Best and Worst of the World Cup after Two Rounds
Fifty-six of the 64 World Cup matches are in the books and after non-stop action for the past couple of weeks we finally have a couple of days to give our eyes a rest from staring at our television screen. After two rounds we have seen both the best and the worst that football has to offer. Here are some of our picks for the winners and losers of the World Cup to date.
Best goal: Maxi Rodriguez’s volley in extra time to give Argentina the win over Mexico.
Worst goal: The goal that wasn’t ruled one when France put one across the line only to have the South Korea keeper given credit for a save when it should been a goal.
Best game: For drama alone the Croatia and Australia first round match gets my vote.
Worst game: Tunisia against Ukraine in the first round was abysmal and barely beats out Ukraine against Switzerland in the second round.
Best team not to advance: Ivory Coast. The Elephants were victims of the Group of Death.
Worst team to advance: Ukraine. They have done just enough to get by.
Best referee’s decision: There was that one game where, well um, can’t think of one.
Worst referee’s decision: The one were FIFA picked half of these guys and gave them $40,000 each to ruin games.
Best villain: Valentin Ivanov, the referee from Russia who dished out 20 cards in the Portugal-Netherlands game on his way to earning the Ivanov the Terrible nickname. Even Sepp Blatter doesn’t like him.
Worst villain: There is a noticeable absence of thugs on Germany’s team, which is too bad because a home team villain is always a nice part of the World Cup.
Best fans: There have been lots of great supporters here in Germany, but I am giving this award to Poland. After all the talk of Polish hooligans ahead of the tournament, there were little problems and excellent support for a lousy team.
Worst fans: Denmark. Haven’t seen any Danes here. You’d think they’d turn out to support their team…..
Best team to watch: Argentina and Spain. Both teams have played attractive, attacking football.
Worst team to watch: Switzerland didn’t give up a goal in four games and they didn’t do anything exciting either.
Best reason to be excited about the next two weeks: There are a lot of stars on the uniforms of the teams that are remaining.
Worst reason to be excited about the next two weeks: You’re anxious for the World Cup to end so you can go back to watching bad television every night.
Best Goal Celebration: Ecuador’s Ivan Kaviedes when he took a mask out of his pants to honor a teammate who passed away last year.
Worst Goal Celebration: Thumb sucking should be reserved for small children.
Best thing about being a part of World Cup Blog: Watching every game in the World Cup in a stinky, sweaty apartment in Berlin while getting to know people from around the globe.
Worst part about being a part of World Cup Blog: Only getting to watch every game in a stinky, sweaty apartment once every four years.
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Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 58 comments.
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By PETRA KEYES | June 29th, 2006 at 12:22 am 
THE GERMAN TEAM IS VERY STROG I M GERAN AND I NOW THE GERMAN WILL WINN HOCH FUR DEUSCHLAND I LOOK VERY GAME FOR THE GERMAN PLAYER ARE GOOD VERY GOOD TAEM
Posted from 
United States
By PETRA KEYES | June 29th, 2006 at 12:26 am ICH HABE GESEHEN DAS DIE DEUSCHEN GEWINNEN TUN ICH HALT AUF DIE DEUSCHEN DIE SIND SEHER STARG. HOCH FUR DEUSCHLAND . ICH LEBE IN AMERIKAQ FUR 30 JAHRE UND ICH HALTE AUF MEINE DEUSCHE SPEILER HOCH FUR UNSEREN SPEILER WIR WERDEN GEWINNEN
Posted from United States
By 2006 Football | June 29th, 2006 at 12:41 am 
Latvia By Cajun Nick | June 29th, 2006 at 1:59 am re: John from Canada - And it’s a “cookie” not a “biscuit”.
Great line! Very funny.
Posted from United States
By Ali Siddiqui | June 29th, 2006 at 2:02 am “Worst part about being a part of World Cup Blog: Only getting to watch every game in a stinky, sweaty apartment once every four years.”
Awwww! Poor WCBlog team! At least you get to go out every now and then to taste the fine German beer and meet so many different people…and after looking at your WCBlog video about the women you saw…I’m so jealous! :p
Posted from 
Canada
By Se7en | June 29th, 2006 at 2:52 am Best game had to be Argentina vs Mexico!
