2014 World Cup

[bennocelt]

I suspect Jones' contrition was largely motivated by the fact he had just kicked Muntari in the head and didn't want to get sent off himself.

Ha yeah probably to be fair:D

[NeverFeltBetter]

Croatia do have a slight motivation to just pile it on here. If they win and then draw against Mexico, they could progress on GD if Cameroon beat Brazil :)

[NeverFeltBetter]

No one's scored from a free yet have they? Is that a side effect of the vanish spray? Does it make it harder to score, since kickers might not be used to trying to get the ball over the bar from the exact amount of yards the rules require? Does that make any sense?

[DannyInvincible]

I envisage a total Cameroon capitulation here.

Some trivia thanks to ITV: Alex Song's cousin Rigobert was the first player to be red-carded in two World Cups. He received one against Brazil in 1994 and another against Chile in 1998.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Cameroon looked wrecked. Would have thought the African team would have adjusted better to the heat than the Balkan one.

[pineapple stu]

Thought everyone knew that! A staple bit of world cup trivia.

Cameroon are playing like a Junior team now. Everyone breaking forward when they get the ball and trotting back casually when they lose possession. Definitely more goals here if Croatia want.

[pineapple stu]

Entire Cameroon defence standing in line admiring that goal. Shambolic. Not even a call for offside.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Croatia are only not scoring more because they have too many options to pass to inside the Cameroon box and hesitate.

[DannyInvincible]

No one's scored from a free yet have they? Is that a side effect of the vanish spray? Does it make it harder to score, since kickers might not be used to trying to get the ball over the bar from the exact amount of yards the rules require? Does that make any sense?

They've been using the spray in Brazilian league games for a while, but I don't believe it's thought to have had any effect on the number of free-kicks converted though. Proportionately-speaking, how many goals from free-kicks might we have expected from 20 games so far? To use a very rough and quick make-shift comparison, there were 32 goals scored directly from free-kicks during the 2012-13 English Premier League season (https://www.bsports.com/statsinsights/football/premier-league-free-kick-liverpool-man-city-utd#.U6IgEPldX_Y). That was out of a total of 380 games over the whole season. Based on that, am I right in thinking then that you might roughly expect a goal from a free-kick every 12 or 13 games or so? Or have I gotten my maths horribly wrong?... :o

I'm sure we'll see someone score a free-kick soon. :)

[NeverFeltBetter]

The Croatian boss never smiles. Celebrating the scoreline by sitting down, drinking some water and staring grimly at the evisceration happening in front of him.

[pineapple stu]

Bizarrely, Cameroon do deserve a goal here.

Granted, they deserve to have conceded about eight. But still, credit where it's due.

[DannyInvincible]

Benoît Assou-Ekotto lucky to remain on the pitch after sticking his head Pepe-style to the head of his own team-mate. Mad stuff. The ref must have missed it.

I dread to think what the Brazil-Cameroon scoreline will be...

[nigel-harps1954]

I dread to think what the Brazil-Cameroon scoreline will be...

0-0. Guaranteed.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Cameroon are a joke. Clownish from before the tournament to now.

[geysir]

Interesting discussion about Song's 'assault' on RTE.
Sadlier just wanted to go with 'moronic', 'disgraceful', etc etc.
Hamann explained what triggered Song's assault, Sadlier looked puzzled as he didn't consider there might be a context, but he cried out 'it doesn't excuse what he did'.
Hamann replied 'it's not an excuse, as it's clearly a red card offence, but I'm just explaining what triggered it, he was being fouled'.
Sadlier looked even more puzzled, unsure of himself, as he was itching to go on a rant and here was Hamann, cool composed and explaining what happened with objectivity.

[Charlie Darwin]

No one's scored from a free yet have they? Is that a side effect of the vanish spray? Does it make it harder to score, since kickers might not be used to trying to get the ball over the bar from the exact amount of yards the rules require? Does that make any sense?
Was thinking the same thing myself, but I don't think the wall being further back would affect the way the players strike the ball - all it does is give them more of a chance to get the ball up and over the wall.

[DannyInvincible]

Out of a total of 145 goals scored in the 2010 World Cup, only five were scored directly from free-kicks, according to the Independent. There were nine scored in 2006. (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/worldcup/world-cup-2014-sprays-the-way-to-try-to-force-players-into-toeing-the-line-and-cristiano-ronaldo-is-a-fan-9537841.html)

[Charlie Darwin]

Watching the second Chile goal again on BBC. Baffling decision by Casillas, but it is still such a difficult chance. He has no backlift whatsoever but he finds a way past the goalkeeper when the odds must have been well against him (although had he missed, Casillas possibly would have punched it back to him, we just don't know).

[BonnieShels]

Sooooo I seemed to have missed quite the day at world cup of soccer Fifa championship.

Thankfully I'm off work tomorrow.

