germany 2006 begins in a few weeks. time to get a thread going for anyone's thoughts and opinions.

all the latest world cup news




ah ......the beautiful game!! joga bonita!!

tables and results

tfc, in what way , shape or form do france deserve it???? no one will be under estimating zidane, least not the italians. let's not forget that he made his worldwide reputation at juventus so i think italy will be fully aware of the great man and what he can do. my point was that italy nullified zidane in euro 2000 to the point where he was having to go back to the edge of his own area to get the ball. they've done it once and i feel they can do it again. hopefully , henri will ease up on the theatrics and it will be a great game. as i said before, i don't think the threat will come from zidane but from the pace france have up front.
btw, i'm not in denial ........ i'm in bolton :))

Wayne Rooney's hopes of escaping further punishment from FIFA for his sending-off against Portugal have dwindled still further after one of the most senior figures in football backed the match referee's decision.

Lennart Johansson, UEFA president and head of FIFA's World Cup organising committee, said Argentinian official Horacio Elizondo had been quite right to send the Manchester United striker off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's groin.

Johansson told PA Sport: "I was at the game and I had a different opinion when I first saw the incident from the stands and then later on television. But having seen the replay, in my opinion he was absolutely right to send him off."

He added: "I also saw this referee in the opening match and I did not notice him much, which is a very good thing - much better than if you see a referee who says 'here comes the king of the road'."

Elizondo once red-carded David Beckham when Manchester United were playing Mexican side Necaxa in the first game of the 2000 World Club Championship in Brazil.

Since then, Elizondo, 42, has officiated at the Olympic Games in 2004, and the opening match of this World Cup between Germany and Costa Rica.

He created some controversy during South Korea's game with Switzerland when he overruled his linesman's offside flag and allowed Alexander Frei to make it 2-0.

Elizondo correctly spotted the ball had come off the leg of a Korean defender but he was surrounded by angry players after allowing the goal.

Out on her Royal Yacht, HM The Queen was enjoying the sea air when she spied a man in the water off the port bow - clearly being menaced by a very large shark. Through her binoculars she could see it was Christian Ronaldo, struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 20 foot shark!

The Queen ordered the captain to change course to try and save the poor man, but she knew the yacht's top speed would never get them there in time.

At that exact moment a speedboat containing three men wearing white England shirts sped into view. One of the men took aim at the shark and fired a harpoon into its ribs, immobilising it instantly. The other two reached out and pulled Ronaldo from the water and, using long clubs, beat the shark to death. They bundled the bleeding, semi-conscious Ronaldo into the speedboat along with the dead shark and prepared for a hasty retreat, when they heard frantic calling .......

It was the Queen calling them to the yacht.

On reaching yacht the Queen went into raptures about the rescue and said to Beckham, Rooney and Gerrard (for it was they) "I will give you a knighthood for your brave actions. I thought the England team would hate Ronaldo after the world cup, but I see that my England team are true heroes and should serve as a model for sportsmanship to other countries."

She knighted them there and then, and proceeded to sail away.

As she departed, Rooney asked the others: "Who was that?!" "That," Beckham answered, "was our Queen. She rules the Commonwealth and knows everything an all that about our country."

"Well," Rooney replied, "she definitely knows f***-all about shark fishing. How's the bait holding up?"

As a neutral this is one of those rare occasions when I want both sides to win for differing reasons (as opposed to the norm when I dislike one of the sides so much that I cheer the other one on !!).

With France we have an ageing team many of whom will be giving their last performance for Les Bleus. Inspired by a quite magnificent Zidane and ably assisted by colleagues young and old this would be a fitting way for the best player of his generation to bow out in the most spectacular way possible.

With Italy we have a national side that has managed to put the troubles of their domestic game to one side for the last few weeks in a heroic effort to restore pride to a nation that has been shocked, disgusted, disillusioned and depressed by the sad truth behind recent scudetto victories. It will almost certainly result in the relegation of four of the biggest clubs and will require many of the current Italian heroes to seek employment elsewhere. It makes the performance of the side even more commendable.

My prediction:

the heart wants Zizou to go out on the highest sporting 'high' imaginable. The head says that the magnificent Italian defence will hold out for one last time and the weak link that is Fabien Barthez will give the Italian forwards one chance at least.

1-0 to Italy

some interesting stuff about tomorrow's game.


Italy defender Alessandro Nesta has been ruled out of the World Cup final in Berlin because of a groin injury.

The AC Milan centre-back has missed Italy's last three matches after aggravating a long-term injury in Italy's 2-0 win over Czech Republic.

Marco Materazzi continues in defence alongside skipper Fabio Cannavaro.

France's Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram will play their final games for Les Bleus after confirming their retirement from international football.

Italy (probable): Buffon; Zambrotta, Grosso, Cannavaro, Materazzi; Gattuso, Camoranesi, Pirlo, Perrotta; Totti; Toni.

France (probable): Barthez; Sagnol, Abidal, Thuram, Gallas; Makelele, Vieira, Malouda, Ribery, Zidane; Henry.



