>>I suppose every country has its laments about the World Cup. It does inspire passion. I'm not quite agreeing with you, though, that England has been afflicted by dubious refereeing.
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>Best example was allowing Mradonna's hand ball into the net. Argentina should have been stripped of their win and M. hung up by his cahonies for that travesty of justice.
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>>Was it dubious refereeing when they got knocked out in France when the goalkeeper misjudged a free kick and let it sail in right over his head?
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>Of course not ALL losses are due to bad luck or decisions.
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>>I cheer for England but my suspicion is that when they play in a tournament with native-born players -- as opposed to the Premier League where the players come from all over the world -- they are not quite athletic enough.
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>And foreign players are more athletic!?
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>>This time Lady Luck has actually been shining on the English squad.
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>Like our ace striker and arguably the best player in the world in the team with a broiken meta-tarsal, just weeks before the tournament, resulting in his not being able to run around and keep fit?
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>Like losing our other striker to a torn knee ligament just 1 minute into the match?
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>>First they were placed in a weak group, from which they emerged despite playing uninspiredly. They then drew the less than fearsome Paraguay in the round of 16, playing better but still winning only by 1-0. Next they play Portugal, down two key players because of red cards from the mad Russian. The goalkeeper is already making excuses that their desultory play has been because of poor field maintenance by the German hosts. (Have their opponents been playing on different pitches?) Enough whinging and moaning. Let's see the English team actually show up to play, then they can talk and explain.
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>D'accord!


Wayne Rooney arguably the best player in the world? He has a lot of proving to do before such a claim can be made anywhere other than the English tabloids. He has done 1% more than zero in the World Cup so far. Unlike Rooney, Michael Owen does have a record of accomplishment on the international level. But he has also played poorly in this Cup. Let's not forget he was benched for poor play the game before the one in which he sustained the freak injury.

Brasil through to the quarters, winning 3-0 over a Ghana team that played very well. They are cruising and haven't even had to put it in top gear yet. They'll probably lay an egg and make me look like a fool but this Brasilian squad strikes me as a team for the ages. They have one multi time player of the year, the lion in winter, Ronaldo. He has been catching flak for being overweight and past his prime but he can still knock them in, as he did today. They have the current two time player of the year, Ronaldinho, the puppetmaster who directs the Brasil attack with the kind of ball control that makes you laugh in delight. He dribbles through traffic with the calm of a man bending over to pick up a piece of paper. They have Rodinho, perhaps the next great player in the tradition, who comes in at about the 70th minute and electrifies the crowd. He isn't even good enough to start, that's how deep they are. The Ghana coach was asked before today's match what he thought his biggest problem was against Brasil. I've got 23 problems, he said, referring to the number of Brasilian players.