World Cup Group F Latest

Ronaldo Double Silenced Critics And Brazil Through To Meet Ghana

Signal Iduna Stadion

Japan 1 - 4 Brazil

Scorers:
JAP - K. Tamada (33min);
BRA - Ronaldo (45min, 81min), Juninho Pernambucano (53min), Gilberto (59min);

Well, the Brazillians showed they're the World Cup champion by defeating Japan 4-1 with the fatty Ronaldo grabbing a double. To be honest he should have scored another at the start of second half, but credits to him, under all the intense pressure and criticisms, he rised to the occasion and put 2 past the helpless Kawaguchi. Ronaldo is officially the joint all-time top scorer of the World Cup and although he's still not the Ronaldo of old, he still possess the killer instinct and like most people would agree that form is temporal but class is permanent.

But Brazil's defence looked a little susceptible to speed attacks though. They made a mistake by sitting to forward and inviting the Japanese to run at them and they took their chance well by scoring a beautiful goal. But they learnt their mistake and sat a little deeper in the 2nd half and the Japanese clearly lacked creativity to break down the Brazillian defence.

The end of the game looks like a regular training match for the Brazillians though, the match below is far more interesting!

Kewell Makes Socceroos Dream

Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion

Croatia 2 - 2 Australia

Scorers:
CRO - D. Srna (3min), N. Kovac (56min);
AUS - C. Moore (39min), H. Kewell (79min);

Sent Off (3):
CRO - D. Simic, J. Simunic;
AUS - B. Emerton;

If FIFA is reading this (of course not), please send Graham Poll home, now. No, he's not a player if you wonder, but he's the referee for this game. Just watch it again and you could tell this English referee has clearly lost it and doesn't know what's he's doing. How did he show Simunic a 2nd yellow and yet not a red card and not know about it? This seriously put a doubt over his competency as a referee and how did he not spot the handball just before Kewell scored the equalising goal for Australia? Gosh, I think we'll hear more about him in days to come.


Anyway congratulations, Socceroos. I'm not your fan but I was cheering you on for the match as I think you lads deserved it more than the Croats do. Came back from behind to beat Japan, went down 2-0 to Brazil although the scoreline flatters the Brazillians a bit and now to come back against Croatia again. I admit I didn't watch much of the game as I fixed my eyes on the Brazil vs Japan game, but I did switched over to watch it and was shocked to see the clanger by the Australian keeper, Zeliko Kalac. I don't know why he started instead of Mark Schwarzer, but I think he will never appear again anyway. As AC Milan's 3rd choice keeper, the hulking figure dived low for Kovac's long shot and he completely missed the catch and it went in off his hands into the back of the net.

Thankfully Harry Kewell was on hand to save his blushes. Although it does looked offside, there was a handball from the Croatians and I think it evens out, eh? Well done Aussies, you deserve it, but how you're gonna beat Italy, I don't know! Good luck anyway!


Final Group F Standings:

1. Brazil 9pts (Qualify)
2. Australia 4pts (Qualify)
   
3. Croatia 2pts
4. Japan 1pt

Next Round of 16:

26th June
Italy vs Australia

27th June
Brazil vs Ghana

Tags: World Cup 2006, Football, Soccer, Brazil, Japan, Croatia, Australia, Socceroos, Group F

Craig Bellamy Signs For Liverpool And Scary Movie Review!

Liverpool Clinch Ballamy Deal

Liverpool have completed the signing of Wales striker Craig Bellamy from Blackburn on a four-year deal. The Merseysiders were given permission to speak to the 26-year-old after triggering a clause in his contract with a 6million pounds bid. Following a fall-out with then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, Bellamy joined Blackburn in July last year and scored 15 goals, having been on loan at Celtic in the previous season.

Drogballs: He might be an abosulte idiot and have a troubled past, but seriously, why not? 6million is not alot considering Andriy Shevchenko cost 30+ million. Of course its stupid to compare Bellamy to Shevchenko, but under Rafa, I believe he can change Craig into a wonderful player and blossom with the Reds. He's a Liverpool fan as well, so it won't go wrong. I have a good feeling about this.


