There were a whole bunch of friendlies plus two qualifiers just after the November rankings were released, plus a friendly between Poland and Bosnia&Herzegovina on 10th December. Looking at the results of these games, I predict:
Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 2-2, but won their earlier friendlies against Ivory Coast (19) and Slovakia (18) respectively, so both teams should gain. Their opponents will lose out.
England will probably fall in points, though maybe not position, as will Germany. France should gain after beating England.
Portugal beat first-placed Spain 4-0, incredibly. That gets them the maximum possible points for a friendly game - 600 - and may result in them even overtaking England (dare I say it). The Netherlands, who beat their opponents Turkey (29), might even go top. But that's less likely.
Expect Luxembourg, Romania, Northern Ireland and Belgium to do well after draws. Northern Ireland's was with a poorer team, but they maintain good form.
Finally, Georgia beat much better opponents in the form of Slovenia (15), and will also gain.
Showing posts with label england. Show all posts
Showing posts with label england. Show all posts
02/12/2010
World Cup 2018 and 2022
Now we know:
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. If I make it to 2022, that will be 12 years of this blog and I'll probably be out of touch - everyone will have moved on from blogging.
England, naturally, are disappointed. Still, we do get the Olympics in 2012 - which I hope to be volunteering at - so we're not completely bereft of sport. But as a country we are so able to host the competition, with our fantastic stadiums! In the last world cup, England had a greater proportion of players in our leagues than any other country - including Spain and Germany, who have fantastic leagues too.
Other countries that missed out are Japan, South Korea, the USA, Australia (all 2022), Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium (2018 - joint bids). It will be interesting to see how these countries handle the cup. Qatar should do well, but Russia... could be interesting.
No international football over the next months for Europe, but FIFA will be updating the rankings on December 15th.
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. If I make it to 2022, that will be 12 years of this blog and I'll probably be out of touch - everyone will have moved on from blogging.
England, naturally, are disappointed. Still, we do get the Olympics in 2012 - which I hope to be volunteering at - so we're not completely bereft of sport. But as a country we are so able to host the competition, with our fantastic stadiums! In the last world cup, England had a greater proportion of players in our leagues than any other country - including Spain and Germany, who have fantastic leagues too.
Other countries that missed out are Japan, South Korea, the USA, Australia (all 2022), Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium (2018 - joint bids). It will be interesting to see how these countries handle the cup. Qatar should do well, but Russia... could be interesting.
No international football over the next months for Europe, but FIFA will be updating the rankings on December 15th.
17/11/2010
European Friendlies 17/11/2010
European Games
A lot of friendlies and two Euro 2012 qualifiers today. Here are the more surprising results:
Germany only scraped a draw against much weaker opponents, but at least they did better than England who lost to rivals France. It was also disappointing for Northern Ireland to lose against African team Morocco.
More happily, Poland beat Ivory Coast, Belgium beat Russia, Georgia beat Slovenia, Bulgaria beat Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Slovakia. In each of these games, the lower-ranked side won.
Similarly, there were draws for Luxembourg, Romania and Liechtenstein against much higher-ranked Algeria, Italy and Estonia respectively.
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers there were no surprises, with Finland destroying San Marino as Croatia beat Malta.
A lot of friendlies and two Euro 2012 qualifiers today. Here are the more surprising results:
Germany only scraped a draw against much weaker opponents, but at least they did better than England who lost to rivals France. It was also disappointing for Northern Ireland to lose against African team Morocco.
More happily, Poland beat Ivory Coast, Belgium beat Russia, Georgia beat Slovenia, Bulgaria beat Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Slovakia. In each of these games, the lower-ranked side won.
Similarly, there were draws for Luxembourg, Romania and Liechtenstein against much higher-ranked Algeria, Italy and Estonia respectively.
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers there were no surprises, with Finland destroying San Marino as Croatia beat Malta.
07/09/2010
Euro 2012 Qualification: 7/9/2010 Results
Poor-tugal
More surprises today, especially from Portugal and Georgia. France, however, improved and won a match. Here's the top five surprising results:
1. Georgia (110) drew with Israel (38). There's a difference of 72 places in their world rankings, but this is the second time that Georgia have drawn with a good team this weekend.
2. Montenegro (73) beat Bulgaria (43). Perhaps Bulgaria's 4-0 defeat to England was sagging their spirits.
3. Albania (70) beat the Czech Republic (31)!
4. Norway (22) beat Portugal (8). Portugal are supposed to be a world class team, and should easily defeat their opponents in most situations. This is disappointing.
