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Durban Sandshark

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Posts posted by Durban Sandshark

  1. Roster time! For 2022! First up Brazil! Announced a couple of hours ago. Neymar of course headlines this--although I really and seriously disagreed with his endorsement of Jair Bolsonaro leading up to the election

    Image

    Brought back 39-year old Dani Alves to the Selecao, the big story on this roster. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli is also in. But Liverpool's Robert Firmino is the biggest omission; he hasn't played for Brazil since winning the Copa America and did not feature from behind the bench in their subsequent friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia. Fellow Arsenal team-mate Gabriel Magalhaes also misses out. So the Gabriels are not having a great day today.

    https://theathletic.com/3771891/2022/11/07/brazil-squad-qatar-world-cup-firmino-martinelli/

    But their Arsenal teammate Takehiro Tomiyasu gets named to Japan's 2022 World Cup squad when announced on November 1, the first of the 32 teams to do name their squad. Midfielder Genki Haraguchi and forward Yuya Osako, both of whom appeared at the previous World Cup in Russia, left off the list. Hajime Moriyasu has called up a number of players with fewer than 10 senior caps, including Nagoya Grampus winger Yuki Soma, Celtic forward Daizen Maeda and Cercle Brugge forward Ayase Ueda. Meada and Ueda were among 13 players, including overage ones, who played on Japan's men's Tokyo 2020 Olympic team, also coached by Moriyasu:

    https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01487/

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2022/11/01/soccer/international-soccer/japan-2022-world-cup-squad/

    https://www.sportingnews.com/au/soccer/news/japan-world-cup-squad-2022-players-national-team-roster-26/jpuxo8qjq8qbsbweqgynuv4u

    https://www.arsenal.com/news/tomiyasu-named-japans-world-cup-squad

  2. Haven't read the the SRF investigative report in full yet, very interesting though so far, but will as get closer to the World Cup's start, likely well ahead of it--and will get my longstanding thoughts on Qatar very soon at that moment.

    BeIN Sports MENA presents the Arabic promo for the very first 2022 FIFA World Cup game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador live Sunday, November 20 at 14:00 GMT and 17:00 Saudi Arabia time at Al Bayat Stadium. Set to be aired BeIN Sports' 1 Max, 3 Max, 5 Max, and on its 4K channel with all of its BeIN Sports' 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage sponsors and the countdown to end it. All Arabic channels. As you can see, this promo has all of Doha golden with the World Cup trophy hugely prominent in it:

    From the Czech Republic's TV Nova comes its own FIFA World Cup 2022 spot mixing anticipations, fan moments, and action scenes with star players' illustrations, World Cup winning glory, and multicolored splashes of paint, some with a Doha skyline background. No narration here because the soccer certainly speaks for itself. Games can be seen on NOVA, NOVA Action, and Voyo:

    Vietnam's VTV has its own promo that largely uses the official Qatar 2022 TV intro but uses action from the last two World Cups and fan shots. VTV and VTV Go app plans to show all 64 games live involving all 32 teams. Also presents VTV's domestic coverage sponsors:

     

     

  3. Back to the 2022 FIFA World Cup promos. Italy and the Azzurri may not be once again be involved in the World Cup (and I'll discuss that soon), but RAI hopes that won't dampen national interest in the event. Although I think it will to a point. RAI is the exclusive Italian home for the 2022 FIFA World Cup (TV, online, and radio) with all 64 games broadcasting from the Italian public broadcaster and presents an animated TV Mondiali Qatar 2022 promo showing soccer as exaggerrated near-superheroes (with a taste of manga style) playing the game inside a nondescript stadium:

    An extended and fuller version of the above from RAI with showing off Qatar, using the colors of the national flag and sand for the nation and its landscape. Again, with no Italy in it again, RAI narrator focuses on soccer's and the World Cup's appeal, plays, and emotions. It'll be shown exclusively on RAI 1, RAI 2, RAI Sport, RAI Radio 1, RAI Play, RAI Radio 1 Sport, and RAI 4K. Had they qualified, there will be more focus on them: 

    Brand new promo and very nice that hit hours ago from TyC Sports. It's at it again. This time showing where TyC Sports Argentina is on during World Cup time whenever Argentina's soccer team scores, it brings Argentinians together en masse as they gather to spontaneously celebrate and embrace when that does. In schools, at a fire station, at work, a drug store, at apartments, bars, barbershops, plazas, and even in the air. TyC Sports will be there:

     

     

  4. Some bad news for defending World Cup champions Les Bleues from France: Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante will both miss this upcoming World Cup edition due to injury. Pogba is still recovering from a left knee injury (torn miniscus) with Juventus in July, and Kante is sidelined with a hamstring injury for four months during play with Chelsea. But big blows, to be sure, but France is still talented and loaded. May not repeat though:

    https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12735193/paul-pogba-france-midfielder-will-miss-world-cup-after-injury-setback-with-juventus

    https://www.espn.com/soccer/chelsea-engchelsea/story/4774906/france-chelsea-star-ngolo-kante-to-miss-world-cup-out-for-four-months-with-hamstring-injury

    One thing I forgot to mention about the FIFA 23 World Cup update mode: it'll arrive on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC, but, unfortunately, FIFA 23 Legacy Edition on Switch will not be getting the update. But FIFA Mobile will obtain it a day earlier on November 8. Switch owners will only have the standard edition.

    I mean, for a game that will be the final one under the FIFA banner, you would assume with both World Cups right around the corner, EA Sports FIFA production team would put out all the stops with everything but the kitchen sink to satisfy the fans' wishes like they experienced back in the early 2010s. But didn't. Maybe those will be updated later as DLC, but I severely doubt it:

    https://www.ign.com/articles/fifa-23-world-cupt-2022-mode-release-date-switch-version-left-out

     

  5. Moving away for now from the incoming TV promos and statements appealing for Qatari society to get progressively with the program, we just now got the first serious Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup video game info in what would serve as the last EA Sports FIFA edition in FIFA 23. Before the mutual parting of the ways between EA Sports and FIFA before the latter becomes EA FC next year as it hits November 9. Graphics and matchday experience are great and we'll get a strong idea of what the official Qatar 2022 FIFA television presentation will be like. Comes off...a bit disappointing to me. We, unfortunately, are not going to get the full World Cup qualification journeys in all confederations that we enjoyed back in the 2010 and 2014 editions and had the teams' qualifying kits and then the ones they changed to for the tournament itself. Only 15 nations that didn't qualify like Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania are included with the main 32. Not the full 203-210 member nations excluding Russia. Plus, only TWO stadiums from the 2022 edition instead of the 8 featured in the actual game are used. Even the 2018 World Cup downloadable version had all 12 stadiums from across Russia. You would think by now DLC would cover loads more info than a hard copy ever would. Are FIFA and EA Sports serious? Doubt it. Quite underwhelming, if you ask me. Fearing the women's version would act more like this as far as the Australia-New Zealand qualification mode goes: no full 195-207 nation women's qualification mode there to look forward to there when that comes:  

     

  6. 14 hours ago, SportLightning said:

    Well, there's a lot for these broadcasters ahead for this World Cup.

