World Cup Blog.....Day 2.....Englands dream begins !

ENGLAND 1-0 PARAGUAY

England got their FIFA World Cup™ campaign off to a winning start in Frankfurt with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday, 11 June 2006.
However, they did not have their own way against the South Americans, who gave Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men some nervous moments during the 90 minutes.

The only goal of the game came in the third minute when David Beckham’s free-kick skimmed off the head of Carlos Gamarra and into the net.

England bit lucky to get all 3 points in this one, looked very jaded and tired in the 2nd half and we were hanging on at the final whistle. But 3 points is a great start it can only get better.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 0-0 SWEDEN

An amazing match in Dortmund saw FIFA World Cup™ debutants Trinidad and Tobago hold Sweden to a goalless draw on Saturday, 10 June 2006.
An injury to the Soca Warriors' first-choice goalkeeper Kelvin Jack shortly before kick-off gave West Ham United's Shaka Hislop a chance to shine on the world's biggest stage. Hislop did that - and more - as the 37-year-old pulled off a string of superb saves to deny Ibrahimovic, Larsson and Co.

The final scoreline was made all the more incredible as Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 47th in the world, compared to Sweden's 16, had Avery John sent off in the 46th minute for two bookable offences.

So it was off to the Crofters to watch this one, met all the lads down there at 1pm, had a nice lie in after the jet lag of the day before, a scorcher of a day in Bolton was followed by beer, chants of "10 German Bombers" "Aye Aye Ippy, The Germans Bombed Our Chippy", rubber burgers and then off to Ady's for a bbq which lasted long into the night, with everybody whos everybody being there, actually me and Neil left around 4am from Ady's, a top day all round and great fun with the Joes, Good to be home !

Didnt really much of the other 2 games today , didnt care i was with my Joes having a grand old time, saw Rio's World Cup Windups later on on ITV, that was funny , set ups inc Becks, Crouch, Gary Nev and Rooney !

World Cup Blog.....Day 1.... And they're off !

Germany 4-2 Costa Rica

Miroslav Klose's double and brilliant strikes from Philip Lahm and Torsten Frings lit up the World Cup's opening match as hosts Germany won in style.
Lahm's stunning sixth-minute drive from distance put Germany ahead, but Paulo Wanchope slid home to level.

Klose converted Bernt Schneider's cross, then followed up his own header to put the home team 3-1 ahead.

Wanchope produced a smart finish to give Costa Rica hope, but Frings' sensational 30-yarder sealed victory.

It was the perfect start for Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose side triumphed in the highest-scoring opening match in World Cup history.

Watched the first half of this one in the Crofters with Neil, Ross and Shaun, looked quite a good game but didnt see the 2nd half as i was setting up the suprise of the century !

POLAND 0-2 ECUADOR

Luis Suarez’s Ecuador side began their 2006 FIFA World Cup™ campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Poland in Gelsenkirchen on Friday, 9 June 2006.
A hard-fought encounter witnessed goals either side of half-time for La Tri. Carlos Tenorio profited from Agustin Delgado’s flicked header in the 24th minute to give the South Americans the lead.

With ten minutes of normal time remaining, the provider turned goalscorer as Delgado side-footed home from close range to put Ecuador second in the Group A table behind Germany on goal difference.

Bit of a shock Poland losing and they have a lot to do if they want to qualify in 2nd place now.

Didnt see much of this one, saw a bit of it in Varsity in Bolton when i met the Joes at the start if the night out.

Big day tomorrow, Englands first game......CMON 3 LIONS !

SURPRISE !!!

Well after a good flight that was on time, landed and was back home around 8am at Church Meadows

The surprise is still on as stuart is having the day off to take our kid out and keep her away from #17 while i kip.

Its England flag crazy here, every where you look cars, houses, shops, pubs are all daubed in St George flags

Up, Up and Away !

Today i fly out back home to Bolton for 10 days of World Cup footy, Family and Joes

Our kid dosnt have a clue i'm coming over so its gonna be a mega surprise if we can pull it off, its been a group effort keeping it from her, lets hope it all comes together were almost there now !

Its going to be such a great time being there for the World Cup ansd watching it with the Joes, i cant wait !!!

Cya all real soon !...hang on to yer hats ere we go !!!

ENGERLAND, ENGERLAND, ENGERLAND !

World Cup Blog.....1 Day to go

Well it all kicks off tomorrow ! the waiting is over, let the fun begin and come on ENGLAND !

