The FIFA World Cup 2014 Thread
- Thread starter JoJo
- Start date
Recommended Videos
If Italy loses the next game that'd be awesome. Knocking out Spain, England and Italy in round one would make things much more interesting later on.
Allez les bleus! I haven't seen France do this well since the very first world cup I watched them play in...In which they won the entire thing 
Am expecting them to go far.
Also as an aside, Italy won me over with Balotelli tweet about if Italy won, he would like a kiss on the cheek from the uk queen. Between that and not diving heavily like I've seen them do in the past, this is one Italy team I don't mind cheering on. Sadly Balotelli won't be getting his kiss but oh well, its the intention that counts.
Catchpra: thin air Yup that's pretty much what england's chances evaporated into.
Am expecting them to go far.Also as an aside, Italy won me over with Balotelli tweet about if Italy won, he would like a kiss on the cheek from the uk queen. Between that and not diving heavily like I've seen them do in the past, this is one Italy team I don't mind cheering on. Sadly Balotelli won't be getting his kiss but oh well, its the intention that counts.
Catchpra: thin air Yup that's pretty much what england's chances evaporated into.
I am so glad Spain, Australia and England are out. It just puts a smile on my face.
But I am rooting for the U.S.A. (even if they fucking sucked in the match against Ghana.) And of course...Deutschland
Who are going to win.
But I am rooting for the U.S.A. (even if they fucking sucked in the match against Ghana.) And of course...Deutschland
Who are going to win.
YEAH!!! I was expecting Costa Rica and France to win today's matches. So happy they did!Uhura said:France! France! France!
And yay for Costa Rica too! Great games today in general. Too bad it's so late, I would love to stay up and watch the Honduras - Ecuador game too.
This World Cup is full of surprises!
Ahhhhaaa, and now everyone will start talking about France.
We've been overlooked for too long.
We've been overlooked for too long.
For a lot of those 2nd/3rd world countries the World Cup is their only chance to shine and earn global acclaim. Everybody likes an underdog.Frankster said:
I guess it was to be expected with the season Xavi and Iniesta had. I do hope they put some of the new bloods for the final game against Australia.Aedes said:
Also, good job Costa Rica!. With the way they are playing, I wouldn't be surprised if they beat England next week(Just to drive the final nail in the coffin).
Well, it's all over for England. Oh well, that leaves me free to fully support my actual favourite team...
COME ON THE DUTCH!
[small]Blasphemously, I've been supporting them more sincerely than England for years now. Why kid myself that we're actually any good?[/small]
COME ON THE DUTCH!
[small]Blasphemously, I've been supporting them more sincerely than England for years now. Why kid myself that we're actually any good?[/small]
Im gutted england are out too. Im a scottish pro-unionist so I support British teams and im all in favour of a stronger team GB (giggs, Bale, Ramsey and Fletcher to name but a few), im also gutted because I had england to qualify from the groupEamar said:
You aren't kidding yourself that England are good because they are good. Costa Rica (surprisingly), Uraguay and Italy are just better. I dont think England played too badly for a relatively fresh and inexperienced team. As much hate as he gets I think if they had Terry's experience at the back, the defence would have been so much better. Terry and Cole are a pretty formidable defence and personally I wouldve played both of them and I dont know why Glen Johnson keeps getting games
I would say England aren't a bad side. Sure they lost both games but so did Spain and they are a really good team. At least england got to the group stages. I support a country where beating Macedonia is the equivalent of winning the final. If we actually make it to the group stages then its a real achievement
I just think this world cup is favouring south american teams and I think Germany and holland will wont have it as easy as we think.
Oh sure, I was exaggerating a bit. I agree with everything you just said, and I actually feel that we played much better than we have done in previous years when we've managed to progress further, it's just that everyone else seems to have improved as well.shootthebandit said:
That said, we're a decent side but we are in no way as good as a lot of English people seem to think we are. We ain't gonna be winning any titles any time soon, and we haven't been a serious contender to do so for a looong time. And the idea some fans have got into their heads that we have some sort of epic rivalry with Germany is actually pretty insulting to the Germans imo
I swear there's a recurring mass delusion afflicting the English when it comes to football (mind you, I'm sure the same could be said for other countries too).
