jEDI on Sports

Its been a while since I wrote a post on my sports blog. I'm delighted that I'm writing one on this great occasion.

Congratulations Team India for becoming the T20 World Champions.

Undoubtedly the best team in the competition won! It is even a greater feat because had never played any T20 games before (perhaps one) and were completely new to this format! They were missing all of their "world renowned" batsmen. They didn't have a coach. But what a performance.

Even though the final was worthy of a final and worthy even more of an Indo Pak final the performance I loved most was of that against Australia in the semis. Brilliant! It epitomised the youthfulness, bravery and passion in the team.

Great captaincy Dhoni. I can see a good Indian captain emerging.

And Yuvraj Singh - six sixes in an over. 50 off 12 balls. 70 off 30 balls. Man of the tournament for me. Period!

Chak de India!

The farce that is Indian cricket was on full display in their match against Sri Lanka. The match, which was a do or die situation for India, and only a matter of some points for the Lankans, turned out to be a one sided affair. I would love to say that the Lankans totally outclassed the Indians in all aspects of the game but that will be taking the easy way out. Yes they played good but nothing extraordinary. The real problems lie deep within the Indian team.

It was disheartening to see the spineless, gutless, shallow performance by the Indian batsmen and complete lack of something that much lesser teams have produced in the competition - fighting spirit! The fat, overhyped Indian cricketers who have been fed millions in easy money for pointless endorsements. But why blame them? Who made them the superstars? Who gave them this deity status and worshipped them? Today everyone hates them but I'm sure come tomorrow when Tendulkar scores another fifty, songs will be written about him and prayers offered. Maybe there's something else that sucks around here too, like - the all forgiving fanatic fans.

Losing to an average team like Bangladesh had already sealed their fate. Their so called 'heroics' against Bermuda (btw Bermuda is probably the weakest team ever in the history of cricket) were never going to rescue the situation. Things would again be black and white, as soon as they face a real team like Sri Lanka and thats what happened. However, what's perhaps most irritating is the way the Indians approached the game. They were so lethargic, almost disinterested. Maybe, our heroes now need to be given a new ad contact for every ball they bowl or every shot. Perhaps, that will be motivation enough.

Yes, maybe that is true. But are these stars really as talented as they are made out to be? When was the last time they performed away from the subcontinent against a decent little team? I cant remember any such occasion in recent history. Its all well and good when we invite foreign teams to the subcontinent and Dhoni and Uthappa slam the ball around on dead pitches. Also, what about the bowling attack? They couldn't get a team like Australia out even if they bowled 150 overs.

Again BCCI talks about stern measures. We've heard that before!. Greg Chappel needs to accept his disastrous record as team manager and offer resignation. Its as simple as that. Some of the heroes need to be thrown out too. We've had enough! But most of all I'd like to disband this joke of an organisation called BCCI. Something else must replace it, something that the govt sporting bodies have more control over, something that woks for cricket and India and not for *itself*.

Thats the only way forward!

A lot of people are very bitter about the Team India performance and have all but lost interest in cricket. Perhaps its a good thing! Maybe time has come when we need to embrace a few other sports and leave the cricket mania for good.



jEDI

Today must be one of the darkest days for world cricket. Just heard the shocking news that Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer didn't die of natural causes. Police have confirmed that he was strangled to death and a full murder inquiry has been launched. This is appalling and a very sad day for cricket.

Loved and respected by friend and foe alike Bob was someone who had made cricket his life and it now seems ended up paying with the ultimate sacrifice. Speculation is rife over who could have done it and it appears more than one person was involved. The Pakistan cricket team members, the gambling cartels and all sorts of people are being mentioned in the same breath. Regardless, of who the culprit(s) are, they must be brought to justice and made an example of by punishing them severely.

Its shameful that the only thing the ICC chief is worried about is whether the cricket should continue or not. The ICC has proved to be a joke in recent times when it got overruled by national cricket clubs when it came to drug bans and various other enforcements, so I dont expect any stern actions from it. Its down to the police I'm afraid. Lets see how the story unfolds.

