcasted to us here are at 11pm for the first match and 3am for the second so it can be bit tiring but it was worth it haha...they should have a world cup day where on that season, no one has to work or school ahaha..then we can all watch the match without worrying about waking up late the next day haha...Now the teams moving on to the semi finals would be Portugal, Italy, Germany and either Brazil or France depending on the score later on at 5am haha...currently watching the match but not really focus on it cos not really interested but too upset to sleep so while typing this loooong entry, I'm using the match as somewhat like a distraction haha...and so far France is leading by 1 goal and Brazil is finally awake haha...the game was getting a bit boring just now...I also want to find out who will go against Portugal during the semi finals. I hope Portugal will go through to the finals cos I think they deserved a shot at being the world cup champions...So far, all the teams in the semifinals, have won the title before so that somehow makes Portugal the underdogs but with Coach Scolari, I know they can go far..haha...and I support Luis Figo so yea I partyly want Portugal to win.
I also watched the Germany vs Argentina game and I was not impressed man...at the refree...I know that playing at your own home ground gives you an added advantage cos of the familiarity of the grounds, the spectators' support and all but I was watching the match and I could see that the refree was being unfair during most part of the game man...They say FIFA fair play but fair play my foot man...The refree was not paying attention most of the time...I was rooting for Argentina cos the tactics they used were good but in the end Germany won in shootouts...So yea good for them...
So I guess that's all I have to say man haha...now not much going on except for the world cup season haha...World cup is fun but sometimes it gets pretty dry so I can't wait for English Premier League season to start man so I can start rooting for Liverpool FC haha...Reds all the way man...
So since England and Spain are out, it's Goodbye Germany for them and back to their respective clubs.
Aite that's all for now....Let's see ya who'll make it to 9th July and be Champions...
Nights,
Baz