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Thursday, June 15, 2006

analyses and predictions for tonight's matches:

-(group A) ecaudor 2-2 costa rica
-(group B) sweden 1-2 paraguay

the highlight:
-england vs trinidad & tobago (group B)
-venue: nuremberg, 16/06/06, midnight (s'pore time)
-odds: england 1.12, draw 6.45, trinidad & tobago 15.00

my prediction: england and T & T will share the spoils with a 1-1 draw.

after the disappointing performance in england's last outing against paraguay, in which they only won after a 4th-minute own goal from carlos gamarra, who ironically wears the number FOUR jersey, certainly they'd want to prove to the world their true abilities. but sorry to say, despite the obvious gulf in standards between the 2 teams, the best result they will achieve is a draw.

england fans, please don't flame me after reading this. i don't hate england. in fact, i support them too. but the team hasn't given me sufficient confidence so far. i have two reasons why yet another upset, starring trinidad & tobago (will be abbreviated as T & T in rest of entry), will be likely tonight.

firstly, the english strikers are apparently not in top form. michael owen, peter crouch and the rest looked like wandering spirits in the paraguay game. so don't expect too much of an improvement from them after a few days' rest. i believe frank lampard will rise to the occasion, though. always an inspirational player, he should be able to provide the misfiring strikers with some scoring opportunities. however, like i had said in the previous entries, if your team can't score, half the battle is already lost. unless the forwards can find their scoring touch in time for this potentially crucial fixture, i bet england will find this going much tougher than they might initially expect it to be.

and secondly, the T & T players displayed plenty of grit and hunger in their opening match against sweden, despite being numerically outnumbered (11-10) for most of the match. the result? they successfully held out the swedes to a goal-less draw. one key defender who will play a major part in containing england's attacks will be dennis lawrence. towering at 2.01m, that is even taller than crouch (1.98m). and shaka hislop, the goalie, looks set to continue his fairy-tale run in the tournament. with several crucial saves in the sweden game, he's on track to deny the english from making an impression if they do not buck up on time.

true, the england squad features many players from big name leagues, while T & T players mostly come from the lower division leagues. but what the english style of soccer fears most is combative, physical play, and T & T could well be one major blind spot in their continuing hunt for only the 2nd world cup trophy. and one last point: complacency. as mediacorp actor/comedian mark lee pointed out, the england players tend to be less efficient against the so-called "weaker" teams. and that will prove to be their downfall.

will my bold prediction come true? stay tuned to your tv set tonight to find out.

those memories. 19:53