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..WOW..

..what a clear for John Terry. I bet Bazza is lovin' this!

That was a terrible foul on Rio Ferdinand by Stern John when Terry had to clear it off the line. Good commentary by Marcelo Balboa though, saying Trinidad looks a lot more dangerous. What kind of drugs is he on?

The Bean Pole to the rescue!....and a great strike by Stevie who finally got forward!

maybe lennon should have STARTED!

woohoo england

Crouchaldinho! Aaron Lennon looked exactly like Okronkor yesterday for Germany. Absolutely brilliant running at the Trinidad defense. And Gerrard, well, what can you say?

Heart-pounding ending, very much like Germany-Poland. Connoly's On Fifth in uptown Charlotte was packed, many ex-patriots and British nationals....Bazza-like atmosphere!

Hey guys, please stop having so much fun! I gotta work and I ain't gonna watch no crappy matchcast.
Please respect those that have to keep our economy running in order to fight off the inflationary economic result caused by those of you who are too lazy to work during the World Cup!! Do you guys not realize that the American economy could collapse while you are watching the World Cup?

striker,

Tape the match and stay off this thread. Stop torturing yourself!!!

;>)

Crouch should try out for the Special Olympics and stay the hell off the soccer field. That attempt at a scissor kick was a disgrace and brought shame to the team. My wife was laughing her a*s off at him. She calls him Doofus and thats what he is.

Bazza......

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/worldcup06/2006/06/16/crouchs_world_cup_can_only_get.html

The article is right, he can only improve because he can't get any worse. He committed a foul to score the goal which, fortunately for him, was not spotted by the ref. He committed many more during the game which the ref did see and broke down our momentum, what little we had.

Bazza, just one question...how many World Cup goals have you scored? Oh right then, shutup

Let me get this straight, you're saying that if you haven't scored a goal in the World Cup finals
you can't post on this forum and have your say for better or worse??????

Not quite. Just the fact is, you've continually complained about Peter Crouch, and even when he scores a goal you still manage to find fault. Just be a true England fan and appreciate the results, the players who DO score, and give Peter Crouch a rest.

Bazza would love to give Crouch a rest......right next to Sven on the bench!

A true fan is one who is honest about his teams shortcomings.
True fans have a right to get agitated when they know their team can do better.
I'm a true fan. If they reach the final I will be there in Berlin.
Will You??????????????????

....and you'll be screaming for Sven to get Crouch off the pitch the whole time you are in the stadium.

And if he knocks in two to bring the WC back to the UK.....you'll let everyone know that Robbie Fowler would have had a hat trick had he been selected!

;>) Bazza.....I hope you get to Berlin, that would be exciting. I'm pulling for you!

I and about 50,000 others will be screaming to get him off the field. But, to be honest,for them to reach the final Sven will need to realise that he's not a starter and if they reach the final it will be because Rooney gets in match shape and his partnership with Owen lights up.
Hurst66 I don't know if you read a lot of the English sports media or talk to people over there very often but I am not the only voice that has the opinion that Crouch should not be in Germany. Not by a long shot.

Hurst66 I'll be fair with you: if England reach the final I'll wager you $1000 that Crouch does not score twice regardless of if it wins the cup for us or not. I'm putting my money where my mouth is!!

All this talk about Crouch....Here's a question..Is Beckham only there to serve balls? And if the answer is yes then how far does England expect to go?

All I have to say is....

you should put some dreadlocks on him to have that name or for someone to pull on!!

coldhardtruth, my point exactly. The guy has been great but he has not played great for England since he scored the free kick that got us into the 2002 World Cup.
He does hit a sweet dead ball, but given the squad we have it is hard not to come to the conclusion that he should be left out and let Terry be captain.
For goodness sake lets just try it.
But the answer to your question is....not far.
If they play Ecuador in the round of 16 they may make it. If they play Germany, that will be a struggle. But in the quarter finals they are seeded to meet either Argentina or Holland. No way past either of those teams given the make up of the current team and the tactics they are using. Sad but true.!

Bazza, once we reach the knockout round, there are NO pretenders. I don't see any Turkeys or South Koreas out there this year (maybe Australia). It's the heavyweights from Central and South America and Europe's finest. All good teams....anybody can beat anybody if it is their day. England won't lose by reason of Crouch up top and Beckham in the midfield.

