Hey, kids! What time is it?
|
It's the latest sensation that's
sweeping the globe! "Let's Play Something Else!" |
America is in a small gym, wearing a Team USA jersey dribbling a
basketball.
|
Hey, Germany, your free throw lane's
a little slanted. |
|
You do realize you have a match
tomorrow, right? |
|
Yep, that's why we're playing
basketball instead of ice hockey. |
|
And Germany, you're here too. Don't
forget you have a date with me in a couple days. |
|
I am taking a break. I'll have you
know I've developed a strict training regimen. I will
defeat you, Russia. |
|
That's so cute. |
|
So America, why basketball? I love it
and all but, I mean, I can see you trying to push your
silly version of football on the rest of us, but
basketball's pretty popular around the world. |
|
Exactly! How many other sports do you
get to see Greece and Lithuania getting excited? |
Indeed, behind them, Greece and Lithuania are stretching pretty
intensely.
|
How are we picking teams? |
|
Let's go Cold War this time! Me and
Russia are team captains! |
|
Excellent! I'll pick my best buddy
Germany! |
Germany is a little confused. He narrows his eyes at Russia.
|
I know you won't let your impending
fall to my boots of iron stop you from being a good
teammate. |
|
Just don't pull any of that Munich
business again. I'll pick Spain. |
|
And Lithuania will be on my team, of
course. |
|
Guess I have to carry the load for
you again, huh? |
And America gets Greece. They get to playing. Since all six are
upper-tier basketball nations (yes, even Lithuania), the
game itself isn't nearly as funny as watching England and Italy play
American football.
What's surprising is how into it Greece and Lithuania get. Lithuania has the
ball at the top of the arc and Greece is guarding him fiercely.
|
Georgia! Run Georgia! |
Russia runs up and sets a pick. Greece slams into Russia while
Lithuania dribbles by him. When America and Spain try to pressure
him, he passes the ball to an open Germany, who lays it in.
Lithuania pumps a fist and goes back on defense, high-fiving Russia.
|
Nice play, but can we call it South
Ossetia now? |
Little do they know that they are being watched. On their next possession,
Russia goes up for a shot and America hits him on the arm while trying to knock
the ball away.
|
I think that was a foul there. |
|
Agreed. |
They soon forget this, as America finds himself pinned to the
wall. Belarus is holding a knife to him.
|
How dare you harm Brother! |
|
Hey, save it for the match! |
|
Russia! Do something about her! |
Russia's actually hiding behind Lithuania. Spain ends up pulling her away and
leading her off.
|
Hey, chill, Seņorita. It's just a
game. |
|
You will pay for harming Brother! I will finish the
job Ukraine did and destroy you! |
Once they leave, the game seems to have stopped. Germany is
checking on America while Russia is making doubly sure Belarus is
gone.
|
*anxious* How about some
one-on-one? |
|
Yeah, let's go. |
Hoo, where to start. International free throw lanes have used
a trapezoidal key instead of the rectangular one used in America.
They are in the process of switching that (you'll notice the
difference at the next Olympics!).
Both Greece and Lithuania are very good at basketball, and get pretty damn
excited about it. In fact, Lithuania won third place at the world championships
in Turkey this year and are hosting the basketball equivalent of the Euro
tournament next year.
"That Munich business" refers to the 1972 Munich Olympics, where the
Soviets beat the Americans for the gold in basketball under...
questionable circumstances.
Lithuania calling "Georgia" is a reference to a common basketball tactic
of naming plays after colleges... or perhaps former Soviet countries. And let's
not bring up
South
Ossetia.
Day 11
Poland vs. Iceland
Ukraine vs. China - America vs. Belarus
Time for Australia and Cuba, who wouldn't mind playing one-on-one with
Belarus.
|
G'day everybody! Australia and Cuba
here! One more set of games before we kick it into
overdrive to round out the group stage. |
|
Yep, the spotlight today is on Group
H, where sisters Ukraine and Belarus each have the
chance to clinch trips to the round of 16 with wins
over China and America. One's a favorite, one's an
underdog, but both will be in action tonight. |
|
Our first match though is in Group G
between Poland and Iceland. |
|
On paper, this match doesn't look all
that enticing. Poland is pretty good and a frequent
World Cup participant. Iceland... is not. But after
Poland was trounced in his first match and Iceland came
from behind to win, it's the little island nation that
has the high ground. |
|
Absolutely. A draw today would likely
mean goal differential decides who goes on, and with
Poland already losing 6-0 to Sweden, that would be disastrous. |
|
Not only that, but Iceland plays a
tight, defensive style that is perfect for slogging the
game down and turning it into an unwatchable scoreless
draw. If he got that today, it could lead to one of the
biggest stunners of this World Cup. |
|
Is that in the works? Taiwan's with
Iceland in Dortmund. |
|
Thank you, Australia. Iceland, with
three points you find yourself in the thick of things in
Group G. What do you have to do against Poland to stay
in the race? |
|
Nothing. He's the one who has to make
the move. I'll take a draw any time. He can try to score
if he wants to. |
|
So a purely defensive game from you
today? |
|
It works best for me. I don't care if
we kick it around aimlessly for ninety minutes. If
nobody scores in this game, I win. |
|
Norway's been teaching you a few
things about anti-football, hasn't he? |
|
Whatever gets points. |
|
Well, good luck. |
Day
11- Dortmund |
Match 30 |
Group G |
|
POLAND |
vs. |
ICELAND |
|
Iceland spends a lot of the opening minutes with the ball, but on his own end
of the pitch. He seems to be following through with his plans with the goal of
simply keeping Poland away from the ball. He looks up once in a while, but
Poland's ready to stop anything.
When Poland does get the ball, Iceland has numbers on defense and squeezes
him out easily. The first eight minutes are really boring.
|
Poland not finding anything... quick
pass forward, past the defenders! He gets a shot in!
Easily saved by the keeper. |
|
It was an opening, but a small one.
Not much of a chance to put a nice touch on that one. No
trouble for Iceland. |
A couple minutes later, Poland finds himself in a similar situation.
|
Poland into Iceland territory, tries
a long pass into the box. Striker's there, but so is
Iceland. But a bad bounce! It gets past them! Poland
gets it! Quick shot SCORES! And like that, Poland's
ahead! |
|
I thought Iceland would be all over
that one, but he didn't position himself to play it well
and lets one slip. Poland scores his first goal and
Iceland's going to have to play offense after all. |
12' - GOAL (POL) - Poland 1, Iceland 0
Now Poland has something going. He uses the momentum to push harder for a
second goal, almost succeeding with a pair of quick, hard shots right after the
other. Iceland doesn't show it, but it's clear he's a bit rattled from the early
goal.
Iceland does move up a little bit when he gets the chance, but Poland still
has him outclassed at defense. Anytime he gets near the box, Poland squeezes him
back out.
|
Iceland pushing up now. Passes in,
easily stopped. Poland takes over and moves quickly down
the pitch! |
|
Strong counterattack here, looks like
Iceland's out of position! |
|
Open pass forward! Has a breakaway!
Into the box, takes a shot! Blocked by the keeper but
drops in front of another Pole who slams it in! |
|
That's why Iceland sticks to defense.
He tried to attack and his back line fell apart as
Poland counters beautifully and doubles his lead.
Amazing what you can do when you get up early. |
20' - GOAL (POL) - Poland 2, Iceland 0
Iceland has no choice but to take the ball and try again.
|
Iceland now giving up. Pass forward,
great timing! Gets past the defense! No, Poland catches
up, squeezes him out of the box and takes it back.
Clears, no! Iceland sneaks in and jabs at it! Keeper can
only deflect it! Defender slides into stop it, but
can't! Goal Iceland! |
|
Wow! Some perseverance there from
Iceland. Squeezed out of a breakaway, but didn't give up
on it, got a piece of the clearance and hit it just hard
enough for it to slip in on the deflection. Weird goal,
but Iceland's not picky today. |
21' - GOAL (ISL) - Poland 2, Iceland 1
Now Poland's the one slowing it down and controlling possession, trying to
prevent Iceland from gaining any momentum. But Iceland plays tough and gets a
couple dangerous breaks, with close saves by the keeper or the defense.
One thing saving Poland is that Iceland can't sniff out offensive chances
very well. Poland's defense plays well, but does have brief windows of
opportunity. Iceland is at times either too slow or too hesitant to exploit
these, and is unable to do anything when he has the ball. Poland gets it back,
drives down and sets some things up.
|
Good shot by Poland! Knocked away!
Gets it back, charges in to take another shot. Can't
hold it! Iceland kicks it out for a corner kick. |
|
That early goal changed this game
completely. Iceland seemed to have good command of
things, but giving up that first goal threw his entire
strategy out the window and he's not improvising very
well. |
|
Corner kick away! To dead center,
leans in, gets a head... GOAL! Corner kick header to the
near post and Poland's back up by 2! |
|
Way too easy. You gotta cover that
guy better than Iceland did. Great job by Poland to get
the ball up and to finish it, but that's not the defense
I was hoping for. |
29' - GOAL (POL) - Poland 3, Iceland 1
A misplayed ball a few minutes later gives Poland a golden chance at a
fourth, but Iceland makes a good save. After that, he holds back and plays
sturdy defense for a few minutes.
