I'm a bit disappointed that Brazil didn't let Chile have one at the end, a little "Thanks for showing heart", but they didn't.
Brazil were just blazing quick on both end of the field. If the attack went through, they were there for all the important touches. If it stalled, the guys in the attack tracked back quickly to squash any hopes of a counter.
This was superb football by the Brazilians today.
Some of those were a bit sketchy in the "coincidence" department, but overall, good stuff.
Hurst in '66 was the first thing that popped in my mind when I saw Lampard's shot uncounted.
What impressed me today wasn't how Brazil scored. It was how when they didn't score and Chile counterattacked, the same guys running up as part of the play were back there to deny. They went full sprint all game. That's VERY scary.
Good news. Bad news is that the US lost. Americans don't like rallying behind a losing team. They've got one shot to regain the fans in the next Cup, or we're looking at 2002 audience sizes again.
Honestly, aside from the defense, and Wayne Rooney, England weren't that bad. Rooney couldn't do anything with the ball, but if Lampard's goal is counted, and that third that just hit the woodwork goes in, we'd be hearing about how Germany's plan of going with youth was foolishness.
Yeah, that refers to BOTH of them.
Except for Maradona.
That guy's done nothing except try and make sure that everyone pays more attention to him than his team on the field.
And in doing so, end Michael Bradley's career. I know the US press is all over his jock because he got that toe poke in the Slovakia match, but Bradley was horrid. The guy would never go wide to allow Donovan space in the midfield, which wouldn't be a problem if he actually had any touch on his passes, but he DOESN'T. That guy with all his height and his massive head couldn't latch on to any crosses.
Kick 'em both to the curb.
Where's the blame for not selecting defenders who could defend?
I'm all for replay, because it's freaking ridiculous that it isn't there for the simplest of tasks, but don't try and save your job by saying that goal would have cancelled out your 2nd horrible half.
Look, you morons! Just get an official on each side to stand behind/sit above the goal and determine if the ball crossed the line! How hard is that!?
I knew I'd heard this guy's name before, and that's a bad thing. When you know a ref's name it's only because he's screwed the pooch before.
How does FIFA justify constantly trotting out the worst of the worst?
Ergh. Why can't these jerks just admit they blew a call?
Who could have possibly seen this coming?
I read a story about how FIFA reported no positive drugs tests for the 4th straight Cup. The last positive drug test? The "Syringe of God" year.
I hope Argentina lose, just so Maradona can get the rage he deserves.
It seems weird to have gone to such a radically different ball and not giving the people more time to adjust to the ball. This ball honestly seems like it's got more bend and more control if you don't hit it as hard. So those guys firing off rockets can't put the ball in the back of the net like they want.
I'm a blend of the Real Deal and the Hermit. I don't go out to watch WC games here, because they start at 7am. Even the late games begin at 11:30am, which is still "You might have a problem if..." territory for alcohol consumption.
Honestly, I have more fun rooting against teams in the early rounds of the WC, and seeing their 4 years of hard work go down the tubes. It's so much more enjoyable imagining a team of disappointed supporters bawling in their b...
I don't know why all these sports think that packing a field with 10+ players and only having 3 people watch over them all somehow works.
Basketball, football, soccer. You know the only sport that has more refs on the field than players? Tennis! Tennis is the only sport that's taken the steps necessary to ensure that it gets the maximum number of calls correct, and all other sports are lagging behind.
Put another ref on the field, the court, the ice...
Cameras embedded onto the bottom of the crossbar and the insides of the to determine if the ball's crossed the line wouldn't help to determine if a goal was a goal? That would be clear as day.
How many goals or non-goals do they miss in hockey these days?
It WORKS. USE IT.
A ref behind each goal that's just watching the ball and the line.
That's pretty fancy technology.
Stay classy, Algeria.
Well, now Germany will no longer have the football gods' support, and they will not be unbeatable in WC competition vs. England any longer. So, there's that to be thankful for, England.