***Official 2014 World Cup Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Hulk not starting today

:(

he was injured in practice the other day.

 

[Steve Tasker]

After texting literally like 20 people to not give me spoilers, I managed to finally watch the game right now. Oh my god. I am so glad I didn't go to work today. Here's my commentary while it's all fresh in my head....I'm sure you guys all hashed all of this out already, but here's my quick takes.....

Impressive keeping away from the score that long!

Assuming you don't want to fish through 500 posts I can tell you your thoughts are right in line with most others in the thread.

I figured. I won't go back and re-read, too pumped, too much adrenaline.

Avoiding spoilers was tough, I haven't been on Twitter/Facebook or the internet at all since yesterday afternoon. It gets tougher every year.

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

 

[Celph Titled]

Apparently a "Female reporter gets naked for Cristiano Ronaldo" thing was going around on the internet. I don't know if this is real or not, but I find it to impinge on basic standards of journalism and I sure hope it isn't being propagated further via large video-sharing sites.

 

[Celph Titled]

Alex Morgan is pretty.

(but I agree with you!!)

Referring to the most recent pic on her Twitter.

 

[NewlyRetired]

ESPN is now reporting that the US Ghana game broke their record for the most watched soccer game ever on ESPN at 11.093 million viewers.

We are still waiting on the Univision viewership numbers.

 

[The Gator]

After texting literally like 20 people to not give me spoilers, I managed to finally watch the game right now. Oh my god. I am so glad I didn't go to work today. Here's my commentary while it's all fresh in my head....I'm sure you guys all hashed all of this out already, but here's my quick takes.....

- I take back all of the things I said about how John Brooks shouldn't be in the final 23. All of them. ALL OF THEM.

- MOTM: Jermaine Jones. I know I perhaps overrate him compared to a lot of the other posters in the soccer thread, but he was the man. The US has no tougher player on the ball....how many fouls did he draw today? And he was all over the field for the full 90 minutes from an unfamiliar position. And perhaps most importantly, he kept his head about him. Love watching him play, as always.

- I feel like the US invited too much pressure, tactically/strategically. With Beckerman lying so deep and Jones being a more natural DM out on the flank, they just let Ghana have too much possession. Bradley's inefficiency at the top of the midfield diamond didn't help. Far too often they plopped the ball forward to Dempsey or Bacon and they had nowhere to go with it. Ghana weren't at their best, otherwise this could've been ugly.

- Bradley was off his game. Good to see the US managed a win without him at his best, but he'll need to be much better against Portugal/Germany. I don't think I've ever seen him lose possession so much in the midfield.

- I thought Beasley looked out of his depth early on, but he really got stronger as the game went on. A true professional. Same could be said for Kyle Beckerman, looked out of it early but the game came to him as it went on.

- Bacon was totally invisible. I'd like to see Wondo start if Jozy's out going forward. Like we discussed before the tournament, Jozy is the only US striker capable of playing that target holdup role that Klinsmann seems to like....not sure who can fill that in

- I was impressed with Bedoya today.

- Man, was that field #### or what? Tons of divots, DMB fell down like 3 times.

- I don't think I've ever seen the USMNT so gassed, collectively, as they looked today. Perhaps doesn't bode well for this weekend in Manaus.

- 3 points is 3 points. I don't love the performance, but I love the fight in the team. I just hope the injuries and heat don't catch up with them.

- My back hurts from leaning forward on my couch on the edge of the seat for the final 40 minutes or so.

great stuff, Steve.

What did you like about Bedoya?

Totally agree with you about never seeing this team run out of gas collectively like that. Usually a US strength- sometimes the only strength- is their collective fitness. Best thing to hope for is that 10 man Portugal ran themselves into worse shape vs Germany and will struggle worse.

Don't think Portugal exerted much energy giving up in the second half

At least it's the late game on Sunday, we might catch a break on temp/humidity

 

[NewlyRetired]

[

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I posted yesterday that the 2006 WC FFA thread had 196 total posts (not pages, just posts) for the whole tournament.

 

[El Floppo]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

 

[B Maverick]

Alex Morgan is pretty.

(but I agree with you!!)

