World Cup pre/in/post-game discussion thread *spoilers*

What about we keep all World-Cup-game-related discussion in this thread, so that those who can't watch live can avoid spoilers?

Trolls with their lame "soccer is only diving and drama", please go somewhere else.

So far, interesting first game. Croatia in the lead, with Brasil having more chances, but so far a fruitless effort.

Apparently I have many Croatians in my neighborhood, because I could hear them all cheer when Croatia scored.

Neymar! 1:1

Maybe the cheers were from people who just want payback against Brazil for the WC loss in 2006. It was 2006 right?

As for me, I'll be happy if the US beats Ghana.

Neymar is a little #%&*$#. That arm in the face looked very deliberate.

To score shortly after takes the piss.

That was 2002, in Japan/South Korea. Due to an unnecessary "fumble" by goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, otherwise one of the best players in that team.

It would not be surprising if they really were Croats, because we have a lot of former Yugoslavians living in Bavaria ever since the Balkan civil wars.

Ghana will be a tough nut to crack, for everyone in our group.

Incidentally, Neymar is playing like the cliche said Croatia would play: tough and unfair. But that was a decade ago; Croatia is playing fair, and very well so far. Too bad Mandzukic is still banned due to a red card from the qualification games. With him, Croatia would lead at least 2:1. Olic is good, but also not the youngest player in their team.

Fun fact: both Ivica Olic (Croatia) and Luiz Gustavo (Brasil) play for the same team in the Bundesliga: VFL Wolfsburg. Both used to play for FC Bayern München (they were teammates there as well). Mario Mandzukic (also Croatia) used to play for Wolfsburg, but played for Bayern München until the end of this season.

That was no penalty. Wrong decision by the referee.

If that was a penalty my name is Manfred von Richtofen.

Almost smells like "host bonus" to me.

And another bonus...

Just saw it again: there's no way that this was a legit penalty. The ref could not be more wrong. He also was standing at a spot where he could not see well, which was also his fault. A more experienced referee (one who has Champions League experience) would have picked a better spot in that situation.

Terrible penalty call from the ref!

Tough luck for Croatia they deserved a closer game, Brasil got a big gift there, they did not impress with that lazy defending, should make this group more interesting, good start for Neymar though

I agree, kludger. If they don't pick up their game significantly, Brasil will not make it very far.

I want to watch the Chile-Aus match tomorrow morning but my concern over the refs, terrible the last time i watched Aus in the world cups, makes me wonder if i will enjoy it or not.

It was a bit of a dive (went down too easily) by Fred but Lovren did have his hands all over him.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20954...orld-cup-opener

Yea, seriously seemed that Japanese ref was Pro-Brazil.

Fred ticked me off. I wasn't a Brazil fan, now I'm hoping they get knocked out of the Cup.

Laws of the game (my emphasis):


Was Fred 'held'?

Pretty much, Louvren shouldn't have had his hands anywhere on him and there would be no controversy.

i'm brazilian, and i can't honeslty say if it was a dive or a slip, but the croatian guy wasnt just grabbing, watch the second clip, you can see the arm muscle flex, he pulled back or held him in place. i Really hate these two things they do in soccer now, pretend a fault and grab a guy shirt, what happened to mark the zone ?

Worse infringements happen ever time a corner kick is taken, both sides being equally culpable. There's absolutely no way you can excuse the forward for collapsing under such minimal force. According to the rules I posted above (from FIFA's website) it's very debatable whether it was a foul.

caption reads
neymar get up man, it's still in the national anthem.
judge,foul here, ow

This is why I cant get into soccer...the diving is just embarrassing.

Now, hockey players will play with broken jaws, missing teeth, broken fingers,you name it...
Diving is generally rooted out and eliminated (for the most part).

Man, the Internet is flooding with memes of that Japanese referee.

I'll just limit my self to insert this:

Terrible call, hopefully they will send that referee packing back home.

I do think that if Croatia had a stronger goalie, they might have had a shot despite the call.

The goalie had his hands on the ball during the penalty shot and should have saved it, as well as being pretty flat footed in the other two really slow shots. A better goalie might have saved one or two of those 3 goals.

Can't wait for all 3 games tomorrow already.

I no longer play competitively (not semi pro, but club) but as a defender I've been holding on to shirts for 20 years, that's not new. Its the whole threat of "I'm right here. Don't forget it." just a little tug and pull.

You didn't read the OP so I must remind you that hockey has fight relationship much like another fake sport WWF. If the two gents aren't really mad enough to fight, and its just to rile the crowd, its still a show, and still fake. Hockey fights are BS scripted idiot dances.

Thanks!

Agreed diving is embarrassing, and something that the officials are working on rooting out of soccer too, if this ref had done his job correctly then Fred would have gotten a yellow card for simulation and been tossed out of the game if he did it again in this game, or suspended if he did it again in the next game for accumulating too many yellows during the tournament, but unfortunately the ref didn't do his job and didn't take time to think about what he saw or ask the other 3 officials what they saw, he went right for the wrong penalty call, terrible ref.

BTW I don't watch hockey, but I watch and enjoy lots of other sports and there's diving or other cheating or dirty play in other sports too (basketball, football, cycling, motorsports) lots of professional athletes will try whatever they can get away with to gain a competitive edge, I'm sure you enjoy some of those sports and don't spend all your focus on the cheating, soccer is not unique in this regard.

It was the correct call.

It is not the diving but the acting after the dive that gets to me. Rolling around like being hit by a 10t truck and 10 secs later is doing a 100yd dash in 5 seconds.

Never played hockey have you Rakov.

I wasn't talking about fighting at all.
Where did I mention fighting?

I think you missed my point.

Not a soccer fan at all, but I saw quite a few CHEAP shots on both sides while I was watching.

The one to the guys throat by Brazil SHOULD have been a fight.

I play soccer in a recreational/competitive local league. Today did show some great skills on both sides, but man do they take acting to the extreme. I see this same kind of stuff going on even in the lower leagues, and sadly the rules really do reward the good actors. I think Brazil is definitely going to have to work on its defense if it is going to have any shot at winning the cup, they weren't threatened a lot, but when they were they had to resort to a lot of cheap shots to keep it close.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

My thoughts after the first match:

i) Far and away the best player on the Brazilian team was the Japanese guy in the black shirt.

ii) If this is going to be how the 2014 World Cup rolls then just give the cup to Brazil now.


On another note for the blokes watching in the UK..... anybody else think the ITV coverage was absolutely crap? Adrian Chiles is a pretty poor presenter and his final comment "A comfortable win for Brazil, and they weren't even playing at their best!" showed he probably wasn't paying too much attention to the match...

Then again given the studio was being pelted with stones from protestors outside I don't blame him

I need to remind some of you guys that this is not Basketball: physical contact in the penalty zone is legal (even in Basketball it can get very rough without a penalty being called). Football/Soccer is a contact sport.

Fact is, this kind of physical contact is absolutely normal; tugging, pushing, shoving, grabbing - as long as it is not excessive, or used to deny the other team a clear goal-scoring opportunity - is absolutely common.

There are many referees with international experience (mainly from Champions League matches) who would have given the yellow card for acting. Yesterday's referee was simply out of his league, probably nervous because it was the opening match, and in the past Croatia did have an image to play pretty rough - even though yesterday they acted very disciplined - which may have influenced him.

Brasil's wing defense was particularly fragile yesterday. This could be the team's Achilles heel, and everybody took note.

Fred dived and the entire world knows it. FIFA need to step in now and card him out of the Group? No chance.

World Cup Payola is a reality so expect more of the same before this tournament ends.

Maybe the ref was afraid to ignite some kind of Brasilian powder keg? Imagine Brasil not even making the first round; the Brasilian people are barely tolerating this event, because many hope that at least their team may win this Cup.

One positive for Brasil besides Neymar scoring was also how well Oscar played, much better than his recent tired Chelsea form at the end of the season.

Also was good to see Croatia have some good counterattacks, a good game besides the ref... can't wait for the games today.

From Twitter: “It’s a tight call for Brazil’s man of the match between Neymar and the Referee,”

Freds overreacting/overacting/exaggerating doesn't mean this wasn't a penalty. He was held inside the penalty area.

I find more controversial, for example, the decision not to send Neymar off for the elbow.

It was no penalty. Fred was not "held". Holding would have resulted in some sort of retardation of his momentum, but his whole movement remains fluid until the hits the ground. There was hardly any contact. And contact is legal, even in the penalty zone. Contact in these game situations is absolutely normal. Even holding - to a certain extent - is normal.

Fred merely slipped while trying to get to the ball, but had noticed the player touching him, and began acting the second the hit the ground. Every normal referee would have shown Fred the yellow card for "unsportsmanlike behaviour".

Not much of a controversy, either, for pretty much everyone agrees that Fred was diving:

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3841/worl...nder-ref-comes-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footbal...rn-penalty.html

http://www.cbssports.com/world-cup/eye-o...o-decisive-goal

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/...to-a-bad-start/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcu...d-Cup-2014.html

In any case, it happened, and that's that. It might even have been a good thing, because from now on the other referees might be a little more diligent.

Top match today will be Spain vs. Netherlands, who faced off during the last World Cup finals. Then we'll see if Spain has indeed passed its prime, or if this assumption is merely wishful thinking by the other contenders.

Too bad for Croatia that Mandzukic could not play due to a previous red card. He probably would have made the difference yesterday.

A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following three offenses:

• holds an opponent
• spits at an opponent
• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own
penalty area)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20954...orld-cup-opener

Just a quick perusal of this thread makes me glad I'm not watching it this year. I'll stick to the women's game.Prettier players (mostly) and they still play 'football',not the poncy stuff the men are engaged in.

Yes, but there was no holding at all, a contact yes, but no holding. No foul, never.

left hand on left shoulder

right arm over right arm

Still not holding. There was no break in Freds momentum, and certainly no backwards motion. Therefore, no holding. The arm was merely hovering over the other's arm, with only a slight contact. His hand was touching the shoulder, not grabbing. Fred's whole movement is way too fluid for holding to be involved. There is no "friction" whatsoever, Fred just slips towards the ball, using Lovren as a slide, all the while looking at the referee in self-righteous indignation.

All this apart from the fact that holding to a certain extent IS tolerated. I repeat: this is a contact sport. In order for this to be a legit penalty, Lovren would have had to actively pull him back, hold him in place, or push him to the ground. None of these things happened here.

Everyone - including all experts and many former FIFA referees - is in agreement that this call (and many others in this game) was (were) wrong.

The game would be a complete farce if referees had to give a free kick every time someone merely put their hand on an opponent.

+1

fred's upper body stopped and his lower body kept moving.

What someone took a dive in a soccer match?

And you wonder why the US as a whole doesnt give a **** about this sport.

Also, GO ITALY! (thats the team my wife likes at least.)

Sassafrass.

Thank god I love rugby.





Paul

Whatever... you have a right to your own opinion, however wrong.

Ok can we please follow the OP request and not crap all over the thread with the usual "soccer is nothing but diving" or "my favorite sport is better" posts?

Most of us in this thread know about that already and still want to have good discussion about the WC without rehashing that age old insight every other post.

Much appreciated, seriously

Mexico vs Cameroon starting now let's see if Eto'o is going to prove he is no old man.

For those insisting on slamming soccer, please go here:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3967301#Post3967301

My money is on Cameroon.

Playing conditions are pretty bad. Props to both teams for their play. Cameroon is playing a little harder right now I think.

Big problem on the Brasil-Croatia game: the referee : he was already the referee in the netherland- brasil game of the 2010 world cup when he fell in favor of the numerous provocations, dives etc of Robben, leading to the elimination of Brasil...God (and some big brass at the FIFA obviously) knows how, amongst hundreds of other referees, he could have been designated for the game of yesterday, with his moral debt towards brasil...!!!

Classic!!!!

Mexico actually looked pretty good there, Giovanni Dos Santos had a good game, pleasantly surprised to see that after the hard time they had making it past the qualifying rounds

Sad to say Eto'o did indeed look like an old man I guess Mourinho was right.

Looking forward to Spain v Holland now, this should be good.

Now, that wasn't a penalty.

Spain 1-5 Holland

OH MY!!! shocker extraordinaire Dutch massacre Spain.

Flippin' Hell!

Holland are demolishing Spain 5-1 with 3 minutes left to play and the Dutch are still hammering shots onto the Spanish goal!

Those Dutch fans are going to have a good night!

The only slight disappointment is that it has taken us until the 3rd match of the tournament to see a decent referee.



As for football vs rugby.... I was always awful at the former and much better at the latter... being 6'2" and 17st does tend to help quite a lot in rugby

I'm very sorry for spain, but it's a great game.

Still, it's one of those extraordinary games where even there is a clear and deserving winner, the result does not reflect the true diference between both teams.
In normal circunstances, any of both teams could win, but today Holland made almost a perfect match (almost because they started loosing), and spain was all the opposite.

Congrat to Holland.

I wouldn't call him decent. Spains penatly was wrong, and the third dutch goal (by de Vrij?) was a foul on Casillas.

As a Greek, I can't be more happy with what happened, Spain needs to be taught a lesson in humility. Granted, our problems stem from basketball, but I haven't seen a sport culture more cocky and at the same time whiny than theirs.

Wow,

what a game! Congrats Holland! This was a lesson. Spain got more goals than in the last WC and EC together. Unbelievable.

Aaaaaarjen Roooooooooobben!

Looks like Spain is indeed past its prime (about time ). Good for Netherlands, this game will give them a huge confidence boost that could carry them straight through the tournament.

This is the same Holland team who were at each other's throats only a week ago when Robben was accused of diving by a teammate in training...



Apologies if I've opened that can of worms again

I don't think this was about "diving", it was because Robben was pissed at being tackled too hard for his taste. Robben is not the most robust player, and has been severely injured quite often - for long periods. He sure as hell does not want to miss the World Cup, so he might be a little overanxious when his teammate tackles him a little too eagerly.

And yes, he is a diva. He even admits it. But, by God, an incredible player. I have to say that as a Bayern Munich supporter.

Spain would have played much better if they had let Martínez play as a 6. Pep Guardiola made the same mistake in the CL semi final against Real.

Does not look good for Australia. Chile scored twice within a couple of minutes.