So 0-0 all 'round.

[SkStu]

Just devoured today's games. Only game I've not watched was Iran v Nigeria. Deleted on the advice of Facebook. One thing that is ruining it for me is that it is nearly impossible to avoid the scores before I get to see them. Sports news on the drive home and I'm going "la, la, la, la, la, la" while reaching for the volume, pretending to myself that I didn't hear the score. Or a casual midday visit to Facebook where people like Bonnie and Nigel are yammering on like aul ones... ;-) :D

Saskatchewan, by the way, is a f*cking great place to be all things considered. But it is like 90% of North America and is at least 10 years behind Ireland and Great Britain and therefore 20 years behind the rest of Europe.

Some goal from Cahill.

[BonnieShels]

Just devoured today's games. Only game I've not watched was Iran v Nigeria. Deleted on the advice of Facebook. One thing that is ruining it for me is that it is nearly impossible to avoid the scores before I get to see them. Sports news on the drive home and I'm going "la, la, la, la, la, la" while reaching for the volume, pretending to myself that I didn't hear the score. Or a casual midday visit to Facebook where people like Bonnie and Nigel are yammering on like aul ones... ;-) :D

Saskatchewan, by the way, is a f*cking great place to be all things considered. But it is like 90% of North America and is at least 10 years behind Ireland and Great Britain and therefore 20 years behind the rest of Europe.

Some goal from Cahill.

I'm very cognisant of your wilful ignorance on FB so I do try to be circumspect. I'm gonna tag the **** outta ya tomorrow in every update.

[DannyInvincible]

Slick assistant ref reacts perfectly to getting a handshake snub:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InTnoHyOeNU

[pineapple stu]

You thanked that same post only two pages back! :p

[Stuttgart88]

Cameroon are a joke. Clownish from before the tournament to now.yep, and sad to say, but it seems like all the old cliches about African football are ringing true. It makes our performance at the euros look positively impressive.

AB, the lack of hunger you mention may have been evident under Kerr and at times under Trap when his man management skills were a topic of discussion, but I'm not convinced it applies to the group of players who'll be taking to the pitch in the next campaign.

[DannyInvincible]

You thanked that same post only two pages back! :p

Jaysis, so I did. I'm not long up. :p

For some reason, I thought I'd first seen it somewhere else last night and, as it popped up on a few other sites this morn, I thought I'd be the first post it here. osarusan, you can pass that thanks on to stu instead! :o

[osarusan]

My thanks are hereby withdrawn. Pineapple FTW!


EDIT: Actually, no, DI was kind enough to embed it. Thanks reinstated.

[pineapple stu]

Huzzah!

Though it's better to have it embedded in the post rather than hidden away behind a link in fairness.

[DannyInvincible]

Ha, cheers! Maybe its presence here hadn't properly registered with me as the original inclusion linked to an external site. All is now good.

[geysir]

England's 2nd group game is in a cooler Sao Paulo, their fans have to travel the length of Brazil just to follow their team in a group game. Didn't this group games fixture insanity become normalised at USA94, forcing fans to travel thousands of km?
Qatar would be ideal, you could travel to all venues on a Honda 50 - ideal in their winter time of course.

I'm going for England this evening, heroic defiance coupled with consummate skill.

[DeLorean]

I couldn't help feeling a bit deflated by Spain's exit. They are/were the only team in the competition that could genuinely be considered 'great'. It would have been okay if they had met two massively improved sides that genuinely had 'figured them out', but I just don't think this is the case. Holland pretty much approached the game in the same manner as 2010. Spain easily accounted for a very similar Chile side four years ago. Nothing lasts forever and all the success and mileage had to catch up with them eventually, I just think it's a bit depressing that they're not passing the baton to another potentially great side, but merely sides that can now compete with them due to their own regression.

I'm enjoying watching loads of football every day but I can't honestly claim to be enjoying the tournament itself as much as some on here. Plenty of goals but very few excellent games or team performances. I would exclude Germany from this and there has been the odd game here and there really worth watching.

I think it speaks volumes when the Dutch are (rightly) one of the favourites with the likes of Vlaar and De Guzman in their starting line up. It's a far cry from the days of Koeman and Rijkaard, not to mention their even heavier hitters!

I'll be supporting Italy all the way now, there is something really classy about them even though they look weaker than their teams of the past.

[Crosby87]

What is the best bet today if you had to pick one winner? Some of these games are unwatchable without a small wager on it.

[DeLorean]

I'd go with Japan to beat Greece. They seem to have an unbreakable spirit so should react well to their opening defeat. All three games are hard enough to call but the other two should be very watchable without a wager anyway.

[Stuttgart88]

I think DeLorean makes a fair point, but given that the big domestic leagues and the CL are multi-national affairs now, world cups take on a different level of significance and intrigue. I don't expect the World Cup to be the absolute pinnacle anymore but now I find fascinating on other levels.

