Australia - Most popular for September 2007
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The Asociación del Fútbol Argentino didn't think this one through much, did they? Scheduling a
midweek fixture with mostly European players half-way across the world, I'm sure they got an earful
from Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank Riikjard, and Rafa Benitez among others. Anyhow, the Albicelestes
have already traveled to Oz, so there's little to be done at this point.
Before Fred was exciting play at RFK, he was part of Australia's Melbourne Victory. But despite
assisting in many goals, including four of the five in the final, his former coach Ernie Merrick
doesn't understand why fans and players see him as a legend.
"The Victory coach said it was 'ludicrous that he has become a legend' after being reminded that
veteran Socceroo defender Tony Vidmar, now of the Central Coast Mariners, had said after Sunday's
scoreless draw that without Fred there was no Victory.
I caught the start of the 2nd half. It was 1-0 in favor of Canada, who needed to beat Australia in
order to advance to the knockout stage of the Women's World Cup. Australia needed to at least draw
in order to advance, and they'd fallen behind on the 2nd fastest goal in WWC history, [...]
NORWAY
Nickname: Gresshoppene
Current world ranking: 4
Coach: Bjarne Berntsen, who took over in 2004 and guided the team to the final of
Euro 2005.
How they qualified: Won their UEFA qualifying group, with a 7-1-0 record.
Past record: Won the 1995 World Cup and finished fourth in 1999, but were
disappointingly eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2003.
With Dutchman Dick Advocaat seemingly rubberstamped as the next boss of the Australian national
team, caretaker coach Graham Arnold has departed by biting back at critics who accuse him of
steering the Socceroos ship off course since the highs of last year's World Cup.
It's been a tumultuous journey for Arnold, Guus Hiddink's former assistant, since accepting the
national team senior position when Hiddink elected not to renew his short-term contract 15 months
ago.
The Canada-Norway match was the first one I've actually been able to watch all the way through (not
just highlights), because the Mothercorp in its infinite wisdom is only showing the games featuring
the Canadian team during the group rounds. I realize there's probably not much of an audience for
women's soccer, but come on: the matches are all at some ungodly hour of the morning.
Now that's more like it: Canada recovered from the disappointment of their opening game against
Norway with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Ghana. Canada took the lead through a header from
Christine Sinclair -- now Canada's top scorer at the World Cup -- in the 16th minute, and added
three more goals in the second half.
In the other Group C game, a late goal from substitute Lisa De Vanna earned Australia a draw with
Norway, after the Norwegians had taken an early lead with Ragnhild Gulbrandsen's second goal of the
tournament, coming in the fifth minute.
Sorry for the brevity with today's post, but I'm ultra busy with reality today. Cheers.
- The real reason Buffalo Sabre Maxim Afinogenov was a scratch from the Eastern conference
semifinals last season? He was playing that wimpy sport soccer and slammed is head on the
concrete.
- Convincing the coach that you're an eligible freshman and not a ball boy anymore sometimes pays
off for everyone.
Germany 3-0 Korea DPR
Norway 1-0 China
USA 3-0 England
Brazil 3-2 Australia
All the results in this round were pretty much as you'd expect. North Korea worked hard but were
eventually dispatched with stereotypical Germany efficiency, with goals from Kerstin Garefrekes,
Renate Lingor and Annike Krahn. Hosts China were knocked out by Norway thanks to Isabell
Herlovsen's first-half goal, with the Chinese squandering too many chances.
