[Morgoth]

Pepe is hardly known for being above theatrics either. He got what he deserved.

[Macros]

Ah Pepe, if ever there was a wanker deserved of many red cards it was you

[Mentalist]

As much as I hate theatrics, hand to face in the first place is pretty BS. it's called FOOTball, keep your hands to yourself.

And if you can't handle an accusation when representing your country, than you shouldn't play.

In any case, Germany was miles above Portugal in that game. Ronaldo was nonexistant due to German D, and on the other hand, German strikers were running circles around the Portuguese-Portuguese actually played far more cohesively with a man down, i thought.

Ghana played sloppy. I have a soft spot for them ever since that ridiculous quaterfinal against Uruguay last WC, but their crossing just wasn't up to par in that game. US deserved the points.

[Tiste Simeon]

Got to say I'm not too impressed with Brazil atm and judging by some of the other teams performances they do the look like they can take it all the way. I mean they will definitely get through but should they come up against an in form Germany I'm not sure they would progress from there! Not as they are playing now at any rate.

[Kanubis]

Somewhat chilling as a Spurs fan to see Bentaleb have a more impressive game than Vertonghen, Chadli, Dembele and thus far Paulihno...

[Binder of Demons]

Wow, just watching the Korea-Russia game and the howler that the Russian keeper left in is a thing to behold. International goalie me arse.

[Khellendros]

Binder of Demons, on 17 June 2014 - 11:27 PM, said:

Wow, just watching the Korea-Russia game and the howler that the Russian keeper left in is a thing to behold. International goalie me arse.

You could see it coming after the couple of awkward spills he'd had already - but yeah, it was a shocker.

In complete contrast, the Mexico keeper, Ochoa, was pure class today.

[HoosierDaddy]

That SK goal was England 2010 like against the US. Good lord, the goal-keeper needs to be on suicide watch.

[Tiste Simeon]

Australia are playing exciting attacking football! Maybe you Ozzies aren't completely useless after all!

Edit: that flipping goal by Cahill was astonishing!

This post has been edited by Tisteon Simeonus: 18 June 2014 - 04:43 PM

[Tsundoku]

Ah well, a good effort. I would have liked to have watched it but it was a school night.

Now we only need the Dutch to crush Chile, Spain beat Chile and us flog Spain and we're still a chance. Not likely but one can dream ...

[Gothos]

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

one down, two to go





Also, the best possible revenge for the worst dive in the history of football from 4 years ago (looking at you, Torres!)

This post has been edited by Gothos: 18 June 2014 - 09:03 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

They were so hot in 2010 now they're a bit Chile...

Sorry, that was Spainful.

[Macros]

loving it.
This was Bayern hammering Barca last year and stripping away the fear. Spain have been sent home, best thing for the world cup

[Tiste Simeon]

Sombra, on 18 June 2014 - 08:45 PM, said:

Ah well, a good effort. I would have liked to have watched it but it was a school night.

Now we only need the Dutch to crush Chile, Spain beat Chile and us flog Spain and we're still a chance. Not likely but one can dream ...

Mate I was genuinely gutted about Australia. You guys played superbly against the Netherlands today and the luck just wasn't on your side. Still, you can finish above the (Heh.) World Champions!

[Mentalist]

ah, what a few days of simply amazing football.

Mexico played astonishingly against Brazil. Mexico's goalie is MVP of the tourney so far by a wide margin. Brazil did some good defending, keeping Mexico to shots outside the box that just lacked precision, but Ochoa was something else.

Russia drew with a ridiculous goal. I like to think that all those voices channeling their hatred for Putin these days added a little extra something to that ball to push it past Akinfeev's hands. I genuinely whooped in excitement when that happened (even though I immediately began expecting Russia to make a 2:1 comeback).

Aussies put up an incredible show against the Dutch, though i'm quite sceptical about that penalty. Still, you guys had to score that third goal-the player should've kneed it instead of chesting it. The Dutch went back to a 3-5-2, and boy, did it show. I was very unimpressed with how much space the Dutch were giving them. And the giveaway that preceded the last goal? Absolutely terrible, so lucky they didn't get punished for it. The third Dutch goal was a thing of beauty, an amazing curl, but overall, far less inspired than what i've come to expect of Dutch football.

Ah, Spain.. I saw bits and pieces of this at work, then watched the final 30 minutes. I had strong doubts about this game the minute I saw Spain went with the same goalie. From what I've seen of the game, I caqn only say one thing: the Spanish are an old team past its prime, Chile were young and very hungry for the win. Basically, they wanted it more. Spain tried their usual short passes routine, but their accurate choreography just couldn't handle Chileans' forceful push. They were very much the inferior team, and they got a result they fully deserved. My team (Ukraine) got to feel the brunt of the rising Spain in the group stages of 2006, right before this teamed reached their peak. Frankly, I've never enjoyed their hegemony, I felt Dutch were a much better team in 2010, and I'm glad their reign as unquestionable champions is over.

And Croatia-Cameroon. I'm pretty speechless about that, since the red. Once Croatia scored the second, I stopped paying much attention, it was a foregone conclusion, though in all honesty it should've been at least 6:0 with all the missed opportunities. It definitely keeps the Group A intrigue alive, with the Mexico-Croatia showdown being the game to watch.

[amphibian]

What made tiki taka so brilliant was never so much about ball movement alone, it was the combination of players who simultaneously had the technical skill and the vision to hit passes just right to other players making short slicing runs. That's an incredible achievement, especially if those players aren't defensive negatives and are capable of being fast or strong enough to close opportunities other teams generate.

Spain and Barcelona had the greatest run of soccer in modern history - even when they didn't win titles, they were still in contention until the very end. That era may have ended today, but to see it end shouldn't be a purely happy moment. They stood against the ethos of "get the best physical athlete for each position"in a way that is admirable.

Losing Puyol hurt them very badly. He was crucial to their defensive strategy and helped cover the bad parts of starting Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets simultaneously. Having Real, Barca and Atletico go deep in the club competition also hurt. The players came worn down, with less practice time and in general, less fire for competition.

I think Spain will rise again in time for the Euros, but they do need another extremely fast and capable center back to get to the heights once more. Isco, Morata, Koke and perhaps Busquets will form a very strong and skilled core.

Torres was actually decent in his short times on the field. But being decent when your team needs magic can be a failing.

[amphibian]

Chile played 60% of a great game. Excellent attacking with fresh, fast midfielders, then they slid into time wasting and rhythm distorting fouls.

Netherlands have to be worried about looking vulnerable on the right. They've proven they can score a crapload of goals if given time on the ball, but what happens against teams that won't give them that?

[HoosierDaddy]

Aren't too many teams that are going to be able to dictate to Netherlands. Spain was one of them. Maybe Brazil and Argentina. The Dutch are going to have 50+ percent of the possession in any game they aren't confidently holding a lead in.

[Morgoth]

We'll see. I'm thinking Germany will win this year, though Italy will also be a strong contender.

I'm almost a little sad for Spain, I typically enjoy their style of play. Still, Chile was the better team. When that is said, Chile deserved several cards for their shamefull delaying tactics during the last 20 min or so of the match.

[Morgoth]

Also, Australia played well! It's a shame they ended up in the group they did. Might be they could have gotten past the group stage otherwise.