|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 14:50:01 GMT
Thanks - He was 18 yards from goal though. I think it's a bug in PES.
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Feb 8, 2006 14:57:57 GMT
Those screen shots look pretty fucking sweet. If only I had a decent system and an interest in playing "arcadey" games. And probably some other stuff.
Good to see the Swedos boffing the Para-guys With Malmö's very own* Marcus Rosenberg scoring as well. Not a bad call at the moment as he seems to be banging them in for Ajax despite them losing to all and sundry.
Will this peter out around the quarterfinal stage again?
*until the start of this season.
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Feb 8, 2006 15:08:16 GMT
Your Anglo-bias is shining through though I'm afraid, teh s1ugt. By my calculations Sweden should be top of their group.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 15:11:37 GMT
The graphics are pretty hot on PES5, aye. Full screen they look sweet. [Clicky ^]Having a decent video card and enough RAM makes a big difference on PES too - the game is markedly different when smooth and at a proper speed, as opposed to the slowed-down, Gascoignesque-turning-circles version you get if you play with an underpowered machine.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 15:18:16 GMT
Your Anglo-bias is shining through though I'm afraid, teh s1ugt. By my calculations Sweden should be top of their group. The first tiebreaker this tournament is alphabetical. Another of Sepp's brilliant ideas...
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 15:36:02 GMT
MEXICO vs IRANHistoryMexico : 12 time qualifiers. Quarter-finalists twice. Iran : Two time qualifiers. Never progressed beyond group stage. Previous meetings : One. Friendlies : Mexico, won one. QualifyingMexico : Finished second in their group, behind the US. It's not easy to be impressive in a qualifying run including games over Guatemala and Panama. Iran : Won through to the final group stage in Asian qualifying and finished second in their four-team group, behind Japan, having handed Nippon their only defeat. Mexico Man to Watch : Barcelona's Rafael Marquez plays in the midfield holding role for club and country and may be Mexico's most legitimate claim to a world class player. Iran Man to Watch : Veteran forward Ali Daei remains the man for Iran, scoring nine goals in qualifying. ************************************************** ************************************************** PORTUGAL vs ANGOLAHistoryPortugal : Three time qualifiers. Third place once. Angola : First time qualifiers. Previous meetings : Two. Friendlies : Portugal, won two. QualifyingPortugal : Strolled through the qualifying group, crushing Russia 7-1 along the way to finishing seven points clear of second place. Angola : Surprised everyone by dumping Nigeria out of the world cup. Finished with the same points tally as the Nigerians, but a better head-to-head record sent the Angolans to their first world cup. Portugal : The "Golden Generation" is mostly gone, but good new players have appeared in the shape of Ronaldo, Deco and Maniche, but watch out for forward Pauleta who, despite sometimes appearing clumsy, finished top of the European qualifying scorers, with 11 goals. Angola Man to Watch : The Angolans are hoping that Benfica forward Pedro Mantorras blossoms in these finals, as a bag of goals from him and veteran forward Akwa are their only realistic hope of escaping the group stage.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 15:37:04 GMT
Late Goal Just Enough for MexicoFrancisco Fonseca earns Mexico a tough victory.A very late strike by Cruz Azul forward Francisco Fonseca proved just enough for a lacklustre el Tri side to secure all three points with a 1-0 against Iran. Fonseca's effort came in the third minute added for stoppages at the end of a second half which had seen the Mexicans repeatedly frustrated by poor shooting and, on two occasions, the frame of the Iranian goal. Ramon Morales started the move that finally led to the goal, Controlling the ball in midfield and then stopping to head it on to Fonseca, who took one touch to control the ball, then expertly fired it low into the corner from 22 yards. Morales, Fonseca and eventual man of the match Jaime Lozano had all seend second half efforts come back off of the post or bar and the South