2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

[Hoopskid]

Referee missed an Autralian hand ball near the end of the game that would've given Serbia a penalty kick, what a shame. Hard fought game on both sides.

[epper]

Germany made a big mistake by not scoring an own goal late there.

Die Mannschaft is through to the round of 16!

Hopefully Klose will be back in the starting lineup, and I like our chances against England.

[MattF]

So yeah, USA now has a chance at vengeance for Ghana knocking them out in 2006...here's the highlights for those who want to relive it:

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

I still get mad about that penalty that was called on Gooch. The flopping in 2006 was even worse.

But yeah, revenge time.

Ugh...I remember going nuts when Dempsey scored, only for the penalty to happen.

Two very different teams from 4 years ago. Ghana's youngsters, the Americans who 4 years ago in these three games would've collapsed like a tent in a hurricane. I'm excited

[The_Admiral]

There aren't many overtime game-winning touchdowns that break up scoreless ties in the NFL so it's hard to draw a straight line between the two.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

It's going to be tough on Saturday. My girlfriend and a lot of her Peace Corps friends all spent two years in West Africa, including several visits to Ghana. Having been in that part of the world myself (for a month), I probably won't be able to keep myself from pulling for Ghana to pull off the upset.

I know that sentiment might be un-Amurrcan, but I think it's the right cultural choice.

[Cujo]

The craziest stat coming out of all this....

The United States set a World Cup record by winning a group with fewest total minutes in the lead: 2.

[Seadragon76]

2 minutes in the lead for the Americans? Wow... That's an odd stat if I ever heard one.

Now, for my two cents in Groups C and D:

-Congrats to the Americans for winning their first group since the very first World Cup. Back then, winning the group got you to the Semifinals, now... It gets you to the Round of 16. Major difference. Let the American fans be thankful they didn't fall behind in the early stages against Algeria today.

-Who would of thunk it? England moves on after beating Slovenia. So much for the panic that has settled apon the English fanbase. After the horrible showing in their first two games, it took a bunch of Green Dragons to fire a spark in the Three Lions' ass.

-The two who are out were two very different teams. Slovenia showed flashes of brilliance in their first two games before choking against England while Algeria just had offensive issues the whole time. No goals for the Desert Foxes... looks it's time to hide in a burrow, boys.

-Germany moves on... Yep. This was very predictable. Now, there were some doubts after their loss to Serbia in their second game. But, people know how good Germany is when they can get going, and they are now at the top of their game. England better be very careful.

-Ghana moves on despite losing, but they will have the weight of Africa on their backs. Now, they did advance to the Round of 16 last time in 2006, so they have the experience. They might pull off a shocker against the Americans on Saturday.

-Serbia and Australia both got knocked out. For Serbia, they just couldn't keep the momentum gained from their win over Germany and translate that into today's game, while the Socceroos just couldn't get over the 4-0 thrashing Germany gave them in the first game. I give the Aussies credit for putting a fight near the end, but it was too little too late.

Now, it's question time (Feel free to answer any of them):

-Do the Kiwis have any magic left against Paraguay?

-Can Paraguay continue what has been a total domination by South American countries?

-Has age gotten the better of Italy?

-Can Slovakia make their move?

-Will the Dutch rest their stars against an already ousted Cameroon team?

-Who will join the Dutch in the Round of 16: Denmark or Japan?

[Saintsfan]

A quick few thoughts. I am not convinced the world of soccer would think of Ghana beating the US as an upset. Ghana have looked pretty good so far, it's a tough match for the Americans.

England might actually play better against Germany than they would have against Ghana. An old rivalry that could give the competition a jump start.

[TFoA]

An explosion of joy across the U.S. after the goal.

Watch as much as you can. It's pretty cool.

[Sport]

Germany made a big mistake by not scoring an own goal late there.

Only you...

I'm trying to look at the German side of things, I think I'd rather face USA and then URU/KOR than ENG and then ARG/MEX.

Did you ever actually play any sports yourself?

[twi]

Quick question for the soccer people on here...

what's the deal with the yellow cards, do they ever get erased or does a player have to carry it throughout the tournament?

So lets say a player got a foolish yellow in the first game, and the gets one in the finals is he kicked out?

No...Let's say someone gets a yellow in the first game and the second game of the group stage. They would still finish playing the second game, but would be suspended for the third. All cards are erased after the group stage, and everyone starts again.

How do red cards work? I remember De Rossi got one in 2006, for elbowing McBride in the group stage. He wasn't allowed to play again until the Championship game.

