Soccer Thread

[Locormus]

Late to the party, but sweet baby Jesus.. What a game changing switch! Sneijder out, Fer in, BOOM! 0-1! xD

I really wouldn't have imagined this to happen, but I think the Netherlands as a whole has underestimated Van Gaal's tactical mindset (likely due to losses to Japan, France and Ghana iirc in friendly matches in the run-up to the WC). To stick Kuyt on Isla (and by extent Sanchez) ruined every attack Chile tried to pull out from the right wing - and the sole credits go to Van Gaal and Kuyt. For one reason or the other, the switch for Beausejour really didn't work at all. There was no (real) threat from the left wing the entire game. That's about all that can be said about Netherlands - Chile. They should've switched that tall guy in a lot sooner. The match was won on the left bank and in length of the players if you really look at it.

Yeah. And since Brazil are the host nation, they are the #1 fan favorite to win. Netherlands or Chile (depending on who loses) will have to put up a huge fight to win against them. Personally, I think Netherlands will defeat Chile; they have done exceptionally well this WC, even more so than Chile. But then again, you never know.

As a sober Dutchman, I personally almost pooped my pants when Mexico started scoring like mad in that second half.. They almost surpassed Brazil based on goal average!

The weirdest thing about this Dutch team is that we suddenly rely on our defense, while historically, our defense has been crap. We've got incredibly young players in our last line, which are still green to be fair (imagine the next WC!), but are due to mysterious reasons capable of holding Spain and Chile down, and basically only getting a single goal past them. Officially 3, but 2 of those were dubious penalties. So congrats to Cahill. Was a good goal by the way.

Some might say that Bert v. Marwijk (former coach) already started this switch to a more result-driven tactic, but he still played thinking from the idea that the Dutch play with ball possession.

Man, still disappointed that US vs Portugal was a draw. So agonizingly close. Bradley should have just kicked the ball to the other side of the field instead of trying to do some short passes. It would have been nice to not depend on a third game. But this World Cup has been an epic one, so not surprised it comes down to final group games.

That's an understatement when your 3rd game is against Germany. But as the scheme below shows, there's still a pretty good chance that the US will make it through. A tie's enough, and even then, if Portugal wins with 3-2, you can even lose by a four goal difference and it wouldn't matter!

It's official, this is the best World Cup ever. It has everything, the big names have showed up, shock exits, the underdogs are winning, and the one country that needed drama in this cup for it to be a success are getting lot's of drama (talking USA, it's the only way they'll get more fans). So many goals too, even Algeria have managed to score.

Going off Sepp's notes, ay? xD

No, you do have a point, but there have been many incorrect calls, and - unsurprisingly - many in group A..

Algeria has managed to win a game.. WHO KNEW IT COULD HAPPEN! xD No really, as it stands, there could be as many as 4 African teams in the Top16. INSANITY!!!
- Ghana: US loses to Germany by 2, Ghana wins against Portugal: Ghana enters Top16. Not an unlikely scenario.
- Ivory Coast: Currently 2nd. Has to beat Greece, who haven't been able to score yet. Japan goes up against Colombia, who need to retain their positive goal average.
- Nigeria: Cuurently 2nd. Has a 3pt lead on Iran, Argentina and Nigeria are playing each other for group victory. If Nigeria loses, it's up to Iran to beat Bosnia..
- Algeria: Currently 2nd. If they win against Russia (winning is big for them, I know), then they advance, possibly even as winner of the group. If they tie, then they're dependent on Belgium not losing.

FOUR AFRICAN TEAMS PEOPLE!!

That said, it's still viable to have 3 Asian teams as well, Japan, S.Korea and Iran, but their cards aren't as good.
- Japan needs to win against Colombia - AND hope Ivory Coast doesn't beat Greece.
- S.Korea needs to beat Belgium, hope that Algeria doesn't beat Russia and beat Belgium with quite a few goals difference in case Alg&Rus tie (+3) or Russia wins (+2).
- Iran simply needs to pray that Argentina and Nigeria don't tie, or in the event that Argentina mans up and beats Nigeria, that they need to beat Bosnia with at least 2 goals.

Iran's case is a bit more interesting. If Argentina beats Nigeria with 1-0, and Iran beats Bosnia with 1-0, then there will be a complete draw. Both will have: 1-W, 1-D, 1-L, 1-GF, 1-GA, 0-GD, 4pts total. They tied against each other, leaving the only option for itto be decided by a draw...

Sorry I knew I was missing some! I just remembered those because they're spoken about more. But Bosnia too, it's crazy how bad Europe is doing

Pretty bad indeed..