Wow huge congrats to Holland, very well done, not usually a fan of Robben but today he was terrific, I feel bad for Cassillas, his time is past now, surprising how easily and totally Spain collapsed once they got behind.

Great to see Holland play instead of just fouling, will be interesting to see if Spain can bounce back.

The Ozzies made a game of it. Goal in extra time by Chile for 3:1.

The "Socceroos" showed a lot of heart, that's for sure. And made things very difficult for Chile.

The top match today no doubt is England vs. Italy. Too bad that they are playing so late, the match will start at midnight CET.

Yeah,

but since it is weekend, I`ll watch it.

Is beyond me how we have zones with two teams like Spain and Holland (one worldcup winner and the other three times finalist), or England and Italy (1 and four times worldcup winners, in that order), and zones without any worldcup winner, like Greece, Colombia, Japan and Cote d'Ivoire. Similar case with Belgium, Russia, South Korea and Argelie.
I mean none disrespect to any of those teams, but Holland or England IMO deserve a lot more to be headzones that Greece or Belgium. Things like this are a perfect example of why people think FIFA is so corrupted.

Will Spain follow France in the WC curse: 1 great followed by 1 terrible, then 1 great again...?

Anyway, great play for the Dutch, if there is one team that need a WC win, it would be them... 3 times, no score, 2014 finally? they sure atomized Spain in a very revengeful way... let see if it wasn't just a one shot victory.

Let's hope England-Italy won't be too soporific...

Hmmph...Suárez apparently will not play from the beginnning later against Costa Rica. TV says it's a precaution. Cavani will play, though.

Oh, and Forlán is already 35 and still playing right from the beginning.

I have Uruguay booked as one of those dark horse teams.

And that, gentlemen, was a penalty.

Wow!

Hope bringing Suarez on prematurely means he properly knacks his knee.

I'm sure he can "bite" right through this game.

Very entertaining watching Uruguay on the receiving end, but then there's the realisation that it's very likely England will need a result against a Costa Rica team who are playing really some good football.

Their defense is kind of week, though. I presume that's why they play with a back-five formation. Uruguay is just not playing well today. Way too many bad passes.

Guess later we'll see what shape the English team is in.

Amazeballs!!!

Yeah, Uruguay is not playing good today. They'll have a hard time if they don't improve 'cos the group is not an easy one.

3-1, way to go Costa Rica.

Whoa! That red card was indeed justified.

I didn't think it was a foul. Looked like Campbell dived

Wow,

next surprise. My bet was on the Urus.

I don't know, the replay looked like it wasn't that violent, but very inappropriate and unnecessary axe-to-the-knee kind of kick.

IMO there are three national anthems that rock at a World Cup: two of them we just heard. (the third is "La Marseillaise").

Always great when the audience is singing along, especially "God save the Queen".

Game can go either way: exciting, or incredibly tedious.

Chiellini. Not even 2 minutes into the game, and he is already acting out MacBeth's dying scene.

Did I mention that I can't stand Chiellini; he is my personal nemesis , not only at the national team level, but also at Juve.

You're right, so far it could go any way. Good game so far. What is it with odd coloured boots by the Italians though?

Bugger!

Yay!

YES!

Uh, did some one just break a leg in the celebrations?
Whoops!

The odd-coloured boots are the latest fad nowadays, many players (in several teams/ leagues) have these now.

Looks like someone was fainting due to the oppressive moist heat in Manaus.

Good that both teams scored, but now it seems we're kinda back at square one.

I wasn't going to watch the second half but I am now, I do hope my 3 month old son is kind to me tonight!
Come on England!

He really hurt his ankle while celebrating.

And it was our Physio, ouch!

Did Gerard just get tackled by the referee? LOL

That goal seems to have woken up the English team.

Lol, I wish they always play like that.

I guess their overall tactical disposition was to remain defensive to conserve strength, but against Italy that is very dangerous.

Now they've got to do something and have no choice but to play more offensively.

Good game now, lots of opportunities.

Christ, someone shot Balotalli! Didn't he go down!?!

The humidity is taking its toll now. England had to run a lot and seems to be almost out of steam. Cramps are always a sign for exhaustion.

Great tackle, that was nearly 3. Too many missed opportunities for us though! GG.

Yup. Some remedy for Cahill's earlier - almost Rookie - mistake against Balotelli. Don't focus on the ball, focus on the opponent behind your back: as a defensive player, never lose sight of your opponent.

I don`t like Italian soccer.

England at least deserved a draw IMO.

I've got no complaints about the result. England put a lot of effort in and caused Italy problems with their directness but were technically inferior. Rooney's second half chance in particular is the sort of opportunity which has to be taken in these circumstances.

Given that there were very low expectations though, it was at least a performance worthy of cautious optimism. Uruguay will be much more deflated and Thursday could be a very good opportunity for a change in fortune.

It's now 1.30 am and I'm flicking between live Le Mans and a repeat of today's stage of the Dauphine before the next game kicks off. All-nighter!

Ok, Ivory Coast or japan? Let's call it...

Good lord there have been a ton of beautiful strikes so far this tourney.

Yeah terrific games so far, lots of goals instead of the usual cautious draws of years past

Wow Costa Rica surprised everyone, Uruguay looks to be in trouble without Suarez.

England played a good match, especially the young guys, but Italy was just a bit better and more precise, both teams can be proud of that game.

What a turn around for Ivory Coast when Drogba came on.

Though we were reasonably ok going forward, but we still managed to let the opposition have way too much time and space on the ball.

A good effort from the youngsters, good for the future, but not really good enough to continue further than the group stages, imho.

Mixed feelings about England v Italy....

Hodgson put a fresh and young team out and that is to be applauded. In every recent world cup England has put a team out of superstars that have consistently failed to perform.... These younger guys at their first world cup don't come with all the baggage that the "superstar old guard" come with. Raheem Sterling was fantastic and you could see he was playing his socks off... he's certainly going to be one to watch in the next world cup.

Rooney was as disappointing as ever. Apart from his superb setting up Sturridge's goal he had a bad night. I'm not a fan of Rooney - to me he represents everything that is wrong with the superstar celebrity football player, overrated, overpaid and underperforming. It doesn't help that Hodgson has got him playing in a position he's not at all suited for, but still a player of Rooney's (alleged) calibre should be doing much better.

Italy really seem to enjoy playing the ball in the midfield, looking for an opening befor trying to get the ball to Balotelli. I don't think England did anywhere near enough to disrupt Italy's game in the midfield. Whether this is because England have a fairly weak midfield or Hodgson told them to take it easy on the first game and not bust their balls I don't know. It would have been nice to see some more get up and go from the England midfield and trying to take posession from Italy instead of letting the Italian midfield enjoy the lion's share of the posession.

I do think that the Italians have one glaring flaw.... their apparent reliance on Balotelli. If he gets injured or a match ban they will be goosed. What was encouraging was to see that England managed to keep a lid on Balotelli for nearly all the match.... the problem is with a guy like Balotelli he only needs one chance (and he got it). Unlike Rooney who had several chances but wasn't able to deliver.

Looking forward I think England v Uruguay is going to be very interesting. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from defeat with all to play for. Likewise it looks like Costa Rica have demonstrated pretty well they're not minnows.

I'm thinking that the young and fresh England team, and the fact that just for once expectations back home in England aren't so high... Hodgson could be laying the solid foundations for a very good team in the next world cup. I'll be pleasantly surprised if England makes it out the group stages, but I can't see them making it past the first knockout round.

Shocked by the Netherlands-Spain result. I could see the Dutch winning, but never by that scoreline. But if any team could bounce back from that it would figure to be Spain with all of their experience. What a shocker for Casillas though. His confidence has to be shaken.

I thought England played fairly well, and the result was fair for me. But I just can't see them doing much damage sending cross after cross in to the box despite the beautiful goal they scored. But they don't really have the midfield to play it through the middle of the park. Lambert can get on the end of some of those crosses, so would be worth a punt.

Drogba's seeming effect on the game was dramatic, though it may have just been coincidence. But things sure seemed to open up when he came on.

Great tournament so far.

Italy's Achilles heel is their reliance on Pirlo, not Balotelli. Pirlo is the heart and soul of the team, the one center who acts as a hub to direct passes where they need to go: center, left or right wing. Take Pirlo out of the game (not necessarily by force, but by putting a lot of pressure on him), and you take Italy out of the game.

Case in point: Bayern München vs. Juventus Turin during the 2012/13 Champions League.

Balotelli is just another old-school striker, and he would not have scored had Cahill not temporarily lost sight of him.

Another thing Italy did well yesterday was that - acknowledging the climatic circumstances - they kept the ball (70% possession during the first half), which forced the English team to run. They methodically tired out the opposing team. Hence England running out of steam towards the end.

England's disposition was very defensive - almost Chelsea-esque. Maybe it would have been better to put a lot more pressure on the Italian team early on, try to score two goals, thereby force Italy into the offensive, calmly defend, and look for counter-attack opportunities. Essentially what Italy did in the 2nd half.

But England is on a good way with the younger generation, and who knows; there are still two more games to play in this round, so the door to the next round is still wide open.

Switzerland was just robbed of a goal. Wrong offside call, but probably hard to see for the linesman.

Whoa!

Last minute win for Switzerland during overtime. First Ecuador missed a great chance, then Switzerland scores with a fast counter-attack.

Good match, at last a good beginning for our French team! 1st goal was a classic foul, 2nd goal was really behind the line on the top side camera (so, not controversial), 3rd showed the potential of our new top striker... Is Benzema following in the footsteps of our great Zidane? Good tone for the following competition. Great to be French tonight! When France plays offensive, it's really nice football to watch.

Japanese fans clear stadium after game

In 11 games so far, the winning side has scored 25 times and the loosing side has scored 6 times. There has been 3 'own goals'.

Well played match by the French team, Benzema really impressed, that's the way to come back from the disaster of 2010!

Also congrats to the Swiss for that last minute win, neither they or Ecuador seemed to be happy with the draw, good to see that.

Argentina was underwhelming, I expected a high intensity high scoring game and instead they sat back and defended like a European team... Kudos to Bosnia for ignoring the bad luck and fighting the whole way and to Messi who got on song and opened his WC2014 scoring account, very happy for him, must be a relief.

Not happy at all with the way Argentina played today. >(

Considering that Argentina has some of the best offensive players in the world, that match was indeed sobering. Only one "real" goal against WC newcomer Bosnia in a rather slow-paced game (compared to the other matches so far).

Then again, the best teams and title contenders do not reach their full potential and fitness level until the quarter finals, so it's way too early to draw any conclusions. This is true for all games so far.

Edit: the trick here obviously is to somehow survive the group phase and last sixteen round.

That being said, I am a little nervous regarding today's match against Portugal.

Well 3-0 for Germany already. Already the seccond half is a surplus for this game.

Can't believe how badly Portugal is playing. Also Pepe's red card has to be one of the dumbest penalties I have ever seen.

I see the US vs. Ghana game is at 6:00 EDT.

I'll be happy with a tie.

80 mins on the clock and Germany still lead Portugal 4-0

Absolutely disastrous start for Portugal.... it's a shame that the German victory has been marred by some very unsportsmanlike behaviour from Muller. Pulling that sort of stunt at the highest level of the game with the world watching is exactly what the sport doesn't need.

Yeah, awful game from Portugal. We can´t blame Muller for Pepe's stupidity, he's well known for his bad behaviour and he shouldn't have done what he did. But as a team Portugal was unrecognizable. Congrats to Germany.

Sitting in a bar here in Texas watching the Germans just manhandle Portugal.

Listening to Texans comment on the game was painful, but I see the point.

In Basketball, players flop down for fouls. Football players get carted off on a stretcher. These things happen in sports.

But at no time does a player grip his face and roll around as though his whole family has died and his penis severed. If the players could just leave their hands off their face, they would stop looking like men that you wouldn't want to share a beer with. I know its to pull on the heartstrings of the ref and fans... but for godsakes, it takes all the "Man" out of the game.

I see a video for an idiot playing with guns, and he shoots himself. He says "#%&*$#! I just shot myself!" and hobbles off camera, just to put it in perspective.

Women don't roll around and hold their face when they get injured in Women's soccer...

Anyway, boring game for Germ/Port further exacerbated by 11 v 10 scenario early, but my boys are starting their run.

Wow Portugal was very mentally weak and self-destructed there.

Poor defending and a unlucky questionable penalty goes against them and so Pepe lets his frustration at Muller's playacting ruin the WC for the team most likely.

Sad to have a match I had been looking forward to so much, turn into such a one sided farce from Pepe's and Muller's bad behavior.

Compare Portugal's reaction to the mature and strong way that Bosnia handled a similar early bad luck yesterday and you can see how poor Portugal's outcome is, I think they are done.

Congrats to Germany, they played well, though they should be embarrassed by Muller's playacting.

Big opportunity for USA and Ghana though, should make the last match today have even more meaning for each team.

Well he got Pepe's fist in the face, and was already on his way up again when Pepe headbutted him. So who showed "unsportsmanlike behaviour" again, exactly? Pepe absolutely deserved the red card, especially if you consider his history.

If Müller had been acting, he would have stayed down. He gets right back up after falling down. That is not acting. He even said in the interview afterwards that he hopes it does not look like he was acting.

If you watch the replay again, he gets hit, puts both hands on his face as he falls down, rolls once, then sits up massaging his chin.

Müller was in full sprint and got Pepe's fist in his face. This is not pleasant, but he did not make a show out of it, but got back up just seconds after he got hit, when Pepe headbutted him.



Pause the video at exactly 0:03 and you can clearly see Pepe using his fist.

Germany is my favorite, Muller is an awesome striker who some how seems to always be back for defense as well.

However,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_DUuJWvVw


That's not a fist in the face. That's a light brushing. I'm sure that it didn't feel good. It might have even hurt a little.

What it did not do, was cause Muller to fly on his back and clutch his face. That's the problem. When I'm sparring, I get hit in the face. I do not clutch my face, I shake it off.

When I'm playing soccer, I get elbows and uppercuts to the face, just from my being in the mix around the goal. At no time does my face contort into the throes of agony as if 1,000,000 million souls cried out and were suddenly silenced.

Pause the video, you will see if you'd care to look, that Pepe is using his hand to feel for Müller's face, then uses the fist.

