World Cup 2014

[bjornolf]

Man, those two blown chances were HUGE!

[Lavabe]

Man, those two blown chances were HUGE!

Also HUGE were the tv ratings. According to ESPN, more viewers have been watching the US World Cup games than watched the average NBA finals game between San Antonio and Miami. Of course there will be a dropoff, now that the US and Mexico are eliminated, but still, it was a good showing.

Don't know how the ratings compared with Yankees vs. Red Sox. I will say, however, that they sure did plug those baseball games during the World Cup. ;)

[awhom111]

The OY World Cup thread has basically gone off the rails, so I figured I might as well post my thoughts on the actual upcoming games here.

France vs Germany:
France has looked pretty solid in this tournament so far while one gets the feeling that Germany had a great opening performance and has not lived up fully to its potential since then. If Mamadou Sakho is healthy, France may continue to deploy its talented, but extremely young and inexperienced central defensive duo. That could be a vulnerable spot for a team that has not had to fight through much adversity in the tournament so far. Germany has no shortage of attacking options, but their own defense has had its issues. I think this game will depend on how Germany approaches the game tactically. If they try the same things that they have been doing for their previous games, I think France will have the advantage. If they find a way to shore up their defense and pick the right attacking players, I think that they will be back to their best.

Brazil vs Colombia:
The hosts get another tough South American test against a team that has been impressive in all of their games so far. Brazil has been trotting out basically the same lineup for every game, but will now need to make a change to their midfield and try to support the ailing Neymar as much as possible. Colombia has made multiple tweaks to their lineups, but the key will again be James Rodriguez controlling the game and getting forward to help score the goals. I think this game will come down to who can get the early momentum. If Brazil does, their fans could drive them to the win. Those same fans could also turn on their team if Colombia seizes the advantage.

[Lavabe]

The OY World Cup thread has basically gone off the rails, so I figured I might as well post my thoughts on the actual upcoming games here.

I ventured over there once after the England vs. Italy match, and immediately I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore, and that I had entered Fight Club. It's really why I just can't get into that site anymore. Life's too short.

[DukieInKansas]

The OY World Cup thread has basically gone off the rails, so I figured I might as well post my thoughts on the actual upcoming games here.

I ventured over there once after the England vs. Italy match, and immediately I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore, and that I had entered Fight Club. It's really why I just can't get into that site anymore. Life's too short.

Wait - you were in Kansas and didn't call or visit me?



Must admit that when the posts seem to be a page long, I get blurry eyed and skip most of it.

[Lavabe]

France vs Germany:
France has looked pretty solid in this tournament so far while one gets the feeling that Germany had a great opening performance and has not lived up fully to its potential since then. If Mamadou Sakho is healthy, France may continue to deploy its talented, but extremely young and inexperienced central defensive duo. That could be a vulnerable spot for a team that has not had to fight through much adversity in the tournament so far. Germany has no shortage of attacking options, but their own defense has had its issues. I think this game will depend on how Germany approaches the game tactically. If they try the same things that they have been doing for their previous games, I think France will have the advantage. If they find a way to shore up their defense and pick the right attacking players, I think that they will be back to their best.

France has an experienced Evra in the back to help the young'uns. Personally, I feel that France's offense against Germany's defense is slightly better than Germany's offense against France's offense. If Giroud finally clicks, I would certainly pick Les Bleus. Then again, this tourney is not about the paper lineups; it seems to be how the teams adapt to bizarre situations. For example, do we accept the belief that seven German team players are affected by the flu? What if Evra reverts to his relatively poor form at ManU this last season (or was that just a wash of a season with all the Moyes issues). What does a fresh Podolski do for Mannschaft?

[Lavabe]

... and immediately I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore, and that I had entered Fight Club.

Wait - you were in Kansas and didn't call or visit me?



Must admit that when the posts seem to be a page long, I get blurry eyed and skip most of it.

I DO need to visit you at some point. I have a good start on meeting the Geographically-Named CrazieTalkers: BostonDevil (in Cambridge), IowaDevil (in Iowa), ...

[Lavabe]

Brazil vs Colombia:
The hosts get another tough South American test against a team that has been impressive in all of their games so far. Brazil has been trotting out basically the same lineup for every game, but will now need to make a change to their midfield and try to support the ailing Neymar as much as possible. Colombia has made multiple tweaks to their lineups, but the key will again be James Rodriguez controlling the game and getting forward to help score the goals. I think this game will come down to who can get the early momentum. If Brazil does, their fans could drive them to the win. Those same fans could also turn on their team if Colombia seizes the advantage.

