You know there is a movie where Jet Li is like an attack dog. Yea, he has to wear a collar around his neck, but when you take it off, he goes berserk and destroys everything in sight. I think Ribery for France is in line to be in the Sequel against Spain today.

Meditations from the Mongoose

Show me, show me your bite you big dogs of soccer. I have dreamed of this day of having strike forces like yours. Please deploy and employ these great guns up top.

Brazil, why is your game so slow? France, in front of goal is a no go. Please Brazil let your ginga flow. While France your minds is your biggest foe. Both these teams need to forget their opponents and just bite down.  Bite down as hard as they can, regardless if it is a piece of wood or would be opponent.

Clean up yourselves and shower in the glory that could be yours Big Dogs. Hooowwwwwllllll.

Mongoose

It seems to me that refs have been stealing the players spotlight more and more. I subscribe to the school of thought that refs should be rarely seen and heard. Soccer or Football is about two teams trying to put a ball in the others goal. The ref should only step in when a rule is broken. At a World Cup, where the best players play, refs should step in only when a rule is trampled on.

These players are the best and can handle themselves for the most part. This mongoose is simply saying, “The refs are intervening 25 percent to much, except when Adebyor was taken down in the box with a no call. Ludicrus!”

Refs put your whistles and some of your cards back in your pocket and let advantage flow. If their is a card to be issued, let the play end before interjecting.

The game is about the game, not about your whistle, so stop blowing.

Well, my group stage picks were abysmal, but with the final 16 uh scratch that 15 picked. Germany just dismantled Sweden. The final 7 round of 16 games will go like this.

England vs. Ecuador =  England. For some reason though Ecuador could squeak it.

Argentina vs. Mexico = Argentina

Portugal vs. Netherlands = Netherlands

Italy vs. Australia = Italy

Brazil vs. Ghana = Brazil

Switzerland vs. Ukraine = Ukraine

Spain vs. France = France

If you think something different, You are wrong first. Second tell me about it. Write back a comment or two.

Dagger, do you think anyone knows better then me?

Not Ronaldo from Brazil, Christiano Ronaldo from Portugal. If he makes it back by next game, the doctors in this day and age are more like magicians.

Mongoose

Totti Supreme in 2nd Half Injury Time
Italy defeated a resolute and unlucky Australian side 1-0 and put the shame of their 2002 Round of Sixteen elimination to rest. Though a very slow and strategic match throughout, Italy looked the stronger in the 1st half as Australian keeper, Mark Schwarzer was on the alert and kept out tall Italian striker Luca Toni. After the break, Australia was given the advantage as Italian defender, Materazzi received a red card in the 51st min—clearly a case where the player’s reputation preceded the foul.

The Socceroos never really went for victory though and looked set for extra-time with only a few half chances to show against a team reduced to 10-men. Totti was then brought in for Del Piero to add fresh legs and scoring capabilities for Italy. As injury time ticked away, Italian defender Grosso dribbled into the penalty box and drew a penalty from the unlucky Australian, Lucas Neil. Totti provided the rest—a sublime finish from the spot kick—this time pitting Guus Hiddink on the losing side.

Shovkovskyi & Ukraine Triumph in Penalties
Ukraine needed penalties to defeat Switzerland in the Round of Sixteen. The 1st half started as a shoot out with both teams playing positive soccer, and only the post was able to stop both teams from scoring; however, in the 2nd half, both teams were much more cautious and rarely looked to go forward in numbers. The over-time period provided much of the same sloppy play that resulted from the 2nd half, and penalties loomed for the first time in Germany 2006. Despite Shevchenko’s miss, Shovkovskyi and the post denied the Swiss from scoring a single penalty.
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Italy will face the Ukraine in a Quarterfinal match-up that will see Shevchenko face the country that has provided him a living. There will be no love loss in this game though as Shevchenko has traded AC Milan for Chelsea in the upcoming season. Italy will look to go through past these World Cup newcomers; however, with nothing to lose, Ukraine could pull one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Beckham’s Free Kick Enough for England
England keeps winning despite their very ordinary run of play. This time a free kick from Beckham in the 60th min. squeaked in at the near post and put an end to Ecuador’s Cinderella-run in Germany 2006. Reverting back to their 1st choice selections, Ecuador showed their determination by keeping England at bay for most of the match. England’s luck will have surely run out though if they continue to play creative-less soccer against the tougher opponents of the next rounds. 