    No doubt about that. And there's more promos worldwide forthcoming, especially in Europe, we know.

    Canada Soccer follows the Socceroos' lead on human rights, workers' rights, and inclusivity in the Qatar 2022 World Cup leadup in only its second ever FIFA World Cup. Good for the Canadians too:

    https://www.tsn.ca/canada-soccer-addresses-issue-of-workers-rights-inclusivity-in-world-cup-host-qatar-1.1870068

  7. On 10/26/2022 at 11:02 PM, Sir Rols said:

     

    22 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

    Very proud of you.

     

    I third this and show my support to the Australians...We are aware that Denmark's and Norway's teams have made their Qatar human rights concerns known. But those aren't always specific issues like Australia's. However, we know unfortunately human rights like LGBTQI+ and migrant workers' won't liberally progress and change in Islamically conservative Qatar overnight; attitudes there must change too but take longer.   

    The USA is back in the World Cup after shamefully 4 years away and FOX Sports is promoting this in a very big way! FOX goes star-studded with America's return to soccer's grandest jewel event with the unusual scheduling that will come along during the US Thanksgiving and Christmas season (for the first time) in November and December by pulling a lot of the stops signifying this. Jon Hamm as Santa Claus, who's so excitedly eager to happily to work and produce on soccer during Thanksgiving and Christmas in "making the holiday season the most wonderful time of the year". Ellie Kemper as Mrs. Claus. Both are from my St. Louis hometown. We see members of the USMNT like most prominently its talisman Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie (among with several other USMNT members) appear like passing the cranberries (?) with the USMNT enjoying a team holiday feast like they're passing the ball on the field, even the former getting his own inflatable Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon along Manhattan, carried by US Soccer-wearing fans and fronted Hamm's Santa that ends the promo. Promoting national soccer federation team crest ugly sweaters, the top soccer stars like Messi, Neymar, Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Christmas-related paraphenellia involving them. Would've been nice to see members of the USWNT make their own cameos in this promo in support of their soccer guys, since their own WC tournament is going to be on FOX next year too down under. Starting November 20 in time for Turkey Day! "The biggest sporting event on the planet during the holidays" certainly, for now, makes mine "a lot better" as a hardcore sports fan! Fun promo!

    Mariah Carey makes a cameo poking fun at herself about her omnipresent Christmas presence with her song...and Shady??!!! Shady??!!! He makes a cameo too?! I hate his guts! :angry: He absolutely doesn't deserve one here! Yeah, he cracks a joke about Cristiano Ronaldo being "old" to be playing while watching him on TV in the kitchen as well as poking fun of himself. But couldn't FOX Sports find someone else more deserving?  

    Speaking of having the 2022 FIFA World Cup played at an unusual time. That same time is held during the Australian summer for the first time this year, which this SBS Australia promo notes, by contrast the previous FOX Sports one. In reflecting the globalism celebration of "speaking football" and of SBS's longstanding multicultural mission that brings Australians from all walks of life together, we see fans proudly sporting their favorite national team jerseys along with many wearing the expected Australia gear watching in whatever platform and usually being outside cheering their teams on. While showing past World Cup moments of various goals, emotions, celebrations, plays, and stars/legends--including those from the Socceroos, back for its 5th consecutive World Cup, and their fans celebrating them. SBS will exclusively have all 64 games live on SBS and SBS 2 live and SBS On-Demand in HD (500 hours in total in multiple languages). 8 matches at 9pm AEST and 20 at 6pm to nearly 10 million Aussies! More sociable times for them, setting the scene for some of the biggest audiences for the network. Les Murray (RIP) gets a cameo calling from the Socceroos' World Cup match in 32 years versus Japan in Germany.

    Another one and easily my third faves here that I've seen so far comes from France's TF1. France's Les Bleues as we last left them, won it all in Moscow over Croatia. The promo recaptures and reminds us of the powerful mass national pride, passion, suspense, emotions, and celebrations as they succeed in their campaign with the nation donning the tricolors all those four years ago--like being soaked in Paris watching it on a hot Paris summer Sunday. Now France is back, still talented, and seeks to repeat in getting its "third star" in the Qatari desert in Doha. Can they do it? Very possible. TF1 will show 28 games, including all of Les Bleues' games, all the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and final. Big fan TF1's promos with the editing of the editing wipes:

    One World One Home. That's the campaign for the massively star-studded BeIN Sports 2022 World Cup broadcasting team--The BeIN Squad. Man, is it loaded! Fronted by Brazilian star Kaka, as he walks above and reveals the team from the JW Marriott Hotel roof in Doha and dribbling, we get the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Lothar Mattheus, Ruud Gullit, Emelie Sanderson, David Villa, Gabriel Batistuta, Marcel Desially, John Terry, Chippo, Al-Qatahni, Rafik Saifi, Alessandro Del Piero, Arsene Wegner, Phil Neville, and refs Dean and Ghandouri. Each has their likeness on Doha's ultramodern skyline Looks like its 36 in total with English and Arabic. 

    Just a short 9-second TVR Info promo from Romania informing Romanians in small print that TVR will exclusively cover the 2022 FIFA World Cup later this year:

     

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  8. On 10/15/2022 at 6:21 AM, Ikarus360 said:

    Official TV Intro/ident/theme for the World Cup.