Regarding Beckham.....he's valuable and his liabilities can be covered by the other 10 players on the field. Does Terry possess the best personality to be captain? Sure....but Beckham has seniority.

Crouch is not only getting hammered by the faithful back in England.....there were plenty of patrons in the bar with me in Charlotte yesterday who also share your opinion. That's what makes the game great. Given the circumstances, I think England can win with Crouch, you don't think they can. Is he world class? No, not even as good as the reserve forwards that Argentina and Brasil bring off the bench. But how many guys out there are "world class"? How many guys on the US roster are "world class"?

Beckham is going to have to do more than serve balls if England expects to be around at the end.
The stronger defenses are going to be around at the end of the cup

Hurst, Very few world class players for U.S. That's why they will not be around much longer

Hurst66, I would have an easier time accepting Crouch's presence on the squad if there were no-one else fit. But there was. We don't know yet if Defoe is world class but he is better than Crouch. Fowler is absolutely world class even if he is not the player he was. Bent was the leading English scorer in the EPL behind Henry and Van Nistelrooy. Andy Johnson's scoring record is better than Crouch's. Now, if all those players wre injured and Crouch was all we had then I would accept your argument about doing the best with what you have. Given that he is on the squad, we cam still pick 11 players that will win us the game without him starting.
On the subject of Beckham, seniority alone should not guarantee you your place. If that is the case, he knows he does not even have to compete for his place, and that is how he plays.

And yet, after all of these arguments, it seems to me that England has scored 3 goals in the tournament, two gamewinners, and that Beckham has been an intricate part of both with Crouch getting one of them. Funny, isn't it....

Director(Man U) has a point. But nonetheless, England is not looking impressive at all. And i dont understand all this hate on crouch. Is he really worth all this talking about him? he's a good player, that's it. Ya'll treatin him like hes the coming of the Christ for english soccer. And Bazza, they're not getting past the next round. Ecuador has a real good squad, and Germany is self explanatory.

I agree, given the team that Eriksson is picking and the tactics they are playing they may well not make it into the quarter finals. Hell, they may not even beat Sweden.
But I don't hate Crouch. It's not his fault he was selected. He is not responsible for Eriksson's poor judgment. He's an average EPL player,but not good enough for the World Cup given the other players available.
Man U Fan, your stats are correct, they just have no perspective. They have scored 3 goals. One against a poor Paraguay team and two against the worst team at the Cup. T&T were 2000-1 to win it!!!
If they had played the team I have suggested I believe they would have beaten both teams by 3 or 4 and that's without Rooney.

That is all what you believe.
Let me give you another few statistics then, and don't give us your BELIEFS about what might have happened because what I am giving you are full statistics and truths, not beliefs.
Sweden scored 30 goals in 10 qualifying games with Larsson and Ibrahimovic up front for the majority of the games. Yet, they did not manage to score against Trinidad and Tobago, a 2000-1 odds to win the cup team, despite the fact that Trinidad were reduced to 10 men with more than 15 minutes left.
England scored 2 goals against Trinidad, and yes they left it late, but they still managed to do it and got the all important three points. Super potent Sweden scored 0 and got 1 point. Thats the difference.

What teams did during qualifications dont matter in the World Cup, as we can see so far. Now Director is completely right, England got to the next round and thats what matters. As for them getting past the round of 16, now that i find hard to believe, depending on how they look against Sweden. So far England hasn't shown much to raise hope for those faithful British fans. Its not like their offense is top notch, its ok with a lot of problems, plus they've faced teams that really haven't had that good of a defense or offense. Hate to biurst al of your bubbles, but england is not all that like you're making them sound. Enjoy it while it lasts cuz its gonna end very soon

We're all disappointed in England's offensive output.....but what about the defense? They have limited their opponents to zero goals and very few chances. If they shutout Sweden they need to be considered as contenders for the championship.....not round of 16 losers to Ecuador!

True, but consider the offenses of Paraguay and T&T are not exactly powerhouse.
I'll feel better if Bridge plays instead of Cole at left back and Robinson stays fit. Cole's lapses in concnetration scare the hell out of me.

Yeah..because they've held off such powerhouses as Paraguay and Trinadad..and possibly SWEDEN! ..they're ready for Germany, Argentina, Spain, etc.. riiiight.

