scouser 4 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Time for some beer me thinks. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 What a way to win. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Owen was wicked The rest battled hard YES! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Beckham the hero as England stun Argentina SAPPORO, Japan, June 7 (AFP) A David Beckham penalty fired England to a 1-0 victory over tournament favourites Argentina in a gripping World Cup 'Group of Death' showdown at the Sapporo Dome here Friday. England skipper Beckham blasted a 44th-minute spot-kick past Argentine keeper Pablo Cavallero after referee Pierluigi Collina pointed to the spot when England striker Michael Owen was tripped in the box by Mauricio Pochettino. The win put England second in Group F, level on four points with leaders Sweden, 2-1 winners over Nigeria earlier Friday. Defeat left Argentina third with three points. It was a deserved win for England, who carved out a series of opportunities in the second half and then withstood some furious Argentine pressure to hang on for a famous win and avenge their 1998 World Cup defeat to their old rivals. England twice came close to doubling their lead after half-time, which had seen Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa surprisingly substitute skipper Juan Sebastian Veron for the lively Pablo Aimar. First Owen beat the Argentine defence before sending his shot wide, and then Paul Scholes unleashed a spectacular volley that had Cavallero scrambling to parry clear. Beckham had the beating of Bayer Leverkusen defender Diego Placente, but attempted to finish with his right foot and failed to test Cavallero as his flicked effort drifted wide. England, bristling with confidence and with recalled Nicky Butt superb in midfield, again went close to scoring on 58 minutes. A patient build-up saw Scholes float a lovely pass to substitute Teddy Sheringham, who uncorked a venomous volley which Cavallero desperately beat away. Argentina piled on the pressure in the final 20 minutes, England's tiring players giving away possession cheaply again and again. The South Americans' relentless assault on the English goal almost paid off 15 minutes from time when Pochettino's powerful downward header was cleared off the line by Seaman. Owen had earlier come close to giving England the lead on 24 minutes after a quick breakout from defence sent the England striker racing away on goal. The Liverpool player was well-shadowed by the Argentine defence but sent a firm low shot through the legs of Diego Simeone which crashed back off the inside of the post with keeper Cavallero beaten. England took the lead towards the end of a half in which Argentina's skilful side had looked to be taking control with some slick, confident passing. But a re-modelled English midfield, regrouping well after the injured Owen Hargreaves was replaced by Trevor Sinclair after 19 minutes and with , proved difficult to break down for the Argentinians. And with the threat of Owen lurking in attack the South Americans could never afford to drop their guard. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Just gotta love that Argentina Coach - pacing up and down.....haha Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 I thought I might not be the first to post. Great game. Great result. Becks-chan Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 8, 2002 Author Share Posted June 8, 2002 What a bright morning it is. And what a headache!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 They played real well. How 5 days can change things. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 A bit of perspective here... They didn't play that well, at least not at the end. Standing around in the box hoping nobody gets through may work, but it's not the point of football. I would've liked to see them keep up that earlier pressure and maybe get themselves another penalty, or straightforward goal. They could've done it too. Even some idle possession would've been better than facing all those corners. All that talk of revenge was a bore too. Who cares about some bad call and foul that happened several Beckham hairstyles ago? Link to post Share on other sites
backatsap 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Sourpuss. From your posts concerning soccer, it is obvious that your knowledge of the game is limited. I am not an England fan. (Italy is my team). I am a fan of the game and the game played well. And England indeed played an admirable game last night. The last 15 minutes was a constant Argentina attack, and England looked tired, but they also showed some great defending of their lead and - hey - England did not concede a goal. They defended, and did it very well. Owen came off to be replaced by Bridge in an attempt to DEFEND their lead, and WIN the game. And that is what they did. Add on to that all the baggage and the situation surrounding this game, they played an excellent game and deserved the win. Oh yeah, come on Italy! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 All depends what you admire... The England fans that I watched the game with wanted to see another goal. Yes you describe England's strategy quite expertly, and I with my limited knowledge of the game didn't notice that they were DEFENDING, and that they WON. I've seen much less talented teams stand around in the box and block all attempts at scoring by a superior team. But I guess some very knowledgeable people are satisfied with little. I think you deserve a Link to post Share on other sites
backatsap 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Of course they wanted to score. 2-0 or 3-0 better than a tight 1-0? For sure. But a 1-1 result on a rebound, well that's something they need to avoid at all costs. One more thing, they are not interested in playing in a style that people watching "admire". There are no points for style. The points go to the team who wins, and thats what they did. Sure they're shakin in their boots that Ocean11 didn't "admire" their style. Anyway, I don't care about it too much. Just watch Italy today if you want to see some soccer you might "admire". Thanks for the ! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 8, 2002 Author Share Posted June 8, 2002 Headache'z gone now. I know what you're both saying. I wanted a 10-0 scoreline, but it ain't gonna happen. I think many England fans went into the game realistically thinking that a draw would be an acceptable result, while wanting the win of course. But once they had that lead and the game was coming to a close, they did a reet greet job at defending their lead. With Beckham still not 100%, they will hopefully get better and not be careless with Nigeria. Link to post Share on other sites
akibun 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 That was an exciting game. I am glad that England won it. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 The evidence of one's eyes suggests that they didn't want to score again, after a certain point. In my limited experience as a viewer of football, teams that want to score work the ball forward, taking risks to do so. They do not accept that all their players will be on their side of the centre line, and systematically group there. Sorry to be picky, but you're wrong there. Now you may all be Sun Tzu, and I'm not, and you may be accepting fans. But this "oh but we won", and "it's a game of points", and "we ask for nothing but one goal up", and "it's got nothing to do with what the fans want" is so lame. You get what you ask for. Backgammon anyone? The Japanese team knows better, that's why their games are more fun to watch (Now then boys, don't make me eat my words tomorrow!). Link to post Share on other sites
backatsap 0 Posted June 9, 2002 Share Posted June 9, 2002 Good timing. Well there you go. My team, Italy, just lost another (fairly) exciting game. As for your comments, Ocean..... No, you are the one who is wrong. But seeing as: - I don't give much of a crap about England anyway and can't believe I have been drawn into a discussion defending them! - From reading past mails on this Bulletin Boarrd, you do not seem to be able to accept anyone elses opinion on anything, and always without exception come back with pithy comments (how very English!) - this is boring ....then I think we should just agree to disagree on this, coz we're getting nowhere. And, of course, it doesn't matter. As a way of signing off on this - and before I console myself with a bottle of vino after my boys lost - of course they wanted to score. But if that meant compromising the extremely important lead that they had, then defensive play was the best decision and it worked for them. Why take too many risks? It doesn't make much sense when all that is important is the points of the win. Anyway, maybe see you in another thread. Hugs and kisses. Bye! Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted June 9, 2002 Share Posted June 9, 2002 A quote from Mr Erikkson: "When you are focused and with a little bit of fight, you can do amazing things. We were very, very tired in the second half, but we defended with a big, big heart and that is important in football, too." Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 9, 2002 Share Posted June 9, 2002 Shame about the Italy game - my bent coat hanger antenna wouldn't pick it up. Hell, I don't give a toss either really. Alls I'm saying is that I'm glad they won, but it wasn't a particularly spectacular game. Sadly, it was the sort of ending you get from playing for points. Big hearted? I wouldn't put it like that... Link to post Share on other sites
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