2014 FIFA World Cup Thread

[Golfingdad]

And thus endith the United States interest in soccer, for another 4 years.

I disagree.

[Motley01]

And thus endith the United States interest in soccer, for another 4 years.

LOL all or nothing.

[jackieMoon]

Entertaining game, just result was bad. Oh well we'll win the entire cup in 4 years. And whoever says Americans are not football fans need to get their pulses checked. I've never seen this before the support for USA was awesome this year. We're proud of our team.

ok not to sound douchy but there is no way in he** you can say Americans are "football fans" by only supporting the team for a month every four years. Yes you guys had amazing support but being a "true" fan is following the sport year in year out That's like me watching the Stanley cup only when the jets are in it and saying I'm a hockey fan But then again there are obviously some real fans but just saying all these celebrity's and sports figurs and people who couldn't name 5 players on the team are football fans is just crazy

[Motley01]

ok not to sound douchy but there is no way in he** you can say Americans are "football fans" by only supporting the team for a month every four years. Yes you guys had amazing support but being a "true" fan is following the sport year in year out That's like me watching the Stanley cup only when the jets are in it and saying I'm a hockey fan

But then again there are obviously some real fans but just saying all these celebrity's and sports figurs and people who couldn't name 5 players on the team are football fans is just crazy

You're just mad because the Canadian team didn't make the World Cup. Just sayin...

[jackieMoon]

You're just mad because the Canadian team didn't make the World Cup. Just sayin...

Haha nah man they never will. I'm not a soccer guy.

[Lihu]

And thus endith the United States interest in soccer, for another 4 years.

We did inch forward a little bit. Belgium is a really strong team, and we held out own against them.

We really need to get a stronger team, and it's not like we have a shortage of athletic people. More emphasis on it in High School will open more chances of getting competitive athletes.

[jackieMoon]

We did inch forward a little bit. Belgium is a really strong team, and we held out own against them. We really need to get a stronger team, and it's not like we have a shortage of athletic people. More emphasis on it in High School will open more chances of getting competitive athletes.

That's exactly what it is. If both the us and Canada got half the athletes that played baseball hockey football basketball and went and played soccer. Man both country's could be up there

[RJH999]

And thus endith the United States interest in soccer, for another 4 years.

I dunno about that. I wake up here on the west coast at 7 in the morn to watch my beloved Everton each week...and i've never even been to England! Lol

[Golfingdad]

Finally got to watch the rest of the game. That's the type of game I don't mind losing. Our guys busted their butts, played with heart, and lost to a better team. And both teams played with class. After seeing that I think I'm gonna root for Belgium now!! And Costa Rica. ;) ... But mostly I'm just rooting for great games.

[Lihu]

Finally got to watch the rest of the game. That's the type of game I don't mind losing. Our guys busted their butts, played with heart, and lost to a better team. And both teams played with class. After seeing that I think I'm gonna root for Belgium now!! And Costa Rica. ;) ... But mostly I'm just rooting for great games.

Of course, they're players.

You can root for Netherlands! I have some Dutch co-workers, so I guess I'll need to root for them (Now, I need to find an orange shirt).

[jamo]

Finally got to watch the rest of the game. That's the type of game I don't mind losing. Our guys busted their butts, played with heart, and lost to a better team. And both teams played with class. After seeing that I think I'm gonna root for Belgium now!! And Costa Rica. ;) ... But mostly I'm just rooting for great games.

Unless I can't see well through my star-spangled glasses, it looked to me like the flopping was kept to a minimum by both sides.

[Golfingdad]

Unless I can't see well through my star-spangled glasses, it looked to me like the flopping was kept to a minimum by both sides.

I saw it that way too. And moments like the play where the dude kicked it off Jermaine Jones face, and he's topped playing and was clearly concerned for the guy. I live for that kind of stuff.

[yrew]

I'm sorry for the loss of team America. It would have been great to see them proceed. On the other hand Belgium has been the laughing stock of Europe for the past 12 years where they didn't even play in end tournaments. So for them it is also kind of cool to come this far. For the Dutch the following scenario would be awesome. Win Costa Rica, then half final against Belgium and beat Germany in the final. It would be epic on a lot of levels. As for the tournament at this point, I have not seen all the matches but can you name me one team that stood out as the comming champion? I think a lot of matches could have gone either way.

[misty_mountainhop]

Definitely no dominant side. After the first games, Holland and Germany made me sit up with the scores against Spain and Portugal. Germany haven't looked that good since with their wobbly defense. Holland still look pretty good but not as good. Who's going to win? Who knows but it's been a good tournament so far!

Think Belgium actually started to look a little like the strong dark horses people have mentioned. Excellent players from back to front. U.S. threw a lot at them last night and Belgium still looked very classy a lot of the time. If Howard hadn't had such an absurdly good game (most saves in a World Cup game ever apparently), I'm not sure it would have been quite the spectacle it turned out to be in the end.

Belgium or Colombia to win it?

