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Watching the spain game, I felt bad for Casillas. On the other hand, hahahahahahah. Love to see the clear favourite get crushed.
As for the England game, spoilered as it's basically just finished:
Spoiler:
For me, both sides had three main weaknesses:
For England:
- the full backs needed to communicate more with their respective wide midfielders and center backs, too many gaps opened when they weren't covering for one another, which led to Balotelli's goal. Johnson was marking Marchisio so he wasn't at the far post, and Cahill wasn't covering it fully, assuming he was there.
- In the first half, the forwards struggled with having that instinct of being in the right place at the right time. Too many crosses and driven passes into the box and not enough white shirts on the end of it.
- In the second half, though they had great build up play, the wingers and midfielders really struggled with making that one last pass to have a shot on goal, especially when crossing the ball.
For Italy:
- Sirigu, though he didn't concede any goals due to a mistake, his positioning seemed off- with England's goal, he was too close to the near post to even have a chance of intercepting a cross if it came closer to him, and could've come closer to saving the volley at the far post. Also, when Rooney had the shot go wide of the near post, he was far too committed to the far post, left his entire right side of the goal wide open.
- The Italian defenders were either too reckless in their challenges, or too cautious about it.
- Pirlo can only do so much when Balotelli's the only player forward and is marked by two players, and everyone else is just chilling in the midfield- they needed to make more runs.
But overall, both teams played very well, and despite my concerns over the youth of England, not a single one of them played poorly. If only England had a goal poacher and/or target man in the front to slot home those driven crosses and find those pockets of space in the penalty area. Shows great promise for the future, not just in the current world cup, but in the next few to come.
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
Nothing makes me appreciate ice hockey's rules against embellishment like watching World Cup soccer.
This is why this game's never going to truly catch on in America: it's all about who can take the lightest possible hit yet scream and flop the loudest.
Rooney had to be the worst player in the England game last night, no idea what he was doing. Sterling just done nothing but impress me on the other hand.
Bruins fan till the end.
Never assume anything, it will only make an ass of you and me.
Seaward wrote: Nothing makes me appreciate ice hockey's rules against embellishment like watching World Cup soccer.
This is why this game's never going to truly catch on in America: it's all about who can take the lightest possible hit yet scream and flop the loudest.
Azza007 wrote: Rooney had to be the worst player in the England game last night, no idea what he was doing. Sterling just done nothing but impress me on the other hand.
He set up the first goal for Sturridge if you remember and he's being played out of place from where he is meant to be played. It also doesn't help that the media is slating him either, which is unfair considering. Also he played very well in my opinion and had chances but Italy were the better side last night.
I thought Argentina played very poorly tonight. I thought Messi was hugely overrated during the 2010 cup, and I didn't see anything to convince me otherwise today. Not impressed. They'll make it through to the elimination round on account of how easy their group is, but I don't think they'll go further than the quarter finals.
AFP wrote:Prostitutes play football match on World Cup sidelines
Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazilian prostitutes and a Christian evangelical group played a football match Saturday in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, taking over a central street to raise awareness about sex workers' rights.
Gathering just after Colombia played Greece in the southeastern city, the women set up an impromptu pitch using traffic cones for goalposts and played to the enthusiastic cheers of onlookers.
The prostitutes, calling themselves the Naked Football Club -- though in fact they played in the green and yellow uniforms of Brazil -- teamed up with the visiting evangelicals from the United States to take on a local university team in a match with a message.
"Rights must be the same for everyone. We're no different from anyone else just because we're sex workers," player Patricia Bonges told AFP.
"We are finally breaking that prejudice and stigma."
Her American teammate Jenny Jack said the game was about showing that "you just love people, you don't judge, you don't change people, you just love them."
Prostitutes in Brazil have long complained of discrimination and called for the government to treat their profession like any other, including with programs to help older sex workers.
The match was organized by the Prostitutes' Association of Minas Gerais, the state where Belo Horizonte is located.
