Australia v Italy

and I'm rooting for Australia. Mostly because they've never been this far in this tournament, but mostly because Italy are a bunch of cheating, whinging cowards with no regard for the beauty of the game. but, my gods who developed this inane 4-5-1 system and why is everyone using it? Australia will be lining up in this formation with Viduka the only man up top. Senseless. Viduka is a helluva striker, but the man needs a partner to play off. He no longer has the speed or stamina to go one-on-one with these back 4 boys. Give him Kewell or even Emerton to work with and the game balance will flow much nicer. Francesco Totti is out for Italy which will work in Australia's favour. Now, if we can get the officials to be up to the task as well as the players, we should be in for one cracker of a game. The Australians are very hard-working, strong & enterprising, while the Italians are very technically gifted, even if they are sore-losers. And the game is on. I'll report back mid-way through. And, again, thanks to Eurosport for allowing me the option of reading these games while they're happening. Cheers to that. **UPDATE** The teams leave the field for the dressing room very nearly even on all accounts. 50-50 possession. 1 yellow card apiece. Similary corner & offsides counts. It's beena very even contest proven in fact by the 0-0 scoreline. Of course, we all know it can't stay at that score, there has to be a winner in this game. Come on the 'Roos! And the second half has started. Tim Cahill for Australia almost immediately gets a yellow card for leading with his arm. He knows better than that. But, as if in effort to outdo the Aussies, the Italians go for a straight red card...and get it. On the 50th minute Materazzi hacks down a breaking Bresciano to gain a red card for his team. Let's hope this doens't disintegrate into a match like yesterday where there were more cards than passes. With that red card the immediate tide has shifted. It's all Australia now and Buffon is having to make save after save. More later. When is a penalty not a penalty? When it's given to a whinging Azurri after he trips on a blade of grass in the 90th minute of a must-win game. Australia lost because of a single bad call. The teams had held each other to a scintillating goal-less draw and the game was set to head to overtime. But no. Instead a very dubious penalty was awarded and the Italians scored to send them through and the Aussies home. Damn the luck. Wastrel On! (Listening to KTU & Adrian Belew)

Portugal v Holland

in one of the most ridiculous displays of officiating gone bad that I have ever seen, Portugal advance to the Quarter Finals 1-0 on a fantastically worked goal by Maniche and the Portugal team. However, the 2 Red cards and numerous yellows sustained by the Portugese in the match will not treat them well as they have to play England next. In all 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards were issued in a game that the Russian official had no control of. Sepp Blatter was reported as saying that the official effectively yellow carded himself in the match and that his standard was not up to the standard of the other people on the pitch. Personally, I believe that a Red card early in the match for a horrendous tackle on Ronaldo rather than the yellow that was given, would have offset much of what happened later. The early authoritative stamp may have curtailed some of the high-jinx that occurred later. The players don't have to play dirty, they just do because they can. Prove to them at the start of the match that they can not, and you have tossed sand on the sparks before it erupts into a full-fledged fire. Listening to KTU Wastrel On!

National Anthems and National Athletes

indulge me if you will. I am, by my own admission, not the most patriotic of individuals detesting as I do most of this administrations policies. However, were I lucky enough and good enough to be selected to play for my country in any sporting event you can bet your arse that I'd be belting out the national anthem as it was being played before the event. These athletes who stand in their team line and look sour-faced, as if they don't even want to be there put a bad face on the nation. Were it up to me, I'd make it mandatory that your entire staff, including the prima donnas on the pitch, sing during the national anthem. The exceptions being a) your anthem has no words or b) it's a cultural thing to not sing the anthem. The South Koreans in the first round, for instance, did not sing their anthem. Not a single player uttered a single word; however, their patriotism was so apparent in their body language that it wasn't necessary that they sing. Each player has his hand on heart, his head bowed and most had their eyes closed. They cared. Contrast that to God Save the Queen as just played for the English team. Sure David Beckham was singing, he's the media darling and wouldn't be caught not singing. However, dour faced, petulant Rooney couldn't be bothered to show even the slightest amount of pride. And that pasty Swede, I don't care if he's not English, he's coaching the English national team, sing the damn anthem!! I could say the same for the Ecuadorians (who are currently playing England) and for most every other nation out there, including the United States. Boys, you're playing for your country, show some pride, some solidarity and lift your voices with your nation. Wastrel On.

