The Official World Cup Thread

[Transmogrified Tiger]

That was a clear penalty. the defender didn't get the ball, and then impeded the progress of the offensive player from getting to the ball.

 

And Totti absolutely hammered that PK.

 

I don't buy that. Neill slid well before Grosso even touched the ball sideways. Then he touched it and let himself fall over Neill, who again was there before he changed his dribble, instead of following the ball. There was another defender coming towards the side dribble, so it's not like he was alone with the keeper if he doesn't fall. Like USS said with regards to the US-Ghana PK, you're essentially saying he had a clear go at goal without the "foul". That's not true in this case, it was a bad call.

 

All that said, in the brief replay I saw of the red card, that didn't look like a red.

 

I could care less if Neill had been shot and was writhing on the ground in pain, the fact remains that Neill impeded the progress of Grosso. It's highly likely that Grosso would have had a decent chance at goal or could have passed to a teammate that had a decent shot at goal. Neill prevented that from happening. It doesn't matter in the least whether the foul was accidental or on purpose - the referee dealt with that by not handing out a card which he likely would have had Neill pulled him down - a foul occurred on the play. And please, don't use the US-Ghana PK as a corollary because absolutely no foul occured in that game. Sure, Grosso likely embellished the play a bit but there have been hundreds of more pathetic dives with less contact than this play in the World Cup this year. A foul, albeit not a bad one, occured on that play and the referee definately made the correct call.

 

Grosso doesn't have the right to go anywhere on the field. Neill slid in front of him, beat him to the spot. Neill made it to the spot first, so Grosso is keeping himself from a decent chance at goal. If Grosso doesn't touch the ball in the other direction then there's no fuss at all. Just because he chose to run into the guy who was already at the spot instead of following his dribble doesn't earn him a PK, especially in the 93rd minute.

[soccer10k]

That was a clear penalty. the defender didn't get the ball, and then impeded the progress of the offensive player from getting to the ball.

 

And Totti absolutely hammered that PK.

 

I don't buy that. Neill slid well before Grosso even touched the ball sideways. Then he touched it and let himself fall over Neill, who again was there before he changed his dribble, instead of following the ball. There was another defender coming towards the side dribble, so it's not like he was alone with the keeper if he doesn't fall. Like USS said with regards to the US-Ghana PK, you're essentially saying he had a clear go at goal without the "foul". That's not true in this case, it was a bad call.

 

All that said, in the brief replay I saw of the red card, that didn't look like a red.

 

I could care less if Neill had been shot and was writhing on the ground in pain, the fact remains that Neill impeded the progress of Grosso. It's highly likely that Grosso would have had a decent chance at goal or could have passed to a teammate that had a decent shot at goal. Neill prevented that from happening. It doesn't matter in the least whether the foul was accidental or on purpose - the referee dealt with that by not handing out a card which he likely would have had Neill pulled him down - a foul occurred on the play. And please, don't use the US-Ghana PK as a corollary because absolutely no foul occured in that game. Sure, Grosso likely embellished the play a bit but there have been hundreds of more pathetic dives with less contact than this play in the World Cup this year. A foul, albeit not a bad one, occured on that play and the referee definately made the correct call.

 

Grosso doesn't have the right to go anywhere on the field. Neill slid in front of him, beat him to the spot. Neill made it to the spot first, so Grosso is keeping himself from a decent chance at goal. If Grosso doesn't touch the ball in the other direction then there's no fuss at all. Just because he chose to run into the guy who was already at the spot instead of following his dribble doesn't earn him a PK, especially in the 93rd minute.

 

So you're saying that Neill has the right to be there but Grosso doesn't? This isn't basketball. It's not who beat who to the spot on the field. The advantage goes to the player that has the ball. Neill impeded the progress of Grosso and ended up tripping him. That's a fact. Intentional or unintentional, Grotto was tripped by Neill.

 

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

-trips or attempts to trip an opponent

 

You may ask where the careless/reckless/excessive force part of the equation is and I ask you, did Grosso force Neill to slide? No. Neill chose to attempt to slide tackle to get the ball and didn't get it which basically put him in a no man's land. He couldn't go anywhere and was careless and tripped up Grosso. Foul in the box = direct free kick = penalty kick. The referee had no choice but to call a penalty kick.

