2010 FIFA World Cup

[ebrett84]

England practically committed suicide with that defeat.Anything less than a win against Slovenia and they'll need a miracle to get through.Even 1-1 would be no good.

Haven't seen the Kewell red card, I haven't really watched that many matches if England aren't involved.The rules do specify deliberate hand ball but on the other hand a handball to prevent a goal has been a sending off offence for a quite a while.If you go for the ball with your arm up, you're asking for trouble.

Personally, I wasn't sure it it was a penalty yet alone a red card.

Exactly, it was a dodgy yellow at best. There was absolutely no intent in it. Add that to the fact that Ayoub's tackle on Bresciano was a blatant red card for which he only got yellow, on top of some of the very OBVIOUS handballs by Serbia that got nothing, on the back of that stupid call that cost Cahill this game from our first game and yeah Australians are feeling pretty damn irritated that bad ref calls are having a big negative hand in our games. It happens but geez it's hard to cop.

In other news GO NZ! I was really impressed with their game and scoring so quickly.

Even though the goalscorer was a mile offside ? Still, even with that luck, a draw against Italy is a damn good result and the All Whites have done a million times better than I thought they would. Not to mention that Italy getting screwed by the refs is delicious karma from 2006. Please let them be eliminated in the group stage. I really hate that team.

[Slade]

Regarding the whole Australia-Ghana-Kewell thing. I don’t think there are any grey areas regarding the sending off. The only grey area is was the handball deliberate. I honestly don’t know. I think it was a reflex reaction but some referees could argue it was deliberate. If the referee deems the action to be deliberate then the player has to go as it was a clear goal scoring opportunity – I’m sure there is some sort of guideline from FIFA and if it isn’t followed the referee risks being sent home. If it was unintentional then play continues with no action against the player.

In other news GO NZ! I was really impressed with their game and scoring so quickly.

Even though the goalscorer was a mile offside ? Still, even with that luck, a draw against Italy is a damn good result and the All Whites have done a million times better than I thought they would. Not to mention that Italy getting screwed by the refs is delicious karma from 2006. Please let them be eliminated in the group stage. I really hate that team.

I wasn’t 100% sure. I thought there was a possibility Cannavaro played him onside when he kicked the ball back trying to defend against the free kick. Was the goal scorer offside when the free kick was taken or when Cannavaro actually kicked the ball. Either way there’s no way the linesman would have been able to spot it that quickly so you would have expected his flag to have been up. Objectively you have to say yet another decision against the Italians to add to the 5 disallowed goals in 2002 and the offside goal the Netherlands scored in 2008

It’s funny how much hatred there is towards the Italians, particularly from England supporters. Some of the Italian’s claim it’s jealousy. What was the Karma you were referring to from 2006? If you mean Zidane’s headbutt then he was an idiot for doing it and deserved to be sent off.

[MasterHolden]

Dreadful! Absolutely dire! With a performance like that England don't deserve to go through to the second round. For much of that game IMO Algeria were the better side. England are so boring and painful to watch. What happened to style of play they adopted between 1996-1998. They were so entertaining. I still think they'll beat Slovenia and progress but the question is will they avoid Germany.

Germany were a bit unlucky to lose to Serbia and Klose shouldn't have been sent off. That result has effectively split the group wide open. Serbia are arguably in the strongest position even though they are second. They only need a draw against Australia whereas Germany have to beat Ghana and even then there's no guarantee they'll finish top of the group.

Really impressed with Mexico in their game against France and I really hope they go through. I think if either they or Uruguay play Argentina that has the potential for a great game of football - For me Argentina vs Mexico was the best game of the 2006 World Cup.

At last, somebody with courage to speak their mind, good on you. The Celebrities (form the UK) said the exact same thing in their own way on Twitter; GMTV's Ben Shephard said he wasn't surprised that England played rubbish.

[Jamey-Maria]

I share the dislike for Italy so I don't care how they lose. As long as they lose.

I feel much better about Australia's embarassing 4-0 to Germany after seeing Portugal absolutely OWN Korea 7-0. Talk about a flogging.

[Anaya]

It’s funny how much hatred there is towards the Italians, particularly from England supporters. Some of the Italian’s claim it’s jealousy. What was the Karma you were referring to from 2006? If you mean Zidane’s headbutt then he was an idiot for doing it and deserved to be sent off.

Not so much for this Italian/English hybrid. Lol! I don't think it's really jealousy, but maybe people just having a preconceived dislike towards them. I think it stems from a misunderstanding of the pride Italian fans/players have which can be interpreted as arrogance. Then add on the fact that in the recent past (not this tournament) they've been lucky with calls and then have gone on to win games/matches etc. The more this happens the more people interpret them as cheating/cheaters.