It takes him a while to think offense again, but towards the end of the first
half, he tries putting something together. He gets a couple scares in, but
Poland defends well enough and goes into the locker room with a healthy lead.
|
A little more scoring than we
expected. It's safe to say Poland's doing his job and
Iceland isn't. |
|
Yep, Iceland can't win a firefight,
but he can draw even in a defensive struggle. Without
the defense clicking for him, it could be a long second
half for him. |
|
Question is does Iceland keep pushing
and risk giving up more goals, or does he hold back and
hope it comes down to goal differential? |
|
Hate to say it, because it's what got
Poland into trouble against Sweden, but Iceland has to
attack. Goal differential won't help unless he beats
Sweden in the finale. Besides, he's probably got it
anyway. |
|
Unless he gives up another four
goals. Let's see what happens. |
Iceland seems to follow Cuba's advice and comes out aggressive.
|
Iceland pushing hard right away! Gets
forward, into the box but an easy stop by Poland. He
shoots it forward quickly. Another quick pass and he's
through! Poland on his own with a breakaway! Takes a
shot- knocked away for a corner! |
|
Don't be surprised if he scores like
that next time. If he had help, that might have gone in. |
Realizing that won't work at all, Iceland tries a more balanced
attack method. He does a better job controlling the ball, but isn't
able to make a whole lot of penetration. Poland, meanwhile, gets a
couple more scary counter threats, but can't break one.
Clearly, Poland's happy with his lead and is willing to let Iceland slow
things down and play a more deliberate game. He'll strike when he sees an
opportunity, but it doesn't come up often. The game gets a little slow as the
sides trade long possessions that don't go anywhere.
As things wear on for a bit, Poland finally gets another big chance.
|
Poland sees something, moving up a
little bit. Good pass into the box, down the side, quick
shot! Great fingertip save by Iceland but it drops!
Another striker there to clean house... NO! Keeper falls
on it! No shot and Iceland is spared! |
|
Wow, Iceland pulling double defensive
duty on that play. Now let's see if he can use it. |
Not quite...
|
Poland gets it back, rushes into the
box. Takes his shot! Keeper blocks it. Poland streaks
in, slides in and scores! Only needed one bounce to put
it back in and make it 4-1! |
|
Feels like that'll do it right there.
Two goals was maybe do-able, but three's a bit much for
Iceland. |
65' - GOAL (POL) - Poland 4, Iceland 1
Poland starts to dominate with the ball for a while, very content with the
score and kicking it around. Iceland gradually gets back into it, but by then
Poland's defense is more than capable of meeting the challenge. As the game
dwindles down, Poland makes a few advancements simply because he feels like it,
and because he can. Iceland's barely able to keep Poland from scoring another
goal; his own efforts are turned back in kind and Poland cruises to his first
win.
Day
11- Dortmund |
Match 30 |
Group G |
|
POLAND |
4:1
FT |
ICELAND |
|
12'
20'
29'
65' |
Frankowski
Frankowski
Zurawski
Zurawski |
Referee THA |
Helgusson |
21' |
Taiwan finds a thrilled Poland.
|
Well, you needed a win here today and
you certainly came through. Nice job. |
|
Totally. It was a piece of cake for
me. |
|
What was the key to breaking through
his defense? |
|
Scoring. Get a goal up on him and
he's totally gotta change his strategy. |
|
He seemed to be able to keep up with
you sometimes, just not enough to get any offense going. |
|
Like, I'm not going to run circles
around him all day. Gotta save something for the next
game. |
|
Right... Liechtenstein. |
|
She's totally toast. |
|
I really can't argue with that. Good
game, Poland. |
|
Thanks Taiwan. So a huge win for
Poland and something of a disappointment for Iceland. |
|
Yeah, this one went according to the
book, but from their first games it felt like Iceland
had a chance going into this one. If Poland knew that,
he didn't act like it, and got three huge points. |
|
He should be in if he wins his final
match against Liechtenstein. |
|
Unless Iceland somehow beats Sweden,
which will really throw the group out of order. |
|
Next match up is in Group H as China
takes on Ukraine. Ukraine big favorites to win after
taking out America in the first game. China lost big to
Belarus and needs to turn things around. |
|
This could be a possible trap here.
Ukraine got her big win against America and has to be
thinking about Belarus in the group finale. With China
not all that dazzling in his first match, she might be
overlooking this a bit. |
|
Let's head to Hamburg to see if China
has better luck against the other sister. |
Day
11- Hamburg |
Match 31 |
Group H |
|
CHINA |
vs. |
UKRAINE |
|
Ukraine doesn't waste much time making her way downfield and setting herself
up for shots. China seem to be mostly on the defensive early on, but Ukraine is
still able to head a shot that clangs off the post.