    Full version

    https://open.spotify.com/artist/5C01hDqpEmrmDfUhX9YWsH?si=P74bHjFZQNWSkgxd1-9HQg&nd=1

    OK, this does seem to continue on a recent theme that we're seeing with FIFA WWC TV intros in prominently involving kids in them like with how the Olympics usually uses kids in the Opening Ceremony. We've seen this starting with South Africa 2010's with the South African boy calling out Ke Nako ("It's Time") for the advent of the World Cup in the semi-animated intro, and later with Brazil with the animated soccer-loving boy in awe of the soccer spectacle that's the World Cup and how it brings the soccer-mad host nation Brazil together through soccer in the 2014 edition. We did not get that with Russia's four years later. More of a very well-made computer-animated intro with plenty of Russian references. Strange we haven't witness this with the WWC; there it's more about promoting women's soccer 

    Kids serve a purpose here in both the World Cup and the Olympics: they bring and represent the awe, wonder, fun, inspiration, and joy sports bring when it first hits you in the host nation and you start participating and follow them with fervor with the hope of that same inspiration carries on to adulthood as future players and fans. It's interesting that this is the first co-ed kids appearance in a World Cup TV intro ever when repping a known conservative Islamic host nation and of the Middle East--Qatar's women's national soccer program just started over a decade ago and still has major ways to go just in Asia women's soccer as the entire nation undergoes rapid modernization. It'll take at least a generation to see any fruits out of that if they come from the ASPIRE Academy.   

    With that out of the way, don't you think it's time to see some 2022 FIFA World Cup TV promos worldwide as we all get excited during the countdown to November? I certainly thought you would! Let's start with Germany, winners of four World Cups and four stars on its Nationalmannschaft jerseys, and a new broadcasting participant. Formally it would be the joint production of ZDF and Das Erste/ARD with sometimes RTL in recent World Cups. Now it's Deutsche Telekom and its Magenta TV joining ZDF and ARD. Magenta TV will show all 64 World Cup matches live including 16 exclusively broadcast by them and on UHD. Showing all those four moments Germany on the mountaintop with the trophy. If you know anything about Germany and soccer, one of the things soccer does there in broadcasting is deliver massive TV viewerships: 9 of the 20 most-watched television events in Germany were World Cup matches all involving Germany including the 2014 final versus Argentina in Rio De Janeiro topping at #1 for ARD at 34.56 million. Almost all of the rest except for one were Germany's Euro games (lone non-sports one was ZDF's The Black Forest Clinic "Die Schuldfrage" ("The question of guilt") episode dating all the way back from November 17, 1985). That infamous 2014 semifinal against Brazil is second on ZDF, BTW. I do see Michael Ballack being involved as an analyst and Wolff Fuss as play-by-play man. Will notify you on the complete Magenta TV team who will do this later on. Germany sure does look good coming into this competition and wanting to dispell all that huge disappointment in Russia four years earlier after basking in the glory:

    Another soccer-mad nation in Argentina that also holds a solid chance to win it. TyC Sports presents Argentina's team as they embark on another campaign to nab their third title with Messi, who says this will be his last World Cup rodeo with hopes of equalizing Maradona's status, Angel Di Maria, Julian Alvarez, head coach Lionel Scaloni, Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, and Franco Armani. Soundtracked by the song "Palpitar", which suggests here that Argentina's national team and the nation shares the same heartbeat. Also appears Schneider Beer will sponsor TyC Sports' World Cup coverage as the official AFA Seleccion beer sponsor:

    Colombia may have missed out on another World Cup with the Cafeteros. But we know many Colombians will undoubtably be watching this edition of the World Cup. RCN is one of those Colombian TV broadcasters along with usual Olympic Games broadcasting partner Caracol Television. And fans will root and celebrate for whatever of the 32 participating nations either by themselves, at work, as a family, or in a group setting. Dancing and playing with soccer balls. My money is many there will root for the fellow Latin American ones. This is the full 1-minute version for RCN's La Ola: 

    After watching this, this promo quickly became one of my 2022 World Cup faves. ASTRO exclusively holds the rights to all 64 World Cup matches on 4KHDR full coverage and anywhere on ASTRO GO in Malaysia. I really like the way how this upcoming World Cup competition is presented as a quest in an exotic land as a folklore story to tell from a dad to his kids. When you see the soccer stars in the desert looking at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Doha ahead of them with Cristiano Ronaldo in particular looking sweaty and the desert dust right behind them, it's a good metaphor of how treacherous, tiresome, and grueling this "quest" is and with an old-looking classic explorers' map of Qatar. But the intriguing desert soccer battle quest is just only beginning as the story gets interesting... 

     

  9. The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Intercontinental Playoff Draw

    GROUP A (Hamilton, New Zealand)

    February 18

    Thailand vs. Cameroon

    February 22

    Portugal vs. Cameroon/Thailand winner

    GROUP B (Auckland, New Zealand)

    February 18

    Senegal vs. Haiti

    February 22

    Chile vs. Senegal/Haiti winner

    GROUP C 

    February 19 

    Taiwan/Chinese Taipei vs. Paraguay (Hamilton)

    Panama vs. Papua New Guinea (Auckland)

    February 23 (Hamilton)

    Chinese Taipei/Paraguay winner vs. Panama/Papua New Guinea winner

    Doesn't shock me at all that both Portugal and Chile got the higher seeds and byes into their respective group finals partially out of their FIFA Rankings and are the strongest teams in it with their recent tournament experiences. Do certainly think both will advance into the proper tournament. But my early prediction of Thailand carrying on their third consecutive WWC participation streak will come to end because they're in the same group with Portugal. The Thailand-Cameroon and Senegal-Haiti games can go either way, but ultimately the byed teams will qualify there.

    Now with the draw made. my predictions are...

    GROUP A: Thailand beats Cameroon/Portugal defeats Thailand

    GROUP B: Senegal beats Haiti/Chile defeats Senegal

    GROUP C: Paraguay beats Taiwan/Chinese Taipei  Panama beats Papua New Guinea

    Panama beats Paraguay

    Portugal, Chile, and Panama all will continue playing next summer down under

     

     

  10. Another Carl Lewis TV commercial for you to see. He's pitching Rexona body spray in a commercial that was shown outside of North America back in 1996, when he completed his Olympic record gold medal haul in Atlanta. Rexona is known as Degree here in the USA and Canada, and body sprays were popular there then well before those two nations got them (Rexona as brand does exist in Mexico). Judging by the narrator's accent at the end, this was likely shown on British TV:

    A bit funny. Orange Lionesses (OranjeLeeuwinnen) stars Vivienne Miedema and Merel Van Dongen are under the direction of a Dutch girl named Julie who is filming a commercial for their KNVB Orange Lionnesses Youth Summer Camp that took place for much of this July at the KNVB Campus in Zeist. Just prior to their EURO WOMEN 2022 campaign. To help make it appealing for the target audience, Viv and Merel talk all the fun stuff that will go on there for kids as well as the soccer training and skills they're there for--and training with the OranjeLeeuwinnen. Not to mention Julie trying to improve Viv's and Merel's acting skills multiple times:

     