Rest in peace Bob!

jEDI

The farce that is Team India came to light in the last test against SA. I havn't seen a worse performance in a long long time. I think the England team, which were whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes by Australia, is miles ahead of India at the moment. And thats saying a lot.

Sehwag and Tendulkar, please pick up the Yellow pages and find some extra suitable restaurants for you to buy. Its time you guys started paying attention full time to the restaurant business and forgot about cricket. We are tired of hearing, he was injured, the batting order wasn't right, thats the way he plays etc. etc. Tendulkar's batting in particular in the last innings was ridiculous. Don't be singing hosannas and pointing out his immaculate batting record is. That was THEN, this is NOW.

When it rained the last day, I was actually sad. Because the way India played they really deserved to lose. Thats coming from an Indian supporter, but I'm sorry my side has let me down completely. SA winning the match was justice done.

How ironic that Ganguly was the highest run getter in the series! In your face, Chappel. We need some serious cleanup in the team, starting with his "lordship" the finger waging OBE Chappel. Get him out!!!


jEDI

All blacks are going great guns. They are still the team to beat and set the benchmark for rugby. The recent autumn internationals cemented that fact. They made short work of the European teams. Unfortunately I couldn't see all of the matches live or comment on them. I cant wait for the Rugby World Cup later this year.

Australia are in doldrums, but I feel they'll pick their game up pretty soon. The coach needs to go if he hasn't already.

Wales are a shadow of their recent self but then they lost a lot of people to injuries. Never count out Wales. They always give you a tough fight.

England are pathetic at the moment. I cant remember any World Champions in history who would have done that bad after wining the World Cup. Their recent form has been nothing short of shambolic! Just about every rugby team has beaten them recently I think resulting in a change of coach. So what magic formula does he have? Lets wait and see.

France are a bit like Wales. You cant rule them out but currently they have been performing quite poorly. They are surely capable of much better rugby.

The team that has really come to the forefront is Ireland. The Irish without doubt are the best team in Europe and second only to All Blacks in the world at the moment. The way they have been playing internationals and even club rugby shows the strength and depth Irish rugby currently has. Certainly the team to watch out for in the coming months.

I can only hope that the All Blacks continue to show the same form and not peak immaturely like they have then for so many years now. But until then, bring on the Six Nations!


jEDI

Its been over now for a while and I finally had a good bit of rest in between. When I started out posting about every match in the World Cup I didn’t think I could keep it up. Considering my history this seemed like an impossible challenge because I am at times known to post nothing for months together. Yes, I can get a bit lazy. In retrospect though, I feel proud now of having put in so much effort and done this. Obviously, I couldn’t watch al the games live, which meant I had to record them and then watch them later in the night. It started with 3 games per day and then moved on to 4 so you can imagine how hard I had to work to keep up.

Anyhow, its done now and I can now present you links to all the games that were played in World Cup and I posted about. Pretty soon I’ll put up a scorecard too.

Group A Germany v Costa Rica Poland v Ecuador Germany v Poland Ecuador v Costa Rica Germany v Ecuador Costa Rica v Poland

Group B England v Paraguay Sweden v TnT England v TnT Sweden v Paraguay Paraguay v TnT England v Sweden

Group C Argentina v Ivory Coast Holland v SnM Argentina v SnM Holland v Ivory IC v SnM Argentina v Holland

Group D Mexico v Iran Portugal v Angola Mexico v Angola Portugal v Iran Portugal v Mexico Iran v Angola

Group E Czech Republic v USA Italy v Ghana Ghana v Czech Republic Italy v USA Czech Republic v Italy Ghana v USA

Group F Japan v Australia Brazil v Croatia Japan v Croatia Brazil v Australia Croatia v Australia Brazil v Japan

Group G South Korea v Togo France v Switzerland France v South Korea Togo v Switzerland Switzerland v South Korea France v Togo

Group H Spain v Ukraine Saudi Arabia v Tunisia Ukraine v Saudi Arabia Spain v Tunisia Spain v Saudi Arabia Ukraine v Tunisia

