"Official" 2014 World Cup thread and poll, now with 100% more vuvuzelas

[sdifox]

Argentina is favored to win. Ima say it all comes down to which star striker has the better game. Messe or Van Persie. Robben will be solid again.

Excpet Messi is now on his own. No Di Maria nor Aguedo.

 

[squarecut1]

It's really been an amazing world cup, surprising that in such a high-scoring and free flowing world cup, it comes down to pretty much the pre-cup 3 odds favorites again: Germany, Brazil and Argentina. Netherlands is kind of crashing the party, they aren't exactly an elite team like those three, but they are consistently good.

Yes it has been a great world cup. Also the cynical diving has not been as much as before. Been very enjoyable. Such a beautiful sport

 

[William Gaatjes]

I am worried.

The next game is going to be a close call against Argentina.
Maybe we have an edge, since our new queen is also from Argentina.
The last game, if the dutch win, and come to play against the Germans...
I will be sitting on the very edge of my seat, that is for sure.

But maybe, Brazil will honor Neymar and make a few nice goals.
I prefer to see the dutch play against Brazil.

 

[William Gaatjes]

It's really been an amazing world cup, surprising that in such a high-scoring and free flowing world cup, it comes down to pretty much the pre-cup 3 odds favorites again: Germany, Brazil and Argentina. Netherlands is kind of crashing the party, they aren't exactly an elite team like those three, but they are consistently good.

The dutch have been in the eight finals or quarter finals or final game of the WK soccer for the last 40 years. You are mistaking.

EDIT:

On the fifa soccer list, the dutch rank higher than all three.

 

[smackababy]

This has been a great World Cup, IMO. Costa Rica had a near Cinderella story, the games have been good, and the US has shown they can almost hang with the big boys. Klinsmann really silenced all the pundits with how well this US team performed. Quite a few people were upset with the Yedlin, Green, Brooks, Altidore, and Beckerman picks. Plus, the Beasley as a FB upset a lot of people. The US really out performed their expectations. They made it out of the group of death and have wonderful games against Germany and Belgium. They could have played better, but they still did phenomenal. I am really hoping this pushes US soccer over the edge and it gets a lot of steam.

 

[dbk]

US back four was absolute trash...if not Howard, how many goals could the Begians have scored?

 

[Zargon]

yedlin REALLY shined in the Belgium game. wow.

and Fabian Johnson should have cemented himself in for the next 4-8 years on the US roster

Beckerman.....eh. hes Beckerman, he solid but not exceptional in any way that I have ever seen

I think some of the control issues the US had was from the extensive roster and position shuffling done with the cutdown to 23 men and moving half the midfield around

 

[William Gaatjes]

I noticed, that the US players are good hunters for the ball. They put constant pressure on the adversary. But what the US lacked IMHO is ball control. A long distance pass and then having the ball under control immediately is very important to create a chance for the goal. I noticed quite a few times that they lost the ball after a pass or when engaging an adversary while having the ball. They need to focus on that.

<< Armchair soccer expert >> :biggrin:

 

[smackababy]

I think Klinsmann summed it up well: the US respects it's opponents too much on the field. It took Belgium going up 2 goals in extra time before they started to really turn it up offensively. They had just a ton of waste possessions in the first 90, leaving too many back for the counter attack. After Howard's first 7 saves, I'd start sending more men forward to score and take the advantage.

 

[KMFJD]

It is not just the weather conditions. The fact that so many games are going to extra time and they don't get a ton of rest between them is taking it's toll. The weather should give Argentina the edge, as they are used to the tropical climate more so than the European teams, but the long games and schedule is still wearing them down as well.



I really think it is going to come down to how well they defend against Messi. If he is able to draw in 3 defenders, Argentina will win, as Messi will find the guy left alone. If they are able to stop Messi with 1 or 2 guys, they have a much better chance at winning.

The dutch have been in the eight finals or quarter finals or final game of the WK soccer for the last 40 years. You are mistaking.

EDIT:

On the fifa soccer list, the dutch rank higher than all three.

No one in the Netherlands expected them to go this far though....

 

[William Gaatjes]

No one in the Netherlands expected them to go this far though....

True (except the die hard soccer fan of course). But i would be very happy to see the Dutch win. We have been in the finals before. But never first place. The dutch did win the EK (European Championship) in 1988 against Germany.
Would be nice to add the WK as well.
But we will have to see what happens. I have mixed feelings about it.

 

[Fern]

I noticed, that the US players are good hunters for the ball. They put constant pressure on the adversary. But what the US lacked IMHO is ball control. A long distance pass and then having the ball under control immediately is very important to create a chance for the goal. I noticed quite a few times that they lost the ball after a pass or when engaging an adversary while having the ball. They need to focus on that.

<< Armchair soccer expert >> :biggrin:

Agreed.

And I'd add that some try to control the ball too long instead of passing it off. When you have the ball you must pass it off before allowing 2 or 3 defenders to attack you. This was particularly noticeable against Ghana.

Fern

 

[zinfamous]

That's also what I felt about the US team--just sloppy with the ball and compared to the way a team like Germany plays, whenever the ball is dumped to the other side for Germany, there is always a German waiting to receive it.

I don't know if this is planning on the US part (keep more people back for defense, vs Germany that always seems to put most forward on attack, thus covering all spots), or just slowness on some of the American team.

