LiveBlog: Saudi Arabia-Ukraine

June 19th, 2006 | by: Chris Heidrich |

Ukraine reverse their opening defeat by Spain to put the hurt on Saudi Arabia by the same margin. The win leaves them with 3 points and needing a result against Tunisia to ensure qualification. Saudi Arabia are all but out of it now. They’ll need some surprising results from the Spain-Tunisia game to even have a chance, as well as need a win against the Spaniards.

Final: Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine

Full-time: Ukraine looked comfortable throughout this game. Their passing was sharp and at times they had almost too many options in front of goal and shots were wasted by taking one extra pass than might have been necessary. Not much positive for the Saudis in this one. Their first touch was terrible and made trying to build any sort of sustained pressure impossible. It could get embarrassing against Spain if they don’t figure out a way to keep their foot on the ball.

93:00 – Last action of this game is a shot from Ukraine. Fitting really since they controlled this one from start to finish. The Saudis have plenty of work to do before they face red-hot Spain.

90:04 – 3 minutes more for the Saudis to try and salvage some pride from this game. Two more claims for a penalty by Saudi Arabia in the space of 10 seconds. Both rejected by Poll. Al Jaber had the best case but the way he went down made it look more like a dive than a legitimate claim.

89:27 – Ukraine not done yet. Shot by Kalinichenko on the edge of the 18 yard box sails just over the crossbar.

88:12 – Sviderskiy picks up a stupid yellow card for a late challenge from behind. Silly really, with your team up 4 goals and 2 minutes left, Ukraine could be forgiven for not defending as tightly.

87:13 – Milevskiy charges into the SA area and throws his legs in the air looking for a penalty. Poll is not convinced but also does not book the man for diving.

85:20 – Ukraine sub Shevchenko who has earned a rest today. He is replaced by Milevskiy who will have 5 minutes to get on the scoresheet. The crowd give Sheva some rousing applause and he gets up from the bench to accept the accolades.

83:07 – GGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!! Shevchenko breaks down the left side and lays it square on a platter for Kalinichenko who buries it into the top of the net from 8 yards.

82:37 – Shot of Sulimani gesticulating at team-mates. Things have not gone well for the Saudi’s today

80:00 – Last ten minutes for Saudi Arabia. A loss does not put them out of the World CUp yet, but it will be very tough for them to beat Spain in their current mood and form. Plus they would have to beat them by several goals.

78:10 – Hard working Voronin makes way for Gusin. He’s a midfielder but I’d be willing to bet he’s more defensive minded.

76:50 – Substitution for Saudi and one they really need. Legendary goal scorer Al Jaber replaces Noor. Can he recreate his heroics in the Tunisia game and give the Saudi’s some hope?

76:00 – Kalinichenk brings down Sulimani on the Saudi left wing in a professional foul that earns hin a yellow card from Poll.

75:13 – Free kick on the corner of the Saudi area is taken by Shevchenko but he strikes the wall.

72:44 – Ukraine lining up again on the 18 yard box trying to get a shot away. Voronin eventually does but its soft and straight at Zaid.

72:00 – Yellow card for Kariri.

70:14 – Still not much attacking substance from Saudi Arabia after a brief flurry a few minutes ago. Substitution for Ukraine: goalscorer Rebrov is off for Rotan.

67:57 – Shevchenko having back-to-back chances in front of goal. Both times he took a couple touches and just could not get his shot away in time, the first well saved by Zaid in the 6 yard box, the second blocked by a Saudi defender about 15 yards out. He’s a constant danger though.

65:25 – Some stoppage as both Voronin and Zaid collide in mid-air and crash heavily to the pitch. Voronin appears to be fine and back on his feet. Zaid still being attended to. He’s up now and I’m sure it’s just a hard bump to the tailbone.

63:55 – Reply by Ukraine. Voronin skims his rifle shot from the corner of the 18 yard box off the top of the crossbar with Zaid beaten. As SA press we should see more of these chances. Ukraine won’t have men piling into the box, but they’ve shown they can shoot well from distance.

62:50 – Corner for Saudi. Weak punch by Shust but the resulting shot from outside the area is not close. Yasser for SA is making a nuisance of himself.

60:40 – Certainly looks as though Ukraine are now content to sit and play on the break. It nearly cost them as SA broke into the Ukraine box and almost got a shot away. Maybe the Saudis can conjure up something here if Ukraine let them camp out in their half.

58:46 – Scrappy bit of play in the Ukraine defensive third. Possession changed a handful of times and the tackles were flying in. All well timed though and eventually Ukraine gets the ball back to their ‘keeper Shust. That’s about as hard as he’s worked all day.

55:57 – Booking for Omar of Saudi Arabia for diving in the box. Replay shows Poll got it exactly right. Ukraine defender wasn’t within coo-ee of Omar when he went limp. I hope we don’t see any more of that.

54:26 – Double sub for Saudi Arabia, a bit more offensive. With midfielder Ameen replaced by stricker Mouath. Defender Dokhi is replaced by Khathran which is more of a straight swap.

49:24 – The hurt is going to get worse for SA. I can’t imagine coach Oleg Blokhin will encourage his players to ease off in the second half, even with a 3 goal cushion. Goals may not be important if Spain destroys Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, but the confidence a big win will give Ukraine will make the game againt Tunisia that much easier.

