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England 1 USA 1: got a spare keeper anyone?

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usa fans

Darren Bent’s exclusion meant we weren’t really supposed to be too bothered. But an early goal does wonders for everyone’s moral. Doesn’t it? Well, not if followed by 40 minutes of abysmal football and a comic cuts equaliser. Did it get better in the second half? Not a great deal. Best out of that lot, Darren! …


This is an updated version of the halftime posting …


It would not be quite right to say the French commentator could actually be heard salivating when Robert Green, for months linked with a move to a club with an infinitely better keeper (Sunderland), made his pathetic fumble to allow Clint Dempsey’s ordinary, somewhat hopeful long-range strike to spin away from him and over the line.

All the same, the man from TF1 did sound a little excited (though Arsène Wenger, by his side, was altogether more level-headed).

Well, fair play to the French. After a dismal warm-up, and an opening game they dominated without ever really looking like winning, they needed something to cheer them up. The USA’s equaliser served that purpose.

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HT: England 1 USA 1: Green-fingered calamity

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usa fans

Darren Bent’s exclusion meant we weren’t really supposed to be too bothered. But an early goal does wonders for everyone’s moral. Doesn’t it? Well, not if followed by 40 minutes of abysmal football and a comic cuts equaliser. Best out of that lot, Darren! …


It would not be quite right to say the French commentator could actually be heard salivating when Robert Green, for months linked with a move to a club with an infinitely better keeper (Sunderland), made his pathetic fumble to allow Clint Dempsey’s ordinary, somewhat hopeful long-range strike to spin away from him and over the line. All the same, the man from TF1 did sound a little excited (though Arsene Wenger, by his side, was altogether more level-headed).

Well, fair play to the French. After a dismal warm-up, and an opening game they dominated without ever really looking like winning, they needed something to cheer them up. The USA’s equaliser served that purpose.

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Priceless World Cup memories (2)

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parasund

The competition has begun, with a late Mexico equaliser spoiling a dream start for South Africa, and France failing to overcome Uruguay. I think I predicted two draws on the opening day, elsewhere if not here, so was not surprised. And both were, as Bill Taylor has pointed out here, quite entertaining games. England play tonight and, of course, Salut! Sunderland wants even a Bent-free Capello side to win (though we’re also the highly unofficial site for the Paraguay squad – thanks for the flag, Pete!).

Steve Bruce has said the heart wants England, the head says Argentina; Lorik Cana favours Brazil. But in quiet periods between games, you can browse the outstanding pieces in which the same Pete who procured my Paraguay flag – Pete Sixsmith – reflects with startling recall of detail on all World Cups between 1966 and 2006. Here is a second instalment of the highlights (one of them from an intruder), each article reached by clicking the location or year …

See the first round-up of extracts by clicking here, or scroll down each individual tournament, clickable from the sidebar column to your left

1994, USA

Football and the USA is like Cheryl Cole and Rugby League, Nick Clegg and sticking to your principles and Mike Ashley and sensible managerial appointments – they just do not go together. They like games that they can be World Champions at because nobody else plays them. I like Baseball, but calling the play off the World Series… do me a favour.

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England v USA: a World Cup “Who Are You?”

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usa2

So, they kick off today: South Africa v Mexico with Nelson Mandela, sadly, absent following the death of his 13-year-old great granddaughter in an accident after last night’s concert, and France v Uruguay tonight. And tomorrow Fabio Capello’s finest, minus Darren Bent, open the Group C campaign against the United States of America, the country from which we gratefully accepted Claudio Reyna at Sunderland. From the US fans’ site Sam’s Army, the highly knowledgeable Mark Spacone* looks forward to the game through American eyes, with American spelling and terminology …


Salut! Sunderland: What are your feelings about the composition of Group C and how do you rate your chances of progressing?

When the first ball came out of the pot and it was England, I threw up and once I cleaned up and regained some composure, I thought the world was against us and the pots were stacked to ensure we Yanks would be in the group of death and eliminated in the first round just to show the world we don’t know the difference between a football and, well, a football! As the draw continued, it became clear the American dollar is still worth something in Sepp’s pocket because he drew us in with Algeria and Slovenia. Wait, I forgot, the draw is random! On this side of the pond, we think the US and England will advance into the second round (any order will do for us). Slovenia, however, may be the wedding crasher! Many are hoping the U.S. comes out of the England game without any injury regardless of the result, but the hopeful are looking for a draw, and the plain down right crazy who want to give others the ultimate “I told you so” are looking for a win. I wonder if Landon Donovan scores the winner if Everton supporters will chant “USA” again should he return there and perform as well as he did on loan this past season!

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Can the World Cup help Kick Out Racism?

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kickoutracism

Thanks to people of the calibre of Niall Quinn and Darren Bent, and many more than we could hope to mention, Sunderland AFC have played a commendable role, through such campaigns as Show Racism the Red Card, in combating racial prejudice and discrimination in football. The opening of the World Cup in South Africa – sadly, after all, in Nelson Mandela’s absence following the death of his 13-year-old great granddaughter in an accident after last night’s concert – sends out a powerful message of its own today. But with thanks to Jeremy Robson, whose exchanges with me here a week ago inspired these thoughts in today’s edition of The National, Abu Dhabi, only so much progress has been made …


Image: from Frerieke‘s Flickr pages. The posting is repeated at my main Salut! site

After the French football team defeated the much-fancied Brazilians in the 1998 World Cup final, two snappy phrases became part of the legacy of a swashbuckling victory: un-deux-trois-zéro to describe the impressive scoreline and blanc-black-beur acclaiming the multiracial composition of the team.

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2006: Zidane a right nutter. World Cup Memories (12)

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zidane

That’s it, the end of a series Salut! Sunderland has been proud to present, Pete Sixsmith‘s magnificent memories of 11 World Cups. With more warning that Pete had such a great idea up his sleeve, it would been worth turning into a slim volume. He began with the 1966 tournament in which (West) Germany were beaten by England, and ends in (reunited) Germany where the final will forever be remembered for the final gesture of Zinedine Zidane’s career* (captured rather neatly in Mads Boedker’s photo). …

And so we reach the last of our reviews of past World Cups What I Can Remember, with a look at Germany four years ago. Another European tournament, another terrific set of stadiums and another one that pulled a nation together for four weeks through the magic of football.

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Arsenal, Sunderland and “that thug Cana”

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How’s your Albanian? The applause when Arsenal was mentioned, during Lorik Cana’s recent TV question-and-answer session back in Kosovo, was a little worrying for those of us who seriously rate him. Add a touch of discipline, and much greater consistency, to his unrivalled passion and strength and you’d have another Patrick Vieira at the peak of his powers. Unfortunately, Arsène Wenger may feel the same way …

How long will Gooner memories be if speculation about Lorik Cana and renewed interest on the part of Arsène Wenger turns out to be true, and leads to an attempt to lure our captain to the Emirates stadium?

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