Pause my video at 0:03. This is called a fist! And he makes a backward punching motion.

When you are sparring you wear gloves and, more importantly, you are prepared, and not in full sprint at a football match. Without boxing gloves, even a lighter hit can hurt or disorient someone. And piss him off. Also, according to the rules, the hand has absolutely no place in the opponents face, especially with an outstretched arm.

Furthermore, in your amateur league, you are not playing against one of the - if not the - roughest defensive players in the world. This is certainly not the first time Pepe has been sent off with a red card.

And please take it easy on the hyperbole; it was not nearly as dramatic as you put it. Müller immediately sat up and was about to get up again.

Personally I don't think it was that much of a hit. Great acting my Muller. Stupid move by Pepe. Its hard to take some of these guys seriously when they act like they're dying at the slightest contact. I love the game, but its physical, and if you can't deal with it, find something else to do.

I think part of the problem is, there is so much acting going on, that when these people are genuinely hurt, no one knows, or even cares, because its all been seen before.

Sorry Jayhawk but from every angle I've seen that replay there is absolutely no question Muller made an absolute meal of it. If you look how quickly he leapt up to confront Pepe it's pretty obvious there was nothing wrong with him and he was trying to get the referee to award him a foul.

Very, very unsportsmanlike. This kind of thing blights the game and took the shine off a great German performance. I would have liked to see the referee book both players - Muller for his amateur dramatics and Pepe for being an idiot.

He was dealing with it. Got hit, fell down holding his face, gets back up. He was already on his way up when Pepe gave him the headbutt. The scene was over, and there would not have been a red card.

Exactly because Müller leaped up again is showing that he did not plan on acting. An "actor" would have stayed down, and used the head butt for even more drama.

I know Müller from FC Bayern, and he is not known for being a whimp.

I am teaching martial arts, been practicing for over 25 years now, and when once in a while I hit someone more forcefully than intended, they also hold their faces, even though I am not punching forcefully at all. It's a mix of protective reflex, genuine disorientation, and passive-aggressive display of being hit "unjustly".

And I highly suspect that all of the above also are true for Thomas Müller's reaction.

Despite all this, Pepe got sent off for the headbutt, because he did it right in front of the referee. Pepe could just have ignored Müller and would have stayed in the game.

And of course, at SimHQ, once your mind is made up, you stick to your story, no matter what. All evidence shows that Pepe did hit Müller in the face with his fist. That is well documented.

Even if I start sounding like Kevin Costner in JFK , you can see his hand measuring the distance, the a clenching fist, that pushes upwards and backwards. How hard it felt, only Müller and Pepe will ever know with certainty. But Müller is an honest, no-nonsense player who usually tells it like it is, so I tend to believe him.

No, when there is an actually injury, no one grabs their face or rolls around because they are actually hurt, which creates a different response, usually just lying there and grimacing. That's how you can tell.

Jay... as a martial artist you can tell that his backhand lovingly caressed his face, then turned into a fist at the end, having neither the power or momentum to do anything painful. I bet it hit his nose, which probably hurt. He was fouled.

He was also a little girly man about it. The futbol faceflop is a thing, and a scourge to the game, and I've been watching Thomas long enough to know he tougher than that. I've seen him rub off a massive headbutt doing headers.




As a funny anecdote to you all, I have cut my lip trying to recreate the fist on my own to see how much it would hurt. It can be jarring, I'm sure.

Yeah totally agree, Pepe was the ultimate idiot, and unfortunately Muller's play acting takes the shine off otherwise awesome performance, he got a hat-trick in a World Cup match but the playacting is what everyone will discuss.

I just shake my head at Pepe, he had to know his thug play style he gets away with in La Liga was not going to fly in the WC... idiot.

Nevermind, we won't see eye to eye on that issue, so let's move on.

Skipping Iran - Nigeria to watch Game of Thrones, will tune it for USA vs. Ghana. Rooting for the US.

Iran-Nigeria is extremely boring at the moment.

I didn't say that he smashed his face in, but that he hit him. In full sprint. It did not knock Müller out, and no one claims that. But falling down after being hit in the face in full sprint and holding the face as a reflex is nothing unusual at all. As is rubbing your chin after being hit.

You make it sound as if he was rolling around in agony, which is definitely not the case: again, he gets hit, holds his face and falls on his back, sits up immediately, rubbing his chin. I must say, if that was indeed acting, it wasn't a very good job: I have seen much "better" performances during the last couple of days.

You don't need all that much force behind a punch if you don't want to knock someone out; I'm sure that was not Pepe's intention. He wanted to keep Müller at a distance and show him who's "boss" - the good ol' intimidation game that defensive players like to do.

But even a short, dry punch can have enough force behind it to temporarily disorient you if it hits the right spot.

Try your experiment again, but this time while running as fast as you can. And try not to see it coming. And please, capture it on video.

We won't convince each other anytime soon, I suspect. But that's ok in my book, football would be boring if everyone was in agreement.

Now THIS is a good performance:

No offence, but I really wish that those guys that do not watch football regularly would stop commenting on fouls and "acting".

If you're not cheating you are not trying hard enough.

I play and watch on a regular basis. I guess I just believe that the sport should be decided on skill, not by cheating. It's a silly concept I know, but it works for me.

Lots of us who watch regularly hate playacting and diving, I watch BPL and they've done a good job of really reducing the reward for that kind of crap and yellow carding offenders, the way it should be.

I thought Germans were tough but Müller wins an Oscar.

I lost 2 teeth, one to a puck and the other to a stick (slashed), and kept on playing (hockey).

USA v Ghana in 10 minutes, rooting for USA, should be interesting if scrappy.

Hey, nice "vintage shirt" for the US ! Ghana has some top players, André Ayew from Marseille for instance. Ooops! first goal for the US !!!!

A hand in the face of the other player is a foul. Period.

And, has anyone a doubt, Portugal would have still lost with Pepe on the field? Germany shifted down at least 2 gears down in the second half on purpose. Would there have been a need of higher performance, it would have been surely possible.

btw. Congrats USA. I`m off to bed now, but I`m sure you`ll make it in this game.

Altidore (USA) stretchered off the pitch ? Super acting or real issue ?

Woot! USA up 1-0.

Looks like they have it in the bag, 75th minute.

A great early goal, but we haven't been doing so well the rest of the game, playing more of a "prevent" defense than anything else. Shots and time of possession are both heavily in Ghana's favor... and to prove my point, they score as I'm typing this. Gah

woahh..i spoke too soon

YES!!!!!! 2-1 USA!

That was more luck than anything....but well done! Now defend defend defend!

And back on top!

All tactics are out of the window now. It's sheer willpower on both sides.

Additional time 5 minutes! Hang in there!

Congrats! Great job!

That was a good game.

Been watching and playing since I could. Fully aware that long drawn out fouls also everyone a chance to rest, especially my team.

Drama for the purpose of causing Red Cards and Penalty shots needs to go. This is 2014, the cameras are too good, the replays too plentiful, its the only embarrassing thing about the best game in the world. It keeps potential fans away. It turns amazingly fit athletes into little girls in a few seconds, and rips off the veil on the non armored contact sport.

I would support after the fact the Yellow cards (Yellows given upon Review) for acting, or even worse... robotic digital refs.

Too much of the game relies on players being sent off an kicks. Watching the USA Vs Ghana game was refreshing, nobody had any theatrics.


I hope Altidore is ok. USA Won, but looked lackluster and sloppy, passes with not enough pace won't work in later stages.

Well done USA.

Wow very happy for USA, tough game and they looked like they were barely hanging on at the end, but they stayed mentally strong and came through. Well deserved.

I won't get in to the simulation argument other than to say it needs to be eradicated. I think accepting it as 'part of the game' is weak. Only when these things can be subjected to post-game review and real punishment is meted out will we begin to see it cleaned up.

I was at work today and missed the first two games, but rushed home to catch the Ghana match. Great result for the US, but I was not pleased with what I saw from the them other than two very well taken goals. The US is never going to beat teams like those in their group with pace or technique or even with tactics. The US needs to rely on fitness, set pieces, aerial prowess and a never say die mentality. Their fitness in this match seemed to be a real issue. They seemed to be huffing and puffing in the second half. Hopefully that was a one off and they can rely on high fitness levels in the remaining group games. They have what, 6 days to recover? If Altidore can't go I'd like to see Wondo get the start if they stick to a 4-4-2 over Johannsson who looked lightweight and out of his depth.

When I saw the lineup at the start I was not happy. Playing a flat 4-4-2 is a sure way to not control anything in today's game. I wanted to see a fifth midfielder to hopefully get a grip in the middle of the park and increase possession. Starting both Jones and Beckerman (who had a good game and I am no big fan) is very negative and I knew they weren't going to create many quality chances from open play. But then Dempsey scored and suddenly it's a great lineup to lock down the scoreline. Football, bloody 'ell.

The US was lucky to win this match. After Dempsey's goal, by my count they went 62 minutes before their next shot on goal, a 25 yarder from Jones. Ghana lacked the final ball and the US benefitted, but credit to them, they defended resolutely. Still, I feel they were very fortunate to come out with 3 points.

We need to find a way to get more possession, and a way to penetrate through the middle. Having Beasley bombing down the wing to offer width opens them up at the back. How many times was he caught out of position? Ghana tried to exploit it but just couldn't get it done. And they need to stop giving the ball away, which they did far too often. Bradley has to be better. That's the worst performance I've seen from him in, well, maybe ever. Jones (who I'd give Man of the Match) and Beckerman were both excellent, and that shows you what I know... It's a sad state of affairs that Beasley is our starting left back. He had a poor game for me.

Nevertheless, the US has to be feeling good, and confidence is going to be high, which is very important in a tournament like this. But they will need to get better in a hurry.

Good game for the USA ! they could not start better in this highly difficult group...the next set of games on this group will be absolutely thrilling !!

I was thinking along these lines too...

then I remembered! We won a World Cup group of death match! Holy smokes!!!

DBond, good analysis. Klinsmann was never a big tactician, but he is a great motivator. And the US team was highly motivated yesterday.

Ghana seems to have something brewing within the team, Kevin Prince Boateng was exteremly angry at his coach after the match.

Portugal and Ghana will be physically tough for both our teams, because they absolutely have to win.

The US team had to run a lot yesterday, hopefully the players will be able to recover within the next 4 days.

Thanks Jayhawk and I agree. Klinsmann has changed the mentality of the US squad. They have always tried hard, but now they think they can, or even will, win. I don't agree at all with his choice to omit Donovan but bring Julian Green to Brazil. But I think he has been great for the US program, and yesterday's win is proof. A draw from their remaining two games may be enough to see them through. A win would be beyond expectations. I don't even want to talk about making it out of this ridiculous group. Jinx.

It will be interesting to see if US can adjust to play without Altidore, I was surprised to see him included in the squad after the terrible season he had at Sunderland, but apparently it was down to the importance of his hold up play to the rest of the team tactics. If he is out with a hamstring injury, things will need to change tactics wise.

I agree DBond, Johannsson looked out of his depth, hopefully they have a solution for that position and hopefully Bradley will pick up some of the pressure in the midfield next game, he was a non-factor in the match yesterday.

Looking forward to watching Mexico/Brasil today as well as seeing if Belgium shows signs of being the real deal or not, despite the easy group.

Yes, agreed. For me Bradley is our best player. He's the metronome. For them to win with him so far off-song is amazing really. But he will need to be much better.

IMO another cornerstone of the US team is Jermaine Jones. Very experienced player, and leaderhip type.

Julian Green is still, well, "green" but he has great potential, otherwise he would not be with Bayern München. Maybe he'll be the one to save the day against Portugal, who knows.

Now Belgium vs. Algeria. I'm really curious if Belgium will be as strong as most observers suggested.

Seems to me that Belgium is having problems "gelling" as a team, but the individual players are solid. I think they have a great chance getting out of group, and by then they should be much more cohesive, could be very dangerous in the quarterfinals.

I think the Brazil/Mexico game is showing that Brazil isn't quite the powerhouse everyone expects them to be. I was expecting a 2-0 score by the half.

Mexico held on by the skin of their teeth, but hold on they did. Amazing goalkeeping, and their strategy of long range fireballs at the goal just needed 1 in lower, but they had way more opportunities. I went to a mexican restaurant with my boys so we could do the hooting and hollering.

Poor Ochoa played the last season in the weakest team of the France 1st league: needless to say he saw a lot of action , maybe a part of an explanation of his great performance yesterday.

Good for Mexico for "holding the fort", and not taking away from their efforts, but also underwhelming performance by Brazil. They were mostly unable to enter the Mexican penalty zone, and tried with desperate, long-distance shots that most of the time were aimed at Ochoa. If they want to win this thing, they need to vastly improve their game.

But at least one save by Ochoa was worthy of a world-class goalkeeper. Would not be surprised if he gets some good offers by more prominent clubs after the WC.

Yeah terrific performance by Ochoa, and good job by Mexico staying strong.

Neymar looked pretty decent making some good runs, but the rest of the Brasilian team looks like they were not up to full speed yet.

Belgium looked similarly slow the first half, and finally woke up second half.

Looking forward to see how Spain reacts today and whether they stick with Casillas or bench him, he is one of my favorite keepers but his confidence has to be all time low.

Brazil IMO has a structural problem. Their players are all over the field, not in a modern, tighter formation. NOt compact enough. Outdated. Neymar does not get the passes that he needs to score. Oscar is pretty much his only "pass giver", and that can be easily prevented by a half-decent defense.

If they don't evolve, they will still win their group (4 points, but more goals than Mexico), with Cameroon and Croatia steeling each other's points. With luck (and goodwill from the referee/FIFA ), they even might beat Spain or Chile in the next round, but I suspect quarter finals to be their demise. Again: if they don't improve.

And Robben strikes again!


..which woke up Australia! LOL.

LOL

Too bad that I can't watch the game to the end, and will also miss Spain vs. Chile.

I thought Aussies would get stomped by Oranj ,but they did well, sorry to see them go.

Not finished yet if Chile can hang on and beat Spain. (leading 2:0 at the half)

Of course it is over for Australia. Chile and the Netherlands have 6 points. Australia can only get 3.

