World Cup 2010

[Toro]

I'm sorry. I was wrong. You can't be offside on a goal kick. The first German goal was good.

 

[germanguy]

Whoah...
4:1 (agreed,actually 4:2)...

 

[Toro]

That's it. England are toast.

 

[Colin]

Gross incompetence by a linesman who didn't see a ball two yards over the goal line, otherwise England would be level.

Brutal. That guy should be dropped for the rest of the tournament.

Yeh, but so what. England should by rights have been 5 -1 down at half time! They are as useless as they have always been. The only good thing is the pre-match bet I put on. 5 - 1 to Germany. Right now that's looking rather promising.

I'm surprised if ANYONE thought the England no-hopers ever had a chance of beating Germany. They couldn't beat the skin off a rice pudding. Overpaid, mediocre and no ideas. The same old same old.

 

[germanguy]

Toast ? Not yet...
What I like about the Tommys is that they do not give up.

 

[germanguy]

What a game.

My respect to the fairness of the English team.
I have not expected this, perhaps just hoped for.

Anyway, FIIIIIIIIIINAAAAAAALE !

 

[Colin]

Toast ? Not yet...
What I like about the Tommys is that they do not give up.

Don't make me laugh! England gave up trying at football twenty years ago. Since then they have got progressively worse, culminating in this, the worst performance of all. Soccer team? They don't know the meaning of the word team! They were a shambles and a disgrace...at least they met expectations!

 

[Toro]

I must say, it was awfully kind of England to play with only 9 men on the field.

There were only 9 men on the field, right?

 

[germanguy]

Whatever...
they fought, it was a fair game and WE WON !

 

[Toro]

The good thing about the scoreline - I mean, apart from if you're German - is that Lampard's goal didn't matter in the end. It would have been a shame had Germany won by a goal.

 

[Colin]

I must say, it was awfully kind of England to play with only 9 men on the field.

There were only 9 men on the field, right?

I saw ten, but I thought they were spectators wearing England shirts!

 

[B. Kidd]

Honest questions from a soccer im-purist.
Overall, is the refin' usually this bad?
Why hasn't soccer, at the least, used instant replay for goal scoring like pro-hockey does?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

England, France and Italy should have a "Who sucks worse" round robin match, but none of them would even show up

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Honest questions from a soccer im-purist.
Overall, is the refin' usually this bad?
Why hasn't soccer, at the least, used instant replay for goal scoring like pro-hockey does?

This has been exceptionally bad. Most of the anti-US bias is that before Obama we were a world class economy and number 1 in everything we attempted, so the last thing the other nations want is a USA National team that can go deep into the World Cup and maybe even win it.

The blown goal call against England was just biazrre

 

[Toro]

I don't think I have ever seen a goal as offside as Tevez's goal.

The officiating is becoming a major issue in the World Cup.

 

[B. Kidd]

Arg. 2, Mexico 0

Calderon, suck my gringo burrito!!!

 

[L.K.Eder]

I don't think I have ever seen a goal as offside as Tevez's goal.

The officiating is becoming a major issue in the World Cup.

i hope this paves the road to some sort of booth review. but it will change football forever.

 

[Epsilon Delta]

Man those REFS, what the hell is going on with them? I mean, twice in a day, and an important day. Thankfully it ended up not mattering in BOTH games (not to mention both for the teams I was rooting for), but this is just insane. They are going to have to do something about this one way or another.

Other than that they were both terrific games. As much as England did suck in basically the whole cup, I gotta hand it to them that they had at least half an hour in which they were very solid and I thought they'd definitely tie it (again). Other than that, before their first goal and the third german goal, they were pathetic.

Mexico was sort of the opposite, they started off really strong until that offside goal, but they fell apart after that TOTAL defensive mistake in the second goal. They brought it back up during the second half again, they kept pressuring, I really wanted them to score at least once (and they did), but just not enough. In the end both of the better teams won but, you never know, I feel like goals affect the psychology of the teams and you never know how it might've been with the right calls.

Whatever though, 9 goals in two matches is nothing to complain about, haha. Germany - Argentina in the quarterfinals again and it's gonna be a fucking crazy match. Tomorrow won't be so rosy since Brazil is going to tear Chile apart, but I'll be rooting for them either way. CHILE!!!!!!!!!!

 

[B. Kidd]

I feel like goals affect the psychology of the teams and you never know how it might've been with the right calls.

Scoring does in any sport. Soooo, why not instant replay in soccer goal-scoring?

 

[Toro]

There is a certain fatalism in football commentary, especially in the English press. We all know that England was completely ripped off by the call, yet all the commentary I see is that Germany deserved to win and English were rubbish.

Well, maybe Germany did deserve to win, and England certainly were rubbish, at least at the back, but that is irrelevant.

The simple fact is that we have no idea how the match would have turned out had Lampard's goal been allowed to stand. ALL of the actions after the goal had it been properly allowed would have been completely different than the actions after it was disallowed. Germany's goals were all on the break as England were pressing forward seeking an equalizer. Perhaps if the score were properly 2-2, England would not have been exposed at the back. Perhaps Rooney would have won a penalty and scored a hat trick. Nobody knows. But we do know that the horrible call dramatically altered the outcome of the game.

The general belief is that Germany "deserved" to win. I agree. But deserve ain't got nothing to do with it. The outcome is not determined by who deserves to win. The outcome is determined by the scoreline. There are all sorts of games in every sport where the deserving teams doesn't win.

Maybe Germany would have won anyways, but maybe not. A horrific call dramatically altered the scoreline that contributed significantly to England's loss.

Similarly, Tevez was so far offside, he was halfway to the exit. Had the goal properly not been allowed to stand, then the sequence of events which led to the Mexican defender giving the ball away would not have led to the second goal. Again, maybe the Argies would have won 5-0. But then again, maybe not. The events were dramatic enough to change the course of the game. The announcer had said that up to the beginning of the day, the team scoring first in the World Cup was 35-2, with 8 draws. So clearly, gifting the Argies a goal gave them a commanding advantage.

Generally, the officiating has been good, but there have been a few terrible calls and non-calls at critical points in the matches. I can't remember a tournament, any tournament at this level, where so many calls have been the wrong ones at critical times during the games.

The idea that bad calls are "part of the game" is absolute nonsense. I say that as a former accredited official. Teams, federations, nations, spend millions of dollars and years getting ready for this moment. It is the single most important sporting event on the planet. Yet bad calls can dramatically alter the entire outcome.

Officials are supposed to be unbiased and competent adjudicators of the laws of the game. They exist solely to ensure that the laws are applied properly. Players are part of the game. Managers are part of the game. Officials are not part of the game. If we can create a technology that eliminates poor judgment for the betterment of the sport, we should.