Referring to the most recent pic on her Twitter.

love how she changed her handle since cnn messed up her name

 

[El Floppo]

[

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I posted yesterday that the 2006 WC FFA thread had 196 total posts (not pages, just posts) for the whole tournament.

impossible... I made at least 250 debating a troll who said no-way did Pablo deserve a red v Italy.

oh wait... we had multiple threads for different games for 2006, IIRC.

 

[NewlyRetired]

ESPN is now reporting that the US Ghana game broke their record for the most watched soccer game ever on ESPN at 11.093 million viewers.

We are still waiting on the Univision viewership numbers.

Univision numbers are now in. The game drew 4.8 million on Univision.

Total TV audience was 15.9 million viewers.

The ESPN number alone makes it the second most watched program of the year on ESPN, only trailing the BCS Championship game.

The numbers this Sunday for Portugal should be fun!

 

[El Floppo]

After texting literally like 20 people to not give me spoilers, I managed to finally watch the game right now. Oh my god. I am so glad I didn't go to work today. Here's my commentary while it's all fresh in my head....I'm sure you guys all hashed all of this out already, but here's my quick takes.....

Impressive keeping away from the score that long!

Assuming you don't want to fish through 500 posts I can tell you your thoughts are right in line with most others in the thread.

I figured. I won't go back and re-read, too pumped, too much adrenaline.

Avoiding spoilers was tough, I haven't been on Twitter/Facebook or the internet at all since yesterday afternoon. It gets tougher every year.

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I didn't wathc the Germany v Portugal game until after the US game, thinking I'd be safe... but every person at the bar where I watched the US couldn't wait to tell me about it.

 

[NewlyRetired]

[

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I posted yesterday that the 2006 WC FFA thread had 196 total posts (not pages, just posts) for the whole tournament.

impossible... I made at least 250 debating a troll who said no-way did Pablo deserve a red v Italy.

oh wait... we had multiple threads for different games for 2006, IIRC.

That could be. This was the largest I could find

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=243975

 

[roadkill1292]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

Street cred?

 

[El Floppo]

Do we rout for ... gasp... Mexico here?

As much as I hate them, I kind of am.

Oh who am I kidding- #### Mexico.

 

[Steve Tasker]

great stuff, Steve.

What did you like about Bedoya?

Totally agree with you about never seeing this team run out of gas collectively like that. Usually a US strength- sometimes the only strength- is their collective fitness. Best thing to hope for is that 10 man Portugal ran themselves into worse shape vs Germany and will struggle worse.

And you know I agree with you about Germany Jones. dfefinltely the MoM yesterday. His partnership with Beckerman has allowed his best qualities to shine (game tactician, fitness, solid passer and tackler, plugging defensvie holes). Hopefully Bradley will be able to push a little higher v Portugal and allow more linkup play with the forwards and overlapping wide players. Bradley was just off- played the ball too quickly too often, not to mention losing the ball too easily off the dribble and pass.

I thought Bedoya looked good going forward and provided an extra attacking option, at least early on. Jones and Beasley were dropped so far back on the left side, I think it could've been much worse for the US if not for Bedoya (and to a lesser extent Johnson) stretching the right side of the field. It provided much needed space in an otherwise-cramped setup for the US, IMO.

I will say, though, that Bedoya's free kicks were totally lacking. I actually yelled at the TV "WHY IS HE STILL TAKING ####### FREE KICKS?" after one of the poor ones. And I did say out loud before the game-winner corner, as Zusi was setting it up, "finally, someone you want to take free kicks"....

If Zusi is going to be on the bench going forward, is there anyone else who could reliably take free kicks? Dempsey? Fabian Johnson? (Brad Davis?)

 

[B-Deep]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2099959-russell-wilson-congratulates-cliff-dempsey-after-usmnt-win-over-ghana

 

[El Floppo]

[

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I posted yesterday that the 2006 WC FFA thread had 196 total posts (not pages, just posts) for the whole tournament.

impossible... I made at least 250 debating a troll who said no-way did Pablo deserve a red v Italy.

oh wait... we had multiple threads for different games for 2006, IIRC.