American fans had begun a restless jeering at the game seemed likely to peter out to a disappointing draw. 2004 Asian Player of the Year Ali Karimi had the best chance for Iran, as he sprinted between two defenders to toe a shot at the Mexican goal, only to see it roll agonising inches wide. Mexico 1-0 Iran[mex] Fonseca - 90+ Halftime : 0-0 MoM : Lozano - Mexico - 6.5/10************************************************** ************************************************** Angola Hold Portugal to Surprise DrawDeco celebrates Portugal's redemption.With two previous matches finishing in a combined 11-1 advantage to Portugal, the Seleção were not expected to have any problems overcoming Angola in their first group match. But no one told the Africans. First time qualifiers Angola took an early lead when Pedro Mantorras seized on some terrible Portuguese defending to chip the ball past an isolated Ricardo, the ball rolling slowly into the net, with Carvalho chasing just inches behind. Portugal then dominated the match, but could not find a way past a stacked Angolan defence until the 78th minute, when Deco rose to met a Hugo Viana centre and headed home. Portugal turned up the pressure for the final ten minutes, but couldn't find the winner, when long range efforts from Deco and Maniche both rebounded off of the Angolan goal posts. Portugal 1-1 Angola[ang] Mantorras - 7 [por] Deco - 78 Halftime : 0-1 MoM : Viana - Portugal - 7/10
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Feb 8, 2006 15:39:49 GMT
Hugo Viana got MoM? WTF is going on here? He has nice hair though, I'll give him that.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 15:41:55 GMT
Hugo Viana got MoM? WTF is going on here? He has nice hair though, I'll give him that. Your Missus had the casting vote.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Feb 8, 2006 16:35:40 GMT
Aye that figures.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 17:00:26 GMT
ITALY vs GHANAHistoryItaly : 14 time qualifiers. Three time winners. Third place once. Fourth place once. Ghana : First time qualifiers. Previous meetings : None. QualifyingItaly : Cruised an average strength qualifying group by five points, despite some shaky performances along the way. Ghana : Dropped their opener against the minnows of Burkina Faso, but then beat South Africa home and away to top their group. Italy Man to Watch : Francesco Totti can be petulant, irritating and absolutely brilliant, depending on the day and his drive and creativity from midfield will be a big factor in how far Italy can go. Ghana Man to Watch : Michael Essien is unchallenged as the Ghanians star man, as he sealed a deal to move to Chelsea for more than £24m. ************************************************** ************************************************** CZECH REPUBLIC vs USAHistoryCzech Republic : First time qualifiers. (Previously qualified as part of Czechoslovakia.) USA : Seven time qualifiers. Semi-finalists once. Quarter finalists once. Previous meetings : One. World Cup : Czechoslovakia won one. QualifyingCzech Republic : Finished second in their group behind the Dutch, then beat Norway 2-0 in a play off to reach the finals. USA : Cantered through a qualifying group without much depth, qualifying with several games to spare. Czech Republic Man to Watch : Pavel Nedved came out of international retirement to help the team to the finals and continues to light up the field anytime he plays. Watch out for fellow midfielder Tomas Rosicky too. USA Man to Watch : Now playing his football back in the US after a stint with Bayer Leverkusen, Landon Donovan scored six and assisted on six during the team's qualifying run.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 17:01:24 GMT