Movie Review: Scary Movie 4


It was Rivand's 21st birthday today (OLD MAN) HAHA and had little choice but to watch Scary Movie 4. Okay, I'm lying. I have been waiting to watch this show since it's release and it took almost 3 months before the movie is showed here. Maybe due to all the censorship crap in this country. Ah nevermind.

Million Dollar Baby Spoof
Okay actually I have no idea where to start this...review. Becuase there is no story to this movie! It's just like a parody of several movies chucked into one, mix it around and there you go, one movie! But I have one question, why is there a picture of King Kong, yet 'he' is nowhere in the movie.

Here's the list of spoofs in the movie:

• Saw & Saw II
• The Village
• The Grudge
• War Of The Worlds
• Million Dollar Baby
• Brokeback MountainThe As* Rammer! Saw Spoof
  

I'm definitely not going to spoil the show for you but if you're really looking for a movie just to make you laugh for an hour or so, or you're just bored and need entertainment, look no further than this movie. It's lame and much of the story doesn't make any sense, but its those spoofs that makes you chuckle and maybe watch those movies above with a different thinking!

You pay 8 bucks, laugh it all out, come out and forgotten all about it. Yup, that's the conclusion.

Drogballs' Rating:

IF you love senseless comedies, stupid jokes and a bunch of retards running around - 4.5 / 5
IF you love reality shows, things that makes sense and believes that story should be meaningful - 0 / 5

Tags: Liverpool, Craig Bellamy, Football, Scary Movie 4

Czeching Out, Ghana In: Group E Round Up

AOL-Arena

Czech Republic 0 - 2 Italy

Scorers:
ITA - M. Materazzi (26min), F. Inzaghi (87min);

Sent Off:
CZE - J. Polak



Frankenstadion

Ghana 2 - 1 United States

Scorers:
GHA - H. Dramani (22min), S. Appiah (pen 45min);
USA - C. Dampsey (43min);

Final Group E Standings:

1. Italy 7pts (Qualify)
   
2. Ghana 6pts (Qualify)
   
3. Czech Republic 3pts
4. United States 1pt

Tags: World Cup 2006, Soccer, Football, Italy, Ghana, Czech Republic, United States

2006/07 English Premiership Fixtures Released

2006/2007 Barclays English Premiership Fixtures

The fixture list of the upcoming Premiership season has been released and Liverpool start of their campaign by travelling to newly promoted, Sheffield United and will have a tough run up until Christmas with the likes of NEverton, ManYoo, Chelski and Bolton awaiting.

FULL FIXTURE LIST (CLICK HERE)

Day One: 19/08/2006

Sheff Utd v Liverpool
West Ham v Charlton
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Bolton v Tottenham
Chelsea v Man City
Everton v Watford
Man Utd v Fulham
Newcastle v Wigan
Portsmouth v Blackburn
Reading v Middlesbrough

Tags: Barclays English Premier League, English Premiership, Football, Soccer, Liverpool, Fixtures

We Should Be Relieved Somebody Else Is Shittier Than We Are....

If You Think Local Football Is Bad....

We have long complained about the standard of our national league which is the S-League (sh*tty league IMO) and our national team which is going nowhere, or rather going backwards since the days of Fandhi Ahmad, who had a trial with Ajax and scored a goal in UEFA Cup before returning home with er, homesick. We had a dream of reching the World Cup by 2010, which is like the next World Cup at South Africa. Oh how we dared to dream, but we aren't even South-east Asian champion, World Cup? 'Havin a laugh! Okay but at least we tried and we had a vision for it.

Okay but today the point is not to criticise our football culture or national team or even the sh*tty league, but take heart that there is always someone worst off than us. Why not watch this team, and see how a player named Archie Thompson scored 13 goals in 1 appearance.



Australia 31-0 American Samoa
Are you feeling a little better now? Haha..

I sound like a kid in primary school getting back my results, got 31/32 in rank and laughing hard at the kid getting 32/32. Oh, how pathetic.....


