FIFA World Cup 2014

[Dashenka]

Argentina managed with only 1 world class player who didn't even play up to 50% of what he's capable of, so Team USA should be able to as well. Really wanna see it till the end but I'm so woefully tired already :(

[JackWhite]

Lets forget Di Maria, Higuain, Mascherano, ...

[JackWhite]

Lukaku's such a beast.

[gaggedLouise]

Lukaku's such a beast.

The moment right after the goal when he just yells (or roars) straight into the camera, his mouth filling the picture...  :D

[JackWhite]

The moment right after the goal when he just yells (or roars) straight into the camera, his mouth filling the picture...  :D

Je t'aime, maman.

[Remiel]

Belgium vs. United States

Winner:  Belgium, 2-1

My Thoughts: There is no doubt that Belgium was the better team, but Tim Howard was Superman, coming up with no less than fifteen saves.  It's a shame we needed to rely on him so much.  Still, I do like how we refused to roll over and die after we were down 2-0 and the shot in the arm that Julian Green brought.  The golden opportunities Clint Dempsey and Chris Wondolowski (would Jozy Altidore have made those?) had to equalize, and squandered, was just sickening. Still, given how many opportunities Belgium had, I suppose we shouldn't complain.   

Man of the Match:  Romelu Lukaku (BEL) was a physical force the moment he stepped on the field at the end of regulation time.  Even the stalwart US defense couldn't contain him.

[Kitsunetsuki]

"Stalwart US defense" - riiiiiiight...If the US team had really used it's defense, Howard wouldn't have had to work so hard. Yes, thank goodness they had him, b/c otherwise they would have been the proverbial sitting ducks. But, you're right, Remy. Belgium was just the better team. *sigh* Sometimes I hate that I like rooting for the underdogs....

[Remiel]

Eh, of course we made some mistakes, but I thought Omar Gonzalez, DeMarcus Beasley (and to a lesser extent, Cameron and Besler) had an excellent game.   Honestly,  I think it speaks to their quality that we didn't lose by more.  When you keep giving the ball up to a team like Belgium, sooner or later they're going to find a hole and exploit it.

[Kitsunetsuki]

Oh no, I think Omar Gonzalez will be one to watch in coming years. I also liked Cameron in this game, despite it all. I just wish everyone had stepped it up. Honestly, Belgium may have been the better team, but had the US played differently, I have full confidence they could have won.

There's no shame in that score. Or in going home at this stage. USA did very well, all things considered.

I just hate seeing potential wasted like that. I'm afraid of the same for my favourite team. *sigh*

[JackWhite]

How should USA have played?

[Deamonbane]

The US owes Howard the slim defeat. But beyond that, despite Howard's stellar performance I think Belgium lacks a skilled finisher.

[Kitsunetsuki]

How should USA have played?

More defense! They needed to get the ball away from the Belgians. There should not have been quite so many shots for Howard to save than there was. And then when they get the damned ball, push it up! I don't know...They could have done more, but I suppose they did the best they could with what they had. Should be very interesting to see how they do in the next World Cup.

[JackWhite]

They could've tried more defense but that's how all the other opponents played and those have lost too. That type of play does give USA less opportunities for the goal too.

[Kitsunetsuki]

Ah well...like I said, I guess they did the best they could. I'm just hoping my Brazilian team gets their shit together before their next match.  :-[

[BCdan]

At first I was all like:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M

But then I was like:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ-bIeJ4zOY

[Remiel]

You know, one thing that occurred to me after watching the first stage of elimination:  no team, with the possible exception of Colombia vs. a Suarez-less Uruguay, really dominated the other side.  Yes, all eight group leaders made it through, but Nigeria gave France a scare, as did Mexico  the Netherlands.  The Swiss could have easily beaten Argentina, Algeria made Germany work for it, and even the US in its game fought Belgium down to the wire.    And then there were the two games that went down to penalty kicks. 

What does this mean?  That there is really no clear frontrunner, and that any one of the eight teams left could go all the way.  All right, Costa Rica is a long shot, but the way that this Cup's been going? Who knows? 

[Kitsunetsuki]

I had that same thought yesterday, Remy. No one has truly dominated. I think we all have perceptions about who should/will win, but it's a damned crap shoot!

[BCdan]

Be careful out there fellow Americans, there is chaos on the streets after our World Cup loss.

[Aleph]

Read on the way home that with 16 saves, Tim Howard now holds the all time record for saves in a single WC match.

[Dashenka]

Although I agree with the dominating part, I think the Netherlands played best. Sure they were behind most of the match but I never had the feeling they were going to lose it. Despite, or perhaps because the 1-0, they kept playing their own game and didn't let Mexico get to them, knowing that sooner or later, they'd get their goal. To me, Netherlands is the favourite for the title. The South American teams just failed to impress me, with the depth being reached by Argentina.

Sheer dumb luck and a little bit of Messi got them the victory but in the last half hour or something Switzerland were the better team. Brazil failed to impress me so far. Not sure why though. Columbia and Costa Rica are, with all the respect in the world, not good enough.

Belgium hasn't been impressive throughout the tournament. They were lucky to be in the easy group. Had they been in a tougher group they wouldn't have made it. That leaves France, Germany and the Netherlands. Since France and Germany meet in the quarter final, only one of them can be in the final and given the matches I've seen, my vote's for Germany. They have enough to see off Brazil. Netherlands has enough to see of either Argentina or Belgium.

Then, based on overal performance, if the final is Germany - Netherlands, I see the Netherlands win it. Germany had an average match to Ghana and USA, Netherlands I think didn't have an average match. Perhaps Australia was their least performance but Chile, Spain and Mexico they were pretty solid.

[Deamonbane]

I don't know. Against a solid defense and counter attacks they seem pretty vulnerable. Then all you have to do is put some heavy coverage on Robben and their attack just isn't all that good...

[Aleph]

You can't put heavy coverage on Robben, he'll milk the fouls for all they're worth. He's been doing that since his days at Chelsea.

[Deamonbane]

Sure you can. Put two guys on him at all times. One to cover all passing to him, the other for point defense, with the first man covering the loose balls... And, well, don't let him inside the area with the ball. It was what the Mexicans sid to cancel out Neymar...

[Dashenka]

You can't put heavy coverage on Robben, he'll milk the fouls for all they're worth. He's been doing that since his days at Chelsea.

There's more to Netherlands than Robben. He might milk the fouls but simple fact is that against Mexico he should be given two penalty's, not one.

There's also van Persie and Sneijder and a bunch of others.

[Aleph]

Sure you can. Put two guys on him at all times. One to cover all passing to him, the other for point defense, with the first man covering the loose balls... And, well, don't let him inside the area with the ball. It was what the Mexicans sid to cancel out Neymar...

Admittedly, I was being a little tongue in cheek, I mean he's done more to publicize diving than Jacques Cousteau. That said, putting two defenders on a winger is a little expensive. Though in Robben's case probably worth it.