Azurri Cruise Past GhanaTotti scores in front of the Ghanian fans.Two goals from Pipo Inzaghi and a goal and two assists from Francesco Totti proved more than enough to lead the Italians past the outmatched Ghanians 3-0 in Group E's opening match. Totti, the AS Roma forward, ran the game from start to finish, playing in a withdrawn role in an creative midfield alongside fellow icon Alessandro Del Piero and Andrea Pirlo and the trio had too much time and too many ideas for Ghana to control. Totti started things off with an nice pass to Inzaghi, who rammed home a 20 yard shot off the underside of the crossbar, then scored himself as he outmuscled a defender and struck a crisp shot that clipped the inside of the near post on its way in. In the 82nd minute Totti sealed his man of the match award as he rolled in an incisive pass for Inzaghi to grab his second with an easy finish, unmarked from six yards. Italy could have had a fourth, but Del Piero saw his penalty saved. Italy 3-0 Ghana[ita] Inzaghi - 41 [ita] Totti - 44 [ita] Inzaghi - 82 Halftime : 2-0 MoM : Totti - Italy - 7.5/10************************************************** ************************************************** Early Czechs Bounce Team USADaMarcus Beasley's goal wasn't enough for the US.A slow and nervous start proved the undoing of the Us in their opening game, as two Czech goals inside the first four minutes were enough to seal a 2-1 victory. The first Czech goal came before the US had even touched the ball, as Pavel Nedved one-timed a Tomas Rosicky pass across Brad Friedel into the far corner from 25 yards out. With the US still stunned, Milan Baros sprinted through onto a Nedved pass, took the ball on for two long strides and then beat Friedel down low at the near post. Despite having their confidence shaken the US slowly worked its way back into the game and halved the deficit when DaMarcus Beasley ran onto a well-placed pass from Landon Donovan to roll the ball low under an advancing Petr Cech. The Czechs then switched to a more defensive outlook, snuffing out the US attack for the rest of the game and almost added to their own score, when substitute Libor Sionko's shot came back off the inside of Friedel's far post. Czech Republic 2-1 USA[cze] Nedved - 1 [cze] Baros - 3 [usa] Beasely - 72 Halftime : 2-0 MoM : Baros - Czech Republic - 7/10
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Feb 8, 2006 21:27:36 GMT
One-timed a pass? Yankee poof!
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 22:53:01 GMT
They were playing the Septics, after all.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 22:55:35 GMT
BRAZIL vs CROATIAHistoryBrazil : The most successful international team in history. Qualified for every world cup. Winners five times. Runners up twice. Third place twice. Fourth place once. Croatia : Two time qualifiers. Finished third in first ever world cup. (1998). Previous meetings : One. Friendly : One draw. QualifyingBrazil : Topped the South American group, with just two defeats in 18 qualifiers. Croatia : Finished top of their group, beating Sweden twice along the way. Brazil Man to Watch : Where to start? How do you like Ronaldinho, Robinho, Kaka, Adriano, Ronaldo... Ronaldo needs two goals to equal Gerd Muller's record of 14 in the finals competition. Some say he's already fading, but in one qualifying game against Argentina he won, took and scored three penalties. Croatia Man to Watch : They're solid in defence, but the Croatians will need Rangers' forward Dado Prso to be in top form to get anywhere beyond the second round. ************************************************** ************************************************** JAPAN vs AUSTRALIAHistoryJapan : Two time qualifiers. Second round once. Australia : Qualified once. Previous meetings : Ten. World Cup Preliminaries : Australia won one. One draw. Friendlies : Japan won three. Australia won two. Two draws. Confederations Cup : Japan won one. QualifyingJapan : Stumbled through fortunate wins over Oman and North Korea, but finally topped their group. Australia : After four straight playoff loses, the Aussies finally made it past Uruguay on penalties in this year's playoff, after comfortably topping a group including the likes of Vanuatu, Fiji and Tahiti. Japan Man to Watch : Hidetoshi Nakata is still the golden boy of Japanese football and is hoping to return to true form with the world watching, after a disappointing start to his time with Bolton in the UK. Australia Man to Watch : He may be the man to watch or the man you can't see, depending on which version of Harry Kewell shows up. Has never recaptured the form he showed on his best days for Leeds United, but can be very dangerous if he finds his confidence in Germany.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 8, 2006 22:57:37 GMT