The real surprise is to see Spain go out in the group phase. Still 40 min to go but this miracle won't happen

Oops, big brain fart. Meant if Spain can come back and win.

Can't say I'm sorry to see Spain go home. Have been taunted by my Spanish friends for 3 tournaments now. Enough is enough.

Just got home and haven't seen most of the game, but my quick and dirty fix would be: substitute an additional striker - David Villa - for Silva, switch to back 3 defense with Martínez in the middle - a 6 acting as an old-school sweeper - and attack Chile in their own half, keep the pressure up, and attack attack attack. At this point it's all or nothing.

And that's that. The defending champion is out.

Ouch ! exit Spain and a morally and physically impressive Chile !

Does that mean the death blow to classic Tiki Taka?

Definitely the end of an era.

Spain out.
Still can't believe it

Chile well done ( do we have people from Chile here?)

I don't know if it's the end of tiki-taka, but I think in some way it has become the end, as opposed to a means to an end, which is creating quality chances. Possession in itself isn't going to score any goals. I think we saw it a bit this year with Barca and again with the national team. Possession without a cutting edge or penetration won't win games. I think keeping it on the floor with short quick passing triangles will always have a place, but some teams perhaps don't have a plan B when plan A isn't working. I don't want to give him all of the credit, but I think Mourinho's Inter showed the blueprint for countering tiki-taka and since then it seems to have lost it's luster, but perhaps it's just me.

Yes, it had to come to an end, but this is shocking. There could not have been a single person anywhere who predicted Spain was out after 2 games. Casillas didn't singlehandedly lose the tournament for Spain, but he was shocking as well. Credit to Chile, a massive win.

I wonder if this had anything to do with Spain's performance, or lack of?

Tik Taka is dead, by aggressive dynamic creative play, and man defense. The problem with it is that it lulls BOTH sides to sleep, and rapid fire counter attacks win.

Tiki-Tak is alive and well brought over by Pep Guardolia and currently making Bayern Munich boring to watch, and losing to dyanmic teams (in Champions League). Hopefully they'll move on from him soon.

Awesome showing by the Aussies against the Netherlands, rally hoping we can at least beat Spain in our last match

To be fair, Bayern still dominated the league (again leading Dortmund with 19 points difference) and won the League Cup again. The reason we have lost against Madrid was not reliance on Tiki Taka: it was the vulnerability against counter offensives by pulling the "wingbacks" too much into the center field, creating a space for Ronaldo and Bale and their quick bursts via the left and right wings.

If you have followed the Bundesliga and CL season, you would have noticed that Bayern dominated everyone until the day they won the national championship - at the earliest date ever. From then on the team deflated, which carried over into the Champions League.

Guardiola's system is more an "adaptive tiki taka", using short passes as a tool, to make the opponent run, and create space for offensive midfielders to strike through into the penalty zone, but also relying on the offensive wing players Robben and Ribery, and offensive defensive left and right back running up behind the offensive wing players and passing into the penalty zone.

In the League Cup finals, Bayern effectively neutralized Dortmunds aggressive dynamic, offensive pressing game.

I agree though that under Jupp Heynckes, Bayern showed more flexibility. But this season has also been a learning experience for Pep, so next season will be even better.

I`m sorry for the Aussies, they played well in both games, but in both they had to pay for their agressive style at the end. You can`t play 90 minutes this way.

Well done Chile. End of one Era.I`m totally amazed in both games Spain never had a real answer.

@ Rends - I don't think I've seen anyone from Chile on SimHQ.

Song.

Why australia insists on wearing our colours ? its not even part of their flag like africa !!

Green and gold are the traditional team colours of Australian national sporting teams, and nearly every current Australian national sports team wears them.Australia’s cricket team first wore the colours in 1899. Gold is a reflection of Australia’s beaches, mineral affluence, arid shrub/scrublands and desert areas of the island-continent nation. Green represents the flora of its forests, eucalyptus leaves and meadowlands of the Australian countryside.


Imagine the Brazilian football team turning out for this summer's World Cup dressed in white. It may seem absurd, but those were in fact Brazil's original colours. It wasn't until 1953 that Aldyr Garcia Schlee designed the now famous yellow football kit.


Why is Brazil wearing our colours should be the question:)

problably becouse they didnt have money to die the cloths, but thanks for the tidbits Ajay

Thanks, I'm from Chile!
Very proud and happy with my national team!

What do you call a geek, but about sports? You're that, Ajay! Thanks for the uniform knowledge drop, hehe

lol..thanks Rakov..i think

I'm from Chile too!!.. nice game today!!!.


Best Regards

I would like to say see Brazil vs Chile in the next round.
Chile could make it very far in this Worldcup...very far.

My gut tells me: Brasil vs. Chile and Holland vs. Croatia.

Brazil has a good chance to win the group, Cameroon has been gutted. Holland will beat Chile in the final group game.

Huge congrats to Chile! They are a fun side to watch.

The main surprising thing about Spain to me was not their loss but the fact that DelBosque didn't really change anything from what didn't work the first game.

I had really expected him to bring in Villa or even bench Casillas (who is having a confidence and decision making crisis), but he didn't really change anything, just stuck with the same tactics that other teams have figured out how to beat, and the same players who have not impressed of late - started Costa again, then subbed in Torres over Villa?

I guess he will go down but he kept some loyal players happy, but I bet he will lose his job.

Cameroon was bad, but it will make for a great survival game between Croatia and Mexico.

Really looking forward to England and Uruguay today, hoping England plays like they did in the first game.

*sung to 4 lions on a shirt*

We're going home, we're going home, Englands going home.
11 players on a plane, Englands #%&*$# at football...

and so on. I've been winding them up at work singing this

On the other hand: is it wise to throw your selection around completely after one defeat? Maybe DelBosque thought that by showing his confidence, his players would be more confident too.

Chile knew they had to attack and seek an early goal in order to prevent Spain from recovering, and they did so admirably.

Dubious decisions by referees aside, it has been a pretty good tournament so far with some very exciting games. Even the boring games often opened up during the second half.

How about "And will those feet/in one week's time/walk upon Brazil's pitches green. No."

Yeah no doubt, DelBosque sticking to the original game plan was a good approach to have his players re-establish confidence, my main surprise/criticism is that he changed nothing after it was obvious at half-time that Spain was in deep trouble... and having watched Chelsea all season, I knew bringing in Torres over Villa was not likely to change their fortune.

Definitely agree about the wonderful World Cup so far, even the boring games have been very open

After getting creamed 5:1 by Holland, DelBosque should have realized that this wasn't a mere accident, but more or less a paradigm shift. Van Gaal's team was not just winning, they were dominating.

In such a case, he should have identified his weaknesses and reacted accordingly...assuming that at this stage this would have been still possible (which I doubt).

At the very least, I would have let Javier Martínez play as a 6. Worked for Pep Guardiola and Bayern München, even though Pep also realized this too late (in the CL semi final against Real).

England vs. Uruguay coming up.

What a strange cup this is. All the big teams are not delivering, expect Netherlands, but the rest, meh. Enlgland's now loosing and risking getting kicked out.

Nothing strange about England. SNAFU.

Why is Rooney even on the pitch?

Huh? Germany? Italy? France? All won their first matches.

Because lord Farquhar is clearing the swamp?

Not convinced that benching Sterling was such a clever move....

Rooney seems to be jinxed.

Lol

Man, we need a goal or two!

Finally!!!!!!!!!

That'll cheer him up!

I've always said that Rooney is a truly talented player

1-1 now, and England is fully dominating the game.

Now it became a great match.

2-1 for Uruguay now and 6 minutes left. Terrific final 6 minutes will be.

Now this is bitter for Gerard. Not really his fault, just bad luck.

Is it just me, or did the England goalie look like wanted to get out of the way on that second goal?

Ahhhh!!! C'mon!

Hart wanted to cover the far corner of the goal because he anticipated the ball going there, but Suarez chose the near corner.

Oh oh Engeland.
What have you done to deserve this...?

Yes, but none of them was "wow, what a team". They won but they didn't look that solid. Or at least not as solid as I remember them...

Is the end.

Now England need that Italy defeat Costa Rica and Uruguay on his next two games. And England must defeat Costa Rica
A tie between Costa Rica and Italy it would be the end for England.

A truly DEATH zone.

Germany looked more than solid to me.

I thought Germany was quite convincing in their 4-0 trouncing of Renaldo and friends.

It"s a tournament, a cup, and the difference between getting qualified for the next round and being ousted can be very very thin : a foul, a foot, a goal post...now, seems the latin America teams play an offensive and talented game, very nice ( with the exception of Honduras in the group where the lucky French team is playing)

Tomorrow we'll see in what shape Costa Rica is really in. Even though they defeated a (then) weak Uruk-hai in the first game, Italy should be more than able to win. Against the Uruks as well.

England also has the potential to win against Costa Rica. So all is not lost for England (yet).

Brendan Rodgers must be praying for no injuries in this tournament, half his squad is out there!

No coincidence that Roy Hodgson used to manage Liverpool FC

Oh what a surprise England lost...

LOL!

Still, being a little more serious, i must admit that on later years, specially the previous worldcup and this one, i saw, and ít's just an opinion, a decrease in the quality of England playing. It's like the team it's not living up to his history.
I was specting a lot more from England on this WC, but the same happened on the last WC, although they did classified the zone on 2010.
They have good players, but the playing just seems to have a lower performance of what do you expect considering the players they have.

Wow congrats to Uruguay and especially Suarez who was terrific 1 month after knee surgery.

I feel bad for England, better squad this time and they played bravely, but not enough quality on defense to stop the truly good strikers.

Arguably the biggest deficit was in the English attack. The current team's play style appears to be a marked improvement in the mid-field over the habitual long passes. But Rooney or not, all attacks but two or three petered out over the final 30 meters. Delegating the scoring to only two payers while the mid-fielders not even attempt to get close to the goal doesn't cut it. Those ten minutes of agitated play after Rooney's goal were quite watchable, but that still leaves eighty minutes where not much initiative was shown.

And what's wrong with you British anyway, splitting all your soccer talent into four different teams, of which only the English have a chance to qualify. Not much of a "United" kingdom if you can't even assemble a national team rather than four regional ones. Seriously, this is nuts.

Yeah, what would be needed to see a UK team at some point. Are there obstacles by the FIFA or UEFA?
Do the British want that?

Ssnake, Hansundfranz,

Apart from making Gareth Bale available, where would lie the advantage?

In any case, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales would most definitely not want to be part of a UK football team. National pride is gradually leading them along the path of devolution and a Disunited Kingdom, anyway.

Last night, we were knackered by the best and the worst from Liverpool FC.

I just wanted to mention that I saw a ridiculous amount of the thing we don't mention in this thread in the Japan game, unjustifiably ending the pitch time for player in his showing in the World Cup. It RUINED his World Cup experience. There should be price to pay for that kind of cheating, manipulation the kind we won't further discuss in this thread.

There should have been more than one that should have had their pitch time shortened with the continuous deliberate fouling by a certain team.

Bale is nothing to sneer at. Ryan giggs was a great player as well. Simply lot of talent wasted.

They formed a Great Britain side for the London Olympics. Giggsy was captain I do believe. Only English and Welsh players were in the team I think.

Well, a new "SURPRISE" so far.
Costa Rica 1 and Italy 0. And so far doesn't look very good for Italy. But there is still time.

Football(player) coming home.

Italy will have to fight for 2cd with Uruguay.

Well that was short and not particularly sweet!

Now who to root for in the absence of England?

Where's Mace?

Don't mention the Worldcup!

USA!

Swiss goalie doesn't seem to have the chops... today.

Well, except for that PK stop. :P Always said he was great goalie.

Nutmegged. I'll stick with my earlier.

We're going all the way to Thursday!

France looking great today. Swiss are not really a weak team.

Benzema could become the top star of this tournament

The Swiss players never got their heads into game mode, then lost their key defensive player early on, which seems to have neutralized the defense alltogether. All went downhill from there.

After getting the third goal, I would have pulled back and tried to prevent even more French goals. Goal difference can be a deciding factor after the third game. Instead their constant attacking left them wide open for counter-attacks.

Giroud was IMO one of the key factors for France's great performance today.

Bloody Germans!

Game was over before Benzema scored. So "only" 2:5.

Stupid referee could have waited out that last attack before ending the game.

LOL what's the point of a wall?

Relief sigh and satisfaction for the serious and dedicated game (till the last minutes)...seems the Drama Queens times are over !

In this case ? just hide the ball motion so the goalkeeper has less time to react !

too bad the referee didn't let the last attack to end... ;-) maybe he got some pity for the Swiss players.

This has been a great tournament so far. I've been watching the World Cup since '82 and I can't remember a better one. Lots of goals being scored, and plenty of late goals, substitutes scoring, and all that leads to exciting matches and comebacks. Add to it the fact that there have been so many surprises and this is shaping up to be one the best WC's ever don'tcha think?

Congrats to Costa Rica. I love it when teams like this do well, and it does no harm to CONCACAF's less than stellar reputation. Who would have looked at this group at the start and guessed Costa Rica would top it? Great stuff.

I agree with you DBond, best tournament for ages, really enjoying the open play from even teams like Honduras and Ecuador who are fighting hard to win it even though they lack the stars.

Huge congrats to Costa Rica, they really had their tactics right for Italy and Pirlo! Top of the group, who would have predicted that, very nice.


Italy vs Uruguay survival match should be terrific.

France and Benzema continue to impress too.

Very good WC so far. I am putting my money on Germany, very impressive play.

I hope we reach Germany! we, French, still have an old grudge with Germany (1982) when the they got away with murder (Shumacher's unpunnished aggression on Battiston)...

I just hope that we have successfully passed the "curse of the second game" on to Italy! The last tournaments always had us playing great in the first game, loosing or tying in the second, which lead to anxiously sweating through the third game.

I could very well live without that suspense, thank you very much.

1982..like it happened yesterday. Still holding a grudge for 1871 as well?


BTW, Harald Schumacher apologized to Patrick Battiston in person later, and even got invited to his wedding.

Wow,

Argentina having more troubles than I expected. Next surprise in the making?

Told you Argentina would be mediocre. Iran deserved to win for sure, just a lucky strike and we scored.

Pathetic performance from Argentina. It's sad it all comes down to a player that saves the day.