I believe De Rossi also got a multiple game suspension for that elbow. Normally it's just the rest of that match and the next one.

Can't wait until Saturday. So far Ghana has yet to prove it can score on anything else than a PK.

[MattF]

Quick question for the soccer people on here...

what's the deal with the yellow cards, do they ever get erased or does a player have to carry it throughout the tournament?

So lets say a player got a foolish yellow in the first game, and the gets one in the finals is he kicked out?

No...Let's say someone gets a yellow in the first game and the second game of the group stage. They would still finish playing the second game, but would be suspended for the third. All cards are erased after the group stage, and everyone starts again.

How do red cards work? I remember De Rossi got one in 2006, for elbowing McBride in the group stage. He wasn't allowed to play again until the Championship game.

I believe De Rossi also got a multiple game suspension for that elbow. Normally it's just the rest of that match and the next one.

IIRC, if someone gets 2 yellows they're just suspended for the next game. If its straight red, the suspension is judged by severness of the foul. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[NJTank]

An explosion of joy across the U.S. after the goal.

Watch as much as you can. It's pretty cool.

The one in Kearny NJ is from a great Fish and Chips place called the Argyle.

[BB61]

An explosion of joy across the U.S. after the goal.

Watch as much as you can. It's pretty cool.

I was at a bar too, watching the game. I was even on the news a few times. This is the only one I could find online (0:38), and I'm singing the national anthem like a friggin' dead canary.

[NEW.ERA]

So all you yank supporters happy now?

Dutch play tomorrow a win or a draw will clinch stop spot probably against Italy but I don't think any of us would be angry if the Kiwis made it through.

[Eye]

Crazy day, yo; however, I feel that Ghana will beat USA. The States haven't started ANY game well and were lucky not to be down early when the Desert Foxes hit one off the crossbar. The ineptitude USA has shown early in the first half will come back to haunt them. With that said though, I want USA to make a deep run in the knockout round because I want soccer/football to hopefully gain much more popularity in this country so badly.

[dfwabel]

Quick question for the soccer people on here...

what's the deal with the yellow cards, do they ever get erased or does a player have to carry it throughout the tournament?

So lets say a player got a foolish yellow in the first game, and the gets one in the finals is he kicked out?

No...Let's say someone gets a yellow in the first game and the second game of the group stage. They would still finish playing the second game, but would be suspended for the third. All cards are erased after the group stage, and everyone starts again.

How do red cards work? I remember De Rossi got one in 2006, for elbowing McBride in the group stage. He wasn't allowed to play again until the Championship game.

I believe De Rossi also got a multiple game suspension for that elbow. Normally it's just the rest of that match and the next one.

IIRC, if someone gets 2 yellows they're just suspended for the next game. If its straight red, the suspension is judged by severeness of the foul. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If a player receives a "straight Red" Card, the suspension can be for one or two games in addition to the game in which they were ejected. The severity of the suspension is made by the FIFA's Disciplinary Committee. In addition, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee possesses the ability to look back to fouls which may have gone unpunished and start a case, like the David Villa (ESP) open palm to Honduran defender Izaguirre. It was deemed not necessary to warrant an investigation or penalty. It is somewhat like the NFL judging hits or MLB handing out suspensions during brawls.

[STL FANATIC]

Crazy day, yo; however, I feel that Ghana will beat USA. The States haven't started ANY game well and were lucky not to be down early when the Desert Foxes hit one off the crossbar. The ineptitude USA has shown early in the first half will come back to haunt them. With that said though, I want USA to make a deep run in the knockout round because I want soccer/football to hopefully gain much more popularity in this country so badly.

It's true that Algeria almost scored very quickly into the game. But it's not really true to say that the US came out poorly in this one. They gave up that one bad opportunity, and had it gone in, it wouldn't matter what I'm about to say, because Algeria would have scored early. But it didn't go in, and the truth is that the United States dominated pretty much that entire game.

Algeria had two good scoring chances that I recall--the one early, and the one that put the ball in Howard's hands to make the outlet throw that led to the winner. The US was good early and often and just couldn't cash in. They had defensive lapses, but only 2 so bad that I ever held my breath.

The last thing I'm going to do is make a prediction. I sweat every minute of play. But I wouldn't say I'm worried about how the US will perform.

[ninersdd]

Since were talking about cards, is it possible for FIFA to rescind a red?(like Kaka)

[NEW.ERA]

Since were talking about cards, is it possible for FIFA to rescind a red?(like Kaka)

It's possible but FIFA doesn't like to show that they were wrong.