China gets a quick offensive and one shot, but that's all in the first five
minutes as Ukraine goes back to work. Gradually, China starts to develop more of
a possession, and starts to get more shots off.
|
China now starting to ask some
questions. Passes around the box, looking for an
opening, passes in, stolen! Ukraine gets it back. |
|
Moving quickly, too. Nice
counter-attack! |
|
Very nice! Passes across the halfway
line for an open breakaway! All alone into the box!
Takes a shot! SCORES! Ukraine turns it around and slams
in a beaut! |
|
Troublesome start for China. Late
breakaways killed him against Belarus. Not good to see
Ukraine getting them so early. |
8' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 1, China 0
Cuba has no idea...
|
China passing around midfield,
starting to look forward, pass is intercepted! Ukraine
up, hard hitting again, to a striker, between the
defenders! Into the box, fires, scores! Already it's
2-0! |
|
Wow, she's picking apart China's
defense. He was a little slow to react and she seems to
have all the angles. Impressive start for Ukraine. |
10' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 2, China 0
China tries not to react too strongly after the early setback. He stays calm
and carefully keeps things on his side, making sure passes that don't go
anywhere. Ukraine clearly knows what she's doing out there, but China seems to
be building his confidence with the ball, which reduces hers. She falls back on
defense and is very nervous when he tries his attack. He's about to get through
for a cross, but the header doesn't trouble the goalkeeper.
In time, she gets it again, and China's lack of panic effectively makes her a
little scared. So she wants to increase her lead.
|
Ukraine in Chinese territory, looking
for something, but China's boxed up now. |
|
China looking much better on defense.
She's forced to the sideline. |
|
Under pressure, ball heading out...
blind, no-look cross towards the box. Just getting it
away from there. But she gets a head to it, keeper slow
to respond... GOAL! Somehow China let that go in! |
|
Probably trying to figure out how she
got that cross right to her striker with the rest of us.
Just a desperate lob to keep it in play, but it finds
someone at the eighteen-yard-box, and China is more
surprised than anyone that Ukraine got a head to it.
This is already looking bad for China. |
18' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 3, China 0
After another breakaway is barely saved by China, he is able to generate a
longer possession and set things up well for an open shot. But Ukraine's ready
for the worst and makes a good save on it.
After that, nobody gets a firm grip on the game as the ball is batted around
midfield, with a lot of turnovers and no real progress from either team. It
takes several minutes for anyone to sustain an attack again. Turns out it's
Ukraine.
|
Ball's kicked away and Ukraine has a
corner kick. |
|
Just what China needed... so far, not
a lot to like from him tonight. |
|
Kick's away towards the far post.
Ukraine strikes it! Blocked by a defender. China can't
get there to clear it! Ukraine strikes again- GOAL!
Scores on the second effort and she's running away with
it! |
|
Man, everything is going wrong for
China tonight. Bad corner kick coverage and he still
manages to block the shot. But then he can't clear it
and this game's looking to be over by halftime. |
29' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 4, China 0
China earns a corner kick a minute later, and gets a head to it himself, but
the shot misses wide. Goal kick.
Being the nervous type that she is, no lead is large enough for her to feel
secure, so she still moves forward and looks for shots. China is pretty helpless
at this point, as it takes everything he has to defend her. It takes a
coordinated effort and several minutes before he gets another chance.
|
China finally gets it back, shoots it
forward, and again... here's something! Ducks past the
defense, into the box. The shot... knocked away for a
corner kick! |
|
Need to see him do that more often.
Eventually we're going to need goals from him too. |
|
China with the corner kick. It's up
and headed away from Ukraine. Good clearance! |
|
Good counter! She's trying it again! |
|
Oi, she is! Long pass forward to a
wide open striker! He's onside, into the box! Takes a
shot! Deflected off the keeper, bounces... and IN! Not
even halftime and she has five! |
|
Another goal on a counter and the
rout is on. I don't know if the scoreboard can handle
another fifty minutes of this. |
37' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 5, China 0
China manages a couple threatening moments, but is unable to score before
halftime. It's an ugly sight, but thankfully the unhappy Chinese fans are being
drowned out by the elated contingency from the Ukraine.
