Blogagaard On the World Cup, and Soccer in General

Blogagaard is a sports fan. Hockey, basketball, baseball, tennis, football, etc.

But soccer? What the fuck is soccer about? It's like way, WAY too much running, dude. When Blogagaard was a young lad, he kicked the soccer ball around in his backyard, against a fence. It was neon orange soccer ball, and he kicked it a lot. Somehow, this did not translate into a love, or even a full understanding, of the sport called everywhere else "football". Blogagaard has been to Europe twice, watched several games while drinking in pubs, and still does not understand exactly what the appeal is here.

Now, as a special challenge to my generally sports challenged readers, I present an ESPN.com wrap-up of a 0-0 World Cup match between Trinidad and Tobago (where Blogagaard has been, both islands) and Sweden (where Blogagaard has not been):

West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop came in from the cold for Trinidad and Tobago to do England a massive favour.

Photography/Empics

T&T's Birchall tries to out-pace Svensson.

Veteran Hislop, a late replacement for Kelvin Jack, who sustained a head injury just before kick-off, made a series of stunning saves to deny Sweden an opening win in Group B.

The fact the World Cup newcomers gained a point was remarkable given that Avery John was sent off in the first minute of the second half. But they dug deep to rattle the Swedes, now two points behind England after the opening game. The debutantes showed they were not prepared to stand on any ceremony and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was left reeling after a stiff challenge by Avery John. Henrik Larsson then curled a free-kick wide of the post from the edge of the area for Sweden. They looked menacing and Ibrahimovic tested 37-year-old Hislop from an acute angle. The opening stages were proving taxing for Trinidad, who qualified through the play-offs, and Gray was forced into a hurried clearance to repel another Swedish attack. Sweden continued to dominate and Ibrahimovic was proving to be handful. The Juventus striker raced clear in the 20th minute but Sancho showed good positional sense to make the clearance. Two minutes later Ibrahimovic carved out a path down the right and whipped in a cross which Larsson just failed to get a touch to. The Swedes were playing some neat football but struggling to make the breakthrough. Larsson then knocked a shot wide in the 26th minute from a difficult angle before Freddie Ljungberg clipped a shot over the top. Trinidad made a rare breakaway in the 34th minute and Carlos Edwards stung former Arsenal goalkeeper Rami Shaaban's fingers with a shot from distance. However they were again forced on the back foot four minutes later when Larsson escaped his marker only for his header to clear the bar. Hislop had to come to Trinidad's rescue when he did well to turn over a thumping drive from Christian Wilhelmsson. The goalkeeper then proved equal to a stinging shot from Ibrahimovic in the 43rd minute as Trinidad managed to escape the first half on level terms. Trinidad suffered a massive blow a minute into the second half when Avery John was sent off after picking up his second yellow card following a challenge on Wilhelmsson, however he did appear to take both the ball and the man. That gave the vastly experienced Swedes a clear advantage with so much of the match left. Dwight Yorke then showed his defensive ability by blocking Larsson's close-range effort. It was proving a test of Trinidad's resolve if nothing else as they were down to 10 men, and they adopted a policy of containment, being forced to rely on counter-attacks. They almost stunned the Swedes in the 59th minute when substitute Cornell Glen found himself in the clear inside the area. He wasted no time in rattling in a shot which beat Shaaban but came back off the bar. That should have been a wake-up for the Swedes, who were become increasingly impatient, as were their fans. They had scored goals for fun in qualifying but were finding it hard with Sancho and Dennis Lawrence holding firm at the back for the Caribbean side. Substitute Marcus Allback should have given Sweden the lead after 76 minutes but sent a shot from close range into the arms of the grateful Hislop. Allback again fluffed his lines three minutes later as Trinidad's veteran shot-stopper made the block. The World Cup newcomers then dug deep to snatch a point against all the odds.

I've been reading the sports page since I was five, and still, I have no fucking idea what any of this means. How can a 0-0 tie be fullfilling in any way? Yet tonight Trinidad and Tobago are going apeshit over this, I believe. The world is an amazing, and sometimes amazingly lame, place.