45:30 – GGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! Just as I write that Saudi make a game of it Shevchenko gets the goal I promised you with a far post header. Clinical finishing from the Chelsea man and must be a relief to get on the scoresheet for him. Ukraine doing to Saudi what Spain did to them. This will certainly help their goal differential if it ever comes to that.

45:01 – Second half underway in Hamburg. No changes to either line-up at this point. Come on Saudi Arabia! Let’s make a game of it!

Half-time highlights: In fairness to Zaid on Ukraine’s second goal, he slipped while making a move towards the ball. I still don’t think he would have gotten anywhere near it, but he wasn’t rooted to the spot as I had unfairly commented. Several comments below about the refereeing and yes Graeme Poll is letting the game flow. There have been some hard fouls and the occasional flop, but he’s letting the players sort it out amongst themselves, stepping in only when thinhs (rarely) step over the line. The game is fairly wide open though and neither team appears to be marking terribly closely so the opportunity for crunching tackles is not as prevalent as we’ve seen in previous games.

Half-time: Ukraine finished the half strongly and surely it is only a mater of time before more goals come. Shevchenko has not had many clear chances apart form the initial header which set up the opening goal, but he’s been busy and laying on passes for team-mates. I reckon he’ll get one before the game is over.

Saudi Arabia aren’t really looking good for a goal at this point. They will have to look at their tactics and see how they can break down what has looked like a solid Ukraine defence. A far cry from the porous backline we saw against Spain. Everything from the Saudis is being played in front of Ukraine and they will deal with speculative balls into the penalty area all day. My prediction is looking good so far except for the fact I’m no longer convinced the Saudis can score today.

44:35 – Beautiful short passing by Ukraine on the edge of the area falls apart when one more pass would have put Sheva through one-on-one with Zaid. Ukraine attacking with nice speed after slow, patient build-ups.

43:32 – Awful attempted bicycle clearance in the Saudi penalty area leaves the ball at Voronin’s feet. Great shooting opportunity but the strike shoots wide.

42:20 – Another shot by Rebrov goes just wide after a Ukraine corner is defended with a weak punch out by Zaid.

40:20 – Saudi defending very deep, which means Sheva won’t have the offside problems he saw against Spain. Hard foul on Nesmachniy on the sideline leaves both players sprawled out. Dokhi earns the yellow card for the mis-timed challenge.

37:15 – Shot of Saudi coach with his little marker board, illustrating tactics. Perhaps it’s a ouija board and he’s looking for help from the other side for where Saudi will get a goal or two back. They haven’t really threatened the Ukraine goal to this point in the match.

35:20 – GGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL! Rebrov hits a speculative effort from 35 yards out which dips and swirls and ends up in the back of Zaid’s net with him rooted to the spot. Ukraine had looked out of ideas and then one swing of the boot and they double their lead.

33:50 – Poll really letting the game go. Nice to see after the card waving that’s been going on so far this tournament. Ukraine lining up to shoot at the Saudi goal but in the end nothign comes of it.

31:17 – Gusev creates something out of nothing on Urkraine’s right and whips a cross in to the near post. Only Saudi defenders there though. Ukraine getting decent possession about 35 yards out. Surely they will find a way past Zaid if the Saudis continue to allow that.

27:50 – Industrious work by Dokhi down the Saudi right wing ends with him taking the ball inside and getting a shot away from 25 yards. High and wide once again. Have none of these guys heard of a ‘daisy-cutter’?

25:50 – Bit of a slow spell in the game. The crowd getting restless. Ukraine picks up the pace with some crisp passing but it ends with Voronin’s shot sailing high and wide.

23:41 – Corner to SA after Rusol scuffs his clearance. What can SA do from the set piece? The answer is not much.

21:35 – Yellow card for Nesmachniy after sliding through the back of SA’s Ameen. First card of the game.

20:25 – Sheva shoots from outside the area but staright at Zaid. Ukraine controlling midfield with some nice short passes and good movement. The final pass sometimes goes astray though and near chances abound.

18:50 – Saudi first touch sometimes letting them down which forces them to pass quickly into bad areas and lose possession. A few of the Ukraine players sporting the same haircut as Sheva. Wonder if she shouted them a trip to the salon with his Chelsea signing bonus.

16:55 – Referee Poll lays on a nice pass for the Ukraine as the ball strikes him. Thankfully for the Saudis the final pass is beyond Shevchenko in the 18 year dbox.

15:35 – Saudis trying to get back into this game, passing tyhe ball around nicely but with no real incision. Ukraine defending better than they did against Spain. Game has been well behaved so far. No harsh fouls or yellow cards.

14:35 – Some stoppage time here as Sviderskiy hits the deck hard after jumping to head clear from a Saudi free kick.

12:48 – Another corner to Ukraine. Sheva heads on goal and it’s cleared off the line with Zaid beaten. The rebound falls to a Ukrainian but he skies it over the bar. Sustained pressure from Ukraine now. They sense blood in the water.

11:36 – Charging run up the right wing by Gusev earns Ukraine another corner. Header by Sheva blocked for another corner.

