So, now that we have secured a point, we can at least come away from the WC knowing that we didn't embarras. The guys have to have heaps of confidence in themselves after today's result (I nearly typed "win").
Does this mean the pressure/nerves wil be a bit less for the next ga,me against Italy? It owuld have been truly awful having to face Italy had we been thumped 3-0 or something like that. Or does it mean expectations are raised? and the pressure is now on to show it wasn't a fluke?
Questions, questions.... I love football!
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I think it puts pressure on the I-Ties. My flatmate from Bari who joined me at the Walkie for the game is worried about sunday now.
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
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bring on italy we going to take them out,
Calling all fans in Japan, come down and support the mighty nix in Osaka
http://www.facebook.com/WellingtonPhoenixClubMembersSupportersGroupOsaka
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In all reality... if ( and I mean if) we play out of our skins (similar to the first 15 minutes against Slovakia) and Italy play as bad as theyt did against Paraguay when can take points
Paraguay scares me alot
Moose2010-06-16 03:14:41
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well we did score 3 goals against Italy last time we played them
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I don't think that we can beat Italy..... but on a positIve note.... In '82.... italy did draw all their group games (just managed to qualify for the next stage)... Then went on to win the the cup
BELIEVE!!!!
Moose2010-06-16 03:22:21
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I BELIEVE
Calling all fans in Japan, come down and support the mighty nix in Osaka
http://www.facebook.com/WellingtonPhoenixClubMembersSupportersGroupOsaka
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NZ have, so far, scored more goals than Australia, Portugal and Ivory Coast combined.
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NZ have, so far, scored more goals than Australia, Portugal and Ivory Coast combined.
chuck france in there too
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Ireland also qualified for the second round in 1990 after three draws. 
Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads
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In 1990, four of the third placed teams could qualify. The Ireland 1990 is interesting as they finished with an identical record with the Netherlands, with England top of the group and Egypt bottom. To separate the Irish and the Dutch they had to flip a coin. The Irish won the coin toss, so the Dutch would have gone out on the flip of a coin if they had not been one of the four best third placed teams!
While I'm in WC statto mode, there have been three teams who exited the competition on a coin toss:
- Turkey knocked out Spain in the 1954 Qualifiers. If they had thought of goal difference in those days, Spain would have progressed.
- Morocco knocked out Tunisia in the 1962 Qualifiers.
- Morocco knocked out Tunisia (again!) in the 1970 Qualifiers.
The last two ties, unlike Turkey/Spain, were at least wholly level on goal difference and away goals. Has to be worse than penalties. Or, being English, perhaps I should ask for a return to a coin toss 
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Oh, and a quick PS on coin tosses - The 1968 European Championship semi final was decided that way after Italy and Russia drew. Italy went on to win the final. The final needed a replay.... guess they weren't brave enough to use the coin for the final too! (This is the only European Championship tie decided by the flip of a coin.)
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I BELIEVE
4 million x this.
And the team has self-belief, which is central ...
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I think last night's result has just ramped up the pressure on Italy.
...and if we're in Statto mode, to the best of my knowledge, in the 1974 World Cup, the only team in the whole tournament who didn't lose a game was Scotland, and we went out in the first round! Business as usual!
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
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I think last night's result has just ramped up the pressure on Italy.
...and if we're in Statto mode, to the best of my knowledge, in the 1974 World Cup, the only team in the whole tournament who didn't lose a game was Scotland, and we went out in the first round! Business as usual!
England went unbeaten in 82 as well, but we weren't the only ones - Italy did it enroute to the cup. England only conceded one goal all tournament, but an inability to score in the second round/QF group phase did for us.
Going back on topic, it would have been much better for NZ had Italy beaten Paraguay. You have to think Italy will go through, meaning that NZ really want Paraguay/Slovakia to drop all points against them. Now we have the two strongest teams in the group level with the two underdogs left to play... ultimately, NZ will now need to beat Paraguay instead of potentially only needing a draw - assuming the other games play out according to the odds.
