Tag: Football

  • World Cup Dispatch (UPDATE): Today’s Matches

    Shame on me for not taking the two early matches seriously. Sure, France didn’t have to win today, but I thought even their backbenchers could take care of Tunisia. And then I was like, there is no way Denmark is leaving the World Cup without a win. Thus proving, yet again, that I have no idea what I am talking about.

    But as for watching these two matches – Man! These were awesome!

    There is a very good chance that France will win this whole thing, and if that happens, Tunisia will have to honor of saying they handed the French their only loss.

    As for the Socceroos – They sure did dash Denmark’s dreams. And I am a big fan of Christian Eriksen, which just made me feel horrible for the guy, but Australia played like they wanted it more.

    Now we get to the matches I was looking forward to. Poland v Argentina, and Mexico v Saudi Arabia. Drama! Drama all over the place. No one in this group is out of it, so everyone is playing for the win. Mexico is one of my favorite teams, but they do have their work cut out for them, and they also need a helping hand from the Football Gods. The whole world will be watching to see what happens to Messi today, and understandably so. I agree, I would like to see Messi get to the Knockout Round, and if he is going to lose, at least get out of the Group Stage.

    My Uneducated Prediction: Argentina and Mexico advance. Just a gut feeling. And having said that… Poland and Saudi Arabia will advance in Group C.

    UPDATE: Man, I was wrong on all accounts. Argentina and Poland move to the next round. Now, that was pretty fun there when Mexico had to score one more goal, or Argentina had to score another goal, for Mexico to advance. I was flipping between the two matches, seeing who would score next. Nope, Saudi Arabia got a goal, and Mexico’s dreams were dashed.

    I said there would be drama, and that was drama!

    (And if you are enjoying this little blog, then please, give a like, and help out. I would appreciate it.)

  • World Cup Dispatch (Update): Germany v Japan

    I have come into this match at the start of the second half, so I didn’t see Germany score its lone goal. The conventional wisdom here is that Germany should win this match, as Germany is one of the powerhouse nations when it comes to football. But, remember that the 2018 Cup was a disaster for Germany, so there are still questions lingering about this team. Now, Japan does have its work cut out for them, but by no means are they a long shot in this match. Since 2002, Japan has been fielding competitive teams in international play, and the only way you get better is by competing more.

    And watching Japan in this second half, they are coming across as the more aggressive team. They are fighting for every ball, and have had at least three really good scoring chances. Then, Japan’s goaltender, GONDA, just had four major stops in a series of shots from…

    And now Japan just scored! It’s 1-1, and Japan does look like the more relaxed team out there, as Germany looks edgy.

    Let’s see how the next 10 minutes go.

    UPDATE:

    WOW! Japan did it! Better than a draw, they beat Germany! The last twenty minutes were all Japan. That’s not to say that Germany didn’t threaten, but Japan’s defense was iron tight. GONDA, Japan’s goalie, was amazing! He seemed to be everywhere. But I also have to point out that Japan’s defense on Germany’s set plays are corners was impressive. This was not a weak German team, but Japan wore them down, like the old rope-a-dope, and then just took over at the end of the match.

    That was fun! That was a lot of fun to watch!

    (And, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of this post. If you could do me a favor, hit that like button over there. It will help me out, with rankings and stuff.)

  • World Cup Dispatch (Update): USA v Wales, and other Stuff

    It’s halftime and Team USA is up 1-0 over Wales. That was a pretty goal by Weah and I am sure it is a huge weight off the team after scoring it. Over the first half of the game, USA has been the more aggressive team, fighting for every ball. I was put off at the start of the match by the Referee, as the two yellow cards he handed out to Dest and McKeennie within two minutes of each other seemed rather heavy handed. Things are looking good, but I will feel a lot better once we get the three points.

    I did feel bad for Senegal going down 0-2 to the Netherlands. I would like to know how those tricky Dutch always produce good teams for such a small nation?

    The other thing I noticed today as I ran errands around the neighborhood – There are no signs that the World Cup is going on. In Cups past, for the Men and the Women, there are signs, bunting, banners, and all sorts of things out on store fronts and in the streets. This time around, there is nothing. I know the timing of the Cup isn’t the best for us in the States, with Thanksgiving and Christmas happening. But still, I was expecting to see something out and about.

    UPDATE:

    That didn’t end the way I wanted it to. Yup, can’t foul Bale in the box; he’ll make you pay. And now Wales is all charged up, and will go out there gunning for Iran. That leaves the Welsh with a point off of us, three off of Iran, and then I see them losing to England, for a total of four points. And USA is also playing for 4 points. They have 1 now, and sadly I don’t think they will beat England. That means it will come down to the final match against Iran, which should be a win. But, this is the Wold Cup, and I can see Iran pulling out a tie for national pride and all of that stuff. The path to the knockout round just got harder for Team USA, but not impossible. They just need to score a ton of goals from here on out.

