A penalty to substitute Francesco Totti with the last kick of the game saw Italy end Australia's World Cup dream in controversial circumstances with a 1-0 win in Kaiserslautern this morning.
Totti's penalty came after Lucas Neill was judged to have brought down Fabio Grosso in the final minute of stoppage time.
The decision sparked outrage among Socceroos fans after TV replays appeared to show that Neill had been unlucky to have the penalty blown against him as Grosso seemed to fall over his legs.
The aussies were great value for money in this world cup and i really wanted them to go further, from the start there great comeback against japan set the scene for a great performance from the growing football nation, this i believe is just the start of the australian football story, i expect to see them a lot more regular at world cups from now on......world cup fever has taken a serious grip on that country and the people just dont wanna let go..........
The time has come for Steven Gerrard to inspire England in the way he inspires Liverpool week in and week out. Give him the armband and let him lead England to glory.
If you apply some sound common sense there can be only one solution.
In the past, my main criticism of Beckham has been his lack of mobility both offensively and defensively. In stark contrast, Gerrard is always on the move and his fitness and pace are nearing their peak. He is a well-oiled, ruthless midfield machine.
He falls into a rare breed of players who can lift sides, carry and inspire them.
Beckham is merely in the team these days for his delivery at set-pieces. His contribution outside of that is negligible.
But Gerrard, who has scored two goals in three games prior to the Ecuador clash, can not only provide a similar service in the same position he excels in for Liverpool, but a whole lot more besides.
To leave Beckham out now and play with a four-man midfield of Joe Cole, Owen Hargreaves, Lampard and Gerrard would bring balance, pace, excitement and goals to a dysfunctional area of the team.
Beckham's presence is merely preventing the fulfilment of England's potential. ..............Terry Butcher from The Sunday Mirror
All this we have known for a years, but this world cup has really shown how big the gap is between these 2 players. If England have any real hope of winning this cup it will only be with Gerrard wearing the captains armband.....they would still be a longshot but surly with Gerrard as a driving force there chances would be so much better.......so the question is has Sven got the balls........................................NO
Liverpool are believed to be pushing ahead with a move for Craig Bellamy.
The Welsh international is widely reported to have a clause in his contract at Blackburn that allows him to leave Ewood Park for just £6 million.
Not ideal but as long as he is not our main striker buy of the summer, and if we can get him for 6 million and if he leaves his crazy off-field antics behind him then it could turn out to be a good deal. Not too keen on giving Sinama-Pongolle as part of the deal i think he will still be a good option for Liverpool fc and even though cash is tight he is worth a lot more than the trade-in we would get as part of a Bellamy deal.
Cash really does seem to be the problem this summer, even more so than past summers if we do go ahead with the Alves deal which will probably cost over 8 million and hopefully one world class striker, it makes u wonder where the cash is going to come from. With the arrival of Gonzalez maybe Rafa is hoping Kewell will have a great world cup to push up his price, hope he stays at anfield he really does seem to be coming back to his best...
Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard spared England's blushes with late goals against Trinidad & Tobago to book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
The Liverpool pair produced the goals, but it seemed like Lampard had been assigned shooting duty with the amount of shots he took, but then again maybe it was just his chelsea arrogance that made him position himself inside the six yard box in the hope of scoring from Gerrards crumbs.
But very happy to see Crouch score he deserves it ,he is such a good team player its nice he gets a bit recognition for his consistant selfless play for club and country.
"Now I have a coach who doesn't want me. Benitez doesn't use me, so I've taken a step back.
"I don't have the confidence of the coach; he doesn't like me."
So this has turned into a dream situation ...We dont want Cisse...He dose not want us..He is useless for another 6 months no one will buy him for at least a year to make sure he has recovered.
Maybe we will look back in 20 years and say, do u remember how close we came to selling one of Liverpools greatest strikers of all time before he had a chance to prove himself..........Dont hold your breath this guy is the last of houliers wasters ...............i hope
Cisse, training with the France World Cup squad at Clairefontaine, said: "Mr. Houllier signed me for Liverpool but I never had the chance to work with him.
"Now I have a coach who doesn't want me. Benitez doesn't use me, so I've taken a step back.
"I don't have the confidence of the coach; he doesn't like me."
Houllier helped bring Cisse to Liverpool from Auxerre but left the club shortly before the 24-year-old signed in July 2004.
This is just what was needed Cisse putting the final nail in his own coffin, i hope this makes it official that we are open to offers for the flop, and we get in a striker that can be a plus for the team
Gonzalez and Reinaldo Navia were axed from the squad by Chile coach Nelson Acosta after breaking rules during their European tour.
The pair were sent home from the trip after the coach caught three girls in their rooms 24 hours after their friendly win over Republic of Ireland.
Hope this is not going to be another spice boys thing maybe its better he makes mistakes now before we sign him and THE SUN gets hold of him.
But at least he gets full rest before season and if he had great world cup real madrid and barca would probably chase him so its not all bad
Messi, 18, is still recovering from a thigh injury suffered while playing for his club Barcelona against Chelsea in the Champions League back in March.
If only we had the money and barcelona would sell . This young guy is the next maradona he ripped chelsea apart before they done a two man mauling job of him, in fairness to chelsea it was probably there only chance to win if they had not butchered him it could have been an even more humiliating night
Well, he's not going to play any part in the group games and if all goes to plan he'll have 10 days training before a possible last 16 game. What a nonsense!
What is the point in taking him? Just say - and it's unlikely I know - that England do brilliantly in the group games, they get through comfortably and are playing well as a team - what purpose does it serve introducing a crock into the side?
I have to agree with Sir Alex Ferguson for once, it's not just Rooney's physical condition, it's how he's feeling mentally as well. To be honest he's better off watching it at home and we'd be better off trying to make the best of what we've got, which is still quite a lot.
This is a tough decision, i think its worth bringing him because there really is not any other strikers that can be brought into the squad that will have a chance of playing , but it is true if the team is playing well it would be madness to disrupt that by bringing in a half fit player. But if england are one nil down in semis with 15 minutes left, Rooney would be the man to bring on
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