 

Sure, the point in the game made it seem unfortunate, but a foul is a foul and the time of the game shouldn't come into play when determining whether an infraction is called or not.

 

Also, is this the player coming out of you or are you truly offering an unbiased opinion? As a former player I can easily see your point of view but as a former referee as well I can see the referee point of view.

[Big Fergie J]

Great passing..what a nice play by Brazil.

[Big Fergie J]

What an incredible pace to this game....give Ghana a lot of credit.

[soccer10k]

Congrats to Ronaldo for becoming the all time leading World Cup goal scorer. (I overslept a bit and missed the first 35 minutes of the game)

[Big Fergie J]

What a thoroughly entertaining 1st half....THIS is how soccer on the world's stage should be played.

 

Feel bad for Ghana...but great game going on.

[soccer10k]

That was extremely close to being offsides. It looks like it could have gone either way. I'll have to see another replay before making a final decision.

[Jon]

It looked like he was offsides to me by about a half-step.

[soccer10k]

Does Marcelo Balboa hate Brazil? Because he keeps suggesting that maybe the players don't all like each other and aren't passing well. So either he doesn't like Brazil or he isn't watching the same game I am.

 

EDIT: Most of these accusations were in the last 10 minutes of the game when Brazil was already up 2-0 and then 3-0. Wouldn't you think that when a game is in the bag a player might start to think about personal accomplishment a little more knowing that even if they screw up it isn't going to cost their team a chance to win the game?

[soccer10k]

Wow. Two French players had a shot there and neither could get a decent touch on the ball. Decent game so far.

[soccer10k]

1-0 Spain on a penalty kick. Good call by the referee.

[Jon]

I won't argue with it, but I'd hate for that to decide the game.

[soccer10k]

I won't argue with it, but I'd hate for that to decide the game.

 

Agreed. I suspect we'll see another goal or two though seeing as both teams have had chances thus far in the first half.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Wow, France scores.

[soccer10k]

I won't argue with it, but I'd hate for that to decide the game.

 

Agreed. I suspect we'll see another goal or two though seeing as both teams have had chances thus far in the first half.

 

Good call, eh? Got that post in a minute before the goal.

[Jon]

I won't argue with it, but I'd hate for that to decide the game.

 

Agreed. I suspect we'll see another goal or two though seeing as both teams have had chances thus far in the first half.

 

Good call, eh? Got that post in a minute before the goal.

And Spain didn't get a second borderline PK call.

 

Great end to the half.

[soccer10k]

I won't argue with it, but I'd hate for that to decide the game.

 

Agreed. I suspect we'll see another goal or two though seeing as both teams have had chances thus far in the first half.

 

Good call, eh? Got that post in a minute before the goal.

And Spain didn't get a second borderline PK call.

 

Great end to the half.

 

Oh yeah. And virtually no injury time as well.

 

It appears we'll have an exciting second half on our hands.

[soccer10k]

Eric Wynalda just said that Spain = Cubs.

[soccer10k]

France takes a 2-1 lead. This should be an entertaining final few minutes. I hope Spain can get the equilizer.

[Jon]

Hopefully.

 

Didn't care much for that yellow.

[Jon]

Bogus yellow on Zidane, but he answers!

 

Good game.

[soccer10k]

And a Zidane goal in extra time finishes the game. 3-1 France.

 

Another disappointing early exit for Spain.

 

And we'll have a rematch of the 1998 World Cup in the quarterfinals. We'll see if Ronaldo decides to show up this time.

 

EDIT: A very entertaining game though.

[WindyCity]

2 days without Cup games = withdrawal

 

I need my soccer. Can't wait for Friday!

[Mark Priors Calves]

FIFA removing some officials from the next 3 rounds.

[soccer10k]

FIFA removing some officials from the next 3 rounds.

 

Good. It's about time they did something. They should give a red card to the ref that did the US-Italy game as well.