Second Round Germany v Sweden Argentina v Mexico England v Ecuador Portugal v Holland Italy v Australia Switzerland v Ukraine Brazil v Ghana Spain v France

Quarter Final Germany v Argentina Italy v Ukraine England v Portugal Brazil v France

Semi Final Germany v Italy France v Portugal Germany v Portugal

FINAL France v Italy

Happy clicking

jEDI

I have been waiting for this final for a long time now. I had thought I'd write a very long post on it, perhaps put in some live “as it happened” commentary in it and a detailed analysis. But I'm afraid this is not going to be a very long post. Because ultimately the final didn't live upto my expectations. Perhaps, someday I'll return and add more to this post. Perhaps someday, when I'm not this irritated.

If anyone at the beginning of the World Cup had said that France and Italy would play in the finals, he would probably have been laughed at. But as it turned out this was exactly what happened. A lackluster French side and boring Italian team were to meet in the finals. However, lets give credit where its due. France have come a long way since that first match against Switzerland. Their performances improved gradually and they started working better as a team. They didn't play a great semifinal but did enough to win. Italy had a somewhat similar story. They were fortunate to win their second round match against Australia on the grounds of a dubious penalty. But after that they certainly raised their game, especially against Germany. Clearly, coming into this match, everyone thought Italy had an edge over France.

The game started with the French playing some good football. Soon enough, Maluda was fouled in the box and Zidane converted the resulting penalty in a cool fashion. This woke up the Italians and they put in some good attacks, finally equalizing through a corner with a good header into the net. That was in the 19th minute. For the rest of the match including the extra time, nothing more was gonna happen in this tiring match. The Italians showed good possession in the first half and everyone thought it would only be a matter of time before they scored. However, the second half belonged to France. They dominated it. Full time turned to extra time and still France were the better side. Unfortunately, Veira was injured and so was Henry and they had to come off. To make matters worse Zidane saw red and head-butted an Italian player. Confusion reigned with all the Italian players going berserk including their coach. Referee and his assistants hadn't really seen the incident but somehow later reached a decision between themselves and sent off Zidane. Even with 10 men on the field it was only France who was attacking and came close a couple of times. Italians were very very disappointing and clearly playing for the penalties. There is no comparison between Barthez and Buffon when it comes to goalkeeping, of course. Sure enough, France missed one and the Italians won the match on penalties.

Heartbreak for France, and jubilation for Italy. Italy have gone out of the World Cup on penalties on three previous occasions but this was to be their lucky fourth.

Italy are the WORLD CHAMPIONS.


Final score: France 1 Italy 1
Penalties: France 3 Italy 5


jEDI

Some say third place matches are the most meaningless matches of all. I mean 5 years down the line, will anyone remember who won the third place in 2006? People even forget who the runner-up in the final was. However, I feel this is a good tradition. Not only do you get to see some quality action, but the teams who fought so hard to reach the semis at least go away with something

I wont say Germany were the hot favorites in this one, but people generally thought they might come through as winners. There are a lot of reasons for it. Germany are playing at home, they defend well, they attack well and they are team with great spirit. Portugal on the other hand weren’t counted out either. You have to be a decent team if you made all the way to the semis. Portugal’s coach is the top coach in the world and they have a lot of talented and skillful players. Perhaps, the only major problem Portugal has is the absence of a good center-forward. Pauletta has been nothing but disappointing in the World Cup.

The match didn’t immediately start with a high tempo as I expected. Both teams took their time to get going. The atmosphere was electric, with the stadium hugely packed with the German fans. What a story for Germany? Nobody expected them to perform or even clear the group stages at the beginning of the World Cup. Not even the German fans themselves, according to surveys. But we have seen a German team constantly evolving and emerging as they progressed in the tournament. They have certainly given their fans a lot to cheer about. Anyway, getting back to the match, the first half saw both teams have equal possession. Portugal were playing better than I have seen them play in recent times. Apart from Ronaldo’s blatant dives all was going well for them. Ricardo made a couple of saves, but Oli Kahn, who was finally given a game in the World Cup, wasn’t bothered much at all.