Today Argentina played worst that against Bosnia.

Well, now it's time to bet what team kick us out on next round or quarter final.

Ghana is giving Germany some headaches.

Ghana made a great game. See? This is what I was talking about when I said that big teams were not delivering. Germany was in a very bad situation at some points of the match. This is not the Germany I remember, they would never have trouble with a team like Ghana.

This is no longer the 90s.
Most Ghana players play in european teams.

Both team could have won today.

Again our defence is questionable though.

The match could have gone both ways. In the end, the 2:2 draw was a just result. Kudos to the team of Ghana who showed sufficient tactical acumen in the first half to prevent an effective game to the German team's strength. At the same time the German team showed fighting spirit to even out the score after losing their initial lead. A fair match from both sides with no serious fouls (and no diving drama queens either). Ghana exposed some weaknesses in the German defense. All in all however the second half was very enjoyable to watch.

Anyone else getting the vibe this is the world cup of the colonies uprising ?

I knew it! They pull the same crap in every tournament. First game great, second game horrible, third game a close victory, but then on to at least the semi-finals.

Germany didn't find into the game, played way too static, and missed most of their chances. Lahm was not playing good (just like against Portugal). Bringing Schweinsteiger was more than necessary, he brought stability, mobility and fresh ideas to the German game.

Löw needs to rearrange the defense for the next game against the US. And please leave Özil on the bench! Schürrle would be much better on the right wing.

US vs Portugal tonight at 6:00 EDT!

Would love to see this match, but kick-off is midnight here. Maybe I`ll see the first half.

Yes, a very open group G , considering Germany is unreachable (and that's only theoritical, with their last draw against Ghana), every team has still its chance, with the USA taking the lead or coleading if a draw and Portugal one foot or both in the grave if a draw or losing...ouch !

Here we go, good luck bu bu boys Go USA!

Good luck USA, hope to see you in the next round. Or maybe not

Good hit, that. Game on!

1-1!

2-1..looking good !

Australia got knocked out so gunna have to support USA now. Well played.

I'm literally glued to my tv. 2-1!!! Yeah baby.

Another hard lesson: it's not over until the referee blows the whistle.

Awkward situation now: if Germany and the US tie in the next game, both will move on to the next round.

Klinsmann and Löw are good friends. So everyone will suspect a "non-aggression treaty" in the making.

Question is: do you do the "honorable" thing and risk going home early, or do you "cheat" and play in the next round?

Crap.

Ah well, a tie is better than a loss.

Draw..damn. Must have been a good game to watch i was following a live blog and it was exciting

USA= Amateurs... basic rule: keep the ball in the last minutes of a game!!!
Damm you had the chance to boot out Portugal, fo Xsake!

Too many basic errors and lack of finishing from the Americans, this Portugal was so winable! Ronaldho was a complete fluke, and the team just put all handbrakes after the first goal...

Portugal can still go through to the next phase if Germany beats US by 2 goals and Portugal beats Ghana by 3 goals for example.

Basically since the goal difference between Portugal and US is 5 for each goal that US suffers, Portugal has to score one less goal against Ghana.

Some examples:

Ger 1-0 US
Por 4-0 Gha

Ger 2-0 US
Por 3-0 Gha

Ger 3-0 US
Por 2-0 Gha

So basically it's possible but unlikely.

Great game, very exciting. Sure hope America get through to the next round.

The answer is simple, and it wouldn't be "cheating".

Disappointing ending, but a great game to watch. I can't help but feel that Michael Bradley is more a liability then a help these days. Felt like he did nothing all game, and it seemed that his passes were lethargic and off-target.

SssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiT!

2 big mistakes by Cameron. Ugh, how crucial is the save by the Portugal defender against Bradley's tap in. Great game, huge disappointment.

USA= a bit Amateurish... basic rule: try to keep the ball in the last minute of a game!!!
Damm, you had the chance to boot Portugal out, for Xsake!

Too many basic errors ( first goal, the US keeper is on his back; such big chances to score with a goal all open and Bradley choose to fire on the last Portugal defender... ) and global lack of finishing from the Americans, this Portugal was so winnable! Ronaldo was a complete fluke, and Portugal put the handbrake after the first goal... in THIS world cup with thousand of goals, this was completely foolish!

Before the match, i though Portugal was gonna win by at least three goals. .
During the match, being 2-1, i though USA had it on the pocket, but that Ronaldo (that did nothing the rest of the game) kick putting the ball on the goalkeeper area was just perfect and and stole the USA qualification.
Too bad, i wanted USA to win, because i hate Ronaldo. I admit he is a great striker, but i hate the guy.

I think this diva should play for the Harlem Globe Trotters... seriously. As a teammate, he is worth nothing.

I don't get why they add five minutes to the clock at the end of the game with one side having a winning score, but no overtime to resolve a tie.

Soccer is weird.

Time is added to make for the wasted time when somebody dives or something like that happens, it has nothing to do with the scores.

At this point of the cup, there is no extra time because the idea is that the teams earn points. After the first round of groups is done, then they play to win/lose, because losers get eliminated, so they do have extra times of 30 minutes (15 and 15), and if they're still tied then they go to penalty kicks until one wins.

you will see overtime after a tie when we got to the second stage of the world cup: the knock-out stage, single elimination matches.

I would have posted how though I was critical of the US in their win over Ghana, the US firmly deserved their win tonight. A 2-1 win was no less than they deserved on the night for me.

I had also expected that after this World Cup, Michael Bradley would show the world that he is a complete player, a box-to-box midfielder with vision, composure and steel. His development has been terrific, for me he was the best player on the US squad. Dempsey, Howard and Donovan get the attention, and rightly so, but you could just see how Bradley was developing in to that midfield general that is so vital to good teams, a player that can dictate tempo and pick a pass.

And then this World Cup came along.

What happened? Two poor performances from him, and when tonight's match was on the line, with less than a minute to go, and he just froze on the ball in the middle of the park and gave it away leading directly to Portugal's counterattack to level the score.

He could have done virtually anything else with the ball. Hoof it to row Z. But to cough it up where he did was inexcusable. The US team has played far above my expectation in this tournament and I couldn't be more proud of the mentality they have shown. But Bradley has been shockingly bad and it's a huge disappointment.

To have qualified from this group with a game to go would have been beyond believable and to give it up so cheaply has to be demoralizing. Still, they have a real chance, but so does everyone else in the group. I'm not a believer that the US would resort to 'suitcase deals' or whatever similar term is used in Spain in these types of circumstances, but I wouldn't look too badly on a US-Germany draw

I seriously doubt that the USA can get a draw with Germany...except if it was rigged. Portugal was very mediocre tonight and could have been easily beaten with a more accurate US team with less beginner's faults. German on the other hand are one of the top team of this tournament despite their last game. If USA want to beat Germany, they will have to play a "perfect" match, but I doubt they can. USA got their chance, and they blew it...

Ghana on the other hand have all the power to put Portugal out of their misery, it would be really bad for this world cup if their fate was chosen out of a soccer field.

Ah ah ! why not ? and I've seen that once with the infamous FRG-Austria in '82 and that's the reason why the last group games are played simultaneously...though in this case the context is different...and most probably Loew will make his bench play with the substitutes motivated to make the show.

Little help if you guys can.

Its been funny to watch cable companies own this game. I don't have TV in my house. So, whenever I go to ESPN to watch, it asks me my provider, then tells me no.

So, I watch it on Univision streaming, like a normal, healthy member of earth.

I don't speak spanish.

So I turn on ESPN radio.

This is horrible. Hearing an American who has never played... I could be wrong, but he doesn't sound like a player... grates on my CHILDRENS nerves. Just the voice is terrible. None of the care or understanding that comes with a European announcer. Doesn't talk about the game. It sounds like hockey. "Smith..to Jones. To Robertson. Long up the side, now they have the ball near the circle" Its atrocious. I understand that its radio, so maybe they are just giving stats to keep radio people interested.

BBC5 Live is locked down from my area.

#1 Should I make a new IP for BBC5
#2 Anyone know any other streaming commentary for the games?

Sorry can't help you with your questions, but you can only be talking about Gus Johnson. I have the same reaction as you when he calls games, like listening to Doc Emrick call soccer games. Completely out of place.

As critical as I've been of the US, some players have impressed. I've been very happy with the play of Fabian Johnson. He has looked solid and a threat going forward. Jermaine Jones has played his socks off and I liked what I saw from Yedlin when he came on yesterday. 'Deuce' has seemed to drift in and out, but he has delivered, he is just a clutch player. And it can't be easy playing with a broken nose. And even Beasley played better, he looked more sprightly and didn't get caught out as often as against Ghana.

Just gotta stop giving the ball away.

I had to look it up... apparently he does soccer and hockey... which is why it sounded like hockey.


J.P. Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth were my announcers. Ugh, jinogistic and useless commentary. Again, could be the radio, they spend their time describing the scene for people with out a view... so here I am, missing any comments about the depth of the game, just getting the scene described.

Set up a VPN with a UK IP adress, or go via a UK proxy, then go to the BBC's live streaming site.

Haha I was sure it would be Gus Johnson.

Dellacamera has been at this a long time, I can remember him calling the 1990 World Cup in Italy. I'm sure it's no solace but Johnson is even more grating.

I use a proxy to listen to 5 Live on the net and watch the game on TV. I don't know who the announcers were for 5 Live for the US game but they were terrible, they spent most of the time talking about what the players did as children than commenting on the game. They were literally having a conversation about one of the players family histories while a goal was almost being scored. The announcers should enhance the excitement not put you to sleep.

The US have a very good chance of a draw. Germany are very much hot and cold at the moment. That consistency may let them down on the long run.

I'll be absolutely thrilled with a US vs Germany draw.

Definitely agree about Bradley, I'm not sure if he is nervous or what, but his play has been a terrible so far, we need him to be strong and control the ball in midfield, but he has been avoiding the ball or panicking when it's passed to him, a disaster there at the end of the game when we needed him most (just boot it into the opposite corner or dribble there!)

Overall though I'm still really happy for the US team and trying not to let that last minute disappointment and shock take away from an otherwise excellent and impressive team performance in both games.

From seeing Germany/Ghana, if the US can keep it up, there's no reason that the US can't get at least a draw against Germany, unless they can't physically recover from this game in the heat/humidity.

Really looking forward to Mexico/Croatia today and Holland/Chile, some good matchups.

PS. Gus Johnson is the worst! really glad the WC games are not being broadcast by Fox and Gus, he ruins the Champions League broadcasts already with his College Basketball terms and mispronunciations, thankfully ESPN has the WC rights this time and uses some decent soccer knowledgeable announcers.

I would not take the Ghana game as being representative for the German team's abilities. That's all I'll be saying regarding the upcoming game.

What's the German equivalent for "smack talk".

I don't think there's a literal translation, but that does not surprise me, because in football we agree with Roosevelt: "Speak softly, but score eight goals against the US team".

No smack talk was just mainly comparing how US withstood those ongoing Ghana attacks for 90mins, it was desperate at times but hopefully they could do something like that again versus Germany if needed for a draw, hopefully will not resort to that type of game though.

Watching Holland-Chile with one eye: very even game, Robben almost scored after a sprint through the whole Chilean side of the field during the first half.

Holland had a hard time throughout most of the game, takes it home during the additional 3 mintues "overtime".

And as soon as it does not help them anymore, Spain wins.

Someone has to take down Robben so that his dives become a reality of hurt.

Mexico Croatia.... this should be good.

I'll be watching that one, I suppose.

The question is: against whom does Brazil want to play next: Holland or Chile?

LOL. You gotta love the Mexicans. Their coach looks like Patton Oswalt playing Marty McFly. And the fans yelling "Fuuuuuuutbooooooool" with every corner, penalty kick and even goal-kicks. Noticed this in the Mexico-Brazil game, but thought that came from the Brazilian supporters.

I hope this catches on with the supporters. Beats Vuvuzelas, that's for sure.

This is the most Rubber ball bouncy game...

Reffing has been pretty good this whole tourney I thought, minus that first game call. I've been impressed, many times seen people go down, no foul, shouted with my hand out, y'know, saw the replay... good reffing.

Soon as I say that... Mexico's having some ref issues.


It's weird to see Croatia coached by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but if he knows his stuff...

Mexico Croatia was a great match as expected after the trash talking:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2014/n...g-decisive-grou

Despite being on the wrong end of two hand-ball no calls, Mexico went for the win and did it in nice style, congrats Mexico!

So that was the familiar face!. It's been weeks that i knew the Croatia coach remind me of somebody, but couldn't put my finger on it. Thanks for the help, it's a releive.

And the Chile coach looks like Andre Agassi

Coach:
http://www.fussball.ch/Stimmen+zu+Holland+gegen+Chile/630019/detail.htm

Agassi
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Andre-Agas...icolo16475.html

In two days the big showdown will happen!!

Balotelli suffering from phantom pain again?

Regarding Ciro Immobile (Italy's second striker), all I can say is: nomen est omen.

Great purchase, really, BVB.

In other words: I'm really underwhelmed by his performance so far.

Why is there no Womens World Cup Coverage......."???

That's probably shown on ESPN 3 at like 4:00 AM.

Mainly because it doesn't start for 346 days. It will get plenty of coverage then.

WTF?!?!?!?!

What was the referee smoking?? Or doesn't FIFA want Italy to advance into the next round?

Suarez bites again! Literally! Bit Chiellini's shoulder. That would be a red card! But referee is blind in this case.

And now Uruguay also scores - undeservedly. I'm not a big fan of Italian football, but in this case I hope Uruguay gets a beating now (unlikely, but one can hope).


Edit: then again, Karma is a b...ch! Just ask Australia how they remember 2006. Italy's chickens came home to roost.

Suarez playes the WorldcupZ.

So with Italy out it's the third "big" european team out.

Italy is out! Uruguay's victory leaves a bad taste in the mouth, though. I just hope Suarez will be suspended by FIFA for at least one game when they analyze video "evidence".

That was the most atrocious game highlighting everything wrong with the sport. I don't know what I was expecting out of a game starring Suarez and Balotelli, but I got everything I didn't want.

I left the bar at the 55th minute to go back to work.


The fans are the loser of this game.

What a dirty thing to do, I think Suarez has trouble coming!