And yeah, I was just saying yesterday that football very much seems to be a South American game these days. Interesting how these shifts happen.
It annoys me when people say "this year is going to be '66 again" it delusional. Yes be optimistic but dont be unreasonably optimistic. Ive seen stupid facts like "the last time team X beat team Y 2-0 it was 1966. It must our year again". This is on par with believing in star signs to be honestEamar said:Oh sure, I was exaggerating a bit. I agree with everything you just said, and I actually feel that we played much better than we have done in previous years when we've managed to progress further, it's just that everyone else seems to have improved as well.shootthebandit said:
That said, we're a decent side but we are in no way as good as a lot of English people seem to think we are. We ain't gonna be winning any titles any time soon, and we haven't been a serious contender to do so for a looong time. And the idea some fans have got into their heads that we have some sort of epic rivalry with Germany is actually pretty insulting to the Germans imo
I swear there's a recurring mass delusion afflicting the English when it comes to football (mind you, I'm sure the same could be said for other countries too).
And yeah, I was just saying yesterday that football very much seems to be a South American game these days. Interesting how these shifts happen.
Scotland fans on the other hand. We are just happy to be there. We are like the weird unpopular kid that gets invited to the cool kids party. We just enjoy ourselves and get drunk
One plus side for England is by far Joe Hart. The absolute shambles of a defence (without terry or cole) was pretty much compensated by him. He is an incredible keeper and Suarez wouldve put in a few more goals if anyone else was in that net
People usually stop liking the underdog when they turn around and teabag their opponent who hadn't acted jerkish to them in any way xDJohnny Novgorod said:
Besides I think by this point England can be considered an underdog in anyone but the most fervent England fan's mind.
I like Hart aswell and reckoned he did a solid job considering how the english defence had more holes then swiss cheese.shootthebandit said:
Sadly he won't be spared the media mauling :/
Tbh you know what really annoys me about the English team? Very controversial opinion coming up!
Rooney. We are obsessed by the guy and keep placing our hopes in single "superstars" over a solid team of players that might not be as individually famous. Rooney is a distraction at best and a headache most of the time.
If you play Rooney then you basically have to make the entire team revolve around him otherwise he is "unhappy" with being out of position. And putting all our eggs in a basket like that has never worked in the past.
I certainly don't remember the winning french team a few world cups back building their entire team around Zidane for example even if he was a footballing god.
If you don't play Rooney, then media and public mauls you for not picking the "white pele" even though he only just scored his first international goal 2 days ago...Only took fucking 10 years. The sad part is because he scored that goal Rooney is being half excused compared to the rest of the team, including poor Hart.
England gets beat constantly by teams the average fan couldn't recognize most of the players from yet we constantly bemoan our players aren't "world class" enough, whatever that means. We keep getting outplayed by players who aren't world class but are just part of a more efficient oiled machine that work together and become more then the sum of their parts.
Also England has been playing with fear of failure in their hearts for as long as I can remember. I love how Steven Gerrard prior to the Uruguay match had a big talk with the team about failure and how it would feel like to go home if they lose...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27914992
Talk about a winning mentality, imagine if a psychologist tried to remedy someone with phobias and fears by reminding them of all the stuff they are scared about and emphasizing how scared they should rightfully be.
I agree rooney is useless. His purpose in any team is publicity. He brings in money despite being shit. Ive never been a fan of him and I think hes a diva. People call ronaldo a primadona but look at ronaldos technical ability and physical fitness (he is an athlete). Then look at rooney, he looks like someones slightly chubby uncle (hes not an unhealthy size but for a professional athlete its pretty appalling)Frankster said:
Having said that even ronaldo couldnt carry that portugal side.
As for hart he suffers what most goalkeepers suffer from. When someone scores they get the blame, the outfield players are completely ignored. Managers suffer the same problem, they have a string of loses and the fans blame them and want to sack them
Nobody in the whole of South America would consider the monarchical, aggressively pro-colonialist, pound-rich first world super powerful England an "underdog" by any definition of the word. Besides what kind of "teabagging" did you see from Uruguay towards England, or from Costar Rica towards Italy for that matter?Frankster said:
