World Cup 2014

amazing facepalm logo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/WC-2014-Brasil.svg/160px-WC-2014-Brasil.svg.png

powered by howard, let's go usa

http://balls.ie/football/rte-will-show-ads-during-world-cup-water-breaks/

Still find these things charming somehow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XviR7esUvo

Mexico's Luis Montes broke his leg in a friendly vs Ecuador this evening

https://soundcloud.com/constantlightduo/the-big-men-with-a-good-touch-official-2014-world-cup-theme

Quite enjoying The Guardian's profiles for this World Cup. The Ramos one is entirely unsurprising

Sergio Ramos

Of all the Twitter accounts managed by Spanish internationals, Sergio Ramos's one shines with its own light. In its history there is a bit of everything, especially blunders. On an American tour, he dubbed the San Antonio Spurs with the name of San Francisco and posted a picture of Las Vegas when the message that accompanied it was 'What a spectacular city is New York'. Also widely commented on was his congratulations to the women's water polo national team 24 days after their victory in the World Cup final held last summer in Barcelona. The reason for the delay in his message was that the game he watched was deferred, while he thought it was live. Finally, last September, the same day that Tokyo beat Madrid for the right to host of the 2020 Olympics, he hung a picture of him eating sushi in a Japanese restaurant. Fortunately, his distraction only affects his relationship only with social networking, because Ramos looks in good shape heading into the World Cup.

They may want to edit the Jesus Navas one considering it starts with this

That Jesus Navas is a must for Vicente del Bosque is evidenced by the consecutive calls for the South Africa World Cup , the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine and the Confederations Cup last summer. He will also be at the World Cup in Brazil, this time as a new champion of the Premier League with Manchester City.

Navas didn't make the 23 man squad.

england team sticker is the worst panini sticker

do kids buy them of their own volition or all panini sales either parents reliving their childhoods vicariously or childless guys just going for it?

dunno, Hannah went thru a serious unprompted Match Attax phase a couple of years back

I think the England team might be unauthorised - all the players look like they've been wonkily cropped from other pictures, which does nothing to flatter their already wonky faces.

England have a deal with someone other than Panini, hence the wonky photoshops. The England shiny, with a hastily cobbled together MS Paint St George's cross, is the worst of all stickers.

any wall-chart recommendations? fear i may have left it too late to get a good one

Want one of the England players to not sing the national anthem just to see if any of the tabloids campaign for him to be dropped,

the Observer are doing one next week NV

I usually rock the When Saturday Comes wallchart, but it's a bit of a half-assed effort this time round.

yeah i used to love the WSC charts but i'm a bit tired of their shtick tbh, guess this weekend's papers will be worth perusing

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-England-Players-Playlist-Brazil/dp/B00K8K4UM6

sold

Frank Lampard: Bastille – Pompeii
Wayne Rooney: The Lumineers – Ho Hey
Jack Wilshere: Sam Smith – Money On My Mind
Gary Cahill: John Newman – Love Me Again
Phil Jones: Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
Steven Gerrard: Avicii – Wake Me Up
Glen Johnson: Naughty Boy – La La La
Rickie Lambert: OneRepublic – Counting Stars
Raheem Sterling: Drake – Started From The Bottom
Danny Welbeck: Chase & Status – Blk & Blu
Ross Barkley: Ben Pearce – What I Might Do
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Fuse ODG – Antenna
Daniel Sturridge: Banks – This Is What It feels Like
Chris Smalling: Sub Focus – Turn Back Time
Joe Hart: Klangkarussell – Sonnentanz
Michael Carrick: Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines
James Milner: Avicii – I Could Be The One
Tom Cleverley: Disclosure – You & Me

leighton baines: conscientious objector

*cough* Golden Generation players still knocking around have comfortably the worst choices there.

Never have I been so glad of John Terry's international retirement.

Carrick subtly commenting on his exclusion from the squad

Falcao OUT

some amazing clips in this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b045q1dd/world-cup-brush-up-with-danny-baker

^the clip of Jimmy Greaves' angrily letting off steam about weathermen on TVAM in post-Great Storm 1987 was certainly something.

I've been watching the vintage FIFA documentaries on each World Cup that are going up on the iPlayer. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b045p4tb/fifa-world-cup-official-film-4-1962 They're a bit creaky and quaint, but contain some wonderful footage. Just watched the one on the bad tempered 1962 WC in Chile - so many punch-ups it's crazy ("Sanchez, whose father is a boxer, knocks him out with a beautiful left hook!"), players being escorted off the pitch by police, and Jimmy Greaves grappling with a runaway dog during the England-Brazil match.

it didn't occur they'd get an iPlayer airing, i caught the 1958 one on TV then waited in vain for more. i like the quaintness and find it less off-putting than any 2014 pundit wd manage.

