One of the best parts of being in Portugal was having the opportunity to watch the game vs. Mexico and then the ugly 1-0 win over the Netherlands. The officiating was pathetic and the number of yellow and red cards was totally out of control and unnecessary. So Deco is now out for the quaterfinals game vs. England. It is the first time since the great 1966 vintage, that Portugal has got this far.
My streak of having a vintage "generally" declared every single time I have visited Portugal may be broken this year ... but if Portugal should beat England and get farther than they have in any of our lifetimes ... it would probably be even more appreciated by the majority of the folks I know in Portugal. Then again, there probably would be a few that will be disappointed.
I can't wait until the game tomorrow a.m. and will be wearing my Portugal shirt and drinking some great Port before the rest of my family even wakes up!
I too will be supporting Portugal in their quest for glory. Obviously this is only because of my love of Port and has nothing to with me being Scottish
Ricardo's incredible performance in blocking so many penalty kicks was incredible. England fought valiantly and outplayed Portugal in the 2nd half with only 10 men, but Renaldo sealed the deal.
What the heck was Rooney thinking, intentionally stomping on Carvalho's groin right in the middle of the field and directly in front of the referee?
I will give the referee credit for allowing both team's players to play a physical game and never letting things get out of control. Overall, I think England was clearly outcoached, but at the end of the day ... it came down to the brilliance of Ricardo to win the game. He has only given up one goal in the past four games, and his ability to guess right in the PK situation and get his hands on 4 of the 5 penalty kicks was nothing short of remarkable.
Regardless of whether they go any further than the semis, they proved that they are a great team this year. I wish I returned from Portugal 48 hours later!
Portugal beats English. Yeah Port.
Germany beats Argentina. Toss up - Reisling sqeezes by Malbac.
France knocks off Brazil - Bordeaux rocks.
Italy defeats Ukraine - Chianti anyone...?
I'm thinking this is turning into one wicked theme party for the Semi-Finals....
I think France is partying hard right now. Not only did they win, but the Tour de France is now underway. Talk about a country that has 2 reasons to party.
If I were you guys I would make sure I had a bottle of Chianti ready for next Sunday - no one seems to be giving the Italians any press coverage at all here and they seem to have cruised through to the quarter finals un-noticed - are they the dark horse of the tournament?
That said, wouldn't it be nice to celebrate a PORTugues win with a great VP 8)
I believe that the troika of Figo, Ronaldo and a rested Deco ... coached by Scolari and with Ricardo in goal, can match up well against France. Nobody is giving Portugal the respect of any of the other 3 semi-finalists. That is ok, because as the underdog, it is often easier, with less pressure ... to surprise those who've underestimated them. However, I think France has a heck of an experienced team with battle tested warriors. It may not be a wild and crazy game, but it certainly will be great to watch. The pain of waiting three more days is killing me.
I'd love to see Portugal play Italy. I think that whether it is France or Portugal ... they'd both have a decent chance against Italy. I think that Germany in the Finals, with a raucous if not insane home crowd ... would be too much to beat for either team. But that is why they play the games.
My dream match would be Portugal playing Italy though. Regardless, Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be thrilling days.
Any of the 4 teams can win this but Germany will be hard to beat, especially if PK's are involved - they just never miss. :?
I take it from your recent postings that Mr Ronaldo is quite popular where you are right now. This is in stark contrast to his current reputation in England where he seems to have turned into the Son of Satan :twisted:
Actually, the WC is a non-factor in my area with less than 1/2 page of the sports section of the newspaper dedicated to it ... and that is the day after the 1/4 finals!
No, it was in Portugal while there watching a few of the games that his name was in lights. I imagine you are refering to his snide smile at Rooney after being pushed and watching his "buddy" get the red card?
It amazes me that there are folks who don't think Rooney deserved the red. I guess they need a good stomping on their gonads with cleats to understand why the red was given! :twisted:
I agree - it is a real shame that Ronaldo is the one who is being labelled a cheat whilst the guy who committed GBH is being held up as some sort of innocent by-stander.
As much as I will be rooting for Portugal in 12 hours, I honestly do not think that they (or France) have what it takes to beat Italy in the Finals. Italy has such amazing balance, the best goaltender and incredibly tough defense. They have enough offense to beat either of their two possible foes. But as I have learned with the National Football League (USA) on any given Sunday ... a weaker team can beat a stronger team. It happens, and that is why they play the games. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
I respect the French team, but will root against them this game.
