The FIFA World Cup 2014 Thread

[Kyber]

England are playing with more purpose than I've ever seen before but like so many teams this year their defence is letting them down. Still think they'll get out of the group.

I think people underestimate France. People only talk about how we crumbled four years ago, and then they act shocked when **** Nasri is left out of the squad. The French team is much more united than before and even without Ribéry our squad and especially our midfield looks very exciting. They tore apart the Netherlands in a friendly a few weeks ago (only finished 2-0 but I was shocked how much we dominated).

Very open and exciting world cup. Argentina were my pick before Brazil won the confederations cup but there's no team which stands out amongst the rest.

Still gonna pick Brazil as favourites now simply cos that home support is a hell of an advantage for them but there are at least a few teams with better squads than them.

Since I'm half French half English France are my first team and England my second. I guess Chile would be my 3rd since they play very nice football at the moment and they've been my default South American FIFA team for a while.

Also, WTF just happened to Uruguay in the second half?

They got found out.

The Uruguay squad is really not as good as the English media makes out.

The problem with Uruguay is that they are a pure counter-attack team, and when faced with another counter-attack team, like Costa Rica, they should build up an attack and control the ball patiently, like Italy or Spain do, but their team is horrible in that situation, not a single player on that team knows how to keep control of the ball and play tight passing.

As for me, I will be rooting for Italy, like always, since Finland barely has a team and I've been an AC Milan fan since age 4 and I love the Italy way of playing football, and Pirlo is my favourite player of the whole cup by a mile, but I still think they won't make it to the finals. The finals will be Brazil-Belgium, and the match for third place will be Italy-Germany(/Portugal?)

 

[McElroy]

As long as a European team wins. I have a strong geographical bias. Finland didn't qualify (and never will ), and neither did any other Nordic team.

 

[Rylot]

snip tuck

That kinda surprises me. It's the opposite here in the US where our Women's team has been pretty successful (somewhat) recently and therefore a lot more popular than the men's team. Granted where has been a lot more emphasis on our national league so it's getting a bit popular but don't expect it to over take even Ice Hockey any time soon.

Captcha Error: WTF? It was multiple choice, how did I mess that up?

 

[Kyber]

Brazil penalty was nonexistant

The penalty was justified, illegal contact happened, not enough to knock Fred down on it's own but he's a top class clinical finisher striker like Inzaghi and such, and that's what they do. As soon as players like that get to a crowded box they seek to drive themselves into a position in which the defender has to use force to stop them.
What do you have against Italy if I may ask? Personally I think they play fantastic football, and have some very sympathetic players and good team spirit.

 

[Eleuthera]

That kinda surprises me. It's the opposite here in the US where our Women's team has been pretty successful (somewhat) recently and therefore a lot more popular than the men's team. Granted where has been a lot more emphasis on our national league so it's getting a bit popular but don't expect it to over take even Ice Hockey any time soon.

It's the same here in the Netherlands, there is a very small semi-professional league now (7 teams going for 6 years now), but it's never mentioned in the media.

 

[Aedes]

Brazilian here.

Any comments on that penalty against Croatia?

Fred as a player got a score of 4 out of 10 on that game. As an actor, he got an 8. Soooo yeah, we got lucky with mister Nishimura.
Not gonna lie, I like winning. I had one of my best parties ever when that game ended but I also can't deny it also left me slighty unconfortable. Just another case of "Hand of God", isn't it?

The penalty was justified, illegal contact happened, not enough to knock Fred down on it's own but he's a top class clinical finisher striker like Inzaghi and such, and that's what they do. As soon as players like that get to a crowded box they seek to drive themselves into a position in which the defender has to use force to stop them.

He did what we call "Striker Reflex". He was on the big box, he felt something on his shoulder, he fell. You can interpret that touch as illegal but hell, if you don't want players to have any contact, go play volleyball instead.
Even if Fred was in his right to call the penalty, his reaction to that fault was over the top.

What do you have against Italy if I may ask? Personally I think they play fantastic football, and have some very sympathetic players and good team spirit.

They have four world cup titles. As the holder of the five times world champion record, I see them as way too close to us. I find that unacceptable!!!@#$¨&

 

[Commerford]

Fred as a player got a score of 4 out of 10 on that game. As an actor, he got an 8. Soooo yeah, we got lucky with mister Nishimura.
Not gonna lie, I like winning. I had one of my best parties ever when that game ended but I also can't deny it also left me slighty unconfortable. Just another case of "Hand of God", isn't it?

Ye Mr. Nishimura wont be reffing the final, tho I feel Diego Costa's dive against the Dutch was worse than Fred's, only the media didn't care cos it wasn't the most shocking thing that game. How do you feel about Julio Cesar? Surprised Brazil can't come up with someone better than a 2nd choice Championship keeper.