5. Scotland's (41) draw against Liechtenstein (141) was bad, considering the 100-place difference. Should have been a win for the Scots.
In the British Isles, England and the Republic of Ireland both won (no games today for Wales or Northern Ireland), and Scotland continue to be mediocre. Full group summaries to come over the next few days.
Next weekend: Premier League football, and the Italian Grand Prix.
15th September: FIFA update the world rankings!
More surprises today, especially from Portugal and Georgia. France, however, improved and won a match. Here's the top five surprising results:
1. Georgia (110) drew with Israel (38). There's a difference of 72 places in their world rankings, but this is the second time that Georgia have drawn with a good team this weekend.
2. Montenegro (73) beat Bulgaria (43). Perhaps Bulgaria's 4-0 defeat to England was sagging their spirits.
3. Albania (70) beat the Czech Republic (31)!
4. Norway (22) beat Portugal (8). Portugal are supposed to be a world class team, and should easily defeat their opponents in most situations. This is disappointing.
5. Scotland's (41) draw against Liechtenstein (141) was bad, considering the 100-place difference. Should have been a win for the Scots.
In the British Isles, England and the Republic of Ireland both won (no games today for Wales or Northern Ireland), and Scotland continue to be mediocre. Full group summaries to come over the next few days.
Next weekend: Premier League football, and the Italian Grand Prix.
15th September: FIFA update the world rankings!
03/09/2010
Euro 2012 Qualification: 3/9/2010 Results
There are always surprises
These matches will be summarized properly after the Tuesday games, when I will go over each group and the points scored in individual posts. However, here are the surprises of Friday's football:
1. Northern Ireland (59) beat Slovenia (19) giving them 1357.5 FIFA points, which is the most points achieved today by a team.
2. Belarus (78) beat France (21) giving them 1342.5 points. This would be more spectacular if France had not done so badly in the World Cup and had several players banned for today's game.
3. Georgia (110) drew with Greece (12) 1-1! Greece are an odd team who sometimes do well, and sometimes badly.
4. Cyprus (63) scored well against Portugal (8), and ended up drawing 4-4! That's going to hit Portugal hard.
5. Moldova (89) beat Finland (51) 2-0!
In the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) there were some good games. Only Wales lost, and England's Defoe scored a hat-trick against Bulgaria. England have now matched their home games winning streak record of 11 games. In total 55 goals were scored today.
Tuesday: More international football.
Next weekend: F1 from Italy, and the Barclays Premier League.
These matches will be summarized properly after the Tuesday games, when I will go over each group and the points scored in individual posts. However, here are the surprises of Friday's football:
1. Northern Ireland (59) beat Slovenia (19) giving them 1357.5 FIFA points, which is the most points achieved today by a team.
2. Belarus (78) beat France (21) giving them 1342.5 points. This would be more spectacular if France had not done so badly in the World Cup and had several players banned for today's game.
3. Georgia (110) drew with Greece (12) 1-1! Greece are an odd team who sometimes do well, and sometimes badly.
4. Cyprus (63) scored well against Portugal (8), and ended up drawing 4-4! That's going to hit Portugal hard.
5. Moldova (89) beat Finland (51) 2-0!
In the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) there were some good games. Only Wales lost, and England's Defoe scored a hat-trick against Bulgaria. England have now matched their home games winning streak record of 11 games. In total 55 goals were scored today.
Tuesday: More international football.
Next weekend: F1 from Italy, and the Barclays Premier League.
14/08/2010
New Premier League Rules
Today the English (and Welsh) Premier League - one of the best football leagues in the world - kicks off. Naturally, I've been flicking through the handbook (PDF), inspired by an article in yesterday's Metro. It seems that a new rule is coming into effect this season to limit squad sizes.
Each team is limited to 25 over-21-year-old players, eight of which must be 'homegrown', although they are allowed more; that is, have been registered at an English or Welsh squad under the age of 21 for at least three years. The teams are also allowed an unlimited amount of under-21s.
I am not sure what happens if a squad has less than 25 over-21s available to them (for example Arsenal has only 22 over-21s, and Chelsea have 21). I believe that then they do not have to worry so much about the quota, but there is a limit of up to 17 foreign players (ie: who aren't 'homegrown'). So Chelsea, who only have five homegrown over-21s, are okay because they also only have 16 foreigners.