The second half saw the game being stretched a bit more. Schweinsteiger scored the first goal for Germany with a good kick from outside the box. Ricardo seemed to have the ball well covered but it seemed it swirled in the end and he missed it completely. This prompted Portugal to step up their attacks in a bid to equalize. But thankfully, the goal instead of putting the Germans back in their shell, as so many teams have demonstrated before, actually gave them a boost. They launched even better attacks now and seemed more threatening than before. Again Schweinsteiger made an attempted shot at goal, which seemed to be going wide but one of the defenders in a bid to clear it sent it into his own net. Schweinsteiger will try and claim this one but clearly this was an own goal. Luis Figo was still sitting on the substitute’s bench all this time. Considering that this would surely be Figo’s last appearance in international matches and the fact that Figo was one player who could create a goal for Portugal it was a bit bizarre. In retrospect, this was a silly mistake by Phil Scolari. Germany continued pushing forward and again Schweinsteiger hit a great shot from outside the box into the net. This was a cracking shot indeed which landed a little below the top right corner. Ricardo couldn’t have saved it even he was twice his size. Finally Figo was brought on and towards the end he lay the ball sweetly for Nuno who headed it into the net. Clearly, this was a Figo created goal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this match and Germany’s performance in particular. At no point did they sit back and defend and played some good attacking football. No one deserved the third place spot more. Also, Frings who was banned in the last match played an important part too. Things might have been different if he played in the semifinals. Well done Germany and hope to see you in great shape for Euro 2008!

Final score: Germany 3 Portugal 1

jEDI

0# France get the game underway.
1# Meluda gets the first chance of the match.. puts it wide.
3# France have started well. However, Bartez does some comic defending and gives a chance to Portugal. France clear.
6# First corner for France. Portugal easily clear.
8# Good shot at the goal by Maniche. Bartez didn’t look too comfortable.
11# The French passing is a bit off. The final ball is not good.
13# Great cross from Abidal to Henry. Cant get anything on the ball.
14# First corner of the game for Portugal. Wasted by Figo. It was a free-kick anyway.
18# France just cant get started, seem a bit lethargic.
20# First positive move by the French. Henry is blocked.
24# Some nice play by Zidane but nothing much happening.
26# Portugal’s first dive of the match. Referee doesn’t notice and gives a free kick.
27# Good play by Henry but passes the ball back to the goalie.
31# Henry in a great position and Maluda fouls him. Penalty for France.
32# Ricardo, the excellent goalkeeper, again guesses the direction right but is unable to save. GOAL France take the lead.
37# Corner for Portugal. Strange corner by Deco. Wild shot by Figo.
39# Corner for Portugal. Foul on Bartez.
41# Couple of fouls on the French. Referee finally wakes up and gives a kick. Another foul on France.
45# Good possession for a while by French but they again give the ball away.

HALF TIME

45# Portugal gets the game underway.
47# Great run by Henry. Ricardo gets a touch and France get a corner.
48# Ribery hits a good shot. Ricardo gets a hand to the ball and scoops it. Catches it on the way down.
50# Figo kicks the defender in the head. The referee doesn’t see it. Appalling! No card for Figo.
52# Poor defending by France. Pauletta turns and shoots but the ball hits the side netting.
55# Portugal attack well but France put in a great counter attack. The final ball is poor. France have a corner but cant make anything out of it.
58# Miguel gives a good pass to Ronaldo and Ronaldo cant do much. Miguel who had fallen awkwardly without any help starts rolling over. The Portuguese start moaning and whining.
63# Finally the game gets underway in earnest after a bit of scrappiness.
64# Everytime Ronaldo touches the ball the crowd start booing heavily.
66# Again Portugal dive and demand free-kicks.
68# Simao comes on for Pauletta. The plan is probably to put Ronaldo in the middle and get an extra attacker.
70# Its been a while since France attacked. They seem content to defend.
71# Portugal get a corner. Cleared by the French.
72# Govou comes on for Ribery. Ribery hasn’t had a particularly great game.
74# Postiga comes on for Costinha. All substitutes used by Portugal now.
75# France cant seem to keep the ball. Three Portuguese players dive in the box instead of making an attempt to score.
76# Free kick to Portugal. Ronaldo shoots. Bartez scoops it strangely. Extremely poor goalkeeping!
79# Again Ronaldo dives. Referee knows full well but doesn’t book him.
80# Free kick for Portugal in a promising position.
82# Finaly!!! Yellow card for Portugal player Carvalho. He misses the next match.
83# Corner to Portugal, cleared by France.
84# Saha comes on for Henry. Wise decision?
86# Booking for Saha. A two footed challenge. He misses the next game.
89# France are running the clock down. Its getting close but 4 additional minutes have been added.
91# Loose ball by Saha, but the ball goes out for a goal kick and all ends well.
93# Corner to Portugal. Last ditch attempt for Portugal. France defend well. Another corner, but France clear again.
94# A shocking pass by Saha again, but thankfully for France the Portuguese forward is offside. Nonetheless, a great save by Bartez for once.

