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Does anyone know hats going to be with Shevchenko?

Im pretty sure Shevchenko is out for the first game at least. Gives Spain an easier time of it

Yups, word is from what I heard, that he is not playing in this game. We’ll know for sure in about 45 minutes.

CRAP, that will make it sooo easy for spain!
Ukraine needs Shevchenko!

I see the 1st game of the day, the american bloggers are at home, so not much happens here?!

Dave, – depends on the game – still 1/2 hour till kickoff.

Does anyone know where you can watch the game online for free?

Ian,

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/

You guys need to save money and buy T.V’s

Going by the fifa site, Shevchenko is in the starting line up!!

You guys should be on the look out for Ukraine’s midfield maestro, Ruslan Rotan. If anyone scores this game- it will be him.

checking in from argentina (at work!)

prediction: Spain 2-1

what channel on the TVU Player is the game on?

None of the Spaniards was singing because the Marcha Real doesn’t have any official words.

Here we go!

Mike,

CCTV-5 in Chinese is my favorite. You get anthems, and you don’t have to listen to insipid ESPN commentary.

I’ve always liked Spain’s home kit.

Let’s hope for a great match!

1-0 favour Spain

Villa got nothing on that shot.

Spain looks almost as out of synch as the US the other day…. minus the defensive blunders, of course.

Does anyone have a sandwich? I’m hungry. I olny ate 25 tonnes today! Waaaaaaa!

Thanks, Philip

Does anyone have a problem if I eat Kaka? I’m sooo fucking hungry!

why no predictions today? :)

*GOBBLE *GOBBLE* *SMACK*

Midfielders taste kind of like… chicken. Does anyone have any chicken? I’m still hungry!

sean, do you taste like chicken? I’m really hungry :(

Who gives a crap if I can run or not, HUNNNNGRYYY!

Spanish fans singing that annoying yet catchy “A por ellos” song. It was recorded by the team, including Aragones, and has been all over the Spanish media reports.

It may be 92 degrees in Leipzig, but this game has started fiercely for both sides, fabulously for fans: we need a good game, after a run of somewhat sub-par performances (including yesterday’s overweight and underperforming Brazil debut). One advantage in this match: neither team is the overwhelming favorite, both teams have a chance at dark-horse status.
Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

I was thinking of running for the Miss Fat and Ugly crown even. Now that I’m too fat to even shuffle my feet, I could still win that!

sean? Hungry :(

Total Football: It’s near boiling, and well above the highest temperature ever recorded in history?!? That’s insane.

GOOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!! ESPANA!!!!!

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL

Damn my work for not having flash installed on the computers.. Sure wish I could watch this game streaming online.

The Ukraine will feel “la furia roja” today. !Arriba Espana!

I tuned in just in time for the GOAL!!!!! LOL!

This blog is lifesaving… I liked it better when I lived in Korea for the France 1998 World Cup and all the games were in the middle of the night.

Kevin: I feel your pain….

yellow card for yellow shirt

Spain controlling the ball 67% of the time so far

¡Aupa, España! ¡A por ellos, chicos!

Nice lag between the action and the streaming, so i know to watch the video and see the goal instead of messing around with blogs.

2-0 !!!

3 – 0 Spain. I called it.

They will score again. Ukraine is doomed.

Wow.. what a blowout.. Anyone know of any streams that don’t require flash?

2 goals in 3 minutes…dream start by Spain !

Could not believe my eyes! Two goals

Right. Now i’m beginning to think i underestimated the Espanolas…

Roland u’r my favourite blogger…!!!
The spanish will show what this team of talents can do..finally..!

Was the goal good? what happened, school doesn’t have flash :-(

No way these guys can hang with La Seleccion. They need Sheva to step up, but Spain is doing a good job of shutting him down.

Man all this and Raul is still on the bench. Nice start

This is great football. No, it’s not that Ukraine has fallen apart, it’s that in Spain we’re seeing the best-gelled, most attack-minded side we’ve yet seen in this World Cup: Spain is out to win, no French-English-Brazilian equiovocation about it.
Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

Spain is splitting the Ukraine defence easily

One forward with no support is NEVER going to do well in a World Cup.

He will be double teamed all night AND offsides 90% of the time because they are looking for him.

Puyol also has experience playing against him in the Champion’s League

Kevin,

If you can’t install Flash, you probably can’t install TVU either, right?

I’m laughing at the experts who predicted Spain would play for a tie…

Ukraine looks shell shocked and flat-footed now.