The association has also helped some of the city's 80,000 sex workers prepare for the World Cup by offering free English classes at a local mall.
d-usa wrote: That hasn't stopped the NBA from being popular
The NBA's full of divers.
It's nowhere near as bad as soccer, though. I like soccer. I enjoy watching it. But the fact that "who can look like the biggest pussy" is part and parcel of the game seriously diminishes it.
It is a pain in the rear, even more so when "I'm hurt, I'm hurt" is just a way to try to milk time off the clock.
5 minutes left in the game and somebody from the team that is ahead goes down, even if it's not a dive, and then just lays there in agony and pain barely even alive after their traumatic injury.
Poor guy can't move, probably broke both his legs, might even be paralized. Tick tock tick tock.
Referee get's tired of this crap and calls for a stretcher. It's a miracle that they can even get this broken man on the stretcher without killing him. They barely managed to carry him off the field alive. Tick tock tick tock.
The stretcher gets to the sideline and is finally off the field. 2-3 minutes have been wasted on this crap. And what does our traumatized player do? He jumps of the stretcher and walks over to the trainer to get some magic spray or goes straight to the sideline official to get back into the game.
The referees should just grow a pair of balls on that one and just go straight for a red. But that's just me. Although I think "time wasting" is just a yellow, but they don't even get that. Of course booking him will just result in 60 more seconds of arguing which is what they were going for to begin with...
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/06/16 07:29:17
Azza007 wrote: Rooney had to be the worst player in the England game last night, no idea what he was doing. Sterling just done nothing but impress me on the other hand.
He set up the first goal for Sturridge if you remember and he's being played out of place from where he is meant to be played. It also doesn't help that the media is slating him either, which is unfair considering. Also he played very well in my opinion and had chances but Italy were the better side last night.
In my opinion, they should've played him as a centre forward or not at all. He just doesn't have the pace or finesse to play as a winger nearly as much as other players sat on the bench- even Sturridge and Welbeck could have done better down the sides. That said, he did have a lot of defending to do with Candreva tearing up his side constantly- I reckon if he'd have been on the other side he'd have had more freedom to attack.
creeping-deth87 wrote:I thought Argentina played very poorly tonight. I thought Messi was hugely overrated during the 2010 cup, and I didn't see anything to convince me otherwise today. Not impressed. They'll make it through to the elimination round on account of how easy their group is, but I don't think they'll go further than the quarter finals.
Messi's never been good at international tournaments, and he's only said to be as good as he is in them because he's so amazing for Barcelona. And they just don't have the defense needed to progress far- sure, they have probably the best strike force of any nation- Tevez (going to Disneyland this year), Di Maria, Aguero and Messi, but they don't have many good defenders, and those they do have are getting old.
Seaward wrote:
d-usa wrote: That hasn't stopped the NBA from being popular
The NBA's full of divers.
It's nowhere near as bad as soccer, though. I like soccer. I enjoy watching it. But the fact that "who can look like the biggest pussy" is part and parcel of the game seriously diminishes it.
I'm pretty sure every single player, referee, manager and fan agrees, but it's literally just the one group who can change it- FIFA- who don't want to, and I'm yet to hear a decent excuse as to why. Though they have started using goal line technology, so I'm thinking that's probably the start of implementing after-the-fact replays to influence decisions.
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
If the NBA can look at tape and fine a player after the game, then FIFA has no excuse.
Edit: although it would be interesting how such a fine would be implemented at the World Cup level. Some countries have players with more money than others, so some of our bigger nations could afford to dive while it would keep smaller nations from diving. Which would just make things unfair since you shouldn't be able to buy the tactical benefit of a dive.
Deduct it from any payouts to the national federations? After the game cards for players and suspensions?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/06/16 09:51:18
Seaward wrote: Nothing makes me appreciate ice hockey's rules against embellishment like watching World Cup soccer.