08:23 – Nice buildup work from Ukraine sees a cross to the far post taken off the head of Shevchenko by Zaid. Apart from the ball that squeezed through his legs for the goal he’s looked competent between the posts.

06:55 – Free kick for Ukraine on the wing. Pumped into the box but headed clear. Shot from outside the box by Rebrov is high and wide.

05:15 – The goal will give Ukraine some confidence. They shouldn’t sit back on this lead though or the Saudis will gratefully accept more possession.

03:00 – GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL! Second corner whipped into near post and Rusol for Ukraine knees it goalwards. The ball dribbles under Zaid’s body for the first goal of the game.

02:20 – First corner to Ukraine after SA ‘keeper Zaid slipped while trying to clear. First corner is headed wide by an SA defender.

01:00 – Early pressure from Ukraine, dealt with comfortably by SA.

00:01 – We’re off! Ukraine playing a 3-5-2 formation looking to crowd the midfield and give the Saudis no space to work in. Saudis opertaing a more traditional 4-4-2.

1 minute to go: Ukrainian players not so hot on their national anthem. Some looked disinterested, others didn’t bother to sing. Sharp contrast to the Saudis who joined arms and each player sang his heart out. Who wants this game more?

5 minutes to go: Teams in the tunnel waiting to come out. Shevchenko has a steely look in his eye and has cut his hair short. Looks like he’s serious today.

7 minutes to go: Graeme Poll from England is today’s referee. He’ll get to see a bit of Sheva next season after he joins Chelsea. The later game time today should benefit both teams, but especially Ukraine who struggled in the heat against Spain.

Pregame: Who will win and what will be the final score?
Lots of seats still be be filled in the Hamburg stadium. WCB’s Sean will be at the ground attempting to purchase tickets to see this one. We wish him luck.

This game is massive for Ukraine who will be desperate for a win in Group H. After the drubbing they got from Spain, hoping to get through on goal difference isn’t really an option. Shevchenko will be looking to make his mark on this World Cup and I expect to see goals from him today.

Saudi Arabia have proven they know where the goal is and will attack up to the final minutes. Of course, they also leaked a goal at a crucial time to gift Tunisia a point.

I’m predicting it will end 3-1 Ukraine. What does everyone else think?

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http://www.worldcupblog.org/game-previews/preview-saudi-arabia-vs-ukraine.html Preview: Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine – FIFA World Cup 2006 – World Cup 2006 Blog

[...] LIVEBLOG Follow the match highlights as they happen on the Ukraine vs. Saudi Arabia LiveBlog and stop by to leave your thoughts and comments about the match. [...]
marlboroman

LETS GO UKRAINE!! 2-0 over Saudi Arabia.
pwnawannab

The shareef dont like it
Rockin the casbah!!!!!!!
Go UKR!!!!
OPKO

Ukraine 5:0
Kiko

Ukraine 2-0 Saudi Arabia. It wont be as easy as most people think.
oliveskin

ukraine 2 – 1 saudi arabia.

guess it would be one all till almost the end of the game.
Griff

lets go saudi arabia!! al jaber!!
tulsabob

1-1
Bidemi

Sheva 1-1 Saudi
saeed

1-0 or 2-1 for Saudi. So either way Saudis will win.
Yovany

Ukraine 1 Saudi Arabia 2
Roland

I see an angry team Ukraine with something to prove taking things out on Saudi Arabia today, 2 – 0.
SES

2-1, Saudia Arabia is my guess. Although it could be a tie because both teams are looking to secure a berth in the knockout stages.
pf

2-1 for Saudis… Lost my faith in Ukraine after the 1st game. :(
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy

this is vengence, the score they lost with is the score they should win with to gain back respect, 4-0 Ukraine
Trav

If for no other reason than I picked the Saudi’s to advance, I think it will be 2-1 Saudi Arabia.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

I love the TV shots of Poll throwing the ball to the FIFA kids to head back to him. Who exactly are those kids, anyway? Do João Havelange and Sepp Blatter have that many grandkids?
djgooner

if saudi carry on from what they left off in their last game…ukraine has no chance…

saudi 2 0 ukraine….
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

2-1 to Ukraina
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

Two minor key national anthems (I think, I’m no music theorist) to get us in a serious mood for the match….
saeed

5-0 for Ukraine? what is this, a picnic at you local park? Football is more about team work with passion and not individual excellence. Ukraine has some awesome players but they didn’t seem to have the rhythm in their first game. I hope to see them play lot better. I wouldn’t consider Saudis the underdog in this game. When they are composed they play a very nice game. It could very well be a draw, but the Saudis deserve to win.

From this group, I think Spain and Saudis will move to the next round.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

GO SAUDI ARABIA!! KSA ALL THE WAY!!

Lol.. their last match impressed me. And I’m trying my best not to let my expectations shoot too high.

I missed the Togo match though. *cough cough* Too sick to get out of bed. But I had to drag myself out to see how Saudi would perform. :D

As for my predictions, none today. My head is blank as far as the progression of this game is concerned. No clue what its gonna be like. Hopefully, that will make it fun. :)

And hello Chris!! I pray this game has some action, so you wont be bored blogging it. GoodLuck. ;)

So, let’s play some ball!!
Roland

Ukraine is hungry, I’m telling you.
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy

GOOOOOAAAAAAAAL
Roland

At least its shaping up to be an exciting match…
Curt

Anyone got a link to the Sun? radio broadcast of the game. I linked to them two other games I found from the blog. The filter on the ISP calls the site “Adult Material” so I can’t get it. Sent them a nasty note but that will take a couple of days.

