World Cup

[old_mate]

Goal!!!!!!

[MethodX]

Well they did it.

Congrats to the team and Hiddink

Now they play Italy (great)

Why couldnt they play England?

[niko]

TOP 16 wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what a game, should've been 4-1 not 2-2...... so many rubbish shots and dirty plays...

one of the cro players should joint the AFL...he kept punching the ball with his fist...!!!!!!!!!

[pennybrain]

I'm so happy that game it over. Goddamn that was a nerve racking game!

[ED Classic]

Great Win to the Socceroos Guus is a true legend, I have always wondered why in games that matter and you are 1 Goal down coaches dont just go for broke and bring on all strikers and either get a result or lose by more than 1 goal. Good to see he has the guts and doesnt care who thinks what.

Now (injury asside) does anyone want to bet that Shwarzer wont start the next game. I am happy with $1.05 that he will and I am paying $15-1 he wont I think nerves got Kalac

[rodderz]

Very nervous game to watch, but good result in the end. Some of those croat players were very dirty players, particularly Simic, who I think they said grew up here?

[G6ET8U]

Yeah I reckon nerves got Kalac too... I feel sorry for him, there is nothing worse when you don't produce your best on the biggest stage... and if we'd lost I think the Australian media would've gone after him too... but it doesn't matter now!!

How about Viduka being bought down in the box early on??!?! What was that? And then he gets hit in the face and it goes against him??!?! WTF? And then that Croatian player getting 3 yellow cards? There will be investigatons from FIFA I think in to how the match was refereed. Very poor.

What a game though, I am still buzzing now! Just brilliant!

BRING ON ITALY

Jack

[HTCURRY]

Kalac kiss your international career goodbye...it was good while it lasted.

Australia at the very least got the result we deserved. 2 penalties denied...Croatia unfairly a man up for the last 5-6 minutes.

Go the Aussie spirit.

[HOON69]

kalac was the weakest link and we def dont need those to surface when we play italy im def thinking a change will be made for sure ;)

we played well we def deserves to win it overall with the dodgy NON call on the handball in the sqaure but meh we won as we are in the 16 :P

[ED Classic]

I have to say Viduka gets Grabbed Time after time in ever game that we have played and 99% of the time theres a free against him. Its bloody frustrating

[HTCURRY]

Thats what Mark gets for not being a prima donna...if he took a dive everytime he got pushed, tackled, Australia would win 10 penalties a game....

Mark stop playing fair...heheheh

[niko]

Originally Posted by HTCURRY

stop playing fair

Australia are playing exceptionally pro. shame about Emmerton though :(

[HTCURRY]

Originally Posted by niko

Australia are playing exceptionally pro. shame about Emmerton though :(

Definetely a shame about Emmo. The guy just ran and ran all night. Nearly the best player for Australia tonight behind Lucas Neill.

But his 2nd yellow card was a great sacrifice for the team, once he realized after the 1st yellow card, he was out of the next round, it was incumbent on him to make his suspension count. I know getting sent off isnt great, but if he doesnt get that 2nd yellow card, Croatia get in behind, to potentially put in a dangerous cross...so well done EMMO!

[Homer1]

It really s***s me how everyone is saying that the Aussies ahould stick to rugby because we're too physical for football.....what a load of crap, as we saw today, who was doing the rugby tackling!?!?

[pennybrain]

I think Kalac is going to cop a lot of S*** now but I think we all should remember how much pressure is on a goal keeper. It is a do or die position and I think Kalac deserves some respect, he tryed but stuffed it up. Its a tough position and I'm sure he is completely regretting the game now.

[eminvil_12]

Just got back from Fed Square.
it was great.

Kalac, goodbye, shocker 2nd goal to the croats.
2 penalties should have been awarded to socceroos but werent (handball, viduka)
And as stated, last 5 mins they had a red carded player still PLAYING WTF !!!
Bresciano came on and set up the Kewell Goal.
Guus makes the best subs, great timing !

Yes

Great game though.

[niko]

Originally Posted by Homer1

It really s***s me how everyone is saying that the Aussies ahould stick to rugby because we're too physical for football.....what a load of crap, as we saw today, who was doing the rugby tackling!?!?

there was more AFL player potential on the cro side... lol they loved the fist outs!!!

[pennybrain]

The croatians certainly were quite physical. Some of it was just blatant cheating.

[niko]

*nods* was a disgrace :P

[Mark351]

Amidst the jubilation with Australia going through, seeing thousands pack CBD centres to watch the game - it's stunning to read of a slightly different reaction, miles away.