James Milner will get a chance to press his claims for a place in England's World Cup starting line-up in an unfamiliar right-back role against Ecuador in Miami.

England manager Roy Hodgson has seen enough from the 28-year-old Manchester City player to try him out as a potential alternative to first-choice Glen Johnson.

Frank Lampard will captain an experimental England side which is set to include Wayne Rooney in a left-sided role.

xxpost crying laughing at all the blue peter bits, from demon keegan through to 'the dog deserved to die'

another good ye olde world cup british clips show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMuDqAJW3AE&feature=kp

think the hardest I laughed at the danny baker one was the bulldog mascot bit

U.S. soccer coach Juergen Klinsmann says American players can have sex during World Cup

Can't be bothered to poll it, but who do we think will win?

Argentina

okay, partly hope they will win and partly clearly they have a shout

I'd like to see Argentina or Brazil win but i have a feeling it could be Spain again.

Depends on the draw and I haven't looked clearly at it, but Spain are on paper the best, but could be taken down by a determined and/or inspired performance from Germany, Brazil or Argentina. Argentina's squad is lopsided but their attacking options are better than anyone else's.

I don't really think that looks like a World Cup-winning Brazil squad, midfield in particular, but, still home advantage. Something at the back of my head keeps saying Germany though.

I've barely watched any international football in four years so stoked for all this.

It's certainly very open. Germany have been fairly underwhelming in a string of recent friendlies and look quite light in terms of striking options, but obviously have a great midfield.

Hopes for the WC:

- Messi to have at the least a good WC.

- See an interesting team - e.g. Belgium, but any others too do well

- See a team or a player surprise/come out of the blue

The last two items is what most would want out of any WC.

It's possible that I'm fatigued by seeing most of them play week in week out in the Premiership but Belgium strike me as a team who will utterly fail to justify any of the hype.

There's nothing more exciting than seeing a great young player explode onto a World Cup though.

Same here, what are the other teams beyoond the top 4-5 people are looking at?

Mostly want to see Eng utterly humiliated at the group stages but I do like Woy...

dunno if England humiliation is fully enjoyable when it leads to the same old point-missing autopsies, but usually after a couple of truly cynical displays of boredom and self-aggrandisement from the usual suspects i'm ready for the coup de grace

there are players in the England squad who i'd like to get a chance to do something constructive, i guess

They have a tough group but i'd love Bosnia to do well.

don't feel like there's much potential for surprise packages in this lot. i like to see the West African teams do well.

There's definitely a part of me which would just love to see Messi take the tournament by storm and outscore everyone en route to the Cup, if only to settle all the debates about his status as the GOAT.

Starting to get irrationally hopeful about England's prospects as well, I never learn.

i think Ladbrokes spike the water around now

Yeah I don't think Eng we'll be humiliated really. The last WC might be a one-off.

It'll be some 'heroics' to another pen failure instead. The usual nonsense.

If I had to put money down, I'd say Spain, theyve got the best squad. Uruguay have potential too, they could go all the way. I can't see England getting out of their group but I've no idea what Italy are like right now, but its Italy, theyre always decent.

Italy tend to start slow but yeah i wdn't put my own money on England getting out of the group

Uruguay have potential too, they could go all the way

Really? What makes you say that?!

Japan is a good pick if you want an underdog that also plays nice football

Uruguay = Suarez, Cavani, great defence

backing spain at the last few big tournaments has served me well and i think they have one more in them. portugal, france and colombia all have the draws to go well. the latter will obv miss falcao but look like they have enough options up front to cope w/ gutierrez, martinez and bacca. had a few quid on benzema top scorer too.

I'm psyched as fuck for this WC I've seen hardly any football all season

psyched but with reservations, that heat is surely going to sap the life out of a lot games

Uruguay will struggle if Suarez isn't 100% fit. England are no better though and this isn't a vintage Italy team. The group is wide open.

I'm interested to see how Algeria get on as well. Korea aren't great and Russia are Russia so they might be a good outside bet for second place behind Belgium.

can't see flakers like the Belgian individuals ever going beyond first knockout

Prevailing attitude amongst Italian fans seems to be one of pessimism - they still think they can take us because they're well aware that we're shite, but they're definitely not confident in their squad. I watched the game against Ireland in a bar with a few mates last week, and they were really pretty dire.

Ordinarily I would never back England to get anything against a team like Italy, but it does feel like we've improved slightly since the penalty loss at Euro 2010, have more attacking options, players in better form and so on, while received wisdom here is that this Italian team is going backwards as the squad ages and that the youngsters aren't reliable. Everyone here also seems gutted about Montolivo, I hadn't previously realised they considered him to be such a big player for them.

