2014 FIFA World Cup Thread

[nevets88]

Suarez, again!

[JetFan1983]

Ugh....

[RJH999]

Suck it England.

[Chilli Dipper]

Incredible. The British press will still find some way to blame Rooney.

[nevets88]

German commentator: "Suarez is so ice cold, when he's on the toilet he pees ice cubes."

[Chilli Dipper]

German commentator: "Suarez is so ice cold, when he's on the toilet he pees ice cubes."

His performance has single-handedly shifted Uruguay's prospects from a team staring at a first-round exit, to one poised to make another deep run in the tournament. Costa Rica may lose, and England may get their three points in their last match, but this group isn't coming down to a tiebreaker. With Suarez on the field, Uruguay can beat Italy outright.

[Hardballs]

Have a soft spot for Uruguay, simply because Gustavo Poyet coaches my team (Sunderland) and I think he's going places. However, I think even this slightly inadequate England side will beat them, not least because Suarez, who despite being as mad as a box of frogs is a genius, cannot possibly be fit.

Unfortunately for us, Suarez is a world class striker, and world class strikers only need half a chance in the box to make a difference! In my opinion, England don't have any world class strikers! And that's only half the problem! Gerard is getting too old, Rooney peaked several years ago, the rest of the team either lack ability or experience! We needed two goals before kick off tonight because Suarez was always gonna score, I'm sure we'll beat Costa Rica, but we're now relying on other teams! It's over! May as well share the flight home with Spain and save a few quid!

[Golfingdad]

May as well share the flight home with Spain and save a few quid!

But then, where are all of the Portuguese players going to sit??

[RJH999]

But then, where are all of the Portuguese players going to sit?? :-P :beer:

Cameroon have not been invited on this plane and they have to walk home. We apologize for the inconvenience

[JetFan1983]

Damn it, Greece. Why you gotta do this to me?

[RJH999]

Japan can't even break through against Greece? 10 Man Greece? Still no dice.

[RJH999]

Japan really screwed themselves this game. Can't even beat 10 man Greece and misses several opportunities, this game was boring as hell.

[JetFan1983]

Japan really screwed themselves this game. Can't even beat 10 man Greece and misses several opportunities, this game was boring as hell.

Says the non-Greek lol . That was the most stressful soccer game I've seen in a while, and the most stressful scoreless draw I've ever seen. Thankfully it's over, and they're still alive.

[mchepp]

Unfortunately for us, Suarez is a world class striker, and world class strikers only need half a chance in the box to make a difference!

In my opinion, England don't have any world class strikers! And that's only half the problem! Gerard is getting too old, Rooney peaked several years ago, the rest of the team either lack ability or experience!

We needed two goals before kick off tonight because Suarez was always gonna score, I'm sure we'll beat Costa Rica, but we're now relying on other teams! It's over! May as well share the flight home with Spain and save a few quid!

I think you comment about Gerrard is very accurate. I thought he looked slow and out of shape in these 2 games. I also felt the middle defenders where not their best in the 2 games either.

I think Rooney is a good striker but has some sort of mental thing in the World Cup. He is no Suarez, but Suarez is probably the best player on any team this year.

[chasm]

[QUOTE name="Hardballs" url="/t/73308/2014-fifa-world-cup-thread/300_100#post_1008141"] Unfortunately for us, Suarez is a world class striker, and world class strikers only need half a chance in the box to make a difference! In my opinion, England don't have any world class strikers! And that's only half the problem! Gerard is getting too old, Rooney peaked several years ago, the rest of the team either lack ability or experience! We needed two goals before kick off tonight because Suarez was always gonna score, I'm sure we'll beat Costa Rica, but we're now relying on other teams! It's over! May as well share the flight home with Spain and save a few quid![/QUOTE] I think you comment about Gerrard is very accurate. I thought he looked slow and out of shape in these 2 games. I also felt the middle defenders where not their best in the 2 games either.  I think Rooney is a good striker but has some sort of mental thing in the World Cup. He is no Suarez, but Suarez is probably the best player on any team this year.

The problem with Gerrard is not just his age, it is that he has no clue about how to play the role of holding midfielder. His game has always been about getting forward. He has been converted by Liverpool into a deep-lying midfielder as his pace has declined, and nobody seems to have noticed that he does it very poorly - Liverpool's defensive frailties cost them the EPL title. The holding midfielder is supposed to sit in front of the back four and offer them some protection, break up opposition attacks etc. Spraying hollywood passes around is an optional extra, it is not central to the role. Before last night's game I predicted that should Uruguay score, Gerrard would be nowhere in the vicinity; and sure enough, for Suarez's opening goal Gerrard was miles out of position. This problem was compounded by playing him as part of two-man central midfield. They were overrun, and thus Gerrard's inadequacies were further exposed. Milner or Wilshere should have played instead of Welbeck so that England had three men in the middle of the park. Still, as I said earlier in the thread, as least England's early exit will spare me the usual jingoistic bullshit in the British media, and the sight of normally rational people draping their homes and cars with the cross of St George...

[boogielicious]

Damn it, Greece. Why you gotta do this to me?

I cannot believe that Japan could not score, let alone get a shot on goal with a one man advantage.  The Japanese Woman would have scored 9 times with that kind of advantage.  It was good for Greece to keep being aggressive even though they were down.

It is sad that England cannot play better in a game they invented.

[Hardballs]

It is sad that England cannot play better in a game they invented.

And the reason for this is because the EPL is such a lucrative sport to be in, all the top teams rely heavily on foreign talent, and so homegrown talents aren't getting nurtured, pretty much all the top players in the prem are from other countries! And then we wonder why England fall short on the world stage! This not a racist thing, it's a fact! And half the England team are picked by their cv's, instead of being picked on good form and merit! For me England need a clear out and re building from scratch, starting with a proven manager! I actually thought we might scrape through the group stage we got demolished, but it's unlikely we'll even get that far! Shocking! Still,... at least Wimbledon starts soon! And the Ryder cups looming!

[chasm]

And the reason for this is because the EPL is such a lucrative sport to be in, all the top teams rely heavily on foreign talent, and so homegrown talents aren't getting nurtured, pretty much all the top players in the prem are from other countries! And then we wonder why England fall short on the world stage! This not a racist thing, it's a fact!

No, it's not a racist thing. But neither is it a fact, if what you are saying is that it's the reason for England's poor performance. Premier League teams are spending more than ever before on their academies. Young English players of talent have never had so much attention lavished on them. And there's a quota system in operation which demands that the clubs have a number of homegrown players in their squads. If they were good enough, they'd get a game: even in the Premiership there are 15 clubs that can't afford to recruit Ozil, Toure, Aguero and the rest. If you want to look for a reason for the English malaise, look earlier - youth coaching is abysmal - or later - too many of them are given massively fat contracts at too young an age, and think they've made it before actually putting the work in to fulfil their potential.