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

[sdifox]

I heard the fix is in and Argentina will win.

One simply does not humiliate the host nation.

Lulz, Brazilians would prefer Germany winning. The rivalry between Argentina and Brazil is ridiculus when it comes to soccer.

The locals cheer for whichever team that is playing against Argentina.

 

[uhohs]

You know that Argentina winning would be almost as bad as the Germany debacle to the Brazilians, right?

yeah, the Brazilians would definitely prefer the Germans winning over Argentina

 

[smackababy]

Brazil would love for Germany to beat Argentina 10-0. That would be their perfect scenario. They only lost by 6, so an even more humiliating defeat of Argentina, would make them the better team that just got unlucky getting the side of the bracket with Germany.

And, that would make the US an amazing team! Only losing to the Nazi scum by 1 goal.

 

[uhohs]

USA USA

they should give us the silver medal since we only lost by 1.

:hmm:

 

[zinfamous]

USA USA

they should give us the silver medal since we only lost by 1.

:hmm:

Ghana is the only team to not lose to Germany, so far.

What do they get?

 

[Anubis]

 

[iCyborg]

It really doesn't make sense to have a 3rd place game. Who really cares? Just give them a tie for 3rd and be done with it. And, if the payouts for 3rd place is more than 4th place, give them both the 4th place payout and give the remaining to the winner.

Nobody I know. You'd be hard pressed to find something so stupid and meaningless in professional sports.

Except for all the other world championships like basketball, hockey, volleyball, handball etc, some of which have 5th place game, 7th place game...

Anyway, it definitely doesn't have the same meaning as finals, nor it should have, but in the last WC I enjoyed Ger-Uru 3:2 a lot more than Esp-Ned 1:0 and we needed extra time for that one goal.

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Ghana is the only team to not lose to Germany, so far.

What do they get?

Its worth noting that Germany had the hardest time against two african teams
Although they won against Algeria, the match was 0-0 at the end of regular time so it would have been a draw as well, had it been in the group phase
I find that interesting since african teams are generally considered to be the worst (and they are)

Anyway, as for the 3rd place match I agree with Van Gaal and his observation about a semi finalist not deserving to lose twice in a row, and one of them is guaranteed to, so yeah
There is a reason UEFA already got rid of that in European competitions, but FIFA is behind the times in a lot of things, this is just another one of them

Regarding the final match, I dont think there is much to say, all evidence points to Germany winning easily, even if you favor Argentina, but I am hoping for a surprise
Another interesting fact is that no european team has ever won an american world cup, in fact all of them were won by either Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay

So either history is in the making, or Argentina will actually pull it off and keep the tradition going

 

[zinfamous]

Its worth noting that Germany had the hardest time against two african teams
Although they won against Algeria, the match was 0-0 at the end of regular time so it would have been a draw as well, had it been in the group phase
I find that interesting since african teams are generally considered to be the worst (and they are)

Anyway, as for the 3rd place match I agree with Van Gaal and his observation about a semi finalist not deserving to lose twice in a row, and one of them is guaranteed to, so yeah
There is a reason UEFA already got rid of that in European competitions, but FIFA is behind the times in a lot of things, this is just another one of them

Regarding the final match, I dont think there is much to say, all evidence points to Germany winning easily, even if you favor Argentina, but I am hoping for a surprise
Another interesting fact is that no european team has ever won an american world cup, in fact all of them were won by either Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay

So either history is in the making, or Argentina will actually pull it off and keep the tradition going

That's a good point about going scoreless in elimination play. Wonder what would have happened had they cone to over time against Ghana.

Further, that makes Ghana the only team to actually score a (meaningful) goal against Germany, no? I forget if Portugal scored, but I thought they were shut out. That BS Brazilian goal doesn't count.

I think African teams play harder than others, for whatever reason. I recall Cameroon being rather exciting and tough in the previous world cup. It was a game against either Holland, Spain, or maybe Germany where I remember them looking quite impressive.

 

[squarecut1]

Anyway, it definitely doesn't have the same meaning as finals, nor it should have, but in the last WC I enjoyed Ger-Uru 3:2 a lot more than Esp-Ned 1:0 and we needed extra time for that one goal.

Yes last time it was a terrible final. The Dutch decided that short of bringing out the knives, they would do anything.

Last time Germany and Argentina met in a WC final, that too was such an ugly affair. Two Argentinians were red carded.

Hoping for a good final

 

[squarecut1]

Regarding the final match, I dont think there is much to say, all evidence points to Germany winning easily, even if you favor Argentina, but I am hoping for a surprise
Another interesting fact is that no european team has ever won an american world cup, in fact all of them were won by either Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay

There is a first time for everything

 

[Printer Bandit]

 

[Ns1]

lol

 

[Blackjack200]

The last part of that gif spelled "Muller" wrong.

Seriously though, that German team is damn strong througout.

 

[Arcadio]

EDIT: never mind.

I would love to see Messi win a World Cup, but only when the whole team deserves it.

 

[_Rick_]

The last part of that gif spelled "Muller" wrong.

Seriously though, that German team is damn strong througout.

Yes, but Argentina's no-name defense managed to make world star trio van Persie/Robben/Snijder just disappear into uselessness. I don't think Müller/Klose/Kroos can be expected to fare much better.

But in the end, a lot depends on how well they play that day.

Also, at least in Germany, people complain how boring Ned:Arg was. In comparison to Bra:Ger, it was a thriller. But I suppose just as people watch motor racing for the crashes, some watch soccer for the goals.

 

[Blackjack200]

Yes, but Argentina's no-name defense managed to make world star trio van Persie/Robben/Snijder just disappear into uselessness. I don't think Müller/Klose/Kroos can be expected to fare much better.