So maybe England in with a fighting chance in the opening game if we go out with guns blazing? Welp, there I go again!

Theres no big Serie A scandal this year to get them riled up either

Opening game winner will be the heat = they shouldn't bother, so going to be 0-0.

it's good to have strong hosts, & I'd like to see a couple of south american teams in the semis even if the brazil/argentina final doesn't materialize. I also like that there's a replay of the previous final on the second day. be interesting to see how easily the argentine defence holds out in a p weak group. feel like italy &/or ivory coast might quietly creep into the QFs. group g has the best scope for decent teams getting humiliated & belgium/russia/korea seems v watchable & unpredictable in group h.

the important award for best kit might go to france for the v french collar, but I like the inverted algerian kits & their lovely green. argentina's kit is a massive downgrade, 2 white stripes was the truth. cameroon kit is p baroque, the colombian stripe is good, hoping for some good haircut action as always ofc

Should maybe note my above post comes with the caveat that when these Italian fans say "We're not that good" they mean "We probably won't be able to win the cup this year", whereas for England fans the same statement would mean "Shite we'll be lucky to even win a game".

Whatevs, I am an England fan and I cannot help getting giddy at this time of year. This is the first tournament in years where (aside from losing every game / losing BADLY to Italy and Uruguay) they can't really disgrace themselves, but just getting through the group will feel like a reasonable achievement in and of itself.

Think Spain may not get out of their group, and if they do will lose 1-0 in one of their first 2 knockout games. France or Brazil to win with Switzerland or Croatia surprise semi-finalists. Not that bothered who wins as long as it's not England.

It bodes well for England if ITV hire John Terry as a pundit, he'll be there waiting in full kit to join the World Cup victory celebrations.

Switzerland?!

Could see the Netherlands missing out if Chile turn up. I think Spain's style will suit the heat better.

Cote D'Ivoire run to the semi-finals would be fun.

The groups are stupidly imbalanced as well. I really don't understand why Switzerland are seeded at all.

they did beat the tournament winners last World Cup tbf

they're 8th in the world

anyway I have 1.50 e/w on Toure at 150/1 to be top scorer so I would quite like a Cote D'Ivoire run too

Portugal are third in the world and have a better record at international tournaments than Switzerland. I won't pretend to know how these things are worked out.

Portugal were 11th when the seeding was decided in October last year, i think.

14th, in fact, but it does show how quickly rankings can change.

Switzerland seem like the lower key version of Belgium. Drnic Xhaka and Shaqiri should be exciting. Hard to root for a team with a center back pairing of Senderos and Djouro though. Hope Fabian Schar starts instead.

Switzerland also have one of the highest rated young full backs (Rodriguez) and three central midfielders that play together at Napoli.

Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj has had his first cap for Belgium taken away after FIFA wiped last month's 5-1 win over Luxembourg from the official records.

Coach Marc Wilmots made seven substitutions during the May 26 World Cup warm-up in Genk - one more than the quota permitted by world football's governing body.

The decision means that Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku's hat-trick in the match has been erased, while back-up goalkeeper Sammy Bossut also loses his first cap.

does the US have any chance of advancing beyond group play?

Ronaldo is carrying an injury so...maybe?

It's another tough group. They would do well not to come last.

so best case is we steal one against Portugal with an injured Ronaldo? I don't know too much about Ghana's team, other than they are typically much better than us, but is Ghana an even tougher game than Portugal?

(quietly) go Australia woooo *sob*

shrug

Ghana are probably sightly better than Portugal. Excellent midfield and a good attack.

thanks and ;_;

with Donovan's goalscoring record at World Cups there's still a chance

All the USAUSAUSA pundits agree that if they can beat Ghana they've got a great chance to advance.

xp lol NN

Haha xp

I have a feeling that Germany will struggle which could make the group even more difficult.

feel like if the US wants to purport to be good at the football they should hang tough with their group.. sink or swim bitches

im glad the first US game is the week after my wedding when I wont be doing a fucking thing.

coincidentally this image is making the rounds on usa soccer nerd twitter right now

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BpTmSeaCYAAXtLq.jpg

recant my earlier blasphemies about England perhaps not being *totally* shit. I might turn this game off, don't think it's good for my enthusiasm for the tournament as a whole

ah they've actually been alright other than the goal. Lambert and Barkley bright, Rooney fucking it up as usual

ox and barkley very bright. number none otm re rooney. stick him on the subs bench for each game.

aye the reserve attackers look like they could do a job if called upon, no doubt. just wish the same could be said for the reserve defence

Roooooney

smalling so bad it beggars belief. foster worse if possible

milner at right back not much cop either but i give him a pass

balotelli done something special?