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Italy's Nesta has suffered injury setbacks in all three of the World Cups in which he has played - he missed Italy's second round defeat to South Korea four years ago and was also injured for the quarter-final exit to France in 1998.

Former Everton defender Materazzi stood in against Czech Republic and Germany, while Palermo centre-back Andrea Barzagli covered in the quarter-final against Ukraine.

Midfielder Daniele De Rossi returns from a four-match ban for elbowing USA forward Brian McBride in the face during the first round, although he isn't expected to start.

Italy are the designated home team and will sport their familiar home blue colours, while France will play in white for the fourth match in a row.


BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads

Italy have played France on 32 occasions winning 17, drawing eight and losing seven, outscoring France by 75 goals to 44. This will be the fifth World Cup meeting of the pair. The Squadra Azzurri won 3-1 in the 1938 Quarter-finals and 2-1 in the 1978 Group phase. France's sole win over Italy came in the 1986 second round (2-0). This was the last time Italy lost a World Cup knockout match within 90 minutes. In the 1998 Quarter-finals France beat the Italians 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw.

The only previous final between Italy and France came at Euro 2000. France won 2-1 through a golden goal by David Trezeguet. Italy led 1-0 until the 90th minute. This match was also the last meeting between the two sides.

Team facts - Italy

Italy have won three World Cups (1934, 1938 and 1982) and one European Championship (1968). They can now become the second nation to win at least four World Cup trophies. Brazil are the only team to have won five World Cup titles.

Italy are unbeaten in 24 international matches, their longest unbeaten streak since 1939. Their 11 goals at the 2006 tournament have been scored by 10 different players. This equals the World Cup record for teams with most different scorers in a single finals. This record was set by France in 1982. If France fail to score, the Italians will equal the record for most successive World Cup clean sheets of five, and become the first nation ever to register six shut-outs in a World Cup campaign.

Team facts - France

The title secured on home soil in 1998 is France's most successful result in 11 previous appearances at the World Cup finals. They have not lost a World Cup knockout match since the 1986 semi-final against West Germany.

France have conceded only two goals in their six matches at this tournament. South Korea's Park-Ji-Sung and Spain's David Villa are the only players to have scored against Les Bleus so far. If they keep a clean sheet and Italy do not, France will equal their own World Cup record of only conceding two goals.

Player facts - Italy

Daniele De Rossi will be eligible to play for Italy in the final, after having served a four match suspension. Gianluca Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro are the only players to have figured in every minute of Italy's 2006 World Cup campaign.

Captain Fabio Cannavaro is set to collect his 100th cap and become the third Italian player to reach this milestone, joining Paolo Maldini (126) and Dino Zoff (112). Cannavaro made his international debut on 22 January 1997 in a 2-0 friendly victory over Northern Ireland.

Player facts - France

Louis Saha is suspended for the 2006 World Cup final. In 2002 Germany's Michael Ballack was the last player to be suspended for a World Cup final. Fabien Barthez, William Gallas, Claude Makelele, Willy Sagnol and Lilian Thuram have played every minute of every match for France so far.

Thierry Henry scored his sixth World Cup goal against Brazil, surpassing Platini on the World Cup top scorer list for France. Henry now only trails France's top scorer Just Fontaine, who netted 13 at the 1958 finals. If goalkeeper Fabien Barthez keeps a clean sheet against Italy he will break the World Cup record for most cleans sheets by a goalkeeper. He now shares this record with Peter Shilton, who kept 10 clean sheets between 1982 and 1990.

Miscellaneous Info

Italy have reached the World Cup final every 12 years since 1970. They lost the 1970 final, won in 1982 and lost in 1994. The 2006 World Cup final will be the first since 1978 without Germany or Brazil and the first final since 1938 without Germany or Brazil or the host nation. The 2006 final is also the first all-European World Cup final since 1982 when Italy beat West Germany 3-1.

Juventus is represented by eight players in the squads of Italy and France. Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mauro Camoranesi and Alessandro Del Piero face their French team mates Liliam Thuram, Patrick Vieira and David Trezeguet.

So wot was interesting about all that then Bos?

:-))

well i found it interesting, pete . :))

3rd place goes to germany



another cracking game!! what tournament this has been!!

Anyway ...



Forza les froggies :)

ha, what would you know!! you're a woman !!!

some great videos .

so nervous and excited.

"I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country."
Ian Rush

"I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona."
Mark Draper

"Sometimes in football you have to score goals."
Thierry Henry

chocolat :)). but just think of how much money these people make. incredible!!

3 1/2 hours to kick off. just about to set off and meet the rest of the crew to eat drink and make merry. i don't think i could be more nervous if i was playing in the damn thing !!!

And they say Rooney is nuts! Zidane - a disgrace to himself and his country

Well I'm only a girlie after all.
What brought that on, huh :(

4-3 and waiting

Forza Azzurre !!
Shame on Zidane.

Guess we'll see Bos in a few days' time :))

Waiting for the Italian girlie now, next week some time I should think :-)