If this keeps up, maybe the US won’t finish the first set of games in 32nd place. Oh but then there’s Saudi and Tunisia awaiting Ukraine in the remaining games.

Philip,
I tried to install TVU yesterday through viidoo.com. It had all kinds of errors when trying to install it. Sait it couldn’t find certain files. I’m trying again..

for those who don’t have flash, go to bbc.com, then click on UK version to get match updates

Horns so sharp those bulls!

play mostly in Ukraine half

What a start by the Spanairds…!!this match will pave the way for goals galore from them,considering the whipping boys from group H.This spells shooting practice for spain…before advancing to the next stage.

Spain is doing great BECAUSE Raul is on the bench.

I LOVE the attack-minded formation AND the ruthlessness (benching an aging, out of form, former superstar)

Arena, take note!

Any more predictions now? 4-0

I’m NOT FAT. I’m SHAPELY. Look, I shuffle fast and there’s no jiggly fat. SeE?

Got a sandwich?

Hahahahaha hungry Ronaldo.

hahahaha hungry Ronaldo

Ukraine is still a threat, but Spain definitely looks sharper, on offence and defence. However, if the Ukraine can make it 2 – 1, especially before the half, this could turn into a very closely contested match.

Kevin,

No idea about viidoo, I installed it from Softpedia which AFAIK is pretty trustworthy and it’s working great. Some buffering issues as i’d expect from any Web video but it works quite nicely.

Shevchenko can convert 3/3 chances without a doubt…the problem, where is the supply line?

This lineup for Spain is very aggressive. Looks like a 4 – 3 – 3, I think. They look dynamic, or maybe the Ukraine looks slow today.

Cmon now Raul isnt that out of form just Real Madrid as a whole is out of form anyways at least Brazil give Ronaldo a chance yes. I think Raul will have to figure into any advancement to the semi’s

Heh, the Ukraine look baffled by the Spanish defence. They won’t score with efforts like that.

Alonso and Garcia have dominated the game so far

If someone doesn’t feed me I’m going to run out of farts, and farts are the only hope I have for propelling myself.

FEED. ME. MORE.

Somebody show Ronaldo to the buffet. Both teams slowing from the heat. Spain showing nice ball handling skills.

Wow i just looked through the rest of the bench Fabregas, Iniesta, Reyes and Joaquin all on the bench this must be one of the strongest teams spain has put out for a while

Are there any ways of watching WC action online that don’t require downloading special programs?

Great action from Spain BTW. I need Luis Garcia to score, or at least get some decent shots. How’s he playing BTW? Haven’t seen his name come up

Stop and think abot what you said: Raul isn’t out of form, Real Madrid is out of form.

Correctly me if i”m wrong, but Real Madrid is not some phantom entity that controls individuals, but is comprised of individuals, right?

Zidane, Raul, and Ronaldo are all out of form (Raul is recovering from injury and has plenty of good years left, true, but right now is all I care about)

Zidane is too old.

Ronaldo is too apathetic and fat.

Stop and think abot what you said: Raul isn’t out of form, Real Madrid is out of form.

Correctly me if i”m wrong, but Real Madrid is not some phantom entity that controls individuals, but is comprised of individuals, right?

Zidane, Raul, and Ronaldo are all out of form (Raul is recovering from injury and has plenty of good years left, true, but right now is all I care about)

Zidane is too old.

Ronaldo is too apathetic and fat.

Didn’t look offsides to me. Ukraine gets screwed on that call.

Whenever Ukraine make a move, the flag goes up…for OFFSIDE

I couldn’t make it to the buffet even if the crane operator were on duty.

Could you install a refresh-script or something. I hate F5-ing all the time :S

Sheva was offsides that second time, no question.

almost 3-0 there

Was thinking the same thing…is that the US out there in Ukraine jerseys, or did the Ukraine train with the US?

Yes Fair enough Real Madrid is not controlling the players but how is a Striker supposed to get into good form when the defence and Midfield are playing well below par every week. They get maybe 3-5 chance a game for Real and no striker is going to look flash with that sort of service

I’m talking about video.

I don’t mind the f5, but I’d like to watch.

Brian,

got Luis Garcia on your fantasy team too? :-) I’m dying for info on the same! That arse better score!!!

Vick

Good chance for Ukraine broken up by another one of those criminally wrong off-side rulings. Damn it. FIFA’s line judges in this World Cup have turned into little rogue militias with too much myopia and too little restraint. Could it be that FIFA’s referee ranks have been infiltrated by neo-cons?

Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

Huh, it’s already 0-2 for Spain…

Leading 2nil up will give the Matadors the option of playing this match with their desired tempo and pace,sitting back absorbing,counter-attacking and much more options to comtemplate after the half.

Halftime, work is getting in my way of watching the games. :)

Great half from Spain. Ukraine VERY lucky not to be down 3 – 0 already. Spain did slow down towards the end of the half, but the Ukraine are completely out of synch. Credit Aragones squad for that. Spain should cruise in the second half.

Madrid is just in a slump. Ronaldo and Raul have had injury problems.

I didn’t think many of those offsides calls were “bad.” Maybe 2 that I thought were potentially quesitonable, but Ukraine is playing like an amateur team. Like others have stated, they look very reminiscent of the US a few days ago.

..the first 15min after the break,will determined the strengh of Ukraine.After that I don’t see any other way they can come away with any points because they won’t be stupid to risk all for a lost cause…,bearing in mind,logically the other 6pts. are more achivable.

omg, what happened, that was awefull, that is not the Ukraine I’ve been following for the past 2 years, their midfield is breaking down, defense is breaking down

btw, who’s head was that off of on the second goal ?

WIthout a doubt Madrid lacks a midfield. Gravesen, Beckham, and Zidane are old.

If he gets playing time with Spain (which has a fantastic midfield) it will be intersting to see if he can finish any chances…

I honestly don’t know, but do know that Torres plays with a worse midfield and did better, and that Villa had a breakout season (granted, with a better team around him)

Its all relative as they say? When you have top choice strikers, I favor form by 75% and potential by 25%. I favor accomplishments more than a year ago by 0%.

Luckily, the US doesnt have this problem as all of our strikers are pisspoor

Has the Liveblogging stopped?
The last update I can get is at 43:00…

46′ half time wistle blown

Andriy,

That second goal was courtesy of David Villa. Hmm… seems even I, Spanish fan that I am, underestimated him! :D

LiveBlog has not stopped Bill. Refesh. We are 2 – 0 at 1/2 time. :)

For Ukraine, here’s the question: where’s Rusol (other than landing himself yellows?) Where’s Gusin? For that matter, where has Shevchenko been all game? Yes they’re being outplayed by a wonderful display of on-point football the likes of which Iberia hasn’t produced in the last, oh, half millennium, but since when have you heard of Ukrainians being intimidayed by anything, and anyone? That’s the surprise in this match: the unevenness–not to take anything away from the superior beauty of the Spaniards.
Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

Ukraine are very sly or they are really that terrible…,
anyways,Ukraine are not showing their true potential,playing only 70% of their game.They had other plan to advance from the group…!

haw do i stream this match on de internet help ne1!!!

Spain has performed the best of teams so far!

I refreshed repeatedly before I posted…but everything is back to normal now…not sure what happened…

Only 2 shots on goal…Ukraine needs to get the ball to the other side of the pitch.

The first one was the header, my bad. By Xabi Alonso, and not (as initially believed) Luis Garcia.

Vorobey is on, Rusol off ?

Carlos, it went off Ukraine’s wall, off of a head, wasnt really his goal

Penalty kick for Spain!

Red card for Yellow shirt

Oh yeah… it was off Rusol Andriy. :)

FIRST PENALTY OF THIS WC

¡España GOOOOOLLLLLL!

3-0

3 – 0 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harsh penalty…most undeserving goal that !

wow, great refs, WOW

the spaniard shouldve got the red for diving, no contact and he gets a red card and a penalty kick ? incredible

Man!! the ref just made a terrible mistake!

The goalie telegraphed it right but didn’t stretch enough.

Does anyone else think the Italian and Swiss refs have fixed this game? That was the furthest thing from a penalty…

Bullshit, he fucking tackled him.

I dont know how any ref can make such a call, he should get Red from Fifa.

One more goal to complete the 4-0 victory for Spain. Villa in for golden boot contest?

I agree the penalty was too harsh. Bad Ref.

Villa missed a hat-trick there

tackled him ?? without touching him ? that would be a first

Terrible call.

This refereeing has been sketchier than a Paris Hilton hamburger commercial!

It’s troubling how the decision of a man can ruin a World Cup game.

Another yellow for Ukraine. The only way the Ukrainians can prevent Spain from reaching their goal on a routine basis is to foul.