Not too many countries in the world have the luxury of leaving both Neville and Bridge on the bench. England's depth on defense is matched only by Argentina's depth at forward and Germany's depth in goal.

Rooney to start game of English patience
By Sam Wallace in Baden-Baden
Published: 19 June 2006
England were given a training ground lesson in patient football yesterday, when possession and careful passing were the order of the day, and Sven Goran Eriksson will hope the changes against Sweden tomorrow will eradicate the errors of last week. Wayne Rooney is back and Owen Hargreaves takes Steven Gerrard's place as England experiment once again with the concept of a holding midfielder.
Possession, passing and a build-up that does not rely on long punts forward will be exactly what Michael Owen was hoping for as he looks for his first goal of these World Cup finals. The Newcastle striker said yesterday that he hoped Rooney's return would reduce the number of speculative passes sent up towards Peter Crouch - "I need the ball in the box to come alive," was the message from England's leading current goalscorer.
Eriksson took the unusual step yesterday of officially announcing that Rooney would be in the side to face Sweden in Cologne tomorrow, and it is understood that Hargreaves will take the place of Gerrard, who is dangerously placed on a yellow card.
But it is the shape of the team that may take some by surprise and is likely to raise the question once again of whether Eriksson yet knows England's best formation.
The Swede is also understood to be toying with the idea of giving Frank Lampard a rest and deploying Jermaine Jenas alongside Hargreaves, although other members of his backroom staff have urged caution. The Tottenham midfielder has not had a minute of World Cup football yet and, with England and Sweden both qualified for the next stage this may also be Eriksson's last chance to blood 17-year-old Theo Walcott.
Switching to a narrow diamond formation, he is expected to play Hargreaves as the defensive midfielder with, probably, Frank Lampard to the left and David Beckham on the right, which will give Joe Cole a more liberated role behind Rooney and Owen. In training, in a session led by Steve McClaren, who will replace Eriksson as manager after the World Cup, the emphasis was on patience in possession - a virtue England have been sorely lacking of late.
The players were told in no uncertain terms that the aimless long balls, and profligacy in possession, during the Trinidad & Tobago game, which England struggled to win last Thursday, would not be tolerated this time. A lot of the build-up was channelled through Rio Ferdinand, who is expected to have greater responsibility in directing and initiating England's movement.
For Owen, the new team shape is sure to be crucial. With Rooney alongside him, it would appear that Eriksson hopes the 26-year-old will recapture some of the form that has eluded him since breaking a metatarsal bone on New Year's Eve.
Owen said: "You would think there would not be as many longer balls because Wayne and myself are not that tall. It may encourage players to keep it on the deck a bit more. I am as sharp as normal, but you are just not seeing it. We are not firing on all cylinders and I am the person who takes most of the brunt if we are not playing well.
"As I said after Trinidad, there is no point in me changing my game to try something different. If we are playing well, then I will look as good as I have ever done," he said. It is just a case of us passing the ball and getting into the right areas for me to come alive. I have never been a player to score from outside the box or my own half.
"It is plain and simple. We have not been getting the ball in the right areas. It is a large part of my game to get in the last third and I need the ball in the box to come alive. I am totally reliant on my team-mates in that respect," Owen added. "We have not clicked as a team and if we don't click, I am the furthest forward player and will get less of the ball and bear the brunt of criticism."
Gary Neville's calf injury means that Jamie Carragher will be given his second run-out at right-back and Eriksson hopes he will also be able to find the time to give Aaron Lennon a role in the game. The Tottenham winger has been exceptional in England training sessions and McClaren, in particular, has been impressed with his development.
On Rooney, Eriksson said: "The medical people say he can play more than 45 minutes, so if that is the case then it is better he starts than he comes on. I'm very happy and he's very happy, and it's very good for England."
Rooney's club, Manchester United, are baffled as to why the two specialists who passed the forward fit intimated on Friday that they had never ruled him out for the group stage of the tournament after his 7 June scan.
The club issued a statement on that day - based on the advice of Professors Angus Wallace and Chris Moran - that Rooney had been told not to come back before 20 June.
Tomorrow's referee will be the Swiss official Massimo Busacca, who was the subject of Wayne Rooney's fury during England's 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland in their 7 September World Cup qualifier.

Gerrard and Crouch to the bench.....sounds like an anti-Liverpool conspiracy!