2014 FIFA World Cup (contains spoilers)

MassachusettsKingsFan

MassachusettsKingsFan

All-Star
#31
#31
Tough day for me. Two of my 'teams' Uruguay and Greece, lost big time. I could see both of them losing in the group stages at this point.

Greece was always considered a long shot, and what hurts is that I thought they actually played well outside of the goals. Set pieces are what they are, the first goal was kind of fluky, and the third one came when the team essentially stopped playing.

They can't score, obviously. They've never been able to score, but I thought they actually controlled the pace, Columbia was just way more explosive / dangerous.
 
Mass

Mass

Starter
#32
#32
Great win for us tonight! England didn't look really good to me. Not a great game but it was important to begin with a win.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#33
#33
I don't like either team but England fans in the US are among the worst so fun to see them lose. Sometimes I feel laughing at their cup struggles is a bit like kicking a Cubs fan, but I can't help it.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#35
#35
Albatros said:
Pirlo is an artist. Has embarrased England in back to back tournaments.
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Pirlo is an absolute genius, one of the all time greats. He's the Italian Scholes, who never got the credit he deserved throughout his career. Anyway, even this late in his career, Pirlo is a true joy to watch. He's a genius.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#38
#38
Portugal self destructing is the best path for US to advance. Glad to see it playing out so far. They'll be without Pepe and playing in the searing heat vs. the US team who better be more prepared for the Amazon.

About as satisfying as watching Spain collapse.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#39
#39
I actually wanted Portugal to win, but I can see why you're happy from a US perspective. Pepe was his usual self, an absolute idiot who just can't help himself.
 
Albatros

Albatros

Starter
#40
#40
It's going to take a good team to beat the Germans (as usual)

The US will still find it tough going against Portugal and Ghana. Couldn't have wished for a tougher group.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#42
#42
Ghana really putting the pressure on USA now. Seems like it's only a matter of time. Essien getting ready to come on, not a bad sub to have, even considering the injury problems.
 
beb0p

beb0p

Starter
#44
#44
Dime Dropper said:
You can micro-analyse it all you want, it's not a foul. You can apply the rule book back down to a T, it still doesn't matter. Referees have the power of discretion, context is everything in football, it's a completely different sport to American football or basketball in how the rules are applied. This is a fact, it's been this way forever. That was not enough to give a penalty, the tug was minimal. Contact like that happens ALL the time, you can't give frees for it or it would destroy the game. Especially not penalties which are traditionally harder to win (that's a debate for another time).
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I don't want to belabor the point but the "tug" as you called it, is no minimal. It would NOT destroy the game by calling fouls fouls, in fact, it'd greatly enhance the game by forcing defenders to rely on their skill rather than brute force.



Dime Dropper said:
Incidental contact is usually not a foul and shouldn't be.
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Huh? Incidental contacts are called fouls all the time; if it's hard enough and it impeded the attacker, it's almost an automatic foul.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#46
#46
Okay, back to the game...

That was exciting! And, at least to my ears, that British commentator is an arse. :p
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#48
#48
Ian Darke, and I love him. Every American announcer is a joke in comparison to him, as far as soccer goes.

That was an ugly game. Don't think I've ever seen Bradley play that poorly. Losing Jozy really hurts us going forward. Clint pushed through his broken nose and wasn't nearly have the impact he usually does aside afterwards. Most important thing is the 3pts though.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#51
#51
John Strong the former Timbers announcer who does MLS for NBC Sports is as good as American announcing gets.

His replacements in Portland are just awful.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#52
#52
Ahh, Ian Darke. He commentates over here sometimes too, obviously. He's middle of the road, there's far worse than him out there. Haven't had to listen to American commentators more than once or twice and I do have to admit it's hard to listen to, at least for me.

Great result for you guys tonight though. Really hard to see who'll get second here.
 
63royals

63royals

Bench
#53
#53
Nice win USA ... a real nail-biter. I'm sure we all picked John Brooks to score the winning goal in our pools. :)

For all the hype about Messi, I thought Bosnia was the better team for most of their game against Argentina; too bad about that own goal. After watching Iran - Nigeria today I think there's a very good chance Bosnia gets out of the group.
 
upinsmoke

upinsmoke

All-Star
#57
#57
Ochoa Saved our nalgas today what a performance! Mexico even had a chance to steal that game late but it was not in the cards. With a keeper like him I feel we have a chance against anyone.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#58
#58
Spain have been awful again. Looks like they're not gonna qualify, big shock. Can't say I'm unhappy though, both Holland and Chile have been much better to watch.
 
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