World Cup 2010 (South Africa)

[Kralik]

They are one of the favourites.. Lets see if England get their act together today.. I'm thinking (or wishing) that France, Italy and Spain will fall at the first hurdle.. all Chile needs to do is hold them to a draw and Chile and Switzerland can be in the next round..

Holland, Germany and Argentina most impressive till now.. Germany has a great chance to keep the momentum going.. hope all the matches today are high scoring.. this WC is the most boring of all the WC's I've seen in my lifetime..

[Valerus]

I am guessing Argentina's defense will be exposed later on in the WC and they'll fall.

My winner is Germany, Netherlands, or Brazil.

[Kralik]

Portugal has some very handy players and a great coach.. but where are they? Seems they do not believe they can win the WC..

Speaking of impressive.. how impressive was the Korea DPR team? They showed real heart and showed they were not in SA just to make up the numbers.. would have been an upset had they held Brazil.. England needs to show the same spirit..

Anything less than a 2 goal win over Algeria should be unacceptable to Capello

[Kralik]

So much for Klose breaking that record..

[qdave]

There are a lot of games for him until finals ;)

some refereeing in these games are horrible!

[Rappy Veteran]

So much for Klose breaking that record..

after all the chances he missed in the first game I didn't think he would

[Kralik]

USA and Slovenia start soon.. and then the big match

[nothuman]

Anelka has been fired of the french squad after a blow with Domenech. He said at half time "vas te faire enculer, fils de pute!", in english, "go **** yourself you son of a bitch!". Anelka will probably (and I hope so) never wear the french shirt again in his carrier. There is a press conference scheduled tonight with Evra, we'll see if the french paper L'Equipe said the truth, but since no one in the french squad said otherwise it is th truth imho.

Our team is a wreck.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

I would put money on Argentina and Holland right now.

[Rappy Veteran]

Anelka has been fired of the french squad after a blow with Domenech. He said at half time "vas te faire enculer, fils de pute!", in english, "go **** yourself you son of a bitch!". Anelka will probably (and I hope so) never wear the french shirt again in his carrier. There is a press conference scheduled tonight with Evra, we'll see if the french paper L'Equipe said the truth, but since no one in the french squad said otherwise it is th truth imho.

Our team is a wreck.

:|

[gregb0b]

Domenech is a goon. Sending one of your best players home is a tad ridiculous.

[Kralik]

Domenech is a goon. Sending one of your best players home is a tad ridiculous.

Although we hate Anelka at Arsenal but he is a great player.. the only thing wrong with the French team is Domenech..

UPDATE: Just on FIFA.com

France striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the FIFA World Cup™ after after refusing to apologise for his half-time rant at coach Raymond Domenech.

The Chelsea forward was not at training today after the bust-up during Thursday's 2-0 defeat by Mexico, which saw him substituted at the interval. Anelka was asked to apologise by French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and, upon refusing to do so, was asked to leave the squad. "He will leave the Team France camp this evening," said a statement on fff.fr

The Chelsea forward was apparently criticised by Domenech for straying out of position during a goalless first half, prompting an expletive-laden response from the 31-year-old. "Words spoken by Nicolas Anelka to the national coach, Raymond Domenech, are completely unacceptable to the FFF, French football and the values they defend," read the FFF's statement.

[Rappy Veteran]

Domenech is a goon. Sending one of your best players home is a tad ridiculous.

they are probably already out so he probably thinks its not worth it.

[Kostaz]

:blink:

Well at least that will give him more time to rest.

[nothuman]

Anelka said he had a dispute with Domenech but he did not say those words. The atmosphere inside the squad must be completely unbelievable. We should have clean this mess way before the world cup.

[Valerus]

Yeah France is done. Sad really. I guess they'll be back in 4 years.

[Rappy Veteran]

Spain coach Del Bosque 'will keep job'

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has been told he will remain in the job regardless of how the team perform at the World Cup.

The reigning European champions were among the pre-tournament favourites but suffered a shock loss to Switzerland in their opening match in Group H.

"Whatever happens, Del Bosque will continue as coach," said Spanish federation president Angel Villar Mar.

He also said "it's not a disaster if we don't get out of the first phase".

Del Bosque is under contract until after Spain defend their title at the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland.

Under his guidance, Spain have won 25 out of 27 games, but their defeat at the hands of Switzerland was the first major upset at the World Cup in South Africa.

Spain's second game comes against Honduras on Monday and Del Bosque will be desperate for a win.

Fernando Torres has stressed the Spanish would not let their unexpected situation compromise their style of play, regardless of the possible consequences.

"If we go down we will do so remaining true to our ideas," said the 26-year-old striker, who hopes to start against Honduras after only being on the bench against Switzerland.

"The important thing is to stick to our style, which is what makes us win,

"We must not go crazy and start changing things but retain our confidence in the qualities which have made us one of the favourites.

"We are not going to start playing a long ball game, or put pressure on our opponents by pinning them in their own area or being cagey and staying back - that is not the Spanish way. Spain want the ball.

"If you have a Xavi, a [Xabi] Alonso, a [sergio] Busquets, a [Cesc] Fabregas and you haven't got the ball then you are doing something wrong."

---

Sky Sources understand that France striker Nicolas Anelka has retired from international football.

Anelka was sent home from the World Cup squad on Saturday following a dressing-room bust-up with manager Raymond Domenech.

It is reported that he directed a foul-mouthed tirade at Domenech during half-time of Thursday's 2-0 defeat to Mexico.

Anelka had started the crucial game in Polokwane but did not re-emerge after the interval as Domenech brought on Andre-Pierre Gignac.

The decision was taken to remove Anelka from the squad despite the fact that France are still alive in the competition and need to beat South Africa in their final Group A game to have any chance of progressing.

Anelka accepted his exclusion and wished the team well, but it now appears he has called time on his international career.

He has made more than 60 appearances for Les Bleus, having made his debut back in 1998.

But the 31-year-old will now focus on club matters with Chelsea and will play no part in France's qualification campaign for Euro 2012.

Domenech is to stand down as France manager after the World Cup and will be replaced by Laurent Blanc.

[Shibby]

http://english.yonha...9000100315.HTML

(World Cup) N. Korean World Cup team practices will full roster

By Tony Chang

TEMBISA, South Africa, June 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's World Cup team on Friday held a practice session with its full roster, following a media report that some of its players may have fled the team to seek asylum from their communist home country.

In its group opener with Brazil on Tuesday, which it lost 1-2, four players -- forward An Chol-Hyok, goalkeeper Kim Myong-won, midfielder Kim Kyong-il and defender Pak Sung-hyok -- were listed as absent on the official roster provided by FIFA, which sparked speculation by some South Korean media that they had tried to seek asylum.

Never knew any were missing from the game list!!!

[Hani]

[Kralik]

LOL.. so that's why Gayonldo left Man Utd.. was it getting too hard for him to concentrate on his football? :p Well Michael McIntyre did once say "Man United" and "Man City" sound like they are names of gay bars.. is this the proof we all needed?

[Rappy Veteran]

:rofl:

[.Kompressor]

LMFAO ^

exciting world cup so far though.

[Rappy Veteran]

French Director gone home now! :o

France are a massive mess atm!

[.Kompressor]

Best World Cup Football Advert I've seen so far.....

Kudos!! (Y) (Y) (Y)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9122Pl9tCA

[gaurav]

LOL

When did that happen? :p

I really wish Spain to go through but its tough times, never thought it would go down this way in such a group.