That could be. This was the largest I could find

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=243975

I think this one had about 1500 posts

Plus there were a lot of 2-3 page threads along with it.

 

[El Floppo]

great stuff, Steve.

What did you like about Bedoya?

Totally agree with you about never seeing this team run out of gas collectively like that. Usually a US strength- sometimes the only strength- is their collective fitness. Best thing to hope for is that 10 man Portugal ran themselves into worse shape vs Germany and will struggle worse.

And you know I agree with you about Germany Jones. dfefinltely the MoM yesterday. His partnership with Beckerman has allowed his best qualities to shine (game tactician, fitness, solid passer and tackler, plugging defensvie holes). Hopefully Bradley will be able to push a little higher v Portugal and allow more linkup play with the forwards and overlapping wide players. Bradley was just off- played the ball too quickly too often, not to mention losing the ball too easily off the dribble and pass.

I thought Bedoya looked good going forward and provided an extra attacking option, at least early on. Jones and Beasley were dropped so far back on the left side, I think it could've been much worse for the US if not for Bedoya (and to a lesser extent Johnson) stretching the right side of the field. It provided much needed space in an otherwise-cramped setup for the US, IMO.

I will say, though, that Bedoya's free kicks were totally lacking. I actually yelled at the TV "WHY IS HE STILL TAKING ####### FREE KICKS?" after one of the poor ones. And I did say out loud before the game-winner corner, as Zusi was setting it up, "finally, someone you want to take free kicks"....

If Zusi is going to be on the bench going forward, is there anyone else who could reliably take free kicks? Dempsey? Fabian Johnson? (Brad Davis?)

Bradley

 

[TenTimes]

looks like neymar added some fresh blonde highlights to his hair

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

They're from Mexico? (To be clear Mex-Am)

SOOOOOOOOO not a fan of those guys for US v Mexico games, but can imagine Mexican-Americans aren't fan of former US Nats calling the game either.

 

[chet]

Do we rout for ... gasp... Mexico here?

As much as I hate them, I kind of am.

Oh who am I kidding- #### Mexico.

Just bet ML Brazil -270. :X

 

[El Floppo]

[

Who would've thought that a World Cup thread would have 140 (!) pages at the end of the first group stage games.

I posted yesterday that the 2006 WC FFA thread had 196 total posts (not pages, just posts) for the whole tournament.

impossible... I made at least 250 debating a troll who said no-way did Pablo deserve a red v Italy.

oh wait... we had multiple threads for different games for 2006, IIRC.

That could be. This was the largest I could find

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=243975

I think this one had about 1500 posts

Plus there were a lot of 2-3 page threads along with it.

This one had about 2500 for the US group stage

 

[Steve Tasker]

More Shep:

Did you ever play in the World Cup? I played on the U.S. team a bunch of times, but we never got close to the World Cup. It was the Stone Age for American soccer. I remember one time, I got a call on a Friday from the national-team coach, and he said, “If I give you gas money, can you get up to Hartford for Saturday night? We’re playing Italy.” We lost, 7-0. But we weren’t embarrassed. I thought I had a good game.

 

[TenTimes]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

 

[El Floppo]

I like that Ochoa went the Mary Katherine Gallegher Super-star route for his arms crossed vid.

 

[El Floppo]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

yes- two yellows through quarter finals means you're out for the next game.

 

[El Floppo]

whole lotta red shirts up in there...

 

[chet]

More Shep:

Did you ever play in the World Cup? I played on the U.S. team a bunch of times, but we never got close to the World Cup. It was the Stone Age for American soccer. I remember one time, I got a call on a Friday from the national-team coach, and he said, “If I give you gas money, can you get up to Hartford for Saturday night? We’re playing Italy.” We lost, 7-0. But we weren’t embarrassed. I thought I had a good game.

For anyone else who has no idea who Shep is.

 

[B Maverick]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

yes- two yellows through quarter finals means you're out for the next game.

only 2 for accumulation? would have thought it was more.

 

[TenTimes]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

yes- two yellows through quarter finals means you're out for the next game.

But not necessarily a red, as in disqualified and your team is a man down the rest of the current match?

