viva fifa!

gopher

gopher

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Americans highly enthused about soccer win:






[youtube]sS172L6Cmv8[/youtube]










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In other games, Oz men put up a good fight vs Netherlands but are defeated 2-3.


Chile > Spain 2-0








Great matches, indeed!
 
gopher

gopher

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They played well but Chile was a bit too much for them this afternoon. Great game, though. Sad for coach del Bosque as he did a great job of bringing them to this level.
 
Tecumsehsbones

Tecumsehsbones

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gopher said:
They played well but Chile was a bit too much for them this afternoon. Great game, though. Sad for coach del Bosque as he did a great job of bringing them to this level.
Click to expand...

They've had a heck of a run. Euro 08, World Cup 10, and Euro 12. I didn't want them to win, but it's a shock seeing them sent home in the group stage.
 
gopher

gopher

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they sure did - but I confess that I wanna see a couple of Latin American teams in the knockout stages


I don't follow the matches by group but am hoping the finale will feature a Latin America v Europe team. Makes it more fun for all, I think.
 
gopher

gopher

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Tecumsehsbones said:
At some point, either in the final or before, Germany and the Netherlands will meet.

It will be epic.
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Don't know if you remember the 1974 classic finale between the old Dutch Masters vs Germany in 1974 = that was as epic as can ever be.


Johan Cruyff vs Franz Beckenbauer --- this was the Ali-Frazier of world soccer. There has always been talk that the referee favored Germany but I'm not entirely sure that is correct. What I remember the most was the incredible intensity of the game and of the crowd.


It was unforgettable.
 
Tecumsehsbones

Tecumsehsbones

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gopher said:
Don't know if you remember the 1974 classic finale between the old Dutch Masters vs Germany in 1974 = that was as epic as can ever be.


Johan Cruyff vs Franz Beckenbauer --- this was the Ali-Frazier of world soccer. There has always been talk that the referee favored Germany but I'm not entirely sure that is correct. What I remember the most was the incredible intensity of the game and of the crowd.


It was unforgettable.
Click to expand...
Sounds amazing, but that's before I was even aware soccer existed. I was in West Berlin in 82 though, and I recollect that when Italy beat Germany in the Cup final, three Italian restaurants in West Berlin were torched.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Tecumsehsbones said:
At some point, either in the final or before, Germany and the Netherlands will meet.

It will be epic.
Click to expand...

The earliest they can meet is the Semi-Final. That would be if they both win their group and if they then both reach the Semi-Final.

If one team wins their group and the other team finishes runner-up in theirs, they won't meet each other until the Final, should they both make it that far.
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England play Uruguay today in a match that neither side dare lose, although it would still be just about possible for either team to progress to the Last 16 even if they lose this match.

If England lose this match - and they have never beaten Uruguay in a World Cup match, although they have only played them in the World Cup twice before - then they would need Italy to beat Costa Rica tomorrow to still stand any chance of getting out of the group. If England lose and Costa Rica beat Italy tomorrow, or Costa Rica and Italy draw against each other, then England are out. Uruguay will also face a similar dire situation should they lose today.

If England do make it into the Last 16 they will play either Colombia, Ivory Coast, Greece or Japan.


Today's matches:

Colombia vs Ivory Coast

This will be the first ever game between Colombia and Ivory Coast.

Colombia’s record against African sides at the World Cup is balanced with one defeat (against Cameroon in 1990) and one win (against Tunisia in 1998 ).

Ivory Coast’s two previous World Cup games against South American sides both ended in defeats (1-2 v Argentina in 2006 and 1-3 v Brazil in 2010).

Colombia manager José Pekerman’s first game at the World Cup as manager was in charge of Argentina against Ivory Coast, back in 2006. His side won 2-1.

Seven of Ivory Coast’s 11 goals at the World Cup have been scored after the 60th minute of games.

Ivory Coast have failed to score once in their seven World Cup games (0-0 v Portugal in 2010).

Didier Drogba has scored both of Ivory Coast’s goals against South American sides at the World Cup (v Argentina in 2006 and v Brazil in 2010).

Key clash: Teo Gutierrez vs Sol Bamba
Bamba looked shaky in Ivory Coast’s hard-fought victory over Japan in the opening round of games, particularly when the ball was on the deck. Gutierrez, who enjoys running with the ball at his feet, will try to exploit this at Estadio Nacional.

Familiar faces
Wilfried Bony. Swansea City star scored the first against Japan.

Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast and Galatasaray striker, who is Ivory Coast's all-time highest goalscorer, played for Chelsea between 2004 and 2012, scoring 100 goals in 226 appearances, winning three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, a Champions League and two Community Shields during his time with the west London giants.