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  • ODDS and ENDS: World Cup Starts on Sunday, Twitter-ageddon, and Thanksgiving

    (I came all this way…)

    I shouldn’t watch the World Cup. FIFA, the organization that runs the World Cup, is corrupt as the day is long, and they were paid off by Qatar so that this authoritarian nation could host the competition. Just gander at this, if you haven’t heard it yet. That’s bad, but let’s not forget that Qatar has a history of human rights abuses, and in the rush to build these stadiums in the desert, thousands of migrant workers died. That is truly horrendous, and unconscionable. Then today, Qatar banned beer sales at the stadiums. Now, now, wine and alcohol will be available in the VIP boxes, but not for everyone else. Yes, fans will be able to get alcohol at their hotels, and other designated spots. I don’t know much, but I do know that when you ban something, people will just find a way around it. That leaves me to believe that there will be a whole lot of pre-gaming from certain fans from England and Germany. Well, actually, all the teams from Europe, if I am to be honest. The World Cup in Qatar is a shitshow before it even started. And yet the whole world will watch. Myself included. There is a little shame in that, sure, but I really like the idea of a global sports competition. It’s not the equalitarian event I want it to be, but I keep hoping that if all of us who love this event keep putting pressure on the organizers, that soon we can have the fair, sportsmanship advocating event that we all really want. Also, Mexico will choke in the group stage, USA will make it to the knockout round but lose their first match, and England takes third place. That’s my prediction, as I have no idea who will win the whole thing.

    I keep expecting Twitter to blowup – just explode in a ball of flames. Sadly, I see now that it will be a slow decline, like Myspace and Tumblr. Everyone will migrate somewhere else, and the trolling begins anew. I just can’t make heads or tails of Mastodon. (Seriously, I need to pick a sever? Whatever.) I think my Tumblr account is still active. Just look for me @mlgroff wherever handles are used.

    I’m ready for Thanksgiving. We’ll be shopping for the meal this weekend, as we have had our menu ready to go for two weeks now. I’m looking forward to this holiday because in our house, we hang around in pajamas all day, and eat when the meal is ready. It is a very lazy day in our house. As I have gotten older, and now that I am a father, Thanksgiving has come to symbolize for me the last full day of rest I can get before the crazy marathon of Christmas starts. So, Here! Here! Turkey Day!

    (SAY! Thanks for making it to the end of this post. If you have enjoyed my wordsmithing, then please be kind and give a like. No one shares or comments on my posts, so you don’t have to do that, but following my blog would be a super awesome bonus. I’ll update the website soon. I promise!)

  • It’s a Tottenham Blog Post

    I don’t know a whole lot about Premiere League football, but I am learning. And as a burgeoning Tottenham Hotspur fan, I am still taking in as much lore and history about the team as possible. One of the things I have down is that Arsenal is the chief rival, and when these two teams play, it’s a very big deal, and it even has a name; North London Derby. I got that much down.

    It does seem like every time that these two teams play, there is something very important on the line. Last year, the second match between them pretty much determined who was going to qualify for the Champions League. This year, it was to see who would lead the top of the table, as Arsenal was in first and Spurs were in third.

    The match didn’t go Tottenham’s way, and though Kulusevski was out with an injury, he wouldn’t have helped. Arsenal was clearly the better team and they were determined to prove it. And this is the part that makes me nervous about Spurs; they are a fragile team. When things start going bad in a match, it’s hard for them to right the ship. The second goal that Arsenal scored should have been stopped by Lloris. It was a fluke mistake, or accident depending how you look at it, but the end of the day, he shouldn’t have let that ball squeak by him. Which leads me to Royal’s foul. Did he deserve a red card for it? I don’t think so. But it was a stupid foul, done out of frustration. And Arsenal made they pay for it, scoring four minutes later. At the end of the day, Arsenal is still in first and Spurs are third, but instead of a one point difference, it’s now four.

    Tottenham have now suffered two losses in three matches, and in both cases a lack of focus has done them in. Sure, I understand the argument that Conte is putting too much emphasis on scoring, and the defense is lacking. Maybe that will get solved later in the season. Maybe.

    As for now, they face Frankfurt, in Frankfurt, for a Champions League Group match. I haven’t heard if Kulusevski will be back, but just as with the Arsenal match, I’m not sure he will be the key to their success. The team needs to come out swinging, and be that aggressive group that Conte keeps talking about. That’s what I will be looking for.

    Here’s the obligatory: #COYS

    (OY! Be a good lad, and share a little love with a guy trying to write about football! A like, a share, a comment would be ace! As would be subscribing to this blog!)