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Post by zarsta on Jul 22, 2023 0:02:53 GMT -5
The high today was around 13 or 14 C (so 55 to 60 F??). Was good weather for playing football, and not bad for watching either. Winters here in Auckland always remind me of Bay Area winters. Thursday night's match felt very cold though... Gonna be chillier in Dunedin and Hamilton, I'm thinking. Definitely colder down in Dunners, but the stadium there is actually fully covered.
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Post by zarsta on Jul 22, 2023 2:58:39 GMT -5
Japan 1 - Zambia 0 at the half. Some great saves from Zambia's keeper (who is usually their #2 keeper). Beautiful passing on Japan's goal. Japan thought they had one earlier in the half but it was ruled offside after a VAR check.
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 22, 2023 10:33:36 GMT -5
As much as I'd like to watch England, that 3:30 AM MT start time is about as bad as it gets. I think I'll have to just watch the highlights tomorrow. Glad I didn't sacrifice sleep for a 1-0 game, lol. At least England won. Japan beat Zambia 5-0, and Denmark beat China 1-0.
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Post by mervinswerved on Jul 22, 2023 17:47:01 GMT -5
USA-Vietnam fan review:
Transport to Eden Park was easy. We took an Uber to the American Outlaws pregame party. Doug Emhoff showed up, which was the second time we saw him because we were staying in the team hotel. I've been a soccer fan for 20+ years but this was my first AO event. Tons of solo travelers, a few families, and a lot of dudes in women's soccer jerseys. Overall, seems like a pretty wholesome fandom.
Eden Park is a neat stadium and it (almost) filled up right at kickoff. Announced attendance of 41,000. The Vietnam fans were plentiful but the place was crawling with Americans, as you might guess. Most of the families in the stadium were locals, which is cool.
I had several Coronas at $10 NZD, Mrs Merv was drinking the canned wine, and we split three pies. The chicken was way better than the beef. Concessions were insanely easy, especially for drinks- drink were in alcoves with self serve coolers and cashiers on your way out. Super quick and easy.
Merch tent was a massive line pregame and during halftime, so we'll see if it's any better tomorrow night for Italy-Argentina.
The train back downtown was free, so we did that postgame. Stopped back at the hotel because it's the only place open early for coffee and stood in line with Sue Bird.
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Post by zarsta on Jul 22, 2023 21:07:10 GMT -5
As much as I'd like to watch England, that 3:30 AM MT start time is about as bad as it gets. I think I'll have to just watch the highlights tomorrow. Glad I didn't sacrifice sleep for a 1-0 game, lol. At least England won. Japan beat Zambia 5-0, and Denmark beat China 1-0. Japan were impressive in the win against Zambia. Mina Tanaka had two goals disallowed for offside - her third finally counted. Zambia were already playing with their #2 keeper (lost their #1 only a few days ago, ACL I think), and will now have to play Spain with their #3 keeper. Red card right at the end of the game (2nd yellow), which was unfortunate as the first yellow was given to her for taking out a Japanese player on a play that was offside anyway. Love watching Japan play - their passing was beautiful last night, they were in complete control for the whole game, and they looked a lot stronger than many predicted they would be (quite a young side). England v Haiti was actually a very entertaining game. The keeper for Haiti had a fantastic match, and the England goal was a PK (which was a retake after the first was saved but was keeper encroachment) - for a handball where the Haitian player had both arms in the air. Think England were lucky to get 3 points out of that, Haiti had some great chances. I saw Haiti play here in Auckland back in Feb when they had the play off match vs Chile to secure their place in the WWC. They definitely earned that win and Melchie Dumornay is one to watch... The China v Denmark game was a very evenly matched one. Denmark's goal was off a set play right at the end of the match. And finally, a game that didn't have a PK!
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Post by zarsta on Jul 22, 2023 21:23:01 GMT -5
USA-Vietnam fan review: Transport to Eden Park was easy. We took an Uber to the American Outlaws pregame party. Doug Emhoff showed up, which was the second time we saw him because we were staying in the team hotel. I've been a soccer fan for 20+ years but this was my first AO event. Tons of solo travelers, a few families, and a lot of dudes in women's soccer jerseys. Overall, seems like a pretty wholesome fandom. Eden Park is a neat stadium and it (almost) filled up right at kickoff. Announced attendance of 41,000. The Vietnam fans were plentiful but the place was crawling with Americans, as you might guess. Most of the families in the stadium were locals, which is cool. I had several Coronas at $10 NZD, Mrs Merv was drinking the canned wine, and we split three pies. The chicken was way better than the beef. Concessions were insanely easy, especially for drinks- drink were in alcoves with self serve coolers and cashiers on your way out. Super quick and easy. Merch tent was a massive line pregame and during halftime, so we'll see if it's any better tomorrow night for Italy-Argentina. The train back downtown was free, so we did that postgame. Stopped back at the hotel because it's the only place open early for coffee and stood in line with Sue Bird. I was quietly relieved that getting to and from Eden Park was super easy both Thursday and yesterday. Public transport has been a bit of a hot mess in Auckland this year, and the opening match of the Rugby World Cup back in 2011 was an absolute disaster (people missed the start of the match because of the public transport failures that night). No long waits for anything at either game this week, though I did notice the queues for the merch too, and it was like that Thursday as well. I assume you're staying near Britomart - Espresso Workshop has great coffee (I buy my beans there sometimes), and both Daily Bread and Amano have really nice baked goods. I can't think of anywhere in town that has great pies (steak and cheese are my fave) but if you're heading to the South Island you're sure to run into a good one!