He didn't help himself by holding his teeth afterwards.

Beside Suarez Zattack it was a typical italy game.
Boring to watch but regulary they win with one goal,lol.

http://www.espnfc.com/video/highlights/114/video/1909226/suarez-involved-in-another-biting-incident

hasnt Suarez done this before?

He should be gone for the duration. The BPL gave him iirc 10 games.

In other news, England gets a point vs CR.

Germany vs USA
Besides all the talk by both teams about plaing to win a draw is very likely.
Trying to score requires to take chances which also makes it easier for the other team.

For both teams the upside of a win has less weight then the downside of a loss.

For Germany there is no upside to winning at all.
They´ll win the group with a draw as well.
The downside of loosing means goind to 2nd place, belgium in the first round of the elimination phase.
Loosing has a very remote chance of going out but really unlikely.

For the US.
Upside of a win: 1st place and avoiding the belgians
Downside of a loss:
A very real chance to go out. Ghana just needs to make up 3 goals to end up ahead of the USA. If Germany wins with 2 goals difference then a 1 goal difference would be enough for Ghana.

Conclusion: For both teams a careful defensive gameplan is the dominat strategy. Without anny active collusion a boring draw is not unlikely at all.
Each team using the optimal strategy could look a lot like cheating to outsiders

As I said before, I'll be completely happy with a draw.

Italy and Uruguay was one of those boring defensive typical WC matches, that have thankfully been rare this WC.

Until Suarez goes rabbid and bites a defender again... so disappointing to see him do that again.

I'm betting he's going to be banned for the rest of the tournament and a bunch of the BPL season again.

This after a great performance the previous game just a few weeks after surgery, and all the rumours his family started the last couple of days about him wanting to leave Liverpool for Real/Barca. What a freak.

He sure makes for big highs and lows for Liverpool fans and teammates.

We don't bite

Nope, but you score after you made everyone fell asleep.

As usual with Italy... lazy, lazy , lazy... waiting for a draw.... Good wind to your return trip!

Yep. Hated every minute of the match.
That good-for-nothing coach of ours must be sacked ASAP.
Good we lost. Maybe time for a change.

Most certainly time for a change, because both Pirlo and Buffon will be too old to play in the next WC, they might even quit before the EC 2016.

Good post, agree.

Yes Suarez has done this defore, of course most people know about him chomping on Ivanovic last spring, but he had also done it once before in like 2010 when playing in Holland. He bit a PSV player if I remember right. That was the impetus to get Ajax to accept bids and paved his way to Liverpool.

I guess for sure he will be banned for the rest of the tournament. But I don't know about club play. Perhaps it will carry over, but I think that FIFA's ban won't be enforced by UEFA (assuming Suarez is playing in Europe) so I will bet his ban will be for Internationals only. But we'll see.

It's pathetically sad and uproariously funny how he acted after the bite. It encapsulates the simulation that is woven into the sport. Now, of course Suarez is among the worst offenders, but I do admit he cleaned it up a little in the EPL this year since he found he wasn't getting the calls, and more than one went against him.

He has, among hundreds of others, perfected the Grimace Face, employed by virtually all of the dive artists. Aside from the most serious injuries, like say Shawcross' hack on Ramsey, I find the intensity of the Grimace to be inversely proportional to the pain the Grimace Face Artiste is enduring. The Grimace Face expert is like a contortionist, presenting to the referee the ideal angle to see his Grimaced Face. Look at virtually any photo of Robben more than a foot off the ground and he will be like the Grimace Face poster boy.

It's all so embarrassing. The thing is, for some it just isn't.

Oh, I didn't realize there was no referee action on the play, just saw that on the news. Well that complicates things doesn't it? Most FA's are so gutless they never act unless they have a referee's decision to hide behind.

Surely FIFA isn't the same....

It's usually the opposite. If a governing body acknowledges that the referee has seen and dealt with an incident they're reluctant to intervene. However, if something occurred that the referee was unaware of they can justify any sanctions they deem appropriate.

I have to disagree here: IMO Germany should definitely play to win, and try do so as decisively as possible, without over-exhausting the team. This will give the team a moral boost, and create momentum to carry over into the elimination phase of the tournament.

If I know Klinsmann at all, he will definitely tell his team to try to win. Anything else can and will be considered "unamerican".

Playing for a draw can come back and bite the team in several ways: they could lose in the last minute, and with bad luck one of the other teams plays the game of their lives in the parallel matches and negate the goal difference, and Germany can go home after the group phase for the first time in history.

And even if it works, it might lead to complacency within the team, failing to get their heads into winning mode. Just like what happened to FC Bayern this past season: they won the championship very early, then decided to take everything down a notch or two, which broke their momentum and in the end cost them the Champions League.

And, lastly, it would shed a bad light on both teams (regardless of a draw being intentional or accidental), wasting hard-earned sympathies with the neutral audience (having them support your team is not as trivial as some might think), it may get the teams on a bad footing with the referees (they're human, after all), which might negatively influence their decisions during tight or difficult calls, and it would also create a significant media buzz, which will affect the players in some way (they are all connected to the outside world via the Internet, especially Social Media).

We're through #%&*$#. Give us Brazil.

I know what you're saying but the way it seems to me that is what happens when the ref sees the play and chooses not to sanction, it is seen as undermining the referee and that makes some sense, but not complete sense. But when they do not see it the FA tends to do nothing because the incident wasn't in the match report or somesuch nonsense.

But if the referee did see it and did punish the offending player then it's dog pile on the rabbit and suspensions are all the rage. Did the ref see this play clearly with Suarez and choose not to act? Sorry I didn't see the game, only the replay of the bite itself.

We (me n' da boys) reviewed Greece's penalty for about 20 minutes, using all the camera angles I could find, and you can see the point where his foot is behind the Ivory Coasts guys shin, and the contact with their legs which of course was enough to cause to cause the trip,

Which I was really, really happy about, my son being a die hard fan of Drogba.

As far as Suarez goes, Remember Zidane's "Header"? The ref saw that on the Replay screen, not in real time.

I think we should go to that all time.

He didn't see it on a replay screen, it was either the fourth referee or the linesman that told him what happened. The ball was far away from Zidane-Materazzi and he wasn't even turned to them if I remember correctly.

I think it's illegal for the referee to use any kind of monitor.

FIFA has opened an investigation regarding the Suarez biting attack:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dir...-043116621.html

I think a change would be good. The only thing it could possibly hurt is slowing the game down, but we already spend that time rolling around doing prayer face. Some traditions, their reasoning removed by technology, can die.


France vs Ecuador is the one I want to see today.

Argentine Nigeria has a lot of potential.... we'll see.

And then the people are blocking all the streets, huge traffic jams for 3 hours, with constant honking, people shouting and jumping on the roof and hood of the cars...

Yup, that's what happened in Liege on Sunday, just at the foot of our building.

Man, I'll be glad when "our" team will be out, for that only!

LOL! What a start. Argentina takes the lead via Messi after 3 minutes, 90 seconds later Nigeria strikes back!

1:1

What a fun game. Nigeria was outskilled, but you can't fault their work ethic. Arg couldn't have the ball for a second with a Green man all over them.

Could not see the second half unfortunately. Got home just in time for the France game.

It worries me to no end that Argentinian players seem to be out of shape. 20 minutes to go and they were already tired to death. If we have to go to extra time we are done.

Ecuador is playing as though they are already beat. What's taking France so long to convert?

Scary, we got this very "nice" red card, and we still played sloppy with no accuracy and with no finishing brain... If we play like this on Monday, we will come home much earlier than expected... I know it was mostly a B-team but it is still worrisome.

B-team and conserving stamina for the rest of the tournament.

If some of those teams believe they can keep up the fast pace they have been playing at - in these temperatures in the north - their players will start dropping like flies in the next games.

Nice comeback by Switzerland thanks to Shaqiri.

Should be an interesting game against Argentina.

It's raining so hard right now in Recife, the Germany - USA game might turn into a Naval battle.

Suarez suspended for 9 games and banned for 4 months:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footbal...onths-live.html

Question for you. Are soccer matches postponed if the rain is heavy enough?

Depends on the officials: sometimes they are, especially if conditions are such as to make playing on the pitch impossible (like for example the ball does no longer roll on the field.)

So far FIFA's communication efforts indicate that the game will be on as planned.

Of course conditions like these will increase the chances of the game being the "coveted" tie.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dir...-132255784.html

Ref is scheduled to inspect the field at 11am ET, we will know after that.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QiPW-.../germans_go.jpg

I see the smack talk has begun.

Disgusting, should have been much more.

2 minutes til showtime!!!!

Foul by referee vs. Johnson???

DAMN. This game is stressing me out!

Love how Memes have already popped up about Jones running into the ref.

No, Johnson wasn't watching where he was going (his eyes was on the ball) and straight into the ref.

A good match so far, no-one can say the teams are playing for a draw.

0-0 so far but I have to say that Germany is controlling the ball and the game so far. The passing by the US players has been atrocious.

I don't think the US team played that bad actually.

I'm with Panzer, I feel like there's no hustle on our part, and passing continues to be a weakness.

The US team didn't have any room so far to "hustle". Germany indeed has been controlling the game - and the space - during the first half. High percentage of ball possession means the US players have to run a lot, which tires them out, and maybe even frustrates them a little.

The only thing lacking so far regarding the German team is that they didn't use their chances better.

Also, we have to keep in mind that the conditions are tough due to the heavy rain, even though the pitch seems to be in excellent condition otherwise.

Let's see what tactical adjustments have been made during the break.

US has had a couple of decent counter attacks, and has been lucky around their own goal (with a good keeper), which has kept Germany from scoring. But as PM says, the US passing play has been spotty.

Müller from second row aaaaand... Germany in the lead!

EDIT: PM, you're right. The passes of the US team leave a lot to be deired.

Jones?


Maybe Klinsmann should get him a guiding-dog...

If everything stays as it currently is, USA will also advance. So no sweat (yet).

Portugal 2:1 against Ghana.

Portugal would need to win with a 4 goal difference.

ESPN3 shows 1:1 in 76th minute?

edit: nevermind, there it is..

Thank God no "Infamy of Recife".

Ah well. Congrats to Germany. The better team definitely won.

Which does not really matter because Team USA is also in the next round.

And probably that is also a big step forward for the acceptance of this game in the US... which is a good thing.

Tactically a very good game by Germany, doing what was necessary without exhausting the players. It's vital to conserve strength for the elimination games to come.

Good going so far, Klinsmen. And good luck USA in the next round, even though Belgium (I presume they will win their group) will be a tough nut to crack.

Germany through, USA through - free beer for everyone now.

I'd decribe the German game of today in three words: cool, solid and controlled

And both teams made efforts, luckily no Gijon v2.0

Live to fight another day, but yes Belgium is going to be a tough game. Germany played well.

This is exactly what I was hoping for. My country's team, and my former host country's team in the next round.

We'll send you our collective bar bills, then, Purolator?

Anyway, USA can't beat Germany every time...

Congrat Germany and USA for going to the next round, specially USA since it was suppose to be the "weakest" of the four teams.

Now you see how important was the 4-0 of Germany against Portugal, and that if you loose, better do it by an small margin because it may payoff later.

Eh, World Cup is everything, and yet not... we didn't look like we're in position to go much further... glad we're through, but felt manhandled.

I had both screens up and kept seeing Port/Ghana out of the corner of my eye and wish I was watching that game, looked like a cracker, probably "pitch is greener" syndrome.

Was funny yesterday on Univision it said USA vs ALEMANIA tomorrow!

I thought it was funny that Spanish translation almost works out to USA vs BEERCRAZY

It was not an easy game to play due to the weather conditions. Controlling a slippery ball on a soaking wet pitch is a challenge; hence the many long passes instead of short "tiki-taka" ones.

Considering the circumstances, it was a good - yet tactical and controlled - game.

Jogi Löw just said the only thing that needed improvement was the "final passes" in the "end zone": in his - and mine - opinion they were too sloppy.

And some sloppiness in the final minutes of the game, which made him furious.

It was my impression from the beginning of the game that the German team seemed confident and in control while the US team seemed disorganized and aloof.

The US team was desperately looking for gaps in the German center field and rarely found one. Our whole team stood very compact, tightened the space, attacked the American players early and kept the pressure on them, wherever they tried to pass the ball.

Also, I felt that the US team was a little tired after two "full throttle" games. It's very hot and very humid in northern Brazil, which is tough weather to play in for 90 minutes.

This two factors meant that Team USA could not put their strength into play, which is fast, raid-like counterattacks over the wings (mostly the right wing and Fabian Johnson).

The midfield was controlled by the FC Bayen axis Lahm, Schweinsteiger and Kroos, which know each other extremely well and can anticipate each other's movement and gameplay ideas.

The only thing lacking from a German POV, IMO, was precision in the offensive, especially in the US penalty box. First The first 15 to 20 minutes were lovely to watch.

LOL! Jermaine Jones just had a Freudian slip in the post-game interview with German TV: he wanted to say "The German team" but said "The Bayern" (meaning FC Bayern).

Oi, I just poured meself a dram of Caol Ila

Good game Germany, another gutsy match from USA playing a superior team but they stayed mentally strong and never gave up finishing respectably.

Wow can't believe USA advances from the group of death, big congrats

Yes, congrats to Germany. And the US as well. Making it out of this group is unexpected, but I'm very happy they did. However, not convincing at all. And Bradley? Oh, nevermind.

The US has to be better, or they have little chance of seeing the quarters.

But still, quite a feat to still be playing. Determination is such a valuable trait.

So what are the current Vegas odds for the US vs. Belgium game?

I don't know but let's say that if you are a real patriot, guided by your heart, you have a very tiny chance to make a very big win.

If the US team plays better than they did against Germany they have a decent shot at beating Belgium.

Brazil not great as always during this WC. Chile fighting hard.
Penalty shootout. Luckily I am not emotionally involved.

wow, what a last shot on goal by Chile . . .that would have been the shot of the tourney so far if it had gone in to knock out the hosts

WTF chile, you had ONE JOB !

By an incredible coincidence, "the Kia pre-game show featuring the Kia Acura is brought to you by Kia" on ESPN 3. Or so one is to believe based on the fact that they must be paid by the number of times they can say that sentence every forty-five seconds.