FULL TIME

This was a pretty poor game. Not a good semifinal at all. France never really got going in this game. After taking the lead they more or less sat back and let Portugal play. What was sad was that France didn’t even put a lot of effort in the counter attacks and sat deep in their own half. However, Portugal could have played till tomorrow but still not scored a goal. Some of their antics like persistent diving were disgraceful. Big Philip Scolari the coach was the biggest disgrace of all. The way he behaved with the referee in the end should see him banned from coaching for a couple of years at least. And there was no reason for it at all. Portugal have a decent defence and midfield but their attack is brainless, clueless and just not good enough. It’s a travesty that they reached the semifinals and I hope Germany beat them well in the third place match. France book a meeting with Italy and a place in the final for the second time. Lets hope the final is a game worth watching!

Final score: France 1 Portugal 0

jEDI

0# Germany get the game underway.
1# Italy have started positively and are looking to attack.
7# Germany are getting some momentum. Blatant foul by Italian defender goes unpunished.
9# Germany are getting more of the ball but seem a bit shaky.
10# Good ball into the box by Totti but the German defender clears well. Italy win a corner shortly.
12# Great pass by Ballack to Podolsky, but he cant turn around well to take shot. Referee is being lenient with the challenges.
15# Great combination between Podolsky and Klose but the ball is pushed too far. Italy clear.
16# Great chance for Italy’s Perotta but Lehmann does brilliantly.
17# First corner of the game for Germany. Borowski puts it wide.
19# Strangely Italy have started this game positively rather than sitting back and defending as they usually do.
21# Good pass to Podolsky near the box but he snatches at it and misses the target completely.
23# Italy get a free kick and create a bit of danger in the German box.
27# The game has a good tempo with both sides threatening to break through the defence.
28# Italy win a free kick in a dangerous position. Italians are brilliant at diving. Well worked out kick but blocked by Germany.
30# Grosso does very well but well intercepted in the box by Germany.
32# Couple of more corners by Italy but Lehman has been doing well.
33# Germany’s best chance. Snieder strikes well but it’s a touch high. Great play by Podolsky and Klose again.
36# Another corner for Italy. Dealt with easily by Germany. Another suspect free kick for Italy.
39# Strangely now the referee does show a yellow card in case of the German defender, while he let go previous fouls but the Italians unpunished.
42# The Germans are definitely missing Friggs in the midfield.
44# Totti tries a WWE move on Ballack and then comically falls. Referee tells him to get up.
46# Referee blows for half time. The game is tight with both sides playing an attacking game. The Italians as expected have looked more solid in defence.