  11. Denmark-Finland-Norway-Sweden reveal their joint bid plans with aims to smash ticket sales records. Each of those Nordic nations' capital cities plan to host games in the 2027 FIFA WWC with Stockholm's 50,000-seat Friends Arena serving as the Final venue. Also accompanying Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo will be additional host cities Odense in Denmark, Sweden's Gothenburg, Norway's Trondheim and Tampere in Finland. Tele2 Arena, also in Stockholm, must convert to natural grass as a UEFA stipulation should the Nordic bid successfully wins. The DBU, Denmark's national soccer federation, plans to have Copenhagen host the opening game while the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) stated it will host one group at Ullevaal Stadion and Lerkendal Stadion, in addition to a quarter-final at the former venue in Oslo:

    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63227639

    https://www.thestadiumbusiness.com/2022/10/12/nordic-nations-target-record-womens-euro-2025/

  12. Morocco (already mentioned here but worth repeating, first Arab nation to qualify), Ireland, Zambia, and The Philippines are all making their FIFA Women's World Cup debuts next year. We could see at least one more once the dust settles in New Zealand in February. My bet is on Portugal for what I just mentioned on my last post. Denmark comes back after 16 years away. Colombia, Switzerland, and Costa Rica all return after missing the previous Women's World Cup in France in 2019 thanks in no small part to an expanded 32-team field.

    Some additional thoughts: So we only have two teams from the British Isles again with England already leading the charge. I hoped we will see the Scottish women back again at this to build upon their disappointing collapse to Argentina in France that cost them a shot into the Round of 16. We could've had three last night with England already qualified had either Scotland/Ireland and Wales both done so. Ireland did, of course. But this was at Scotland's heartbreaking expense, typical of Scottish national sports teams it seems. 

     

    Wales could've defeated Switzerland in Zurich, but Nati perhaps has better talent and WWC qualifying experience coming out of Switzerland as faves than Wales, who were hoping to duplicate what the men just accomplished several months ago. Game was tied with Wales striking first with Rhiannon Roberts' goal and  Wales certainly has some talent. Most notably in Jess Fishlock, certainly a world class talent and well-experienced. You immediately start to wonder at her 35 years now, and having never tasted any major international tournaments and no Team GB representations during the Olympics, she's in serious danger of being one of the greatest women's soccer players never having tasted a WWC, a EURO Women, or an Olympics and whether she'll ever have further chances at those. It would be a shame; she does seem to be transitioning into coaching as a player-coach in the NWSL for example

    If you want to see the dejected Icelandic reaction to not being able to qualify for even the WWC intercontinental playoffs in New Zealand. Read these links below from Iceland's national public broadcaster RUV that covered the qualification game. Starting with RUV's Twitter links. We could have another potential debutant in Iceland, who certainly deserved to go down under too and was just at EURO 2022 Women in England. Portugal was just too good at home. Iceland was down a player right as it was about to substitute. Head coach Borsteinn Halldorsson (sp?) says "it had an effect in being one less". The Icelandic women were playing well and had the game tied until Áslaugu Mundu Gunnlaugsdóttir's red card at the 52nd minute, resulting in Carole Costa's successful penalty shot and eventually taking a lot of energy out of them. Then, all broke loose with Diana Silva, Tatiana Pinto, and Francisca Nazereth each scored three unanswered goals. But not before Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir equalized for Iceland at 1-1 four minutes later until the extra time collapse:

    https://www.ruv.is/frett/2022/10/11/tap-i-portugal-og-island-fer-ekki-a-hm

    Glodis, who scored Iceland's only goal in the game, talks about how "sorry" she is after the disappointing result that sees them failing to qualify. "This is incredibly painful. The dream is gone," she adds including there will many players on the team who will never see another opportunity to reach the World Cup and "it hurts" being denied that joy and experience. It will be a team to watch after this WWC cycles concludes in see who will come in and replace the older players and whether they can be competitive straight away in the face of bigger, more experienced, and tougher European nations:

    https://www.ruv.is/frett/2022/10/11/glodis-thetta-er-otrulega-sart-draumurinn-er-farinn

    Iceland's national team captain Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir is dispirited after the match, calling the elimination "the biggest disappointment in her career". She felt her team did had the energy to keep up following the red card and maybe pull a victory "with fresh legs and creating" had they also scored again but was things were "too difficult to fall behind in extra time":

     https://www.ruv.is/frett/2022/10/11/sara-bjork-mestu-vonbrigdin-a-ferlinum

  13. On 9/9/2022 at 7:22 PM, SportLightning said:

    Qualified Teams:

    AFC:

    Australia (Co-Host)

    New Zealand (Co-Host)

    Japan

    South Korea

    China PR

    Philippines

    Vietnam

    Sweden

    Spain

    France

    Denmark

    United States

    Costa Rica

    Canada

    Jamaica

    Zambia

    Morocco

    Nigeria

    South Africa

    Colombia

    Brazil

    Argentina

    Norway

    Germany

    England

    Italy

    Netherlands

     

    We now have five spots left. Two European teams will qualify before the final draw will take place.

    Back here after a while. Got busy at work.

    No surprise at all that EURO 2022 Women's champs England, Germany, Norway (The Grasshoppers), 2018 EURO Women champs and 2019 FIFA WWC runnerup The Netherlands, and Italy's Azzurra all qualified to Australia and New Zealand as they're the perennial powerhouses in European international women's soccer on the September 3-6 international soccer window. England's Lionesses' good times just keep rolling as they're certainly expected to advance here.

    Just yesterday, Switzerland's Nati and Ireland both qualified as UEFA best playoffs winners after defeating Wales (2-1) and Scotland (1-0), respectively. Ireland heads into this for the first time while Switzerland returns after a 4-year absence stemming from losing in a home and home UEFA playoff with the Dutch in 2018. Both got those two direct European spots. With Portugal heading into the FIFA WWC Intercontinental playoffs in Auckland and Hamilton New Zealand as the sole European rep in beating Iceland 4-1 at home as the third best UEFA playoff team, taking advantage of the meaningful inertia and building from getting into England this summer thanks to UEFA kicking out actual EURO 2022 Women playoff winner Russia for invading Ukraine.

