Group F - World Cup 2010

Half-time, Slovakia 0-0 New Zealand. New Zealand have pressed a lot, but they look really poor in the final third. Not convinced either side should be at this world cup, but they are, so there you go.

The ref Jerome Damon has been appalling. I'm really worried he's gonna ruin the game in the second half with another poor decision. We need to stop picking referees based on geography, but on experience and ability (which would mean opening the top leagues of the world to referees of all nations ... not gonna happen any time soon).
 
1-1, final score. Fair result. Slovakia goal was offside, partially fulfilling my prediction (but not fully as it didn't spoil the game ... don't think the NZ goal was, but didn't see a replay). New Zealand's lack of class was obvious, but Slovakia didn't look good either. They could barely keep the ball. Deserved equalizer at the end for New Zealand.

I guess the happiest people of all will be the Paraguayans, who will probably qualify as long as they get another 4 points.
 
Some pretty poor refereeing that match. New Zealand did well none the less... three of their squad are amateurs!
 
calgacus said:
I guess the happiest people of all will be the Paraguayans, who will probably qualify as long as they get another 4 points.
Click to expand...

Nope, the happiest people are the New Zealanders, didn't expect a win or a draw, the team did great, we should have won but refs are refs. Great Game
 
Nobody said:
Nope, the happiest people are the New Zealanders, didn't expect a win or a draw, the team did great, we should have won but refs are refs. Great Game
Click to expand...

If I were a New Zealander, I wouldn't be that happy. Slovakia were there for the taking. If New Zealand had their shooting boots on they would have won.

On the other hand, Paraguay's rivals for place 2 failed to take 3 points against the group whipping boys. I'd be pretty pleased if I were Paraguayan. ;)
 
Expectations shouldn't be that low. Remember that at your last world cup your opponents were Brazil, the Soviet Union (top class back then), and Scotland (a top class team back then). If you were in that group, or in Australia's group, fine. But Slovakia and Paraguay are beatable by New Zealand in the 2010s (the former more so than the latter).
 
I don't really think NZ can beat Paraguay... I still remember the walloping they gave Argentina in Asunción last time. But I don't think that counts for much as Paraguay hasn't lost an away game against Argentina in a couple decades.
 
I don't think they will beat Paraguay either, but it is plausible. Whereas, in 1982 it was implausible that they could have gotten a point from any of those teams, in 2010 with those teams the current NZ team could win by keeping it tight and nicking a goal. Both can be shut out.
 
Come on - some of our team are amateurs, and half of the "professionals" play in the grandly named A-League, home to stars like Robbie Fowler. We are 78th in the world. We should get smashed in every game against the final 32, except if we were lucky enough to meet North Korea.
 
calgacus said:
I don't think they will beat Paraguay either, but it is plausible. Whereas, in 1982 it was implausible that they could have gotten a point from any of those teams, in 2010 with those teams the current NZ team could win by keeping it tight and nicking a goal. Both can be shut out.
Click to expand...
Basically, the level of football has dropped, but NZ hasn't improved that much :(
Harbourboy said:
Come on - some of our team are amateurs, and half of the "professionals" play in the grandly named A-League, home to stars like Robbie Fowler. We are 78th in the world. We should get smashed in every game against the final 32, except if we were lucky enough to meet North Korea.
Click to expand...
North Korea? Let's wait until they play brazil, so we know how the Kimboys really play.
 
Takhisis said:
Basically, the level of football has dropped, but NZ hasn't improved that much :(
Click to expand...

Players allegedly run twice as much during a game these days as then, while football has expanded throughout the world meaning that more people compete to be the best players in the world. This suggests that, if anything, football is better now. It certainly is in terms of athleticism if not skill. In fairness though, these days a world cup has 32 teams rather than 16, which means in relative terms there is a lot more junk at the beginning of tournaments.
 
I'd rather the ball rn on its own a lot more. Guess I'm an incurable optimist.
Aaahhh... Brazil time! Now I disappear for two hours.
 
If the red had caught the guy offside, New Zealand would be leading the table. But it was very hard to see off side
 
the equalizer was absolutely amazing...!
 
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