Africa win!
The USA played Ghana in the second match of the day. Ghana got an early lead just squeaking into the net, but gave away a penalty in the second half that brought the USA level.
After 90 minutes the score was level, and the game fell into extra time. Ghana scored quickly in the first half of extra time, and kept the Americans away. It was incredible how Tim Howard, in total desperation, came up to help his team. But in the end Ghana won for Africa, and America's love-affair with soccer has ended for another World Cup.
I am disappointed by the American's loss, but am hopeful for tomorrow. England play Germany, and we have to represent Group C heading towards the final. USA – on our side now?
It seems the number of goals per game is increasing dramatically as we enter the knockout stages.
Predictions: England, obviously, and Argentina.
Goals per game: Mean - 2.14, Median - 2, Mode - 2, Range - 7
Cards per game: Mean - 4, Median - 4, Mode - 5, Range - 10
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
26/06/2010
Day Sixteen Preview: 26/6/2010
We have every qualifying continent but Europe represented today! Who will win? I predicted yesterday that Uruguay and USA will win. Do the stats bear this out?
Uruguay/South Korea
Ranked 16 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, Uruguay are far ahead of South Korea, who are only 47 – the worst-ranked team in the finals. Point one to Uruguay.
In their five confrontations, there was one draw, and Uruguay won the other four matches – most recently in 2007. Point two to Uruguay.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, Uruguay have only qualified twice, not making it out of the group stages in 2002, and failing to qualify in 1994, 1998 and 2006. South Korea, however, qualified for all five Cups, coming fourth in 2002, but mostly staying in the group stages. Point three to South Korea.
Comparing group performance just at this World Cup, Uruguay have a 2-1-0 record, while South Korea have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to Uruguay.
This suggests the South Americans will win.
USA/Ghana
Ranking: USA are 14, while Ghana are 32 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Point one to USA.
In their only confrontation, at the 2006 World Cup, the USA were defeated 3-1 by Ghana. Point two to Ghana.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, the USA qualified each time, making it to the quarter-finals in 2002 and the final 16 in 1994. Ghana have only qualified in 2006 and 2010, but have made it to the final 16 each time. Point three, just about, to the USA.
By performance at this World Cup, USA have a 1-2-0 record, while Ghana have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to USA.
This suggests the USA will win.
Will my predictions bear out, or will the weight of Africa's support spur Ghana to victory? No teams have any extra disadvantages from disqualified players, so it's all down to the skill of the players.
Uruguay/South Korea
Ranked 16 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, Uruguay are far ahead of South Korea, who are only 47 – the worst-ranked team in the finals. Point one to Uruguay.
In their five confrontations, there was one draw, and Uruguay won the other four matches – most recently in 2007. Point two to Uruguay.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, Uruguay have only qualified twice, not making it out of the group stages in 2002, and failing to qualify in 1994, 1998 and 2006. South Korea, however, qualified for all five Cups, coming fourth in 2002, but mostly staying in the group stages. Point three to South Korea.
Comparing group performance just at this World Cup, Uruguay have a 2-1-0 record, while South Korea have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to Uruguay.
This suggests the South Americans will win.
USA/Ghana
Ranking: USA are 14, while Ghana are 32 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Point one to USA.
In their only confrontation, at the 2006 World Cup, the USA were defeated 3-1 by Ghana. Point two to Ghana.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, the USA qualified each time, making it to the quarter-finals in 2002 and the final 16 in 1994. Ghana have only qualified in 2006 and 2010, but have made it to the final 16 each time. Point three, just about, to the USA.
By performance at this World Cup, USA have a 1-2-0 record, while Ghana have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to USA.
This suggests the USA will win.
Will my predictions bear out, or will the weight of Africa's support spur Ghana to victory? No teams have any extra disadvantages from disqualified players, so it's all down to the skill of the players.