Vietnam tries to get some words from China.
|
China! China! |
|
And I thought Belarus was supposed to
be the nasty one... |
|
Yeah, seriously. What the hell? |
|
That girl is very tough. She acts
like she's scared and worried about how bad she's
doing... |
|
I don't think that's an act. |
|
Either way, she's picking apart my
defense. I'm going to have to have some snacks, a little
tea and work hard to figure out a way to stop her. |
|
And on offense? |
|
Yes, I need to start doing that too. |
|
Better luck in the second half,
China. |
|
Thanks, Vietnam. You can see China's
frustration. He's ready to blow. |
|
I can? Looked pretty calm to me. I'd
rather see him pissed off about his performance, because
it wasn't one to be proud of. Unless she runs out of
gas, Ukraine is too nervous to take her foot off the
pedal, so it could be another long half for China. |
|
It's been such a mess for China that
you almost undervalue Belarus's win now. |
|
Hey, Ukraine's good. That's no
surprise. You'll see what Belarus can do
later. |
|
Before we get to that,
let's finish things up here. |
China plays progressively better to start the second half, but that only
extends as far as keeping Ukraine out of the goal. She's still taking most
of the shots; he's just not letting her score on them.
Ten minutes or so into the half, he starts to get the ball more and starts to
get a few more looks.
|
China passes into the box! Looks, no
shot. He passes back out to the sideline. Long cross
back in, China's open for a header! Strikes! Over the
bar! |
Although China's offense is improving now too, Ukraine's defense
is ready for the challenge.
Also, she doesn't stop attempting those breakaways. She still gets one free
every so often, but he handles them better now.
|
China heading down, passes to the
right. Angles into the box, takes a shot! Knocked away,
popped into the air... China heads it home! Finally,
China gets one! |
|
That was a gift-wrapped sympathy
present! China does a good job setting up the shot and
Ukraine can only block it, but that went straight up.
China heads it in on the fly and finally shows some life
out there. |
64' - GOAL (CHN) - Ukraine 5, China 1
Yeah, China shows some life. Ukraine gets a bit nervous and goes on a march.
|
Ukraine pushing hard, two strikers
through the defense. Both into the box, one takes a
shot... SCORES! Ukraine puts down any threat of a
comeback! |
|
Using the buddy system too, I like
it! Keeper was so worried about knocking the shot to the
second player that he didn't knock it at all. At this
point, you gotta wonder when it'll end. |
65' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 6, China 1
Ukraine continues to possess for a few minutes and China has to go back to a
defensive mindset for a while.
|
Ukraine heads to the side. Eyeing a
cross, and there it is! China's on this one, heads it,
but misdirected right to Ukraine. Bounces off her head,
and again to goal! SCORES! Great ball control for number
seven! |
|
She's making it look easy now. China
can't head it to the right spot, it bounces off
Ukraine's head to tee it up for a proper header and even
more misery for the Chinese fans out there. |
71' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 7, China 1
Now she seems content to play defense as China tries desperately to get a
couple more consolation goals. But that still leaves the chance at a counter.
|
China moves up, stolen! Quick pass
forward, feeds it to a striker and it's another break!
He gets into the box! Shot to the far post- IN! Goal
number eight! Not China's lucky number tonight! |
|
What impresses me is how many of
these breakaway goals are being done with one shot.
We've seen a lot of scoring off second chances in the
tournament, but Ukraine has done better than anyone
getting it past the keeper on the first shot. |
77' - GOAL (UKR) - Ukraine 8, China 1
China doesn't give up and gets a few opportunities, but even if they did go
in it wouldn't matter. They don't, and Ukraine polishes off a slaughter that
Russia would be proud of.
Day
11- Dortmund |
Match 31 |
Group H |
|
CHINA |
1:8
FT |
UKRAINE |
|
64' |
Li |
Referee
SEY |
Voronin
Voronin
Shevchenko
Shevchenko
Voronin
Voronin
Vorobey
Voronin |
8'
10'
18'
29'
37'
65'
71'
77' |
Vietnam finds Ukraine after the show. She's quite happy for once.
|
I must say, that was amazing. You got
control early and never looked back. |
|
Oh, it wasn't that hard. I just kept
working and the shots kept landing. I hope I didn't
overdo it though. |
|
A little late to be asking that after
putting up eight. |
|
Oh, don't say that. I still want to
be friends! |
|
You can hash that out with him later.