We'll see. I didn't watch the game but I read that Holland's focus on shutting down Messi really hindered their offense. Not that the same thing couldn't happen in the finals, but RVP was playing hurt, and Robben's been a bit snakebit since the group stage.

Also, at least in Germany, people complain how boring Ned:Arg was. In comparison to Bra:Ger, it was a thriller. But I suppose just as people watch motor racing for the crashes, some watch soccer for the goals.

I don't think that's fair, the group stage games were open and flowing, that's what people want to see, not 7-1 blowouts or 0-0 snoozefests.

 

[yuchai]

The final will probably be a tight affair. Argentina knows they can't compete with the Germany midfield, so it's likely that they will sit back and defend and look for chances on the counter.

As good as Germany is, what they really excel in is quick and effective counter attacks. They're not as good at breaking down a team that is happy with sitting back and playing for penalties.

Unless of course there is an early goal. If Argentina scores first, it will become an exciting game. If Germany scores first, then I think we'll see multiple goals, with Argentina trying to attack and then getting pummeled by the German counter attacking machine.

 

[yuchai]

That's a good point about going scoreless in elimination play. Wonder what would have happened had they cone to over time against Ghana.

Further, that makes Ghana the only team to actually score a (meaningful) goal against Germany, no? I forget if Portugal scored, but I thought they were shut out. That BS Brazilian goal doesn't count.

I think African teams play harder than others, for whatever reason. I recall Cameroon being rather exciting and tough in the previous world cup. It was a game against either Holland, Spain, or maybe Germany where I remember them looking quite impressive.

Meaningful or not, Germany has conceded 4 goals so far, while Argentina has conceded 3. Germany of course had some spectacular wins against Brazil & Portugal, while all Argentina wins were by 1 goal.

With meaningful goals (I assume that means a goal that changes the win/draw equation), Argentina has also conceded to only one team, Nigeria.

If you look at results within 90 minutes, Germany has 4 wins 2 draws, same as Argentina.

Germany played better teams, of course, but interestingly their draws did not come from their toughest opponents.

I think the trademark of the African teams is inconsistency - you never know which team shows up. I actually think sometimes it had to do with match fixing. Money is always a problem and I think there have been some scandals in the past.

 

[momeNt]

Meaningful or not, Germany has conceded 4 goals so far, while Argentina has conceded 3. Germany of course had some spectacular wins against Brazil & Portugal, while all Argentina wins were by 1 goal.

With meaningful goals (I assume that means a goal that changes the win/draw equation), Argentina has also conceded to only one team, Nigeria.

If you look at results within 90 minutes, Germany has 4 wins 2 draws, same as Argentina.

Germany played better teams, of course, but interestingly their draws did not come from their toughest opponents.

I think the trademark of the African teams is inconsistency - you never know which team shows up. I actually think sometimes it had to do with match fixing. Money is always a problem and I think there have been some scandals in the past.

Not sure if you call it match fixing or holding your individual performance hostage unless you get large sums of money. They negotiate appearance fees but then reneg. These athletes are so popular that if the corrupt government instead threatened to kill them, and maybe followed through in any instance, the entire country would revolt. So in essence these athletes in African countries have their country by the balls.

 

[Blackjack200]

As good as Germany is, what they really excel in is quick and effective counter attacks. They're not as good at breaking down a team that is happy with sitting back and playing for penalties.

I thought they broke down the American defense pretty effectively, they only got one goal, but Howard was largely responsible for that. And the Americans bunkered down from the opening whistle.

Unless of course there is an early goal. If Argentina scores first, it will become an exciting game. If Germany scores first, then I think we'll see multiple goals, with Argentina trying to attack and then getting pummeled by the German counter attacking machine.

Totally agree, an early goal from either side will make it a fantastic game.

Germany played better teams, of course, but interestingly their draws did not come from their toughest opponents.

I don't know what to make of their results against Ghana and Algeria. That such a complete, consistent, and dominant team can fail to secure 90' victories against a couple of deeply flawed African teams, all while dismantleing elite European and South American teams just blows my mind.

I mean, I know Portugal and Brazil had their issues, but Germany beat them aggregate 11-1!

 

[smackababy]

I think Germany is going to have a much more stretched and open field, so Argentina will have a lot of counter attacking chances. This should be an exciting game, if Argentina (and mostly Messi) can counter attack the German onslaught. Germany pretty much shut down the US and Brazil in those regards, so it looked a lot more one sided. And Brazil didn't have Howard or really any large defensive efforts to stop them from scoring on all those attempts.

 

[Blackjack200]

I think Germany is going to have a much more stretched and open field, so Argentina will have a lot of counter attacking chances. This should be an exciting game, if Argentina (and mostly Messi) can counter attack the German onslaught. Germany pretty much shut down the US and Brazil in those regards, so it looked a lot more one sided. And Brazil didn't have Howard or really any large defensive efforts to stop them from scoring on all those attempts.

The problem is that Messi is perhaps the most lethal open field threat in soccer history, and I'm sure the Germans are going to account for that. I hope you're right, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Germans approached the match the same way the Dutch did: shut down the Argentine attack, generate a few chances through superior midfield play, and be satisfied to get it to PKs.

 

[smackababy]

I do think the Germans will attempt to shut down Messi, but I don't think they won't be attacking. At least, that is what I hope, as it would be much more exciting. =) I think the Germans want to avoid taking it into penalty kicks. They might play a lot more defensively if they go up early, but if they don't, I expect to see a lot of attacking and counter attacking.

I am predicting a 4-3 Germany win. It will be a high scoring game.

 

[Squeetard]

Germany does not want to go to PK's. Romero was psychotic in the shootout with the Dutch. Stopped 2.