Adriano Goal Enough for ChampionsAdriano's late goal gave Brazil three points.Against a packed Croatian defence, the defending Champions from Brazil put faith in individual talent to overcome and were rewarded, when a fine effort from Adriano separated the sides and gave the Samba Boys a winning start. The Internazionale forward controlled a headed clearance on his chest, turned the ball between the legs of Croatian Captain Niko Kovac and then drilled a low shot beyond Butina into the corner of the net. With just 20 minutes to play the goal forced Croatia to abandon their defensive stance, but this simply opened them up to further danger and Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka all came close to doubling Brazil's score in the game's closing stages. Brazil 1-0 Croatia[bra] Adriano - 70 Halftime : 0-0 MoM : Juninho - Brazil - 7.5/10************************************************** ************************************************** Aussie's Get First WC Goal, WinMark Viduka became the answer to a trivia question.In 1974 the Australians came to a World Cup in Germany and returned without a goal or a win. In 2006 in Germany, the Australians already have both. Middlesbrough forward Mark Viduka became the first Austrlian to score a World Cup goal as he dove to meet a Harry Kewell cross and slammed home a header. Kewell then doubled the advantage with a late headed goal of his own, for a 2-0 win for the stupidly-named Socceroos. The real story of the game may have been at the other end though, as Goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac made a series of magnificent saves to protect his goal, including one double-save that may have been a match for Gordon Banks' famous effort in 1970. First Kalac made an instinctive stop with his legs from Shinji Ono, then he hurled his 6'7" frame across to the far post to somehow tip Yanagisawa's follow-up attempt over the bar. Japan 0-2 Australia[aus] Viduka - 25 [aus] Kewell - 74 Halftime : 0-1 MoM : Kalac - Australia - 7.5/10
|
|
|
Post by coffers on Feb 8, 2006 23:21:32 GMT
I think I've already said Viduka was saving himself for the WC Finals, the lazy bostord. :humb:
|
|
|
Post by Sonic on Feb 9, 2006 0:42:12 GMT
Did Adriano score the goal with his right foot? It sure looks that way from the picture.
Were was Kewell played? On the left wing I hope. Kalac in goal? What happened to Schwarzer?
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 9, 2006 1:09:11 GMT
Did Adriano score the goal with his right foot? It sure looks that way from the picture. Were was Kewell played? On the left wing I hope. Kalac in goal? What happened to Schwarzer? Adriano has a "7" for weak-foot ability, so he can pretty much do what he wants with either foot. Schwarzer had the big blue arrow of doom land on him, meaning he was dropped for poor form. He is the team's starting keeper.
|
|
|
Post by Sonic on Feb 9, 2006 2:51:57 GMT
Was Schwarzer's loss of form due to his going for crosses? He's really crap at doing that. Just ask Coffers.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 9, 2006 11:58:08 GMT
FRANCE vs SWITZERLANDHistoryFrance : 11 time qualifiers. Winners once. Third place twice. Fourth place once. Switzerland : Seven time qualifiers. Quarter-finalists three times. Previous meetings : Seven. World Cup Preliminaries : Two draws. UEFA European Nations Finals : France one win. Friendlies : France two wins, Switzerland two wins. QualifyingFrance : In a group filled with drawn matches France finally triumphed thanks to a 4-0 victory over Cyprus in their final game. Drew twice with Israel, twice with Sitzerland and once with the Republic of Ireland in the qualifying stages. Switzerland : Finished second in France's group, (a premonition for this group too?), then won a playoff against Turkey on away goals that ended with a post-match scuffle that could see both teams punished by FIFA. France Man to Watch : It's rumoured that Zinedine Zidane is ready to retire after this World Cup, but the torch has already been passed to Arsenal's imperious Thierry Henry. A confidence player, on his day Henry is simply unstoppable and will be looking to atone for the disappointment of the 2002 world cup when the defending champions failed to score and Henry was sent off against Uruguay. Switzerland Man to Watch : Although they are young and quite talented across the field, forward Alexander Frei will carry the Swiss as far as they go in this tournament. ************************************************** ************************************************** SOUTH KOREA vs TOGOHistorySouth Korea : Six time qualifiers. Finished fourth once. Togo : First time qualifiers. Previous meetings : None. QualifyingSouth Korea : The team that finished fourth in 2002 after coming from nowhere nearly went straight back there as they struggled to qualify second in their group behind Saudi Arabia. Togo : Started slow, but finished strong to top a group that included 2002 qualifiers Senegal. South Korea Man to Watch : Manchester United's Park Ji-sung runs the midfield for the Koreans and will be relied upon to make the team work. Togo Man to Watch : Monaco forward Emmanuel Adebayor was the top scorer in the African qualifying section and has the speed to burn any defence.