delicious flicked/dinked cross for marchisio to head in, lovely stuff

the #7 has been good for ecuador

dwade getting no love from tyldesley there.

merseyside leading 2-1

nice goal. barkley again. can't not start him against italy surely? oh hang on, i forgot danny welbeck.

easy done tbf

Barkley should be starting in place of Rooney though

Wellbeck will most likely be marking Pirlo

Jesus soft defence this

Playing someone in WC warmup who isn't actually in your squad takes some cojones.

lol

Jesus

Wellbeck will most likely be marking Pirlo

pretty sure he would be more or less exactly as effective at this as any other role

Luxembourg have just equalised against Italy.

it's ok, if they make enough subs they can get it stricken from the record

ref otm

Townsend a stupid stupid cunt

there aren't enought stupids in the world to do that sentence justice

what'd he say

England look tactically well-prepared on the off chance they have to play any Latin American sides

"didn't quite get enough of the ball"

fuck off

I'm assuming the sentence was either "honest challenge" or "the cards were entirely down to Valencia". Xp

Valencia apparently caused both cards by reacting to an honest challenge that might have taken him out of the world cup.

It was only slightly late, like British Rail trains.

Two England players now on the pitch who can't play in a week's time.

In far more important news, Gibraltar just picked up their first ever win, 'grats to Danny Higginbotham. Italy - Luxembourg is crazy, that was their first choice team out tonight

"teams always like to beat England"

only for the lulz

Italy's last five matches were DLDDD.

WC winning form in Italy tbf

Ghanaian witch doctor claims he caused Cristiano Ronaldo’s knee injury

Ghana’s most influential witch doctor has claimed he is responsible for the knee injury that is threatening to Cristiano Ronaldo’s participation at the World Cup.

Nana Kwaku Bonsam – whose name translates literally as “Devil of Wednesday” – predicted in February that the Real Madrid forward would be forced to miss this summer’s tournament in Brazil with injury.

“I know what Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury is about, I’m working on him,” Bonsam, who serves at the Kofioo Kofi shrine, said in an interview with the Kumasi-based Angel FM.

“I am very serious about it. Last week, I went around looking for four dogs and I got them to be used in manufacturing a special spirit called Kahwiri Kapam.

“I said it four months ago that I will work on Cristiano Ronaldo seriously and rule him out of the World up or at least prevent him from playing against Ghana and the best thing I can do is to keep him out though injury.

“This injury can never be cured by any medic, they can never see what is causing the injury because it is spiritual. Today, it is his knee, tomorrow it is his thigh, next day it is something else.”

poor dogs

solid plan, shd be plain sailing for Ghana with Ronaldo doubtful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-0bdx4eBgw

"a prestigious draw" according to Roy.

I fear for my boys vs Argentina tonight. Could be five or six quite easily.

Grenier and Ribery out, Scheniderlin and Cabella in

Schneiderlin

http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-i-hate-american-soccer-fans-1402012291

trollllolololol

It's true, it's true, we're so lame.

Reus may be out.

fuckin hell guys, the WORLD CUP

totally gutted about reus. he was fantastic in the 2nd half of the season. :(

also absurd that france lose ribery and grenier but still refuse to pick nasri

yeah but it's Nasri

is he really unmanageable?

I think he's just a bit of a prick

nah he's world class

of a prick, like

honestly don't think Germany will do that well with or without Reus, the climate won't be a great match for their style imo

still mentally picture France in 2010 self-destruct mode so have no idea about them tbh

Still not sure whether Germany will go high press Dortmund, or false 9 keep ball considering all the midfielders they have, many of whom have been playing pep-ball for a season.

Yeah I've been wondering about how the climate will affect things and whether it will be conducive to exciting football. What are the temperatures like out there at the moment? Does it vary significantly from place to place? Kind of worried that extreme heat will benefit the teams who can sit deep, play possession football and conserve energy - could do without e.g. Spain having another extended run where they don't even try to score goals until the latter stages.

i love that shit tbh

If Spain are gonna win really hope they go thru the knockout phase without conceding a goal. AGAIN.

about france not picking nasri: deschamps said when he made his list that nasri would have been a sub had he picked him and that nasri prob would not be fine with that. there's also rumours about him being a dick yes. so nasri wasn't in the 30 names and now he can't be picked since you can replace players only from your pre-list of 30.

Yeah and tbh there was (unusual when it comes to these things) consensus that he was right not picking him

Does it vary significantly from place to place?