23/06/2010
Day Thirteen part two: 23/6/2010
Predictions fail
Here are the goal time statistics:
Earliest Goal – 4 minutes, Stephen Gerrard for England against USA
Latest Goal – 95 minutes, Pereira for Uruguay against South Africa
Latest first goal – 92 minutes, Donovan for USA against Algeria
Mean – 51.7 minutes, Median – 52 (UQ - 73, LQ – 29)
So most goals seem to be scored in the middle of the game, around the start of the second half.
A fantastic pair of games to start the day off, with England playing Slovenia and the USA taking on Algeria. Somehow, England beat Slovenia 1-0, holding them off for a long time and unfortunately not scoring again, but preventing Slovenia from getting themselves a goal back. That guaranteed England's entry into the final 16, but Slovenia's future was uncertain. At the end of the match, the USA were still in a 0-0 tie with Algeria, but a fantastic goal in the 92nd minute from Donovan got the USA through, and left the Slovenians out of their first World Cup. This confirmed my first two predictions from yesterday's post.
England qualified after scoring only two goals in the competition – one against the US, and one against Slovenia, and this makes them so far the lowest-scoring team to qualify. Incidentally, this is the first time in over 40 years that England have ended the first half 1-0 against a European side and gone on to win (previously they had draws with Sweden in 2006 and 2002, and Ireland in 1990, and a loss against West Germany in 1970).
Next, Germany took on Ghana while Serbia played Australia. I predicted that Germany and Serbia would go through. For the first time in a World Cup, two brothers played against each other – German Jermome BOATENG took on his brother Kevin-Prince Boateng – their father is Ghanese, mother German. Kevin-Prince even played for Germany in the youth teams before choosing to play for his father's country. There's even a second Boateng on the Ghanan side – Derek - but he doesn't seem to be a relation.
In the end, Germany came first to nobody's surprise. Second was Ghana, thanks to their goal difference. So my prediction was not entirely correct. Germany will go through to face England – a great rivalry fuelled originally by the World Wars, and latterly by England's World Cup victory in 1966. In the history of England-Germany matches, they have played 27 times, with England winning 12 matches, Germany winning 10 and taking the two penalty shoot-outs that resulted in competition. There have been three friendly draws. England will hope to win outright, as Germany are unbeaten at penalties. Ghana face the mighty USA, and are probably going to be the only African team to qualify. Even if Ivory Coast beat North Korea and Portugal lose to Brazil (very likely), they will have to get an incredible score (and Portugal will have to lose by a lot of goals).
Goals per game: Mean – 2.08, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.93, Median – 4, Mode – 2,5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands (playing failed Cameroon) and Japan from group E, Paraguay and (hopefully) Italy from group F. Paraguay is the only team to have won a game in this group, and as the Cup holders, Italy have a great incentive to continue.
Here are the goal time statistics:
Earliest Goal – 4 minutes, Stephen Gerrard for England against USA
Latest Goal – 95 minutes, Pereira for Uruguay against South Africa
Latest first goal – 92 minutes, Donovan for USA against Algeria
Mean – 51.7 minutes, Median – 52 (UQ - 73, LQ – 29)
So most goals seem to be scored in the middle of the game, around the start of the second half.
A fantastic pair of games to start the day off, with England playing Slovenia and the USA taking on Algeria. Somehow, England beat Slovenia 1-0, holding them off for a long time and unfortunately not scoring again, but preventing Slovenia from getting themselves a goal back. That guaranteed England's entry into the final 16, but Slovenia's future was uncertain. At the end of the match, the USA were still in a 0-0 tie with Algeria, but a fantastic goal in the 92nd minute from Donovan got the USA through, and left the Slovenians out of their first World Cup. This confirmed my first two predictions from yesterday's post.
England qualified after scoring only two goals in the competition – one against the US, and one against Slovenia, and this makes them so far the lowest-scoring team to qualify. Incidentally, this is the first time in over 40 years that England have ended the first half 1-0 against a European side and gone on to win (previously they had draws with Sweden in 2006 and 2002, and Ireland in 1990, and a loss against West Germany in 1970).