This does mean you're in good shape to move on now. |
|
That's good. I feel like I should go
easy on Belarus in my next match. |
|
Probably a smart move as a sister,
but don't forget that you have a tournament to deal
with. That match could mean the difference between
playing Sweden and playing Poland. |
|
Good point. I don't want to play
Poland. |
|
You mean you don't want to play
Sweden. He's looking good... |
|
No, Poland and I are hosting the next
Euro tournament together! If we had to play each other
in the next round, that would be really awkward! |
|
Oh, uh, that's true, I guess. Either
way, good win and I hope you figure out what you want to
do against your sis. All yours, guys. |
|
Thanks. Know what, Cuba? I'm starting
to get the sinking feeling that China's not very good at
soccer. |
|
He's not, but he's not supposed to be
this bad either. This has been a very disappointing
tournament for China, especially when you see
Liechtenstein and Hong Kong at least keeping their
matches watchable. |
|
Going in, you'd think he'd have an outside shot
at reaching the group stage by taking on Ukraine. This
is even more embarrassing than his first match. |
|
By far. Look, I know Ukraine's better
than Belarus, but China wasn't even close to being in
this match. At least he was even with Belarus at
halftime. Here's hoping he finds something to be proud
of in his finale against America. |
|
Speaking of which, that brings us to
our last match of the evening as America looks to
rebound from his 3-2 loss to Ukraine by taking on her
sister. |
|
And like you said at halftime, it's
hard to figure out how good Belarus is. Yes, she beat
China, but China looks pretty awful. |
|
Or Ukraine looks pretty good, which
makes America's loss pretty forgivable. |
|
You know how I feel about America and
even I admit that he and Ukraine are the class of Group
H. Clearly, Belarus is the only thing that could shake
things up. She's got her chance now. |
|
Oi, and plenty of incentive as
America and Belarus do not get along well. Belarus has
accused America of messing with the way she runs her
house... |
|
*sarcastic*
America? No! I'm shocked! |
|
Indeed. In fact, it says here America
once put her on a list of nations considered an Outpost
of Tyranny. Not a label you want to- |
|
Uh, Aussie? Might want to read a bit
farther down that list. |
|
He does. Australia flares his
eyebrows and looks at Cuba. |
|
Oh, hello. Sorry there, mate. |
|
Whatever. Point is, Belarus better
win this. Let's head to Stuttgart. |
Day
11- Stuttgart |
Match 32 |
Group H |
|
AMERICA |
vs. |
BELARUS |
|
Belarus glares daggers at America. America grins confidently as Sealand puts
the ball in the center circle and whistles to begin play.
America gets going very early, driving down without wasting any time and
getting a couple good shots and a corner kick in for his efforts.
|
America looking for an early goal
here in the opening minutes. |
|
Not letting Belarus do anything but
play defense at this point. |
|
Open look, sets up a cross. It's up,
header! No, off the post! But he's back on it, slides
in! Great save by the keeper. She hangs onto it. |
After this initial push, Belarus is able to get down a little bit. For the
next few minutes, she's able to push it into American territory. He stops her
shots without a lot of trouble, but it's a little stressful and he slows things
down once he gets it back.
For the most part. Amid her attacks, he's able to generate some very scary
counters as well.
|
America passes it in... out... back
in, quick fire! Knocked down! Great save but he... no,
she gets there first and gets it clear! Great defense by
Belarus! |
|
Just a rock in goal tonight.
America's been really forcing the issue early on, but in
doing so, it's not letting Belarus charge up recklessly.
So her defense is really holding up nicely so far. |
|
Almost inclined to sit back and let
Belarus stretch herself, but that's not so inviting
either. |
Things slow down a bit as Belarus continues to frustrate America and prevent
him from getting a lot of shots off. Belarus doesn't get the ball much, but does
get one scary breakaway a few minutes later. She seems to get some momentum off
of this. America challenges her attacks very well, however, and neither side is
able to do a whole lot. No matter how hard they try, the defenses really perform
in this game.
|
America at midfield, stolen! Passed
up, Belarus runs past the defense! Takes a shot! Easy
save for America. Not a lot of power on that one. |
|
Kinda disappointing. Belarus is
getting open with these, but hasn't been able to get any
of them home. |
While these breakaways make America sweat, her formation attacks
really go nowhere and America is eventually able to get some control
again.
|
Crossing midfield, America looking
for options. Setting something up, but dribbling in. |
|
Belarus charging from behind, slides
in, oh! That got the back of his leg. That looked
painful... |
|
Whistle blows as America's still on
the ground. |
|
Trapped his ankle on the ground, that
had to hurt. Good thing it was America or I'd really be
upset by this. |
Sealand has the lucky task of disciplining her.
|
That was a dangerous tackle, miss.
You're off! |
|
You think you can remove me with a
card and a whistle? You can't stop me or my love... |
|
Uh, I think I can! I'm the referee! |
|
My Russia will have something to say
about that. Just you wait! |
|
Heh, Russia vs. Sealand. I kinda want
to see that. |
|
Despite her protests, it is a red
card and not a difficult call. |
|
Yeah, much as I want to see America
injured, that was a no-brainer. |
America's player has to limp off the field. He is replaced with a
substitute. And he's fired up.