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 9, 2006 11:59:05 GMT
French Edge Past SwissRobert Pires celebrates his goal.After an embarrassment in the 2002 finals the French were desperate for a better start to their 2006 campaign and found it thanks to a stellar performance from Arsenal's Robert Pires. Pires drove the French side, scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Switzerland and could have had two more as he forced two good saves from Zuberbuhler. His goal came in the 36th minute when he cut across the face of the Swiss penalty area and curled a low right foot shot into the far corner. After the goal the French compacted into a defensive formation and snuffed out further Swiss attacks, sealing the three points from possibly their most difficult game. France 1-0 Switzerland[fra] Pires - 36 Halftime : 1-0 MoM : Pires - France - 7/10************************************************** ************************************************** Koreans can't Crack TogoPark Ji-Sung's effort bounced down on the line.South Korea puffed and panted for 90 minutes, peppering the Togo goal with shots, but couldn't find a way to break the deadlock and left with a goalless draw and a single point. Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung came closest to scoring with a 25 yard free kick that hit the underside of the Togo crossbar and bounced down on the goal line before being cleared away. Park also brought several good saves from Kossi Agassa who lived up to his "Magic Hands" nickname. South Korea 0-0 TogoHalftime : 0-0 MoM : Park Ji-Sung - South Korea - 7/10
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Feb 9, 2006 12:27:33 GMT
Nice work Stu, although Hornet's write-ups would be sooooooooo much better.
:checkit:
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 9, 2006 13:58:16 GMT
Nice work Stu, although Hornet's write-ups would be sooooooooo much better. Of course. That goes without saying. Although you can always be relied upon to say it anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 9, 2006 13:59:03 GMT
SPAIN vs UKRAINEHistorySpain : 12 time qualifiers. Fourth placed once. Quarterfinals four times. Ukraine : First time qualifiers. Previous meetings : Two. UEFA European Nations Qualifying : Spain one win, one draw. QualifyingSpain : Finished second in their group behind Serbia and then crushed Slovakia 6-2 on aggregate in the play off. Ukraine : Comfortably finished top of their group and were the first European team to qualify. Spain Man to Watch : If he can recover from a cruciate ligament then Raul is still the man who will carry the Spaniards, as his nation's all-time leading scorer. Ukraine Man to Watch : There can be only one and that's Andriy Shevchenko. Shevchenko is a world class forward who can make space for himself and gives the Ukraine a puncher's chance against anyone. ************************************************** ************************************************** TUNISIA vs SAUDI ARABIAHistoryTunisia : Three time qualifiers. Never progressed from group stage. Saudi Arabia : Three time qualifiers. Second round once. Previous meetings : Two. Friendlies : Tunisia won one, Saudi Arabia won one. QualifyingTunisia : Needed a single point against eternal rivals Morocco in their final game and trailed 2-1 until a late equaliser sent them to Germany. Saudi Arabia : Cantered through group undefeated and allowed only one goal. Tunisia Man to Watch : Ajax defender Hatem Trabelsi is the leader in a solid defence and will get forward into attack too. Saudi Arabia Man to Watch : Forward Sami Al Jaber is a legend in Asian football and, at 34, this is probably his last tournament - will want another World Cup goal before he goes.
|
|