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It what should be a hard-hitting quarterfinal, Portugal and England could literally end up duking it out in Gelsenkirchen.
Portugal has not made it to the semifinals of a World Cup in 40 years. And then the Portuguese lost to England, 2-1 at Wembley Stadium on a pair of goals by Bobby Charlton.
Since then, the Portuguese have had better success against the English, beating them at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, 1-0 and winning two matches in the European Championships: 3-2 in 2000 and in a 6-5 penalty kick tiebreaker after a 2-2 tie in Euro 2004 in Portugal.
England last made it to the semifinals in 1990 before losing to Germany.
The English have won three of their four matches in Germany, beating Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ecuador in the Round of 16 and drawing with Sweden in group play.
Portugal is 4-0 after wins over Angola, Iran, Mexico, and finally over the Netherlands in a brutal match which saw 16 yellow cards issued and four red cards. The most notable Portuguese player who will miss action will be Deco.
Both countries tend to have fatalistic attitudes about their teams. And with good reason most years. But one will move on to the semis.
Six entries have England as the winner of this one. Two have Portugal. Everybody else had the Netherlands!
If Portugal were to win, Yankee23 would catch Penarol1916 for the lead going in to the semis. If not, Penarol1916 will be the leader.
GO FIGO!!!
GOOL! GOOL! GOOL! GOOL!...
I think the stadium in Gelsenkirchen seats about 45,000.
Most likely, the Brits will be watching on big TV monitors in public areas drunk to the point of unconsciousness.
The Germans apparently sell beer at these events.
Germans approaching new and improved futbol stadia like MLB? Less is more?
The stadium in Gelsenkirchen is listed at 52,000.
The semis are in Dortmund and Munich where the stadium seat 65000 and 66000. The final is in Berlin and that seats 80000.
So the Portuguese would often hitch their wagon to the English/British to piss off their neighbors.
Right now, I'm sure England HATES Portugal.
Good first half, after the first twenty minutes, i was sure there would be some goals. Rooney is making England very dangerous off those throw ins by the 18 yard box.
Can ESPN run one story showing football fans to be neither hooligans or racists? Is that possible?
That red card is just plain cruel. Horrible call.
Perhaps it will be humid and the heat index will be 65 or 70.
He is five; for him, TV is something that can be paused and rewound. He can't imagine it any other way.
Schumacher and Goycochea have four.
Penarol1916 - 11
yankee23 - 11
Since yankee23 has Brazil as the final winner, he's the favorite now.
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