Gotta love it though when something in the US calls soccer “Adult” :)))
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

GOAL!! Already?!

There Chris.. my prayer is working!! :P
http://www.atmysports.com jack

guys, it’s ukraine
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Curt..

http://clients.mediaondemand.net/theSun/?Channel=1

I doubt you were accessing an ISP for soccer. Bad bad bad!! tsk-tsk!

Have fun :)
http://www.atmysports.com jack

Yes Ronald, Ukraine is Hungry and Saudi is angry
http://www.atmysports.com jack

i have the feelin that Saudi will show some real action
Ukrainian Hooligan

Muhahahahaha
Keyser

good evening everybody. in case you’re allow to predict when you arrive late and one gaol is already in the net, I say Ukraine 3-0.
BTW, did the swiss deserve the win?
Roland

You don’t get better chances at a goal like that.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Keyser.. dint watch the Swiss match. No idea how they played.

That’s too many corners in a row. I think that was 3 one after the other!!
Roland

Oh what a terrible cut to that ball!
Curt

Thanks Blah-Me – linked worked great and now I can at least hear the game.
Griff

this field is soaked and saaudi arabia has no experience with wet fields
paddy

LOL
Beautiful pass by the ref!!
There’d be a few red faces if Ukraine hadscored.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Lol.. who is the ref siding? Ukraine?
Keyser

I don’t know if any of you saw Blokhin (the ukraine coach) play, but he was a great player. one of these days I’ll buy one of those red CCCP jerseys. souvenirs of a world that existed when I was a kid.
Ukrainian Hooligan

Haircuts? Practicaly everyone wears hair short over there. Comment the game, THE GAME!
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

First yellow card is out!!
Nick M

Mr Ref from the US game, see… that tackle warrents a yellow card, not a red. (Referring to the slide/foul in the 22nd minute of UKR/SAU)
Tom

The Saudis look like they are lost. Their passing is erratic and they are much less organized than Ukraine.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

*yawn*

I’m doubting whether this match was worth getting myself out of bed.

*sniff sniff* *cough cough*

We need another goal to liven things up. Another goal by KSA, ,that is.
Griff

we want AL JABER!!
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

No tv here, so I’m inquiring of those who are watching. Is the referee letting them play more rather than handing out cards and reprimands?

Nice sounding goal by the Ukes!
Tom

Goal Ukraine!
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy

omg, that was BEAUTIFUL !!!
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

GOAL number 2!!!! :o :o

Ukraine 2 KSA 0

:o
pf

Oh, I love being wrong!

What a goal. Da Bomb!
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

…never mind, Chris answered my question. Hope this (referee) attitude holds up!
Ukrainian Hooligan

Muhahaha number 2!!!!!
pf

Darkoze

The ref seems to be the man of the match — he’s not favoring the yellows.

The players are helping too, seems to be a rather clean match.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

P.S. I dont like the smileys here. A lot of them dont look like what they ought to!

Darkoze.. my stream aint working today for me. :( Its all because of Ali! He cursed it yesterday! :( I ought to kill him!
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Yellow card number 2?!
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Thanks, pf, just a blind mole rat at work here.
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Yo, Blah Me,
The Sun’s shining here. I can’t join you in giving Ali any S_ _T. It just seemed to take longer to kick in when I linked to it today. Could it be one of your security settings?
http://www.atmysports.com jack

ukraine is hungry
SES

I reverse my prediction: Ukraine, 4-0. :) I’m an optimist.
Tom

The ESPN2 commentators are just awful.

They keep acting like the Saudis are playing well when, in reality, they are just being out played. I haven’t seen a % figure, but I’d guess that the ball has been in the Saudi’s side of the field for 65% of the first half.
ETucker

Tom-

either switch to Univision or use the mute option.

I am so glad i am in Latin America, where only Argentines are allowed to broadcast soccer games (and the occassional Spaniard)….
pf

Tom.

Leave the darkside, watch univision! I gave up on ESPN after the 2nd game! Forget the commentators, read the blog! Together, you have a winning combo!

(no to mention all the pre-game coverage you get on Uni!)
Deviilz.

KSA are shown the way to play football by the Ukr.Ksa’s keeper Zaid plays like pre-schoolers,even my little bro who is seven yrs old can catch better..,yet his smirk tells us he is too proud to admit the mistake he made in the first half which cause their team the lead..,useless…!
Tom

I tried the mute but then I miss the roar of the crowd…something I love.

I’ll try Univision now. My Spanish is decent, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
SES

I have a question: In the upcoming matches, there are matches being plated out at the same time. Will the games be briadcasted separately on ABC and ESPN2 or will one game be delayed? I just want to know if it’s possible to watch both games at once.

Thanks!
Deviilz.

The 4 changes Ukr made does make the diff…,of the block.I see no way back for KSA…,not with their keeper,no confidence at all..!
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Darkoze.. :( I dont think its any of my settings. It worked like a beauty yesterday. I watched the entire brazil australia match with no interruption.
Deviilz.

