The official 2010 world cup soccer thread

Chile has put on a disgraceful performance.

They looked like a million bucks and really had Spain thinking in those first 10 minutes.

They then turned on a switch that had them fouling at every chance. Some of the fouls were malicious as well.

I haven;t seen a team lose their cool this quick all tournament. and they lost their cool when it was 1-0 and they were mounting good counter-attacks.

Now it is 2-0, they are out of control and Spain might want to make a point and put at least 3 more on them.

 

Yes Chile has been reckless, but that was a tough Red card to get

 

Torres & Ronaldo: Diving Divas!!!

 

Please tell me that Pique is the guy that had the own goal. PLEASE!

 

looked like they were trying pretty hard not to score in the second half. some of those corner kicks at the end looked pathetic

 

Ghana has no structure to finishing....they are like a big strong puncher who throws a bunch of haymakers...but lacks the polish to put together a solid combination. Which means they are dangerous....but can be out played.

Now I havent watched a ton of Ghana play.....but this is what I have read about....and seen in limited time.

 

i think its fair to say that our expectations should be higher, but im not sure that will elevate the sport.

sure lots of kids play soccer, but its not because their parents want them to succeed in the sport or that the kids dream of playing in the world cup. imo, its because soccer is seen as a safer sport than baseball and football and it is more of a social thing

mls needs more money to lure other pro athlete prospects away from different sports and it will always be hampered by the fact that as padre said a few pages ago, people will refuse to invest 90 minutes in a 0-0 1-0 result. people wont understand why it is that if a team really presses for a goal, they can often get the job done....so then, why are you waiting until the end of the match?

i suspect that an american version of the game would look a lot different: free substitutions, more lax offsides rules, maybe a bigger net.

as for baseball, i find soccer to be more exciting on TV. baseball is dreadful on TV

 

If you hate Pique, you will love this picture of him and Ibrahimovich sharing a tender moment.

This pic sparked a lot of controversy but both claim to be heterosexual.

LMAO!! Sad thing is Ibra is linked to my AC Milan and I despised him for a long time.

 

Bradley: Punish the floppers!

i think its a fantastic idea to review flops and issue cards or possible suspensions. yet another thing the average american sports fan will never get over

 

eh, they're just european

 

they should get over it, they do it in basketball as well.

 

I love brackets mostly because I like to see the teams everyone picks.

What are your round of 16 picks? Don't be shy. Fill out the entire bracket if you must.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html

 

No offense, but I'd like the average American sports fan to leave my game alone please

 

They played an insane amount of pressing in the first 20 minutes. Couple that with a coach too dumb to sub a player who is one foul - any foul - away from being sent off and you've got a completely exhausted team by the end of the first half.

 

The Only rule changes I would ever support Is a 30 second replay for a disallowed goal on an Offside.

I would also add one substitute for the world cup and the WC only.

 

Agreed.

Well, they are paying for it now...with the draw they got.

 

You know, I suspect their coach actually prefers Brazil over Portugal. He's a known tactical fanatic equipped with 7.000 (!) tapes and he knows Brazil inside out. The way he subbed and had his team play after the 2:1, it looked a lot like he was absolutely fine with the result.

 

Piqué is a ****ing beast tho..that goal he had against inter in champions league :triestofindpropersmiley:

 

Interesting.

Brazil is very vulnerable to the counter attack and especially early in matches...

Chile can really get out with one ball..and Alexis Sanchez is CRAZY on the long ball.

You might be right.

 

Here is a hot question...do you like two halves of 15 minutes each and PK's after?

Or a golden goal format?

 

Golden Goal was the worst thing to happen to football since England got handed a World Cup in 66. Even the FIFA realized it and that's really saying something.

 

I agree...(although it is dramatic..forces you to actually go get a win..instead of praying for PK's)

But why do you feel that way?

 

Because first of all, it didn't promote more goals - it caused less. Teams didn't play more offensively; quite the contrary, they played way more cautious. Which pretty much everyone with an ounce of football knowledge predicted ... but of course having an ounce of football knowledge prevents you from any job with the FIFA.

Second, many of the most memorable football matches of all time were OT matches. Take Germany vs. France in 82, for instance. One of the freaking best matches ever played. The Golden Goal ends an OT when it actually becomes exciting.

 

I hate Golden Goal. Absolutely hate it.

 

well people hate it and a flop in the NBA isnt always called one way.

also, a flop only leads to the potential of scoring only 2% of a team's total points. free kicks or penalties can lead to 100% of a team's total points

 

they absolutely need more subs, imo

 

South america put on a clinic in rd 1.every team made rd2. Add the US and Mexico and the only america team that failed to get out of rd 1 was honduras

 

I hope they don't change a thing in soccer.

 

I'd say a flop in soccer is more likely to go ignored though then in b ball. Probably has something to do with as you stated the impact differential. Having said that I don't buy the whole soccer is a wussy sport argument. I think thats just something people say to make themselves feel better haha.

 

The US will dominate the midfield.

I will be shocked if Ghana won this match. They will need to score at least 3 goals to beat the US, because the US will get two on them. Rewatched their matches today.

They are not managed efficiently. They are very good in the final third, but have a ***** of a time trying to connect to get there. They struggled mightily in the midfield in the group stage. That plays right into the American's hands.

Confidence is very high.

 

i liked the guy from england. he didnt tolerate a lot of garbage. that mexican ref today was using yellows as confetti lol

 

My Predictions!
South Korea over Uruguay[my bold pick of the first round]
USA over Ghana
Netherlands over Slovakia
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Mexico
Germany over England [tempted to pick England though]
Japan over Paraguay
Spain over Portugal

Then:
USA over South Korea [This is the USA's best chance to make it to the semifinals, whether its S.Korea or Uruguay. Don't mess it up!]
Netherlands over Brazil
Argentina over Germany
Japan over Spain [Upset like in the Confederations Cup]

Netherlands over USA, Argentina over Japan
Netherlands over Argentina, USA over Japan.

 

i find this funny

http://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/6/25/1537706/usa-vs-ghana-all-the-drama-with

maybe other nations have gripes like say south africa wanting to beat the dutch, but i find it hard to believe people wanted to stick it to england because they used to rule us

i appreciate them. they gave us a system and we made it better. its more like beating an older brother that doesnt brush his teeth because you want his approval

 

I would institute replay for any disputed goals. Beyond that they must revisit calls like the one on Kaka resulting in a red. He should have that reversed and the "perp" should receive an automatic suspension. That faking BS has to stop - it is completely embarrassing for the sport and affects it's integrity.

 

i could not agree more. its the only way its going to stop. forget "gamesmanship." how about sportsmanship.