Uruguay vs England

England are winless against Uruguay at the World Cup. They’ve met twice: in 1954 (Uruguay won 4-2 in the quarter-finals) and 1966 (0-0 in the Group Stage in the tournament's opening match).

Their last encounter dates back to 1 March 2006 in a friendly at Anfield. England won 2-1 thanks to goals from Peter Crouch and Joe Cole.

England have scored in each of their last eight World Cup encounters with South American sides.

England recorded their highest ever World Cup pass completion rate (91%) in the opening match vs Italy (1966-2014).

Uruguay continued their run of not winning an opening group game since 1970 and they have won only once in their second game in their last six World Cup appearances.

Uruguay have picked up a red card in two of their last four games at the World Cup.

England have never conceded 2+ goals in three successive World Cup games before.

Key clash: Luis Suarez vs Gary Cahill
Uruguay and Liverpool striker Suarez had very little joy against Cahill’s Chelsea this season – ending up on the losing side twice and failing to score against the England centre back. Uruguay have rushed their talismanic striker, who has had surgery on an injured knee, back into the side but he still lacks full fitness and Cahill will hope that will make his task a little easier against the Premier League’s top scorer.

Head-to-head record: Played 10, Uruguay wins 4, Draws 3, England wins 3




Japan vs Greece

This is Japan and Greece’s first World Cup encounter.

Their only previous meeting was in the 2005 Confederations Cup with Japan securing a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Masashi Oguro. Yasuhito Endo is the only current member of the Japan squad to have taken part in that game.

Greece’s only previous World Cup fixture against an Asian side was in 2010 when they lost 2-0 against South Korea in their opening game.

Greece have failed to score in six of their seven World Cup games. Only against Nigeria in 2010 did they manage to find the net (2-1 - Dimitris Salpingidis and Vasilis Torosidis).

Greece have conceded an average of 2.6 goals per game at the World Cup, the highest ratio amongst the 32 teams involved in this tournament.

Keisuke Honda has been involved in four of Japan’s last five goals at the World Cup (3 goals, 1 assist). He is Japan top-scorer in the competition (3 goals).

Giorgios Samaras has attempted more shots without scoring at the World Cup than any other Greek player (9, including blocked shots).

Key clash: Atsuto Uchida vs Georgios Samaras
Former Manchester City and Celtic striker and winger Samaras proved a handful down the left hand side for Greece in their Group C opener and will look to be a threat again when faced with skilled right back Atsuto Uchida. The Schalke man will need to keep an eye on the 6ft 4in targetman and has to make sure he does not drift into the gap between centre back and right back as he so often did against the Colombians.














 
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gopher

gopher

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I had numerous Colombian pals in NY in the many years I lived there and wish them well against Ivory Coast. But am especially eager about the Uruguay-England match this afternoon.
 
coldstream

coldstream

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Well England has to win against Uruguay today.. and Uraguay has a history of big upsets in World Cups in Brazil.

Go England.

My other team, the Oranje, is through though.. and looking most impressive.
 
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damngrumpy

damngrumpy

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I find this sport to be the most boring event when ever its on TV world cup or not.
men running around in short pants holding up yellow and red cards because a
player tripped them or pushed them. They have to get a smaller field fewer players
and be a hell of a lot more aggressive than they are now. put some fight into the
game or something. It ain't anywhere near hockey I know everyone likes it but its
boring
 
gopher

gopher

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Great win for Uruguay over England - very intense with great ball movement from one end of the field to another.


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Re the world wide fuss over soccer =


The true beauty of soccer is its accessibility - everyone can play it. Boys, girls, rich or poor - it is played in the suburbs, in ghettos, Europe, Asia, anywhere. All you need is a ball, no equipment. A small guy like Pelé dominated games when he was surrounded by players who were much bigger and stronger than he was. Same with Maradona years later. You don't need to be a Babe Ruth who towered over everybody in his time in order to excel.

One thing many North Americans don't see in the game is the amount of practice drills used by players in order to hone their skills - ball handling and juggling where they kick the ball up in the air, bounce it off their foreheads, kick it back up and over their shoulders, heel kicks, toe lifts, the endless stop-and-go exercise, etc. We are all familiar with drills used in baseball:


[youtube]duJysUUo5zs[/youtube]



there are probably even more drill variations in soccer:


[youtube]ZUTzY3ziKhU[/youtube]



Many Americans & Canadians just are not aware of how much preparation and self discipline it takes to excel in this game. But if the sport's critics saw any of this and see how it is reflected in the actual game, it would greatly increase their appreciation for the game. It is truly a beautiful sport.
 
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