I agree with about everything else.
Posted from United States
By Big-Baller-Shot-Caller | June 29th, 2006 at 3:47 am SUGGESTION:
Why does FIFA not RE-SEED the teams after the first round to avoid disasters such as what happened to Mexico v. Argentina.
That game should have been played in the semi-finals. Neither team deserved to go home.
Instead we are treated with craptastic games such as Ukraine v. Switzerland. I am sorry but that was horrible. No offense to my friends.
Clearly some squads have gotten the better of the draws. England comes to mind.
Posted from United States
By Liliana | June 29th, 2006 at 4:01 am Best fans: the Mexicans! They looked like they were having tons of fun and they had the best silly costumes. Not afraid to make fun of themselves. Plus hearing “Cielito Lindo” being sung during the matches was a definite highlight!
Also interesting to note, Ecuadorian fans borrowed Mexico’s “Si Se Puede” chant (which originally was started by Chicano farmworkers).
Most bittersweet moment: Maxi’s goal. A beautiful way to lose!
Posted from United States
By Chris | June 29th, 2006 at 4:16 am Best goal: Maxi Rodriguez’s
Worst goal: Omar Bravo’s first goal in the match Mexico vs Iran was just retarded
Best game: Argentina vs. Netherlands
Worst game: anything involving Mexico
Best team not to advance: The USA
Worst team to advance: Mexico. I’m glad the beaners didn’t get anywhere
Worst villain: Ivanov
Best fans: Nederlands and US
Worst fans: Serbia and Montenegro
Best team to watch: The USA. The guys played well, with a nice style. There were teams a lot worse and they got to the second round, talk about unfair.
Worst team to watch: Mexico
Best reason to be excited about the next two weeks: almost all of the teams have been champions
Worst Goal Celebration: Beckham throwing up in the field
Worst part about being a part of World Cup Blog: Its only once every four years
Posted from 
Mexico
By mena | June 29th, 2006 at 4:40 am I really wish Fifa would do something about player’s acting tactics. It just wasn’t fair to Australia against the Italians match. The least we were expecting was extra time.
Posted from 
Australia
By Marc | June 29th, 2006 at 4:57 am Getting down to brass tacks time now. Almost any team left can possibly win. Gut feeling Germany wins this one Go England. Can Brazil beat some quality teams. Can Germany stop Argentina or visa versa. Hope the next games are the best. Congrats to the Ukraine to make it this far.
Posted from United States
By Steven Gerrard | June 29th, 2006 at 5:08 am You Guys are a joke,
Italy fully deserved to beat the aussies (who had nothing).
Best goal:Steven Gerrard vs T&T.
Fully agree with refs decision to book robben-gotta kill off the diving!!!!
Posted from 
New Zealand
By Tony | June 29th, 2006 at 5:11 am Denmark were not in the world cup, why on earth would their fans go
Posted from United States
By Steven Gerrard | June 29th, 2006 at 5:30 am tony it was a joke easy up
Posted from New Zealand
By Claude | June 29th, 2006 at 6:36 am The point is John from Canada that North America should have called their football something else. One main reason being that in the NFL the only time foot meets ball is on a punt, kickoff, field goal or extra point. What the rest of the world calls football is somewhat older than the NFL or even college football. Since the term rugby has already been taken I suggest we call what the US plays “North American Rules Football” or NARF for short. Don’t get me wrong I love NARF especially at the college level. Go fighting Irish.
Posted from United States
By lisa | June 29th, 2006 at 7:25 am Best goal: Joe Cole’s, definately 
not nearly enough highlighting. beautiful!
Worst goal: Grosso’s swan lake gift to besmirched Totti
Best game: Australia vs. Japan
Worst game: Brazil vs. anyone
Best team not to advance: Australia or Mexico, tough call
Worst team to advance: Italy, shouldn’t be there this time around
Worst villain: Blatter
Best fans: England & Netherlands
Worst fans: Brazil
Irritating Fan Spotlights: the planted models
Best team to watch: Germany, beautiful ball movement
Worst team to watch: Brazil. just irritatingly overrated and all prima donnas.