    So all that completely rounds out yesterday not just the European qualification field and the 2023 FIFA WWC direct continental/regional qualification field but also completes the 8-team NZ-based 2023 FIFA WWC Intercontinental playoff field:

    Portugal (Europe/UEFA)

    Senegal (Africa/CAF)

    Chile (South America/CONMEBOL)

    Thailand (Asia/AFC)

    Panama (North America/CONCACAF)

    Paraguay (South America/CONMEBOL)

    Haiti (North America/CONCACAF)

    Taiwan/Chinese Taipei (Asia/AFC)

    Cameroon (Africa/CAF)

    Papua New Guinea (Oceania/OFC)

    Out of the 8 teams playing in February, three teams will head directly in as they possess varied degrees in team quality, experience, talent, and pedigree. My very early predictions on who will be the 3 national teams entering to stay there down in Australia and New Zealand because of the draw yet TBA: Portugal, Chile, and Thailand. Portugal because of being from Europe and the tough competition they come from (and will likely acquire the top seed because of that). Chile and Thailand because of their recent WWC experience with Chile's Las Rojas also having the Tokyo 2020 Olympics experience too and some world class talent like goalie Kristina Endler from PSG. Senegal and Panama could both capably shock and upset things from Africa and North America. Cameroon could qualify too with its FIFA WWC 2019 experience in France. But do the Cameroonian Indomitable Lionesses have the overall team depth and talent?        

    Now it's unfortunate time to infamously list those nations who were capable of qualifying but sadly fell short and would've like to have done so while ruing this...and may not want to watch it for that would be too painful. Some would have world class players who would not be admired at the Women's World Cup--and that's a great pity not to see them there. Some teams didn't even participate to play due to COVID striking them. Called the Wish You Were Here

    While Russia sports some nice talent (like Nadya Bykova, Nadezha Smirnova, Nelli Kirovkova, Alsu Abdullina, Tatiana Scherbak, Marina Federova, Lina Yakupova, and Margarita Chernomyrdina), it's not included here because of the invasion of Ukraine--and all their qualification games involving the Football Union of Russia were swiftly annulled. Just a shame the players are paying the price over something they didn't personally start or create. Don't know how many of them on the roster actually and honestly support the invasion; my guess is many privately don't based on younger Russians, especially in the bigger Russian cities, don't like Putin or support "the special military operation". 

    Wish You Were Here

    Belgium

    Scotland

    Mexico

    Trinidad & Tobago

    Venezuela

    Wales

    Iceland

    Austria

    Tunisia

    Finland

    Poland

    Zimbabwe

    Jordan

    Northern Ireland

    Ukraine

    Czech Republic

    Serbia

    Greece

    Slovenia

    Turkey

    Croatia

    Bosnia-Herzegovina

    North Korea

    Ecuador

    Equatorial Guinea

    Hungary

    Romania

    Botswana

    Ivory Coast

    Mali

    Fiji

    Togo

    Burkina Faso

    Gabon

    Indonesia

    Algeria

    Hong Kong

    Ghana

    Uzbekistan

    Iraq

    Singapore

    Uruguay

    Albania

    India

    Solomon Islands

    Cook Islands

    Tonga

    New Caledonia

    American Samoa

    Dominican Republic

    Myanmar

    Puerto Rico

    St. Kitts-Nevis

    Guyana

    El Salvador

  14. Our newest installment of the gradually growing CTV Barcelona 1992 coverage collection. CTV invites Canadians to "win with the world" (its main slogan back then 30 years ago) in this promo announcing its (almost entirely live) coverage as the narrator speaks of what admirable athletic qualities Olympic athletes positively offer to the world in competition that brings "world spirit". In this "World Spirit" CTV Barcelona '92 promo, we see Seoul 1988 footage of Portuguese women's marathoner Rosa Mota, Romanian gymnast Daniela Silivas, Soviet rhythmic gymnast Marina Lobach, American heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Soviet gymnast Elena Shevchenko--all female Seoul 1988 gold medalists shown here--in keeping with the pro-internationalist theme. No male Olympians or even Canadians granted profiles, interestingly:

    CTV wraps ups its Barcelona 1992 coverage with its final 7-hour Olympic segment prior to the Closing Ceremony on August 9 that went from 10am-4pm Canada/USA/Mexico CT with a Canadian focus on that day with high hopes of seeing Toronto's national boxing champion Mark Leduc strike gold to carry the golden streak set by Lennox Lewis in Seoul four years ago but would eventually get silver in light welterweight against Hector Vinette, marathon runner Peter Maher (who would eventually not finish his race), and individual show jumping equestrians Jay Hayes with Zucarlos and Jennifer Foster with Zeus  (neither would end up advance close to the medal stage, thus complete Canada shutting out altogether of any Barcelona 1992 equestrian medals). Co-hosted in Barcelona at CTV's IBC Olympic studios by Dan Matheson and Rob Faulds, who replaced this segment for Tracy Wilson as she prepared to later cover the Closing Ceremony with CTV National News anchor legend Lloyd Robertson. All to Chris De Burgh's Shine On beginning with the Leduc slo-mo boxing montage:

    Rod Black, apparently the man in Canadian sports TV broadcasting during the 1990s, acted as the CTV Barcelona 1992 primetime anchor studio host. Matheson hosted apparently the CTV Olympic Daytime segments like here usually with Wilson. Jiggs MacDonald performed the Barcelona Olympic basketball play-by-play, which included the Dream Team matches (and, had they qualified out of Portland, Canada's games surely too--actually supposed to join Yugoslavia to expand the 1992 basketball field to 14 teams if the latter was allowed to play in team sports). Ron Reusch called Olympic baseball games, its Olympic debut as an official sport, in his third Olympics overall at that point for CTV. Faulds did some events, I think. There were others that I mentioned earlier (with others and additional info added subsequently) and will bring back as a reminder.

  15. On October 7, Netflix premieres The Redeem Team documentary on the Team USA Beijing 2008 Olympic star-studded men's basketball team's untold story in their successful campaign to reclaim Olympic gold for the first time in the NBA Olympic players era after its embarrassing and shocking Athens 2004 display. They were a team with "everything to lose and everything to prove" under the guidance of the highly respected Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski as this 98-minute documentary shows. Matter of fact, a few of the players here like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Carlos Boozer were previously involved in that Athens disgrace, so there was a personal stake in this. Plans to show plenty of Kobe Bryant behind the scenes footage, often with LeBron James and Spain's Pau Gasol, a teammate of Kobe's in the NBA at the time, as he was focal point of the team--and an icon to Chinese basketball fans. A lot is made, especially online like on YouTube, on who's the better Team USA Olympic men's basketball team--the 1992 Dream Team or the 2008 Redeem Team. Different eras in terms of where and when the NBA players were into FIBA international basketball and with the players' caliber and talent. Documentary is from the filmmakers behind the highly acclaimed Emmy-winning The Last Dance Michael Jordan-centric multipart docu-series, also a Netflix production (presented outside the USA), and co-produced by Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. This is the first time Netflix and the IOC has ever engaged together in an Olympic documentary. Hopefully this will not serve as the only time the two collaborate as The Redeem Team streams as Netflix Original programming. 