Well at least the Netherlands and Germany make up for it

Lets give France a shot.. I'm writing Portugal and Russia off atm. There's also Switzerland, but I can't honestly say that anybody has been inspired by their games thus far. A late win and they got demolished by France. They should advance, they're solid normally. Ecuador is up against France, so it's basically a thing resting on the opinion what France wants. Yes, France isn't through officially, but Ecuador isn't going to plow through France enough for Switzerland AND Ecuador to qualify. That would mean that Ecuador needs to beat France with at least 3 goals difference and for Switzerland to beat Honduras with 4 goals difference. If THAT happens, then it will be a crying shame as France has been my dark horse winner.

Lost 3-0 to spain, which isn't very surprising. Never mind a depleted squad to begin with - take out four starting players from our first match, two being Cahill and Bresc, and we were always up against it. Kinda toothless in attack with Taggart, seemed to offer more in the second half but missing Kennedy or Kruse, who were both injured before the WC started!

Defensive errors costs us too. Davidson has otherwise played well, but I think poor positioning of him lead to three goals in the tournament. =/ And Mcgowen just isn't up to it, even if he was the second pick (and had some nice crosses), Spain attacked our RB all game.

Ah well. Avoid any real thrashing, and were actually competitive in two of the games. More than I could have hoped for, all things considered. Hopefully we get some players back for the Asian Cup early next year. Let's hope if we get to the next world cup that we don't get such a painful group again.

Trashing definitely avoided even though Australia went home with zero points.

I predicted 3-0 Spain - Australia. I rooted for Australia the entire time during this group stage (well, aside from vs. Netherlands obviously). Your guys certainly gave us and Chile a run for our money. If your guys would've tied my guys, then doubt would've set in and we probably would've had a harder time against Chile then we had yesterday.

This was definitely Del Bosque's plea to bring in a new generation of Spanish soccer internationals. Sure, Ramos, Torres, they may be done after this tournament as well, but at least he brought in Koke and a few others to get their first starting opportunity in a World Cup match.

It's already been confirmed that Brazil is in the top 16, along with Mexico, the Netherlands, and Chile.

Quite a few more actually:
- 1. Brazil
- 2. Chile
- 3. Netherlands
- 4. Mexico
- 5. Colombia
- 6. Costa Rica
- 7. Argentina
- 8. Belgium

Along with them, there's Germany and France that are 99.9% through.. I illustrated the France situation above and Germany can allow itself to lose with 2 goals difference, because then Ghana would have to beat Portugal with 4 goals difference, and I'm not even discussing Portugal's hopelessness in that scenario. That scenario would be beneficial to Germany, because as Runner-up, you avoid facing a ton of favorites in quarter finals and up, like France, Italy/Uruguay (perhaps), Brazil.

And to be honest, to me, it's looking as if that bracket that features Brazil vs. Chile is going to be a European slaughterhouse..

Either way, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica - and Uruguay and Ecuador with a good shot of qualifying.. Seems to me that the Central/Latin American countries have done incredibly well this WC already. Suspiciously well, but it's likely due to the weather/climate.

Here's a map showing all countries that have been confirmed for the knock out stage: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/2014_world_cup.png

Don't know how many US fans there are out there but this handy chart shows all the situations where the US could be eliminated:

Our odds aren't great, but it's also not hopeless!

I don't know if there are many, but these kinds of charts are helpful regardless. The one for Portugal probably looks pretty poor.. #SorryRonaldo.. xD

 

[XxSymbolxX]

NO DID SUAREZ JUST BITE ANOTHER PLAYER AGAIN

And Uruguay scores on the next play. If I were Italian I'd be so pissed right now

Edit: Actually I'm pissed regardless. That savage carnivore shouldn't be allowed on the pitch. Hopefully he'll be banned for the rest of the tournament. This isn't even the first time he's bit someone.

Buy him a dog muzzle.

 

[bobjr]

Suarez is a bum who should be brutally murdered.

 

[TheSirPeras]

Always feed Suarez before the game.

Well, another 2 teams that failed Europe... Croatia, Spain, Italy, England and Bosnia. Greece, Portugal and Russia have got chances. The Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium are basically through. Wow.

 

[Nightmareisalive]

Suarez is a bum who should be brutally murdered.

Maybe a bit to far but yeah Suarez needs to be punished. Throw him out of the tournament and ban him for a long time. He does this type of things way to many times. If he got sent off it would of been a different game. WHAT THE HELL GOES THROUGH SUAREZ'S HEAD!

 

[Sushi]

A psychological evaluation should've been in order after the second biting incident in 2013 at the latest. This sort of behavior is not normal. I thought Pepe was quite the spectacle, but this guy just takes the cake. Just how many crazies are running loose in this tournament?