Quotes Of the Week

"I was asked the other day who is going to be the top scorer. What a stupid question. Me" - Michael Owen.

"Our thoughts are with him and his family" - Joe Cole. Since when is Owen leaving us?

"It looks like England have beaten Sweden for the first time in 38 years." - Clive "That Night In Barcelona '99 "Tyldesley just before Sweden took that fateful long throw.....

"I made mistakes. I didn't use my brain." - Illija Petkovic explaining why s&M got trounced 6-0 by the Argies.

"Serbia & Montenegro just got whipped. S&M" - Ian 'Wrong' Wright contributing to his valuable tactical assesmen.

"I was very satisfied with the performance of all our players" - Raymond Domenech. FRANCE 1-1 SOUTH KOREA.

"Akwa is clearly the main man for Angola, but he doesnt tend to get many goals. Although he did get five in eight qualifying games and is their top goalscorer of all time" - Some commentator..Maybe...oh maybe not!

Tags: Football, Soccer, Australia, American Samoa, Archie Thompson

Group C Latest: Ivory Coast 3-2 Serbia & Mont.; Holland 0-0 Argentina

Allianz Arena

Ivory Coast 3 - 2 Serbia & Montenegro

Scorers:
CIV - A. Dindane (pen 37min, 67min), B. Kalou (pen 86);
S&M - Zigic (10min), Illic (20min);




Waldstadion

Netherlands 0 - 0 Argentina

Final Group C Standing

1. Argentina 7pts (Qualify)
   
2. Netherlands 7pts (Qualify)
   
3. Ivory Coast 3pts
4. S&M 0pts

Next Round of 16:

24th June

Argentina vs Mexico

25th June
Netherlands vs Portugal

Tags: World Cup 2006, Football, Soccer, Argentina, Netherlands, Holland, Ivory Coast, Cote D'Ivoire, Serbia & Montenegro

My Predictions Are Spot On: Group D Latest;

Gelsenkirchen

Portugal 2 - 1 Mexico

Scorers:
POR - Maniche (6min), Simao Sabrossa (pen 24min);
MEX - F. Fonseca (29 min), O. Bravo (MISS pen 58min);

Drogballs' Prediction: Portugal 2-1 Mexico. Spot on.

Zentralstadion

Iran 1 - 1 Angola

Scorers:
IRA - Bakhtiarizadeh (76min);
ANG - A. Flavio (60min);

Drogballs' Prediction: Iran 1-1 Angola. Spot on again!


Final Group D Standings:

1. Portugal 9pts (Qualify)
   
2. Mexico 4pts (Qualify)
   
3. Angola 2pts
4. Iran 1pt
   

Tags: World Cup 2006, Football, Soccer, Portugal, Mexico, Iran, Angola

Day 13 Preview, Latest On Owen

Michael Owen - Gone In 60 Seconds - Out For 5 Months

How unlucky can footballers get sometimes really. Djibril Cisse might be unlucky to miss the WC, but Owen yet again got injured and has been ruled out for 5 months and this has ended his disappointing World Cup 2006 campaign. The scan showed a cruciate ligament damage and will only be back by the end of the year.


I can be a bitter Liverpool fan whom laugh at his current plight, for leaving Liverpool and turn his back on us. But he used to be my favourite player and all I can say is get well soon, Owen.


World Cup Day 13

Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen

Portugal (7) vs Mexico (4)

Portugal will set to rest five players with yellow cards and they are CRonaldo, Nuno Valente, Pauleta, Deco and Costinha. Simao Sabrossa and Tiago is set to deputise and Nuno Gomes will start upfront instead of Pauleta.

Drogballs' Prediction: Portugal 2-1 Mexico

Zentralstadion

Iran (23) vs Angola (57)

Drogballs' Prediction: Iran 1-1 Angola.