Ukraine will keep on attacking to make the goal diff. more attractive.
Nick M

ESPN2 for me… I’m a prisoner of High Def TV
pwnawannab

Surely – UKR bounced back much better then USA. I am very happy – we are rocking the casbah
ETucker

Here’s an idea:

Watch the game on ESPN HDTV muted, but listen to a radio broadcast which includes the crowd noise?

Of if you have a smaller TV, put it on Univision in the same room.

Best of both worlds: ESPN picture quality and Univision commentator quality!

Brillante!
Roland

I had a feeling my prediction wouldn’t hold. Poor Saudi Arabia, Ukraine is more pissed than I thought.
pwnawannab

Sheva Sheva!!!!
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy

UKRAINE 3-0 SAUDI ARABIA

SHEVCHENKOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!
pwnawannab

GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL
paddy

Oh dear…another goal for Ukraine within 40 secs of the restart.
What’s the betting on Ukraine trying for the highest score of the tournament?
http://pepys_s.rediffblogs.com/ mohan

why keep calling this game football? its time to change into foot and head ball !
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

I don’t get it.
(At least on my screen and Comcast broadcast)
1) Univision picture is clearer and brighter than the ESPN2 picture.
2) There is a five second delay on the ESPN2 picture as opposed to the In Vivo action of Univision.
3) My Spanish is non bueno but the enthusiasm of the announcers, the pronunciation of the names, the banter between the color man and the play-by-play guy is so electric that the English I understand from the Grupa Deppresiva on ESPN2 is not worth following.

I’ve been watching, when I’m at home, Univision from the very first game. Frankly, with all the negative reviews showered on ESPN2, I’m stunned they’re still bothering to broadcast the World Cup.

Truly, there is no reason in the world for a football fan to be even bothering with ESPN2, unless you’re and S & M fan….and I’m not referring to Serbia-Montenegro.
pf

SES.

From what I was looking up in the channel guide, it seems like one game (US-Ghana) will be repeated, the rest seem to be forgotten.

Between ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Univision all of them will be covered I guess, but generally with overlaps.

Tivo or any other DVR will be your friend!
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

I won’t say I saw the 3-0 coming because I thought Saudi were a little better than this. But Ukraine regrouping from Game 1 was totally predictable, just as it was for the US.
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

SHIT!! Another GOAL?!!!

*shakes head*

3-0?!

Goodbye Saudi Arabia? :(
Deviilz.

There will be more…!
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Shevchenko with a header? (No visual at this end) Did his hair get mussed?; he’s got a modelling gig post-game.
ETucker

I think Ukraine can match Argentina’s 6-0 demolition of S and M, but they have to do it within the next 15 minutes.

Otherwise, they will tire and do not have the same quality subs at ARG.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

Hey Darkoze, the reason the picture is worse on ESPN2 is because on these “lesser” games ESPN/ABC is getting a more compressed video feed than Univision.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

pwnawannab,

I’m not sure exactly how you make that comparison. Are you under the impression that Italy and Saudi Arabia are on a par?
http://www.atmysports.com jack

guys, any bets on saudi at this moment

atmysports.com
Andres

ETucker, man, I don’t know if I’d be celebrating Argentine commentators, all the ones I got back home (Venezuela) were not too great. They kept comparing people to Maradone, for one :p, they’re still loads better than the…ESPN…folk, I don’t know why they get to narrate at all. It often sounds like a computer reading out the teleprompter.
UBI

where are all the ladies at?
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

dw.. interesting. And you say its only the “lesser” games? How weird. Why though? Does it save them something? :|
makis

Ukraine will beat Saudi Arabia but Tynisia is tough.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

They’re getting the more compressed feed to save money. They did it in 2002 as well — and the video quality was terrible.

Univision is paying full price for the rights, so they’re getting the pure feed.

I think it’s kinda odd that the World Cup ratings are better than the Stanley Cup finals, but ESPN feels the need to skimp while NBC is spending lots on showing their half of the finals package.
Deviilz.

Ukraine at 1/2,1 goal -925 before the 60th min..
SES

Shevchenko is my pick for ‘Man of the Match.’ The Ukranian team is doing a fabulous job of keeping off the Saudis.
pf

Can’t argue with the Hi-Def quality… it was stunning (past tense).

Univision will get there by 2010 to broadcast the games in hi-def, and by then there will be no excuses no to learn some spanish and enjoy the game the way it is mean to be!

Btw… I rembember ABC’s coverage last time they broadcasted. After the 2002 Brazil win, they cut right into commercial and other “scheduled programing” skipping the shots from the stadium and sooo much more. I think 2 cups ago, I was ready to bust some heads after they cut off overtime play (I just don’t remember the game)…
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

Here in the US we do a lot of hand-wringing and soul-searching when our side looks bad in the World Cup. (At least the soccer community did in ‘98, and it was a bit more widespread this time around.) One of the big topics that always comes up is, how do we get our players to top-level club football so they’re improving week in and week out.

This time around, as in other WCs, Saudi Arabia and Italy are the only two squads without any foreign based players. (I think Spain may have been in ‘98 too.) I know the Saudi clubs have lots of money to keep people at home, but that can’t be good for their game.

