SoccerBible World Cup Update - 13/06/10
Plenty to discuss with the fall out of England v USA, Argentina's first match and some interesting boot spottings. Check out the SoccerBible's view on the lastest goings on in South Africa!
All the hype yesterday was around the battle of football vs soccer, a goalkeeping error brought the USA back into the game and they hung on for a share of the points. Argentina and Diego Maradonna showed they are still a force to be reckoned with, and the organisation and determination of the South Koreans helped them to the top of the group with a convincing 2-0 win over Greece...
David Beckham (England) |
Gabrielle Heinze (Argentina) |
Causing almost as much of a stir across the web as Robert Green's calamatous error, Becks is spending this World Cup on the sidelines with his England teammates but doing so in these yet-to-be-released Red/White DB Predator X boots. |
All the talk before hand was about Argentina's attacking options - Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Di Maria - but it was the former Manchester United fullback who notched the only goal of the game, wearing the World Cup edition adiPure III boots as he stooped to head Argentina's first goal of the tournament. |
William Gallas (France) |
Nsofor (Nigeria) |
A couple more interesting boot spots now - SoccerBible regulars will know Gallas has a fondness for de-branding his boots since his Nike contract expired, but we love the...err... "Yellow-out?" Superfly versions he wore against Uruguay, removing all traces of the swoosh! |
Another player who is rocking the Nike boots is Nigeria's Victor Obinna Nsofor, who wore these interesting blacked out Elite Superfly II boots against Argentina. We're guessing he didn't have time to find a pair of black laces to match, though... |
Whilst avoiding the obvious goalkeeping error that resulted in a tie for England-USA, one goalkeeper does deserve the plaudits for a series of saves to keep his side still with a chance. Step up Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama - who almost put up the perfect blockade against an onslaught of Argentina attacks.
Heinze's free header was the only thing that got past the impressive Enyeama - wearing the Uhlsport Fangmaschine Sudafrika Goalkeeper Gloves -and kept his side as a credible threat during the match with impressive saves from Higuain, Messi, Tevez, Milito and Di Maria.
In the final few minutes he showed his talent to deny Messi once more, and had the Nigerian strikers been less wasteful up front this match up may well had seen a different outcome.
Socceroo's take on the Germans - Australia v Germany (Group D)
Tonight's game sees plenty of familiar faces line up in Durban, with Premier League regulars including Cahill, Neill and Emerton facing up to Bundesliga stalwarts Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Podolski and Klose. This is also an interesting tie for England and USA fans, as the winners and runners up of that group could potentially face one of these sides in the second round.
The Nike Elite series football boots will once again be hugely dominant in this (and pretty much every other) fixture. Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill are some of the key players for Australia, with Miroslav Klose, Jerome Boateng and Mesut Ozil sporting the boots on the German side.
But expect to see plenty of adidas World Cup colourways here too, including Predator X, adiPure III and F50 adiZero, as the Germans bulk endorse the "home" three stripes both in uniform and football boots choices.
But who will emerge victorious? The talk beforehand is all about the young guns of Germany against the experienced heads of Australia, but we can't see past Germany for this one...have YOUR say and share your opinons now!