England v Ecuador

and England have to step it up. Sven lost the plot several months ago, and it's up to the players to re-find it. They have looked woeful and out of sorts since the first kick-off of their first game. Today they have a chance to set all that to rest, but can they get past the massive injuries and bad coaching decisions? For reasons defying most coaching logic, they are starting in a 4-5-1 with Rooney up top i the lone striker role. It has been proven time and again that this formation does not work with the England squad, yet Sven insists on continuing with this. Rooney hasn't played a full 90 minutes since he broke his foot in May, and I don't expect him to today with all the running he'll have to do as the lone striker. The match is being played in Stuttgart where it is currently 92 degrees Farenheit which has to favour the Ecuadorians. We'll see. To the England squad, "Sven is leaving, boys. Win this one for your country. Ignore the madman at the helm." Prediction 1-0 England **UPDATE** Ecuador has the first real chance in the 12th minute. A rare mistake by John Terry gifts Tenorio with the ball with only Robinson between he and the net. Thank the gods for Ashely Cole, the best left back in the business. From out of nowhere, he comes streaking in to deflect Tenorio's on-target shot up and onto the bar. So, a corner kick instead of a goal. We'll take that...and thank you, Ashley Cole. **UPDATE** These two teams have only met once before, 26 years ago and at that time, England emerged the victors. I expect that that game was considerably more entertaining than this one. Neither team has managed to get anything going and the flow of the game is consistently being interrupted by bad passes and fouls. From both teams. Although England does seem to have the edge in shots, none of the shots have been very good and have not tested the Ecuadorian keeper at all. The thing that beggars belief in my mind is the size & experience of the Ecuadorian back line versus the size & experience of the potential England front line. Only one of the four Ecuador fullbacks even reaches 6' which would give a massive advantage to England if they had Crouch's 6'6" frame in the mix. It would also revert the lineup back to the "we know it works why don't we use it" 4-4-2 formation instead of this useless 4-5-1 that Sven insists on. **UPDATE** An absolutely tepid, tea-sipping affair here. Nothing exciting going on barring the golden opportunity that went begging for Tenorio. At this stage of the game, Terry's mistake and Cole's cover has been the most exciting aspect of the game. Once again, Sven proves he's not the manager he thinks he is. Let's hope for some changes in at least the tempo if not the England lineup. Otherwise it'll be England going home, rather than the underdogs, Ecuador. **UPDATE** The second half is underway and this troubling stat has just come to light. England's record when tied at half-time in World Cup play is 9-9-10. Since there cannot be a draw when this game concludes, we can only hope that the record will be 10-9-10 when it's all said and done. Alexi Lalas, the ex-US national and half-time commentator for ABC in these World Cup games believes that this game will go to penalty kicks. The way these two teams are playing, I can't really refute that. **UPDATE** The 60th minute and David Beckham converts. An absolutely stunningly, inch-perfect deadball into the lower corner gave the Ecuador keeper absolutely no chance. It seems to have sparked the English team, they're playing with more urgency and pace right now than I've seen in their 4 games thus far. Although David Beckham has his critics, me among them, this is why the man is in the squad. He's lethal in these situations, probably the very best in the world. If only the remainder of his skillset was up to the media-spin that is created around him. and now, only 5 minutes later, Beckham is heaving. The man is dehydrated and out-of-shape and throwing up on the pitch. I've watched a lot of football all over the world, and at the professional level, I've never watched a player throw up on the field. I hope he's well. The English goal has galvanized the Ecuadorians, too. They seem more full of life now as well. They know they have to score to escape the penalty of going home. But the England fans are doing every thing they can to suppress the Ecuador spirit. Every few moments, it seems God Save the Queen echoes through the stadium and rings the ears of all the players involved. The 12th man, in the form of the fans is alive and kicking in Stuttgart. **UPDATE** 87th minute and England replaces Beckham, who has continued to look ill, and ill-at-ease, with Lennon. Lennon will spark the team and bring some much needed urgency and skill to that right-halfback position. Beckham handed off the Captain's band to John Terry (I believe, although it could be Lampard). England will be content to just hang onto the ball and waste as much time as possible. But, like what happened in the England v Sweden game, it only takes one mistake to force a draw. And the three additional minutes can be an eternity. As the saying goes, it only takes a second to score a goal. With less than a minute left, Gerrard comes off to make way for Stuard Downing. And we still haven't seen Theo Walcott. What exactly was Sven thinking, including the boy in his squad and not blooding him at all. Some sort of weird fear vs. honour thing going on? And that's it. England move into the quarter finals while Ecuador go home. And the only goal of the very dull match coming from a spectacular free kick by David Beckham. They'll have to play much better than this in the Quarter Finals as they face either Portugal or the Netherlands (that game is coming up next) if they want to win that game. As a matter of record, England have made it to the Quarter Finals in 4 of the last 5 World Cups. But this year, I think it's more down to luck than skill or tenacity. That's it. I'll be watching the next game at my local, so might not get the report in. More to come, Until then, Wastrel On!