 

[El Floppo]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

yes- two yellows through quarter finals means you're out for the next game.

But not necessarily a red, as in disqualified and your team is a man down the rest of the current match?

that's right.

only the player is suspended for the next game. the team isn't down a man ever.

 

[Ilov80s]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

They're from Mexico? (To be clear Mex-Am)SOOOOOOOOO not a fan of those guys for US v Mexico games, but can imagine Mexican-Americans aren't fan of former US Nats calling the game either.

I love having the Hispanic guys call any game, brings some flair. Half the time it's guys with English accents anyway. We have millions and millions of Mexican-Americans, they should be calling soccer games more often.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Red Mexi-charlie Brown kits are odd.

 

[El Floppo]

seriously- looks like they handed out red and yellow shirts to everybody in the stadium. pretty amazing- and unique- bilateral grouping of fans.

 

[The Gator]

Fred is just getting in the way

 

[chet]

Looks like the ref is letting them play.

 

[Steve Tasker]

So the rule is.. if you got a yellow card in the last game, and you get one in this game.... what? Doesn't that add up to a red card some how? I thought I remembered somehow cards from previous matches can come back to haunt you in the current match.

yes- two yellows through quarter finals means you're out for the next game.

But not necessarily a red, as in disqualified and your team is a man down the rest of the current match?

Correct.

 

[Steve Tasker]

These two teams don't appear to like each other very much.

 

[Ilov80s]

ESPN is now reporting that the US Ghana game broke their record for the most watched soccer game ever on ESPN at 11.093 million viewers.

We are still waiting on the Univision viewership numbers.

Univision numbers are now in. The game drew 4.8 million on Univision.

Total TV audience was 15.9 million viewers.

The ESPN number alone makes it the second most watched program of the year on ESPN, only trailing the BCS Championship game.

The numbers this Sunday for Portugal should be fun!

It's going to be HUGE. People everywhere today are talking about yesterday's win. It's pretty cool.

 

[El Floppo]

Looks like the ref is letting them play.

he'll need to start blowing the whistle- game's getting a bit chippy, early.

 

[Eephus]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

They're from Mexico? (To be clear Mex-Am)

SOOOOOOOOO not a fan of those guys for US v Mexico games, but can imagine Mexican-Americans aren't fan of former US Nats calling the game either.

This announcing team has grown on me a bit. They're very funny on occasion and seem to have tempered their homer tendencies for the tournament.

I have very few criticisms of ESPN's handling of the in-game action. The PBP announcers have been solid and the decision to assign color commentators to certain teams has produced some interesting insights.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Love how Mexico plays Brazil -- they aren't afraid of them at all.

 

[El Floppo]

Herrera has these guys playing with a lot of confidence... something taht was severely lacking for them in qualifying.

 

[Christo]

Only thing worse than these soccer players like Dempsey rolling around holding their face and holding the game up are these boxers that take a left hook to the chin and lay on the ground like they are dead waiting for the ref to count to 10.

Dempsey's reasonable reaction to having his nose broken only amplifies how awful some of the theatrics are that the 'haters' complain about. You're making their point for them.

F their point. If you don't like it, don't watch. But don't tell me that the flopping is the only thing keeping them from watching.

 

[El Floppo]

And I still don't get ESPN's decision to use Spanish accented commentators for Mexico games.

They're from Mexico? (To be clear Mex-Am)

SOOOOOOOOO not a fan of those guys for US v Mexico games, but can imagine Mexican-Americans aren't fan of former US Nats calling the game either.

This announcing team has grown on me a bit. They're very funny on occasion and seem to have tempered their homer tendencies for the tournament.

I have very few criticisms of ESPN's handling of the in-game action. The PBP announcers have been solid and the decision to assign color commentators to certain teams has produced some interesting insights.

Color commentator isn't Mexican, fwiw.

 

[Kal El]

I missed watching the US- Ghana game, but I'm glad the US won.

 

[Joe Bryant]

If Joe starts futbolguys, I'm going to start Jesusguys.

J

 

[B-Deep]

i love that his name is fred

 

[B Maverick]

offside not called but brazil nice enough to side net it....