In contrast, Microsoft only sponsored the reading of the line-up, so they got mentions only before and after it.

You got to admire the promotional acumen of FIFA when they can get a corporation to sponsor the reading of a team's lineup.

One can tell it's soccer, though, since I haven't heard or seen a beer commercial.

In matches where the USA isn't playing, I decide who to hope for or against by a strict criteria:

A) Did we ever go to war with them?
B) Are they part of NATO?
C) Is their flag dumb looking?
D) Could I locate their country on a globe within ten seconds?
E) Is it a silly country?
F) Do I like something from their country?

So Columbia vs. Uraguay is easy.

Columbia: I like coffee, and the USA was almost named Columbia as well.
Uraguay: Dumb star on flag, and depending on pronunciation its name is either asking me if I'm a guy or a gay.

Columbia FTW.

its coLOMbia, columbia was a ship

Yeah, it's weird that everyone's keep mispelling it. I mean, Columbo was one of the best series, but the country's named after the explorer.

Well, for us Americans we learned to spell it the other way from when we were little.

Great game that absorbed a lot of a very boring, long shift.

Yeah right.....you "americans" or should i say disgrunted colonials can't even properly spell colour.

Brazil not seems to be invulnerable. The match against Colombia will be a cracker. If they can take Naymar out off the match, there will be a chance of throwing Brazil out off the tournament. The defence of Brazil doesn`t look too good IMO.

I have a new hero in Hulk. As I have the same body shape (with at LEAST 10% more bodyfat)... its like your buff shoulder is attached to your awesome Pec... its one thing... Bicep in the way... what can I do? They're all a big pile of awesome right there!

So far the american teams really dominate.
Nobody expected the Dutch to have that much trouble.

That's the great thing about football. Anything can happen.

The Dutch squeak thru with 2 very late game goals (88', 90+4'). Perseverance pays dividends.

And Robben once again merits his surname: the diver! shame, that the mexicans didn't get at least extra time game.

Robben should have had a penalty at the end of the first half, so consider it poetic justice. :P

+1

Also, even though Robben's fall was theatrical, it was nevertheless a clear foul and the penalty therefore justified: there is (illegal) contact, the Mexican player steps on Robben's foot.

The better team lost.
Just my 2 cents.

Never knew of a difference, until one day I went digging through my older brother's LPs. "Any Colour You Like", oh man, I found a typo! Also "programme" from the EF2000 docs.

+1 with Rends

Congrats Costa Rica!

The Greeks simply had no idea.

The Netherlands were lucky IMO, although they played better to the end of the match.

yeah, congrats to Costa Rica, their awesome adventure will probably end soon, but they played very well and were never shaken under pressure (10 men, penalties).

of all the south american teams, Colombia seems to be the strongest one ATM....

What the #%&*$# does that mean?

They played as bad as we played with Japan, but no one's gonna say that.

I kind of disagree, i think Mexico let everything to the opponent, the ball and the territory, once they were winning, so i think they deserve to loose because of that.

Yeah Mexico lost it when they pulled out DosSantos at the 60min mark and decided to park the bus which encouraged Holland to go on the offense... too bad as I think they had it won, Holland deserved the win for picking up the pace there at the end.

Costa Rica really showed some heart playing with 10men for 60+ mins! Congrats to them and to both teams for a very dramatic finish.

So Mexico and Greece are out. Is the Germany vs Algeria game a foregone conclusion?

No, it's not.
Algeria can be a nasty opponent, and like everybody else at this stage they have nothing to lose and everything to win. Germany clearly is the odds-on favorite, but that doesn't mean that it'll be a cakewalk. This world championship was so far contrary to many expectations. They said that in Brazil, due to the intense heat and humidity, the games would be somewhat "laid back" but instead we saw a lot of full throttle from most teams in most games. We saw more goals than yellow cards (which hasn't happened in a long time). We saw more goals than ever in the opening round.
If there was a trend, those teams with players in a very long season (England in general, Spain and Portugal due to Champions League) seem to have universally suffered from exhaustion. So, I don't think that the trend of "big teams" falling is going to continue.

But given that most soccer games end with a rather narrow margin of one or two goals, clear wins are rather the exception, and that could very well mean that we may see Algeria as the winner. Not likely, but very well possible.

"ouf" as we say in France... that was close, but we will have to really play better the next round. The team seems too tense. It's always so important for us to put a goal before we can see the full potential. Giroud was a bit slow today, Benzema lacked some precision, and yes, Evra should have taken a penalty for circling his harms around the Nigerian striker. Anyway, not the best performance of all but we past this round.

We have one of the best defenders in the world with Lahm, why oh why lets Löw play him in the mid-field? What sometimes works in Munich doesn´t necessarily work in the national team.

I never thought players can be worse than Bela Rethy. Lahm and Özil can.

Lahm is not as perfect as we are used to´. He is still a very good player.

Ozils only problem is his face. He looks like a beaten dog quite often and people take this against him. In a way. Jens Keller, Schalkes coach, has the same issue. Results were good and he is a good coach wth solid skills and the press is dead against him because of his looks.

Unfair but human behaviour is strange.

Anyway 20 min to go. Lets hope we can win in some way.

The upside of going out now would be that Löws days are numbered. I really hope they can talk Jupp Heynckes into becoming our national coach.

One thing I've noticed watching is that every single country has super gorgeous women in them. Thanks, camera crew!


Lahm is awesome, and just out of position. Ozil was amazing last cup. He's putting in good balls, his assists are great, he's a play maker, not a shooter like Muller.

This result is very surprising though. Good Job Algeria... taming the beast.

Rais, knowing the worlds best GK was across from him, has brought his A++ game.

"Forgone conclusion"- hah!

I think there will be a water shortage in Germany from all the soiled underwear being washed because all the fantastic saves by the Algerian goalie.

...all of them, but one.

How does that Vince Lombardi saying go again? "Winning is the only thing".

Well, I'm glad to see that the US performance against Germany doesn't look so bad now...

Well, that was that. 2:0, Özil.

Great second half, and extra time.

Go Germany!

2-1 final score. Zum congratuliert Deutschland!

Please excuse me now while I log off and have a heart attack, thanks.

LOL,

yup.

Against France they have to shift up at least two gears.

Ah so Germany plays France next?

Will the game be a Sedan or a Jena/Auerstadt for the German team?

What a bad game by Germany, especially the first 20 minutes. Like headless chicken.

Mustafi was the worst choice for that position Löw could possibly make. He confused the whole team, which made them nervous and over-anxious.

Özil is but a shadow of his former self: phlegmatic, scared to take a risk, insecure, unfocused. Höwedes is way out of his league on that position. Our whole defensive line was out of sync because Hummels is down with a cold.

I don't get Löw: IMO he should have let Schürrle play from the beginning, on his stronger left side. Behind him Durm. On the right defensive side either Boateng (with Höwedes as center-left defender), or leave Boateng as center back, and let Großkreuz play right outer back.

Khedira is still a liabilty on the defensive 6 position, but I'd rather have Lahm play on his "old" position and missing in the center field than Mustafi leaving the whole right side wide open.

Last but not least, I think the German team was also suffering from an attitude problem. I don't think that will happen against France.

I think Özil shows the same symptoms as those other star players that exhausted themselves in the Premier League and the Champions League. Long season, many games. It simply takes its toll, no matter how talented you are. Players from clubs that exited early in the CL have an advantage.

I'm not enough of a trainer to suggest a better strategy, though.

Wow tight games again today, with the losing teams putting up a tremendous fight especially Algeria, right to the wire. This WC just keeps having so many close and dramatic matches.

Neuer was amazing tonight, Ozil looked like the tired player we saw at Arsenal the second half of the season right up until his sweet goal.

Germany/France on Fri should be terrific.

Algeria ran for they life but it was clear this could only last 70 mins or so.
They would have had a big chance to win if they had scored in this time.
But after that it was only a matter of time until Germany knocked them out.

I wished Schürrle had made his goal 2 mins earlier to save some bedtime for me,lol.

Overall i think the game was a good prequel for the Germans for the Friday match against France.

Anyone see a top favorite team at the moment? I don't but this makes the Worldcup a lot more interesting...

I know Belgium is heavily favored but I am not giving up hope on a US win.

The US will win...

Yes coming so far out of the box saved Germany's butt a few times.

It's time...it's time...

It's time to hate the Belgians.

I call for a boycott on Waffles, and today I will call my Hoegaarden "Freedom Beer"!

Hehe.

I think US has an even chance on this one, just hope Bradley shows up for this game, he's been MIA in the midfield the whole tournament so far.

You and me both! He is due for a good game. All I want to see from him is to not give the ball away and make a few good throughballs to unlock the Belgians.

Checking christalball...foresee penalty shooting...and the winner is...

Yeah +100, even not giving the ball away in risky situations would be a huge improvement!

First things first: Hopp Schwiiz!


[because of Shaqiri, because of Hitzfeld, because of them being neighbors, because they are the underdog].

Wow what a game!! Argentina moves on to the next round.

Anybody have a nervous system to donate! I just lost mine!.

Lineups for US-Belgium

What about Altidore? Is he at least on the bench? Could be crucial to have a second dedicated offensive player.

Close to penalties... That requires a second heart. But we won... we're good for now.

You surely know this by now, but yes he is. The US has no grip on this match so far. Need to keep the ball better!

91 minutes of absence of goals were quite entertaining, but there it is - DeBruyne scores 1:0 for Belgium.

I was to write it was cooked for the USA, but Green gave them still a bit of hope... ;-)

Nothing's cooked yet.

And now, Tim Howard goes back into the locker room, and cusses out everybody on the team except for Green and Yedlin, then punches all the defenders and midfielders in the face repeatedly. Except Yedlin and Green.

Sigh.

Next time maybe.

Good fighting spirit, but USA relied too much on their keeper... the Belgian shot 38 times (23 were well aimed)... the best team won.

Now it's time to root for Germany.

Chapeau,

great fight USA, you deserved to get into shoot-out `cause of the spirit in the last 30 minutes. If you only had a REAL striker.

Congrats Belgium!

One of the best games so far.....if we hadn't already known, the yanks really just proved what a shower of #%&*$# the England team are in comparison!

Great team spirit.

Err, almost every single team in the last 16 has proven how crap England were.

No doubt the US has come along way in soccer and hopefully they'll get further at the next World Cup.

i just had to

I still can't beleive the opportunty missed by USA on the last minute of the regular time. Those are the kind of oprtunities that you just can't miss on a worldcup.

What a good player Beasley is, knows very well when to attack, he is fast, have good ball control, and accurate passing the ball. It's the player that gave me better impression from the team.
Bradley this time made also a good game, far better that his previous games.

It was a good game, but i agree that the best team won.

The US showed some great fight all the way to the end, especially Tim Howard who was awesome, but eventually Belgium's quality and depth came through.

Well done to both teams, another dramatic match, this WC just keeps on giving.

That's something I said four years ago: with every WC the US team looks better and better. This time the only not-so-good match by the US team was against Germany. Apart from that - well played. And if there only had been a bit more time left yesterday...who knows what would have happened.

Especially the team spirit displayed by them looked impressive to me.

I get a feeling this France vs Germany match on Friday is going to get a lot of hype and press coverage. Lol

If Germany wins the game, the French team will have to display yellow and red stripes on their jersey:

We played ok, we sure choked a lot and our defense of course had to give Tim the workout. I want to be happy with Quarterfinals, but we didn't look like finalists the whole tourney, was more of a surprise...

Oh well there's always next... 2018...

Yeah we have a lot of heart and fight which is something to be proud of the way they played, but we just don't have the quality and depth on the bench in most positions, to handle when someone is injured or yellow carded or having a bad game like the other top teams do during a long tournament like this.

A team like Belgium is able to leave a top scorer like Lukaku on the bench as a substitute most games, and then only bring him in nice and fresh and with a point to prove, when the team really needs an impact against our tired squad that has been playing every game and is carrying injuries and yellows...

Here's hoping the US can develop a few more good young players like Yedlin and Green to give us some depth in key positions to better handle long tournaments, both of them looked really promising yesterday.

Good job USA, all things considered they did amazingly well and made us proud

I agree that the US had a good tournament and can hold their heads high, and also that we just simply lack the quality to play with the top teams. The whole country is singing their praises, but really, in my view, they won just one game and only played well in the Portugal game.

The determination and never-say-die attitude are valuable traits, but if it isn't combined with technique and tactical nous it's not possible to beat the best teams consistently. I'm proud of the team, but they do have a long way to go to contend in these major tournaments. The Copa America in 2016 will be played in the US with the US participating. That will be their next major test and it will be interesting to see how they do.

Overall, some players for the US surprised me, and some disappointed. Bradley played better in the Belgium game, but I feel he had a poor tournament overall. Dempsey, though he delivered some big goals, seemed to disappear for long stretches, though obviously a lack of service plays a big part. Jones had a fantastic WC, but wasn't at his best yesterday. Beckerman played well. Yedlin was , to me, a revelation. He may be a bit naïve defensively, but he was fantastic going forward, and right back, long a weakness with a guy like Cherundolo the stalwart, suddenly looks very promising indeed, with Yedlin and Fabian Johnson both impressing.

Wondoloski didn't get much of a chance, but oh that chance! Oh my. I just took my head out of my hands...

Beasley did better than I expected, and credit to him. He got caught out too often against Ghana, but got better as the tournament went on. Bedoya and Zusi were largely ineffective, though they have plenty of application.

And then there is Tim Howard. Solid all tournament, he was IMMENSE yesterday. What we saw was a masterclass in positioning. Did any of his saves require him to move laterally? He was always in the right place. tremendous and he deserved his MoM.

The US is still far away, but there is plenty of reason for optimism, and I hope they can kick on from this and become a better side.

Good analysis, well said.

I also hope Klinsman's efforts on the national youth teams and development academies and the continual improvement of the MLS will increase the quality and depth of the team for future tournaments.

One of the things I like about him is how he hasn't been shy about mentioning improvements in those things are really necessary for the USA to be real contenders at the international level, those comments have not always gone over so well with some of my MLS fan friends, but hit home to anyone who also watches other top leagues.

some good Tim Howard meme pics out there

hehe nice

Neuer, Ochoa and Lloris have really impressed too... good goalies are making many matches in this WC a nail biter.

