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

[FreeBaGeL]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Mmmmm. Neymar with a dive there.

Stupid autocorrect.

Hulk, obviously.

Neymar?

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty much the score I was expecting, but not the manner in which the win came.

 

[msommer]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

They got caught in a contra, could have happened any time and did also when they were ahead.

 

[Zow]

Pretty much the score I was expecting, but not the manner in which the win came.

Agreed. That was, at the very least, entertaining.

 

[El Floppo]

Didn't get to see the replay where the Croat lost the ball that led to Oscar's goal... at first glance it looked like he had been fouled. Anybody else see it? Fair tackle from behind?

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Didn't get to see the replay where the Croat lost the ball that led to Oscar's goal... at first glance it looked like he had been fouled. Anybody else see it? Fair tackle from behind?

There was no replay, but I watched three or four times. Sure looked like it was a straight shove from behind.

 

[jonessed]

It was Modric and it was definitely a foul .

 

[Sammy3469]

Pretty sure the ref had yen on Brazil

 

[Eephus]

Fivethirtyeight may want to recalculate that 45% number

 

[jonessed]

Part of the problem is you are getting small league refs working with top international players. They aren't used to the game at this level and they end up botching a lot if things.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Does Alves get benched? Julio Caesar?

Who's available? Maicon?

 

[Christo]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

They got caught in a contra, could have happened any time and did also when they were ahead.

Sure, if your philosophy is "anything could happen." But those of us who are being realistic understand that Croatia would have parked so many buses in front of their 18 at that point you'd have thought TSO was doing the coaching.

It was in the 91st freaking minute!

 

[otello]

Part of the problem is you are getting small league refs working with top international players. They aren't used to the game at this level and they end up botching a lot if things.

plus I understand that the refs are not chosen on a merit based system.

 

[Norman Paperman]

Ref awards terrible PK, Modric pummeled into the turf to create the turnover on the last goal, Croatia's keeper pretty much just watched two goals roll slowly past him.

Yeah -- not really what FIFA needed here.

Brazil won - its exactly what FIFA wanted here.

 

[AAABatteries]

Calamity. Dropped drink number two. Broke my glass and out of ice.

I thought what happened to Croatia was bad but I think you win. T&Ps.

 

[AAABatteries]

It was Modric and it was definitely a foul .

Actually it was Rakitic but definitely a foul.

I'm a huge fan and defend soccer against those who talk about lack of scoring and diving but when the very first match is decided on such a blatant dive it makes it impossible to defend. FIFA has to do something.

 

[TenTimes]

Hard to grow new turf in a hurry, remote, hot, possible lack of expertise, new venue, etc.

In a hurry?

Probably laid the sod last week - this WC, from an organizational standpoint, as been nothing short of a cluster####. It may actually be that Qatar is better organized - they at least have no compunctions about killing people to get cities built, so they can have host cities.

Do you think the protests will inspire match fixing? Things will get ugly maybe even if Brazil wins but I geniunely fear for Brazil if they don't.

Lets just say, I don't think there is any chance on God's green earth that Brazil does not make it out of the group. There is a very good chance they will receive favorable calls up through the finals - at least until FIFA has managed to get all of their money out of the country.

I don't think we'll see anything as dramatic as an opposing goals throwing the ball into his own net :cough: Nigeria :cough: but, I expect Brazil to be in the semi-finals for certain.

You don't exactly need to invoke a conspiracy to expect the best team to reach the semi-finals with a home field advantage.

 

[Celph Titled]

What were the odds in Vegas for the first goal being an own goal? Whoever put that bet down should win a good chunk, no? And,or a Brazil own goal?

Shouldn't Brazil mop the floor with these guys?

First goal being an og was probably around +1200 to +1500.

 

[ffldrew]

Didn't get to see the replay where the Croat lost the ball that led to Oscar's goal... at first glance it looked like he had been fouled. Anybody else see it? Fair tackle from behind?

He got mugged - and ref missed a ton of muggings all game long both ways- and to think he called the PK on that touch plus giving a yellow. He was in over his head. Not sure what FIFA does here and sends him home. If not he gets to stay for free at the beach and eats free all week because every Brazilian will be paying for his drinks and meals.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Ok so next game up is Mexico vs Cameroon

Both teams obviously view this as a must win (similar to US vs Ghana)

I am kind of stuck in limbo here. It is impossible to root for Mexico and yet I know how every other confederation eyeballs our extra 1/2 qualification spot and don't want to see every Concacaf team get wiped out (which might happen this Cup).

