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*Originally posted by Sadi Sobi: *
It was a bad decision.
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I would say It was a BOLD decision rather than a bad decision. Usually a goal is allowed but Ref had his reasons. Yes, It could have gone either way but stuff liek this happens in football
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*Originally posted by saby: *
^ I wont agree Xtreme. England were second best BUT Owen was continously threatning in first half. They should have feed him more passes in second half.
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They can only do that if they have the ball. Which wasn't much of the time.
This is one of the qualities of living in a multicultural city like Toronto. All the Portuguese are out in full force going buck wild downtown, honking their horns and driving around waving their flag … just like the Italians did before they were kicked out … and like all the other European people who are supporting their countries. It’s nice to see.
I’m still sad England lost. sigh Time to pack up my England jersey. 
That was a damn good game. I'm glad Portugal beat those English snots. And how Rooney got pushed from the game, that was awesome! friggin hilarious! But man, England was fouling left and right and couldn't even keep the ball for any of it. Those portuguese are just fun to watch, they've got some skills.. if only they can aim lower with their shots on goal! That was pretty annoying.
Hey, did anyone here watch from Germany on ZDF? Wasn't that announcer a jackass? They cut to a portuguese lady crying in joy after the first goal.. "Hey, es ist doch nur ein spiel!" This coming from a kraut! A pass goes Beckham's way but he trips over his left foot and misses the connection or something like that.. "Beckham!!" (despite the screwup all enthusiastically, like a little girl) Ugh.. I'm glad the krauts got booted already.
Man, I've gotta get to bed...
This proves that England are a team built around one man and his headlines. Or should I say a boy.
problem with England is -perhaps surprisingly- their midfield. They have four good players there, but they lack ball control and dribbling skills. Scholes is the one coming closest to it, but he is kept out of the game by the other 3.
england need a leader on the pitch.....unfortunately for them it's Beckham. He does have charisme etc, but his problem is he plays at the wing. A good leader should play at the centre of the pitch (e.g. Keane, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Nedved etc.) Because then he can decide whether the ball will go left or right. YOu will often find Nedved and Zidane both on the left and right side of the pitch. With Becks you always know he will be at the right side. This way Scholes is virtually put out of the game (as witnessed in the 4 games he played).
Secondly, Beckham's only quality is his long passing.
Sum this all up and england's attack becomes very predictable: The defenders try to find Beckham, and he will try to find the strikers with his long passing. Now, Owen is too short to reach those long passes often enough. Rooney was the only one so far who could handle those, but when he was substituted England crashed.....
English football lacks imagination and touch. What was most disappointing was that Portugal were given so much of the ball that even though they are not really a team with renowned goalscorers it was inevitable they would score.
Beckham is over-hyped and was always going to fall flat on his face. Zidane and Figo can make the ball talk. Beckham has a good right foot but little skill with the ball at his feet. With Rooney gone England looked ordinairy.
anyway, it’s over and done for them Brits.
Time now for Les Bleus to beat some Greeks 
^ Actually Gerrard and Lampard did a very good job in all matches. They often found Rooney and owen with their passes. Secondly, yes relying on long passes is one of their key weapons but in this tournament they have have shown that they can play attacking football (if allowed by their coach). Biggest hurdle in their progress is their negativity. They sit back too soon in a match. When they attacked against portugal late in the match, they got a disallowed goal and an equalizer through Lampard. They should have commited more men forward in second half.
Lampard is a fantastic player. He scores too many goals for a midfielder. Stupid Erikkson keeps on playing him as a defensive midfielder which he does not relish. I think he has most goals for a midfielder in this tournament??
^^Lampard and Gerrard have been quite good, but only against the minnows Swiss and Croatia. Secondly the two situations you mention (equalizer and disallowed goal) came from dead ball situations. During play the English midfield relies too much on Beckham. Whereas I think Gerrard and especially Lampard should get a more active role.
One should not forget Sol Cambell as well. In most matches his defense was all that stood between the opposition and the poor quality goal keeper. He was one of the stars for England in this tournament.
Oh well let's see if the greek can upset the French. What an upset that will be.
Individually Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham might have their strengths but as a unit they are too mechanical. The Portuguese midfield was much more fluid and kept the ball better when put under pressure. I don't think England defended deep on purpose, I just think they couldn't get enough of the ball to get men forward.
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*Originally posted by NeSCio: *
^^Lampard and Gerrard have been quite good, but only against the minnows Swiss and Croatia. Secondly the two situations you mention (equalizer and disallowed goal) came from dead ball situations. During play the English midfield relies too much on Beckham. Whereas I think Gerrard and especially Lampard should get a more active role.
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I think Gerrard had a magnificant game against France and Croatia (apart from that horrible backpass) and Lampard was only off-color against Swiss. But i will aree that they shold be given more active role.
Ehsan bhai, Yes Sol campbell was awesome yesterday and so was Ashely cole. Infact his performance agaisnt Ronaldo was the highlight of the match.
I forgot to mention Gery navelle (sp?) He had a pretty good tournament too.
yeah - if it wasn’t a block it certainly looked like push - whether intentionally or not. gotta pay the price 
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"All wins are delicious, but this one - especially after everything that happened - was spectacular," Luis Felipe Scolari
:D
Half time score:
France 0-0 Greece
France is not playing like champions at all. On the other hand Greece had two or three decent attempts at goal. An upset on card? Highly unlikely IMO but lets see. France have to shift gears and play better.
Man o man
can greece play
first time seeing them and gota say i'm impressed. really committed bunch, superb on defense. i mean forget about players even i was unable to find a defensive hole on tv where french can penetrate.
france is totally out of rythm but i'm quite sure they'll make necessary adjustments.
i say 2-0 for frenchmen
This is a fun game to watch - Greece is the best defensive team out there while France is possibly the best offensive team in the tourney..
A team which has had two lucky wins can hardly be described as the best offensive team in the tourney. The best lucky team, yes.
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*Originally posted by ehsan: *
A team which has had two lucky wins can hardly be described as the best offensive team in the tourney. The best lucky team, yes.
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