Portugal Advance amid Controversy
Portugal defeated Holland 1-0 in a physical confrontation that turned sour. Maniche was the hero again for Portugal, scoring in the 23rd min—an almost identical goal to his goal against Mexico. The scored held in a match that saw a flurry of yellow and red cards. While the referee was certainly nothing to write home about, many of the players showed too much indiscipline in their approach to the game. With all the cards being shown, it was a wonder how Figo kept clear of the law as he appeared to head butt a Dutch defender in the 2nd half. Van Basten and Co. is eliminated, and one has to wonder about the selections of the Dutch side.
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England will face Portugal in a Quarterfinal re-match of a Euro-2004 showdown. England will be hoping to erase the heartbreaking loss in the Euros with a victory over Portugal in Germany. Portugal will be without creative midfielder Deco, who received a red card against Holland, as well as Christiano Ronaldo, who picked up a leg injury early in the same game. We’ll have to wait and see if England has anything left up their sleeves.

Podolski’s Brace Shows Maturity
Germany derailed Sweden 2-0 behind young German striker Podolski, who scored two early goals, shocking the Swedes out of contention. While Podolski did look out of sorts in the first two matches for Germany, his partnership with fellow striker Klose has become vintage in the last two games. In the 4th min. Germany was rewarded by Podolski’s positive running and opportunism as he cleaned up well with a goal from a rebound off of Swedish keeper Isaksson. Podolski followed up well in the opening minutes after a great passing sequence between Ballack, Podolski, and Klose had wrong-footed the Swedish defense.

Klose and Podolski connected again in the 12th min. as Klose drove across the penalty box and played a reverse pass into Podolski, who found himself free, blasting home his second goal. Matters went from bad to worse for Sweden in the 35th min. as defender Lucic received a red care. Playing with only 10-men, Sweden were given a life-line in the 2nd half as Larsson drew a penalty in the 53rd min; however, Larsson fired the spot kick high over the bar, ending any type of comeback for the Swedes.

Maxi-Gol Lifts Argentina
Argentina defeated a hungry Mexican team 2-1 in extra-time to keep their World Cup dreams alive. With a healthy Borgetti leading the Mexican attack, Mexico was off to a dream start when Rafael Marquez scored with a back post finish in the 5th min. off a Pavel Pardo free kick. Argentina responded well though with a Crespo near post stab in the 10th min. from off a corner. After the early goals, the two teams played more and more toward extra time with the Mexicans looking slightly more dangerous than Argentina. Mexican hearts were broken though in the 98th min. as Maxi Rodriquez scored an extra-time chest-trap-turning-volley-from-distance-wonder goal to secure victory.
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Germany will face Argentina in a Quarterfinal match-up that brings one back to the historical and intense rivalry shared between the two teams. As Argentina got the better of Germany in the ’86 Cup, and Germany returned the favor in the ’90 Cup, this is definitely a rubber match between two of the strongest soccer nations. Unfortunately after this Quarterfinal match-up, only one giant will survive.

Senderos heads Switzerland into Contention
Switzerland, with pole position of Group G, continued their surprising run and advanced with a 2-0 win over South Korea. Senderos started the scoring in the 23rd min. with a towering header that found the back of the net. Unfortunately, the inspirational defender was injured later in the match with a dislocated shoulder and will miss out on the rest of the Cup. Swiss striker, Alexander Frei then finished in the 77th min. to put an end to South Korea’s dreams.

Captain Vieira to the Rescue
France looked as if they were going to continue their poor run of form, but were able to pull out a 2-0 victory against Togo in a must win situation. Despite heavy and constant pressure by the French, Togo looked determined to hold out Les Bleus, and French coach, Domenech must have felt that it was just not meant to be. With Trezeguet joining Henry in attack, the clear message from Les Bleus was their struggle to score goals, and it continued as they missed chance and chance again. 

After the half, the French continued to push forward, and in the 55th min. were finally off the mark when ex-Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira popped up in the penalty area and finished a much needed goal. Vieira then turned provider in the 61st min. as his flick-on header found Henry for the second goal.

