FIFA World Cup 2014 (Brazil) SPOILERS: Read at own risk

[Nebu]

That Cahill goal was just sick. 

[lamaros]

God we are awful defensively. So so bad.

[Cyrrex]

Good on Australia for playing their asses of and making a game of it.  They looked like they were up to the task for about the first 60 minutes.

But then fucking Holland.  The seem to just go nuts in the second half.  Yeah, the defense left something to be desired, but they are just really really effective in the box.  They make a lot of shit happen.

[Lucas]

well, honorable defeat for the australians, IMO; basic but very effective football from the flanks; but what surprised me the most is how well physically prepared they were, standing toe to toe with netherland's rhythm; anyway, 8 goals in two matches (plus other chances) for the dutch team, impressive.

[Tale]

God we are awful defensively. So so bad.

The only specialist right back in the Aussie squad (coach's gamble to only bring Franjic) pulled a hamstring against Chile, so our defense was in a mess from that point on.

[Lucas]

oooooh, what a start from Chile  

Whoa, great penetration to score the first goal!!

[Lucas]

The shot for 2-0 is typical Futsal, amazing skill. But Casillas had to punch on the side, not back in the center; another awful error.

[Lucas]

The spanish gods have fallen, end of an era (at last :P).

Meanwhile, lovely move by Croatia to get ahead 1-0. Weather conditions are quite tough: temperature is not bad (28 Celsius), but humidity is almost 90%. Could be a factor later on.

[Nevermore]

Weather conditions are quite tough: temperature is not bad (28 Celsius), but humidity is almost 90%. Could be a factor later on.

AKA, a nice summer day along the entire eastern seaboard of the US. 

[Lucas]

"Run Forrest, run!!!!"  

0-2!!

[Tale]

Cahill goal from different angles, over and over.

[Lucas]

 



Anyway, Croatia - Mexico will be HUGE, can't wait.

[Fordel]

What the hell was that about, it's like he just temporarily lost his mind.

[01101010]

He caught a case of the Zidane. 

[Lucas]

Today most interesting match: Uruguay - England. Last call for either team.

Suarez is still not confirmed in the starting eleven, but in any case he definitely won't be 100% fit. England made a good impression no matter the defeat, IMO. If they can keep up the pace they've shown against Italy, I think they can beat the south american team, which seemed quite lethargic compared to Costa Rica. On the other hand, England players got a serious case of cramps toward the end of their first match.

The other matches: Day 2 of Group C. I give a slight advantage to Colombia over Ivory Coast, and Japan should beat Greece

[rk47]

Anyone who backs england is asking for heartbreak. this is a team of under-performing, overpaid stars, filled with has-beens who hardly won anything on international level.

[lamaros]

Tell us what you really feel

[Nebu]

Anyone who backs england Spain is asking for heartbreak. this is a team of under-performing, overpaid stars, filled with has-beens who hardly won anything on international level.

Much better.  

[HaemishM]

Watched the Spanish team get demolished by Chile. Holy... fuckballs. How a team with this much quality at EVERY SINGLE POSITION can be so utterly inept is amazing. I mean, they couldn't even get simple passes right. Casillas really does just look burned as a top-level goalkeeper. I put at least 4 of the goals scored against them directly on him making simple, idiotic mistakes. Jordi Alba was a fucking nightmare, and Ramos has been beat up and down the pitch for pace all Cup. He's also made some really fucking stupid tackles that caused him to get beat even worse and put pressure on both his keeper and central defensive partner. Chile could easily have put 4 in with a few different bounces. Busquets provided no spine in defense and no accuracy in passing to move the ball from back to front.

All credit to both Chile and the Netherlands for doing the smart thing and not letting Spain just pass the ball around the midfield. Both teams pressed the fuck out of those midfielders all game long and as a result Diego Costa barely got anything remotely resembling good service. Spain then didn't have an answer - they never went wide (and when they did Jordi Alba fucked it up - and Azpilicueta isn't even as good as Alba offensively) and they refused to go route 1 or thump balls long even though Costa really is good at that kind of game. I laughed my ass off when they substituted Torres for Costa. I mean sure, Costa hadn't done shit and didn't look like he would, but it's been years since Torres could find the goal without a compass, a map and a flashlight, and even with those things, I wouldn't lay odds on him scoring. He doesn't seem to have the confidence for it anymore. Why put him on when you had David Villa on the bench? He's not what he was, but he still put in 13 goals for Athleti this year and that's with Costa scoring his ass off.