Is there some deeper cultural/religious reason for this? Is exporting players to big-money leagues seen as capitulating to international capitalism? Saudi got clocked 8-0 by GER last time around so it’s not they haven’t had warning signs.
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

UBI,
The ladies may have realized that the mens all are looking like this.

Not even the magic of the Internet could help us out of that scenario.
brian34

The US played better but the result was because Italy played like crap and beat themselves.
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Referee Poll, definitely the Man of the Match. Blows whistle minimally and ONLY when necessary.

Is cloning a possibility?
SES

Pf,
Thanks for the info. Too bad I don’t have TiVo or Univision.. Oh well, I’ll stop by here to check out all the highlights.
pf

I am thinking of petitioning FIFA for this ref to be “the man in the middle” for the remainder of the games.

The guy is the best I’ve seen in this cup.
laprimavera

Well, if Omar was rightly yellow-carded for “diving”, how come we didn’t see more yellow cards for Ukranians for their share of blatant diving?
pwnawannab

Philip, not at all… But I would attribute some of this match outcome to the climate and Ukranians being wipped by Blohin in the locker room. I mean the guy prolly had to really “talk” with each one of players. I can’t say this for USA game with Italy – I did not see much heart in the game – I was very dissapointed by the second US game as this is another squad I am rooting for.
Tom

I agree about Italy. By the way, the US-Italy match had some of the worst blog members commenting in this WC. It really speaks lowly of US fans (I figure it was mostly newbies but still).

Also, it’s curious as to why Italian ethnic slurs (wap and guinea) didn’t get the same reaction as other comments about other ethnicities on the blog. *shrug*
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

“Univision will get there by 2010 to broadcast the games in hi-def, and by then there will be no excuses no to learn some spanish and enjoy the game the way it is mean to be!”

I kinda wish the SAP button on Univision would give you an English language channel.

“Btw… I rembember ABC’s coverage last time they broadcasted. After the 2002 Brazil win, they cut right into commercial and other “scheduled programing” skipping the shots from the stadium and sooo much more. I think 2 cups ago, I was ready to bust some heads after they cut off overtime play (I just don’t remember the game)… ”

Then be happy you didn’t watch Italia ‘90 on TBS. They’d go to commercial DURING THE GAME. And, predictably, someone would score during the break. So, they’d have to show the replay over the game.

1990 was when I discovered Univision coverage — and Andreas Cantor. My younger brother ran around all summer yelling “CAMEROOOOOOOOOOOOON!!”
ETucker

I hate it when people don’t give credit to teams. “The italians beat themselves” were they all by themselves on the pitch? Was there not another team down a man, bustin their asses off and defending incredibly well?

Where was Luca Toni? Oh yeah, in Gooch’s backpocket.

You can keep talking about how “Italy blew its chances”, but the US’s performance was a critical factor.
Abu

In the USA when two games are being played at the same time, one will be on ESPN and the other on ESPN2. I will be using picture-in -picture!
Tom

ETucker,

I think the US played a much better game but Italy played a lazy game. They looked sharper against Ghana and had Italy played as they did against Ghana they would have won, I think.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

dw, (off-topic)

Nice job with the P-I blog. I was going to go post a comment there, but I didn’t like the heavyweight registration required and they’ve banned the first login from bugmenot. Too bad they won’t let you have a real blog, one that doesn’t require commenters to commit to a life of spam.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

“I agree about Italy. By the way, the US-Italy match had some of the worst blog members commenting in this WC. It really speaks lowly of US fans (I figure it was mostly newbies but still).”

Blaming the American fans for the low level of discourse in that thread is highly unfair. There was a lot of anti-American sentiment as well and inappropriate languages from non-Americans. Oh, and then there were the trolls.
ETucker

Tom-

the blog comments were not nearly as bad as the pre-game comments by Italians. How many times did we see “FORZA ITALIA” and “4-0″?

My favorite quotes were: “The US has no player who can stop Totti or Toni.” Then, when asked if they could name a single US player, the answer was a “Ummm, that guy in England.”

Brash arrogance met its just dessert. If the Italians hadnt talked so much before the game, I’m sure the blogging during teh game would have been better and more pleasant.

And there is no excuse for any ethnic slur whether the person be Anglo, Asian, Latin, or African (or any other ethnicity)
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

With the continuing growth of the Hispanic population and the continuing decline of major broadcasting quality, I’ll predict that by World Cup South Africa 2010, Univision will be TV Broadcasting Network # 3, if not #2. Then, as pf pointed out, Univision will be broadcasting in hi-def and the avid American World Cup fans will be comfortable enought with Spanish that Univision will be permanently on come four years.
pf

dw, you have a good point.

After all, SAP is available for the Spanish speaking community in US and I think it would be fair to do the same to the non-spanish crowd at least during the WC.

Good point!
Tom

dw,

You’re right and I guess I’m referring just to those fans. But it was worse than any other match I’ve read on here. I didn’t stay around long enough to catch the anti-US sentiments but I’m sure they were there.

I’m all for being pro-USA and all but many of those comments were completely crass and pointless.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

Thanks Philip. Yeah, I hate the registration too, but I know why they did it. There used to be a Seattle Mariners blog that would get 600-700 comments per post with bad language, abusive posters, and more trolls than a country filled with bridges. So, they rolled their own blog software and instituted the hoops you have to jump through.