Want to know what to NOT chant?....yeh right !

Gotta love the Football Badgers too !

I've placed some bets lets hope i can win some money on this thing, check out my selections below and see how i get on.

Single Match Accumulator
Group B
Trinidad & Tobago V Sweden Sweden to Win @ 1/4
England V Trinidad & Tobago England to win @ 1/7

Group C
Argentina V Ivory Coast Argentina to win @ 4/7

Group D
Mexico V Iran Mexico to win @ 4/7
Portugal V Iran Portugal to win @ 4/9

Group F
Brazil V Australia Brazil to win @ 2/9

Group H
Saudi Arabia V Ukraine Ukraine to Win @ 1/2
Spain V Tunisia Spain to win @ 4/9

$3 @ 3/1 Pays = $39

Top Goalscorer
Pauleta (Port) @ 16/1 = $1 e/w (1,2,3,4)
M Klose (Ger) @ 20/1 = $1 e/w (1,2,3,4)

World Cup Finalists
England v France @ 25/1 = $1

Golden Ball Winner
J Riquelme @ 20/1 = $1

Top Scorer/ Winning Team Double
Ronaldo & Brazil @ 14/1 = $1

Top Premiership Goalscorer
Andriy Shevchenko @ 11/1 = $1

Group Winners Accumulator
Group A Germany @ 4/11
Group B England @ 8/13
Group C Argentina @ 6/5
Group D Mexico @ 13/10
Group E Italy @ 10/11
Group F Brazil @ 1/4
Group G France @ 2/5
Group H Ukraine @ 11/5

$1 @ 119/1 pays = $120

Team To score Most Group Goals
England $3 @ 9/1 pays = $27

England v Paraguay Scorecast
England to Win 2-0, Michael Owen First Goal Scorer $1 @ 18/1

World Cup Blog.....2 Days to go

Rooney gets World Cup green light

Wayne Rooney has been included in Sven-Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad, BBC Sport understands.
Rooney appears to have won the race to prove his fitness after breaking a metatarsal in his right foot while playing for Manchester United in April.

He has left on a flight back to Germany - which is due to land at Karlsruhe near Baden-Baden at about 2200 BST.

He had earlier spent two hours at a Manchester clinic while doctors studied the results of Wednesday's scan.

Football Association executive director David Davies had a broad grin on his face as he left hospital with Rooney before they drove to Manchester Airport.

An official announcement has yet to be made by either the Football Association or Manchester United - who announced on their website at 1945 BST that a "decisive" scan result "will be announced this evening".

World Cup Blog.....3 Days to go

Click image to view my World Cup Wallchart

Here are some funny video compilations i have spotted:
Peter Crouch in Robokop


Rooney Foot Massage

World Cup Blog.... 4 Days to go...England set off for World Cup

England departure in photos

England's footballers have arrived at their luxurious hotel base in Germany for the World Cup finals.
British Airways flight BA9200C from Luton touched down at 1700 BST and the players were taken to the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe near Baden-Baden.

Wayne Rooney travelled with the squad on the plane renamed Pride of the Nation, but he returns to Manchester on Wednesday for a scan on his metatarsal.

England play their first game against Paraguay in Frankfurt on 10 June.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad had a final training session on English soil on Monday in Watford before leaving for Luton airport.

England are second favourites to win the tournament for the first time since 1966, behind much-fancied Brazil.

From Luton to Baden-Baden and beyond
England: The team v the fans
World Cup build-up in photos

Sweep bid falls short ..... again

Devil Rays 10, Blue Jays 5

Gustavo Chacin pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on five hits -- including three home runs -- as the Jays were unable to complete a sweep of the Rays. Frank Catalanotto and Eric Hinske homered in a losing effort.

Boston 33 21 .611 -
NY Yankees 33 22 .600 0.5
Toronto 31 24 .564 2.5
Baltimore 26 31 .456 8.5
Tampa Bay 23 34 .404 11.5

World Cup Blog.....6 days to go

England 6-0 Jamaica

A Peter Crouch hat-trick in an easy win over Jamaica rounded off England's World Cup preparations in style.
Frank Lampard swept England into an early lead, which was doubled by Jermaine Taylor's own goal.

Crouch scored England's third from a set-piece, before Michael Owen rounded keeper Donovan Ricketts to make it 4-0.

