Ghana-USA

Ghana was stunning against the disappointing Czechs. They were disciplined, combined beautifully, defended well, and created plenty of chances. But actually Ghana failed in one thing: they should have scored many more. In a World Cup, you cannot expect to have that many chances. That is what differentiates the big teams from the small teams: big teams just need one chance to score. We have already seen it this world cup with Italy and the Netherlands.

Living in Ghana, I can only be caught up in the boiling excitement the country is currently going through. People are eagerly awaiting: "who will we play in the next round?". While this is wonderful, it is no easy obstacle ahead: the USA, who also have a chance of entering the last-16 by defeating Ghana. And Ghana will be missing two crucial players: Muntari and Asamoah Gyan are both suspended. These are Ghana's only two scorers so far! With the incredible inefficiency of Ghana's attack, this is a major loss.

I hope Ghana wins. I hope to be celebrating in the streets of Accra (although I will probably not be able to leave the office...). Being objective however, I think the game will be extremely difficult for Ghana - much more than Ghanaians themselves believe! But until then, Ghana is living the magic of World Cup success!

World Cup goal number 2000

Lately, I have not been on the internet much. But of course, I have keenly followed the 2006 World Cup! Last night, England won their group in front of Sweden by tying 2-2, and will be facing the surprising Ecuadorians in the final. In spite of the results, England cannot be happy with the way they have been playing; two unimpressive victories against mediocre teams, and a tie against Sweden, which was based mostly on individual skills (Joe Cole's marvellous strike) and awful English defending.

Most English already believe they are world champions, and that Ecuador is nothing but a walkover. No doubt, England are huge favourites against the Ecuadorians (who, in spite of the excellent results, are nothing but a mediocre South American team). But they will certainly have to play better, also if they want to have any chance against bigger teams.

On a more historical note, the England-Sweden game saw goal number 2000 of World Cup history, when Sweden's Marcus Allback scored the first Swedish equalizer. 2000 magic moments...

The day has come

I have been waiting four years for today. One month of football. One month of excitement. The World shall eat football, sleep football, dream football, work football, breathe football...
There was nothing before, there is nothing after...
Only in four more years!

List of Rules During the World Cup

A good friend just sent me this "list of rules for wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc." during the World Cup. For some strange reason she said she thought of me...
But here they come:

"1. From 9th June to 9th July 2006, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the World Cup, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. If you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.
2. During the World Cup, the television is mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse of the remote control, you will lose it (your eye).
3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don’t mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me. If you decide to stand nude in front of the TV, make sure you put clothes on right after because if you catch a cold, I wont have time to take you to the doctor or look after you during the World Cup month.
4. During the games I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require a refill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell from the second floor... it wont happen.
5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least 2 six packs in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of things to nibble on, and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return, you will be allowed to use the TV between 12am and 6am, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.
6. Please, please, please!! if you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say “get over it, its only a game”, or “don’t worry, they’ll win next time”. If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less.
7. Remember, you will never ever know more about football than me and your so called “words of encouragement” will only lead to a break up or divorce.
8. You are welcome to sit with me to watch one game and you can talk to me during halftime but only when the commercials are on, and only if the halftime score is pleasing me. In addition, please note I am saying “one” game, hence do not use the World Cup as a nice cheesy excuse to “spend time together”.
9. The replays of the goals are very important. I don’t care if I have seen them or I haven’t seen them, I want to see them again. Many times.
10. Tell your friends NOT to have any babies, or any other child related parties or gatherings that requires my attendance because:
a. I will not go,
b. I will not go, and
c. I will not go.
11. But, if a friend of mine invites us to his house on a Sunday to watch a game, we will be there in a flash.
12. The daily World Cup highlights show on TV every night is just as important as the games themselves. Do not even think about saying “but you have already seen this...why don’t you change the channel to something we can all watch??”, the reply will be: “Refer to Rule #2 of this list”.
13. And finally, please save your expressions such as “Thank God the World Cup is only every 4 years”. I am immune to these words, because after this comes the Champions League, Premier League, Italian League, Spanish League, etc etc.
14. Thank you for your co-operation.

Regards,
Men of the World"

And I guess that is why I am single...

Top 5 Best teams that never won a World Cup

With the World Cup coming up, the World Cup historical geeks start discussing before games. An interesting one I heard recently was the a discussion on the top 5 best teams that had not won a World Cup. I have spent some time thinking about this list. I find it a big difficult, because should it entail teams that almost won it? Teams that played very well but did not make it far, or teams that should have won it, but lost after huge upset?

My very personal top 5 (which I will defend any time though) is:

5. Brazil 1950: Brazil should have won its first World Cup ever in 1950, at home in Maracana, in front of a record crowd of 200,000 spectators. Instead, facing all the adversity in the world, little Uruguay put a stop to the celebrations in all Brazil, to give the Brazilians their most painful defeat ever, by winning 2-1. Brazil has still never won the World Championship on own soil.

4. Czechoslovakia 1934: The Czechoslovaks had one of the best teams of the world in the mid 1930's, although playing a World Cup final in Rome during Mussolini was never going to be an easy task. Il Duce made sure that Italy would have all advantages, even a very friendly referee. In spite of this, the Italians only managed a narrow 2-1 victory after extra time.

3. Brazil 1982: 1982 and 1986 probably were the two World Cups with most of the legendary players assembled at one time. The teams were amazing, and it is difficult to choose one that could not have been a worthy champion (France, Germany, Poland...). However, I have chosen Brazil, because it was undoubtfully one of the most talented generations of Brazilian football: Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Junior, Cerezo, etc. In spite of their magic, they never lifted the trophy.

2. Netherlands 1974: This team, led by the legendary Johann Cruyff, took the world with storm with its relaxed attitude and marvelous "Total Football". They were a beauty to watch, and were far superior to every team in 1974 in Germany. Until the final, they had cruised through, even trashing the mighty Brazilians. In the final in Munich, they started with a pentalty goal in the first minute against the West German hosts. However, the Germans managed to fight back to win 2-1 in one of the most legendary finals of all time.

1. Hungary 1954: In the first half of the 1950's, Hungary had the best team in the world. Led by legendary Puskas, and with amazing strikers such as Hidegkuti and Koscic, Hungary entered the 1954 World Cup without having lost a game for 3 years. In Switzerland, they started amazing, scoring amazing 25 goals in 4 games. In the final against Germany, they started by getting ahead 2-0 after 8 minutes, and the whole world thought that was the end... However, in one of the most amazing comebacks ever, West Germany won 3-2, to get their first World Cup ever. Hungary has never really recovered...

This was my list. Any opinions?