 

[Navin]

Maybe I didn't get a proper look at it, but that really didn't seem like a red card to me. Some of the yellow cards I've seen that have been given looked worse. That definitely changed the game.

As for the Suarez bite, I'm not sure how much a bite on a shoulder hurts in that position, but it's pretty weird. Honestly seems like you have a greater risk of hurting your own teeth than the other player.

 

[TheSirPeras]

Maybe I didn't get a proper look at it, but that really didn't seem like a red card to me. Some of the yellow cards I've seen that have been given looked worse. That definitely changed the game.

As for the Suarez bite, I'm not sure how much a bite on a shoulder hurts in that position, but it's pretty weird. Honestly seems like you have a greater risk of hurting your own teeth than the other player.

It wasn't a red card I think.

Still, a bite is a bite, and a bite is aggression, and aggression is a red card. Obviously it was hard for the ref to see, the ball was somewhere else, so I'll give that one to the ref. However, after the bite marks were shown, a red card should have been shown.

 

[bailey.ga]

Given the unprovoked nature of the bite, and the status of the match and player, I can see something like a 6 month football ban for Suarez here, FIFA will want to throw the book, and set an example, at least I hope they will. It's one thing after another.

Also, the reaction of the Uruguay manager shows a lack of class (if the quote I read is correct) and is disrepectful to the game in that it does not condemn the actions

 

[Assassin9399]

Too be quite honest Suarez should have been sent off for this, but a 6 month ban? Hell, Chiellini is still fine, the guy didn't break his leg. To be quite honest I don't see the difference between a headbutt and a bite other than the style delivered, yet Suarez deserves a 6 month ban and Pepe? Oh, and I was cheering for Italy, so it's not like I defend Uruguay because I support them.

Anyway, it's quite a shame that Italy lost. The red card was deserved in the end and that card really upset the balance in Uruguay's favor. Things might have gone different if Suarez was send off, but that's all speculation. All I can say right now is that Italy can do a lot better than this. I'll miss Pirlo though, class player. Buffon also proved his value today, I hope he'll play for Italy as long as he can (unless he gets a real set-back).

 

[bailey.ga]

Too be quite honest Suarez should have been sent off for this, but a 6 month ban? Hell, Chiellini is still fine, the guy didn't break his leg. To be quite honest I don't see the difference between a headbutt and a bite other than the style delivered, yet Suarez deserves a 6 month ban and Pepe? Oh, and I was cheering for Italy, so it's not like I defend Uruguay because I support them.

Anyway, it's quite a shame that Italy lost. The red card was deserved in the end and that card really upset the balance in Uruguay's favor. Things might have gone different if Suarez was send off, but that's all speculation. All I can say right now is that Italy can do a lot better than this. I'll miss Pirlo though, class player. Buffon also proved his value today, I hope he'll play for Italy as long as he can (unless he gets a real set-back).

Suarez got a 10 match ban for biting a Chelsea player, in a Premier league game, this is without a doubt a bigger game, he then dived to cover up the bite. It's the third time he's bit another player. Pepe rested his head on the other players head, and the ref dealt with it. This is a criminal act, and no that's not an exaggeration, he went beyond a competitive, or even heat of the moment act, and Fifa will be forced to throw the book given how high profile the incident was. Personally, I think a 6 month ban would be lenient.

There should also be outrage in Italy over the incident (I don't know though, I'm in Britain) given that an Italian player (can't spell his name) got sent off incorrectly imo. The player that scored the goal should have been sent off against England and thus suspended, and Suarez stayed on and 2 mins later there was a goal.

 

[Assassin9399]

Suarez got a 10 match ban for biting a Chelsea player, in a Premier league game, this is without a doubt a bigger game, he then dived to cover up the bite. It's the third time he's bit another player. Pepe rested his head on the other players head, and the ref dealt with it. This is a criminal act, and no that's not an exaggeration, he went beyond a competitive, or even heat of the moment act, and Fifa will be forced to throw the book given how high profile the incident was. Personally, I think a 6 month ban would be lenient.

There should also be outrage in Italy over the incident (I don't know though, I'm in Britain) given that an Italian player (can't spell his name) got sent off incorrectly imo. The player that scored the goal should have been sent off against England and thus suspended, and Suarez stayed on and 2 mins later there was a goal.

So what should happen to my little brother who has bitten me on several occasions? Throw him in jail? This wasn't even a bite anyway. It was "resting the teeth in someone's flesh". A real bite would at least tear away some skin, we'd have seen blood or anything. If that would have happened, okay a 6-month ban would be okay.

