I'm looking forward to part 1 of the Swedish upset against Italy today. My wish was that Sweden would qualify just so the Messiah, the Man, Zlatan Ibrahimovich could make a triumphant return from injury at the World Cup. But, alas, he announced he will not be making an international comeback.
He has however, happily, remained the perfect model of anti-modesty. He says less is expected of Sweden now that he is not part of the team. They can play with less pressure. And I don't think Ronaldo (the CR version) or Eric Cantona could compete with this level of wonderful arrogance:
"If I listened to my ego then Sweden would, of course, be a better team with me."
Day -216 WorldCup2018
Oh Australia. It could have been so much better. A 0-0 draw in Honduras in the first leg of their playoff may seem like a result that puts the Socceroos in a strong position but they should be going home with a spot in Russia virtually guaranteed. As they say, on another day they would have won 3 or 4-nil. Chance after chance went begging. One way traffic is an understatement. It was so one way that if it was actual traffic all the roads in the area would have been permanently changed to head only in one direction. Will their dominance tell in the second leg, or will they get more anxious as time goes by and they haven't scored yet?
Right now it's 0-0 between Peru and New Zealand at halftime.This one's been end to end at times, with Peru looking a little more dangerous.
Earlier, I rushed home, cracked open an afternoon beer and watched the second half of Sweden-Italy. Apparently Sweden were on top in the first half, but with no goals to show for their efforts. They did get their reward in the second half with a deflected shot giving them a 1-0 win to take to Italy. In the past I would have thought that's fairly easy for Italy to turn around. But this Italy don't look very convincing. And, as the commentator said, if Sweden score once in the return then Italy have to score three.
There was a lot more that the commentator said that made watching this match more enjoyable. He was a commentator who spoke his mind and said what many of us would have been thinking. Time after time the Italian players did their "I've been seriously hurt by that violent Swedish player" impression. The heads thrown back, the rolling around on the floor, the fake checking for blood. And my friend the commentator (paraphrased):
"Oh, look at him. Yes, the defender was jumping over him but he never touched him there where he's holding himself. That's terrible. That's cheating. He's a cheat."
"Yes, that's a shove but look at him now on the floor. It was not that bad. And, see what he did? He had a quick look up to see if the ref was going to book anybody and he's back to rolling around in pain. I'm not having it."
And there was more. I hope these players can be shamed into how embarrassing their behavior is.
So Italy need a bit of magic to ensure it doesn't become the almost unthinkable "World Cup without Italy". They need a player to make a difference, somebody who can do the unexpected, a bit of magic. Well, thankfully, for us that player is lounging in front of his TV in Toronto, resting up for big TFC battles up ahead. Coach Ventura, I did strongly advise you that you should have picked Seba Giovinco. You are surrounded by highly paid staff who give you advice and help you pick the right players. My advice was free and you ignored it. I hope Giovinco scores the winner in this year's MLS Cup and you are sitting in front of your TV wishing you hadn't laughed at the MLS.
New Zealand-Peru 0-0, 70 mins.
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