I've been gripped by most of the games, intrigued by how teams play and by how coaches adapt to circumstances and I'm constantly looking for clues or lessons for Ireland. I have a soft spot for Croatia and Bosmia myself, down to my love of the Eastern European football style, but of the major nations I'm probably rooting for Italy too.

[pineapple stu]

I couldn't help feeling a bit deflated by Spain's exit. They are/were the only team in the competition that could genuinely be considered 'great'.
Controversial opinion alert!

It can't be argued that Spain aren't a great side alright, but tiki taka bored the bejaysus out of me at times. The 2010 World Cup - with four straight 1-0 wins in the knock-out stages - was its dull-ish pinnacle. Pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass - f*@1ing do something!! Be incisive! :mad:

A great side, no doubt, and always a pity to great sides pass on (as they must), but I won't necessarily mourn tiki taka if it's gone.

[DeLorean]

Yeah I can honestly say I was never bored watching Spain in their pomp, but then defensive Italian sides turn me on too! I enjoy watching a team excel at whatever it is that makes them great, once it's done with some sort of style.

[bennocelt]

What is the best bet today if you had to pick one winner? Some of these games are unwatchable without a small wager on it.


Go over to the betting part of this site!!;)

http://foot.ie/threads/190935-World-Cup-Bets/page2

[bennocelt]

Controversial opinion alert!

It can't be argued that Spain aren't a great side alright, but tiki taka bored the bejaysus out of me at times. The 2010 World Cup - with four straight 1-0 wins in the knock-out stages - was its dull-ish pinnacle. Pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass - f*@1ing do something!! Be incisive! :mad:

A great side, no doubt, and always a pity to great sides pass on (as they must), but I won't necessarily mourn tiki taka if it's gone.

Agreed. From a betting point of view I followed Spain the last few competitions, but they were hard to watch at times. Just get the ball in the box!!! I think that even though they were the best team in the last world cup, it was overall a pretty rubbish tournament. Not a whole lot would have taken to winning it.

[DeLorean]

I think DeLorean makes a fair point, but given that the big domestic leagues and the CL are multi-national affairs now, world cups take on a different level of significance and intrigue. I don't expect the World Cup to be the absolute pinnacle anymore but now I find fascinating on other levels.

I'd much prefer international football regardless of which is considered the pinnacle, I think that's a difficult thing to measure anyway. In terms of 'intrigue', international football wins hands down, and the gap is getting wider all the time. I just don't think this tournament has been great in that or any other regard so far, but then it's early days. I think we could really do with the likes of Argentina and Portugal coming good, Brazil and Holland getting their arses handed to them and Costa Rica continuing to capture the imagination along with a couple of others.

[Charlie Darwin]

I couldn't help feeling a bit deflated by Spain's exit. They are/were the only team in the competition that could genuinely be considered 'great'. It would have been okay if they had met two massively improved sides that genuinely had 'figured them out', but I just don't think this is the case. Holland pretty much approached the game in the same manner as 2010. Spain easily accounted for a very similar Chile side four years ago. Nothing lasts forever and all the success and mileage had to catch up with them eventually, I just think it's a bit depressing that they're not passing the baton to another potentially great side, but merely sides that can now compete with them due to their own regression.

I'm enjoying watching loads of football every day but I can't honestly claim to be enjoying the tournament itself as much as some on here. Plenty of goals but very few excellent games or team performances. I would exclude Germany from this and there has been the odd game here and there really worth watching.

I think it speaks volumes when the Dutch are (rightly) one of the favourites with the likes of Vlaar and De Guzman in their starting line up. It's a far cry from the days of Koeman and Rijkaard, not to mention their even heavier hitters!

I'll be supporting Italy all the way now, there is something really classy about them even though they look weaker than their teams of the past.
I wouldn't agree that Spain easily accounted for Chile four years ago. Chile played over half the game with ten men and still won the second half 1-0, after they had a man sent off for a terrible Torres dive. I think they'll have taken extra pleasure in their victory for that reason.

[Crosby87]

Is drogba coming off the bench or starting?

[DeLorean]

Well they were two up by the time Chile had the player sent off, possibly made Spain complacent if anything and, fair enough, it got nervy in the second half. My point remains that it's Spain's regression as opposed to Holland or Chile's progression that have closed the gap.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think both teams have gotten better too.

And Drogba is on the bench, Crosby.

[DeLorean]

And if you were to apportion percentages of improvement in Holland and Chile compared to Spain's percentage in decline, what would you attribute to each? I'm not convinced Holland have improved at all, possibly even gone backwards. I'd give Chile maybe a 20% improvement with some of their key players hitting their prime but the main factor is Spain's regression which must be close to 70%. A pretty crude barometer I accept :)

[geysir]

I wouldn't agree that Spain easily accounted for Chile four years ago. Chile played over half the game with ten men and still won the second half 1-0, after they had a man sent off for a terrible Torres dive. I think they'll have taken extra pleasure in their victory for that reason.
It was a thrilling game with plenty of bite and just goes to show that the boring part of tikka taka were the parked busses.