Next, Germany took on Ghana while Serbia played Australia. I predicted that Germany and Serbia would go through. For the first time in a World Cup, two brothers played against each other – German Jermome BOATENG took on his brother Kevin-Prince Boateng – their father is Ghanese, mother German. Kevin-Prince even played for Germany in the youth teams before choosing to play for his father's country. There's even a second Boateng on the Ghanan side – Derek - but he doesn't seem to be a relation.
In the end, Germany came first to nobody's surprise. Second was Ghana, thanks to their goal difference. So my prediction was not entirely correct. Germany will go through to face England – a great rivalry fuelled originally by the World Wars, and latterly by England's World Cup victory in 1966. In the history of England-Germany matches, they have played 27 times, with England winning 12 matches, Germany winning 10 and taking the two penalty shoot-outs that resulted in competition. There have been three friendly draws. England will hope to win outright, as Germany are unbeaten at penalties. Ghana face the mighty USA, and are probably going to be the only African team to qualify. Even if Ivory Coast beat North Korea and Portugal lose to Brazil (very likely), they will have to get an incredible score (and Portugal will have to lose by a lot of goals).
Goals per game: Mean – 2.08, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.93, Median – 4, Mode – 2,5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands (playing failed Cameroon) and Japan from group E, Paraguay and (hopefully) Italy from group F. Paraguay is the only team to have won a game in this group, and as the Cup holders, Italy have a great incentive to continue.
Day Thirteen part one: 23/6/2010
England, USA, do it!
I was hoping for that victory and it came! I went through the games thinking my predictions would fall flat, but at the last minute the USA scored and also made it through. Now we both go through. I suspect Germany will be first in their group, with Serbia second. Looking forward to Germany against England.
ENGLAND!!!!
I was hoping for that victory and it came! I went through the games thinking my predictions would fall flat, but at the last minute the USA scored and also made it through. Now we both go through. I suspect Germany will be first in their group, with Serbia second. Looking forward to Germany against England.
ENGLAND!!!!
18/06/2010
Day Eight: 18/6/2010
Disappointment all around, except in America
Well, there's been some pathetic football played today. Like France yesterday, Germany and England were not in form. The USA also started off slowly before fighting back to a fantastic 2-2 draw. In the words of @billybragg: "USA continue their winning streak with a brilliant 2-2 victory over Slovenia".
Let's start with the promised goal stats. So far in the tournament, 43 goals have been scored.
3 were from penalties, 2 were own goals, 10 were from set pieces (although Fifa hasn't classified one of Greece's, which was from a corner, so that means 11).
The Germany-Serbia match was definitely the roughest game so far, with nine yellow cards - two of which went to Miroslav KLOSE, who had scored against Australia. Serbia managed to score, and despite giving away a penalty, Lukas PODOLSKI was unable to score. Usually a fantastic team, this is the first match Germany have lost in the group stages since 1986, in a match against Denmark. For Serbia, it's their first win in a World Cup since beating the USA in 1998.
So let's look at our card-happy referee, Spaniard Alberto UNDIANO. Nine cards isn't particularly large for him; he also gave 10 yellow cards in the semi-final of the UEFA U21 Championship in 2006. Just look at his record. He has an average of 7 cards per game, and his Wikipedia page was updated within seconds of the match ending.
Next up was a much better game. America played Slovenia to a 2-2 draw. Serbia were two goals ahead in the first half, but fantastic play from the USA brought them level again in the second. The USA now have eighteen World Cup group matches in a row without a clean sheet, which is not a good record for number one goalkeeper Tim Howard. It's not just Tim Howard, though. The last time they did so was back in 1950, 60 years ago, when they had a 1-0 victory over England.
Interestingly, if Slovenia had won, they would have been the first team to guarantee qualification to the group stages. Now, that honour will go somewhere else. Slovenia are ranked 25 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, while the USA are 14. The lowest-ranked team in the Cup are automatic-qualifiers South Africa at 85, while New Zealand just above them are the 78th best team in the world.