Welp, it was good while it lasted. Still think a Germany/Netherlands final is in the cards and would look forward to that.

[01101010]

Welp, it was good while it lasted. Still think a Germany/Netherlands final is in the cards and would look forward to that.

I am with you on that, but I think Germany would walk home with the trophy given how the Aussies gave everyone a template on how to handle the Dutch. I'd hope Germany could do that quite easily and then just control the ball the rest of the match once they got the lead.

Can't wait for the England match today and how many 'might have been' arguments the announcers will bring up when they lose.

[Lucas]

english fans getting ready for today's game 

[01101010]

Great final 20min of that Ivory Coast/Columbia match. Really thought Drogba had a shot to tie it up there. Good showing in that they never gave up.

[Lucas]

Figures: I have dinner for about 20 minutes, and of course everything happens in those 20 minutes  

Anyways, this game shows you why teams like Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire are very unreliable: speed, passion, some talent here and there, but zero tactical awareness, they get stretched out all over the pitch far too often; a more organized (and technical, of course) team can easily exploit those weaknesses and drop into those open spaces.

Official team lists for Uru - Eng:

[murdoc]

Cheering for England is like cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs 

[Ingmar]

No, it's like cheering for the New York Knicks. They're popular despite only having won once ever and that was a million years ago. The Leafs at least had a history of success for a while.

[Hoax]

I like that comparison. Just like the Knicks, England's best players have a tendency to be massively overrated. Was a painful match to watch because I could never really decide which team I wanted to win less.

On the plus side there is now EVEN MORE reason to want to see Italy fail. So hooray for that I suppose.

I was really shocked they never pulled Suarez for Forlan but I guess they knew what they were doing. What a dagger. Quite fortunate but at the end of the day I'm searching my mind to think of a good save that Hart made all game. England just can't produce the kind of keeper you need, the kind that is good for denying 2+ goals per game at this level. I really fucking hate Joe Hart, what a joke that he's the best they can find.

[rk47]

Whatever. They're going home as usual.
Piece of shit.

[Hoax]

Oh and anyone who mentions that Uruguay should have gone down to ten right away on that Goudin foul should be ashamed of himself and is a huge bitch.

[01101010]

England getting beat by Freddie Mercury was kinda priceless. I was sad a little for them, but at least Rooney got the monkey off his back.

[Surlyboi]

Jesus, these Greeks dive like Louganis.

[HaemishM]

England as a whole now knows what Liverpool fans knew a few years ago. Roy Hodgson should not be their manager. At least he started with Rooney in the center behind the main striker instead of out on the wing. But Welbeck? He's not nearly as effective a winger as he is a forward. As a result, the forwards didn't get as good a service as they should have and it shows in only getting 1 goal each game. It's even more infuriating when you realize that he had winger options on the bench in Lallana. Both Baines and Johnson were disappointing but they were being relied on to provide both the width and defending. The defending was pretty terrible, though - both times Suarez got free for a goal, it was because someone let him go free in a dangerous position. Gerrard was pretty disappointing in the deep role but really overall, the team just wasn't good. All those star players should feel pretty embarrassed by that performance.

[WayAbvPar]

All that being said, they still have a middling chance to go through. Italy is going to beat Costa Rica like a drum, which will go a long way toward erasing the goal deficit. Then England needs to win v CR and they are through. I would say 25-35% chance?

I hate having to go on media and thread blackout during work days, but getting to watch 3 games when I get home is pretty cool 

[Numtini]

Like a drum.

[IainC]

Costa Rica have a different copy of the script than WAP does.

[01101010]

Costa Rica have a different copy of the script than WAP does.