 

[Christo]

Ok so next game up is Mexico vs Cameroon

Both teams obviously view this as a must win (similar to US vs Ghana)

I am kind of stuck in limbo here. It is impossible to root for Mexico and yet I know how every other confederation eyeballs our extra 1/2 qualification spot and don't want to see every Concacaf team get wiped out (which might happen this Cup).

Allons-y Les Lions Indomptables!

Coolest shirts in the tournament.

 

[AAABatteries]

I don't see the dilemma, #### Mexico.

 

[Norman Paperman]

BuzzFeed Sports ‏@BuzzFeedSports 47m
NEWS: According to @ESPN_JorgeRamos, FIFA called up the US to be ready if Qatar gets stripped of the 2022 World Cup.

Here's the original tweet
Via @ESPN_JorgeRamos: ALERTA: #FIFA llamó a #USSoccer para que tenga listo un Comité Organizador para el 2022. No habría #Mundial en #Qatar

Apparently translates to:
Via @ESPN_JorgeRamos: alert: #FIFA called #USSoccer to have ready an organizing Committee for 2022. There would be no #Mundial in #Qatar

 

[grateful zed]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

 

[Celph Titled]

Is there really a Brazilian player named Fred?

Fred is a more unusual name than Hulk?

Mosquito should make the team in 2018.

 

[Norman Paperman]

Which Country Should you Root For - based on science

 

[Christo]

Which Country Should you Root For - based on science

Iran

 

[NewlyRetired]

BuzzFeed Sports ‏@BuzzFeedSports 47mNEWS: According to @ESPN_JorgeRamos, FIFA called up the US to be ready if Qatar gets stripped of the 2022 World Cup.Here's the original tweetVia @ESPN_JorgeRamos: ALERTA: #FIFA llamó a #USSoccer para que tenga listo un Comité Organizador para el 2022. No habría #Mundial en #QatarApparently translates to:Via @ESPN_JorgeRamos: alert: #FIFA called #USSoccer to have ready an organizing Committee for 2022. There would be no #Mundial in #Qatar

Sunil has vehemently denied any of this occurred FWIW.

 

[Celph Titled]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

They got caught in a contra, could have happened any time and did also when they were ahead.

Sure, if your philosophy is "anything could happen." But those of us who are being realistic understand that Croatia would have parked so many buses in front of their 18 at that point you'd have thought TSO was doing the coaching.

It was in the 91st freaking minute!

Christo's right. A tied game plays much differently than a lead of 1. Brazil might've won anyway, but that third goal wasn't definitive proof that they would have.

 

[NewlyRetired]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

Interesting. I thought there was very little, if any flopping today outside of the obvious dive in the area to draw the PK.

Most of the tackles were crunching. There were a few times players were very lucky not to have been seriously injured.

I should note that I make a distinction between a complete dive (like you see in hockey or basketball or today with the PK) and exaggerating a foul.

Maybe you are more referring to when guys get legit crunched and then ham it up a bit?

 

[Time Kibitzer]

For all the hype Neymar had, Oscar looked the better player imo.

 

[NewlyRetired]

For all the hype Neymar had, Oscar looked the better player imo.

Oscar was the better player today IMO. If you look at the thread during the game, many of us mentioned this while watching. I was very impressed especially defensively of which ball winning is hardly his strong suit. His ball win in the scrum led directly to Neymars first slow motion goal.

 

[The Gator]

I want Ruud to punch Twellman in the face

 

[Native]

I usually still dont like Oscar on the wing, though he seemed to beat his man with ease today. Prefer him more withdrawn.

 

[Christo]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

Interesting. I thought there was very little, if any flopping today outside of the obvious dive in the area to draw the PK.

Most of the tackles were crunching. There were a few times players were very lucky not to have been seriously injured.

I should note that I make a distinction between a complete dive (like you see in hockey or basketball or today with the PK) and exaggerating a foul.

Maybe you are more referring to when guys get legit crunched and then ham it up a bit?

You have to remember that to the uninitiated flop = a guy going to the ground no matter what the reason.

 

[Norman Paperman]

I want Ruud to punch Twellman in the face

I am not watching, but I'd be Ok with that

 

[Eephus]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

Interesting. I thought there was very little, if any flopping today outside of the obvious dive in the area to draw the PK.

Most of the tackles were crunching. There were a few times players were very lucky not to have been seriously injured.

I should note that I make a distinction between a complete dive (like you see in hockey or basketball or today with the PK) and exaggerating a foul.

Maybe you are more referring to when guys get legit crunched and then ham it up a bit?

You have to remember that to the uninitiated flop = a guy going to the ground no matter what the reason.

