2014 World Cup

Busquets must be kicking himself for missing that open goal. Would have changed a lot.

Eleven changes for the Australia game, I wonder?

And so Spain's World Cup campaign fizzles out with a whimper. Bar Busquets making a meal of his effort close to goal and the tired swing from Ramos inside the box during stoppage time, they never looked like scoring at all. There was very little sense of desperation or urgency even. Poor show all round from them. Fair play to Chile; a disciplined and well-earned victory. Chile versus the Netherlands to see who tops the group should be a good'un.

The reign of Spain is over...

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Busquets must be kicking himself for missing that open goal. Would have changed a lot.

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Yeah, Spain had more menace about them in the 2nd half until that miss. They seemed to give up then.

Chile were excellent defensively, so hardworking and organised. Always offered something on the counter also. It's crazy that Australia caused them more problems than Spain did.

Just seeing this now; prior to the game, dozens of ticketless Chile fans managed to breach security and break into the Maracanã before most of them were detained by military police and removed from the stadium: http://www.theguardian.com/football/...maracana-spain

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Originally Posted by The Guardian

Stadium staff struggled to deal with a serious failure in security measures before Spain’s World Cup match against Chile at the Maracanã.

Dozens of Chile fans without tickets broke through a fence and charged into the stadium via the main press centre.

A number of the intruders were detained by officials but others appeared to have made their way into the stands after breaking down a temporary wall. The spectators who were caught were being held seated on the floor, while police took them away in groups.

“They stormed the gate and ran into the stadium. We stopped them,” said a security guard, Diego Guilhermede Souza Goncalves.

At least one Chilean fan, a woman, was injured and taken outside in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, thousands of Chile fans without tickets remained on the roads outside the stadium but organisers said kick-off would not be delayed.

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We saw a very disciplined Chile this evening, first time I've ever seen that.
That was some atmosphere in the Maracana and a brilliant performance for most of them to celebrate. I can imagine the Dutch thinking they deserve an easy game and now they have to face Chile to avoid meeting Brazil.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I agree, yet were highly competitive against two good teams and without putting everyone behind the ball. That's why I said I hope MON is taking notes. There are ways of making ordinary players competitive as a unit.

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Fair point, but very much doubt it.
Perhaps someone can fwd him a few videos or zip files...

Plus many of our players no longer look 'hungry' enough playing internationals. Unlike the Aussies, who seemed fully committed.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

The World Cup is back!

What a goal. What. A. Goal.

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I can only assume you're referring to Tim Cahill's wonder-strike. I only saw a few minutes of the game earlier and just seeing the highlights now. He really caught it so well. Beautiful goal. It looked like Australia showed great heart to get back in front but the Dutch just have too much up front.

Yep.

I think the best thing about it was that the ball was coming across him as he hit it. Just amazing technique. So easy to have sliced that out for a throw.

Dutch played very ordinarily and still won. That defence though, a serious issue. The likes of Germany could give them a really tough time.

I do love these kind of games, where both teams really do need a win and have to attack. Expect Croatia to be too good for Cameroon on the basis of the opening games, but who knows?

Edit: Though, thinking about it, a win and a draw basically do leave both teams in the same position, needing to win their last game to get to the last 16. Just a difference in the GD required.

If Cameroon lose, they're out I think. Tie break is head to head now, not goal difference. If they draw, they need to beat Brazil and hope Croatia beat Mexico, and all four teams are on four points. Cameroon need a win.

No place for Eto'o?

Edit - Eto'o injured. Cameroon losing.

Are you sure? Wiki says tie break is GD, then GS? Head to head after.

Oh, ok. I'd go with wiki then!

Euro 2012 separated teams on head-to-head, and Euro qualifying does the same; I assumed that was the case here too. Must be a UEFA thing.

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Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter

Are you sure? Wiki says tie break is GD, then GS? Head to head after.

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Goal difference takes precedence, then goals scored and then results between tied teams come into play. Article 41.5 (page 49) of the tournament regulations states:

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The ranking of each team in each group shall be determined as follows:

• a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
• b) goal difference in all group matches;
• c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings shall be determined as follows:

• d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
• e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
• f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
• g) drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

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Another lol

Utter stupidity from Song lashing out like that. What on earth was he thinking? Cameroon will be the third team going home today then... From refusing to board their plane to Brazil over payments to that sending off, they seem to lack any collective sense of discipline or composure.

Truly moronic.

These african teams suck.

The word is "naive"

Edit - African teams, that is. Song is an idiot alright.