Manaus will be the toughest one. Very hot and potentially very humid.

which is why i did the headinhands.jpg when Scholes was all "we shd totally go and play like Liverpool"

p much everything about the italy game looks like a big wet juicy banana skin on a freshly mopped floor

what the fuck would you be at dropping a banana skin on a fresh mopped floor for? unconvinced

Pirlo being downplayed on 5 Live as we speak

Alan Green didn't think we shd "waste" Rooney on marking him

England game suspended by lightning, Belgium game suspended by giant hailstones. Going with rain of frogs for USA vs Nigeria.

this is great TV the Mrs is roaring laughing at these fucktosses

^

you have how the English pundits will handle the heat out there eamon

hoddles on about immaterial positives where's ray parlour quick

comedy villain tackling again wtf

this is great

what's going on

just really violent

lol honduras are out of control

honduras are going full radge in a friendly & i might have to start supporting them as a result

otm they're like Jackie chan background extras out there

"this is our cup final boys. go out there and give 'em hell" the honduras manager

but they're...in the actual world cup. that makes it even better tbh

Sounds p standard for Honduras tbh

hi guys

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74740000/jpg/_74740369_74738730.jpg

something's not right with chrissy

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74740000/jpg/_74740372_624(2).jpg

brad agrees

is there a channel other than bbc and itv showing this in the uk

you'll have to provide good streams. would probably favour the USA commentators for English-language streaming

BBC usually provide a 5 Live commentary option. Dunno if that's any better

or you always use a proxy and try the RTE player, although the actual match commentators are as bad if not worse

WatchESPN and ESPN3 will have everything, I know of ppl who are not in the USA using it over VPNs or proxies but idk how that works exactly

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/08/luis-suarez-world-cup-uruguay-fitness-knee-surgery-liverpool-england

"I could have really cried [in pain] because of this injury but I didn’t because I knew. I knew. When the doctor first spoke to me three little tears fell but no more."

BBC usually provide a 5 Live commentary option. Dunno if that's any better

― Number None, Sunday, 8 June 2014 23:38 Bookmark

Former Brazil and Middlesbrough midfielder Juninho is another addition. Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper and former USA international Brad Friedel are new signings for the Radio 5 live punditry team along with Celtic manager and former Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon, who will have a combined role across TV and radio.

idk about u guys but i'm all about a panel of juninho and tony pulis

alan green

Celtic manager and former Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon

misplaced/missing "former"

anyone post the Dave Zirin NY Times piece about how murderously corrupt FIFA is?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/opinion/sunday/throw-fifa-out-of-the-game.html?_r=0

quick glance says there's little here we don't already know about but hey why not?

tbf repeating the message is no bad thing

i'm sure there will be lots of discussion of FIFA and Brazilian politics during the football coverage

to add to things we already know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I

^ funny tho

Celtic manager and former Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon

misplaced/missing "former"

― I Miss You(tube embeds) (onimo), Monday, 9 June 2014 12:47 Bookmark

celtic manager neil lennon, thracian manager tony pulis

rah

hmmm

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/its-brazils-world-cup-to-lose/

http://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/silver-feature-wcpreview-1.png

Intrigued as to what that 0.1% is that separates Costa Rica from the complete no-hopers.

pura vida

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27762435

hard to fathom how the fifa advisors came up with this retort

Sepp is a long-standing anti-racist

there's a blog about it but unfortunately it's kinda racist

and pro-brown envelopist

sorry xp

link?

nah it's not good, search for "sepp blatter black people" if you must

better just reading his history of saying boneheaded shit about racism

basically tho he feels he can say what the fuck he wants because he owns FIFA

He then told the photographers and cameramen following him to leave him alone, with one understood to have tracked the former Manchester United defender for over a mile across the sand.

“Do you speak English? Back off. I just want to walk on the beach,” Neville shouted at one cameraman.

Every so often it hits me that this is going to be the last non-shitty World Cup until 2026 and then I just get profoundly depressed.

is that still from the neville story

All of the people named in the Qatar bribery allegations are men. So these journalists are sexist too!

Every so often it hits me that this is going to be the last non-shitty World Cup until 2026

If anyone had any bollocks they'd just boycott the Qatar one.

I'm strangely unenthused by this World Cup. I'm not anti-it by any means and hopefully I'll get into it once it starts, but I keep forgetting it's even going to happen.

Qatar won't get to actually hold the world cup in 2022. No way.

FIFA seem desperate to find some way of taking it away from them without admitting corruption and/or being sued by some extremely expensive Qatari lawyers. I don't really know how they would do that.

But the thing is: The sponsors are beginning to demand investigations as well. Which is probably the only thing FIFA fears.

i'm ready

to host the 2022 world cup?

well i started an ilx rolling lol fifa thread so i might be a bit overqualified

Every so often it hits me that this is going to be the last non-shitty World Cup until 2026

lol u reckon there'll be a non-shitty world cup in 2026?

Why won't Russia be ok as a tournament? They have staged the Olympics and Winter Olympics before.

Of course they will build these huge stadiums that will be used for a couple of matches at most, but that's the problems with most WCs staged outside of Europe and South America.

This issue is multiplied to a grotesque degree in Qatar, plus use of pence-paid/slave labour. Of course nobody cares about that as much as the heat at which the matches will be played (resulting in poor quality matches and poorer viewing figures) when you get to the thing itself.

As for the bribery - you don't get anywhere without some form of bribery. Everybody pays - money or blood or worse - to some degree.

We must accept it as part of the human condition.

the issue with bribery is similar to the issue you identified re: Qatar - nobody gets too bothered about it until it leads to a hugely unpalatable result

agree that Russia will be no worse than any other World Cup setting tho

not sure I really regard the wc with matt's sort of sentiment, tbh the last I truly look fondly back on was france 98

def more butthurt about the expansion of the euros

platini is a worse cunt than blatter as well btw while I'm dishing it out

b ribery

Spain will win it. You heard it here first

Going for Japan. Good football will be played. Group C looking most interesting.

That John Oliver attack on FIFA was good shit, can't believe Tim Roth plays Blatter as a crusading hero in a worthless FIFA vanity biopic. Roth has done nothing but worthless shit for decades but that IS rock bottom.

Was this posted on here already?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/magazine/how-jurgen-klinsmann-plans-to-make-us-soccer-better-and-less-american.html

it was posted in usmnt iirc

I'm excited. It will be nice to nit have to get up at 5am to watch the matches. Sorry to everyone who will have to stay up late.

yeah i'm getting excited

just filled out my bracket. optimistically picked colombia as winner, but with falcao out it's prolly not gonna happen. so: argentina. or maybe a boring france/germany/italy dealio.

there are some ridiculously potentially good first group games which will no doubt mostly damp squib out as first group games do but Brazil-Croatia, Spain-Netherlands, lol England-Italy, Germany-Portugal

sure the real fun will turn up elsewhere but that's a fun-packed line-up right there god start dammit start i was watching England-Argentina from 86 on the red button at 1 this morning

i am hyped. i am anticipating.

People in London watching Eng - Ita and getting night buses home? Looking at routes just now, etc.

Missed opportunity to extend the tube for a couple more hours.

One thing about seeding sides like Belgium, Colombia, lol Switzerland is that there are quite a few marquee fixtures early doors.

Always excited about the World Cup. Thinking back to previous tournaments and trying to sort out what I genuinely remember from the time as opposed to what I have subsequently been reminded of or have learned from re-watching old footage. I'm not completely certain that all of the following actually happened.

1978
ticker tape, argentina's blue and white shirts.

1982
Eng scoring after about 30 secs from a throw in against France.
Kuwait threatening to walk off the pitch after an inadvertent whistle from the crowd.
Keegan missing a back post header.
Spain goalie flubbing a shot and Gerry Armstrong scoring.
Brazil vs Italy.
Rossi.
Schumacher killing Battison.
MARCO TAR-DEL-LI!!! celebration.

1986
Strachan pretending to vault advertising hoardings when he scored.
Uruaguay player sent off after about 10 seconds.
Hand of God.
The next goal.
Barnes crossing Linekar missing.
Argentina blowing 2 goal lead.
Burrachaga.

1990
Rijkard spitting
Cameroon attempting to decapitate Caniggia.
Schillaci.
Waddle from the halfway line.
Gazza crying.
Waddle pen-alt-ty.
Maradona crying.
Nessun Dorma.

1994
Jack Charlton rucking with someone about a drinks break.
Baggio substituted.
Leonardo elbowing some American (he's not that sort of player)
Branco scoring a ridic. free kick in a game Brazil won 3-2 (can't remember the opposition).
Bebeto 'rocking baby' celebration.
Baggio penalty.

1998
Owen goal.
Zidane red card.
Suker checking his own pulse before scoring penalty.
Thuram scoring twice.
Bilic acting the bitch to get Blanc suspended for the final.
Ronaldo.
Arsenal scoring the 3rd goal in the final.

2002
Football for breakfast.
France getting knocked out.
Italy being robbed.
Rivaldo playacting when hit with ball.
Roy Keane and Trigger.
Ballack being the anti gazza.

2006
Riquelme subbed.
Ronaldo wink.
Italy vs Germany.
Zidane vs Spain.
Zidane vs Brazil.
Zidane almost fucking up his panenka.
Buffon saving Zidane header in first half of extra time.
Zidane headbutt.
Cannavaro.

2010
Rob Green lol
Landon Donovan last minute goal to seal US qualification to knockout stages (did this actually happen?)
Suarez handball.
Gareth Barry chasing Mesut Ozil. Forever.
De Jong booting Alonso.
Shearer visiting the townships.

2006 group stages were mad fun.

there a good mix of matches per day to get excited about without too much overlap.

psyched.

Whether you don't like it that much anymore (and there are many reasons not to) or still love it we are all.going.to.watch.it.

No use fighting.

The Euros are going to be attrocous though - format was perfect, why fuck it up.

Nani was on it last night. Sadly this was disallowed though

http://giant.gfycat.com/NippyFatherlyCormorant.gif

btw that BBC doc on Brazil last night was disgusting thrash. 'oh sorry for trotting out cliche after cliche but as we don't know any better we are going to do it anyway'

Shearer @ the favellas next.

Hadn't realised that Cox has been rolling out his tactical rundowns of all the teams over on Zonal Marking, that's my bedtime reading for tonight sorted.

finish work tomorrow one hour before kick-off which would usually piss me off as too long a day, but on this occasion I don't mind, anything to keep me busy.

I'm beginning to jig about on the spot in anticipation any time I get extended down-time and start thinking about it.

1982
Eng scoring after about 30 secs from a throw in against France.
Kuwait threatening to walk off the pitch after an inadvertent whistle from the crowd.
Keegan missing a back post header.
Spain goalie flubbing a shot and Gerry Armstrong scoring.
Brazil vs Italy.
Rossi.
Schumacher killing Battison.
MARCO TAR-DEL-LI!!! celebration.

I clearly remember that me brother and me had started watching The Adventure Game ('the vortex', 'drogma', 'grandfather's never been the same since he was turned into an aspidistra') when my Dad raced home from work early and was aghast to see that we didn't have the football on (and promptly changed the channel).

"Me brother and me" should have been "my brother and me" (which obviously should be "my brother and I" but I don't say that).

http://i.imgur.com/PhKWJFl.jpg

2006
Riquelme subbed.

ugh this was the worse

If Brazil win, the semi finalists are the usual suspects, Messi wins the golden boot and best player and young player are relative unknowns, we should all revere Andrew Cole as a sage.

Come on Andrew even the laziest daytripping fuckwits at least have Belgium as their dark horses.

Who is this Messi bloke?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/upshot/world-cup-opinions-in-19-countries-likes-dislikes-predictions.html

team americans are rooting for: USA
team americans are rooting against: USA

honestly surprised the english aren't practicing the same kind of manic self-love/hatred

In the areas of the US that care about football, I'd guess that there are a significant proportion of people who will be rooting for their country of origin/ancestral home over the US themselves.

England definitely have that kind of self-loathing thing going as well.

Can anyone explain the Germany-Honduras beef to me?

I bought a new TV!

never underestimate the kneejerk nationalism lurking just beneath the surface of even rational-looking English people

i find myself trying not to tilt to the other extreme of self-loathing, it's a reaction as much as anything else, but when the vast majority of your media is incapable of a clear-eyed assessment of the national team you do tend to get a bit exasperated

Watching England from 3000 miles away is a different experience, they're just treated like a minor curiosity here, certainly not as important as DaMarcus Beasley

all the irl World Cup conversations i've had so far this summer have been peeps not really into football repeating vacuous generalizations or peeps who hate football telling me why it's evil and shd be stopped :(

otm xp

people who hate football otm

careful dude i am still sensitive on this spot

Football should be more evil, but on the field not off

don't worry we will have an opportunity to explore all of the fascinating elements of the english world cup experience just as soon as the tournament gets underway and we have the traditional ilx conversation about england flags in pubs

i spoke to a USA fan after playing at the Y last week and i was pleased to see he was exactly the kind of thick sky-sports-level cliche-spouting pub bore you get in britain, except he probably didn't drink, and he was a bit wronger about some stuff.

we have the traditional ilx conversation about england flags in pubs

You're not in England right now are you? They're WAY down on four years ago.

huh, no i had no idea. that's actually pretty interesting.

post flag

is anyone doing fantasy football?

Welbeck possibly crocked for the first game, I have no problem with this

yes I'm doing the mcdonalds one: http://en.mcdonalds.fantasy.fifa.com/

perfectly chosen photos

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp2PoDBCIAAST3S.jpg

the pubs i've been to that are going for a world cup thing have all of the flags on display. someone alert richard littlejohn.

Football should be more evil, but on the field not off

Agreed. I want to see more full force, cleats up, ankle stabbings within the box. Then again I'm also a hockey fan...

they are out there now putting up more so i cant but tomorrow i'll take a picture of my estate flags. for blocks of maisonettes where you can see the front or back of 48 homes with only a small concrete courtyard inbetween, yesterday i counted 23 flags*. today there has been coordination between top and bottom tier to put out more bunting. today each bunting and new flag has likely made it hit about 30. also half this estate isn't even english.**

*doing this i counted a union jack and each different string of bunting as 1 piece.
**it may actually be a reaction to this, idk and dont wanna know, we move in two months, let them have a race war.

been seeing a lot of pics of the playing surface in Manaus today

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp34hZ5IAAA6RG4.jpg

looks like concacaf qualifying, nbd

not gonna suit anybody playing neat passing oh never mind

What Gary Neville's notes* read...