Things really get intense as both sides fight harder. Belarus tries to
overcome losing a player with a strong attack. America stops it easily, however,
but can't get down the field to shoot either. Both sides really give it their
all, but the half ends scoreless.
|
Belarus! Despite the red card, it
must be encouraging to be level at halftime. |
|
I will not be encouraged until he
bows to me or his entire team is crippled. |
|
Uh, that could result in a few more
cards. |
|
He does not respect me or the love
between me and Brother. I will not let a few cards stop
me from getting vengeance! |
|
Okay... uh... let's talk about your
defense. It's been playing very well. |
|
I must stop him at all costs. |
|
Well, so far, so good... and I'm
going to get far away now. |
|
Nice work, Taiwan. And you make a
good point. At the end of the day, Belarus is keeping up
nicely. |
|
She is, and if she can keep this up,
a draw would be a huge blow to America's chances. It's
similar to Iceland's game against Poland. Belarus would
have a great chance to advance with a draw, while
America would have a huge hill to climb. |
|
Funny how Iceland shoots for the
scoreless draw and gets clobbered while Belarus wants to
pop America but ends up deadlocked. |
|
Best defense is a good offense, I
guess. |
Back to business and Belarus starts out with it. Despite not
going anywhere, America gets a little hot and is booked for an
aggressive tackle, but it sets the tone for the second half.
|
Belarus trying to cross midfield, no
dice as America gets it back. Quick pass forward and
he's got a break! Heading towards goal, the shot! Keeper
knocks it away, but America picks it back up and fires!
No, saved again! |
|
Really bad save followed by a really
good save. Belarus still not giving one up! |
Belarus turns this into a little more aggression, getting through
regularly and making good shots. America is able to get his as well,
but it's back and forth for a long time as both sides seem capable
of putting it in.
|
America passes into the box, through
some heavy defense! Gets off a shot! It's knocked away,
but right to a second striker! Has a shot... off the
crossbar! |
Slowly, America is able to temper Belarus and her aggressive
attacking. But as her attack dies, her defense improves and he can't
get through for shots.
|
Long battle at midfield, nobody seems
to have an advantage. |
|
The side of the pitch keeps changing,
but it's always a close battle between these two.
Neither of them letting up. |
|
Ball passed over center, Belarus has
it now. Quick pass up, got it and dribbling forward,
past the defenders! She finds an opening, running it
towards goal! No, the keeper pounces on it and keeps it
safe. A blown chance there for Belarus. |
|
Got a little too close on that one,
should have fired much sooner. She's nice and
aggressive, but I think the lack of goals is affecting
her confidence shooting. |
America gets it back and tries again.
|
Down the side, looking for a cross,
pressured every step of the way. Finally turns and sends
it off... headed to goal, knocked away! Right to another
and he pops it in! Finally the deadlock is broken and
America surges ahead! |
|
Tight defense all the way, but
America was persistent and got one through. This is the
latest in a match for an opening goal, but the important
thing is it's America 1, Belarus 0. |
63' - GOAL (USA) - America 1, Belarus 0
Filled with confidence, America starts to show a little more dominance now as
he searches for a second goal. Belarus is quietly furious, but it takes her a
while to channel that into something productive on the pitch and even things up.
By then, America's interested in slowing things down. But Belarus continues
her intensity and America is forced to keep up.
|
America down again and here's a
cross. Header is saved, but dropped! America slides in-
SCORES! Quick reaction to a mistake and he doubles his
lead! |
|
Mistake is right. She wasn't sure
about holding on to that and thought letting it bounce
would be all right, but man he just snuck in there and
got it home before she could get it back. Big mistake
and a big play there. |
72' - GOAL (USA) - America 2, Belarus 0
Now America's on defense. Belarus really guns for it, but America's ready for
it and repels her as much as he can, keeping her out of the box. When clears it,
he sends it deep and pressures her every step back.
Unfortunately, her constant possession makes it hard for him to kill the
clock effectively. She steals it frequently and keeps pushing up.
|
Belarus making some quick passes
around the box. |
|
I like this. Urgent, but not crazy.
She knows what will or won't work. |
|
Up top, quick one into the box. May
have an opening here! Fires- SCORES! Belarus gets one
back! |
|
There we go! America's hunkered down,
so she drew him out a little bit with all that passing
and finally found a way to get in. Great touch and it's still a ballgame. |
83' - GOAL (BLR) - America 2, Belarus 1
Belarus muscles America aside to grab the ball and rush it back to center.
She wants it in play now. America takes as much time as Sealand will allow, but
she takes over once he gets it back in possession. Belarus gets a hard shot, but
that's about all as America is able to slow things down much more effectively.
