World Forums

AXE
Outside the immigrant communities, no one much cares. But since we are a very large group in this city, there are a lot of flags on top of cars during the month of June and July. It's quite a heart warming sight.

Hello to all, I haven't visited for awhile, it's nice to be back.

Since Bineaz did one, I'll have a go as well:

My rankings in order of preference:

1. Holland (2nd only to Brazil playing the Beautiful Game, and Brazil has won so many times, so Holland is my #1)

2. Czech Republic (Another offensive-minded team, and the other country in this WC besides Holland that have played in two Finals but never won)

3. Sweden (The only Scandinavians this year) :>(

4. Costa Rica (My favorite Latin country --no army = no oppression)

5. Australia (I've never met an Aussie I didn't like)

6. Portugal (This is the Golden Generation's last chance)

7. Japan (The wife is Japanese, and the national team plays fairly and with spirit)

8. Germany (It would be fun to see Jurgen Klinzman prove to his critics that you can coach a team from thousands of miles away)

9. Mexico (A World Cup championship would do wonders for the nation's psyche)

10. Brazil (They've won too much already, but are such a joy to watch I can't put them any lower)

11. Togo (Just because the odds are astronomical)

12. Tunisia (They always play hard, are rarely outclassed)

13. Spain (It's time to get the "underachiever" monkey off their backs)

14. Angola (Southern Africa could use some good news)

15. Poland (The Tatry Mountains are so lovely)

16. Ecuador (That they have qualified twice ahead of Chile and Colombia, among others, is no small feat)

17. Ghana (They have had great youth teams for years)

18. Ukraine (Won the toughest WC qualifying group, finishing ahead of the defending European champion and a 2002 WC semi-finalist in addition to Denmark)

19. Croatia (Do very well despite a small population)

20. Italy (Will either be magical or a disappointment)

21. T&T (Probably didn't deserve to qualify ahead of Guatemala, but good luck to them)

22. South Korea (A bum rap from 2002--they didn't officiate the matches)

23. Argentina (Too good to be diving so much)

24. Ivory Coast (Could spoil things for Holland)

25. France (You can hear their bones creaking as they struggle up and down the pitch)

26. England (It's always England this, England that. yawn).

27. USA (Sadly, a WC championship would be wasted on Americans)

28. Switzerland (The team--and the country--put me to sleep).

29. Iran (Get back to us when you let your women attend the home matches)

30. Paraguay (Voted least likely to win the Fair Play award)

31. Saudi Arabia (Striding confidently into the 11th century)

32. Serbia sans Montenegro (No support for the butchers of Srebernica).

Welcome back Silicon valley!!!! You are just in time to submit your predictions for the tourney!!!!

Hi Buzzz.

Thanks, I'll be sure to get my predictions in on time.

Hey SV !

welcome home. Good to see you drop by,

Hi Pabs. How goes it?

This will be our third World Cup online, all the way back to the crazy stuff at SI with the mad Iranians, Tourist Lembrink and all the other kooks.

Speaking of kooks, where is Boye?

I'm good. Thanks for asking. Yeah, there were some really messed up characters in those years.

Boye's out saving the world

"Boye's out saving the world"

With a job like that he'll never get unemployed:)

Love the siggy pic Pabs. Your best one yet.

Kaleidoscope, World Cup Edition, Volume 1:

What do I need to get a penalty kick these days?

Polka it is!

I wonder what my doctor will say about this unusual growth on my head.

From the horse's mouth!

Do the Crouch! Times Two!

Dang! I thought I said red jerseys!

Thanks for the photos Eugene. A girl likes to have her eye candy too you know!

Aah fond memories of the opening match of 'US 94. I even brought out the T-shirt I wore that day.

Hope you washed it since then....

Are you kidding?

OohOh



After further review ...
Referees' inexperience could hurt World Cup teams

FRANKFURT, Germany -- In a perfect world, referees would be little more than inanimate objects -- like the goalposts, the ball or the chalk that marks the touchline. They would be a necessary part of the game but wouldn't in any way influence its outcome.

Alas, it doesn't work that way. Referees do influence the outcome of games with their decisions, largely because they're human and they make mistakes.

For many, that's where the discussion ends. Refereeing errors are part of the game, and things balance themselves out. Just look at history.