Probably a better way of wording the rule is: there are twenty-five squad places available. There is a limit of up to seventeen non-homegrown players on each squad, and under 21 players are not included in this count so a team can have as many as they like.
Manchester United are a big squad, with 43 players of which 15 are under 21s. There are fewer foreign players than Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City, and plenty of homegrown talent to choose from. However, some of the less-well-know homegrown players (they have 15 to choose from) may be lost.
Sources are: Metro, Premier League website.
Each team is limited to 25 over-21-year-old players, eight of which must be 'homegrown', although they are allowed more; that is, have been registered at an English or Welsh squad under the age of 21 for at least three years. The teams are also allowed an unlimited amount of under-21s.
I am not sure what happens if a squad has less than 25 over-21s available to them (for example Arsenal has only 22 over-21s, and Chelsea have 21). I believe that then they do not have to worry so much about the quota, but there is a limit of up to 17 foreign players (ie: who aren't 'homegrown'). So Chelsea, who only have five homegrown over-21s, are okay because they also only have 16 foreigners.
Probably a better way of wording the rule is: there are twenty-five squad places available. There is a limit of up to seventeen non-homegrown players on each squad, and under 21 players are not included in this count so a team can have as many as they like.
Manchester United are a big squad, with 43 players of which 15 are under 21s. There are fewer foreign players than Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City, and plenty of homegrown talent to choose from. However, some of the less-well-know homegrown players (they have 15 to choose from) may be lost.
Sources are: Metro, Premier League website.
12/08/2010
English Premier League 2010/11 Season Preview
August 14th – this Saturday – is the first day of the English Premier League 2010/11 season. I have debated over it, and finally decided that I'll post on the football as well. [At the very least it will give me something to blog about over the winter when there's no Formula 1]
All twenty teams will be playing over the weekend, and I'll be covering various statistics. The usual ones should be:
All twenty teams will be playing over the weekend, and I'll be covering various statistics. The usual ones should be:
- Average goals per game (over one weekend)
- Average cards per game (over one weekend)
- Top goalscorer (of the weekend)
- Total goals (whole season)
- Total yellow cards (whole season)
- Total red cards (whole season)
27/06/2010
Day Seventeen: 27/6/2010
The stats prove true
But let's hope not for the entire knockout rounds. Germany beat England after one of the England goals was disallowed despite being over the line. More calls have gone out for Sepp Blatter to change FIFA's stance on technology – he was the trending topic on Twitter, along with the ref of that game. Admittedly, Germany were the better team. The last Italian has now left the competition with a little more dignity than the others! FA – we'd like to keep Fabio please. He's nice.
Argentina also played fantastically against Mexico, who were no match for Maradona's team. Higuain got his fourth goal of the tournament, which once again puts him the top goalscorer. If Argentina keep up their performance, they could win the cup, and Higuain could well get the Adidas golden boot.
There has been an incredible increase in the number of goals scored per game. Just in the knockout stages, the average has been 3.75 goals per game! There's clearly a great desire to win, and sometimes the competition just hasn't met up to expectations (England).
Nor have the referees. Linesman Mauricio Espinosa was the one who declared Lampard's goal to not be a goal, but the referee Jorge Larrionda has now made two mistakes in this cup, having also not called a handball in the Australia-Serbia game that would have given Serbia a penalty and maybe put them through.
The only Englishman left in the competition is Howard WEBB, the referee, who has had a good performance so far. I hope he gets the final, but if Germany gets through then that probably won't be such a good idea.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.25, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.9, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range – 10
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands have the experience, but Slovakia beat Italy. It's hard to call, but I'm going to risk it and go for the Slovaks. Well, I have to get one wrong! Brazil are definitely going to beat Chile, despite the fact that one of the Chilleans is called Isla.
But let's hope not for the entire knockout rounds. Germany beat England after one of the England goals was disallowed despite being over the line. More calls have gone out for Sepp Blatter to change FIFA's stance on technology – he was the trending topic on Twitter, along with the ref of that game. Admittedly, Germany were the better team. The last Italian has now left the competition with a little more dignity than the others! FA – we'd like to keep Fabio please. He's nice.
Argentina also played fantastically against Mexico, who were no match for Maradona's team. Higuain got his fourth goal of the tournament, which once again puts him the top goalscorer. If Argentina keep up their performance, they could win the cup, and Higuain could well get the Adidas golden boot.
There has been an incredible increase in the number of goals scored per game. Just in the knockout stages, the average has been 3.75 goals per game! There's clearly a great desire to win, and sometimes the competition just hasn't met up to expectations (England).