The US team played extremely well, like the Algerian team too,taking their chances everytime they could, against superior teams which eventually manage to break their safe (and with very good and CLEVER keepers,Neuer included, who showed brilliant "situationnal awareness". Congrats to both team to show us what a good team spirit can do .
Now about the next Germany game, let's not forget that it will be #2 (#1 since the big Spain failure ?) against #17...

I see what you are up to! You think you can continue to inflate the egos of the Germany players, to keep them playing sloppy attitude like they have been. Well it won't work! Benzema and crew have been tight and scary and stomped all over the Swiss. Deutschland will be on their best behavior for this.

LOL, just saw this. Apparently people got very happy with that Argentina goal at last minute.

We survived two days without football

Don't worry, reading French medias and majority fans comments last days, the good ol' time of the Mighty invincible Germany is long gone. The French team and supporters are ready, respectful but have no more fear of Germany, and still even have a good motivation to get even with 82...

so, we will be also on our best side minus 30 minutes less of painful game ;-) Personally, I hope French players will play more genuine football and less faults and that we will write another page of great French football history. "impossible is not French!"

"Get even with '82"?
I don't know what you're talking about.

'82 was the most awesome football match I ever watched. Okay, I still was a kid at the time and the team that we had played a comparatively terrible style of football, so my judgment is probably biased. Still, nothing ever came close to that last minute in overtime, 5:4 score, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, sweet sweet humiliation of all the people around us who were cheering for France (it was during a holiday in Switzerland).

There's just no way how France could possibly erase those memories. Les Bleus may win tomorrow, but it's nigh impossible to win in proportionally epic awesomeness.

I don't believe any of the players will give a #%&*$# about 1982...none of them were even close to being born back then. Even their parents were mostly kids (I myself was 11 back then and can hardly remember).

The only motivation will be that players on both teams want to advance into the semi-finals, and win the cup if possible. And I believe that to be more than enough motivation.

Deserved score ATM... hope my team will upscale its football with more precision. 1 half to go...

That hit from behind by Khedira wasn't nice.

Deserved victory, well done Germany... (apart maybe a penalty we should have had).

When we can't be precise, we loose... The ol' curse still stands, unfortunately.

Gerrmmmannnnyyyyy!

Wow. What a game! France had one final shot on goal but no dice.

It wasn't always pretty, but efficient.

- Germany appeared as a genuine team, and not reminiscent of a discordant orchestra.
- Germany had an efficient defense instead of an "all-in-one" package called Neuer.
- having said that... Germany had Neuer

The French played well and valiant, but in the end it wasn't enough this time. However, looking at the last years "les bleus" are clearly on the way up.

You might not believe this

But Germanys defense exsist!

Well done clever played good tactic

I think Brazil will beat Colombia.

Hummels and Neuer came up big for Germany, congrats!

Sorry to see France go out, they had a good tournament but just never seemed to get much momentum going this match other than Valbuena, still much better than most of us expected, hopefully good signs for Euro 2016.

Hoping Brasil/Colombia will be a much more open game.

That said, the Germans played better. It was especially noticeable after the first 1/2 hour.

I think I'll be rooting for the Netherlands now (though I do have a soft spot for the plucky Costa Ricans... who knew?!)

I watched the game on the Piazza Anfithetro in Lucca in Tuscanny/Italy and the Italians were actually cheering for Germany!

Germany just met its best opponent so far (in this tournament). Our team needs to be more precise and less nervous when in the opponents box; we need that final pass to be better, and our offensive players need to keep their cool.

Brazil did not play very well this evening, so I am actually a lot less nervous re.the upcoming semi-finals than before the US game.

Brazil looked OK, and Germany, whom I picked to win it, may have enough. Argentina has to get through or it will be deemed Messi's problem, and the Dutch, could just do it this year.

My claim to fame, watching every game to date, OK, so not live, but still, it has been wonderful.

Cheers,

Britisheh

PS where's England???

Sad news about Neymar.
He is seriously injured and won't play anymore in this Worldcup

:-(

...which will make these Semi much easier for you....

Only the Dutch or the Argentinian now will be able to deny you a 4th world cup... I hope the Dutch will make it, they deserve a WC after 3 bad finals.

the Dark horse could be the Belgian if they can strike sooner and better in the game...

i dont follow the games but.....not even a yellow card for a knee in teh back like that ? was the judge taken from ufc ? brazil is POS now......no neymar and no captain.....goodbye sweet institionalized soccer hollydays

I thought the same thing... nice Muay Thai knee... that really stinks... I was really really looking forward to the Brasil Germany game... now it will feel empty unless Brasil pulls off an amazing skill, or the Germans bring less than 'just enough'.

I didn't watch the game Brazil-Colombia. But seeing the long resume on CBC, I am sad for Neymar aswell, I hope the Colombian player will be suspended by FIFA, it was such a deliberate aggression.

I hope Brazil have a good bench because without 2 key players, it will be hard for them against Germany. Still rooting for them, they are so amazing to watch when they play well.

I understand the lack of cards for the flow of the game, but in this case, the Spaniard referee completely lost it not giving earlier cards to control the dirty moves on both side.

oh the referree is spanish ? so it was deliberate, i don't know why, or when it started but there is anti brazilian movement in spain for a while now (before the cup)

Sour grapes?

I wasn't impressed by the play of the Germans (very lethargic). If they play like that vs Brazil, even hurting from injuries, the Brazilians will runs circles around them.

The ref didn't fully see the incident with Neymar because of the angle.

Blowing free kicks and such is a blancing act - you want to keep the rythm in the game and I think the referees has been insdtructed to keep it down (compared to previous previous World Cups). A game where you keep a flow in play without having to stop every 45 seconds for a free kick is far more entertaining.

Lets hope FIFA reviews the situation and deals with the columbian player (which they can do - like they did with Suarez).

But it was a fun game to watch. Brazil - Germany on tuesday, I think Germany has a good chance to advance with Neymar out, and the brazilian captain having to sit the game out due to yellow cards.

The referee applied way too much laissez-faire, and that's what you get from it - people get seriously injured. (It's not like it was a completely one-sided affair; both teams were rather ... rustical in their actions).

Still, that Colombian player should be sued for battery, and the referee as his accomplice. It's not going to happen, of course. At least both the referee and the COlombian player should lose their FIFA licenses.

The captain's out because of his own, and quite needless, stupidity. Brasil deserved that. But Neymar's injury was no fate.

Carballo, the referee, is notoriously bad, and it makes you wonder why FIFA's using him at all. He sent Papastathopoulos off back in our 2012 Euro match against Poland with two laughable yellow cards.




It was the first match of the tournament, and Poland was one of the hosts.

Couldn't agree more. It was a terrible work from the referee. I understand to want to allow a fluid game, but if players do not behave as they should and make a fault after another, you better start giving yellow cards or the players action will go out of control. And it's exactly what happened here.

One thing I don't know...

In the history of soccer, has having 4 of your teammates surround the ref and do prayer motions with their hands and yell at him ever overturned a decision?

Or is it to garnish sympathy for future decisions, just to uselessly express emotion, or to make a "rest period?"

It just seems like something pointless that would have phased out over the past hundred years.

Influences future decisions.

Exactly.

Once that red is out of the refs pocket, it's a done deal. There can't be any overturning.

By the way, i'm happy that we are now on semi-finals, but not happy AT ALL with the way we played. I hated that once the score was 1-0 Argentina seemed to not look enymore to score.

Oh well, we'll be back.

Now it's HOLLAND all the way for me.

At least we won... Messi almost scores there at the end... not impressed. Now Holland will, erm, make love to us. I hope the take us to a nice restaurant first.

btw, it's interesting to see Brazilians paying tickets to go to Argentina games to root for the other team. I don't know if locals have discount tickets or what, but those things were expensive.

They even made us change the historical chant of "those that don't jump are English" to those that don't jump are Brazilian!

Good game between Argentina and Belgium.

and here we go again with the same usual big names....
even if Costa Rica can still create the surprise (but I don't believe it too much).

Our guys were just more handsome I guess

-> (kidding!)

Holland needs to improve a lot if they want to beat Argentina.
First match i nearly felt asleep.
Well done Costa Rica but they were harmless for about 110 minutes.

Congrats Costa Rica.You showed, every nation in the quater-finals is a hard nut to crack.

The last 10 minutes were wild.

Congrats Holland, the better team has won.

Depends, poor people have a stupid (bolsa fifa) bag fifa ticket , wich is afordable at 25-45 usd....the normal tickets ranges around 100-150 usd, we dont get discount cos we live here, i dont know if other cups had that.

Also did you guys spot this nike ad ? very cool

i didnt know we had globe trotting party snakes

Brazil-Germany soon!

I've been following International and club football for many moons, and this World Cup has to be the most entertaining I've seen. What a great tournament. I can only hope the semis and the final can live up to all that has happened thus far.

I picked Argentina to win it and they are still there, even if they have been less than convincing. So, who do you think will emerge from the final four?

I predict Germany and Netherlands will move on.

Yep but I mean who will win it all? I didn't phrase it well. Or semifinal and final predictions just as welcome! I'm going to stick with Argentina, every team still remaining has it's question marks.

I may be biased, but so far only the German team (despite its weak moments) has demonstrated that they can recover from set-backs, handle tactical challenges, play well AND can fight if necessary. Brazil has lost its two most important players. The Netherlands were effectively neutralized in the last game and won the penalty shoot-out more or less by plain luck.
Argentine is too Messi centric IMO ... but of course they only need a single moment of genius early on and a solid defense for the rest of the game to win the world cup. Still, all in all I'll place my bets on the German team.

As much as i want Argentina to win, i agree with you and also think Gemany has been the more solid time at the moment. And think that it's the best team of the four remaining.
But on football, very often, the better team does not win.

Goaaaall!

And Goaaaal! Goaaaal! Goaaaal!

Crickey!

And I forgot: Goooaaaalll!

Christ, talk about a german Blitzkrieg.

5-0 after 29 mins

WOW, just wow . . . . . .

Football. Bloody 'ell!

The Germans are marauding up the pitch.

MUAHUAHUAH?aHAAHA and everyone was saying brazil 2x0....take that ! thats what it gives to be too reliant on a single player,now the team will be completely demotivated instead of being motivated to turn around, the team need a good captain, instead it has a guy with no experience. ARJENTINA ARJENTINA !

How do you say "spanked hard" in Portuguese?

My wife had to pinch me several times now, but I still doubt what I see.

Incredible!

Wow. Just wow.

By comparison this makes the US teams' performance against Germany seem absolutely brilliant.

I'm still giggling like a school girl.

Just put my TV on... ...half time 0-5 could not believe my screen !!!!!!!!!!

Lol... watching the game with my german wife.
I never quite saw her so... into it.


Also... Schadenfreude.

Come on Germany give em a chance - starting to feel sorry for Brazil

Bloody Jeebuz!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ3XlpJqPt0

I can't see the match so I go time to time to Google, last time it was 1-0... few minutes ago, WHAT??????? 5-0

Poor Brazilians, in few minutes, you not just ruined their homerun dream... you atomized them....
what will be the score at the final minutes? 10, 15-0?

There is no such direct expression but you could use, "tomar uma sova" (take a beating), but in soccer slang you say "tomou um caldo" (took a soup) becouse we call such mishapes from goalkeep a "frango" (chicken)

And Klose is the best scorer ever in World Cup history with 16 in total.

This.

Can someone please wake me up? This can`t be true.....

I soooooo wish I could be seeing this right now.
Unbelievable!

I have some Paulaner Weisse im Kühlschrank and some Cachaça and lime for a Caipirinha...I'll drink both !!!

LOL is already going viral a gif with president dilma saying oopps, i forgot to play the billing letter

Brazil is the greatest nation in the history of football. Certainly I am happy about this (very likely) victory, but somehow I also feel sorry for the fans. This is rough, no Schadenfreude here.

Is it just me that can't see a swimming pool on the germany zone? Because i already saw five dives from brzilian players worthy of a "Diving" competition on an olimpic game.

6:0

Oh_my_god.

This is becoming unreal.

#6.

I take my hat off to the German team,they are making Brazil look very ordinary.

Ok.

Now we're past unreal.

#7.

This is utterly crazy.

7

Ordinary in county 2 class match in Hungary (that's a real sh*t) :-)

At 7 even my schadenfreude has left blushing.
I'm shocked.

It must be horrible to be a fan of the selecao right now.

That's normally the point I just start hacking down the other players!


Cmon Brazil play for some pride

Just end the torture already. Sheesh!

Or the coach.

Can they equal their best ever win (Saudi Arabia 2002)?

A few people's reputation will never recover from this. Probably time to consult real estate agents somewhere abroad. I'm not kidding.

I don't remember when it was the last time that one of the best football nations in the world got so utterly thrashed.

This is surreal.

@posters from England: no, the 5-1 in Munich doesn't count...

it's a bit too easy now... I don't recall a team who don't give up after the 3-4th to nil goal...

10-0 don't even seems too far away now. Poor Brazilians, such a wonderful fluid football (when it works and the team is at its best).

auhauha can i hear an 8 ? Common germans, made a even number

I can't help but thinking about the clubbing of baby seals.

7-1.

yup... like frenzy sharks on a whale carcass... it's a bit disturbing...

I feel for our goalkeeper, last world cup he was demonized, after so many goals becouse of his team mates ? he will again receive death threats,no team will want him either.

We call this "Gol della bandiera".

The one for the pride.
Useless but at least you don't go home empty handed...

Yes - just 2 mins left to score 6 and take it to extra time

not hopeful

It's over. Next game on Sunday.

hmm... Hope there are not riots...

Wow. What a ride.

THX to Brazil for being fair to the end, no evil fouls.

In German it's "Ehrentreffer" (honorary goal)

It was appropriate that it happened in the 90th minute.

Gentlemens, hat off to Germany team.

This is like Spain-Holland, a team that had a perfect game, and the other team that had the worst day. Germany was and is obviously superior, but still an score that does not reflect the diference between both teams.

Spot on. 7-1 is over the top.

During the match I wondered what caused this, and I asked myself if the Brazilian team just cracked under the immense pressure.

Damn. Germany missed the shutout. Lol