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FIFA World Cup 2014

Started by consortium11, May 12, 2014, 10:28:18 AM

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Remiel

Group B: Chile vs. Australia

The Better Team Was...  Chile, although honestly I felt that the teams were much more evenly matched than what the betting books would have said.  Australia played a solid 70 minutes; it's only a shame that their first and last 10 were weak. 

Man of the Match: No one really stood out this game, but I'd have to give the honors to Alexis Sanchez for his consistent passing and playmaking.

Aleph

Agreed, Remiel, was hoping for more out of Australia but 'hoping' is the indicative word here.

So, since NEDvESP happened at 4:30am for me, I'm going to watch it now, so NO SPOILERS anyone!! :)

Remiel

Aleph, you are certainly in for a treat.  (Well, depending on which side you're cheering for.   :P)

Aleph

Heh, in truth I had to read through all the posts to get to the AUSvCHI game, and my ...devices (with or without leading 'i') are filled with football apps so I was being a little tongue-in-cheek.

I tipped a draw but was hoping for a Dutch win, so yay :) Just getting to the end of the first half now, best game I've seen in a while!

Deamonbane

Yeah... watching Holland play, I get that yucky feeling in my gut that tells me that Brazil needs to get a lot better if they plan on beating them...
Angry Sex: Because it's Impolite to say," You pissed me off so much I wanna fuck your brains out..."

Remiel

I'm looking forward to seeing Argentina and Germany in action. 

BAMF

I interrupt your sporting talk to bring you BAMFy's interpretation of sports.

...

»O/O’s«»Ideas«»A/A's«
Great things are done
by a series of small things
brought together.

»Vincent Van Gogh«

Deamonbane

I know that's supposed to be funny, but I have always seen such interpretations of sports... well, condescending and annoying.
Angry Sex: Because it's Impolite to say," You pissed me off so much I wanna fuck your brains out..."

consortium11

Buffon out of tonight's Italy/England match.

While the late notice nature of it may cause a little disruption, I don't think it's a huge loss for Italy. Buffon isn't what he was (and we saw the dangers of picking a goalkeeper who wasn't what he was last night) and Salvatore Sirigu is a solid goalkeeper in his own right (although his international place has largely been blocked by Buffon). That said, Sirigu was an injury concern himself not long ago.

Italy have a number of other injuries as well; left-back Mattia De Sciglio and central midfielder Riccardo Montolivo were both likely starters who have been sidelined.

Greece vs Colombia coming up fairly soon as well. Even Falcao-less Colombia should likely win.

Nico

England for the win, of course. ;D

consortium11

#135
Colombia with a comfortable 3-0 win. There's still enough quality there to beat the likes of Greece but I'm not convinced by them, especially defensively. The Greek team is one pretty much known for lacking an offence... yet they still came close with a number of chances.

Uruguay vs Costa Rica coming up. Uruguay should have the offence to blow Costa Rica out of the game but there are doubts over Suarez' fitness. Costa Rica do have a couple of inconsistently brilliant players who if they show up could cause trouble (think Bryan Ruiz) but it's hard to see them getting anything from this.

Edit: Just as I type that it comes out Suarez is on the bench. Unless the game goes badly we'll likely not see him today.

Dashenka

So why is Urukhai vs Costa Rica on at a time that everybody can see it but nobody will, and England - Italy, which everybody wants to see is in the middle of the bleeding night. They clearly didn't think that through :D

Then again.. it's FIFA... what did I expect...
Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals and I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight to prove I'm right and I don't need to be forgiven.

Remiel

Group C: Greece vs. Colombia

The Better Team Was...  Colombia.  I thought Greece actually was the better team during the first half, dominating possession, but it was all Colombia the second half.  Even without Falcao, the turn of speed of some of the Colombian players (Victor Ibarbo) was simply scary. I do wish I'd seen Falcao play, though.   

Man of the Match: David Ospina.  Greece didn't have that many shots on goal, but Ospina nimbly denied the shots that they did take.

Phobetor

I'm enjoying Uruguay...it's been an interesting match so far.

And that goal was beautiful ^_^
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Dashenka

Why is Suarez not playing?
Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals and I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight to prove I'm right and I don't need to be forgiven.

Phobetor

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Taking a break from E.

Dashenka

Oh that sucks for Urukhai.. so he isn't playing at all?
Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals and I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight to prove I'm right and I don't need to be forgiven.

pleaseteaseme

Quote from: Dashenka on June 14, 2014, 02:39:11 PM
Oh that sucks for Urukhai.. so he isn't playing at all?

He might come on as a sub, but more likely being saved for the 'tougher' games against England and Italy.