Best reason to be excited about the next two weeks: to see who manages to fire on all pistins….hopefully England
Worst Goal Celebration: thumb sucking Totti, infantile
Pet Peeves: condescension to american fans on here & condescension to female football fans. we live and breathe it too! 
Posted from United States
By Jenifa | June 29th, 2006 at 8:21 am Agree with Best team not to advance- the Ivory coast was FAntastic ! the ref was stupid there too -missed out half the bad fouls from the netherlands, gave out yellow card when there wasn’t contact
and i cant believe that italy’s win over australia..dat was just sad
Posted from New Zealand
By The_Raz | June 29th, 2006 at 8:37 am The only comment that really needs to be made here is the fact that ARGENTINA-MEXICO was BY FAR the best game of the tournament so far. (France-Spain was great, as was Germany-Poland). But the Argentina-Mexico match had a fell of a semi-final from the open whistle until the very end. The action and the uality of the play was relentless, only to be concluded by one of the most awesome goals I have ever seen. That must have been the best Mexico has ever played!
By Big-Baller-Shot-Caller | June 29th, 2006 at 9:04 am Again RE-SEED the teams. It was ridiculous that UKRAINE and SWITZ was goint to advance a winner to the quarters against a divin Italian team that cheated its way to the quarters.
Posted from United States
By Daniel | June 29th, 2006 at 9:26 am Best: Argentina v Mexico, Great football, great fans, incredible ending.
best fans: Brazil and Mexico
Worst: Switzerland v Ukraine…BORING!!!!!!
worst officiating, Italy penalty shot.
worst fans: English hooligans
Posted from United States
By Ade | June 29th, 2006 at 5:48 pm Re-seeding the teams only solves the problem for that round. But I can see how if done correctly the teams are actually totally matched in such a way that the travesty that was the Argentina v. Mexico game doesn’t happen again. Don’t get me wrong, I am totally a Mexican team supporter, but honestly, either one of those teams should have made it to the finals (at least). Had the re-seeding been done though, I wonder who would they have played? All the teams who’ve made it so far, have shown that they know how to work the game on an international level. That was one of the things that the American team was not melding into. Americans can gripe all they want, but face facts: they have NOT learned to play the world’s game. Not only do they not seem to understand how to play on that level, but they seem to believe that we should play at theirs, which would be fine, if this were an AYSO tourney. Better luck next time. And to mena who wrote, “glad the beaners didn’t get anywhere” well fine and mighty talk considering where you’re writing from. One has to beg the question: what are you Guatemalan? Sorry the Mexican jokes stop here. If you didn’t get it. . .probably not Mexican. LOL.
Posted from United States
By DK | June 29th, 2006 at 9:17 pm yo…Korean fans are the best!!!
Too bad Korean lost…that referee was unfair…i heard that the referees were favoring the Europeans…
Posted from United States
By jones | June 30th, 2006 at 2:21 am Aussies played very well throughout the tournament, that was a bad call against them
Posted from United States
By Patrick Lockyer | June 30th, 2006 at 3:13 pm You do hear some cr*p on these blogs but atleast is shows interest. To the person who suggested that they already had a football game when the World ‘football’ emerged. You guys were communicating with smoke and blankets when we were engrossed in ‘football’and over 150 nations know it as football. Who care what the ‘baby’ nations want to call it? We don’t want our beautiful game spoiled and we English suffering the ‘hand of God’ might have the biggest claim to ‘reversal’ of result etc but we are also the best sports. I see here in the US that 30 seconds of great ‘football’ was recently played on Tv and then we watched 60 seconds of a poor sport crunching up his ’rounders’ bat cos he did not play good and I have to watch a jackass of a coach tearing up a base and being a brat for all of two minutes so we know what the ‘kids of America’ are being taught about sports. There is far too much emphasis here on winning and not enough on ‘competing’ goals and only goals mean anything and there is no valuing of the 20 other great aspects to man on man ‘football’. For that reason alone I do not expect USA to be a big name in the World Cup for anytime soon. here is my piece on that..
“It’s a funny ole game”..