Ranked 8th in the world, England should have done better tonight against Algeria. They stumbled all over the pitch, and Fabio CAPELLO was having a very bad birthday. To be fair, so was Algerian BELHADJ, but as a top seeded team, England should have done better. But it seems Argentina are the only top team doing well so far.
Goals per game: Mean - 1.87, Median - 2, Mode – 1,2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.97, Median – 4, Mode – 3, Range - 8
Birthday: Tomorrow, 19th June, is the birthday of Brazilian KLEBERSON. Being a footballer for Brazil means he has enough to celebrate about, and his team aren't playing. Happy 31st birthday!
Well, there's been some pathetic football played today. Like France yesterday, Germany and England were not in form. The USA also started off slowly before fighting back to a fantastic 2-2 draw. In the words of @billybragg: "USA continue their winning streak with a brilliant 2-2 victory over Slovenia".
Let's start with the promised goal stats. So far in the tournament, 43 goals have been scored.
3 were from penalties, 2 were own goals, 10 were from set pieces (although Fifa hasn't classified one of Greece's, which was from a corner, so that means 11).
The Germany-Serbia match was definitely the roughest game so far, with nine yellow cards - two of which went to Miroslav KLOSE, who had scored against Australia. Serbia managed to score, and despite giving away a penalty, Lukas PODOLSKI was unable to score. Usually a fantastic team, this is the first match Germany have lost in the group stages since 1986, in a match against Denmark. For Serbia, it's their first win in a World Cup since beating the USA in 1998.
So let's look at our card-happy referee, Spaniard Alberto UNDIANO. Nine cards isn't particularly large for him; he also gave 10 yellow cards in the semi-final of the UEFA U21 Championship in 2006. Just look at his record. He has an average of 7 cards per game, and his Wikipedia page was updated within seconds of the match ending.
Next up was a much better game. America played Slovenia to a 2-2 draw. Serbia were two goals ahead in the first half, but fantastic play from the USA brought them level again in the second. The USA now have eighteen World Cup group matches in a row without a clean sheet, which is not a good record for number one goalkeeper Tim Howard. It's not just Tim Howard, though. The last time they did so was back in 1950, 60 years ago, when they had a 1-0 victory over England.
Interestingly, if Slovenia had won, they would have been the first team to guarantee qualification to the group stages. Now, that honour will go somewhere else. Slovenia are ranked 25 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, while the USA are 14. The lowest-ranked team in the Cup are automatic-qualifiers South Africa at 85, while New Zealand just above them are the 78th best team in the world.
Ranked 8th in the world, England should have done better tonight against Algeria. They stumbled all over the pitch, and Fabio CAPELLO was having a very bad birthday. To be fair, so was Algerian BELHADJ, but as a top seeded team, England should have done better. But it seems Argentina are the only top team doing well so far.
Goals per game: Mean - 1.87, Median - 2, Mode – 1,2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.97, Median – 4, Mode – 3, Range - 8
Birthday: Tomorrow, 19th June, is the birthday of Brazilian KLEBERSON. Being a footballer for Brazil means he has enough to celebrate about, and his team aren't playing. Happy 31st birthday!
12/06/2010
Day Two: 12/6/2010
South Korea does well as America goes soccer-crazy
Yes, the Americans have gone crazy. Why? They drew with England. So, they're treating it like a win. Well, they don't know much about football, do they? Okay, so England goalie Robert GREEN slipped up, and I bet he feels terrible. Number of Google hits for “Robert Green goalkeeper”: 1,110,000 (17/6/2010). Number of YouTube videos: 173. Most are from Americans making fun, but a few are older from West Ham fans. Rob Green is a GOOD goalkeeper most of the time. Unfortunately, he also has the horrendous statistic of being the first England goalkeeper to get sent off: in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine that England lost 1-0. However, he also played in the match England won 5-1 against Croatia that saw them succeed in their qualification attempt. So he has a mixed record.