[Charlie Darwin]

I wouldn't get into percentages but I think Chile are significantly better this time. I could see them as semi-finalists or more this time around whereas last time I don't think they ever really thought they could get past Brazil, and that's with Arturo Vidal only half-fit. The Netherlands is a totally different team to four years ago and, in my opinion, the likes of Daley Blind and Martins Indi are much better suited to playing a positive passing game than the likes of Heitinga or Ooijer.

[geysir]

Netherlands have become a little less germanic since the last WC. Their so called weak link, the young defenders from their local league, have done well.

[BonnieShels]

I couldn't help feeling a bit deflated by Spain's exit. They are/were the only team in the competition that could genuinely be considered 'great'. It would have been okay if they had met two massively improved sides that genuinely had 'figured them out', but I just don't think this is the case. Holland pretty much approached the game in the same manner as 2010. Spain easily accounted for a very similar Chile side four years ago. Nothing lasts forever and all the success and mileage had to catch up with them eventually, I just think it's a bit depressing that they're not passing the baton to another potentially great side, but merely sides that can now compete with them due to their own regression.

I was positively beaming with their exit. Their victory in the last WC left a sour taste in my mouth. It was akin to Greece in 2004 with some classy players and some extra passes. Whilst I found the approach fascinating, I was never under the impression that I was watching something beautiful or great.

This Chile side are far from the one in 2010 and even the 2010 vintage weren't some two bit operation. In the lead up to this WC Chile's extra bit of oomph was gonna trouble the Spanish. And so it passed.

Spain trundled and ruthlessly passed their way to the final. Remember their performance against Paraguay? Spain were blessed in that game. For a great side it was odd that any "great" performances were kept for the Euros. Against teams I suppose they knew and players they were used to.

The Dutch of 2010 used tactics that would disrupt the Spanish rhythm as we all know that if you allowed that side, like Barca, to dictate play you end up with a an absolute walloping to go home with.

I won't lament their demise, they bored me into submission.


I'm enjoying watching loads of football every day but I can't honestly claim to be enjoying the tournament itself as much as some on here. Plenty of goals but very few excellent games or team performances. I would exclude Germany from this and there has been the odd game here and there really worth watching.

I'd agree with this. I would say my issues stem from one of two things being that I have to watch CBC (you have no idea how soccer coverage can get until you experience this) if I don't stay in to watch it online on RTÉ or BBC/ITV and the fact that with the timings specific to cater for the European audience I get caught out with work. Thankfully I'm off today.


I think it speaks volumes when the Dutch are (rightly) one of the favourites with the likes of Vlaar and De Guzman in their starting line up. It's a far cry from the days of Koeman and Rijkaard, not to mention their even heavier hitters!

Shows what a decent coach and some organisation will do, Imagine, Ron Vlaar could have a WC medal... Cruyff won't.

I thoroughly enjoyed their dismantling of Spain (obviously) but they were odd against Australia. It was like they could score at will if they wanted to but they barely went for it. It was like they had considered the hard work had been done.


I'll be supporting Italy all the way now, there is something really classy about them even though they look weaker than their teams of the past.

But it's Italy. Get them outta the group and they become a different beast. As 2006 (the greatest ever WC) showed that when they get on a roll and they have belief in the side there is nothing to stop them.

At the outset of tournaments I generally want to see Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Argentina do well or win.

So I don't think I'll be too disappointed for once.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think as defenders they probably are weaker than the last lot but they are part of an overall playing style whereas in South Africa they basically had six limited defenders and relied on keeping a clean sheet and for the flair players to do something. Similar to this Brazil side really.

Dunphy at it again. Colombia's Zapata plays for Zaragoza in Spain apparently.

[geysir]

Van Gaal is doing alright with what he has at his disposal, like always he tends to blow his own trumpet about his input but ultimately this team are not a vehicle for his ego, that weight is just too much for most teams to drag along.

[BonnieShels]

I think as defenders they probably are weaker than the last lot but they are part of an overall playing style whereas in South Africa they basically had six limited defenders and relied on keeping a clean sheet and for the flair players to do something. Similar to this Brazil side really.

Dunphy at it again. Colombia's Zapata plays for Zaragoza in Spain apparently.

Anything he can do Alan Hansen can do too. Just generic ramblings about "keeping it tight". And as for Lineker, Colombia are very like "Chile"... In what way Gary? They're name begins with "c"? They're in South America? We'll never know.

Dunphy is painful to watch here! Rabbit in the headlights!