U20WC: Group F - GER | UZB | FIJ | HON

Keep all Group F posts, such as matchday chat in here. Fire up farken.

Talk about fired up after meeting my first foreign supporters on the weekend - some groups of Germans and Uzbeks.

Uzbeks at Eastgate Mall doing some shopping and wearing Uzbekistan tracksuit tops - probably the first Uzbeks to shop at Eastgate Mall ever!

Very limited English but they understood "World Cup" and "Germany very strong" and were very excited to be here.

Met some German supporters strolling through the Riccarton shopping district last week and chatting away in German.

They were on holiday in Australia and decided to cross the ditch for the World Cup.

The Home of the CHCH Phoenix Supporters: Spectators Bar & Bistro is literally right next to AMI stadium.

They're keen to get a croud in before matches and are putting on a $10 Burger and Beer deal on matchdays.

So if you're going to any matches in CHCH and are keen for a beer and to talk some football beforehand then get along to Spectators!

I was at FIFA's Christchurch HQ at Rydges Latimer Hotel this afternoon and an official told me that 12,000 tickets have been sold for the opening double header on Monday, Germany v Fiji and Honduras v Uzbekistan.

Amusingly, one of the team bus drivers was being coached in how to say "Uzbekistan" and a few basic words in the language.

The whole hotel has been taken over by FIFA with tournament logos in all the windows and team buses in the carpark.

I have just seen what todays program is for the German team. They are being taken to a local rugby club where "they will learn to play touch rugby and learn  from an ex All Black on the techniques to make a good rugby play" ......Unbelievable!!!!!!

Germans would not know the difference between an ostrich and and All Black.....the game is unheard of there. Talk about egg ball trying to get one over football. Rugby just can't stand being out of the limelight for a few weeks. 

What idiot official thought this would be appropriate..LOL

The Germans are training at that local rugby club's fields at Linfield Park.

The rugby club there actually have been very good to football clubs since the earthquakes and allowed football matches on their fields. 

Hence there are both football and rugby pitches there.

Things are somewhat different here in Christchurch since the quakes and you can't really compare to other cities.

Many football pitches were destroyed by the quakes and we have to make do.

There are three training venues for World Cup teams in Christchurch and Linfield Park is one of them.

Seems only natural that local rugby people would be mixing with the German team, since they're training in their ground.

Good for rugby people to be involved with the tournament and I think visiting teams may be curious about the local sports and culture in NZ too. 

The usually reliable Stephen Holloway hasn't done his homework here in his preview of Group F in the Herald.

He highlights star German player Davie Selke but actually he isn't even in the German squad and was omitted due to an injury picked up in a Bundesliga game in the first week of May.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/under-20-fifa-world-cup/...

Our football journalists should at least read the squad lists released by FIFA on Thursday last week before previewing a group..

Media releases from FIFA and the German FA mentioned that Selke wasn't coming as well.

What really atracts from this group is what Fiji is capable of, will they loose all their matches 8-0 like Tahiti in 2009? They were having some decent results in their friendlies before that 0-7 against Hungary

That sounds a good go for fans in Chch.

I think they allow you to leave the stadium between matches in double-headers for a feed too. 

AMI Stadium allows spectators to freely come and go during games and between double-headers too as far as I know.

There's nothing prohibiting it in the AMI Stadium regulations which I just looked at.

(Nor in the FIFA tournament and ticket regulations)

Apparently Westpac Stadium in Wellington won't allow fans to leave the ground during games or between double-headers and re-enter the stadium.

Cargo Bar and Restaurant down the road from AMI Stadium are offering $40 of food and drink for $20 for any number of people the whole of June after 6 pm with this voucher:

http://www.grabone.co.nz/christchurch/cargo-bar-32

"Expires Jul 1, 2015
Limit: 2 for you and 2 gifts for others
Bookings essential. Subject to availability. Valid from 6.00pm seven days. Maximum two coupons per booking. Must be used in one visit. Not valid public holidays. R18." 

It's right in the Addington Raceway/stadium section so it's perfect for popping out in between games.

Maybe will finally get to meet the mythical Big Pete!

Fiji looks a great bet at $31. 

Actually, they have the top goalscorer of the 2015 OFC Champions League, just saying...

Big news from Big Pete about potential to leave stadium between games. 

Correct - in the 2010-2011 ASB Premiership.

The National Youth League Final between Canterbury United and Waitakere was held there in December 2010 as well.

The laying of the artifical pitch at English was delayed by the earthquakes which started in September 2010 and the stadium finally reopened in October 2011 after a lot of remedial work on the soil beneath the new pitch.

English Park was built a hundred years ago on drained swamp land and was always prone to flooding.

The pitch was a mess after the February 2011 quake with much liquefaction.

It's very well drained now with no flooding though.

Germany-Fiji 3-0 by now, 3 goals in 5 minutes, looks like will be lots of goals

Ouch, 6-0 before halftime

Yeah turned over to Brazil-Nigeria after 3 goals.Much better game

Congrats to Fiji on scoring their first goal in FIFA finals.

They managed to play well in some parts of the game, maybe a draw could came against Honduras or Uzbekistan

Quiet day at the World Cup...only 28 goals in four games today ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_R%C3%B3chez this guy was class, was hoping he was unkown so nix could snag him.

great days football

Piss poor croud number. Chch hang your head in shame. A pathetic effort.

Was at the games today in Chch , asked if we could leave the stadium in between games & was told no

Yep no leaving in between was annoying. FIFA rule apparently. Corrupt bastards.

We still could, just need to sell playing with Vinnie Lia in Wellington over playing with Kaka in Orlando.

how big was the croud in Chch?

definitely is just saw the figures for the Nigeria v Brazil \ North Korea v Hungary game in New Plymouth, it says there was 5887 for the Nigeria v Brazil game and 8153 for the North Korea v Hungary game. I was at the games and there were clearly more at the first game. I could understand they could count people in as its done electronically so they could (in theory) work out how many were in at 1pm but they have no way of working out how many left after that first game - No doubt Stuff will take the smallest figure and claim its been a failure!

Croud was announced as total individuals entered which was 66??

Seems right iwhat GG says as clearly less  numbers for second game, which was a bloody cracker btw. 

Roll on Thursday!

what the hell was up with the no lids on bottles purchased in the stadium? such a joke.

great day with some entertaining football. Honduras vs Uzbek was a very narrow game but quite entertaining at times

sealed = potential missile (in the wrong hands)

NB: Sepp Blatter is due in NZ to attend the "business end" of the U-20 Fifa World Cup. 

see www.stuff.co.nz

I assume the 2nd higher figure is total attendance for the day

It's not in the tournament stadium regulations as printed on the FIFA website.

So either the stadium people are being difficult or FIFA are making it up as they go.

It's not in the AMI Stadium regulations as availble online either.

It is stipulated in Westpac Stadium's regulations.