2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

[Farin]

...starts today with two matches:

South Africa vs Mexico

Uruguay vs France

use this thread to discuss, celebrate, complain or whatever else you can think of

[edna]

[MindCrime]

Go Mexico!! I hope they can pull through all the way, but not betting money on it.

[lonelyday]

Viva Mexico!!

And yay New Zealand for actually having a team in this!

I should probably use this as a chance to learn something about football seeming as I'll probably be moving to either Spain or South America sometime in the next year and I've heard they're rather fond of this little ball game.

[Levis]

Curse you, Mexico, for not letting my beloved South Africa win

Now - Uruguay, give France everything you've got!

[TheLizard]

USA! USA! USA!

I'll also be rooting against France, just because of the infamous handball incident.

[TheLizard]

So Mexico and South Africa tied and each got a point... Could anybody explain to me how this first round works in terms of how points are given and who goes on?

[Farin]

sure

Groups have 4 teams each, everyone plays everyone once (so 3 matches for each taem), the top 2 can move on to the Knockout stage.

in one match:

victorious team gets 3 points

draw gets 1 point for each team

losing team gets 0

in the end the ranking in the group is determined:

1. number of points

2. goal difference from all three matches

3. number of goals shot in all three matches

4. if there are two teams in a group where all three are the same, the direct comparison (ie the match between those two) is taken into account

and if THAT was a draw too,

5. then the 'winner' is drawn by lot (can't remember that this ever happened though)

[TheLizard]

Thanks! And while we're at it, how do the rounds after that work?

[BlueAngel]

I'll be rooting for my beloved Three Lions, hopefully Rooney's fitness will not be an issue otherwise its a solid team unfortunately plagued by ridiculous pressure from people like me.

Good on South Africa for getting a point, though there is still the likelihood that this could end up being one of the worst performances from a hosting nation.

The draw wasn't really a huge surprise since Mexico doesn't have a terribly strong side aside from Vela, Gio and Marquez who haven't been playing all that well in their respective European clubs.

One almost feels sorry for France, they'll never fully live down that disgrace.

[Farin]

^ 'almost'

Thanks! And while we're at it, how do the rounds after that work?

that's the knock-out stage, one match, winner advances to the next round (or wins the cup in the final)

in case of a draw after 90 minutes there's a 2x 15 minutes extension and if it's still a draw then, a penalty shootout

the matches in Round of the last 16 gets chosen like: winner of group A vs second of group B, etc

[BlueAngel]

And let's all pray, wish, hope and whatever else that there are no penalty shootouts, the death of many a good team by individual effort or lack thereof.

[Farin]

strange... here you practically never hear that thought

[BlueAngel]

Seriously? I thought most people didn't care for shootouts, them not being really representative of the team's efforts or performance as a whole. That, and we historically suck at them.

[Farin]

it's probably because we're historically pretty good at them

and to Uruguay vs France ... wow, what a great game :sleepy:

France has to get MUCH better if they want to have any chance in the tournament

[BlueAngel]

Yeah, even against ten men with Henry they were spectacularly unimpressive. I didn't really expect Group A to be sitting so equal. Hopefully Group B match-ups will be a bit more dynamic.

[edna]

Ah, non, mais merde enfin... allez, France, mangne-toi le cul, bordel!!

[RockyRaccoon]

Wake me up in a couple of years when someone scores :sleepy:

[Uncle Joe]

I'm picking Brazil. Pele plays for them, right?

[Farin]

matches today:

South Korea vs Greece

Argentina vs Nigeria

England vs USA

[edna]

I'm picking Brazil. Pele plays for them, right?

Argentina vs Nigeria

Argentina!!!

[Levis]

South Korea FTW!

Nigeria OBVIOUSLY!

and... whatevz.

[edna]

Now - Uruguay, give France everything you've got!

Nigeria OBVIOUSLY!

Radhichette, I think we won't agree for awhile...

[Tenacious_Peaches]

I got a mani/pedi yesterday and France v Uruguay was on the tv at the salon. I tried so hard to get into the spirit but all they seemed to do was mill around. Not much seemed to happen. I think I'll stick to competitive hot dog eating as my main sport of choice.

[Levis]

I always root for the underdog.