Although with the Zidane incident, yes he was an idiot for reacting that way and hence the sending off, but there has to have been some huge provocation from Materazzi's side for that reaction to happen. Which then only adds to the hate.

Objectively you have to say yet another decision against the Italians to add to the 5 disallowed goals in 2002 and the offside goal the Netherlands scored in 2008

If we're talking Karma then maybe that's what was working in Italy's favour up till recently, as a result of those 5 disallowed goals in 02 and Totti's unjustified red card. See these things work both ways.

[ebrett84]

Regarding the whole Australia-Ghana-Kewell thing. I don’t think there are any grey areas regarding the sending off. The only grey area is was the handball deliberate. I honestly don’t know. I think it was a reflex reaction but some referees could argue it was deliberate. If the referee deems the action to be deliberate then the player has to go as it was a clear goal scoring opportunity – I’m sure there is some sort of guideline from FIFA and if it isn’t followed the referee risks being sent home. If it was unintentional then play continues with no action against the player.

In other news GO NZ! I was really impressed with their game and scoring so quickly.

Even though the goalscorer was a mile offside ? Still, even with that luck, a draw against Italy is a damn good result and the All Whites have done a million times better than I thought they would. Not to mention that Italy getting screwed by the refs is delicious karma from 2006. Please let them be eliminated in the group stage. I really hate that team.

I wasn’t 100% sure. I thought there was a possibility Cannavaro played him onside when he kicked the ball back trying to defend against the free kick. Was the goal scorer offside when the free kick was taken or when Cannavaro actually kicked the ball. Either way there’s no way the linesman would have been able to spot it that quickly so you would have expected his flag to have been up. Objectively you have to say yet another decision against the Italians to add to the 5 disallowed goals in 2002 and the offside goal the Netherlands scored in 2008

It’s funny how much hatred there is towards the Italians, particularly from England supporters. Some of the Italian’s claim it’s jealousy. What was the Karma you were referring to from 2006? If you mean Zidane’s headbutt then he was an idiot for doing it and deserved to be sent off.

I'm not an England supporter. The "karma" I was referring to was the blatant dive that led to the horrid penalty decision that won them the game against Australia in the second round. The NZ guy was definitely offside. He was onside when the free kick was taken but by the time the ball got into the penalty box he was about 2 feet behind Cannavaro. It would have been ok if no other NZ player had touched the ball, but when one of them flicked it on, that made the scorer offside. I can only assume the linesman didn't see the flick on by the other NZ player. And no, I don't hate the Italians out of jealousy, I hate them because they can always be relied on to field an intensely boring team. They're technically skilled but have absolutely zero flair and style.

I made a joke earlier about North Korea facing the firing squad, but after tonight's performance it is not a joke. I am genuinely fearful for some of their lives when they get home.

[halcyon06]

I'm delighted that England are playing the way they are- went into the competition too cocky. With Ferdinand out, the only player I feel sorry for is Rooney. I cant stand the rest, seeing as almost half the squad cheated on their wives! But appart from the personal lives, I really really really cant stand the team.

I'm still rooting for Argentina! Also supporting the underdogs like Australia and The Kiwi's, would love to see someone unexpected (with the exception of Argentina of course) to take it this year!

[charmed60]

I'm delighted that England are playing the way they are- went into the competition too cocky. With Ferdinand out, the only player I feel sorry for is Rooney. I cant stand the rest, seeing as almost half the squad cheated on their wives! But appart from the personal lives, I really really really cant stand the team.

Don't feel sorry for Rooney; he deserved every single bit of that booing, his play was dreadful! He was without a doubt the worst player on the pitch in the last match and had no right to have a go at the fans for their reaction; at the end of the day, they're his 'employers', they're the ones who pay his ridiculously extravagant wage and like all employers; they had the right to tell him he'd done a bad job.

I'm still hoping England progress through to the next round (patriotism and all) and I don't think they were cockier than any of the other teams (just hopeful and perhaps too confident in my personal opinion) but if they carry on playing like this; then they don't deserve to go through.

I'd actually like to see Ghana win; I think they're playing fantastically and deserve to do well. Plus I love their little dances they do when they score

[Danni02]

I'd actually like to see Ghana win; I think they're playing fantastically and deserve to do well. Plus I love their little dances they do when they score

Woohoo, go the Black Stars! I would love Ghana to do well. Really hoping they make it through the group stages!

Also hoping England can make it through but they are going to need to get something sorted, they havent been playing well at all, imo.

[Ryan]

It would be nice to see at least one African team make it through. Algeria is unlikely, Cameroon impossible, Nigeria and South Africa not likely and Ivory Coast have to hope that the Koreans already know their fate is sealed and put in a similiar performance.