Sorry - my memories of the event are pretty Haigy.

I'm facing the axis after that then

Anyway, this is all getting pasta joke

I think Messi has been one of the players of the tournament so far, and will probably get better.

Do you think it will end with a USA v Japan final, with the USA delivering 2 devastating strikes forcing the Japs to surrender?

you'll have to be more pacific with your question.

sop being (enola) gay and answer the question

italy currently bottom of the group

I'll have a pizza the action too, I feel more Azzu-red after our last game even though most players have there gnoch-ers.

Italy are so fucking shit

aye bye bye italy it seems

bye italy. bye bye see ya

When are the authorities going to clamp down on play acting and time wasting, its so fucking annoying.

the italian in the net clutching his face was the worst

That was bad but there were plenty of Slovaks at it too. Howard Webb did well not to fall for a lot of it but at the same time didnt punish it with yellow cards which allowed them to keep doing it.

Fantastic game, Italy were poor and thoroughly deserved to go out.

even england did it yesterday, I absolutely hate it when teams dribble the ball into the corner, it's just a from of cheating and england should be ashamed of themselves yesterday.
anyway great to see both 2006 WC finalists out in the group stages.

Why is it cheating?

Its a good tactic, if your winning and you get the ball in the furthest point from your own goal, the opposition aren't going to score. Thats football basics.

What an excellent World Cup this is turning into!
The French self-destructing, the Italians humiliated and a juicy England - Germany match coming up.
Bring 'em on!

Yeah, damn tactical play.

Its not the ref's fault or the authorities , its the players that cheat and them who should be pillored ,we as fans should raise or voices in protest whether its our player or the opposition , let your club and your clubs manager know how you feel

The ref's are in the position to punish it, and with the support of the authorities - of course it's their fault it goes unpunished.

I'd prefer teams to just pass the ball around at the back or just play keep ball, going into the corner just ruins the last 5 minutes of any game.

It is not something to be ashamed of at all. It is a very good tactic to run the clock down and is not cheating in the way play acting is.

Great goal by honda, although the ball swerved viciously, no keeper could have saved that

That isn't an explanation of how it is cheating.

because it's almost impossible to win the ball back, 2 players go into the corner pass it between eachother, then hit it off the legs for a throw in. repeat until defending team win freekick. it's just so frustrating to watch.

it is not cheating though. that is not against the rules. Is making it hard to win the ball not part of the game?

there are plenty of things you can do that are within the rules but not really in the spirit of the game, I'd prefer teams just to pass the ball around the back four or try and attack.

You'd prefer them not to do it, but it's not against the rules.

So you admit that it's not cheating?

It seems like one misplaced word to describe how irritating he finds it has got some people all smarmy.

Bellends.

Denmark in a lot of trouble, they seem to have decided to really rough up the Japanese players in this second half, bit pointless when you get yellow carded for breathing on someone.

Sorenson's having a bit of a nightmare.

He wasn't just describing how he found it irritating. He said England should be ashamed of themselves for doing it.

not according to the law, but in my books it cheating.

I guess your book isn't a dictionary then.

No offence mate but thats the biggest load of bollocks ive ever heard

Keisuke Honda needs to come to the Premiership. What a player.

Dont agree mate. Of course the players do have a responsibility to conduct themselves in the right way but the only way to stamp it out is for the refs and the authorities to take a harsher line.

Like I say Howard Webb had a great game earlier and wasnt falling for acting but he wasnt punishing people for it either.

My wife is very happy. Me too come to that.

I was very impressed with Japan especially their striker (Honda), he could be hot property after the tournament.

Oh and Italy

I was thinking the same thing. Holding the ball up in the corner, that is the proper way to waste time. Unlike taking ages to take free kicks, throw ins, corners, diving for every little thing and calling for the physio etc etc etc.

Enjoyed the last twenty minutes of the Italy game, Slovakia's third was an absolute beauty.

Players trying to get opponents sent off by pretending they have been assaulted is catching on it seems. The Italian who went down in the net after Italy scored their first goal should be ashamed of himself. What a cheating wimp. And Lippi didn't even shake the Slovakian coach's hand at the end of the game. What a shite bag.

He could be worse, he could have been like Domenech and protest why you dont want to shake hands

"non non non, i am not sheekeeng hands vit you, because I am not ze manageur now"

It seems to be OK when your team is doing it and totally annoying when the opposition does it.

It is probably not in the spirit of the game (though there are very few sportsmen in football nowadays) but seemingly not against the rules of the game. I've seen some players risk having a leg broken when clattered into by desperate or enraged opposition players.

How these two World Cup-winning countries have fallen!

Especially Marcelo Lippi, 4 years ago he was a god in their eyes, now he's public enemy number 1.

Gazetta dello Sport quoting Lippi:

"La responsabilità è mia
Ho preparato male la squadra"

Translates as: "The responsibility is mine. I prepared the squad badly."


Italian football must be at its lowest ebb for years. First, Inter Milan win the Champions League WITHOUT an Italian in the starting line-up and with a foreign coach and the national team get dumped out of the world cup in the group stages.

Who'd have thought it? Funny old game is football.

Funnily enough, I never realised that

Absolute beauty? A throw-in into open space that was well latched on to. Opportunist, yes. But not exactly a pearler.

Keeper could have done better too.