Speaker: KICK IT! The Highest Mountain, and an Ode to Robert Green
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And call me crazy, but if we get another referee like last night, and Fallon continues to lead with his elbows again, we'll have a blunted strike force - I wasn't suggesting Herbert would "rest" Fallon, more like not risk him collecting another yellow if the group stage yellows aren't wiped before the knockout round.
And if he plays like he did today in the round of sixteen, NZ risks being down one man. He needs to play and watch the elbows - there's no reason why one of your strikers should find himself needing to be booked to get the team out of trouble, so he should play. And assert himself physically, but at the same time be smart about it.
I liked that the ref didn't send him off today and gave him a final warning instead. That was the right thing to do.
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Various comparisons about the All Whites result have made with rugby - e.g. it's like Japan drawing with the All Blacks. It's one of those hypothetical questions that there is no right answer to, and in many ways we should just celebrate the great result and forget about the oval ball game for a few days.
However, I enjoy numbers so I've applied some maths to the problem. I took the most recent FIFA rankings and normalised the top 100 countries points - that gave Italy .67 and NZ .08, so a difference of .59. The problem now is, how to compare that to rugby. As there are significantly less rugby playing nations than football, I took the top 20 countries from the IRB rankings (you may think that this number is too low, but...) and did the same maths.
So, by my reckoning it was equivalent to a draw between Ireland and Romania, or a draw between NZ and Italy or Fiji. I prefer the Ireland comparison as Italy are not ranked no. 1 in the football world and from my maths Ireland has equivalent points in the rugby rankings to Italy in the football rankings.
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So, by my reckoning it was equivalent to a draw between Ireland and Romania, or a draw between NZ and Italy or Fiji. I prefer the Ireland comparison as Italy are not ranked no. 1 in the football world and from my maths Ireland has equivalent points in the rugby rankings to Italy in the football rankings.
A draw between NZ and Italy has a nice symmetry to it :)
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@Peter - True, especially as football is the number one sport in Italy. I wonder how rugby rates in Italy compared to football in NZ.
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Hey Giovanni, are the Italians upset about the reffing too. Smeltz's goal seemed to me to be from offside since Reid touched the ball as it went past.
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I haven't come across any complaints, no. The consensus seems to be that while Smeltz was offside it would have been a tough to call to make, and that De Rossi was fouled but milked it for all it was worth.
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I wonder how rugby rates in Italy compared to football in NZ.
It's quite popular in some parts of the country, almost completely uknown in others. It's not played by kids except in those few areas, unlike soccer over here. On the other hand, Italian rugby fans don't seem to have any major chip on the shoulder about the evils of soccer, so that's a notable difference.
Actually, scratch that, some of the players do, come to think of it.
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The consensus seems to be that while Smeltz was offside it would have been a tough to call to make
Indeed. And 84% of those who responed to the poll said so as well.
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Indeed. And 84% of those who responed to the poll said so as well.
That's why it wasn't called. The referee was waiting on good polling data...
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Apparently if we draw with Paraguay by the same amount as Slovakia draws with Italy then it will come down to a coin toss between us and Italy!
'ALL WHITES TAILS UP FTW'
World ends...
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'ALL WHITES TAILS UP FTW'
Italy won Euro 68 like that. I shit you not. (Well, it won the semifinal on a coin toss, rather. But still)
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Italy won Euro 68 like that. I shit you not.
It was a coin of two sides, and...?
[Spoiler Alert]
Seriously, in Doctor Who that would break the space time continuum, open a rift in the fabric of the Universe, and it would all be over. -
it will come down to a coin toss
an Italian coin would flip itself
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That's why it wasn't called. The referee was waiting on good polling data...
Democracy in action.
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The Aussies will get over the Grosso penalty some day, but there's quite a lot of fun to be squeezed out of them until they do.
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It was a coin of two sides
a New Zealand one would probably land on its edge
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The consensus seems to be that while Smeltz was offside it would have been a tough to call to make
I've watched that again and I reckon if Smeltz had not played the ball it may well have been an own goal. As for the penalty, well, penalties don't count as "proper" goals, especially those gained for an Oscar winning performance. I wonder how the game would have played out with a "Real" football? it may well be a factor in light of the consistent low scores.
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UEFA 1968. That was quite a story. Even a re-match for the final!
Another reason why 1968 was such a globally significant year, and one I'm quite attached to myself, just quietly. -
The Aussies will get over the Grosso penalty some day
I wonder if it will be before the Americans get over their disallowed goal. ESPN won't shut up about it.
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especially those gained for an Oscar winning performance
Smith committed a foul, you know. It may be one of those fouls that often gets overlooked, but it was a foul nonetheless. De Rossi made sure the ref saw it. It's exactly what Smeltz would have done if it had happened at the other end of the park. Although frankly this is getting quite boring - can we go back to praising the All Whites for a historic performance, instead of whining?
Same goes for the complaints about bloody ball, to be honest. Brazil doesn't seem to have too much trouble blasting it into the net I've noticed.
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Apparently if we draw with Paraguay by the same amount as Slovakia draws with Italy then it will come down to a coin toss between us and Italy!
Is that seriously the next thing they use to decide? Not 'least number of penalties' or something?
Smith committed a foul, you know.
I don't know much about the rules of the game, but I thought it was a foul on replay. The Italian player made it a lot more obvious, which I don't like, but I thought Smith was still holding his top when he pursued the ball coming across the goal and that seems worthy of a penalty to me.
I suspect actually the Italian wouldn't have gotten near it, but that's Smith's bad luck/judgement.
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Brazil doesn't seem to have too much trouble blasting it into the net I've noticed.
Exactly.*
And I was about to say that at least New Zealand (particularly Ricki Herbert) has been mostly future focused and positive, but I hear Nelson may be a few coins lighter after letting rip on the ref. Can't find a reference, but the guy next door seems to know what's going on.
* They may have 'milked' plenty of free kicks, but none of their players were booked for 'simulation', although they were 'simulating' a team of amateurs in another sense.
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If players fell over every time a shirt was pulled there would be nobody left standing.
In the meantime, Paraguay looked impressive against Slovakia and I think they'll be a tougher proposition for NZ than either Italy or Slovakia.
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What did I tell you people about Fallon and his elbows? I’d “rest” him for the Paraguay game, but just because I think he’s a liability.
@Gio; Kewell and the video was brilliant. That’s what playing for Liverpool does to you.
BTW; what’s the bet that if it does come down to a coin toss between NZ and Italy for the knockout stages FIFA will have a special coin prepared earlier?
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Same goes for the complaints about bloody ball, to be honest. Brazil doesn't seem to have too much trouble blasting it into the net I've noticed.
Geez Gio, I only asked a question, are you upset about something?.
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