HALF TIME

46# Italy get the game underway and immediately Germany launch a good attack.
48# Great flick on by Klose but Podolsky is blocked.
50# Klose makes a great run unstopped into the box but ultimately is blocked by Buffon at the very end.
52# Germans have started this half slightly the better but still no way through.
53# Italy have a corner even though the ball was out. Lehman deals with it comfortably.
54# Both teams are making some great tackles in the field.
56# Again some comic diving by the Italians.
58# A bit of good possession by Germans but not a good pass in the end.
62# Great pass for Podolsky in the box. He turns well and shoots. Buffon blocks. Borowski cant make anything of the rebound. Another great chance wasted by Germany.
64# Its getting a bit rough with some fouls being committed.
67# Good pass into Podolsky with some room to run into but Gattuso does well. Minute later Germany are in another good position but the final pass is very poor.
71# Borowski comes off for Schweinsteiger. Wise decision? Time will tell.. Shortly Italians bring off Luca Toni and Gilardino comes on.
75# Slight lull in the play with not much happening.
76# Another corner for Italy. Lehman takes it very well.
80# Germany get a free kick in a dangerous position. Poor free kick by Ballack.
82# Odonko comes on for Snieder. Can Odonko trouble the Italians with his pace?
85# Dangerous situation for Germany but Lehman comes out and clears. Germany has a chance to counter but immediately three Italians are down demanding treatment.
89# First Italian yellow card of the night. Bad foul by Camoronezi.
90# Free kick for Germany. The ball is flicked on across the goal and results in a goalkick.
92# Promising attack by Germany but Schweinsteiger cant keep it in.

EXTRA TIME FIRST PERIOD

0# Germany get the game underway.
1# Excellent run by Gilardino. Brilliant chance but the post saves Germany. First clear chance for Italy.
2# Italy have a corner. Zambrotta shoots. Again the ball hits the post.
3# Another corner for Italy. Canavaro heads wide.
5# Free kick for Germany in a decent position. Italy block and it results in a corner. The corner runs all the way through with no one making contact.
7# Why is it that the moment I decide to write a live commentary for some match it goes into extra time?
9# Free kick for Germany in a promising position. Headed away by Iaquinta.
13# Alessandro Del Pero comes on for Perotta. Good move by Italy. He is one player who can surely impact a game.
15# Odonko makes a good run but the pass is too wide for Schweinsteiger.
16# Odonko sends in a great pass to Podolsky but he sends it wide. Very good chance gone to waste for Germany.

EXTRA TIME SECOND PERIOD

16# Italy get the game underway.
17# Corner for Germany. Headed away by Italian defence.
18# Corner for Italy. Again Lehman takes.
19# Lahm shoots but wide. Germany and Italy both appear quite tired.
21# Oliver Nouvelle comes on for Klose.
21# Germany survive when Del Piero cant put the ball past Lehman. Almost immediately Germany attack and Buffon saves Podolsky’s shot.
22# Italians counter and get a corner. Headed away by Ballack.
23# Del Piero gets a chance but he sends in a wild shot.
25# Great play by both sides. Odonko shoots but is a bit too hopeful.
27# Great shot by Pirlo. Lehman makes an equally good save. Corner for Italy. GOAL Grosso’s hit finds the net.
29# It couldn’t have been better for Italy. Its almost over for Germany.
30# The Germans put all men in counter attack. Italy counter. Del piero scores another. Heartbreak for the Germans.


END OF MATCH

The goals couldn’t have come at a better time. Two more minutes and it would have gone to penalties. When it comes to penalties Germans are the best team in the world and Italians the second worst after England. That was a tremendous piece of luck for the Italians. That said, they created quite a few chances in the extra time and perhaps deserved a goal. The is was an absolutely cracking game, a really deserving World Cup semi-final but ultimately there had to be a winner. Heartbreak for the wonderful German team! Italy move into the finals.

Final score: Germany 0 Italy 2

jEDI

At this moment it looks increasingly like a Germany versus France final. Most neutral people would love to see that anyway. But nothing is certain in football and the World Cup. That's why we love it so much.

Lets wait and watch!

jEDI

Brazil have not shown their best game so far but have come all this way without any major difficulties. They have won all their games so far and after Argentina’s exit the defending champions are one of the top contenders for the title. France, on the other hand have been marred with the usual problems they suffered from in recent international matches. However, over the past two matches they have certainly picked up their game and are on the ascendancy.

Most people, excluding the jEDI, had written off France a long time ago, even before the World Cup started. But as you can verify from my previous posts I have always maintained that France were a very good team. With the Togo game they finally broke the shackles and got back their confidence. In the last game against Spain you could see sparks of the ‘old’ France. I have always believed that France, if they played to their potential, could beat any and I mean any team in the World. I know this sounds clichéd and could apply to any team, but none more than France!

