2014 FIFA World Cup - Discussion

[Phil89]

Also, they didn't have a decent GK.

Not decent? According to most websites and critics, Bravo has been one of the best GK of the tournament. Even in FIFA's website he's ranked 3rd.

He's just moved to Barcelona as well hasn't he?


If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

In every match I've seen him in this World Cup so far he has acted like he's been shot whenever opponents tackle him.

I assume Robben will be back in Rio in 2016 to compete for the men's 10m platform diving gold medal.




I felt so bad for Mexico. For me they were the better team on the day and to lose it that late was harsh.


I somehow woke up today just before the Costa Rica/Greece penalty shoot-out. Glad the fairytale is still going.

[SoF'nAwesome]

I like Costa Roca. Sadly, they will be facing the Dutch.

Not the dominating performance from the Dutch I expected. Van Persie showing his true color and copping out with loss in mind. Give Huntelaar the start from now on.

Again, Robben is the man of the match. He alone kept their offense alive. lolz at Sneijder scoring, God couldn't have been crueler towards Ochoa

Shame on them, how dare they to get tired.

I don't think fatigue was the reason they stopped attacking. They just wanted to make it to the penalties without conceiving a goal.

But calm down. I'm not hating on Chile. I'm always rooting for the teams playing against Argentina and Brazil.

Not decent? According to most websites and critics, Bravo has been one of the best GK of the tournament. Even in FIFA's website he's ranked 3rd.

I don't care where FIFA and the critics ranked him. In that penalty shootout I would rate him 3/10 while Julio Cesar 9/10.

The issue is that even though it was a penalty, if Robben hadn't "flopped" the penalty would never have been given. This is a major issue if you ask me, since a penalty is (almost) never given when the player doesn't fall.

This.

Like the first time when Robben jumped over Marquez to take a shot but Ochoa saved the one on one. The commentator kept saying "if he had just fallen, it would have been a penalty there." For a moment it felt like Robben would be haunted forever for not falling down there.

But the penalty was fair. Marquez made that unnecessary tackle. Huntelaar kept his calm and beat God Ochoa.

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

If FIFA started doing that, Neymar would have had only 1 or 2 appearances this World Cup and Suarez wouldn't have needed that ban to be removed from the World Cup. Those are your top 2 there.

[shadowgrin]

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[shadowgrin]

Nigeria goalie Black Superman can't carry the team all by himself against stinking France.

[Jackal]

Nigeria goalie Black Superman can't carry the team all by himself against stinking France.

What a badass.

I was rooting against France too.

[shadowgrin]

OOOZIIIL!!!

[Nightfly67]

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

Robben flopped once, he even admitted it and apologized for it. Did you call the double attack on Robben where Moreno broke his shinbone a flop? The actual penalty was a "flop", but there was contact. The defender was stupid sticking his leg out and leaving it there for Robben to fall over.

[Phil89]

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

If FIFA started doing that, Neymar would have had only 1 or 2 appearances this World Cup and Suarez wouldn't have needed that ban to be removed from the World Cup. Those are your top 2 there.

I disagree. Suarez largely stopped all that theatrical crap last season.

Robben on the other hand seems to be getting worse. He did it in the CL this year and brought that form to the WC. The stupid thing is that even with his reputation of going down easily, referees still fall for it.

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

Robben flopped once, he even admitted it and apologized for it. Did you call the double attack on Robben where Moreno broke his shinbone a flop? The actual penalty was a "flop", but there was contact. The defender was stupid sticking his leg out and leaving it there for Robben to fall over.

I have no problem with him going down if there is contact. But the way he flails his body like he has been shot is ridiculous.

He dove three times that I counted. The Moreno incident was not one of those. That was probably actually a penalty, just like when Vlaar kicked Herrera in the head early in the game.



The first dive was near the edge of the box in the first half. The referee clearly saw it and waved advantage when Mexico got the ball. The commentator even mentioned that the referee should go back and give Robben a yellow card for diving when play stopped.

The second one was about 70 minutes into the game, inside the box looking for a penalty. I assume that is the one he admitted to after the game.

And, for me, the penalty at the end was a dive because even after all the replays I've seen, I'm not convinced there was contact. At least not sufficient contact to make him fall over the way he did.




Whether or not that was actually a penalty, I still don't understand how anyone can defend him.