Would like to give recognition to the Dutch ref in the EngIta game, thought he did real well. Tho I am somewhat disappointed with England's result. Our left flank was gaping the entire game, why Roy didn't plug it at half time infuriated me to no end, and if teams realise how poor Glen Johnson is, then we're in real trouble. On the plus side tho, if we do get out the group, which I doubt to be fair, and we get into the habit of turning half chances in to full chances and those chances into goals, I really think there isn't a team we can't beat. That's Football tho

 

[shootthebandit]

I just thought id share this with you guys. I hope our american buddies find this as funny as I did

Everybody get ready for the Neeson danger kick

 

[Aris Khandr]

No real complaints with the 3-0 win for the French today. Evra took a beating out there, though. Glad to see him finish the match, but I hope that won't be a trend for this tournament. We played nothing at all like we did four years ago, which is wonderful. Hoping for an equally strong showing on Friday against the Swiss.

 

[Aedes]

How do you feel about Julio Cesar? Surprised Brazil can't come up with someone better than a 2nd choice Championship keeper.

I actually don't know how to feel about him. It has been an emotional roller coaster to have him at the goal. Sometimes he makes unbelievable defences, sometimes it seems his hands are made of lettuce!
But if you ask me to think on any other goalkeeper that could replace him, no one spectacular comes to my mind. I'm not exactly knowledgeable about players but yeah, no one.
What he has on his side is the coach's trust. It has been enough so far but leaves me uneasy whenever a player gets too close to the goal...

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I've been slowly getting more into football (I'm gonna be nice and use the "proper" term) and I just got done watching the French game today. It was pretty fun to watch, and I watched Italy play England last night before I had to head into work. I think I'm gonna be cheering for Italy, and probably the Netherlands.

Mainly because I have a few friends that are massive Netherlands fans and I don't want to get stuck with the beer tab for shit talking later.

I just thought id share this with you guys. I hope our american buddies find this as funny as I did

Everybody get ready for the Neeson danger kick

Okay, that got a chuckle out of me.

We do love our silly stats and pointless information.

 

[Quingfang]

Forza Azzurri! AC Milan is my favorite club team of all time, and seeing Abate, De Sciglio, Montolivo (though, his leg be broken now so... Yeah, not so much), and big boy Balotelli on the Italian team just makes it all the sweeter. Seeing Pirlo play is always a treat (also an ex-Milan player... ehehe) and his work with Buffon is a testament to still being able to play while relatively old aged. I was losing my mind during the England game with the score going from 1-0 to 1-1 in two minutes, but Super Mario's header to push it 2-1 was perfection.

I've watched every game so far and am hopping mad that I'll be missing a few matches next week due to work. This is really my favorite time being a football fan, as I'm a US-dweller and no one cares about the sport until the Cup rolls around, and then everyone wants to be a part of the fever. No one knows the rules so tons of questions and free drinks come my way and it's always a party! And I get to go from watching a Milan game once a week (and maybe a DC united match during the week if I feel like watching disappointment) to seeing football THREE TIMES A DAY. WOO.

Yeah. I like me some football.

 

[Guffe]

I am from Finland, so not supporting my own country.
I am a crazy LiverpoolFC fan (join us at the Barclays Premier League user group) so I am hoping England will do well.

The World Cup is a good thing for me. I can watch football of high level without needing to stress my ass of. Just enjoying the good football. Watching as many games as possible!

At this point, when I am writing this, the goal line tech has been used for the first time and many seem to think "it might not be 100% sure" which I call BS! The tech has been used in Tennis for years and yet to be wrong there, so why wouldn't it work in football?!

And also this:

 

[Random Argument Man]

I'm not going to follow it since I don't like "watching" soccer/football. I'm more of a player. HOWEVER

Who ever takes out Brazil is welcome in my book. If you treat your citizen like shit just for a soccer game, you don't deserve the prestige.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/05/brazil-evicted-won-celebrate-world-cup-201452012437552695.html

 

[Quingfang]

I'm not going to follow it since I don't like "watching" soccer/football. I'm more of a player. HOWEVER

Who ever takes out Brazil is welcome in my book. If you treat your citizen like shit just for a soccer game, you don't deserve the prestige.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/05/brazil-evicted-won-celebrate-world-cup-201452012437552695.html

That, and they had the nerve to leave Kaká out of the squad :'( They deserve nothing short of utter failure!

 

[Trucken]

I really like football as a sport, but I'm not interested in any of the non-national teams so I don't follow it usually. However, I turn into a complete football nut during the World Cup.

Ha, you're just like me! Well, except that I don't really like football. Well, I do, but I want to see some major changes to the sport because some of the shit that's still going on is ridiculous (seriously, players that take dives deserves an immediate red card. If they're not interested in playing the game they got nothing to do on that field).