    ICYMI, the following is Netflix's press release announcing it:

    https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflix-basketball-documentary-the-redeem-team-is-coming-to-netflix-in-october-2022/

    Since we're talking about USA Olympic men's basketball and The Last Dance, I did finally caught a glimpse of the The Last Dance recently. Part one doesn't touch much on Michael Jordan's exploits on the 1984 US Olympic men's basketball team in Los Angeles. That should have a documentary on its own merits as the last great USA men's basketball team in the amateur era as 1984 itself was a gamechanger for basketball and other sports, as noted in the book Glory Days dealt with for example. Los Angeles 1984 comes in roughly for 2 minutes. The Dream Team 8 years later gets of course longer time with around 9 minutes on episode 5 (including Isiah Thomas' controversial omission from it and MJ's unwillingness to be with him from a team harmony standpoint and dislike for Zeke, not to mention Toni Kukoc's unwitting involvement with the Bulls' Dream Team contingent). Focus is of course on his iconic 6x championship-winning Chicago Bulls stint from 1984-1998 and the roller coaster and ultra-competitive with sometimes ruthless ride during that.    

  16. Really, FUR Russia?

    On 9/22/2022 at 8:57 PM, AustralianFan said:

    Football Union of Russia wants Ukraine banned ?

    Yeah right, as if that’s going to happen.

     

    IIHF to Russia and Belarus: Hell no, you two are not coming back next year to resume competing in international ice hockey this upcoming season! Should you stop the war soon, you will be reintegrated to where you were prior to the invasion without any need for promotion back up to the top level:

    https://www.iihf.com/en/news/39491/championship_updates

     

  17. Children's fascination and enjoyment with playing games are as old as humanity itself. When you get right down to it, all of the Olympic sports, both summer and winter, are at the core really kids' games. They are "about fantasy, discovery, challenge, and magic moments", be it doing them solo or with another or multiple kids as friends like racing, tagging, jumping rope, leapfroging, or jumping into the water. McDonald's seemed to understand this back in 1984 in what would be, at the time, the most commercialized Olympic Games ever with McDonald's help fund and build the construction of the Olympic swimming pool at the USC campus. And 7-11's then-owners Southland do likewise with the Olympic velodrome. Back in 1984, McDonald's was investing in youth sports like with the still-ongoing and popular McDonald's All-American Basketball Games for high school-age boys and girls national basketball stars (went to one here in my hometown back in 1995), age-level youth swimming meets competitions, and USA National gymnastic programs like the McDonald's Cup. Saying it "makes better kids" through games, this 1984 commercial juxtaposes the link with innocent happenstance and organized childhood games in their neighborhoods with the kids' inner confidence voice and with the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics dream as it capitalized (pun intended) on the latter. 

    Going back four years earlier crossing northward from the border. It was much too bad that Canadian 1980 Summer Olympians were not able to compete in Moscow and fufill their dreams in competing like their winter counterparts did earlier that year in Lake Placid because of the boycott Canada joined in sending a message to the Soviets. Nonetheless, giant Canadian drug store chain Shoppers Drug Mart was sponsoring the Canadian Olympic Committee (then the Canadian Olympic Association) and its teams like its aspiring young Canadian athletes at the time back in 1980 surely in a commercial that aired until the Canadian boycott really took impact since this depicts a Canadian runner running to victory, where it's clearly not a standard Olympic stadium or even a Canadian Olympic trial (you can see trees, a Canadian/American football goalpost, a few houses, trees and shrubbery in the background during the racing scene) after seeing her growing up and learning to run starting as an infant in cross fading scenes. "The best of success" was not going to be there for them in Moscow. Could see Canada having won perhaps 9 medals overall. Who knows? Looks amateurish with the production values now but that's the era back then reflected when it was filmed. COC logo hasn't really changed since:

    Before he won gold in Tokyo 2020 at the 1500m last year that built one of Norway's best Summer Olympic performances, Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen had already landed a sponsorship with Coop Norge that has a rewards system, racing against his brother Filip in 2019 through the X-EXTRA supermarket using Coopay, "the fastest payment in the world", for bragging rights to see who's the fastest in checking out. My second Norwegian Olympic commercial entry in this thread. Don't know who's the guy making the comment on the Ingebrigtsen brothers wearing speedsuits in the supermarket and their sponsorship at the end. Likely a Norwegian comedian:

    Future Boomers "rose gold" medal winner in Tokyo 2020 and NBA champion Patty Mills, then with the very internationally-minded San Antonio Spurs, shilling for local Spurs' official sponsor Champion AC, a veteran-owned and operated air condition company, and its 3-point protection plan, a nod to his penchant for dropping 3s for the Spurs, on local TV down in South Texas, not just the San Antonio area. Should you listen closely, Mills is dropping Aussie references that Americans may know here:

    Coca-Cola South Africa presents since 2016 those "gold medal-winning feelings" and thoughts from Aussie hurdler Sally Pearson, South African swimmer Chad Le Clos, South Korean fencer Won Woo Young, Chinese weightlifter Lin Qingfeng, Croatian water polo player Petar Muslim, and Brazilian volleyball player Fabiana Claudino--all have to be Coca-Cola pitchpeople (with London 2012 footage)--interspersed with young multicultural South Africans everywhere enjoying and sharing Coke under Coca-Cola South Africa's #thatsgold Rio 2016 Summer Olympic campaign:

     

  18. With two NHL teams, the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks, set to kick off the regular season in October inside Prague's O2 Arena for the NHL Global Series on October 7-8, the Czech Foreign Ministry issues a letter to the NHL indicating that Russian players on both teams will not be permitted visas for entry into the Czech Republic (or elsewhere in the Euro Schengen zone) any area inside the to play because of the Ukrainian invasion. Should be noted both don't have a lot of Russians on their rosters, which makes it easier to deal with here. Nashville has forward Yakov Trenin and San Jose has Alexander Barabanov, along with Evgeny Svechnikov, who is currently in training camp on a professional preseason tryout agreement:

    https://www.tsn.ca/czech-government-nhl-russian-players-unwanted-in-prague-1.1852192

    The Czech Republic is one of the first EU nations to stop issuing visas to Russian nationals since the Russian invasion on Ukraine. And the NHL has never considered banning Russians to play on NHL teams, many of whom are some of the best skilled  players in the league. Both should be noted.

