2014 FIFA World Cup Thread

[nevets88]

Ooooohhhhhh

[Golfingdad]

Could that guys name be any more Greek? Socrates Papapathopthopulus (or something like that)

[RJH999]

It takes Greece forever to score even if they're playing against ten men. Costa Rica will win in extra time or this ones heading to Penalties. It is known.

[dennyjones]

I was pulling for Mexico.   They looked like the better team until they scored.  It seems like they then went into a shell and tried to just play defense.   When the Dutch made the adjustment at the water break, the game changed and Mexico looked out of sorts.    The Dutch can be beat and Mexico showed the way,  just not today.

[nevets88]

It's like watching two NBA teams with terrible offenses, but great defense and one wins 54-52 in OT.

[Zeph]

http://gfycat.com/GrippingVillainousCommabutterfly#

[jamo]

[URL=http://gfycat.com/GrippingVillainousCommabutterfly#]http://gfycat.com/GrippingVillainousCommabutterfly#[/URL] :yucky:

You know it's a flop because putting your hands out and up is a completely unnatural reaction to belly-flopping the ground.

[RJH999]

You know it's a flop because putting your hands out and up is a completely unnatural reaction to belly-flopping the ground.

The dodgy flapper strikes again!

[nevets88]

If it goes to penalty kicks who has the better chance?

[RJH999]

If it goes to penalty kicks who has the better chance?

No one really. It's Russian Roullete soccer.

[RJH999]

COSTA RICAAAAAAAAAAA. I'm very sorry Greece.

[Zeph]

COSTA RICAAA!!!! I'm loving it! Next to beat is Holland!

Navas had one hell of a match. He's been saving balls left and right, and was the decider when saving that penalty.

[FarawayFairways]

Mexico.   They looked like the better team until they scored.  It seems like they then went into a shell and tried to just play defense.   When the Dutch made the adjustment at the water break, the game changed and Mexico looked out of sorts.    The Dutch can be beat and Mexico showed the way,  just not today.

That would be my take on it too Denny. Sometimes attack is the best method of defence. The Mexicans aren't a team with a winning culture at this stage of a major tournament and without realising it some teams start to play to expectation, unable as they are to seize the moment (England is another). They get themselves into a position of superiority but haven't got the collective strength of character to impose themselves and kill off an opposition after the corrosive effects of years of failing to do so.

There is an old adage (normally is used in cricket in truth) but it says 'do what the opposition would like you to do least'. In most cases you won't go far wrong. It was obvious to me that the Mexicans were handling the conditions better and so long as they could keep the tempo up the Dutch would have been much less comfortable having to chase a goal under these conditions than they were by having the pace taken out of the game

[FarawayFairways]

I don't hate em, just don't like the style they play. Also...CONCACAF THUNDER!!!

Crikey, supporting teams from the same federation. Whatever next? As rivalries emerge and mature, this sort of thing will stop! It must do! Stop it now! Hate thy neighbour (first rule of international football)

Would a Redskins fan support the Cowboys because they're from the same division?

In truth, in Europe we have our own meaningful Championship which is seeded, and world cup performances count towards that, even if some of our own FA's are a bit blind to the formula as to how these things are calculated and take stupid games that damage a ranking. It's how Italy, Holland and England end up unseeded, yet Belgium and particularly Switzerland by dint of cherry picking opposition, get put in the top pot. As a result we tend to support anyone against another UEFA team in order to defend our own seeded status, albeit we make exceptions if they're playing Argentina, and we'll normally cut some of our more favourite European teams a bit of slack too like Holland, Ireland and Sweden. There are also teams who are in no danger of losing their seeded status, so supporting teams against them is futile anyway

I suppose I ought to give you the English jingoists guide to world football sometime, but as you might imagine its a crude mixture of historical conflicts, politics, the second world war, a little bit of religion, and no small amount of football defeats from the past. It basically streteotypes complete nations in about two sentances

[FarawayFairways]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28059445

[mchepp]

Crikey, supporting teams from the same federation. Whatever next? As rivalries emerge and mature, this sort of thing will stop! It must do! Stop it now! Hate thy neighbour (first rule of international football)

Would a Redskins fan support the Cowboys because they're from the same division?

In truth, in Europe we have our own meaningful Championship which is seeded, and world cup performances count towards that, even if some of our own FA's are a bit blind to the formula as to how these things are calculated and take stupid games that damage a ranking. It's how Italy, Holland and England end up unseeded, yet Belgium and particularly Switzerland by dint of cherry picking opposition, get put in the top pot. As a result we tend to support anyone against another UEFA team in order to defend our own seeded status, albeit we make exceptions if they're playing Argentina, and we'll normally cut some of our more favourite European teams a bit of slack too like Holland, Ireland and Sweden. There are also teams who are in no danger of losing their seeded status, so supporting teams against them is futile anyway

I suppose I ought to give you the English jingoists guide to world football sometime, but as you might imagine its a crude mixture of historical conflicts, politics, the second world war, a little bit of religion, and no small amount of football defeats from the past. It basically streteotypes complete nations in about two sentances

I think the difference in the NFL case you bring up is the extremely tiny success anyone from CONCACAF has had in the World Cup. That would be exactly zero. So the rooting is for the federation to have some modicum of success. If anyone from CONCACAF was playing the US we would not root for them, but seeing someone who is even close to us is worth rooting for. Both the Cowboys and Redskins have a long history of success in the NFL, often at the expense of one another. Thus the hatred.

I also think that the US has no real competition in the process of qualifying so we don't hate the teams in our federation because they don't impede us from qualifying. Hard to hate someone you beat like a drum regularly.

[Golfingdad]

I think the difference in the NFL case you bring up is the extremely tiny success anyone from CONCACAF has had in the World Cup. That would be exactly zero. So the rooting is for the federation to have some modicum of success. If anyone from CONCACAF was playing the US we would not root for them, but seeing someone who is even close to us is worth rooting for. Both the Cowboys and Redskins have a long history of success in the NFL, often at the expense of one another. Thus the hatred.

I also think that the US has no real competition in the process of qualifying so we don't hate the teams in our federation because they don't impede us from qualifying. Hard to hate someone you beat like a drum regularly.

It's not just that, it's the nature/breadth of the opponent and competition.  As a Chargers fan, I relish any Raiders or Broncos failures against San Diego, and anytime during the season all the way through to the Super Bowl.  However, after the Super Bowl, were there a competition between the Broncos (as Super Bowl champions) against the best football teams from other countries, then I'd likely be pulling for them as representatives of our entire league.

[FarawayFairways]

The operative word there being "likely". Until you encounter the situation, you won't know. Believe me, you won't be quite so charitable when the Broncos fans remind you of how many more times they've won the international competition than you have, and continually keep crowing about it. The result of this is that Liverpool fans will routinely support a European team against Manchester United, as indeed Tottenham will do against Arsenal. It's not restricted to England. Barcelona and Real Madrid could never support each other, and the Italian teams of Juventus and AC Milan wouldn't be on great terms either.

The nearest you have is probably the Pro Bowl but so far as I can see its a meaningless jamboree equivalent to footballs 'charity/ community shield'. I wouldn't under estimate the influence of international team sport though in defining the sporting landscape and acting as a point of reference in things like the Ryder Cup. The last time England failed to qualify for a major tournament, the US won. If the US can beat Belgium, and they stand a pretty good chance, then they could be the ones capable of taking a national bounce into this, especially since the fulcrum of the European teams have been battered. Ireland, Scotland, & Sweden failed to even reach the finals, whereas England and Spain were dumped out at the first stage. Only Martin Kaymer left