A last-minute threat is not handled particularly well by America, but he
knocks it out for a corner kick.
|
This could be the last chance for
Belarus to draw even. |
|
Haven't seen too much trouble from
corner kicks, but everyone in the box knows the pressure
is on. |
|
Kick's away, America guarding well
and the ball goes through the box, all the way to the
other side! Belarus gets it back, crosses in but poorly.
America clears it away! He's got it at midfield and that
should be all! |
It is. America raises a fist in celebration and Belarus is left
to sulk away. Maybe he'll stick with this game after all.
Day
11- Stuttgart |
Match 32 |
Group H |
|
AMERICA |
2:1
FT |
BELARUS |
|
63'
72' |
McBride
McBride |
Referee
SLD |
Hleb |
84' |
Taiwan catches up with a jubilant America.
|
Congrats on the big win, America.
Feel like things are back together? |
|
You bet! I'm not going to let some
commie chick take me down! It was a tough match, but I
came out on top and I'm already looking forward to
bringing down China! |
|
So am I. But you have to admit that
Belarus gave you quite a battle. Were you surprised at a
scoreless first half? |
|
It's soccer. Nobody ever scores,
right? |
|
Actually, the number of goals in this
tournament has been pretty ridiculous. But this one was
surprisingly defensive most of the way through. |
|
I know! It was frustrating sometimes,
but I got through eventually and that's all that
matters! |
|
Well, a win over China and you should
be in good shape. Kick his butt for me, okay? |
|
Will do! |
|
Thanks, Taiwan, but I'd like to see a
little more objectivity there. |
|
Says the bloke who's openly rooting
against America. |
|
She's down there. I'm up here.
Anyway, she's right that America's in much better shape
to advance now. I'm trying to picture a way America
loses to China, but I'm not coming up with anything. |
|
Can't dismiss the possibility, but
you're right. America has been solid in both games,
despite the opening loss, and he and Ukraine are clearly
the best teams in Group H. Let's check the tables: |
|
Group A |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Russia |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
|
Germany |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
|
Greece |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
-2 |
3 |
|
Hungary |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
-1 |
1 |
|
|
Group B |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Holland |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
|
Japan |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Canada |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
-1 |
3 |
|
Belgium |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
-5 |
1 |
|
|
Group C |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
England |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
Austria |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
|
Norway |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
-1 |
3 |
|
Korea |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
-3 |
0 |
|
|
Group D |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Spain |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
Turkey |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
|
Latvia |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
-2 |
1 |
|
Lithuania |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
-3 |
0 |
|
|
Group E |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
France |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
|
Denmark |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
|
Finland |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
-4 |
1 |
|
Hong Kong |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
12 |
-6 |
0 |
|
|
Group F |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Egypt |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
|
Switzerland |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
|
Italy |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
|
Estonia |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
-5 |
0 |
|
|
Group G |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Sweden |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
|
Iceland |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
-2 |
3 |
|
Poland |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
-3 |
3 |
|
Liechtenstein |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
-3 |
0 |
|
|
Group H |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
|
Ukraine |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
|
Belarus |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
America |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
|
China |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
-11 |
0 |
|
And with that, let's finish it off.
|
Minus-11 goal differential. That's
awful. |
|
It's as if a billion voices cried out
and were suddenly silenced. |
|
Hey, a little suppression of the
masses goes a long way... or, wait, was that a Star Wars
joke? |
|
Think I'm starting to see how you
made that tyranny list there, Cuba. |
|
Right, uh... anyway... tomorrow we'll
start to wrap up the group stage as everybody from
Groups A and B will be in action. All eight of them
still alive in their hunt for the next round. The
afternoon will feature Group A matches Russia vs.
Germany and Hungary vs. Greece. |
|
And we'll see a pair of Group B tilts
at night- Japan-Holland and Canada-Belgium. As each
group plays both matches at the same time, we'll only be
able to air one of each, but Vietnam and Taiwan will be
giving us regular game breaks to keep you up on all the
action. |
|
That'll do it for Day 11. Hasta
maņana! |
To Be Continued!
That Outpost of Tyranny thing sound like something coming out of the Bush
Administration? Step up to claim your prize. Condoleeza Rice started this one,
listing governments she still considered totalitarian regimes. To keep things in
perspective, along with Belarus and Cuba she named North Korea, Iran, Myanmar
and Zimbabwe. The rest of the world didn't care for the comments, with the best
response coming from South Korea and paraphrased as, "Shh! Dude, not out loud!"
Cuba didn't seem to react, not because he agreed but because he was used to this
sort of thing by now.
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|