11/05/24
October 08, 2005
Empty the Brewery!: As fans of Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast celebrate getting to the World Cup finals for the first time.
And I've just heard that Angola have also qualified for their first finals. All change in Africa.
posted by owlhouse at 04:20 PM on October 08, 2005
Bravo!!!
posted by supersly26 at 04:46 PM on October 08, 2005
Cool story, owlhouse. Empty the brewery!!!!!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:35 PM on October 08, 2005
Frankly I'm pretty surprised that both Senegal and Nigeria missed out, especially the Super Eagles, but there's always 2010. Another first timer qualified tonight: Costa Rica, taking all three home points from the USA. Admittedly not anything like the American first XI but I was more than a bit disappointed with the final score. Marcel Balboa seemed incapable of stopping himself from repeating "This whole country is going to party. Nobody's going to work tomorrow." As if people there (generally speaking) work on Sundays anyway. p.s. ESPN management can do a circle jerk with barbed wire, once again tape-delaying a national team world cup qualifier and then making us wait even longer to show the end of a one-sided college football game. Fortunately I was watching in 'real time' but for any tapers, well, screw.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:52 AM on October 09, 2005
Well done to those plucky Africans. It's always nice to have some new cannon-fodder. I kid because I love the game. Thanks to the Dutch for guaranteeing England's qualification because it didn't look to be something we could do ourselves. bill you poor long-suffering bastard, would it help to know that I watched Northern Ireland v Wales, England v Austria, Cyprus v Eire, Belgium v Spain and the second half of Tunisia v Morocco, all live? You need to emigrate.
posted by squealy at 03:40 AM on October 09, 2005
Another first timer qualified tonight: Costa Rica Would that be the same Costa Rica we saw in Korea/Japan 2002, and the same one that made the quarter finals at Italia 90? I only ask because I used to work with a Costa Rican from the UN and our conversations consisted entirely of football. And squealy - if you saw Morocco v Tunisia, then you saw the most bizarre own goal from Morocco with not a single Tunisian white shirt in sight. They won't be happy in Casablanca tonight.
posted by owlhouse at 04:57 AM on October 09, 2005
owlhouse, I plead not guilty on the basis of insane announcers but you are, of course, correct. Squealy, a few years ago I was trying like heck to get a job in Australia (not a specific one at a specific company, but one that would get me a work visa) but that didn't happen--England, well, between the weather and the food I don't see that happening.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:22 AM on October 09, 2005
What bill? You don't like rain? Pah! Yeah owlhouse I saw the own goal, if you're talking about the El Karkouri one in the second half. Poor lad, you have to feel sorry for him, but I thought it was going in too. I'm not quite sure how he managed to slice the ball into his own net though. I bet he couldn't do that again if he tried.
posted by squealy at 03:29 AM on October 10, 2005
I watched some of Northern Ireland vs. Wales, then some of the England game all from the comfort of the Long Room in the pavilion at the Brit Oval, were I was periodically nipping inside for a cigarette from my seat pitch-side at an Aussie Rules Football (or "footy" as I shall now be calling it) exhibition match. So I was watching soccer on TV at a cricket ground that was hosting a footy match. Why would any sensible sports fan not want to live in England?
posted by JJ at 04:47 AM on October 10, 2005
I don't know about you guys, but i'm going to the World Cup next year... SpoFi meetup?!
posted by StarFucker at 10:41 AM on October 10, 2005
I won't be going. Tickets are only available to England Travel Club members and I'm not in the Travel Club, and membership is closed.
posted by squealy at 01:45 PM on October 10, 2005
I'm in line for a set of tickets, provided Australia qualifies. Three group games and the first game of the second round. I booked a package of tickets in April. The meet up sounds great. The only problem being the play off against the 5th placed South Americans in November. We don't do these play off things well.
posted by owlhouse at 05:31 PM on October 10, 2005
And especially well done to the Black Stars of Ghana - it's about time.