In the spirit of great sportsmanship, the ref deserves a bottle over the head (as in the good old days. I see this game being skewed, although UKR is playing rather rough….

I hope that this ref’s career is short lived in this Cup.

another deserving yellow, most logical refs would see that as a foul, as he was going for the ball, but nope, not this one, good call ref

This game reminds me of the time when I was eating these six boars they’d just orasted for me…

Which reminds me, I was asking if anyone’s got food.

Wow that was the worst call of the tournament. Shame on the ref and shame on the Spaniard for diving. The game is now over on a horrific call.

In the spirit of great sportsmanship, the ref deserves a bottle over the head (as in the good old days). I see this game being skewed, although UKR is playing rather rough….

I hope that this ref’s career is short lived in this Cup.

Here come Raul…

A cloud is wafting over the Ukrainian side, and it’s got the Chernenko effect colored all over it…
Pierre Uncensored… http://www.pierretristam.com

Horrendous refereeing there – not saying that there was a conspiracy – just plain incompetence.
Spain would have won anyway.

That goal was a bit cheap, but does it really matter? Yeah, a poor ref call but Spain is outplaying Ukraine by a mile.

Here come RAUL…,the perfect chance given to him to prove he’s up to it..!

for those who yearn for answers….

ref’s stats

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/ref/1135_BUSACCA_Massimo.html

Looks like Roland’s prediction is coming true…

And you know what it isn’t because I’m fat that I stood still for seventy minutes against Croatia. No, it was the Germans who asked me to. I’d leave a rut in the field, they said.

Hey! That means they think I’m fat! Bastages! I’m not fat!

Bloody western culture, valuing svelte figures over a beautiful flab…

Flab… Hey. Does McDonalds deliver in this country?

That red card was horribly undeserved. Poor Ukraine. =( I hate to see a botched game.

Spain esily the best team of this WC…on performance so far

Bring on Fabregas and Reyes!

Spain’s bench is deeper than Tommy Lee in the infamous Pamela Anderson video….

Okay, no more gross celebrity references, I promise…

What, one penalty call (which was deserved) and one wrong offsides makes a horrendously called game? I think you underestimate how badly Spain is beating the Ukraine in every facet of the game.

I’m lovin this blog.. It’s makin the workday go by MUCH faster

spain the best??? did u fergt the way czech playd against the usa????

Mohan.

Best team? Don’t think so….

Wait and see. I’ve seen at least 4 other teams that will own Spain with 0 GA’s

The ref did one of the Uzbekistan-Bahrain playoff games (remember, winner played T&T for a spot?)

That was the replay, right? Not the game the refs screwed up that forced the replay?

Yes Ronaldo, McDonalds delivers in this country. :)

Voronin could have scored the best goal of the day!

Anywhere online to hear some audio for the games?

Roland,

The only, ONLY plausible explanation for the penalty (courtesy Big Soccer) is that it was for action on the rebound. Then the ref must have been confused and wrongly given the red card when it wasn’t a breakaway situation. All the replays stopped before the rebound, so I don’t know if that was the case or not. Regardless, the ref screwed up royally.

Mi predicción: España ganará Groupo H y dos juegos más.

“spain the best??? did u fergt the way czech playd against the usa????”

Are you saying that Ukraine is worse than the US team?

Spain would be leading 6-0 right now over the US. The Czechs were excellent, but Spain is hungrier.

Matt,

Is Spanish OK? Cadena Ser live player (just the .asx)

This referee seems questionable. That red card was not deserved, if anything, it should have been a yellow on the Spaniard. Does anyone know about him?

pf, I agree, let’s wait and see. But I would put this performance next to the Czechs and the Argentians. At this point, arguing against Spain being a contender is just foolish.

Betfair has now put Spain as fifth favorite to win, just ahead of Italy. 11:1.

Spain needs to keep attacking…30 minutes is more than enough time for 3 Sheva chances and 3 goals.

But that being said, Spain looks absolutely fantastic. Sending players to the premiership has payed off now that they are used to a rough, physical style of play.

The ref just negated Spain’s goal, so all you whiners can relax now.

dw,

On paper UKR is certainly better than USA, but the point is you can’t judge either team rightly when facing a brilliant performance by their opponent. The Italy game will give us a much clearer read on just how bad the US is — but I’d sure rather move on to playing Saudi Arabia and Tunisia in Group H.