In 1966, Germany was penalized by a dubious decision in the final against England.

Twenty years later the shoe was on the other foot as England was victimized by a linesman who failed to spot Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal in its match against Argentina.

And, in 1990, balance was restored: Germany was gifted an imaginary penalty in the final against Argentina (which also had two players sent off).

There you go: One screw-job each and everybody's equal and happy, right? Wrong.

Anybody with even a basic grasp of statistics will tell you that refereeing errors (for or against) do not even themselves out. Certainly not over the course of a tournament or two.

The truth is that some teams are penalized more than others. Sure, we can chalk it up to luck and happenstance, but at the same time, we have a duty to make sure refereeing mistakes are as few and far between as possible, particularly in a tournament as big as the World Cup. And since not all referees are created equal (they all make mistakes, but better ones make fewer mistakes than others), this means making sure we call upon the very best for the big stage.

But a look at the list of the 23 officials in Germany '06 reveals a decidedly mixed bag. While many of the top referees in Europe and South America are professional (or virtually professional), the World Cup will feature a maritime inspector from Benin (Coffi Codjia), a company director from Australia (Greg Shield) and an employee of the refereeing department of the Singaporean FA (Shamsul Maidin).

The issue is not that they're not professionals; the issue is what these gentlemen do in the four years between each World Cup. Referees generally officiate in their domestic leagues. That's how they gain experience and improve. But Benin and Singapore don't have professional leagues. And Australia's pro league is only a year old. That basically means that week in, week out, Messrs. Codjia, Shield and Maidin officiate matches between amateurs, played in front of a few thousand people at best.

So how can we expect them to make the jump? How can we expect them to deal with players who are faster, fitter, more skillful and often more devious than those they are used to? Particularly when Codjia, Shield and Maidin will be working in front of 50,000-strong crowds?

The answer is that we can't. These men represent a huge gamble, not because they are bad or stupid or incompetent but because they are vastly inexperienced. In fact, the only reason they're at the World Cup is that FIFA, rather than taking the 23 top officials in the world (to handle 736 of the world's best players), opted for a representative sample from all over the world.

And, in many ways, it makes sense. Benin and Singapore may never qualify for the World Cup. And it's not Codjia's fault that he was born there. Had he been born in Birmingham or Buenos Aires he might have had the chance to referee in a top domestic league. Why should he be punished because he's from Benin?

It's a tough issue. As unfair as it seems, the simple truth is that these men lack the experience and know-how of their colleagues from other parts of the world. And this may well mean they'll make more mistakes and cause more teams heartbreak.

So what's the solution?

Well, simply calling the world's best is not an option. Europe and South America would be even more overrepresented than they are now. And that's not fair.

There is, however, a way to fix the system, though it will take time. FIFA should give referees far more freedom in moving between countries and officiating in foreign leagues. La Liga, Serie A, the Premiership and other top leagues freely raid the rest of the world and import the best footballing talent; why shouldn't they do the same with referees?

Highly rated officials like Japan's Toru Kamikawa, Paraguay's Carlos Amarilla and Egypt's Essam Abd El Fatah would not be out of place in a top European or South American league. And they would benefit tremendously from working with the best players in the world.

It's time to break this absurd divide that shackles officials to their place of birth while allowing players to ply their trade wherever they like. Individual leagues would benefit from better officials. And, ultimately, the World Cup would enjoy a higher standard of refereeing while still being truly representative of the whole world.

If we don't do something about it, mark my words, we'll get the same raft of recriminations, accusations and bitterness we saw after Korea-Japan '02. Alas, it's too late for this World Cup, which means any team that gets Codjia, Shield or Maidin in its games will be quaking in their boots. And with good reason.

Gabriele Marcotti

First ugly incident of the world cup. Neo Nazis clashed with anti-racist. Police broke it up, no serious injuries. But the incident is getting never ending play in the tele...

Why are there so much jamaica t-shirts on sale but no T&T t-shirts?:(

Just an observation about refereeing in this WC.

It looks like FIFA is determined to run a very tight and clean ship. Quick with the cards.

I heard one announcer say that referees afraid to show the cards when warranted, will be sent home.

If this trend continues I like Brazil's chances more.