Waiting for the beautiful game to appear.
Waiting for HULK to take command.
Waiting for David Luiz to show that he's more than just a walking commercial.
Waiting for the announcers to say something other than "Samba Nation."
If ANY of the Brazilian stars show up and play with JCesar and Neymar, then Brazil wins. Paging Oscar! Neymar will continue to give all he can, but really, Brazil has worked him to death.
But yeah... the fans are fickle.
For these reasons, Colombia should win. If Brazil's team on paper actually shows up, they win.

[Lavabe]

Germany 1 - 0 France, halfway through the first half
Germany changed up its lineup, moving Lahm to the defense (BIG improvement) and Klose goes up front.
France changed up its lineup too, putting Griezmann up with Benzema. Sakho and Evra in the rear. Interesting moves for both teams.

[Lavabe]

Germany 1 - 0 France
Boring. France did very little until the very end. Germany did enough to win.

[YmoBeThere]

That's okay, I'm just hoping for a Brazil-Germany matchup on Tuesday.

[Lavabe]

Got to love the Brazilian coach who responded to the press/criticism of his coaching and that his players were too emotional after the win the other day, by saying that his critics can "go to Hell."

Damn... between the emotional Julio Cesar and the coach, I can really now pull for Brazil. I still really like Julio Cesar from QPR days.
And I love how the music of their anthem stops, and the crowd continues with the anthem.

Go Brazil!!

[Lavabe]

7th minute: Brazil 1 - 0 Colombia
Silva header off a Neymar cross. WOW!

[Lavabe]

Brazil 2-0 Colombia
68th minute: David Luiz (Sideshow Bob) scores on a direct free kick, set piece situation. Gorgeous shot.
Brazil's a whole lot more formidable when it isn't just Neymar on offense. On the other hand, Silva picked up a second yellow in the tourney, meaning he will miss the next game against Germany (assuming Brazil holds on).

[Lavabe]

Brazil 2 - 1 Colombia
79th minute: Julio Cesar gets a yellow card defending his goal. James Rodriguez gets the penalty kick.
Brazil is lucky that they didn't give Julio Cesar a red card.
Colombia is turning on the pressure.

[Lavabe]

88th minute: Neymar is knocked down with a cynical challenge... knee to his back. He is hauled off. The game has gotten very chippy.

[Lavabe]

Brazil wins 2-1... no Silva and possibly no Neymar for the next game... Germany.

[YmoBeThere]

This is a tall task for the Brazilians if they do not have Thiago Silva and Neymar.

James Rodriguez has been by far the best player I've seen this WC. Unfortunately, Colombia doesn't have enough around him. Maybe in 4 years when he is 26.

[awhom111]

Like I said, if Germany changed it up, they would have the advantage and they returned to their more traditional 4-2-3-1 then scored their goal by beating one of France's young central defenders.

Tomorrow opens up with Argentina and Belgium. Argentina always has high expectations, but Belgium's influx of talent has suddenly raised their expectations as well. One can get the feeling from both teams so far that they have not hit their full stride, but they have both found ways to win games. Argentina is going to have to face a more dynamic attack than in their other games, although Belgium has not completely figured out how to create synergy between their chosen strikers and their bevy of attacking midfielders. With the greater attacking threat from Argentina, Belgium's midfield is going to have to do more work to support their defenders. As is the case with Germany, I think Belgium could be in trouble if they rely on four natural central defenders, which makes them less mobile in dealing with attackers and less able to contribute additional width when they get the ball and try to create scoring opportunities. With at least one forced change, Argentina will again be making some key decisions on finding a lineup that will work well together without the attacking players getting in each other's way.

Costa Rica gets to be the last representative of our region against the Netherlands. Costa Rica hopefully managed to get adequate rest from their extra time off after the last game after they ran themselves into the ground trying to edge out Greece. To me, Costa Rica needs to keep the game close for a while and look to strike late. Trying to sit on an early lead and play defensively is likely to tire them out again and Joel Campbell worked so hard in the last game with limited support. The Netherlands looked set to rampage through the competition after impressive early performances, but needed late heroics to win in regulation in their last game against Mexico. If Costa Rica sits back defensively, the Dutch team will need to attack in a different way than they have so far. The Netherlands has had a lot of success with eight field players thinking defense first, relying on Arjen Robben to run wild and set up chances for Robin van Persie. With Wesley Sneijder and Klaas Jan Huntelaar contributing in the last game, the team looks prepared to have a more varied attack. The team will also have to deal with the absence of their key defensive player in midfield so they will need to get the balance in that part of the field right to negate the impact of Celso Borges from Costa Rica. The Dutch have to be considered heavy favorites by a larger margin than any of the other quarterfinalists.

[YmoBeThere]

Neymar definitely out.