  19. 21 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

    “Kicking off on July 14 2028, the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games will be hosted at both the LA Coliseum and the SoFi Stadium at the same time.”

    Los Angeles officials detail plans for Summer Olympics - ticketnews.com

    Really interested how this unprecedented move of two Los Angeles stadiums simultaneously hosting the Opening Ceremony could be pulled off. Would there be alternating presentations at the venues? The Parade of Nations and all the Olympic protocol has to be performed inside the Los Angeles Coliseum because of history. It could use the nearby Banc of California Stadium, where the Los Angeles Sports Arena formerly stood, for the marching athletes to get ready and make their walk, although the Intuit Dome could act likewise if the OC could take place at the SoFi Stadium.

    Been repeatedly watching the Los Angeles 1984 Opening Ceremony lately. What nods towards that would the organizers adopt for the 2028 version with respect to subsequent technological and social advancement? I'm thinking Jet Pack Man, Tall Girls & Flags (something we haven't seen since Seoul 1988). Solid assumption that Hollywood with the top movies and music by 2028 with a dose of diverse American music history will be prominent. Music about Los Angeles or LA/Cali-themed ("I Love LA" from Randy Newman and The Eagles' "Hotel California", just to give a couple examples) being played during the Parade of Nations is a possibility. No doubt multiculturalism that Los Angeles definitely possesses--recall the diverse LA residents from every nationalities and tribes sampling entering the stadium and interacting with the athletes, coaches, and officials at the end of the Opening Ceremony--will surely play a role again, as is previously mentioned and wished for on this thread. Los Angeles obviously has gotten even more diverse and multicultural since 1984.     

    23 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

    If a ceremony wants to go the route of someone more unknown to add to the intrigue, that's understandable.  I can't imagine the LA committee will go that route, not with the multitude of people that would fit the bill.  It's a very noteworthy achievement by Benoit that she won that historic marathon and it happened in LA and she's still very much involved in sports.  But greater significance than the Williams sisters?  That's a stretch.  Let's not create a strawman here that having Venus and Serena light the flame is on the level of the Kardashians.  Serena is arguably the greatest female in the history of her sport.  She and Venus are 3-time Olympic champions as a doubles team and each has another gold in singles.  Most importantly, they have roots in LA.  Very easy to make the argument that the legacy of the `84 games helped make their careers, so it's not as if that connection isn't there.

    Given the rich history of the United States at the Olympics, off the top of my head I can think of probably a dozen good candidates to light the cauldron.  I wouldn't have put Benoit on there, but a good case can be made for her.  Sounds like a cool idea to have her carry the torch into the Coliseum in honor of the `84 marathon win.  I'd totally go for that.

    California alone has oh so many United States Olympians--and gold medalists out of it--over many years to the point that the majority of the USOC delegation in recent Summer Olympics for over 50+ years coming from the Golden State. Rich in Summer Olympians in various sports, admittedly the selection is so tough to chose out of California alone for just carrying the Olympic flag and the final torch relay around the track and lighting it. To the point of saying, "You should see the list of those who we didn't select for those privileges." Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic decathlete gold medalist, has Los Angeles ties when he lit it back in 1984 like being a UCLA student like rival and friend C.K. Yang from Taiwan. So I don't really expect anything different. The Williams sisters certainly check the qualification bill like many others, if the organizing committee presumably want to go the full Cali or Los Angeles/Southern California direction. Agree with Joan Benoit being a worthy selection should it come to that with her case, for the significance taking place in Los Angeles, as a candidate for the 2028 cauldron lighting.   

  20. On 8/8/2022 at 4:26 PM, JMarkSnow2012 said:

    I think the problem is that "official" versions are available- from the local rights-holding broadcasters

    On 8/3/2022 at 11:36 AM, yoshi said:

    God damnit, they obviously monitor this thread! If you're going to force unofficial footage off YouTube the least you can do is make an official version available. Hell, even the IOC do that :angry:

    Yeah, that's what angers me about wanting to watch the recent Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies these days on YouTube. At least, I did see the Birmingham 2022 ones because NBC Sports holds the US broadcast rights to them and place them on YouTube. Gold Coast--especially with how its Closing Ceremony went down, we remember--left something to be desired and organizers likely embarassed and needs to have the GC 2018 OC up. When will the Commonwealth Games get its act together and show past ones if it got the rights. This may likely to be negotiated to acquire the rights with the broadcasters Won't have the massive worldwide clout the Olympics continue to have, but it does have a solid following. Still have the Melbourne 2006 Opening Ceremony and the Manchester 2002 DVDs I bought on eBay years ago.

    And I'm saying this as a citizen living in an English-speaking nation that's NEVER a Commonwealth member!

  21. In tribute to the late great Bill Russell, the greatest team sports player winner of all time with 11 NBA rings who passed away yesterday at age 88, I'm posting this 1973 Bell Systems commercial featuring Russell, a Melbourne 1956 gold medal winner for Team USA basketball that was very dominant down there with their margins of victory, At the time, he was coaching the Seattle Supersonics and would be for much of the 1970s in a city where he would go on to live until he died and also dabbled in sportscasting like for ABC's NBA and its Olympics basketball coverage (CBS and TBS Sports would come later). Out of that 1956 team, apparently only three players are still alive now that Russell has passed. 

    Here, Bill Russell would make an analogy on making baskets if you have a good "sure shot" in a tight game with saving long distance calls from your home or office in "not passing up opportunities for yourself" for this Ma Bell commercial, long before the court-ordered breakup a decade later. (But do notice the fine print says "dial- direct rates do not apply on calls from and to Alaska" at the end) From a couple of YouTube posters for this commercial, Dick Keith wrote the commercial with Arny Stone directing it. Bill did takes all day and made several shots. He was always supposed to make it. At the end of the day, near 10pm, there was enough film for one last shot and this was it. Filmed in the Lotus Club library in NYC. Another posters says there's an urban legend about this Bell Systems commercial that claimed Russell was supposed to miss a shot and then say "I can miss, but you can't with long Distance". But after making another basket, Russell ad-libbed "I can't miss, and neither can you with Long Distance". That take ended up being used:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY9t2WeMX1c

    Another Bell Systems (now AT&T) vintage commercial with Bill Russell talking about his good friend Ronny Watts while playing with the Boston Celtics as teammates during the mid-1960s when winning titles together. Bill Russell says here he admired how Watts watched seeing Russell as a player And Ronny in turn claims he was the real Celtics coach and not Russell as the two poke fun on their friendship. Shown on 16mm film:

    2x Olympic, European, and world gold medalist Belgian heptathlete Nafissatou Thiam runs through Brussels with passers-by admiring her with nods to her events as she runs against...herself. Both sporting different colors of Nike Tech jackets and leggings as the second Nafi in grey runs past her as she drives home the abstract point of "going beyond with confidence" and being a better version of herself. All set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" in this 2020 AXA Belgium assurance commercial as part of AXA's "Know You Can" campaign for Thiam embodies as AXA ambassador "the very example of perseverance, concentration and ambition...and self-confidence". Haven't done a Belgian one in a long while, so here you go:

    Brief commercial of Swedish gold medal winning swimmer Sarah Sjöström at the outdoor pool in what the unseen but heard Oatly's Creative Director John Schoolcraft returns from a film shoot with Sarah and shows the result to his boss, CEO Toni Petersson. But Sarah doesn't touch the Oatly non-dairy breakfast recovery drink at the end of the pool, causing Toni to be unimpressed with the filming result 

     

  22. Biggest crowd in Euro championship history--male and female--at 87,192 inside Wembley Stadium. Fans certainly got their money's worth. Makes me wonder if substitute Chloe Kelly's 110th extra time goal celebration would wind up as the England answer to Brandi Chastain. As stated, this should be the start of a major effort to develop and invest in a solid grassroots-up national women's and girl's soccer program starting at schools.  

    22 hours ago, yoshi said:

    England win a major football tournament. Never thought I'd see that happen :)

    Hopefully this is the much-trailed boom moment for women's football here - is there still time to get the 2027 World Cup?

    Agree on both counts. I kinda picked England's Lionesses to win it all. Sarina Wiegman looks set to happily earn a contract extension to 2027!

    Yes, it "came home" with their brilliant play tournament-long. Hours ago, the Lionesess, many sporting white Nike Home and England FA T-shirts, sunglasses, red bucket hats, and England's St. George flags, grey FA practice pants, and all proudly sporting their new gold medal Women's EURO 2022 bling, celebrated with their fans at London's Trafalgar Square in front of thousand flag-waving fans for a 2022 Women's EURO victory fan celebration emceed by former national team player Alex Scott with some of the other England players celebrating with the crowd. shown live on the BBC. Full ceremony from different streamers with footage almost ending with Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, a song I associate with the Boston Red Sox. OK, when's the parade?

     

    Hoped that France would make the final instead of Germany for as to make up for past disappointments in international tournaments more than the past decade with all that tremendous talent they got assembled and not quite living up to its promise. Even going through with some internal conflicts involving head coach Corinne Diacre and a few of her players since hosting the previous WWC. This just-completed Women's EURO was very much a Western European affair even if Russia didn't get suspended for the Ukrainian invasion and got replaced by Portugal.

  23. We'll also could expect some future World Cup and Women's World Cup features forthcoming as DLC very soon after FIFA 23's release this fall.

    Back to the Doha, Qatar-based intercontinental playoff games that I promised to return to at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium near Doha at one of its suburbs in All Rayyan. Seems as though that the nearly 4-hour Australia-Peru one, the first one, just a couple of months ago is somehow making its way into the annals of Australian soccer lore just like the great November 2005 playoff match between the Socceroos and Uruguay's Celeste at Sydney's ANZ Stadium that also underwent a thrilling penalty shootout that also Australia going through--the upcoming vid makes references on that and the start of the Socceroos building a consistent World Cup appearance pedigree streak. One that was, at the time, in serious jeopardy again for Australia. One notable common denominator from both intercontinental World Cup qualification games is play-by-play commentator Simon Hill. In 2005 versus Uruguay, he called for SBS with Craig "Fozzie" Foster that set new Australian soccer TV viewing records. This time, it's with Andy Harper for Network 10's/Paramount+'s Ten Sport. Also, I made a mistake in the identification of the studio team, the ones who eventually sported those white Give It 100 (with Back to Back to Back to Back to Back on the, um, back) Socceroos T-shirts like the Aussie players immediately did afterwards--Tara Rushton and former Socceroo captain Mark Milligan were there but it's also Luke Wilshire at the Sydney studio. Hill and Harper were NOT on location as I previously stated but home down under. Scott McKinnon worked the sidelines and informed about the atmosphere. There was actually a John Aloisi 2005 Nike Socceroos jersey sighting at the stadium. Was like revenge for what happened in the final group game back in Russia four years ago for Australia versus Peru. Here's the full game with Graham Arnold's "masterstroke" to install the Grey Wiggle Andrew Redmayne as goalie at the 120th minute with his dance-like movements and capitalized later with that very meme-worthy expression of delight (see below) that may have saved his coaching bacon to send them to see Denmark, France, and Tunisia coming this November. Had my doubts when watching the live viewing reaction on Leich's Coast Watch Football YouTube channel but obviously worked.  

     

    (BTW, on a side note, Tony Armstrong, the former AFL player turned ABC News Breakfast sports presenter whose celebration at Melbourne's Federation Square after the Socceroos went through with his new friends and nearly lost his scarf went viral, won the Graham Kennedy Most Popular New Talent TV Logie days later in June at the Gold Coast)

    This is the Peruvian reaction to the game in highlight form that everything stopped abruptly for Peru when the Peruvians got eliminated following an energetic and enthusiastic warmup from just the commentators alone. Even when they started signing Seven Nation Army with their own lyrics for the soccer as both emerge out to the field. Peruvian fans, almost all of them clad in white with the red diagonal, really turned out in Doha in the hotels they and the team stayed in to being at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium. Dwarfing the Australian ranks in Doha by nearly around 10,000. It was around 15,000 Peruvians in total there being totally festive acting like typical South American soccer fans with many watching back home on TV. But all they came away from their Aussie encounter with heartbreak. The Peruvians surprisingly just didn't perform well--focusing on being defensive and not taking charge. You could only such a moment will not eventually become the start of another heartbreaking World Cup drought they just emerge out of four years ago, even with the expansion of the field to 48 teams starting in 2026. Ironically, Ricardo Gareca, Peru's coach now since left on July 14, scored the winning goal for Argentina against Peru back in 1985 that sent the nation into the World Cup wilderness until 2018. Despite this, he didn't make Argentina's final Mexico-bound 1986 World Cup roster. But he did make amends in 2017 versus New Zealand in the home and home series in Wellington and Lima after Peru finished 5th in South America.    

     

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