1. Spain
2. Czech
3. Argentina
4. Italy / Netherlands / Brazil

Roland. Perhas you’re right, there is a lot that can happen and teams find their “nirvana” as the cup goes by… I can’t argue with the fact that they are a great competitor.

Now, back to the ref — shouldn’t this be a yellow card for playing after a whistle? Me thinks we got some skewage going here to favor Spain….

Spain was ready. Ukraine looks as clueless as the US did.

Is Spain peaking too early? Quite possibly. They could be really setting up for a spectacular fall.

If it is skewed it isn’t by much, and certainly not enough to change the outcome – if you’re watching this game, you know Spain is CRUSHING the Ukraine.

Spain has always complained about the referees robbing them in the World Cup, way back to 1934 (We wuz robbed!) And remember 2002 against the Koreans?

Hmm… Looks like the pendulum has swung the other way now. ;)

Now would be a great time for any US and Ukraine fans in Germany to get together and go buy each other a few beers.

dw,

You might be right about a fall. Spain has performed poorly in the later rounds in the past, but if they remain even close to this level they’ll make it to the quarters or semis with relative ease.

Bad linesmen as well as bad reffing

… not that it would make much difference on the final result

I have Spain in the finals against Brazil on my pick’em sheet. I thought it was a gamble, but if they play this way even 70% of the time the rest of the tourney, they’ll be there.

Yeah, I remember 2002 (especially), and 1998, and 1994, and 1986. I have no sympathy for complaints about referees. You want to believe the games are fixed? Go ahead. I, meanwhile, will continue to enjoy this masterful display of soccer by Spain. They are playing with pride and purpose.

20 minutes more of endurance for Ukraine says the commentator…i agree

should have been a yellow there, but ok, i guess not because it was a red shirt

Online odds say that Tunisia is twice as likely to qualify from the group as Ukraine now.

spain always plays one great game in each world cup… everyone then thinks they are the cats miau….. they are going to have to do a lot more to prove they are the real deal..

Amen Roland! Its abount time the refs swung Spain’s way! :D

At least one African team will get through then

So far, the best of the crop are:

Spain
Italy
Czech
England
Argentina
Ivory Coast and
Brazil (not really, but they will awake soon enough)

Ukraine with a nice play there. They had their best chance so far.

:-)

Crushing — with goals and literally as well!

Yeah, Spain doesn’t need ref’s help to make it happen, it’s just dissapointing that we got to see so many bad calls during such event. Just like the teams need to put their best on the line, so do FIFA refs.

Not that they need the refs’ help in this game… this is masterful football!

Spain is quite good but if history repeats itself, they always peter out in the finals.
Why is that?!?!?! :?

Man, Ukraine just put together a decent attack to have the ball just shot over the net by a mile. :(

Jogo Bonito, no?

Also, blaming refs when one team is dominating another is very chicken and egg reasoning.

If you look at the stats for La Liga this year, Barcelona was the most fouled and commited the least fouls. Does that means the the refs are the reason Barcelona won La Liga?

remember 1986? they beat denmark 5-1 in round of 16… denmark had just dismantled russia 6-1.. everyone thought spain was the bomb… they lost in the next round

or 1994 when they beat switzerland 3-0 in round of 16 and lost the next match?

if i was spain i would almost prefer to start slower… have it tougher…

The game is out of reach for Ukraine, advancing into the second round isn’t–if the Ukranians think the battle of the Muezzins, between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, will allow them to divide and conquer. But they may be surprised: Tunisia, now Africa’s last hope, are no push-overs, and the Saudis can be unpredictable despite having a man older than the dunes in goal.
Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

Spain is the one! Spain is the unique team that is showing the real power of soccer!

Sergio, you are so right. One commanding win does not make a tourney. But I believe several things will contribute to Spain’s continued success. They are relatively young, extremely technically skilled, have lots of international experience, have players in all the best leagues, were unbeaten in the qualifiers, and most important of all – they’re hungry for victory. Very hungry.

England in top six?? Germany looked better !

Again… another bet lost… I think that I should get a job in stead of betting my money on loser teams…
http://www.estoescostarica.com

well i have a definite soft spot for spain..no doubt about it… good luck to them… i’m just not going to make too much of this… we shall see..

And yeah Roland, this current crop of youngsters for Spain seem unfazed by playing internationally for the flag.

Unlike their predecessors…

the game has slowed down considerably….

Spain has purchased the referee and effectively ended the game.

The princess is drinking beer! How very prole. Good for her.

Torres GOLLL!!!!