If I had to do it over again, I’d branch it off my personal blog. But I get more traffic this way. And I’m really hoping the P-I lets me get a byline for the finals.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

pwnawannab,

I watched the ITA-USA match with divided attention, but I don’t think many people would agree with your assessment of lack of heart by the US given the short-handed second half.

As for Saudi, I agree that Ukraine is playing very inspired soccer but the problems appear to run deeper than this one game.
http://www.atmysports.com jack

is this one sided match
Carlos

Uh-oh… the big bonuses for the Saudis is looking iffy at this point…
brian34

Anyone who doesn’t think Italy’s best effort wouldn’t annihilate the US’s best is out of their minds.
pwnawannab

I am not gonna argue – I’ll wait until UKR-TUN. This match should show what the UKR squad is made of. Until then great job UKR!!!
Tom

Exactly, Philip. The US had a ton of heart in the Italy game and they deserved the point.

The US isn’t going to advance without some divine intervention, but they redeemed themselves after that awful Czech opener.

dw, don’t believe that your bridge/troll remark went without notice. :)
Tom

Brian,

I think you are giving Italy too much credit. They haven’t shown us anything that makes them a huge world power like Argentina has. They beat a decent Ghana team with a couple of decent goals and top defense. They tied the US with an own-goal.

If you mean if each player played to their natural ability and meshed as a team, yeah Italy has more talent, I think. But they are as unpredictable as anyone.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

“I’m all for being pro-USA and all but many of those comments were completely crass and pointless.”

I completely agree, Tom. I’m just pointing out that it went both ways.

I wish there were a little more moderation on here, or at least some attempts to keep the discourse on a higher level than “stupid Yanks/Italians.”
Tom

Yeah, but what can you do? When you have internet anonymity you get a lot of E-Bullies and internet testosterone.

Isn’t this game over yet?
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

It says something about UKR-TUN that we’re talking about USA-ITA, a game that happened two days ago. Most of these games I’ve wished they’d started in the 75th minute, but this one I wish they’d blown AT the 75th minute and sent everyone home.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

brian34,

I don’t entirely disagree. I’d s/annihilate/soundly beat/, like 2-0 or 3-1 . But to me the far more interesting question is why teams don’t always give their “best effort” for every match of the WCF.

I think part of it has to do with the pyschological impact of waiting 6 months for your first match and less than a week for your second. But that doesn’t explain it all, because Portugal on their best day should have soundly beaten the US in 2002 also.
Carlos

dw, Isn’t the UKR-TUN game in a few days yet?
Tom

Where did the phrase “The Ukraine” come from? I figure it’s a leftover from “The USSR.” It’s unnatural to call a single country “The” isn’t it? I know Ukrainians hate it.
Trav

Ugh, Saudi Arabia getting beat on. Not good for my pool, not good at all.

btw – Great Blogging Chris!
http://pepys_s.rediffblogs.com/ mohan

isn’t this the most one-sided match of this tournament?
pf

Ownage. Whoa… Ukraine picked Saudis apart one goal at a time.

What a comback. All well deserved too. Amazing.
Keyser

who was speaking of a 4-0 vengeance?
pwnawannab

ahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahgoooooooooooooooooaaaaaaallllll
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org Andriy

LIKE I SAID, WE LOST 4-0, WE WIN 4-0 !!! BOOYA
http://pepys_s.rediffblogs.com/ mohan

the beautiful girls of Ukraine will be partying tonight 4-0 !
Carlos

GOOOOOOLLLL!!
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

Lol.. its funny how the comments have turned so drastically from discussing the KSA-Ukraine match.

Anyways, 4-0 now!! Lol.. I think I’m losing it. Just laughing myself through the game.

I feel sorry for Chris.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

“When you have internet anonymity you get a lot of E-Bullies and internet testosterone.”

I ignore them, but I’ve been on the Internet for 14 years and spent a lot of time on the Usenet, so I’m pretty hardened against the trolls and the fishermen.

Admittedly, Americans are soft targets for e-bullies and trolls. We’re easy marks, and we don’t blow people up in retaliation. No, we save our blowing up for “spreading freedom.”

I love the USA, but I’m not IN love with it.
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Mohan, how quickly we forget the torching by Argentina of S & M. The mercy rule should have been invoked for that game.
SES

Goal by Shevchenko! Sheer brilliance.

The Ukranians are decimating the Saudis. This is a complete 180 from the match against Spain.

I think they have a great chance at advancing.
Carlos

They do Tom. It implies that you are talking about a region when you say ‘the’ Ukraine, like it was in the days of the USSR, and not an independent country, “Ukraine.”

Anyway… goal difference for Ukraine is now 0. Nice work! :D
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

…though after that 4th goal, this game will soon match the Argentina:Serbia-Montenegro match…
http://pepys_s.rediffblogs.com/ mohan

this is the weakest group…it would lull Spain into complacence !
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

“dw, Isn’t the UKR-TUN game in a few days yet?”

D’oh!

UKR-KSA, obviously.
Tom

This game might be the most lopsided so far…I don’t know, though. There were a lot of one-sided victories so far.
SES

Whoops, my bad.