However this does not mean that I approve of what Suarez did here or that I think this is a simple foul. I think that the correct ban for Suarez would be that he wouldn't be allowed to play on this World Cup anymore: ban him for 4 matches I'd say.

 

[mountain goat]

Suarez plays as if he's going to get sent back to the Uruguayan slums if he has a bad game. The biting is indefensible, but it's also a characteristic of a man who will do ANYTHING to win. FIFA shouldn't give more than a 3 month ban, assaults go unpunished almost every game, the only thing that sets this apart is that Suarez used his teeth.

 

[Lunafreya Nox Fleuret]

I am sorry but Uruguay DID not deserve to win. Marchisio DID NOT deserve a red card for what appears to be an accidental tackle. The refs made us lose ONCE AGAIN. I am in despair right now and so is my family. We watched Suarez bite Chiellini and the ref did not even pull out one red card? Are you kidding me?

If I was Prandelli I would resign also. That game was f****** ******** to the max.

We deserved to win. All Italians know that the refs were unfair. Stupid South American teams having the refs on their side.

Poor Pirlo and Buffon. I am going to miss them so much.

 

[PrincessAbsol]

Suarez bit somebody? AGAIN? Argh I can't believe I missed that match!
It makes me wonder what his mental health is like. Do sane people regular bite other people? Seems weird to me.

 

[bailey.ga]

So what should happen to my little brother who has bitten me on several occasions? Throw him in jail? This wasn't even a bite anyway. It was "resting the teeth in someone's flesh". A real bite would at least tear away some skin, we'd have seen blood or anything. If that would have happened, okay a 6-month ban would be okay.

However this does not mean that I approve of what Suarez did here or that I think this is a simple foul. I think that the correct ban for Suarez would be that he wouldn't be allowed to play on this World Cup anymore: ban him for 4 matches I'd say.

There is a very big difference, things like what Pepe did happen all the time in football. People do not bite each other on the pitch. While it is technically possible to press criminal charges (at least in English law, and the punishment for this would be pathetic anyway, he'd get off with a warning probably) I'm not saying that should happen. There was malice, and for me this is as serious as Cantona punching a fan. He bit an opponent in a crucial World Cup match, and it's the third timed he's done such a thing. He got 10 matches for each of the other 2 if I'm not mistaken (not sure about the first though), he still has not learnt, if there is not a serious ban in place then it sends the message that this is acceptable, and obviously 10 match ban is not a serious punishment as he continues to bite opponents.

 

[TheSirPeras]

I am sorry but Uruguay DID not deserve to win. Marchisio DID NOT deserve a red card for what appears to be an accidental tackle. The refs made us lose ONCE AGAIN. I am in despair right now and so is my family. We watched Suarez bite Chiellini and the ref did not even pull out one red card? Are you kidding me?

If I was Prandelli I would resign also. That game was f****** ******** to the max.

We deserved to win. All Italians know that the refs were unfair. Stupid South American teams having the refs on their side.

Poor Pirlo and Buffon. I am going to miss them so much.

It's alright, this world cup is full of surprises. I agree Italy deserved to go through. It was not a red card either haha. And Prandelli did quit, I believe.

Am I the only one who finds what Suarez did hilarious? In a horrible way? No? Anybody?

 

[Psynergy]

I don't know if I'd go so far to say Uruguay didn't deserve to win, that's just a sore way to put it regardless of whether they actually "deserved" the win or not. Italy deserved it just as much [if not more than] Uruguay, sure, and the biting incident puts a sour taste in Uruguay's win, but in the end it really comes down to this:

It's alright, this world cup is full of surprises.

Like, at this point, it almost shouldn't even be considered a surprise, unexpected turnouts seem to be the norm this year.

 

[Sephora]

Man, so many teams I thought were for sure going to advance are out: Spain, England, Italy, and most likely Portugal. Wow. Seriously, what is going on this world cup? Three of these teams were previous champions.

 

[Nightmareisalive]

Suarez plays as if he's going to get sent back to the Uruguayan slums if he has a bad game. The biting is indefensible, but it's also a characteristic of a man who will do ANYTHING to win. FIFA shouldn't give more than a 3 month ban, assaults go unpunished almost every game, the only thing that sets this apart is that Suarez used his teeth.

This is Suarez third time doing this and he has done other unsportman like things in the past too. He has really done too much s*** not to suffer a serious ban. And just because he would do anything to win doesn't excuse it. Really he should be punished more for breaking rules to do so.

And Greece are in the next round. Penalty in the last minute to win the game. Feel for Ivory Coast though. Just another twist in this world cup. Also Italy didn't deserve to lose. Urugauy have got some really strange ref decisions go in their favour this world cup.