Spain v. France
END: Zindine ends like a champion. No wonder his own peers say he is the best player of the century. What a way to finish. France is playing better each game. I am sorry for Spain though. Really. But, they are young. They will be strong two years from now.91:00 - ZIZOU! ZIZOU! ZIZOU! ZIZOU! ZIZOU!
90:30 - Did Zizou get the yellow card or not? I missed it.
90:00 - Okay, Barthez is getting way too much action. I have to admit that he is still good in the air. But, slow. Scarey.
87:00 - Wow! Intense! Spain is making a statement. I like Wiltord. I watched him when he played for Bordeaux. Good defending by Zizou.
85:00 - Nice header from ?. Wow! Spain needs to kick it up a notch. They need to use their speed. If I'm Spanish, I am screaming at them to start running like crazy.
84:00 - The rational side of me admits that the yellow was harsh.
83:55 - GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL! GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!
82:00 - A VERY, VERY WELL DESERVED YELLOW CARD! FINALLY! THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR!
80:00 - Okay, my depressing prediction is going to be wrong, I hope. The pace of this game is great. I'm loving it. Some people want the referee to keep breaking up the game.... ;-), but champions come to play!!! (Okay, I'm getting to cocky in spite of my dire prediction about the last ten minutes.) A shoot out will kill us. Old men can't run after 90 minutes. Help!
77:53 - I thnk the good/bad calls are evenly distributed. Perhaps the Spanish side needs to - WHOAH!!!! Spain shoots on goal! Yikes! Barthez is seriously tested any time the ball crosses the half line.
76:51 - Spain gets a corner. Barthez makes a save.
72:13 - Interesting sub action going on. Not sure I quite understand what the Spanish side is doing.
68:00 - Here we go. Barthez is getting tested. That header was close. I begin to mourn. Already.
66:40 - Actually, I'm glad to see that he is not carding like nuts.61:45 - France needs to keep winning corners. This is good. Henry is playing too selfishly, I think. Prediction: Spain scores on lightening speed corner attack in last ten minutes. Go on to win.
59:43 - Whoa! That as a close call. Spain is picking up tempo. This is not good news for Les Bleus. Barthez only needs to be tested a few times before he'll crack.
58:33 - I agree with Chris about Zizou getting tired. But, Zizou is like Michael Jordan was. A tired Michael Jordan could rest and then shine for a minute or two. That would make a big, dangerous difference.
56:00 - Of course in this picture, he was awesome. But that was in 1998.
53:31 - Does France not have a better keeper? They should hire me to scout one out. Barthez used to be good, but Manchest let him go for a reason.
51:00 - What a save by the Spanish keeper!
50:25 - The first few minutes of each half are always nerve-wracking as each side attempts to get rid of jiters and set the pace to their own liking.The pitch looks very slippery.
Halftime - My sister shouldn't call so soon! This game is good so far. I think that if Spain doesn't adjust their strategy, France still has hope. Frankly, I'm amazed that anybody would face Zinedine and Henry and play such a high defense.... Even if they're old... But, I'm inclined to think that Aragones will make some significant changes. That's what I would do if I were the Spanish coach. I'm not sure what to do if I were the French coach except to take Barthez out and replace him with the water boy.
44:00 - France got a break with the no-call defending the Spanish counter-attack. I think. But, those kinds of no-calls happen all the time on counter-attacks because the ref is running full speed to catch up to the action.
41:00 - GOAL! I just had said that. nd they beat the trap for a goal.
Chris, the off-side traps killed Ghana against Brazil. But I think it will work better for Spain against France. France is slow. However, you're right. Henry can spark from time to time. And it only takes one time.
37:30- Zidane got superstar treatment with the no call.
34:50- What is everybody saying about the racist remark from Spain's coach? I totally missed that. And, I hope it fires Henry up. Henry is looking for it. Offsides though.
We are twenty minutes in. No real developments yet to encourage either side.
