2014 FIFA World Cup Thread

[nevets88]

What a goal that was by Cahill!

That was sick. Precision kick. I'm watching the Spanish channel so fun to hear GOOOAAL twice in a short span. And kick was off non dominant foot.

[RandallT]

That was sick. Precision kick. I'm watching the Spanish channel so fun to hear GOOOAAL twice in a short span.

"What a response!" I'll say. What was that, 10 seconds after Holland scored? I should try Univision, because I haven't heard GOOOOAAAAALLLL yet this World Cup.

http://www.espnfc.com/video/latest-videos/600/video/1891216?&ex;_cid=espnapi_affiliate_Google_World_Cup_Video

(can't embed from the ESPN site)

[dsc123]

Yah, I hear you but I'm not the best judge of excitement, because I actually enjoyed the Kaymer domination at the US Open. I found it interesting that he kept his foot on the pedal, but it was nearly universally panned.

Anyway, at the end of a match, quite a few players are at the point of exhaustion. There are no subs in and out in soccer. You get 3 per match, and if you leave the field by being replaced, you're done. Often when you get injured, you will get attention on the sidelines by a trainer and let the team play with 10 while you hopefully recover.  Those guys have been moving for 90 minutes, and if I recall correctly, that game was basically in the middle of a rain forest with high humidity and hot temps. That's enough to drain even the fittest athletes.

I don't remember guys just lying on the ground, but if you saw that, I guess it happened. These guys train their lives for the World Cup, so I'd bet most of them give every ounce of energy in they have. So yes, their teammates would probably not appreciate someone slacking off and just lying on the ground for the final minutes. So whatever it was, I doubt it was laziness. Maybe they were faking a foul or something. Soccer is definitely known for some of its antics to get the ref to call a penalty. Many refs will taunt right back and penalize a guy for obviously faking it. They'll even hand out cards for faking, so the players don't have too much leeway in trying to fall down to fake the ref.

Thanks for the explanation.  I wasn't counting and may be exaggerating some, but it definitely happened multiple  times.  Is the difference between the starters and the bench players in soccer so great that a completely gassed starter will out perform the subs?  In most professional sports the difference in talent between the best and next best is very slim.  In baseball, for example, a star might hit .300 and a scrub .250--which is about 1 hit per week--and teams take out the star starting pitcher when he gets tired because a fresh arm from the bullpen, even though far less talented, is likely to perform better.  Is there just greater talent disparity in soccer?

[RJH999]

Well they wouldn't have challenged Spain even with Cahill....Right??

[RandallT]

Thanks for the explanation.  I wasn't counting and may be exaggerating some, but it definitely happened multiple  times.  Is the difference between the starters and the bench players in soccer so great that a completely gassed starter will out perform the subs?  In most professional sports the difference in talent between the best and next best is very slim.  In baseball, for example, a star might hit .300 and a scrub .250--which is about 1 hit per week--and teams take out the star starting pitcher when he gets tired because a fresh arm from the bullpen, even though far less talented, is likely to perform better.  Is there just greater talent disparity in soccer?

There are premiere players that will always pretty much play all 90 minutes. The team character and the fan interest sort of make it a given. But yes, the subs are critical. A coach can bring in a burst of energy and excitement with the right strategy at the end. It's all the more interesting because there are finite subs, and it's so final.

The winning US goal, for example, was scored by a sub.  Yesterday, Belgium came back to win 2-1, both goals scored by subs.  One was scored by a guy Marouane Fellaini, who I watch all the time in the English Premiere League (now for ManU, formerly Everton). He's a top player in the world, so not sure I know why he was a sub. Anyone know what was going on there? He hurt?

[Chilli Dipper]

The Dutch can't afford to walk away with less than three points from the minnows of Group B. A win pretty much assures them of advancement regardless of what Spain and Chile do later today; a draw could make their third match against Chile a must-win, and the Oranje shouldn't let it come down to that.

[RJH999]

There are premiere players that will always pretty much play all 90 minutes. The team character and the fan interest sort of make it a given. But yes, the subs are critical. A coach can bring in a burst of energy and excitement with the right strategy at the end. It's all the more interesting because there are finite subs, and it's so final.   The winning US goal, for example, was scored by a sub.  Yesterday, Belgium came back to win 2-1, both goals scored by subs.  One was scored by a guy [COLOR=222222]Marouane Fellaini, who I watch all the time in the English Premiere League (now for ManU, formerly Everton). He's a top player in the world, so not sure I know why he was a sub. Anyone know what was going on there? He hurt?[/COLOR]

Dembele got the start, plus Fellaini had been awful with Man U

[RJH999]

RVP out against Chile, ouch Socceroooooos!

[Chilli Dipper]

Now the Netherlands need two goals.

[Lihu]

Now the Netherlands need two goals.

That seemed a bit unfair.

The ball was kicked into his hand, then they got a penalty?

[nevets88]

Uno.

[cipher]

That did not take long.

[chasm]

[COLOR=222222]Marouane Fellaini, who I watch all the time in the English Premiere League (now for ManU, formerly Everton). He's a top player in the world, so not sure I know why he was a sub. Anyone know what was going on there? He hurt?[/COLOR]

Er, that's the first time I've ever heard Fellaini described as "a top player in the world". He can be a handful but he's not that good.

[RJH999]

Australia should have scored, but the dutch just came back to lead. Also, i don't really like these announcers, they're not very exciting

[Chilli Dipper]

Oh, I did not want to see the Socceroos fall behind like that. They've don't deserve to lose on a weird bounce. Australia looks pretty deflated now. I think the dream's over for them.

[chasm]

Oh, I did not want to see the Socceroos fall behind like that. They've don't deserve to lose on a weird bounce.

Nothing especially weird about the bounce, it was curving away from the keeper before it hit the ground. 100% goalkeeper error, he should be saving them 99 times out of 100. Terrific performance by the Socceroos, though, against one of the best teams in the tournament. This might be the Netherlands year. They've had some great teams over the years but have never quite managed to win the big one.

[nevets88]

[RandallT]

Dembele got the start, plus Fellaini had been awful with Man U

Er, that's the first time I've ever heard Fellaini described as "a top player in the world". He can be a handful but he's not that good.

Yah, I've just been reading how bad he's been since leaving Everton.  I knew ManU was having issues, but I haven't watched or read much this past season when my cable lineup dropped the Premier League stuff for a while. If I recall correctly, Fellaini was a goal scoring machine at Everton the previous season (or was it the one before that?), and I knew ManU (who at that time fairly dominant) snatched him, so I just figured Fellaini was still playing somewhat respectably. But wow, I'm reading back on how he performed last season, and now I'm surprised Belgium even subbed him in. Lol. I've clearly not kept up with it all. How quickly time passes and the seasons fly past.  Maybe "a top player in the world" was a stretch at his peak even, but man, he was dangerous.