For me, the money shot from the 2-1 loss to Ghana that eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup on Thursday wasn't the nonfoul that led to the penalty kick that changed the game's course. It was the first-half picture from an ESPN camera showing, oh, 60 or 70 people in Times Square watching the game on a giant video screen.
Granted, standing on an island in the middle of Broadway for any longer than it takes for the crossing signal to change is generally not a great idea. Still, I've seen bigger crowds there for three-card monte. So what ...

[Dazza XLT]

I honestly didn't think the Aussies would get this far! Good on them!
Guus must be working his magic! Makes you wonder what Frank Farina was doing???
I don't follow soccer, so I don't really know!

[Falcon Freak]

Originally Posted by Darran

Makes you wonder what Frank Farina was doing???

Farina as coach of the Socceroos was the worst thing to happen to the sport in this country. The guy was a f-knuckle from the time I saw him playing for Marconi Fairfield in the 1980s.

FF

[Dazza XLT]

Thanks for that FF. I wasn't paying much attention to Soccer back then, as we were not doing as well as we are now.

[AWD Chaser]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...239964,00.html

Amid the madness in Stuttgart last night, as Graham Poll, the English referee, saw this astonishing match cascade out of his control...

I think Australia is playing exceptionally well considering the major, major things the ref's have missed (Japan's goal, various things with Brazil including blowing full time early, and Croatia with handballs, penalties and fouls (or lack of), out's, and two balls on the field at once), etc etc...
There are some things we have gotten away with too though (im not saying were perfect), but compared to the other teams, we seam to be really by the book, while others play dirty and get away with it.

It's just too bad that our weakest link against Croatia was Kelec. When your weakest link in soccer is your goalie, your gonna have major troubles....

I think Australia have the potential to win against Italy, however, I have a feeling that it may not happen, however, even if they do loose, I hope they put on a spectacular show regardless and go down fighting (vs. a shamefull 4-0 scenario).

[Jeld-Wen Falcon]

Australia copped another dodgy ref but all is good in the end! GO THE SOCCEROOS!!!

[pennybrain]

I feel for Kalac. He made one mistake. He also saved a fair amount of goals and cleared the ball from corners too. He is a fantastic goal keeper and shouldn't be frowned upon for this mishap. In the end the Aussies got through so who cares anyway. I have been a goal keeper in hockey and it is not an easy position. My partner is a goal keeper and I know the pressure that goal keepers are under! Poor Kalac would be so dissapointed in himself. He plays for AC Milan and he did when he was 14 years old!

[FTE217]

yes ditto pennybrain, being a player on the field I have always thought why would you want to be a goalie !
Unrewarding position many atimes yet how many times do you guys/gals keep us in a game.
Yep Kalac had a brain fade unfortunately in front of his biggest audience and he's far better than that.
I still wonder why Guss put him in in the first place....

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Bluedriver

yes ditto pennybrain, being a player on the field I have always thought why would you want to be a goalie !
Unrewarding position many atimes yet how many times do you guys/gals keep us in a game.
Yep Kalac had a brain fade unfortunately in front of his biggest audience and he's far better than that.
I still wonder why Guss put him in in the first place....

Yes goalies do have a hard time and it is difficult getting someone to be a keeper; takes a special person.

Schwarzer set for quick return

"I'm more relieved than happy now. I really didn't have much to do - I've taken a world-class goal, I've taken a **** goal," Kalac said afterwards. "He put me in because Schwarzy made a few mistakes in previous matches. I've come in and made a mistake."

"You're looking at the ground to eat you up. Obviously for me, it's very relieving to get that result."

[Jeld-Wen Falcon]

Originally Posted by pennybrain

I feel for Kalac. He made one mistake. He also saved a fair amount of goals and cleared the ball from corners too. He is a fantastic goal keeper and shouldn't be frowned upon for this mishap. In the end the Aussies got through so who cares anyway. I have been a goal keeper in hockey and it is not an easy position. My partner is a goal keeper and I know the pressure that goal keepers are under! Poor Kalac would be so dissapointed in himself. He plays for AC Milan and he did when he was 14 years old!

I do feel for him now, for what he will go through. BUT this guy is a professional, he does it for a living and shouldnt make such horrible errors.

[pennybrain]

Originally Posted by johnydep

Yes goalies do have a hard time and it is difficult getting someone to be a keeper; takes a special person.

Schwarzer set for quick return

It definately takes a special person!
"I've taken a world-class goal, I've taken a s**t goal." That would be the case for pretty much every goalie in the world I reckon. No one's perfect!