Brazil is a very tricky opponent. You never quite know what to expect of them. The worst part is they can raise their game at any moment so you never quite know how well Brazil really is playing. Still though, I always knew this was gonna be one heck of a match.

I was right. This to me was the best match of the tournament. Even better than Argentina versus Serbia and Montenegro. That so because Argentina v S&M was ultimately a one sided game. Couple of things of note. Veira scored a goal in the previous match and so did Zidane. This I felt really boosted the confidence of two very important players in the side and that of the whole team as well.

Right from the first few minutes the French midfield took control of the game. Zidane was superb. Veira and Makalele excellent in defence. Henry and Ribery terrorized Lucio with their attack. France was dominating the game. For the entire first half Ronaldinho and Ronaldo were almost nowhere to be seen. Such was France’s hold on the game! To a lame observer it would seem that France and Brazil had equal amount of possession but it was the French midfield which was dictating the game. France looked like the only team that could create a goal in this one. And so they did, when a free kick taken by Zidane found Henry and he directed it into the net. In the later part of the game Brazil seemed to have all the possession as they tried their best to equalize. However, that was mostly because France were now trying to protect the lead and see the match through. Brazil did create a couple of half decent chances but they were mostly the doing of France’s cowboy goalkeeper Bartez, who I think is the weakest link in the French team. Otherwise, Brazil could not break through the rock solid French defence at all.

The man of the match was clearly Zidane. He truly showed what a class act he is. It was beautiful to watch him. It almost seemed like the old horse wanted to put the marker down and show the world’s best player Ronaldinho a thing or two.

Brilliant performance by the French team and they deservingly go into the semifinals, where they would play Portugal. One thing is certain. If France are even half as good as they were today they will thrash Portugal. However, this is the World Cup and everything is so unpredictable. Brazil were the second best team in this one and sadly this is the end of their World Cup journey. Watch out for this space!

Final score: Brazil 0 France 1

jEDI

England haven’t shown their true potential in the World Cup so far. They have got through each match easily enough but not in a very convincing manner. Portugal haven’t exactly set the tournament on fire either. They were as unconvincing as England in the latter stages of the tournament and even got through to the quarterfinals by somehow holding on to the one goal lead, losing a few players on the way.

Will England be able to take advantage of a weakened Portugal? Will England be able to take advantage of any team based on their formations? Is Portugal really as weak as people claim?

The answer to the last question was no. Figo was never red carded and available for this match, so was Ronaldo who many thought had received a bad injury. The only player Portugal missed was Deco, which wasn’t such a big deal because Figo and Simao have played that role for Portugal before. What can I say about Sven and his formations? I think I’ve already said enough. He was back to his 451 with Rooney upfront and absolutely no good service to him. Not only is this position alien to him, he only gets served long balls which the Portugal defenders easily dealt with, thus totally neutralizing Rooney’s threat. In fact, he might not even have been playing and no one would notice. Where would an England goal come from? It was clear based on the formation that it never would. Rooney’s frustration got the better of him and in the 66th minute he ‘supposedly’ intentionally committed a bad foul. It was disgraceful to see Ronaldo go up the referee and try and pressurize him to show Rooney a card, more so because Rooney is Ronaldo’s teammate in Manchester United. I guess that was the last straw for Rooney and he pushed him away. Red card for Rooney! Shortly after the read card Ronaldo was seen winking towards the Portuguese bench which I thought was pretty cheap of him. This was a double blow of sorts for England since their captain Beckham had to come off the field shortly before that because of an injury. It was even worse because, if it came down to penalties, Beckham and Rooney would have been two certain penalty takers for England.