I found that annoying with most US games the last two WC--teams like Germany and Spain or whoever, always had great positioning and people were always where they needed to be on attacks. US often had holes when a ball is deflected or passed off to the opposite side.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Watching some parts of the Holland - Costa Rica game again.
I think all the defense of Argentina will be focused on taking Robben down outside the penalty zone. Similar as Costa Rica did and other adversaries of the dutch. I expect that the dutch will get a penalty or should get a penalty(but don't) in the next game.

 

[squarecut1]

Watching some parts of the Holland - Costa Rica game again.
I think all the defense of Argentina will be focused on taking Robben down outside the penalty zone. Similar as Costa Rica did and other adversaries of the dutch. I expect that the dutch will get a penalty or should get a penalty(but don't) in the next game.

What the Argentine team does not have is the incredibly well drilled off-side line of Costa Rica. What they did takes such a huge amount of coordination and trust between the players to execute. Very difficult. You can't help but admire such skills. To me one of the best things on display in this WC.

 

[Jodell88]

As the quarter finals kick off in what is officially the most watched World Cup in history, we examine the winners and losers in financial terms. Fifa lists 22 official partners, sponsors and supporters - brands that between them are spending more than a billion dollars for the honour of having their names associated with the event. But is it right that all the money they're spending, and gaining in brand exposure, should be going to Fifa itself, and not to the host nation Brazil? We hear from Fifa critic Jules Boykoff, an author, a former Olympian and now an associate professor of political science at Pacific University in Oregon. And we get Fifa's response.

We also hear from David Peters, Managing Director at the sponsorship and marketing company Dentsu Aegis Network Sport and Entertainment. He advises brands associated with the World Cup. And, he says it is likely that brands and sponsors will be doing more to respond to public criticism around the way future World Cups are organised - in particular in the context of the controversial Qatar 22 World Cup bid. Finally the BBC's Rahul Tandon considers the extent to which smaller businesses like bars and restaurants in Europe and South Asia are experiencing a World Cup dividend.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p021mxbc?ocid=socialflow_twitter

 

[William Gaatjes]

What the Argentine team does not have is the incredibly well drilled off-side line of Costa Rica. What they did takes such a huge amount of coordination and trust between the players to execute. Very difficult. You can't help but admire such skills. To me one of the best things on display in this WC.

Costa Rica kept a lock on their side of the field. The dutch had a lot of chances and sometimes bad referee. Not giving yellow cards or too much flagging for offside. I agree with the dutch commentator, Costa Rica wanted penalties. Well, they did get it. All Krul did was saying : "I know your game".

 

[squarecut1]

Yes Costa Rica figured, perhaps rightly so, that their best chance of beating the Dutch was penalties. So they succeeded in at least that part

 

[William Gaatjes]

There was also a lot of correct offside flagging for Robben and van Persie.
Too bad...

 

[William Gaatjes]

I find the dutch to be the justified winners against Costa Rica. Robben (and all other dutch players) played fantastic.
The best player from Costa Rica is the keeper.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I feel a sad for Sneijder. He just had bad luck while playing so great.
Two shots at the goal and one hits the pole and the other the lath.
And so many other passes he shot.

 

[yuchai]

I think part of the problem with the US team is that they let the opposition play their game too much. They only foul if there is actually a fair chance of getting the ball, and rarely fouls just to stop the attacking flow of the opponent.

This makes for more attractive games in general, because they become more open and there's more end to end stuff. But it's not a great idea if the objective is to win. Particularly since the US is not as good technically as the other top teams and doesn't have as much talent.

Just look at Brazil, they don't have enough talent in the squad this year to play their usual attractive game, so they mostly had to resort to playing "ugly". Sometimes you gotta do what it takes to get the results given the players that you have.

If you really think about it, the US was a bit lucky this tournament to have made it that far. The Ghana game could have gone either way, and if they had lost that one, I feel that they would not have had the confidence going into the Portugal game to get a result.

I'm still very happy with what the US has achieved (not a hater, more like a neutral fan), but if you look at the details the US still has a ways to go if they really want to be a contender at the World Cup.

 

[IAteYourMother]

The problem with the US is very fundamental - Our players are technically poor.

 

[squarecut1]

There are a couple of things about US soccer.

- Soccer is the most competitive sport out there, played at a very high level in so many countries around the world. The most popular and most competitive sport. Rugby it is not.

- NFL, basketball, baseball and then hockey have a hold on US sports. Even tennis has declined in the US. For US soccer to succeed, it needs talent at the grassroots in huge numbers. Numbers which go to other sports.

Quite frankly, I don't ever see US being a major force in soccer. At best like Mexico etc - competitive but never good enough to seriously challenge the big boys.

 

[yuchai]

There are a couple of things about US soccer.

- Soccer is the most competitive sport out there, played at a very high level in so many countries around the world. The most popular and most competitive sport. Rugby it is not.

- NFL, basketball, baseball and then hockey have a hold on US sports. Even tennis has declined in the US. For US soccer to succeed, it needs talent at the grassroots in huge numbers. Numbers which go to other sports.

Quite frankly, I don't ever see US being a major force in soccer. At best like Mexico etc - competitive but never good enough to seriously challenge the big boys.

The US has enough population to field top level teams in all of those sports. Keep in mind that Uruguay is a country with 3 million people, and they've won the World Cup before and regularly feature in the advanced stages also. Besides, I don't even think that top football, basketball, or baseball players would necessarily do well at soccer.

I actually think that the top soccer talents were just completely wasted - they are not even necessarily playing another sport professionally. Sadly, I think playing soccer at a professional level is just so unappealing in the US that it comes to that.