4-0 …Spanish Armada !

Mohan,

Yeah, as Spain has no real need to apply any pressure now. I’m very pleased with the way Spain is playing defense. I think it has to do more with Spain’s defensive prowess and less with Ukraine’s offensive incompetence.

Yeah, I saw the ref kick that ball in for Spain. No fair.

Whatever.

¡¡4 – 0!!

Man, TVU is on a major delay as the goal JUST happened for me. haha

Almost a 3 min. delay

unbelievable that this was the first penalty of the cup! just UNREAL! usually you see a ton of them! this world cup so far as a few differences from earlier ones…

better refs (with exceptions)
fewer fouls
fewer penalties
fewer goals
more offensive soccer

that 4th goal was outstanding….will be replayed a zillion times

Oh wait, Torres is out. Was that Puyol?

Oh, it was Torres. Can’t take my eyes off this game, dammit!

Spain bought the referee even though they would have won about 3-1 anyway.

the only difficult match for Spain will be in quarters against Italy or brazil. Until then, it’s a walk.

Spain obviously less effected by the heat than the Ukraine. This could be 5 – 0 before it’s all over.

update topic header

Never mind the whiners Roland… Fact is, the Spaniards are playing beautifully, and richly deserve the scoreline. :D

Raul has had two close calls. He looks in good form to me.

almost the fifth there…
Will this be a Spanish WC ?

Raul also had close calls in the Champion’s League.

No one denies he can still get in position to score, I just think his predatory instinct is nonexistent.

Contrar to popular belief, two almosts does not equal one goal.

now Spain is toying with Ukraine

What a terrific run of football in this game. Leipzig was once known as the Communist world’s capital of gymnastics; today it’s the capital of the beautiful game: three of the four goals in this game deserve to hang at the Louvre, even if Ukraine haven’t put up much of a worthy opposition.
Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

Yes the US no longer has the worst loss!!

looking at brackets all of a sudden things could be much more difficult for brazil than we had thought..

czecks/italy in 16
spain in 8

poor czecks though apparently milan barros is really hurt as is koller… thats a killer for them…

when draw came out i thought brazil looked to have the best but right now it looks challenging for them if they finish first, and spain finishes first (hard to imagine they would not at this point!)

España 4-0 Ukraine. This scoreline equals Ukraine’s worst ever international result against Croatia in March 1995.

This was my favorite game to watch so far…much better than the bore by Brazil yesterday.

I’m applying for a Fulbright to study in Spain next Summer so I’m slightly biased I guess.

Voronin so close there. Rare mistake by Spain on defence.

Sergio..i agree with your list except for fewer goals…just 2 games ended without a goal

Kramer was right! The Ukraine is weak!!! :)

Gaston: hahahahaha

don’t forget to update the score that the top of the blog!

until this match if you average the goals per game you have to be around 2.. that is fewer than any world cup i can remember FOR ONLY THE FIRST ROUND! i mean the first round is when the weak teams are around so the average should be higher..

having said that we have only seen a bit less than one third of first round games so everything can change..

ETucker, I agree, to the extent that almost isn’t enough. But based on the way he’s playing this half, I believe Raul can still contribute. I would still start Villa, however. This Spanish team is scary good.

Hahaha! Iker Casillas is clearly bored!

How symbollic of this game: Shevchenko takes his one and only true shot all match in injury time, slams against a Spain defender, and hears the whistle calling an end to this big, big defeat for Ukraine. This was the Match of Death they would have rather avoided. Wonderful Spain, but Ukraine ain’t done yet.

Pierre Uncensored http://www.pierretristam.com

its fucking Ukraine, there is not THE in front of it, dont say that, it pisses off all ukes

Spain have announced their intentions loud and clear :)

Sorry Andriy, I caught myself doing that a couple times. Duly noted.

you need to be tough to win a world cup.. i’m still not convinced.i hope they do well but everything went their way from early on…. sometimes you have those games… in the end, based on history in world cups, these games tend to be outliers..they do not mark trends…

i will say spain did great to nationalize argentine pernia right in time and call him up! bastards!

sorry i snapped, im just really disapointed, i get very emotional about football :O)

anyways, i think im gonna write my blog now, congrats spain, im gonna say you played a fantastic game, so good, that i think i’d rather have faced Brazil than what i saw today, maybe we’ll both come out and face each other down the road again :O)

I sympathize Andriy. Spain is just not going to be denied this tournament, and Ukraine just had the bad luck to draw them. But I still believe the Ukrainians should win second place, and if they pass to the second round, good things could happen for them. Better luck next time!