Waldstadion

Netherlands (3) vs Argentina (9)

Luis Gonzalez is out for this game therefore Esteban Cambiasso will replace him in the central midfield position. Holland will ring changes to the squad as several players are on yellowcard and will not be risked. Dirk Kuyt, Khalid Boulahrouz and Tim de Cler will deputise for Johnny Heitinga, van Bommel and van Bronckhorst.

Drogballs' Prediction: Netherlands 1-1 Argentina.

Allianz Arena

Ivory Coast (32) vs Serbia & Mont. (44)

This game will be not as intriguing as the one above as both this teams have already booked a flight home and there is only pride to play for. Of course both teams would not want to lose so expect a cagey game.

Drogballs' Prediction: Ivory Coast 2-1 Serbia & Montenegro

Tags: World Cup 2006, Football, Soccer, Netherlands, Holland, Argentina, Angola, Iran, Portugal, Mexico, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Cote D'Ivoire

That 2 Goals England Scored....

Great Goals!

Joey Cole



Have to be one of the goals of the tournament, although we're only half way through. It was hit with such ferocity and you need to understand how much technique is required to hit the ball at a volley. And just look at the dip of the ball, just perfect and beating a 1.90++ m keeper is never an easy job, eh?

Stevie Gerrard!




A fantastic header from our captain. Again he showed everyone why he's better than that Fat Frank Lumpard. That Lampard did f*ck all for the whole match, shooting from 25 yards out, wasting possesion and went missing for the entire second half. Why, Sven? Why not let Gerrard play the free role instead? I'm so pissed.


Is The Walcott Plan Screwed?

I reckon yes, it's one of the biggest cock-up ever by a national team manager. Let's look at what other options he have shall we? Firstly, Jermaine Defoe. Alright, he's on and off for Tottenham last season an didn't play for too many games. But I'm sure he's good enough for the World Cup?

What about Darren Bent? I must say I see him as a one season wonder, like Kevin Phillips. But why not grab this chance and let him shine in the WC? After all he did score 20 odd goals in the Premiership, much more than Crouchy and Rooney?

Marlon Harewood and Dean Ashton? They suffered because they didn't play for a big enough club I think. I would have picked Ashton for the target-man position becuase of his sheer strength and predatory skills. He looked to me like a downgraded version of Alan Shearer.

England fans, pray that Rooney will be fit throughout, or you're really gonna rely on Crouch alone. Oh, don't forget about DAVID JAMES!! ManCity tried him there and he was brilliant!


Owen...Gone....

I know he still haven't go for the scan and the results are not out yet, but from the several reports coming in, you could see that coming. He's not gonna play in any part of this World Cup anymore I'm afraid. According to Steven Gerrard, Owen was in a lot of pain and is very down. Paul Robinson quoted saying he does not expect Owen to feature in the World Cup anymore. Poor Owen though, went all downhill after he left Liverpool and I don't know how much this injury is going to affect him psychologically. It's going to be a huge blow to him and to England.


She's So Thin That....

Right, so someone commented on how thin Victoria Beckham is.

"She is very thin. I leaned forward to kiss Victoria but there is so little of her, I almost missed" - David Cameron, Mr Blair's opposite number, on encountering Mrs Beckham at their pre-World Cup party

Nowonder Beckham's so accurate with long ball.


Thieving Going To A New Low

'A thief who stole a woman's World Cup ticket was arrested after taking her place in the stadium - and finding himself sitting next to her husband. Police said the ticket was in a handbag that was snatched from the woman as she made her way to Sunday's game between Brazil and Australia' - The Times.

Exciting times, eh?

Tags: World Cup 2006, Football, Soccer, England, Sweden, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Victoria Beckham

In-Ger-Land Blew It Once Again...

Cologne

England 2 - 2 Sweden


Scorers:
ENG - J. Cole (34 min), S. Gerrard (85 min);
SWE - M. Allback (51 min), H. Larsson (90 min);

My lord, what's wrong with the English really. They were quite brilliant in a few moments and then they could crash down to earth in another few moments. The record that Sweden hold, that is the 30 odd years of being undefeated by the English once again stood and was nearly ended by Steven Gerrard's header near the end of the game. But Sweden exploited England's weakness in defence and paid off with Larsson scoring just before the Swedish thought the record is going down the drain.