This is why this game's never going to truly catch on in America: it's all about who can take the lightest possible hit yet scream and flop the loudest.
Kind of like basketball then?
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
shrike wrote: Though they have started using goal line technology, so I'm thinking that's probably the start of implementing after-the-fact replays to influence decisions.
I like that they are finally using vanishing spray. We have used it in MLS for a few years and it really is amazing how little "let me just throw the ball a little bit closer once more" and "let me inch a couple of feet closer to the kicker" goes on once you mark the spots. Do you guys use it in the PL?
I'm looking forward to Germany Portugal today, but I'd hate to be a water bottle if Germany lose! I remember Germany's defeat to Serbia in the last world cup, and the comedy gold that Loew provided on the touchlines. Bottles booted, lucky jersey thrown aside!
Seaward wrote: Nothing makes me appreciate ice hockey's rules against embellishment like watching World Cup soccer.
This is why this game's never going to truly catch on in America: it's all about who can take the lightest possible hit yet scream and flop the loudest.
Kind of like basketball then?
Frazz, my local bookmaker is giving odds of 5000-1 that the USA will invade Brazil, if the USA don't win the world cup!
Any signs of a military build up in Texas?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/06/16 12:50:07
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
d-usa wrote:If the NBA can look at tape and fine a player after the game, then FIFA has no excuse.
Edit: although it would be interesting how such a fine would be implemented at the World Cup level. Some countries have players with more money than others, so some of our bigger nations could afford to dive while it would keep smaller nations from diving. Which would just make things unfair since you shouldn't be able to buy the tactical benefit of a dive.
Deduct it from any payouts to the national federations? After the game cards for players and suspensions?
What's even more annoying is that they fine players for violence, like Ribery slapping Carvajal in the Bayern/Real game in the Champion's League finals, but not for stuff like diving.
d-usa wrote:
shrike wrote: Though they have started using goal line technology, so I'm thinking that's probably the start of implementing after-the-fact replays to influence decisions.
I like that they are finally using vanishing spray. We have used it in MLS for a few years and it really is amazing how little "let me just throw the ball a little bit closer once more" and "let me inch a couple of feet closer to the kicker" goes on once you mark the spots. Do you guys use it in the PL?
No, but people have been pushing for it for a while now. Actually, this is the first time I've seen it used in football ever.
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote: I'm looking forward to Germany Portugal today, but I'd hate to be a water bottle if Germany lose! I remember Germany's defeat to Serbia in the last world cup, and the comedy gold that Loew provided on the touchlines. Bottles booted, lucky jersey thrown aside!
Seaward wrote: Nothing makes me appreciate ice hockey's rules against embellishment like watching World Cup soccer.
This is why this game's never going to truly catch on in America: it's all about who can take the lightest possible hit yet scream and flop the loudest.
Kind of like basketball then?
Frazz, my local bookmaker is giving odds of 5000-1 that the USA will invade Brazil, if the USA don't win the world cup!
Any signs of a military build up in Texas?
We had a massive biker rally in Austin. There's your clue.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Just infest the field with red ant nests. No one one will lay down again ever. Plus everyone will keep moving to keep the ants from climbing their shoes and eating them alive. its perfect. best of all, its NATURE.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
What's even more annoying is that they fine players for violence, like Ribery slapping Carvajal in the Bayern/Real game in the Champion's League finals, but not for stuff like diving.
What's even more ironic than that, is that some of the least likely to dive during their careers (aka, acting) went on to ACTUAL acting careers
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Frazzled wrote: Just infest the field with red ant nests. No one one will lay down again ever. Plus everyone will keep moving to keep the ants from climbing their shoes and eating them alive. its perfect. best of all, its NATURE.
Frazz, I once played rugby on a field that had about a hundred fire ant nests, and I can assure you that it does indeed suck. (Best of all for me, I didn't get tackled or "lay down" near or on a nest, but I did tackle/throw a dude onto one )
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/06/16 16:13:08
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