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We're in for a struggle against Italy and Paraguay - Slovakia had just enough donkey about them to keep us in the game (something I've been repeating ad nauseam since the draw was announced).
Italy, as average as they are by their standards this year, are still on a completely different planet for us, and Paraguay is in a different class also, plus also play the kind of football that really doesn't suit us.
If we just fight and scrap as hard as we can, I'll be satisfied, regardless of the outcome.el grapadura2010-06-16 11:18:23
Italy, as average as they are by their standards this year, are still on a completely different planet for us, and Paraguay is in a different class also, plus also play the kind of football that really doesn't suit us.
If we just fight and scrap as hard as we can, I'll be satisfied, regardless of the outcome.el grapadura2010-06-16 11:18:23
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We're in for a struggle against Italy and Paraguay - Slovakia had just enough donkey about them to keep us in the game (something I've been repeating ad nauseam since the draw was announced).
Italy, as average as they are by their standards this year, are still on a completely different planet for us,and Paraguay is in a different class also, plus also play the kind of football that really doesn't suit us.
If we just fight and scrap as hard as we can, I'll be satisfied, regardless of the outcome.
Italy, as average as they are by their standards this year, are still on a completely different planet for us,and Paraguay is in a different class also, plus also play the kind of football that really doesn't suit us.
If we just fight and scrap as hard as we can, I'll be satisfied, regardless of the outcome.
Spot.
On.
E + R + O
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Agreed grap - Italy and Paraguay are just on different levels and playing Italy 2nd is the worst way to face them because they will want to secure qualification from the group. Who knows, though - football can be a crazy game. Don't think the Italy/Paraguay draw helped us much
valeo2010-06-16 12:02:43
valeo2010-06-16 12:02:43
a.haak
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Seriously lads, we can't have twelve hours before we start on the 'reality bites' ?
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Seriously lads, we can't have twelve hours before we start on the 'reality bites' ?
This. Except give me a couple of days i reckon.
Three for me, and two for them.
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Seriously lads, we can't have twelve hours before we start on the 'reality bites' ?
Whooooohoooo. Bring on Italy. Who will we get in the 1/4 Finals?
(That any better? 
)
)Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
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Yes. Banstick averted.
Cheers, News. It's a Scottish thing 
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
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WE'RE GONNA WIN THE CUP
Allegedly
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Yes. Banstick averted.
Cheers, News. It's a Scottish thing
I thought it was more of a Steve-O thing!
"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Who has been very quiet lately. Think his mother got that saying wrong
"If you got nothing bad to say,say nothing at all!"
Allegedly
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Yes. Banstick averted.
Cheers, News. It's a Scottish thing
I thought it was more of a Steve-O thing!
Jeez, I wasn't THAT bad, was I. I apologise to everybody in that case
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
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The pressure is ON, not off. We have have set a standard and now must keep the improvement going.
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Who has been very quiet lately. Think his mother got that saying wrong
�
"If you got nothing bad to say,say nothing at all!"
Oh, so Stev-O is a relative of Emmet Malone of the Irish Times? What a sneering, negative, Eurosnobbish, mean-spirited article. I'm glad all Irish people aren't like this.
Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads
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I was actually thinking reality was pretty f**kin fantastic!
E + R + O
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Seriously lads, we can't have twelve hours before we start on the 'reality bites' ?
This. Except give me a couple of days i reckon.
I haven't come down from November...this is just helping the buoyancy!
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The pressure is ON, not off. We have have set a standard and now must keep the improvement going.
Hope they see it this way. No fear.
Thought we played a weaker game than in our build ups- but we got a point from a weak game and champion teams score late goals. Fantastic application and belief until the last moment. Though I would have like to have seen some goals scored earlier!
Hopefully Smeltz can get into the game more- he was starting to find his feet at the end of the game. We almost had a Lochy Smeltz combo! ahh the memories...
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Yeah, when Lochy whipped it in and Judas went up for it, all those fantastic headders rushed through my mind, really miss that.
You know we belong together...
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