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Wales, that mythical country west of England have just beaten Belgium 3 -1 in the European Championships to pass through to the semi finals. As they weren't expected to qualify, I'm rather pleased for them. Will they go all the way? I don't know as I think Germany and Italy are still there, but it would be a real fairy tale ending if they did. Cymru am byth, as we say.
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Comments
good luck Wales
pob lwc cymru, hopefully it isn't midnight yet for the Cinderellas of the tournament.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Cinderellas?
Cinderellas? My money's on a Wales vs. Iceland final!
Penny
Well, they could
They could get to the Final as I think they can beat Portugal based on how they played today. As for Germany and Italy, they play each other tomorrow, so that will be a game. And France plays the other upstart country, Iceland, on Sunday.
Samirah M. Johnstone
Underdogs? Not Now.
A thoroughly deserved victory. If alarm bells aren't ringing in the Portuguese camp then they should be.
Everyone in the poisoned realm east of Sabrina is rooting for you.
Ever so delighted
that the Welsh have got through - for a whole host of reasons on a whole host of levels.
One of the (cynical?) guests in the Hotel told me the other night that the winner of the tournament is predetermined - "It has already been paid for" - and that "France shall win, as a way to cheer up the Nation after the terror attacks".
I'm not at all certain that I have heard such cynicism, nor such a conspiracy theory, quite so early before the result is known.
But Wales deserved their victory and their progress. Very well done indeed. I hope the gutless and lacklustre English players learn something from this.
Julia
Rediculous
I've seen no evidence of "pre-determined" winners in any of the many games I've watched.
Officiating can be quite subjective. Bias can always be claimed . . . and consistently is by both sides.
My son scored the winning goal to advance his team to the state finals. His goal was one for the ages. The game had been a defensive struggle. His team's opponent had two goals waved off due to off-sides violations. With about two minutes left in the second half, he came forward from his center mid position and intercepted a pass with only one defender left between him and the keeper. The defender went for his legs with no regard for the ball. My son tapped the ball to the side, and then leaped over the defender's tackle. He proceeded to take a shot from just outside the box over the outstretched arms of the onrushing goalkeeper who had come off his mark. The ball settled just under the crossbar in the upper right corner. 0 - 1.
I wrote the articles for our paper and consequently interviewed several of the other teams parents. They all mentioned how sometimes the better team doesn't win and how lucky my son's team had been. I thought their remarks were due to adrenaline, but a week later at the all-state banquet one of their parents came up to me and again stated how lucky my son's team had been.
Soccer (football) is a subtle game. I'm afraid most fans are poorly equipped to appreciate the nuance.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Maybe not "paid for", but ...
Maybe not paid for, but definitely rigged. And rigged in a fully legal way.
When I looked at the final 16 and the two ladders to the final, I was suprised by how imbalanced they were.
In one ladder we have France, England, Germany, Spain, Italy - all countries which could be reasonably predicted to make a push for the title.
In the other ladder the best known team was Portugal ... and some middling sides.
I didn't follow the group stage but I guess that the group stage was "wrong", "wrong" in that it did not produce the "expected" results and produced the above imbalance, "cramming" the heavyweights into one ladder.
Somebody would have to check for whom the easier ladder had been prepared.
Wales are beneficiaries - and I am not detracting from the value of their run so far - from this imbalance.
I disagree. The only reason
I disagree. The only reason that the "imbalance" exists is due to the issues with teams being lackadaisical. England is a perfect example of that, but then so was Spain. In short, if you don't work hard, you're going to pay the price. Hence why one of the favorites of the tournament lost yesterday again.
Samirah M. Johnstone
Yes
I agree with you that the imbalance exists because "somebody" i.e. certain top teams did not work hard enough and did not produce the results expected of them in the group stage. However, to push that view I'd have to check the final group stage tables and I'm too lazy for that when its 30C in the shade ... :)
Yes, the results of the group stages were effective
England were seeded to win their group - but Wales pipped them to the post.
So you could say that expectations before the tourney had been balanced. Where Wales now tread WOULD have been England's path, had they not been overpaid di€kheads.
Prior to the tourney, Belgium were ranked #1 in the world.
So in one half of the draw, there were Spain, Germany, France as seeds.
In the other, 'England', Portugal and Belgium.
Italy were in the draw as one of the six nations in the second rank.
With England's abject failures, they only came second in their group - thus qualifying on the other side of the draw. Thus unbalancing it.
Portugal too were ineffective, coming third in their group, but just scraping through as one of the 'best third-placers'. They have reached the semi-finals having won only one game in normal time so far!
Thumbs up for the effort!
Thumbs up for the effort to check.
BTW - I took a look at that FIFA ranking. In mild terms it looks surprising, in harsh terms it looks utter shit.
http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/
ADDED LATER:
Your mention of Portugal makes me recall the very unimpressive win of Greece at the EURO held in Portugal.
And I'm really confused on how that ranking was made.
Actually, Portugal has yet to
Actually, Portugal has yet to actually win a game in 90 minutes. They did win at the very end of extra time in one game, the rest of their games were draws and they won on PKs against Poland. But yeah, I don't think much of this Portugese side.
Samirah M. Johnstone
Another
Another team which "should" had been in the "Welsh ladder" is Spain ...