To be honest, they couldn't have wished for a worst start when Michael Owen fell awkwardly and replays showed that his right knee gave way. Latest news is that he'll be going for a scan tomorrow and I can tell you, it's not looking good. Peter Crouch came off the bench to take Owen's place and after England stamped their authority in the game, they began their flowing attacks on the Swedish defence and Joe Cole certainly caught my eye. He caused all sorts of trouble for the Swedish right-back and created spaces for other players. His hard work paid off when he scored an absolute belter that makes everyone sit up and watch. Sweden cleared a corner as far as Cole and after he chested the ball, he went for a volley and the ball sweetly strucked, dipped into Andreas Isaksson's top left corner. And then on England found their confidence and playing at a good rythmn.

Frank Lampard on the other hand, looks wasteful and it makes you think whether all he did in a football match is to stand outside the penalty box and wait for the ball to roll to him and then hit it and score by some freakish deflection. And everytime single time he had the ball at around that area, you knew where it's gonna end up. It's so frustrating sometimes that he's wasting chances and possesion and he never does any playmaker job at all. Owen Hargreaves though, looked like he's out to silence all critics and I must say he's one of the better players in the England shirt the whole night. He worked his socks off and breaks up the opponent's attack well.

But I have no idea what Svennis said to the England players at half-time and they came out a different 11 players I supposed. They struggle to keep the ball and constanly caught out at the back. A miscontrol by John Terry leads to a corner and you guess it, Sweden scored from the resultant corner. Marcus Allback, who used to play in England scored from a near post flick on and Sweden are back in a shout.Clearly, England struggled a bit after half time and never got their momentum going. Joe Cole was marked-out for the second half and Beckham was annonymous.

Sven then took off Rooney for Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard. Rooney was fuming and was visibly not pleased by Sven's decision. But he did his best and looking at Owen's injury now, Rooney is England's only hope and I think Sven got that right. After Gerrard got on the pitch, England seemed to settle down a little more and you could see it coming. Beckham floated in a perfect ball into the back posts and Gerrard was there to pounce and his header rocketed into the top corner. And he has officially become England's top scorer in this World Cup.

Their joy was short lived though. Everyone could tell you that if Sweden is going to score, it's definitely gonna come from a set play and indeed, England's nightmare was 'fulfilled'. They had been struggling in corners and freekicks for the entire second half and there were a few close shaves for England. Olof Mellberg hit the bar earlier and Steven Gerrard's first touch of the game was to clear the ball off the line and saved England. But this time it was down to pure comedy from the English defence, who seemed to be the strongest of all English departments. The ball was floated into the English box and panic ensued. Sol Campbell thought he had it covered but flapped and did a ballerina on the spot. Paul Robinson was stucked to the ground and Ashley Cole for no apparent reason, ran and blocked Robinson's way. Larsson was behind Campbell, got a touch to the ball and it went into the bottom corner with Robinson diving despairingly and Cole shell-shocked. It has to be one of the softest goal conceded in this World Cup.

The English defence, usually so solid and stable, were being found out by the Swedish tonight. It didn't help too, when Rio Ferdinand was being taken off for Sol Campbell. They panicked everytime Sweden had a corner and were very lucky to escaped with only 2 goals conceded. Not only that, but England needs to understand that a football game is not a sprint, but a marathon over 90 minutes. They started off with all guns blazing and then were given a good hiding after that. Ball retention was alright in the first half and then it all went haywired after that.

Seriously now, Owen looks like he's gonna be out for the World Cup now isn't it. How Sven regret not taking Defoe, Bent, Ashton or even Harewood. If anything's gonna happen to Rooney or Crouch, they're left with only Theo Walcott and he's gonna make a difference, doesn't he? Right.



At least they still have David James! HAHA.


Elsewhere: Paraguay 2-0 T&T

Tags: World Cup 2006, Soccer, Football, England, Sweden