Let's look at the other matches. The first game was between South Korea and Greece. Both sides have done surprisingly well in previous football tournaments – South Korea got to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup (in South Korea and Japan) and Greece won Euro 2004 in Portugal, shocking the world by defeating the host nation in the final.
The South Korean goalscorers were 29-year-old Manchester United player PARK Ji-Sung, whose nickname is ‘double-hearted oxygen tank’ (source: Fifa.com) and 30-year old LEE Jung-Soo, who plays in Japan. It was a clean game, with only the Greek Vasileios TOROSIDIS getting a yellow.
Second: Argentina versus Nigeria. This match ended up a disappointing 1-0 to Argentina. You'd expect this team to do much better. Of course, England fans aren't upset that they're in bad form, especially with Diego MARADONA coaching the team. Boo! Maradona is known for his 'hand of God' goal that halted a previous World Cup attempt by England.
Gabriel HEINZE is Argentina's 32-year-old goalscorer. Sadly, he has nothing to do with Tomato Ketchup or Baked Beans. Internationally, he's done well, and is the second defender to score in the tournament (along with Mexico's Marquez). In fact, the Marseille player has scored three international goals in his career.
There were only two yellow cards in this game – one to each side.
The final game of the day, as you should know, was England versus USA. Stephen GERRARD scored a fantastic goal after only four minutes: the fastest so far of the tournament. Just before half time, American Clint DEMPSEY got lucky with the goalkeeper to level the scores. There were six yellow cards – three for each team – in this game.
Goals per game: Mean – 1.4, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 2
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 1,2,4,6,7, Range – 6
Yes, the Americans have gone crazy. Why? They drew with England. So, they're treating it like a win. Well, they don't know much about football, do they? Okay, so England goalie Robert GREEN slipped up, and I bet he feels terrible. Number of Google hits for “Robert Green goalkeeper”: 1,110,000 (17/6/2010). Number of YouTube videos: 173. Most are from Americans making fun, but a few are older from West Ham fans. Rob Green is a GOOD goalkeeper most of the time. Unfortunately, he also has the horrendous statistic of being the first England goalkeeper to get sent off: in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine that England lost 1-0. However, he also played in the match England won 5-1 against Croatia that saw them succeed in their qualification attempt. So he has a mixed record.
Let's look at the other matches. The first game was between South Korea and Greece. Both sides have done surprisingly well in previous football tournaments – South Korea got to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup (in South Korea and Japan) and Greece won Euro 2004 in Portugal, shocking the world by defeating the host nation in the final.
The South Korean goalscorers were 29-year-old Manchester United player PARK Ji-Sung, whose nickname is ‘double-hearted oxygen tank’ (source: Fifa.com) and 30-year old LEE Jung-Soo, who plays in Japan. It was a clean game, with only the Greek Vasileios TOROSIDIS getting a yellow.
Second: Argentina versus Nigeria. This match ended up a disappointing 1-0 to Argentina. You'd expect this team to do much better. Of course, England fans aren't upset that they're in bad form, especially with Diego MARADONA coaching the team. Boo! Maradona is known for his 'hand of God' goal that halted a previous World Cup attempt by England.
Gabriel HEINZE is Argentina's 32-year-old goalscorer. Sadly, he has nothing to do with Tomato Ketchup or Baked Beans. Internationally, he's done well, and is the second defender to score in the tournament (along with Mexico's Marquez). In fact, the Marseille player has scored three international goals in his career.
There were only two yellow cards in this game – one to each side.
The final game of the day, as you should know, was England versus USA. Stephen GERRARD scored a fantastic goal after only four minutes: the fastest so far of the tournament. Just before half time, American Clint DEMPSEY got lucky with the goalkeeper to level the scores. There were six yellow cards – three for each team – in this game.
Goals per game: Mean – 1.4, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 2
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 1,2,4,6,7, Range – 6
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