I must say England responded very well to being a man down. For the first time in the tournament perhaps, they played good free flowing football. They defended extremely well and attacked even better. They created numerous chances and should really have scored but the net eluded them. It was increasing looking like it wasn’t meant to be for them. Portugal, on the other hand, were more disappointing than ever. They couldn’t even muster a single attack of note in 54 minutes of play in which England were a man short. Portuguese fans would probably disagree with me, but the current Portugal team showed that they have zero imagination when it comes to football. It would be sad if Portugal were to get through but penalties were looming large and it almost seemed Portugal wanted them more than England.

It was easy to see why. Portugal have already beaten England on penalties in the recent Euro championship and they have a notoriously good penalty-saving goalkeeper. England on the other hand are famously bad when it comes to withstanding the pressure of penalties. Even though, Portugal missed a couple England didn’t seem even one bit relaxed while talking them. Even players like Gerrard and Lampard took pretty poor penalties and the Portugal goalkeeper guessed the direction every single time. Not for the first time, England again lost on penalties and crashed out of the World Cup. An ordinary Portugal go through to the semifinals.

Final score: England 0 Portugal 0
Penalty: England 1 Portugal 3


jEDI

The football fever is running so high that people have become almost oblivious to other sports around them. People used to look forward to Wimbledon and talk about it at great length but looks like for most it has gone unnoticed that the tournament has been on for weeks now.

Its still the early rounds so I guess no harm done, but already there have been some great matches played.

Nadal versus an almost unknown Kendrick, for instance. Kendrick raced into a 2 set lead against him. As usual Nadal came crawling back and won the match in a grueling 5 setter. Some might say, Nadal always does that. But I felt that Kendrick played some good tennis and deserved to win. Nothing to take away from Nadal though.

Venus Willaims against Lisa Raymond. Lisa won the first set and was leading 5-2 in the second. Only for Venus to come back and win nine games in a row and go on to win the match. One feels sorry for Lisa but that’s tennis isn’t it?

Hewitt against Taik Lee was a match I thoroughly enjoyed. It went all the way to 5 sets and it was difficult to choose a winner. I’m really impressed with Lee, hopefully we’ll see him again soon. It ended kinda tamely with Lee making simple errors and faults on his service in the very last game. This match deserved more.

Mahut put up a courageous performance against Federer and even broke his serve (yes it is a big deal) but the champion was in supreme form as usual.

The following matches I’m looking forward to, promise to be a great fun:

1. Andy Murray v Andy Roddick
2. Andrei Agassi v Rafael Nadal

Watch out for this space!

jEDI

Ukraine are participating in their first ever Word Cup and have already made a good enough impact. Playing in the World Cup for the very first time and reaching the quarterfinals along with such footballing elite. What more could you ask for? Italy, on the other hand, are the typical Italy. Not always the most convincing but delivering the goods.

The first goal was crucial in this match. It was obvious that if Italy got that first goal, they would just stop the opposition from doing anything onwards. Ukraine have had a good run in the past few matches but Italy is in a different class altogether and they would need to show a lot of enterprise if they are to win this one.

Unfortunately, Ukriane’s worst fears were realized only a few minutes into the match. It was a simple shot at goal from Zambrotta and the Ukrainian goalkeeper made a mess of it. This was the worst possible start for Ukraine it almost felt like they knew it too well. Nothing too extraordinary to report from the rest of the half, except that Ukraine, regardless of the opponent, needed to show a little bit of urgency and they didn’t. And when they did, the passing was less than ordinary. So bad, at times that it infuriated me, and more importantly their coach too. For the entire half I didn’t see Buffon make even a single save.

There was more purpose to Ukraine at the beginning of the second half and they came quite close to scoring. This missed chance would cost them dearly as another defensive error saw Italy scoring the second out of almost nothing at all. This truly broke the Ukrainian back and they seemed to go back into their shell again. Sometime later Ukraine had a great chance again but the goalpost came to the rescue of the Italians. Towards the end, Italy scored a third one too but by that time it was already over.

If Ukraine had been able to make the most of their chances when they got them, this could have been a competitive match. In the end, it turned out to be a pretty easy ride for the Italians and they didn’t seem to have done anything extraordinary to win it. End of the dream for Ukraine and Italy book themselves a place in the semis against Germany.

Final score: Italy 3 Ukraine 0


jEDI