FIFA world cup

[lasalle]

[Turdacious]

For Lasalle:
First of all, Suarez is Suarez (there seems to be a pattern here).
Second of all, it seems to involve always Italy.

Not sure whether one point proves the the other, pretty sure it doesn't.

[baffled]

Wow.

That's a hell of a way to start the weekend.

[lasalle]

Wow.

That's a hell of a way to start the weekend.

That Brazil game kind of sucked. Poor Chile. No way Brazil gets through the next round.

Anyone out there thinking Brazil could still do it?

[baffled]

Wow.

That's a hell of a way to start the weekend.

That Brazil game kind of sucked. Poor Chile. No way Brazil gets through the next round.

Anyone out there thinking Brazil could still do it?

Not really. Not without somehow catching lightning in a bottle.

It was dramatic though and I'm guessing Brazil will dominate the headlines. I predict it'll be called a classic because of the way it ended.

Re: Colombia

That James kid can play a little. I think he gives them a chance against damn near anyone.

[lasalle]

That James kid can play a little. I think he gives them a chance against damn near anyone.

Tie between this and the van Persie header for best goal so far.



All of the South American teams have been great to watch. So much more wide open than the European teams.

[Mickey O'neil]

That James kid can play a little. I think he gives them a chance against damn near anyone.

Tie between this and the van Persie header for best goal so far.



All of the South American teams have been great to watch. So much more wide open than the European teams.

I thought the Tim Cahill goal was up there as well.

[Jonny Canuck]

I thought the Tim Cahill goal was up there as well.

James's goal is a movement that everyone practices and tries to attempt in a game. 95 times out of a hundred it doesn't go as planned. RVP's goal is flat out bonkers. That is not supposed to happen at that angle. I will stand by the prediction that I made at the time of that goal that it will be the best score of the World Cup. Cahill's goal was also pretty spectacular, but again, it is one that makes the highlights every year.

[Mickey O'neil]

I thought the Tim Cahill goal was up there as well.

James's goal is a movement that everyone practices and tries to attempt in a game. 95 times out of a hundred it doesn't go as planned. RVP's goal is flat out bonkers. That is not supposed to happen at that angle. I will stand by the prediction that I made at the time of that goal that it will be the best score of the World Cup. Cahill's goal was also pretty spectacular, but again, it is one that makes the highlights every year.

Yeah, I get that.

[dead man walking]

orange crush!

[Mickey O'neil]

I was pulling for Mexico but I'm not upset that the Netherlands advanced.

[lasalle]

I thought the Tim Cahill goal was up there as well.

Absolutely-it was pretty amazing.



For me the knockout rounds aren't living up to the style of the group play. Fewer goals, way more cautious approach.

[lasalle]

tough shit, Mexico...

[Chris McClinch]

For me the knockout rounds aren't living up to the style of the group play. Fewer goals, way more cautious approach.

That's a huge part of why soccer has a tough time catching on in the US. Most of us see truly world-class players once every four years, and then we mostly get to see them play not to lose.

[Fat Cat]

I don't know man, there have been sick finishes to the Brazil/Chile and Mexico/Netherlands matches in the past two days.

[dead man walking]

what fatty says.

the dramatic finishes are great. with low scoring games, you never know what the outcome is going to be.

and fuck american games where there's a commerical every couple of minutes. when was the last time they cut away so we could see a doritos ad during a world cup game?

[lasalle]

what fatty says.

the dramatic finishes are great. with low scoring games, you never know what the outcome is going to be.

and fuck american games where there's a commerical every couple of minutes. when was the last time they cut away so we could see a doritos ad during a world cup game?

Yes, the end of Netherlands/Mexico was great. BUT, don't you think Mexico spent the last 20 minutes playing not to give up a goal rather than pressing for another one? (Granted, it was a billion degrees out there.) One of the things I like about the group play round is that goal differential matters, so teams press.

As to Brazil/Chile-I hated that ending. PKs to end a crucial game? It's almost like leaving the game up to chance and negating the previous 120 minutes. Do you like PKs?

Totally agree with you on the ridiculousness of commercials. You really notice it when you go to an NFL game (which I've stopped doing): endless "TV timeouts" on the field so they can run yet another commercial.

I'm enjoying every bit of this world cup-just so far for me that first round is hard to top.

[dead man walking]

mexico did go into the "prevent defense," usually a bad idea i think. the coach pulled his (tired) goal scorer and substituted a defensive-minded midfielder, so you can rightly fault the mexican tactic based on what happened. the cautiousness displayed doesn't bother me, however, because it created the opportunity for the dutch to press forward.

as for concluding with pk's, first the teams play a full 30-minute overtime, not sudden-death. so i'm ok with the pk's when it gets to that point. pk's may be a mercy to the advancing team. what if they had to play another hour before they won? would they be toast in the next round?

[lasalle]

as for concluding with pk's, first the teams play a full 30-minute overtime, not sudden-death. so i'm ok with the pk's when it gets to that point. pk's may be a mercy to the advancing team. what if they had to play another hour before they won? would they be toast in the next round?

that's a great point.

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

as for concluding with pk's, first the teams play a full 30-minute overtime, not sudden-death. so i'm ok with the pk's when it gets to that point. pk's may be a mercy to the advancing team. what if they had to play another hour before they won? would they be toast in the next round?

that's a great point.

All the more reason to press for the win. Im not a fan of the PK in soccer, same way witht the shootout in hockey one way to fix this is to keep extending normal play but remove a guy from each side every 5 minutes.

[Turdacious]

what fatty says.

the dramatic finishes are great. with low scoring games, you never know what the outcome is going to be.

and fuck american games where there's a commerical every couple of minutes. when was the last time they cut away so we could see a doritos ad during a world cup game?

And when was the last time you saw a star player go out of a game with cramps because there's no AC?

[dead man walking]

seems a gimmicky solution.

playing defensively late once you've got a lead is a tactic used in many sports. sometimes it backfires. i think its dangerous to accept being the beseiged rather than the besieger, but i don't have any data regarding the relative success of various approaches.

[lasalle]

And looks like we're heading for more PKs... Credit Costa Rica for hanging with 10 men.

[dead man walking]

as the announcer said, "costa rica is living on a diet of scraps."

pks looks to be their only hope

[Fat Cat]

FUCK YOU COSTA RICA