world cup 2006... my 2 cents thus far.

i think it's about time i added a new football rant. haven't had the time to write up other stuff with work and the world cup on. but what a world cup this has been thus far.

then again, looking at the final 8, there seem to be few surprises thus far. even when france and spain slug it out at 3am, neither team can be said to have been shock packages.

germany will duel argentina while the english take on the portugese. italy duke it out with ukraine and brazil will find out soon enough if they face the french or europe's great underachievers in the form of spain.

bar the ukraine, all 8 teams possess a fine reputation on the global stage of the world's game. even then, the ukranians were expected to at least make it into the last 16, with saudi arabia and tunisia forming the remaining opposition in their group. was there ever a doubt that a team that boasts the likes of, arguably, the world's best striker in the form of andriy shevchenko would falter against a young swiss team? perhaps when sheva lashed weakly the opening penalty of the round's one and only penalty shootout, the doubts started creeping in. but eventually, ukraine could afford to miss. any surprises there?

for me though, i guess i could say i have been surprised by the germans. i have no hard and fast team, though i am an england supporter, for i choose to support individual players rather than a particular nation as a whole. the germans have surprised, mainly because i thought they'll die out with an erratic and young defense with an impotent of late lukas podolski leading the front line with miroslav klose, who had a previously rather indifferent world cup in south korea. how wrong i was. the germans have not only booked themselves an appointment with the rampant argentinians, but done so with such flair and attacking prowess that would've made their fiercest critics wondering what happened to the flops of euro 2002. podolski has found form and the young players in the squad have peaked at such a time that even those who witnessed the argies demolish the serbs at 6-0 will wonder if they will get it easy against a very resurgent german team. with home advantage.

as i have stated above, officially, i fly the st george's cross this world cup. unfortunately, i have little faith in the team's ability to advance past a tactically sound portugal. the problem does not lie with the players. nay, the problem lies with sven goran eriksson. on paper, the england team can take on anyone. when you look at the england team on the pitch however, you'll be left wondering who let the sheep out of their paddock. they're directionless, and tactically unsound. obviously peter crouch cannot head a ball for nuts. yet they continually pump longballs up to the lanky frontman hoping he will somehow magically get better at heading and score. and, there's one fatal flaw that lies in the middle of the park. steven gerrard and frank lampard. two central midfielders of the highest quality. both the hearts of their respective midfield engines in liverpool and chelsea. unfortunately, both EXACTLY the same kind of player. whilst steven gerrard has demonstrated that he is a complete player who can play anywhere he is instructed to, he flourishes in an attacking midfield role. in the england team, he carries the bulk of the defensive midfield duties and is shackled from marauding forward the way he has done for liverpool all season. with his tenacious tackling and great passing, it should not be an issue. the problem is, lampard is terribly off form. yet, sven sticks with his much maligned chelsea man, even with michael carrick willing and more than capable of coming in and taking over stevie g's holding role to let him prowl further up the pitch. people have been quick to condemn david beckham. however, i see no cause for his exclusion with becks back doing what he does best with his crosses and free kicks. no one's lobbying to drop lampard, even with the ominous form he is in. sven just won't have it. up against a clinical big phil scolari who won't hesitate to drop figo or cristiano ronaldo in a heartbeat to achieve success, sven's sentimentality towards his players will derail england's chances. the only way is for lamps and gerrard to step forward and own the game, which is a prospect most difficult. sven says he will drop his stars if neccessary. will he have the mettle to drop a disappointing frank lampard? time will tell if his loyalty pays off.