Oh Lordi.... 5 games already played and the only story related to the world cup CNN has reported is prince WIlliam's visit and the trafficing of women.

Coming up tomorrow...
Serbia:Netherlands
Mexico:Iran
Angola: Portugal

Falc
You haven't updated group C yet.

Too bad Sweden couldn't stick it to the Hacker Warriers. Those bastards should be in jail for hacking the way they did. Still, England and Paraguay are going to turn their asses white with 5 golas each.,


Forza Hacker-killers!!!

The top scorers of the tournament so far with 2 goals each are Omar Bravo of MEX, Paulo Wanchope of CRC, and Miroslav Klose of GER.

If the prize for the most bueatiful football goes to the Czechs, then the prize for the most ugly football goes to Australia. Lawd knows they got the job done and at the end of the day that is what counts, BUT, it was not pretty.

As of tonight (before Brasil and France have played yet) these are the best players of the Cup in my view :

Robben - Pirlo - Toni - Rosicky

Most disappointing team: USA

And so far, all group heads have won their opening matches.

No surprises for me, except maybe T&T tying Sweden with 10 men on the field.

I thought Ecuador beating Poland was a surprise. Maybe a mild one.

Same here. I woud've seen Poland into to the next round, but not after that match.

Interesting fact:

So far, 12 of the 16 matches in the first stage of group play have been played. Of those 12, only one draw. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues and if there is a marked difference between the top 16 and the bottom 16.

T&T drawing with Swe definitely a HUGE upset. No doubt about it. I, too, was surprised at the Poland result although I had been hearing more and more about how weak the Polish team was at the moment. Other than that, yeah, no major head-turners. I think a few Americans are pretty surprised the U.S. got wallopped, but then again they know very little about the game. Switzerland tying France today was a mild surprise in my opinion.

not mine. Switzerland is my darkhorse. They will top the group.

Back when the draw was made I said Serbia, but there is too much in-fighting going on with that team (Kezman) and a player criticized the coach after the Holland game. They are so done.

BTW Campi

you never did make it to Germany afterall, eh ? I recall you mentioning it and asking Felix about it.

What exactly did David Beckham mean when he promised "midfield foreworks" against Trinidad & Tobago?

Tiebreakers:

Rankings in each group shall be determined as follows:
(a) Greater number of points in group
(b) Goal differential in group
(c) Goals scored in group

In case of a tie:
(d) Head-to-head
(e) Head-to-head goal differential
(f) Goals scored head-to-head
(g) Drawn lots

Falc,

I'm pretty sure the head-to-head results precede the overall goal difference in the order of the tie-breakers.

Felix,

I know it's hard telling us apart now, but I'm bineaz.

The first list is how teams are ranked and the second list of items is the tiebreaker, correct?

That was Bineaz. But I am confused about the precedence of order as well and trying to remember what happened in the last WC. I think that when they refer to case of a tie, it is between two teams only while the first order if there are more than two teams. Now that I look at it again, the first order refers to group, so we are looking at a 3-way or even a 4-say tie.

bineaz,

sorry for confusing you two.

In any case, I just looked up the official tournament regulations.

Seems your tie-breaker list is correct. FIFA have apparently changed the regulations some time in the last few months, as last time I looked them up, they had head-to-head results taking precedence over GD - as it is the case in European championships, and as it has been in the WC qualifying.

Well, that's a good thing that FIFA did for a change. GD is a much better first tie-breaker than head to head results.

No wonder there's confusion as FIFA have apparently first changed the rules, then taken the changes back.

In any case, here's the version that is applied (for the tiebreakers look at page 40)

http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/i/eu/fifa/regen.pdf

Bineaz's list seems to be correct.

Now that I look at it again, the first order refers to group, so we are looking at a 3-way or even a 4-say tie.

Right. The points obtained in hth encounters would matter only if three teams are level on points, GD and goals scored. (in case of a two-way tie, it's only about who has won the direct encounter; in case of a four-way tie, the hth score would be identical to the group outcome, and the hth score would be all square, too, so lots would be drawn in any case)

Pabs,

Unfortunately work and some other stuff got in the way so I didn't go to Europe... sucks. I'm gonna have a fairly relaxing summer stateside watching Italia coast to yet another World Cup win.