[Abu3baid]

Definitely no dominant side. After the first games, Holland and Germany made me sit up with the scores against Spain and Portugal. Germany haven't looked that good since with their wobbly defense. Holland still look pretty good but not as good. Who's going to win? Who knows but it's been a good tournament so far!

Think Belgium actually started to look a little like the strong dark horses people have mentioned. Excellent players from back to front. U.S. threw a lot at them last night and Belgium still looked very classy a lot of the time. If Howard hadn't had such an absurdly good game (most saves in a World Cup game ever apparently), I'm not sure it would have been quite the spectacle it turned out to be in the end.

Belgium or Colombia to win it?

ooooh Columbia..  Now that sounds like a team I might be able to root for.. Although, I still can't get the memory of the guy they killed for scoring on his own goal..

[misty_mountainhop]

ooooh Columbia..  Now that sounds like a team I might be able to root for.. Although, I still can't get the memory of the guy they killed for scoring on his own goal..

Yeah. That's a bit of a downer isn't it? Think I read somewhere that the country is a lot better than when Escobar was murdered. They've been playing excellent football to-date though. We'll know more after they've face Brazil on Friday.

[FarawayFairways]

Unless I can't see well through my star-spangled glasses, it looked to me like the flopping was kept to a minimum by both sides.

I thought it was a very clean game, which shows what it could look like if it weren't for the Mediterranean and South American diving cultures. I do wonder if America responded to that NY Times survey that suggested they were the sixth worst offenders for what they called 'writhing time' and cut it out last night. In that regard, they showed the world an example and if they can bring that into the game as a substantive contribution, then they'll be most welcome. It's also worth mentioning of course that with the USA not throwing themselves to ground and engaging in Oscar winning performances, the Belgians actually responded and did similarly. In truth all countries indulge in diving to a greater or lesser extent, but it's not quite so prevalent in northern Europe. One suspects that had you been playing our own arch injury fakers, shirt tuggers, time wasters, referee baiters, and general low level niggly disruptive (Italy) it would have been different

Very interesting to see where the US goes next. The potential is huge. The next few decisions will be crucial. Is it just a trendy a fashion item? Well if it is it'll fizzle out.

It's often said America only follows sports it can win at, and that this is one of the reasons why the sporting landscape is dominated by domestic competitions and you have little international perspective. You only need to see how things like heavy weight boxing and Ryder Cup have declined. Well I've got news for you. Winning a world cup is bloody difficult, and requires no small amount of luck along the way. I think a wave of euphoria can carry a team beyond their natural level temporarily, but to sustain that, you need substance behind it

A lot of you have rightly pointed out that Belgium could have scored a sackful, and if the USA has got any serious aspirations they have to be able to put the likes of Belgium, England, Colombia, Portugal and those upper middling teams away. I think that's the level they're at the moment, but the tantalising prospect here is that unlike most teams where you can see more or less where their natural ceiling will be, we simply don't know where that limit might be with the US. America is the one country that break a mould, and it could happen very quickly. Personally I'd like to have seen how the US would have played with the extra 24 hours that Belgium had, and with 5 times less travel between venues. They were second best, but they had chances, and with a more sympathetic handling would have gone into last nights match on a more even keel

It could be a really exciting time. Those of you saying "next time" or "four years time" are likely to be well off the mark, but you'd be a long way from being the only deluded football fans on the planet. Indeed, you could almost argue that irrational optimism is a big part of the football fans DNA, even a necessary part, as the dashed hope is what makes the final arrival so much more rewarding (or so I'm told, I can't think that many of many teams have ever arrived!). And yet having dismissed the prospects for 2018, there is a bit of me thinking that if I were looking for a country to take to go forward who could spring the surprise, it would have to be the USA

There's an old adage in football where fans will often tell you we "need two new players" you sense a little bit that's where the US are. A creative midfield general and a second goal scorer. It's there, it's really up to the US now to decide whether they want to go to the moon or not

[misty_mountainhop]

I thought it was a very clean game, which shows what it could look like if it weren't for the Mediterranean and South American diving cultures. I do wonder if America responded to that NY Times survey that suggested they were the sixth worst offenders for what they called 'writhing time' and cut it out last night. In that regard, they showed the world an example and if they can bring that into the game as a substantive contribution, then they'll be most welcome. It's also worth mentioning of course that with the USA not throwing themselves to ground and engaging in Oscar winning performances, the Belgians actually responded and did similarly. In truth all countries indulge in diving to a greater or lesser extent, but it's not quite so prevalent in northern Europe. One suspects that had you been playing our own arch injury fakers, shirt tuggers, time wasters, referee baiters, and general low level niggly disruptive (Italy) it would have been different....

The referee(s) have a big part to play with this and I think he did well last night. Let the game flow and didn't have any time for minor issues or faking. Once players know the play acting won't work, they soon get on with playing the game.

If the game was more honest at the top (I give you Sepp Blatter etc as examples - what leadership!) they might be stronger about introducing measures to cut out the cheating...or "simulation" (talk about weasel words, they can't even call it like it is!) and backing their own officials in attempts to get rid of something that really drags the game down.