We're talking about a guy who has 4 posts in the 70K+ soccer thread. He may just be trolling.

 

[Jaysus]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

 

[NewlyRetired]

I thought Fred was invisible today outside of the dive but I did not realize how little he did.

Here is his Fred's stat dashboard followed by Oscars dashboard for comparison. It was like Fred was a 12 minute sub instead of a 90 minute player

Fred

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/27250/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

Oscar

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/61262/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

[NewlyRetired]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

Interesting. I thought there was very little, if any flopping today outside of the obvious dive in the area to draw the PK.

Most of the tackles were crunching. There were a few times players were very lucky not to have been seriously injured.

I should note that I make a distinction between a complete dive (like you see in hockey or basketball or today with the PK) and exaggerating a foul.

Maybe you are more referring to when guys get legit crunched and then ham it up a bit?

You have to remember that to the uninitiated flop = a guy going to the ground no matter what the reason.

We're talking about a guy who has 4 posts in the 70K+ soccer thread. He may just be trolling.

Ahh my bad. I never know who to ignore and who might actually be interested.

 

[The Gator]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

It was brilliant and nowhere near an empty netter. He had two guys all over him after a 40 yard sprint.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

I think 90% of the keepers in the WC get to that shot to at least parry it. It was a toe poke from the top of the box and hardly a bullet.

 

[msommer]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

They got caught in a contra, could have happened any time and did also when they were ahead.

Sure, if your philosophy is "anything could happen." But those of us who are being realistic understand that Croatia would have parked so many buses in front of their 18 at that point you'd have thought TSO was doing the coaching.

It was in the 91st freaking minute!

Christo's right. A tied game plays much differently than a lead of 1. Brazil might've won anyway, but that third goal wasn't definitive proof that they would have.

Thanks for putting words in my mouth.

Have a nice day

 

[msommer]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

I think 90% of the keepers in the WC get to that shot to at least parry it. It was a toe poke from the top of the box and hardly a bullet.

The defender blocked his view

 

[derek245583]

I thought Fred was invisible today outside of the dive but I did not realize how little he did.

Here is his Fred's stat dashboard followed by Oscars dashboard for comparison. It was like Fred was a 12 minute sub instead of a 90 minute player

Fred

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/27250/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

Oscar

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/61262/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

I have never seen those charts pretty cool

(sidenote: Oscar's name is really long)

 

[The Gator]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

I think 90% of the keepers in the WC get to that shot to at least parry it. It was a toe poke from the top of the box and hardly a bullet.

The defender blocked his view

Not for Oscar's, the defender ran across Oscar after he kicked it. the toe poke on the run is what caught him off guard

 

[msommer]

Good thing Oscar scored, Brazil deserved to win, but not on that penalty

But does he get the opportunity if it was still 1-1?

Unknowable

I'm going to speculate that Croatia would have been a little tighter at the back had they been protecting a point rather than chasing a point.

It was practically an empty netter at the end of a hockey game. They were pressing hard in hail marry mode.

Still, Oscar knocked that layup out of the park though, am I right?

I think 90% of the keepers in the WC get to that shot to at least parry it. It was a toe poke from the top of the box and hardly a bullet.

The defender blocked his view

Not for Oscar's, the defender ran across Oscar after he kicked it. the toe poke on the run is what caught him off guard

It looked that way on the angle from behind

 

[CletiusMaximus]

every time i looked at the tv someone was flopping.

Interesting. I thought there was very little, if any flopping today outside of the obvious dive in the area to draw the PK.

Most of the tackles were crunching. There were a few times players were very lucky not to have been seriously injured.

I should note that I make a distinction between a complete dive (like you see in hockey or basketball or today with the PK) and exaggerating a foul.

Maybe you are more referring to when guys get legit crunched and then ham it up a bit?

You have to remember that to the uninitiated flop = a guy going to the ground no matter what the reason.

We're talking about a guy who has 4 posts in the 70K+ soccer thread. He may just be trolling.

Ahh my bad. I never know who to ignore and who might actually be interested.

Rule of thumb -- don't trust anyone wearing a shirt.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I thought Fred was invisible today outside of the dive but I did not realize how little he did.

Here is his Fred's stat dashboard followed by Oscars dashboard for comparison. It was like Fred was a 12 minute sub instead of a 90 minute player

Fredhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/27250/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

Oscarhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/4-2013/matches/731767/player-stats/61262/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

I have never seen those charts pretty cool

(sidenote: Oscar's name is really long)

They are from an App called Stats Zone. It tracks every touch of the ball (I think it is Opta based). They follow a bunch of leagues in Europe (map every game played to this detail) and are doing the World Cup.