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Expect a very loud and raucous crowd at Gottlier-Daimler-Stadion as the tournament's most discussed (although probably not the most talented) team takes on the upstarts from South America.
Of course, I consider England the most discussed team because I'm reading mainly English language sources. The Guardian ran eleven stories in its Saturday edition on this match. I don't think they're all online however. And now it's Sunday, so who knows.
It should be hot in Stuttgart for a match that starts at 5 pm local time. Temps should be in the high 80s with high humidity and a chance of thunderstorms. The 52,000 seat stadium does not have a roof so the pitch could get soggy.
As for Ecuador, nobody expected them to do much of anything in the World Cup. The rap on the Ecuadoreans was that they couldn't play well at sea level. But in Germany, they scored impressive wins over Poland and Costa Rica, before sitting down some of their starters in the third match to avoid yellow cards, a loss to Germany.
The big matchup to watch will be Ecuador's Edwin Hurtado against England's Wayne Rooney. If Hurtado keeps Rooney from creating trouble in the penalty area, then England will have to hope that they can get some good set pieces from David Beckham or exploit Peter Crouch's height.
For Ecuador, if they go home after this match, they will be still be hailed as heroes at home. If the English lose, expect the finger pointing and recriminations to reach epic proportions.
Of the 16 entrants in the contest (there were a couple of late ones for different reasons which the Organzining Committee allowed), 14 people have England winning this match.
Ahh... ABC is saying 90 and 45% humidity.
The humidity isn't that bad. That would lead to a heat index of 92.3
Come on Peter, prove me wrong!
Quito gets downright cool when the sun is down (from 6 p.m. - 6 a.m. every day of the year) and when it rains, but when the sun is out, you will find yourself stripped down to the bare minimum. Consequently, wearing layers is fundamental to being comfortable in Quito. Pants, a light t-shirt or tank top topped with a long-sleeve shirt and jacket or sweater should be fine most of the year. Travelers coming from colder climates will laugh at the winter garb of most Quiteños from September - April which often includes jackets, scarves, gloves and hats. Winter is a strong word, but during these months, afternoon storms are common and tend to drop the temperature to around 50 degrees farenheit (10 degrees celcius). During sunny days, the temperatures can rise up to as high as 90 degrees farenheit (32 degrees celcius) and the sun is incredibly strong, so be smart about sunscreen, hats and sunglasses.
zzzzzzz
"Report: Rocker calls sensitivity training a 'farce'"
They are playing better in the second half but compare England today against either Argentina or Mexico yesterday. They don't beat either of those teams, period.
If they win today, they lost by two goals minimum against the Dutch.
Between Crouch's victory dance and the resuscitation of "Futurama" for Comedy Central, this could be the best week for robots in recent memory. Beep!
That was a great goal.
Chances it will be mildly amusing: 27.6%
England playing with a lot of momentum right now.
You could see stuff coming out through his facemask.
England playing well here. It's Ecuador that looks to be affected by the heat.
I'm shocked!
You see the fans outside just now? Speaking of faces you wouldn't mind punching.
Yeah, that's a better way to put it. Like some South Vietnamese president, Cade was an SOB, but at least he was our SOB.
But what about the midfield? Outside of Beckham on the free kicks, where is the vaunted English midfielders? Color me unimpressed.
How long after the game until the grass Beckham yakked on is up for bid at ebay?
And what's the opening bid?
He's not sufficiently dedicated. That's why he's going to lose.
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