Funny how every time he gets "fouled" his body falls the same way, no matter what type of "contact" he gets.

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[[Q]]

USA USA

dammit, work is preventing me from catching any of this weekday action.

[shadowgrin]

Rather than try and eradicate the memory of his shot that was agonisingly close to causing a huge upset, Pinilla has chosen to get a tattoo of it on his lower back, with the line, 'One centimetre from glory'.

[shadowgrin]

Potential game tying goal blocked by the goal post again to give Argentina a 1-0 win in extra time against Switzerland.

The goal posts and crossbar should be named dick posts and dickbar for being dicks.

[Nightfly67]

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

If FIFA started doing that, Neymar would have had only 1 or 2 appearances this World Cup and Suarez wouldn't have needed that ban to be removed from the World Cup. Those are your top 2 there.

I disagree. Suarez largely stopped all that theatrical crap last season.

Robben on the other hand seems to be getting worse. He did it in the CL this year and brought that form to the WC. The stupid thing is that even with his reputation of going down easily, referees still fall for it.

If the ref had given Robben even one yellow card for diving earlier in the match (I counted two dives), he wouldn't have done what he did at the end. I thought FIFA wanted to stamp this crap out of the game, not reward it. It's embarrassing.

Robben flopped once, he even admitted it and apologized for it. Did you call the double attack on Robben where Moreno broke his shinbone a flop? The actual penalty was a "flop", but there was contact. The defender was stupid sticking his leg out and leaving it there for Robben to fall over.

I have no problem with him going down if there is contact. But the way he flails his body like he has been shot is ridiculous.

He dove three times that I counted. The Moreno incident was not one of those. That was probably actually a penalty, just like when Vlaar kicked Herrera in the head early in the game.

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The first dive was near the edge of the box in the first half. The referee clearly saw it and waved advantage when Mexico got the ball. The commentator even mentioned that the referee should go back and give Robben a yellow card for diving when play stopped.

The second one was about 70 minutes into the game, inside the box looking for a penalty. I assume that is the one he admitted to after the game.

And, for me, the penalty at the end was a dive because even after all the replays I've seen, I'm not convinced there was contact. At least not sufficient contact to make him fall over the way he did.

[ Image ]


Whether or not that was actually a penalty, I still don't understand how anyone can defend him.

Funny how every time he gets "fouled" his body falls the same way, no matter what type of "contact" he gets.

[ Image ]

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I find it kind of funny how Robben always gets singled out (Ok, to fault of his own). At least he's not doing it as much as he used to do. I really don't like all the flopping, but Robben isn't the only player doing it, not by a mile. I can name you 10 players from the top of my head who've done it more than once this World Cup. At least Robben was man enough to admit his flop in the first half, I find that commendable. Thankfully commentators don't dictate who get's a yellow card. The penalty was just smart by Robben, and stupid by the defender. You don't leave your leg hanging out there for the other player to fall over. Look at what Shaqiri did at the end of the Argentina game, that's smart. As long as referees don't start calling fouls (especially penalties) when the player stays on his feet, I can't fault players for calling attention to the foul by flopping.

What I have more of an issue with is the Mexican coach asking, begging, screaming for yellow cards. The 4th official should be allowed to punch the coach in the face when they do that...

[shadowgrin]

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/lists/19 ... ntary.html

[formx]

Anorexic Brian Grant can't do anything right for the US

[shadowgrin]

RIP USA soccer, may you rest for another 4 years.

[zz21]

http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/stor ... mnt-follow

[[Q]]

Donovan would've hit that shot

[shadowgrin]

The US wouldn't even be out of the group stage if Donovan was hogging possessions and being a liability on defense.

[Drex]

I don't care where FIFA and the critics ranked him. In that penalty shootout I would rate him 3/10 while Julio Cesar 9/10.

He saved one and had a hand in another that got in (Marcelo). Julio Cesar saved two. Your rating system and choice of words seems odd, to say the least.


What a WC has been so far. So many OT's and near-goals at the end of matches. Very entertaining. Colombia looks like a clear favorite, only team that has dominated every game so far.