My team didn't qualify (Sweden) but I'm rooting for Japan. This has nothing to do with them having Pikachu on their jerseys (I've never watched OR played Pokemon) but I fell in love with them the last World Cup. Final group stage match against Denmark, the danes only needed a draw to advance. Add in the fact that Denmark had never failed to advance from the group stage and things certainly looked bleak for Japan. So what do they do? They go out there and chase the life out of the danes. As soon as a danish player got the ball he had at least two japanese players on him. Japan won 3-1 and knocked out Denmark. Now, I don't hate Denmark (there is a pretty bitter rivalry between Denmark and Sweden) but the way Japan handled that game impressed me deeply. Plus, Japan's first 2 goals, both on free kicks, were beautiful.

 

[Quingfang]

I really like football as a sport, but I'm not interested in any of the non-national teams so I don't follow it usually. However, I turn into a complete football nut during the World Cup.

Ha, you're just like me! Well, except that I don't really like football. Well, I do, but I want to see some major changes to the sport because some of the shit that's still going on is ridiculous (seriously, players that take dives deserves an immediate red card. If they're not interested in playing the game they got nothing to do on that field).

My team didn't qualify (Sweden) but I'm rooting for Japan. This has nothing to do with them having Pikachu on their jerseys (I've never watched OR played Pokemon) but I fell in love with them the last World Cup. Final group stage match against Denmark, the danes only needed a draw to advance. Add in the fact that Denmark had never failed to advance from the group stage and things certainly looked bleak for Japan. So what do they do? They go out there and chase the life out of the danes. As soon as a danish player got the ball he had at least two japanese players on him. Japan won 3-1 and knocked out Denmark. Now, I don't hate Denmark (there is a pretty bitter rivalry between Denmark and Sweden) but the way Japan handled that game impressed me deeply. Plus, Japan's first 2 goals, both on free kicks, were beautiful.

Last night's match broke my heart. I'm a huge Keisuke Honda fan and was so happy when he came to play for Milan, even if he had a tough first season there. His opening goal was beautiful to watch... But sad to compare to how the match ended up.

 

[Trucken]

I really like football as a sport, but I'm not interested in any of the non-national teams so I don't follow it usually. However, I turn into a complete football nut during the World Cup.

Ha, you're just like me! Well, except that I don't really like football. Well, I do, but I want to see some major changes to the sport because some of the shit that's still going on is ridiculous (seriously, players that take dives deserves an immediate red card. If they're not interested in playing the game they got nothing to do on that field).

My team didn't qualify (Sweden) but I'm rooting for Japan. This has nothing to do with them having Pikachu on their jerseys (I've never watched OR played Pokemon) but I fell in love with them the last World Cup. Final group stage match against Denmark, the danes only needed a draw to advance. Add in the fact that Denmark had never failed to advance from the group stage and things certainly looked bleak for Japan. So what do they do? They go out there and chase the life out of the danes. As soon as a danish player got the ball he had at least two japanese players on him. Japan won 3-1 and knocked out Denmark. Now, I don't hate Denmark (there is a pretty bitter rivalry between Denmark and Sweden) but the way Japan handled that game impressed me deeply. Plus, Japan's first 2 goals, both on free kicks, were beautiful.

Last night's match broke my heart. I'm a huge Keisuke Honda fan and was so happy when he came to play for Milan, even if he had a tough first season there. His opening goal was beautiful to watch... But sad to compare to how the match ended up.

I didn't see the match (it started 3 in the morning here) but I was stunned to see that they fell to the Ivory Coast. Disappointing to say the least, but I hope that they'll regroup and make it to the playoffs.

 

[Quingfang]

I didn't see the match (it started 3 in the morning here) but I was stunned to see that they fell to the Ivory Coast. Disappointing to say the least, but I hope that they'll regroup and make it to the playoffs.

It seemed to me like it was a case of just being switched off. Ivory Coast, who really just had a taller and bigger team, had a pretty dangerous aerial game and finally managed to put one in the net. Japan then had kickoff, lost the ball, and conceded another goal almost immediately. They shook off the blow and looked a bit more aggressive after that, but too little too late.

 

[Eamar]

I really like football as a sport, but I'm not interested in any of the non-national teams so I don't follow it usually. However, I turn into a complete football nut during the World Cup.

Ha, you're just like me! Well, except that I don't really like football. Well, I do, but I want to see some major changes to the sport because some of the shit that's still going on is ridiculous (seriously, players that take dives deserves an immediate red card. If they're not interested in playing the game they got nothing to do on that field).

Yeah, that's basically why I'm not as interested in football as I am in say, Rugby Union. It irritates me no end that footballers can so blatantly get away with cheating. Not to mention that if a Rugby player made such a fuss about the collisions/tackles that occur in football they'd be laughed off the pitch

That said, my Dutch friend is really trying to get me into club football. Seeing as how I managed to get her into Tolkien through sheer persistence, I feel I kind of owe it to her to give it a go...