Well that was a bunch of garbage. Pretty much showed a lack of class from the spaniards to dive like that for giving the red card, and lop-siding the match for the rest of the game (dont you think that contributed to the high score guys?) Ukraine were being outclassed, but the Spaniards definately werent being fair. Lot of uncalled shoulding going on, and what was the ref doing? Looking away no doubt while the spaniards did that…not cool

It’s a shame they don’t televise the games from the shade side of the stadiums. Would reduce the black-hole effect tremendously.

Hey McDon-aldo, maybe Spain should hold Ukraine’s hand and serenade them next time instead, right?

All I can say is…NEXT.

You know what? I finally saw that penalty call, again. Ukraine fans have a point. Although it was surely a foul, as the defender threw his shoulders into the Spanish player, it didn’t deserve a red card. Controversial call, but in the end it wouldn’t have made a difference. Tough luck for Ukraine, but it’s not over for them, so chin up guys!

McDon-aldo, I dont understand why you blame Spain for that card. Yes, the Spanish player dived, but the ref made the call, all players of all teams fake and dive all the time in football, its part of the game.

alright, i put up my initial blog for the game, purely emotional one haha

Rough play is fine, so long as you pay the price if you push too far, but acting is BS. There is no justification.

As for spain serenading ukraine, well whatever works for you. But you talk about blaming the spaniards for the card…why not? It wasnt like the ukraine dived. and the spaniard was asking for a penalty diving like that, so why not blame him.

This whole tournament has been marred by acting, and bad ref calls. In spains case, they didn’t need to do that, they were already killin ukraine, why kick them while they are down. Its just low, and show a lack of class

so far this has been the best world cup in my life in terms of the refs getting it right.. i am going back to 1986…

the refs have made very few bad calls…. there has been less fouling/diving than any other…. and the bad calls have been inconsequential… so what if the ref got call wrong? spain was going to win this game… not a huge deal… get over it .. move on…

when the refs really mess up i’ll be the first one complaining but this was no big deal

no, ukraine was not ‘going to lose anyways’ necessarily, it was the start of the second half, they were down 2-0 and were looking to come back after the break, it was a slap in the face, it discourages a team, they lose hope, it could have been a tour a round, thats the point. If Ukraine wasn’t going to win, at least they would’ve lost 3-0, every goal counts and 3-0 isn’t as bad as 4-0.

This football licks balls compared to Italia 90 and Mexico 86. The games in that WC were awesome. The new football and the commercialism in it, as well as the favoritism of the referring is killing the enjoyment in it (for me at least).

I am going to watch because there arent really any alternatives to the WC in terms of significant games, but it doesnt mean I have to swallow the BS that goes with it. Sure Australia vs Japan and this match had decisions which were bad, but overall insignificant, but that was luck champ and shows clear favoritism. The need to introduce a stand by ref to analyze video for diving, cause its bs now. Way too much of it. 6.5foot brickshit house players, diving like they were hit by Tyson and they are nursery school students. Its too much. I am tired off it

this world cup has been pretty clean..

and you preferred the 1990 world cup to this one?? talk about diving and fouls and defensive crap soccer!!!!!! my god man the 1990 world cup was the worse one yet..a 2.25 average goals per match…. terrible refs… worse final ever with germany winning 1-0 on a made up penalty…

Thanks for the fine reporting. Is it possible for you to type in Bold letters GOOOOOAAALLLL!!!!! whenever a goal happens?

I’m sure the carpal tunnel damage that you incur will be worth the appreciation of your readers.

Looks at the quality of the striking, not the goal rate. Just because a goal is scored doesnt mean its good, or that its well done. This foodball is classless. There are some awesome players namely the portugese Ronaldo, Simao, they are off the hook, but where are the standout strikes. Fifa keeps commissioning a new ball, which makes the striking accuracy suck. Thats not the biggest problem though, the diving is BS, and a second video analysis ref which could add perspective.

I am sure you love the quality of the football too, but for me this sucks. I am not impressed. Where are the awesome range free kicks, where are the set plays? Its all trite for the most part so far.

VIDEO REF is all I have to say. It would fix a lot of this BS.

BTW, speaking of crap quality, where are the mad solo runs too. Don’t see much of that Baggio style flair, or creative play. Everything is done the middle, and charge like a tank, and dive if you get stopped for a free shot on goal…pretty stupid way to play football, but FIFA rewards it with these idiotic ref decisions. FIFA fair play my ass.