It was Kalinichenko who scored, but Shevchenko helped him out.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

Shevchenko just signed with Chelsea, right? Looks like they’re going to win the Premiership again.
http://pepys_s.rediffblogs.com/ mohan

darkoze..such a torching is expected from Argentina but not from a debutant like Ukraine
pf

Does anyone have good scoop what’s with the comm system for the refs? I mean, it’s obvious what they could use it for, but do they get any info coming back to them?

Anyone?
Trav

“OPKO” who posted a 5-0 win for the Ukraine at the begining of the game. He’s no longer on my Christmas card list.
pwnawannab

YKPAIHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish the system woked in such a way that we could cancel goals against :)

Thank you Blohin!!!!! Thank you team!!!!
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

This just doesn’t look like the clinic that Argentina-S&M was. Ukraine is playing better, but they’ll be showing the six goals on highlight reels for years to come.
chumbawumba

Boom! 4-0. Very good game by Shevchenko, Rebrov and Kalinichenko.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/worldcupfan/ dw

3 more minutes???? Just blow the damn whistle already.
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

pf, I thought they were using the headsets to talk to Bob? Hvae I been thinking wrong all this time?
http://blue2rose.blogspot.com Blah-Me

And thats a rap!

4-0 win by Ukraine.

I’m off to bed again. Tata dudes and dudettes (if there are any?).
SES

Ukraine has found redemption.

Good luck to both teams in their next matches. :D
paddy

The agony is over.

SA must be one of the most boring teams in the entire WC when they implode and lose their drive.

Not as bad as when they played Germany in the last WC, but they still have to play Spain!!!

LOL
The scoreboard won’t be big enough.
http://brazil.worldcupblog.org Zé

pf, they only use it to talk between themselves – referees and line referees, so the referee don’t have to run to the line referee to ask what did he see. They don’t receive any information from outside.
Paddy

I suspect that if as expected Spain takes care of Tunisia, they will rest some starters and/or cardholders in the third match against the Saudis. But if they have a potent line-up out there, how many goals might Spain get? 10?
I bet the Saudis pack the box and try to save a little face. Btw, did I read that the Saudis beat S. Korea both times in qualification matches? It’s hard to see how.
http://www.google.com empty

What a waste of time and money, all went to trash, I wish that Sapin wont get a two digits score on us.
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

Time to move to the ESP-TUN preview. :)
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

empty,

Rough match, and I can’t blame you for being upset.

I’m curious what you think about my question above: Would KSA do better to get some of its players playing abroad?
pf

Ze

Thanks for the 411… looks like a step in the right direction!
Andrew

It’s so incredibly annoying when they call our country “The Ukraine”… It’s “Ukraine”, damnit!!
OPKO

Hey, Saeed,

Where are you now? Clsoer to 5:0 than you thought?

I should have put money on the spread.
OPKO

ps – I am packing my picnic basket.
arinho

“Where did the phrase “The Ukraine” come from? I figure it’s a leftover from “The USSR.” It’s unnatural to call a single country “The” isn’t it? I know Ukrainians hate it.”

it’s not so unnatural. here are oher single countries called “The”:

- The United States of America

- The Philippines

- The Democratic Republic of Congo (or the Congo)

- The Gambia

- The Reunion islands

- The Seychelles

- The Ivory Coast

- The virgin islands
Andrew

Yes, but Ukraine isn’t meant to be called “the ukraine”.
Pogue Maghon

Says who? That’s just what it is in English.

You could argue that Switzerland is not meant to be called “the Switzerland”. The Swiss (when speaking German) would disagree with you.
Andrew

No, Pogue Maghon, you are wrong.
http://www.torugg.org/ukraine_or_the_ukraine.html

Read this article if you want to bother, the official name of the country in English is Ukraine, not the ukraine. And that is the official way it is meant to be called.
http://www.worldcupblog.org/daily-wrap-up/june-19-the-daily-world-cup-wrap.html June 19: The Daily World Cup Wrap – FIFA World Cup 2006 – World Cup 2006 Blog

[...] Ukraine vs Saudi Arabia | LiveBlog | Ukraine World Cup Gear, Saudi Arabia World Cup Gear [...]
commentator

The official name of Ivory Coast is Cote d’Ivoire — doesn’t stop the rest of the world from calling it ivory coast.

The official name for the United States is The United States of America — doesn’t stop people from calling it “The United States” for short.

So the official name for Ukraine is Ukraine, some people call it “The Ukraine.” big beal?
Yeti

I have a quid on Ukraine winning the whole thing… Today inspired a bit of confidence back into me.
http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2006/world-cup-ticket-scalping-my-story.html World Cup Ticket Scalping: My story – FIFA World Cup 2006 – World Cup 2006 Blog

[...] Two days ago I decided to test the free market and the law of supply and demand at the Ukraine vs Saudi Arabia game. I picked that game for a few reasons. The fans of those 2 countries are not known to be huge travelers and have loads of cash to drive up the prices. So I figured I’d get some tickets, no worries. [...]
Peter James

Ukraine was very good, too bad they lost to italy, otherwise we would have had another winner.
Waiting for next FIFA.
Ukraine is the best !
sali

madare in arabaroo gaeedan hal kardam mer30 ukrine.ilove kurdistan.sanandaj