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 22, 2023 22:13:49 GMT -5
Glad I didn't sacrifice sleep for a 1-0 game, lol. At least England won. Japan beat Zambia 5-0, and Denmark beat China 1-0. Japan were impressive in the win against Zambia. Mina Tanaka had two goals disallowed for offside - her third finally counted. Zambia were already playing with their #2 keeper (lost their #1 only a few days ago, ACL I think), and will now have to play Spain with their #3 keeper. Red card right at the end of the game (2nd yellow), which was unfortunate as the first yellow was given to her for taking out a Japanese player on a play that was offside anyway. Love watching Japan play - their passing was beautiful last night, they were in complete control for the whole game, and they looked a lot stronger than many predicted they would be (quite a young side). England v Haiti was actually a very entertaining game. The keeper for Haiti had a fantastic match, and the England goal was a PK (which was a retake after the first was saved but was keeper encroachment) - for a handball where the Haitian player had both arms in the air. Think England were lucky to get 3 points out of that, Haiti had some great chances. I saw Haiti play here in Auckland back in Feb when they had the play off match vs Chile to secure their place in the WWC. They definitely earned that win and Melchie Dumornay is one to watch... The China v Denmark game was a very evenly matched one. Denmark's goal was off a set play right at the end of the match. And finally, a game that didn't have a PK! I checked out the Japan highlights, and yeah, they looked great. I'm always impressed with Japan's sports teams because it always seem like they're so fundamentally sound, which makes sense because they're usually at a size and strength disadvantage compared to some other countries. The Zambia keeper made a very bad decision to make that challenge. It was in the last minute or two of stoppage time, and one more goal wasn't likely to make a difference. I know that goal differential is a tiebreaker, but I think having your keeper available is more important. Plus, Japan scored the penalty anyway. Edit: I just saw the handball. What was the Zambia player thinking as she jumped with both hands above her head in the box?
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Post by zarsta on Jul 23, 2023 1:05:31 GMT -5
Sweden and South Africa are 0-0 at the half. Miserable weather down in Wellington - cold and very wet.
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Post by zarsta on Jul 23, 2023 1:16:01 GMT -5
And within a few minutes of the second half kick off, South Africa are up 1-0. Great save from the Swedish keeper on the initial shot, but Magaia got to it first - she went into the back of the net as well and landed hard on the bar. Looked painful but she seems to be OK.
Edit: Actually Magaia now being subbed off a few minutes later, so maybe it was as painful as it looked...
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Post by c4ndlelight on Jul 23, 2023 1:39:05 GMT -5
Where is this ref from? Beyond just the handball, Sweden is getting absolutely no calls. Really makes it easy on the RSA defense when you can tackle with abandon.
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Post by zarsta on Jul 23, 2023 1:47:16 GMT -5
Where is this ref from? Beyond just the handball, Sweden is getting absolutely no calls. Really makes it easy on the RSA defense when you can tackle with abandon. Pretty sure it's Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 23, 2023 1:58:55 GMT -5
Sweden scores on a late corner kick to pull out the win 2-1.
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Post by zarsta on Jul 23, 2023 2:31:00 GMT -5
Sweden scores on a late corner kick to pull out the win 2-1. Also (finally) the first game in this tournament where both teams have scored.
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Post by jayj79 on Jul 23, 2023 8:44:58 GMT -5
Sweden and South Africa are 0-0 at the half. Miserable weather down in Wellington - cold and very wet. did you have to wear your Wellington boots?
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Post by akbar on Jul 23, 2023 8:49:22 GMT -5
Sweden and South Africa are 0-0 at the half. Miserable weather down in Wellington - cold and very wet. did you have to wear your Wellington boots? Even before his great victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Wellington was on his way to becoming a fashion icon. By 1813, and the victory at the Battle of Vittoria, Wellington’s fame led others to start wearing this new style of boot. They duly became known as ‘Wellingtons’. PRUSSIAN IMPOSTERS The Prussian Field-Marshal von Blücher, whose arrival on the battlefield of Waterloo tipped the balance in Wellington’s favour, was also afforded the honour of having a boot named after him. The ‘Blücher’ was cut even lower than the Wellington, similar to an ankle boot. Von Blücher had commissioned this new boot for the sake of the comfort of the ordinary Prussian soldier. Naturally the British did not take to Blüchers as well as they did to Wellingtons. In 1841 they were called ‘shocking imposters’ by the satirical magazine Punch. This got me thinking about Frau Blücher. 😂😂😂😂😂
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