Nor have the referees. Linesman Mauricio Espinosa was the one who declared Lampard's goal to not be a goal, but the referee Jorge Larrionda has now made two mistakes in this cup, having also not called a handball in the Australia-Serbia game that would have given Serbia a penalty and maybe put them through.
The only Englishman left in the competition is Howard WEBB, the referee, who has had a good performance so far. I hope he gets the final, but if Germany gets through then that probably won't be such a good idea.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.25, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.9, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range – 10
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands have the experience, but Slovakia beat Italy. It's hard to call, but I'm going to risk it and go for the Slovaks. Well, I have to get one wrong! Brazil are definitely going to beat Chile, despite the fact that one of the Chilleans is called Isla.
Day Seventeen preview: 27/6/2010
Germany vs England, Argentina vs Mexico
I hate to do this, but I will take a hard look at the facts.
Germany are 6, England are 8 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. It's a small difference, but gives point one to Germany.
In their most recent confrontations – 2000-2010 only – there have been five games played. England won three, Germany two. Overall, England have won 12 games in normal time, Germans 10 with 5 draws, of which Germany won two because they were knockout games, so in normal play England also have the advantage. So point two goes to England.
From 1994-2006, Germany have always gone to the quarter finals, came second in 2002, and third in 2006. England missed out on the 1994 World Cup, and have otherwise done reasonably but not brilliantly. Point three to Germany.
In the European Championship from 1992-2008, Germany were champions in 1996 (with England as hosts), and were runners-up twice, but only made the first round in 2000 and 2004. England made the semi-final in 1996, and the quarter-final in 2004, but failed to qualify last time. Point four to Germany.
And in terms of group-stage performance, Germany have a 2-0-1 record, while England have a 1-2-0 record. Therefore they are on equal standings in this cup.
So the statistics say Germany will probably win, but England have determination on their side, and a longer starvation from victories. We also have an older, more experienced squad, with some of Germany's best players not in this competition.
For Argentina and Mexico, Argentina are ranked 7th while Mexico are 17th. This puts point one to Argentina.
In their confrontations they have played 26 games, with Argentina winning 11, drawing 11 and only losing 4. This puts point two easily to Argentina.
As well as having two World Cup victories, Argentina are also led by Diego Maradona, who won one of those cups. But in more recent years they have not made it past the quarter-finals. Mexico have not made it past the final 16, and only reached the quarter-finals when they hosted the competition. Point three to Argentina.
And in this World Cup, Argentina have a group stage record of 3 wins, while Mexico are on 1-1-1. Point four solidly to Argentina.
So Argentina have the best chance of winning!
I hate to do this, but I will take a hard look at the facts.
Germany are 6, England are 8 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. It's a small difference, but gives point one to Germany.
In their most recent confrontations – 2000-2010 only – there have been five games played. England won three, Germany two. Overall, England have won 12 games in normal time, Germans 10 with 5 draws, of which Germany won two because they were knockout games, so in normal play England also have the advantage. So point two goes to England.
From 1994-2006, Germany have always gone to the quarter finals, came second in 2002, and third in 2006. England missed out on the 1994 World Cup, and have otherwise done reasonably but not brilliantly. Point three to Germany.
In the European Championship from 1992-2008, Germany were champions in 1996 (with England as hosts), and were runners-up twice, but only made the first round in 2000 and 2004. England made the semi-final in 1996, and the quarter-final in 2004, but failed to qualify last time. Point four to Germany.
And in terms of group-stage performance, Germany have a 2-0-1 record, while England have a 1-2-0 record. Therefore they are on equal standings in this cup.
So the statistics say Germany will probably win, but England have determination on their side, and a longer starvation from victories. We also have an older, more experienced squad, with some of Germany's best players not in this competition.
For Argentina and Mexico, Argentina are ranked 7th while Mexico are 17th. This puts point one to Argentina.
In their confrontations they have played 26 games, with Argentina winning 11, drawing 11 and only losing 4. This puts point two easily to Argentina.
As well as having two World Cup victories, Argentina are also led by Diego Maradona, who won one of those cups. But in more recent years they have not made it past the quarter-finals. Mexico have not made it past the final 16, and only reached the quarter-finals when they hosted the competition. Point three to Argentina.
And in this World Cup, Argentina have a group stage record of 3 wins, while Mexico are on 1-1-1. Point four solidly to Argentina.
So Argentina have the best chance of winning!
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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