Phobetor

Um...I think Uruguay got a little too confident.  :-\
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Remiel

#144
Group D: Uruguay vs. Costa Rica

The Better Team Was...  I thought these two were evenly matched, but I'm going to give Costa Rica the edge.  You could tell that Uruguay completely expected to win, and when Duarte's header hit the back of the net, they were in shock.

Man of the Match: Oscar Duarte (CRC), for his amazing header which put Costa Rica on top and rattled Uruguay. An argument could be made for Joel Campbell (CRC).  but I think it was Duarte's goal which changed the tempo of the game.

Costa Rica proved why they came in 2nd in the CONCACAF qualifiers.  I'm taking this as a good sign; if Holland and Costa Rica can pull off upsets, maybe the US can too.

Phobetor

I'm surprised at the Uruguay goalie, he didn't even bother with two of the goals. Like...he just watched the ball pass by him.
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Nico


Cheka Man

We lost. 2-1 to Italy.  :'( Still, we are not out yet.

consortium11

England's issues weren't hard to see.

We're vulnerable down the flanks. On the right this is somewhat unavoidable with the squad we have; Glen Johnson is a fullback who can't defend (and can't really attack either) which means we're always open on that side. But on the left it was a tactics/selection issue. Rooney isn't a winger and likes to come centrally which meant that Baines was left completely exposed and normally stuck in a 1 vs 2 whenever Italy could come forward at pace.

Secondly, we had a virtually non-existent midfield. It was frankly embarrassing the way the Italians could slice right through it whenever they decided they were tired of passing it around the back. Offensively it was little better... until the last 15 minutes when Italy dropped back and decided to defend there was nothing connecting our midfield and attack which meant it was very easy for Italy to snuff out our moves. Henderson is a useful workhorse but lacks quality while Gerrard is basically past it and the fact he's better at the self-described “quarterback” role then people expected just means that he's better than people expected, not that he's actually good.

Both Italian goals came from those above issues.

The first was a result of our midfield not closing down quickly enough and focusing too much on Pirlo. The second because Baines was outnumbered on the left and Johnson missing on the right when he should have come in to block the header.

Offensively, when out front four did get the ball there was generally a lack of precision outside of the goal itself. Rooney delivered one beautiful pass but otherwise huffed, puffed, shot wide and otherwise did nothing. Sturridge likewise. Welbeck likewise although his defensive . Sterling, who was our best player in the first half clearly ran out of steam in the second. Barkley didn't add the drive we expected but to be fair he was largely marked out of the game, Whilshire did his usual thing of dribbling into a cul-de-sac before losing the ball and Lallana showed flashes but didn't really have enough time to make an impact. Lot's of nice looking direct runs but in general a lack of end product with too many poor decision, poor shots and poor crosses.

As for Italy... in honest there was nothing special there. Ballotelli managed one simple header after being left unmarked through incompetence rather than excellent movement, Pirlo managed a couple of moments of magic but was far from his conductorial best and on the whole they succeeded because of our flaws as opposed to their own brilliance. They exploited our flaws ruthlessly and defended fairly well but I don't think any of the major contenders will be particularly scared; Pirlo firing long balls at Balloteli as he tries to break the offside trap is their main tactic.

So what do England need to change for the next game? Don't use Rooney on the wing. He's even worse there than he is at 10... and I don't think he's a great 10. Honestly, if you're going to play him I think you have to play him as the out-and-out striker... and if you want to play Sturridge there that means no Rooney. Use Welbeck on the right, Sterling or Lallana at 10 and if you play Sterling there then either Milner (somewhat negative but he protects Johnson) or AOC (assuming he's recovered from injury) on the right. If Lallana's at 10 then Sterling should likely get the nod on the right. Barkley remains as the super-sub option to inject pace and directness late on.

As for the midfield, we're not exactly spoilt for choice. With Gerrard being captain he's essentially undroppable which means Henderson likely has to get the nod to make up for Gerrard's lack of movement or workrate. Whilshire isn't defensively solid enough and has arguably regressed from where he was as an 18 year old while teaming Lampard and Gerrard when they were at their peak didn't work... it certainly won't now. I suppose you could use AOC as a more direct option but I think he'd be wasted having to sit back quite so much.

Oh... and if we're chasing a game, bring on Lambert. He offers something different as well as brilliant hold-up play, passing and a great understanding with Lallana.

Remiel

Group D: Italy vs. England

The Better Team Was...  Neither.  Both teams had equal amounts of talent.  Italy just managed to capitalize on one more opportunity than England did (I'm looking at you, Rooney.)

Man of the Match: I did like Rooney's (ENG) perfectly-placed cross to Sturridge, but I'm giving this one to Sirigu (ITA), who aptly stepped up and filled Buffon's shoes admirably.