Brazil's undeserved penalty is a call for use of video replay

Photo credit: Reuters

Brazil defeated Croatia yesterday in the opening game of the World Cup by the score of 3-1. The go-ahead goal however, came due to a controversial penalty kick.

The goal came in the 79th minute, just in time to give Brazil the psychological bump it needed to bring the crowd into the game. However, how this PK came is debatable. In fact, it is clear from the replays that Fred wasn't touched, at least not ith enough force to pull him down.

This latest lack of fairness in a major soccer match has called, once again, for action from FIFA. But will they ever get this to happen? The goal line technology that is finally being employed took more than a decade to implement, even though the capability has been around for other sports, such as hockey, for much longer.

There are the usual arguments. Referees are part of the game and human error is a tradition, of sorts. This has been Michel Platini's assertion, for example. And yet, as the game gets a further hold of the North American sports scene, it is likely that more pressure will be placed on FIFA to act.

The way that the Mexico and Spain games went also add credence to the argument that at least one replay should be allowed per team per game. A couple more minutes per game is something most soccer lovers can live with. Giovanni dos Santos had a goal called back without a clear reason and Spain's lone goal versus The Netherlands came through another questionable penalty. Clearly, goal line tech is a great start, but it's still not enough to make the beautiful game also a fair game.

World Cup Memories: Australia

Australia is an odd bird in the football community. They boast talented players, an interesting league set against other major sports (much like the MLS), and a unique location. Perennial representatives of the Oceania Football Confederation, they were always playing playoff matches to enter the tournament. Sometimes with Asia, sometimes with South America, one time even with Israel. Almost never enough to get through except for 1970. Germany 2006 was the first time in 36 years.

Australia was just recently (2005) admitted to the Asian Football Conference (AFC), thus ending decades of relegation to playoffs. They certainly benefited from this and qualified for South Africa without losing a single match to AFC opponents.

In truth, aside from my wanting the Aussies to be in a World Cup to make it truly global, 2006 was my only experience and only memory of the team. They were pitted against Croatia, Japan and eternal-favorites Brazil. Guus Hiddink coached the squad in the World Cup and, true to his nature, took the team to the next level--the second round.

Granted, my memories of 2006 are limited to the fact that I was traveling much of the time (even though I still watched 80% of the games). Still, their win over Japan and a well-deserved tie versus Croatia were enough to see them through to the round of 16. A loss by 2-0 to Brazil was not unexpected.

Australia probably deserved better fate against Italy in the second round. They held the eventual-champions 0-0 until injury time. A fateful penalty taken by none-other than Francesco Totti ended the Socceroos run in 2006.

What's next for Australia? A group of death, of sorts. First there's Germany and, considering their squad, almost assured a place in the next round. Then there's Serbia, always dangerous and with a storied past. Lastly, there's Ghana, one of the more dangerous of the African sides in this tournament. Australia has quite a squad, though, and should go head to head with all the teams in this group. Some stars include: Mark Shwarzer (Fulham), Lucas Neil (Galatasaray), Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Lowry (Aston Villa), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Mark Grella (Blackburn Rovers), Tim Cahill (Everton) and Harry Kewell (Galatasaray).

To win away from home

It's tough. No doubt about it. And Wednesday's matches for the last chance to be in South Africa presents must win situations away from home for a plethora of teams. Most important, and with interesting consequences, are the Conmebol games involving Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina. The latter two play in Montevideo in a game that could result on either one missing out on next year's tournament. This, along with Ecuador's game versus Chile, will decide the fourth and fifth places for South America. A win by Ecuador in Santiago would push the loser of the first contest out of South Africa. A tie between Ecuador and Chile means that a draw between Uruguay and Argentina is enough for them to qualify. A loss by Ecuador has the same consequences regardless of the outcome of the Argentina game. Further, both teams are looking for the direct route to the African continent by bypassing the playoff with Concacaf (Costa Rica or Honduras).

The story does not stop there. For Honduras and Costa Rica, winning away from home in hostile environments will decide the final Concacaf spot and could pair the lower seed against mighty Argentina in order to book their ticket to the World Cup. Honduras is headed to El Salvador (unbeaten at home but already eliminated) and Costa Rica makes the trip to our nation's capital to take on an already-qualified USA. El Salvador will not escape the opportunity to end the tournament on a high note after having had memorable games (and wins) in the Estadio Cuscatlan. The US, on the other hand, are looking to win the Concacaf group and claim the title of the region's top team.

But this predicament is not isolated to the American continent. In Africa, for example, a duel between Algeria and Egypt will decide one of the final spots for the African region. Algeria can clinch its first appearance in a World Cup with a draw in Cairo. Egypt is looking to return to the tournament after a 20 year absence. Elsewhere in Africa, both Cameroon and Gabon need wins at Morocco and Togo in order to qualify.

Let's not forget Europe. Israel (vs Switzerland) and Ukraine (vs Andorra) and Croatia (Kazakhstan) all need results away from home to advance into the tournament. Finally there's lowly Bahrain taking on New Zealand for the last Asian/Oceania spot.

Winning away from home requires discipline, an ability to ignore and silence the crowd, the poise to withstand the onslaught of the home team, the courage to withstand the psychology of the rival squad, and always, always, always... a bit of luck.