After tapping in the fifth from Jamie Carragher's cross, Crouch blazed a late penalty over the bar but completed his hat-trick from Owen's pass.

A polished pereformance from England with Crouch looking lively and annoying for defences, the robot dance got another airing and is gaining cult status.....altogether now "everybody do the crouch" !

Clives Rainy Day Birthday Bash

Rain Rain and more rain!... that was the story of Clives 48th Birthday BBQ at his gaff, what was supposed to be a glorious day turned into a damp quib with awful weather.

That didnt dampen the spirits or the drinking as we all crammed into clives house and had a grand ol' bash. Pleanty of Pre World Cup chit chat was had and many beers were drank...oh and vodka jelly shots !

The pics will be up on my photo site soon......

Happy Birthday Mate ! and thanks to Clives mum for the mushy peas and eccles cakes ! getting me in home spirit already.

World Cup Blog.....1 Week to go

England boosted as Rooney hits comeback trail

England's hopes of having Wayne Rooney fit for the FIFA World Cup™ received a boost on Friday when the forward underwent his most vigorous training session since he broke a bone in his foot at the end of April.

Rooney, 20, could be seen running, turning and kicking a ball at Manchester United's Carrington training complex on the outskirts of Manchester, five days before he undergoes a scan on his injured right foot which will determine whether he plays in Germany.

England's most important player has been out of action since 29 April, when he suffered a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot in United's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea.

Although he will fly to Germany with his international team-mates on Monday, Rooney is due back in Manchester two days later for a scan to assess whether the bone has healed sufficiently to give him a realistic chance of playing in the later stages of the tournament. If the results are negative, Rooney will be replaced in the squad by Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe.

Sven-Goran Eriksson, England's head coach, stressed that Rooney was still being looked after by Manchester United's medical team and claimed to have been unaware that his star player had resumed kicking a ball with both feet. "If that is the truth, then I am very happy," the Swede said.

Canes face Oilers for Stanley

Thanks to a gutsy Game 7 win over the Sabres, the Hurricanes will meet the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 1 is Monday night

I'm Cheering For Edmonton, them being a Canadian team, unfortunately i will miss most of the Final due to being over in England on hol.

1 Week Today !

....I'll be back home in Bolton for 10 days holiday consisting of World Cup Football, family, The Joes and boozin' !

I set off next Thursday the 8th June and land early next Friday morning around 6.30am, as of now Suz does not know i'm coming over and its going to be a total surprise ! her face is going to be priceless. Icant waaaaaaaait.

World Cup Blog......8 Days to go

With just 1 week to go till the start, i thought i'd put the pre tourney odds here , i wonder how much these will change as it progresses, i'm making my bets next week so i'll post them here then.

To Win World Cup
Brazil 9/4
England 13/2
Italy 8/1
Germany 8/1
Argentina 8/1
Spain 12/1
Holland 12/1
France 12/1
Portugal 20/1
Czech Republic 33/1
Sweden 40/1
Mexico 50/1
Ivory Coast 50/1
Ukraine 66/1
Croatia 66/1
Usa 80/1
Australia 80/1
Serbia & Montenegro 100/1
Poland 100/1
Switzerland 150/1
Korea Rep. 200/1
Paraguay 200/1
Japan 200/1
Ghana 250/1
Tunisia 400/1
Ecuador 400/1
Togo 500/1
Iran 500/1
Costa Rica 500/1
Saudi Arabia 750/1
Angola 750/1
Trinidad And Tobago 1000/1

Top Goalscorer
Ronaldo 10/1
Adriano 11/1
T Henry 12/1
M Owen 12/1
Ronaldinho 14/1
R Van Nistelrooy 16/1
L Toni 16/1
M Klose 20/1
H Crespo 20/1
A Shevchenko 20/1
Pauleta 25/1
D Trezeguet 25/1
A Gilardino 25/1

Jays fall to Red Sox in finale

Red Sox 8 Jays 6

Going up against a rookie righty making his Major League debut, Toronto had to feel confident of its chances for a sweep. But Ted Lilly struggled against a potent Boston attack, and the Blue Jays' offense couldn't overcome an early deficit against the Red Sox's four relievers.

Its now the 7th time this season that we have failed to complete the sweep in the final game, these games could hurt us down the stretch

Boston 31 20 .608 -
NY Yankees 31 21 .596 0.5
Toronto 29 23 .558 2.5
Baltimore 25 29 .463 7.5
Tampa Bay 22 32 .407 10.5