Aragones’ 2nd Choice Players Earn a Victory
Despite wholesale changes made to their lineup, Spain remained undefeated in the group stage. Defender, Juanito, scored in the 36th min. to secure the 9 pts. from group play. With no chance of advancing, Saudi Arabia finally put up a solid effort and kept Spain from continuing their goal storm.

Shevchenko’s Historic Penalty   
Ukraine advanced to the Round of Sixteen with a 1-0 victory over a tough Tunisian side. Shevchenko’s experience and strength were rewarded in the 71st min. as he held off two defenders and drew a penalty in the later stages of the game. Shevchenko then finished what he started as he blasted Ukraine into history with his converted spot kick.
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Switzerland will face Ukraine in an interesting match-up of newcomers in the Round of Sixteen. Ukraine has the slight advantage in this one with Shevchenko on their side as well as with the ill-timed injury to Swiss defender, Senderos.

Spain will face France in the strongest match up of the Round of Sixteen. Spain will be hoping they can continue in their goal scoring form; however, with the return of Zidane, France will all fancy their chances.

The US and Ghana—Grudge Match for Advancement
The US and Ghana National Teams squared off in a must win high stakes contest. Ghana dictated the early pressure and forced US captain, Claudio Reyna into international retirement as Draman stripped and ripped Reyna around the 18 before curling the ball one-on-one past Keller at the far post in the 22nd min. The US showed some resolve though and were rewarded with a goal in the 43rd min. as Dempsey got behind the Ghana defense and finished off an excellent cross from Beasley from close range. US hopes were crushed minutes later though as Onyewu was judged harshly for a challenge in the box—Appiah converting from the spot kick in the 45th min. The 2nd half was a mere formality. The Black Stars are shooting into the next round while the US is eliminated from Germany 2006 with only 1 pt.   

The Azzurri—Lippi’s Champion Breakers
Italy defeated the Czech Republic 2-0 in this group of fame sending the strongly favored Czechs crashing out of Germany 2006. The injury losses of Jon Koller and strike partner, off-and-on Milan Baros, proved to be to fatal for, Czech coach, Karl Bruckner’s plans for glory. Italian defender Materazzi pushed forward early and scored a header in the 26th min. The Czechs deteriorated and had a man sent off in a second consecutive game. Old-guard, Filippo Inzaghi scored a neat goal in the 87th min. to prove to the Italian faithful why he should not have been left at home.    

Australia Advances with a Draw against Croatia
The Socceroos stunned Croatia 2-2 to make it to the Round of Sixteen for the first time in its history. Guus Hiddink’s men scrapped back from a goal down two different times to end Croatia’s run in Germany. Croatia started brilliantly with a goal by Srna in the 3rd min, but Australia drew level through a penalty kick by Moore. After the break, Croatia restored their lead in the 56th min. through the veteran Kovac, but the Socceroos drew level again from a controversial goal by Kewell, who appeared to be in an offside position before scoring.  

Ronaldo & Brazil Find Gold Despite Poor Start
Parreira’s faith in Ronaldo paid dividends against Japan as jogo bonito defeated Japan 4-1 to stay unbeaten in Germany. After falling unimpressively behind to Zico’s boys in the 33rd min, Ronaldo pulled the score level right before half time with a header from a deep cross at the back post. It was all green and yellow after that as Brazil put three more past Japan in the 2nd half. 2nd team players midfielder, Pernambucano, and defender, Gilberto, both scored perhaps showing they’re ready to take over from the old-guard. Ronaldo added his second goal to the score line with an incredible finish from around the top of the 18 that curled past the diving goalkeeper. Tied with Pele on the day with 12 World Cup goals, Ronaldo surpasses the Brazilian legend, now tied with Gerd Mueller for first with 14. With a chance to rewrite the history books, is it really a wonder why Ronaldo keeps getting selected?
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Brazil will face Ghana in perhaps the most unpredictable match-up in the Round of Sixteen. Brazil will believe that they have worked the bugs out of the playing system; however, if the Black Stars can continue to ball the way that saw the Czechs and the US lay waste, then Ghana just might have an opportunity to dethrone Brazil early in the tournament.

Italy will face Australia in a game that looks as if the Azzurri are guaranteed a Quarter Final spot; however, we know that the very unlucky and inconsistent form of the Italians can be their achilles heel. If Australia can continue to play organized and physical, perhaps Australian coach, Guus Hiddink will be come known as the great Kanga.