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>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.

Hey, it isn't me but the British pundits who put him there. To me he's a big yard-dog, but some of those little touches on the ball and it's like it's attached to his toe by a rubber band. His grit and determination are impressive. The way he barged through those 2 other players who were sandwiching him - "ROONEY WAN' BALL" went through his head. Sure, he fell flat on his face but it was the sheer guts that impresses me.

Brazilain players - What can you say (that you haven't already said) :-)
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>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.