[Phil89]

I find it kind of funny how Robben always gets singled out (Ok, to fault of his own). At least he's not doing it as much as he used to do. I really don't like all the flopping, but Robben isn't the only player doing it, not by a mile. I can name you 10 players from the top of my head who've done it more than once this World Cup. At least Robben was man enough to admit his flop in the first half, I find that commendable. Thankfully commentators don't dictate who get's a yellow card. The penalty was just smart by Robben, and stupid by the defender. You don't leave your leg hanging out there for the other player to fall over. Look at what Shaqiri did at the end of the Argentina game, that's smart. As long as referees don't start calling fouls (especially penalties) when the player stays on his feet, I can't fault players for calling attention to the foul by flopping.

What I have more of an issue with is the Mexican coach asking, begging, screaming for yellow cards. The 4th official should be allowed to punch the coach in the face when they do that...

To say he's not doing it as much as he used to only shows how much he was doing it a few years ago.

I don't think admitting to cheating is commendable. I was shocked that FIFA didn't punish him after he admitted it. Actually, no I wasn't. FIFA are a bunch of inept, corrupt politicians.

I agree with the yellow card thing though. It's unsportsmanlike to ask the referee to punish opponents. Seems to be the natural thing in South American countries though. Win at any cost, get any advantage you can etc.

Although Spain are probably the champions at it.

Donovan would've hit that shot

Will Donovan be back at the next WC at 36 years old?

[Phil89]

Quarter finals are set now. All the group winners won in the round of 16 matches.

France vs Germany

Brazil vs Colombia

Argentina vs Belgium

Netherlands vs Costa Rica

Predictions?


Mine:

Germany
Colombia
Argentina
Costa Rica

Think Colombia can break Brazilian hearts with Rodriguez starring again. Neymar under an injury cloud.

Would love to see Costa Rica continue their fairytale run as well. Dutch haven't really impressed me outside of the Spain game and Robben on counter attacks.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Like the previous 2nd round prediction set, all on the left.

The 2nd round matches were great. Netherlands one probably the best.

He saved one and had a hand in another that got in (Marcelo). Julio Cesar saved two. Your rating system and choice of words seems odd, to say the least.

The one he saved was just mere luck. He somehow got his left leg there. Julio Cesar dived and saved. Bravo kept diving in the same fucking left side. And Willian screwed up, so basically he had one lucky touch and 2 saves.

But he is now in Barca, so no point in talking about his quality.

[shadowgrin]

Mine's the same...

Germany
Colombia
Argentina
Costa Rica

...but mine are more like homer picks than predictions.

Germany-France could go either way but I prefer ze Germans.

lol fuck Brazil and Tales.

Going with Argentina because Belgium is fucking annoying to watch. It's like they only realize in the final minutes that they are in a match and suddenly decide to play football.

Netherlands hate simply because of dick Van Perise but if Holland meets and beats Brazil in the final I'm fine with the Dutch winning it all.

[Nightfly67]

To say he's not doing it as much as he used to only shows how much he was doing it a few years ago.

I don't think admitting to cheating is commendable. I was shocked that FIFA didn't punish him after he admitted it. Actually, no I wasn't. FIFA are a bunch of inept, corrupt politicians.

I agree with the yellow card thing though. It's unsportsmanlike to ask the referee to punish opponents. Seems to be the natural thing in South American countries though. Win at any cost, get any advantage you can etc.

Although Spain are probably the champions at it.

I don't think anyone is saying that he wasn't doing it a few years ago. But in recent recent years, there are players who have been flopping quite a bit more compared to Robben. I don't think it's something that can be taken out of the game anymore. Call it the "sissyfication" of football, with the flopping, faking injuries, annoying colored shoes...

If more players would admit to their flopping, I'd have much less of an issue with it. The problem is, is that they (refs) don't punish it enough with cards when they see it happening. I don't mind a flop when there's contact, but I hate it when they go down screaming like they broke both their legs.

Netherlands hate simply because of dick Van Perise but if Holland meets and beats Brazil in the final I'm fine with the Dutch winning it all.

Does he (Robin van Persie) piss in your cereal every morning or something?

[Drex]

The one he saved was just mere luck. He somehow got his left leg there. Julio Cesar dived and saved. Bravo kept diving in the same fucking left side. And Willian screwed up, so basically he had one lucky touch and 2 saves.

LOL, talking about luck yet Pinilla's PK was in the middle and Julio Cesar just stood there and saved it. Seriously, stop, you're getting ridiculous.