Well here we are down to the last eight from thirty-two in the Soccer World Championship. In actual fact we are down from over 150 competing nations over the last three plus years in the eliminating process so congratulations to all the survivors. “It’s a funny ole game” is an expression I have grown up with over the years and anyone who has ever come into contact with “Andy Capp” will know where that saying might have originated. I will write separately about this later on. Just as for JFK’s assassination and we all remember where we were for important events such as 9/11, so I can also remember mostly where I have been for the last 40 years during the Soccer World Cups. Ten whole World Cups I remember having seen.
I have been in England for most of them but for the 1966 one I was a soldier in Germany. A great place to be when we were facing them in the finals in England. I will remember this one for having been in a pub in New York for the Paraguay game watching with someone from Ecuador and for watching the Argentina V. Mexico game with some new friends in Mi Toro Restaurant in Mandarin. I am hoping that the games from here on in are more entertaining and are not spoiled by nerves and fear of losing. The knockout stages have been better in that you have to score to progress. Switzerland could not do that even in Penalties. It is quite interesting to note that the high scoring first match between Spain and Ukraine was 4-0 and yet Spain are out and Ukraine progress. Such are the complexities of soccer and what makes it so entertaining and unpredictable. I know that many new fans of soccer will not get as much as I do from the game after a life of interest just as I cannot get as much pleasure as you guys do from American Football. I have an eye that enjoys every nifty tackle that dispossesses an attacker fairly anywhere on the field and can spot a deflection or a handball or a dive and the game intrigues me from start to finish and it matters not who is playing. I get way more entertainment value from a nil nil draw that anyone generally does over here. Scoring is not ‘all’ that matters. Enjoy the man to man combats and interplays. Take interest in the fine tackles that retrieve the ball without scything the legs of the opponent.
The teams left in the competition are the ones you would expect to be there and although some might want to complain and comment on this and that and on whether there should be video replays etc. I really think that the other teams have to get to where they have the skills and the tactics to reach this stage. I personally would hate to have the game stopped to replay as it would lead to advertising as in other time out sports and throw things out of joint and soccer should be played at a high rate for 45 minutes and that is what the sponsors hate about the game. I also hate to be interrupted with the showy stuff in American Sports period.
No one team has stood out that much in these games and there is a chance for any of the remaining nations to get the ‘rub of the green’ and to lift the Cup. All the teams have had their struggles and that is good. The standard is high and demanding. It is not a ‘push over’ for anyone. If it is England’s turn they will have deserved it as they have quietly gone about their business and not accumulated cards or injuries too much. I do think that picking up cards for time wasting was silly by two of the players but the grace of the acceptance of the cards is something that other teams might note. We have yet to see the heart of England in a match where they are fighting to stay in the competition and if they have to on Saturday it might be a good thing. Germany are playing well and are getting the confidence of success. I would like to see if their players still have that steely nerve to come back from a two-goal deficit. The Brazils and Argentina’s and Portugal’s of the world should play a higher grade of soccer in that their homelands enjoy better harder grounds to develop ball skills and the games are always played in that arena. I still would like to see a fun World Cup played in the European winter as I know a few ball skill stars that do not like to play in the British winter even though many stadiums now have underground heating. That might be great to watch.
I am sure that even with lesser experience many new American viewers will have gotten a taste for the games and if not for the sport then for the way that it galvanizes nations. I know that more than ever before, there have been friendships forged that will prevail and even between Brits and Germans who love to tease each other. The spectacle and the color from the fans and the way that Germany has embraced and entertained the fans without tickets has been refreshing. Britain has always gifted its people with the games on regular TV with no interruptions and I hope that can happen here. The way to get the interest is in that direction. That may happen next time with major American TV Companies buying the World Cup rights for 2010. Or are we to be held to ransom some time in the future and the game changed to suit the advertisers? I hope that is not the case and that America will be able to make up for its 40 year absence from the competition and gain a strong foothold for success in the future. There has to be a bigger investment to acheive that. With all its faults and given the fact that Americans can’t yet fully see its worth, it is without a single doubt the most beautiful game in the world.
http://www.jacksonville.com/community/cc/britpatjax/
Posted from United States
By Utne | July 8th, 2006 at 11:44 pm As said earlier, why the hell would the danes show up in germany? We didn’t even qualify this time around! Hehe.
Posted from 
Denmark
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