22:46 - Wow! Close one for France! We almost put it in! Zidane is proving why he was three time FIFA player of the year. Actually, though I said the above, I didn't mean to sound disparaging. I think both teams are playing well. And, can you belive this, no cards so far!
25:15 - I can't either, Chris. The pace seems to be going in France's favor at the moment. BTW, keep refreshing your screen. I'm updating regularly. But, it really does rot that they missed that cross.
26:55 - PENALTY. Grrrrrr. I said if Spain scores first, Spain wins...
Good call. The ref did not hesitate like so many have done this tournement. Thuram is good. But he can be too physical.
DID YOU SEE ZIDANE CATCH THAT BALL?
posted by Bob Bixby at 12:12 PM
23 Comments:
What in the world!! I can't believe everyone missed that ball across the box!
PENALTY!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to update at the top of my post, so whoever is following doesn't ahve to re-read everything.
These off-side traps really make me nervous. Only one miss and Henry scores. So far the defense is well organized, but . . .
The racist comment was several months ago when he told Cesc that he was a better player than that _____ Henry. I believe that was about 4 months ago.
Your sister was very eager to call me and rub in the goal. Of course I had called her 15 min. earlier! The high defense got caught.
Spain has to play faster. They're playing at France's pace. France can't keep up if we go fast!
Wow what a ball by Zidane and save by Casillas. Zidane is having a few golden minutes. He'll tire in about 10 minutes.
I can't believe how inconsistent the ref is being. He needs to figure out what is a foul and what isn't.
That jacket Aragones is wearing is U G L Y UGLY!!!
IT'S NOT REFRESHING IT"S A YELLOW CARD!!!! A slide tackle from the back is a card. And now Viera gets the card. That was less than the prior foul.
Senna for Xavi! Matthew called me within 10 seconds because he doesn't agree either. Should have taken Cesc Fabregas out.
you two crack me up... :)
Yeah, I'm not complaining about the ref being one-sided, just inconsistent. It hurts the flow of the game when the players don't know what's a foul and what will be let go. Liz, join in the fun! BTW, Henry just sold the ref a big line. That wasn't even close to him.
How is that a well deserved card? The player ran into the back of Puyol, who didn't throw an elbow. Bad, bad call by the ref. That's a terrible, terrible call.
I'm not watching the game, but hopefully my VCR is taping it! I leave work in 15 minutes.
Wow, what a goal from Zidane!!! I'm sad, but happy fro Zizou. That was a beautiful cut. A Madrid player showing a Barcelona player how the game is played. Congrats to France, they definitely imposed their game plan on Spain. Therefore, they desrve to win. I'm now rooting for France all the way to the final. Celebrate, my french cousins, you deserve it.
I guess Matthew's kind of happy that he won't be losing and support this week! LOL This is my last post, I promise. (I'll keep my fingers crossed just in case.)
Bob - can you suggest some verses for A. encouraging a depressed spouse? and B. the providence of God in all things (yes, including Spanish soccer.)
thanks for the help...lydia :-)
we sure are glad that mattbix is preaching at our church on july 9. That way we'll be able to stay home and watch france take the world cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doesn't anybody work for a living nowadays? Man, I have to have my daughter buzzing me when France scores and getting the results on text messages.
I'd like to see you guys try to train a bunch of "what-is-soccer" Americans while you know your team is playing their guts out.
Actually, since I'm in Los Angeles right now, the timing was such that I was able to watch about 30 minutes of the first half (saw the first French goal) while we were on our lunch break.
It's been all work since then. No browsing the internet or nothin'.
Think I'm feeling called to the ministry.
C...o...ngr...at...ula...tions.... France played its game. Spain did not. :-( I'm bleeding to bad to post anymore right now.... :-) Zizou...impressive...good finish
Congrats to the French! Haven't seen the game yet, but it's safely on a video cassette. I have something to get me through the next two days before Argentina's big day on Friday!
Glad to hear nobody is losing their support...I hope it doesn't start a war in Europe, or anything like that!
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