Oh my god, that statement is so ridiculous McDon-aldo. 1990 was a rugby tournament, and 1986 wasn’t much better. Don’t even get me started on 2002. As for commercialism, that is an unfortunate but predictable development. The game is more popular than ever. None of that is Spain’s fault, so I’d make some wine out of those sour grapes, if I were you.

there’s a differnece between saying that the refs suck and saying the soccer sucks

which is it? its both?

man, if thats true you should turn off the tube..

i’m not absolutely sure the soccer play is better than 1990 but i am sure the refs are better than they have ever been in a world cup so far…

i can say that because i’ve only seen 2 or 3 glaring mistakes in the first round matches so far..

often times people think it “was better before” but it ain’t necessarily so…

when i watch highlights or replays of games from 1986 i can’t help but notice how much slower the game was back then, how much less fit the players were, etc..

the game has improved consistently but its become tighter too… and there is far more parity…

or look at clips of soccer from the 1930s… they showed some of the italian sides that won the two cups that decade (with too many nationalized argentines i will add.. bastards)… the play looked terrible!!!!!!!! the ball would hardly get off the ground!

yah..i just can’t see the 1990 world cup having a better level of play than this one..

and 1994 was not that great either… with brazil playing cynically

so far this cup looks quite good..certainly better than 2002.. remains to be seen… its only going to get tougher for the refs… the games are only going to get tighter…

Roland, nice call (gotta pay that)

Maybe its me, and yeah 86-90 were rugby tournaments in comparison, but still, there is a lack of flair here (its not SPAINs fault in this match per se, its the player who did it, but by rewarding diving, you encourage it – so I blame the player and FIFA more so for doing nothing to fix it.

I wouldnt watch if I didnt love football. So I will stop bitching, but watch for one sidedness in ref decisions, there is a lot more of it than most people are probably noticing, and the football is getting scrappy.

There were some beutiful player in 1990, savicevic’s plays to stojkavic were awesome, baggio was great too, maradona was on point. Only guy I have seen who has REALLY IMPRESSED me is Ronaldo the Portugese lad, he is awesome. Ecuador and Croatia are also looking good.

Anyway champ, Video ref, and a red card for diving is the only way to fix this mess I think (not going to happen any time soon so long as FIFA wants to profit from these big clubs doing well commercially and so to bringing revenue for FIFA – What revenue would FIFA get from Trinadad doing well? better for them that England does best in that group as they will get more more).

Anyway champ, better start making that wine, may as well get some happiness. Thanks for the joke, enjoy the cup champ…Cant wait for argentina vs serbia, should be fun.

Cya

Man but McDon-aldo, c’mon. Baggio? Maradona? You’re only talking about two of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Talent like that is extremely rare, except maybe in Brazil. It’s like complaining that Jordan, Bird and Johnson aren’t in the NBA anymore. What’s your point? People get old. It happens.

Spain has shown flair. Argentina has shown flair. Germany has shown flair. The Czechs look like a well oiled machine. Mark my words, new legends will be made this cup. Count on it.

4 – 0 YESSSS

I LOVE THIS GAME!!!

But don’t worry about us, we’ll lose un quarter finals again!

However, while we still alive, want enjoy of this soccer! COME ON SPAIN, VAMOS ESPAÑA!!!

(Download “Sr.Trepador, himno España CUATRO” our little hymn)

HAHAHA! The pessimism of the Spaniards about their seleccion is amazing. Its like they are now afraid to hope! Have faith Panoco! :D

Oh yeah! This have been what I wanna see since years.

Spanish Fury! Red earthquake!

¡Furia Española!

P.D.: I hope them to continue playing like today. Brazil, here we go!

[...] Spain vs Ukraine | LiveBlog | Spain World Cup Gear, Ukraine World Cup Gear [...]

“The pessimism of the Spaniards about their seleccion is amazing. Its like they are now afraid to hope!”

I’m not pessimist about our possibilities, but when I remember Mexico 86, I think we have to be more grounded. Our team has had a great debut and I really enjoyed it yesterday, but now it’s time to beat Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, in order to prove we can keep the game skills that our team showed yesterday.

Anyway, thaks for supporting our team from the Philippines :)

[...] 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. [...]

What ever spain your still have to baet one of the best teams like ITALY,BRAZIL to be good. i’m not happy with that win.