Archive: Czech Republic
Overnight Group E Prediction Thread
Ok, who do you like and by what score Thursday? I have been saying the U.S.-Italy parlay has a 60-40 chance of coming in. Winners in each game will score twice. U.S. 2, Ghana 1 Italy 2, Czechs 0...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 21, 2006; 08:41 PM ET | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)
Injuries and Fantasy
Ok, business first: If you haven't seen it yet, soccer fan Frank T. at Post.com has designed a cool fantasy game for the World Cup. Enter and enjoy. Camille, Jason and I are all planning to play; see how much better you can do than me. I assume you have seen the big news of the day: Germany F Michael Ballack will miss the opener....
By Jon DeNunzio | June 8, 2006; 03:30 PM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
I like stats (good stats, not junk like this), and FIFAWorldCup.com has a good stat-driven piece up today. They crunched the numbers on the average age of World Cup players thru history, and discovered that no winning side in the last 40 years has had an average age of 28 or more. In Chile 1962 [Brazil] weighed in at an average of 30 years and 1 month, a staggering 17 months older on average than the next oldest squad. Since then the average age of the winning squads has been: England (27/01); Brazil (25/02); Germany (27/03); Argentina (26/03); Italy (27/04); Argentina (26/10); Germany (27/09); Brazil (27/11); France (27/04) and Brazil (26/09). ... The average age of every player taking part in the Germany showpiece is 27/05. Remarkably that figure has scarcely changed over recent competitions. Four years ago it was 27/06 as it was in 1998. In 1994 it had...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 6, 2006; 09:20 AM ET | Comments (22) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
There are four days till the first game, and it's time to kick it into a higher gear ... we'll start the day with the kick-about: - Friendlies that made news: Brazil 4, New Zealand 0: Saw some highlights on Sky (thanks to Fox Soccer Channel); Adriano's goal was quite nice. Kaka scored late on a long run that made you wonder how hard New Zealand was trying at that point. Australia 1, Netherlands 1: Again, saw some highlights. Good for Australia: GK Mark Schwarzer made some gigantic saves, and hey, it's a very respectable result. Bad for Holland: three Dutch players were hurt in the game; MF Wesley Sneijder seems to be worst off. "It's like an episode of M.A.S.H.," said Holland Coach Marco van Basten said. "It was some sight in the dressing room. But I don't regret the match because it is good to play physical football."...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 5, 2006; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
The Stretch Run
Ok, after a nice holiday weekend off, it's time to get geared up for the Cup. If you're curious what's going on inside The Post's Soccer Central (aka "at my desk"), today most of the stories for the World Cup preview section are due. I'll be editing those over the next couple days, as well as planning some other stories you'll see in the paper over the next 10 days. Steve Goff leaves for Germany on Thursday, and Camille Powell and Jason LaCanfora leave Sunday. It's really hitting all of us that the big event is upon us ... Enough about us. Here are a couple newsy items I've spotted recently: - Injuries: Spain's Xabi Alonso, Italy's Gianluca Zambrotta, England's Michael Owen (!!), Holland's Rafael Van der Vaart, - Good news on the injury front for the Czechs (bad for the U.S., I suppose). Also good news for Tunisia's Hamed...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 30, 2006; 12:55 PM ET | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
Midnight Kick-About
Hey there ... I was away from my computer most of Thursday, so I have not had a chance to post. Here's one for you guys who might drop by late at night ... - Bad U.S. news: Cory Gibbs is out of the World Cup. It's not like Gibbs and Frankie Hedjuk are quote-unquote players you can't afford to lose, but two injuries at defense already? Yeesh. Gregg "Two Gs" Berhalter replaces Gibbs ... - We'll get Wayne Rooney MRI news Friday. BTW, how wild is the news that Man United fired the doc who was overseeing Rooney's recovery? He seemed to be giving the national team physio positive reports, and many figure Sir Alex Ferguson did not like that. In the spirit of fairness: United insist the departure of Dr Mike Stone, the physician who was in charge of Rooney's recovery, is not connected with the England star....
By Jon DeNunzio | May 25, 2006; 11:55 PM ET | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Who Do You Like in Group E?
Today's the big prediction day -- the Americans' group. Although I'm sure most of you don't need a primer, here are the basics: - Steve Goff's group analysis (written the day of the draw) - The Post's team profiles (also written in December). BBC.com on - The Czechs - Ghana - Italy - The U.S. Ok, so what happens here? What I want to see happen is Italy and the U.S. finish 1-2, accomplished by: - The U.S. surprising the Czechs with a tie, while Italy crusies past Ghana. - The U.S. keeps it close with Italy but loses; Czechs beat Ghana. - The U.S. blows out already-eliminated Ghana and Italy beats the Czechs ... allowing the U.S. to get through on goal differential. That would be sweet. I'm not saying it's likely, but a guy can dream, right? More probable: Italy and the Czechs tie at 7 points, the...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 12, 2006; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (79) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
Some items of interest: - Angola's Gilberto is out -- snapped Achilles' tendon (that has to hurt). "Gilberto was a regular for his country in last year's qualifying campaign and also helped his club to win the 2005 African Champions League." - Iran's coach admits his team is, at this point, not well prepared for Germany. But it's not because of the geopolitical tension, he swears. - Some doubts persist about Tim Cahill's recovery. Cahill plays for Everton and, he hopes, Australia this summer. - Brazil F Oliveira is holding out hope he can still land a spot on the team. Best part (emphasis mine): Yet even if he were fully fit, the task would be far from easy, facing as he does fierce competition from players such as Fred of French champions Lyon and Nilmar of Corinthians. - Poland loses a friendly to Lithuania. Despite the fact that a...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 4, 2006; 09:55 AM ET | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Two Group E Stars Getting Better
Here's the condensed version: the Czech Republic's Jan Koller and Italy's Francesco Totti are recovering, and both look pretty good to make it back for the World Cup. I suppose this may bum out some American fans ... I'll be happy to see two more stars in the big events. And hey, I think you know where I stand on the Italians ......
By Jon DeNunzio | April 28, 2006; 09:47 AM ET | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
The Definitive Injury Post
Well, maybe that's too strong. But FIFAWorldCup.com does a nice job in this piece of getting us up to date on the major injury worries as June 9* (not to mention May 15**) approaches. Will they or won't they? XI on the fitness trail Oleksander Shovkovsky, Ukraine goalkeeper Gabriel Heinze, Argentina defender Sol Campbell, England defender Ledley King, England defender Ashley Cole, England defender Xavi, Spain midfielder Pablo Aimar, Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi, Argentina midfielder Francesco Totti, Italy forward Jan Koller, Czech Republic forward Michael Owen, England forward Did they miss anyone? Am I right in thinking the U.S. is fortunate not to have a major injury concern right now? * - Matchday 1 of the 2006 World Cup, as if you didn't know. ** -- FIFA's deadline for final roster submission....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 19, 2006; 11:04 AM ET | Comments (21) | TrackBack (0)