‘When the ball goes into control zone – team must make at least three passes before hitting the CF (centre forward).

‘Once the ball is played into the end zone – 2 MFs (midfielders) try to get in and support for a 3v2.

‘However, if the defending team win the ball back they counter straight away.’

*This is clearly Gary Neville's training notes and not secret tactical information for the big match against Italy. As big supporters of the England team, there's no way MailOnline Sport would publish details that would harm Roy Hodgson's pursuit of World Cup glory.

yeah I am doing a fifa/mcdonalds FF team, ilx league a possibility

i'd be in on that

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp3MzolCAAA5L77.jpg

"Elfenbeinküste" !!!

don't ever knock that language to me

Jozy's 300/1 for golden boot. Hmm... (Landycakes is 250/1)

mb 3 or 4 more to make a FF league worthwhile?

in

be tight now tho

I'm up for that.

im up for it

I've already got a team and am in a couple of other leagues so count me in too.

wow this thread kinda makes me hate all of you, now i see why all the cool ppl left for I luv football

-- cankles, Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:55 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

psyched to see this guy and other valuable ilxors on the world cup thread proper tbrr

All my football knowledge is based on the period 1990-94 so I'm pretty sure I'll win this thing.

i'm in, putting a lot of faith in my bench full of iranian and algerian dudes.

I'll make a team, what do I do?

fuck it, I'll play

how do i shot, etc

watching pre-WC MOTD. not seen MOTD or shearer for 3ish years. it's not just me, right? shearer is putting on a slightly posher accent.

ha the group of death thing was quite funny

http://i.minus.com/ivwjlOBEtF53h.png

Here's a league I made which you can all join!

http://en.mcdonalds.fantasy.fifa.com/leagues/105415

excellent

I picked an FFL team in our league featuring Ozil, Oscar and Pirlo and with a frontline of Messi, Neymar and Mandzukic. Plus a defence who won't even get on the pitch in the tournament. Defence is boring, and for losers.

Do we need a new thread for the Group Stages or should we just keep this running? It's not ballooned as much as I'd initially thought it would.

was thinking this one would do the job

rename tho obv

oh km

WELCOME TO THE FUCKIN WORLD CUP EVERYONE

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2011/3/23/1300910990310/James-Milner-England-007.jpg

HE'S READY.

ITV is no way to start a tournament :/

Oh man I just discovered that FIFA has banned vuvuzelas from the tournament Sepp Blatter I take back everything bad I have ever said about you.

Sepp Blatter from hell's heart i stab at thee

altho obv the cliche thing will be non-stop samba accompanied by idiot pundit reaction

"the drums have been silenced"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L786iiv4Ces

THEY'RE READY

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

HE'S SORT OF READY MAYBE

omg we're posting READY pics its actually happening

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club%20Home/2009/6/16/1245169330590/Howard-Webb-English-refer-001.jpg

HE'S RUBBISH

http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/477007841-netherlands-national-football-team-players-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7QRWUsOeoGS3JPlCFTLkpA9gpNsGdmkEhEYY%2FNNBIDXQb

THEY'RE NOT TELLING EACH OTHER WHETHER THEY'RE READY OR NOT

http://worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/usa-soccer-fan.jpg

HE'S READY

the crying eagle has landycaked

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276270/Article/images/20519545/5750323-large.jpg

HULL'S READY

some idiosyncratic choices here

http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/twelve-hot-soccer-players-in-the-2014-world-cup/

spurs fan watching this WC is gonna be like Southampton or west ham fans watching top end of EPL

eh tbf gonna be like us watching top end of EPL too but 19m for Carrick was joeks

i'd like to imagine that somewhere about now Woy has just woken up with the cold sweats after realising he's picked no holding or linking midfielders

milner

he can slot in

specialisation is bunkum its a simple game, take yr pirlos now, the Italians make a lot of a player like that, but where do you play im? behind the midfield? nonsense.

Rooney is so getting a red on Saturday as he lumps his way after Pirlo

Anyone know of a WC chart I can use on OpenOffice. I could try myself but if there's one available...

Rooney will be injured by the Manaus pitch first.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp51yU-CQAA8Bu4.png

;_;

Predictions for Brazil / Croatia?

'Shock' Croatia 2-1 win.

draw, modric to make me well up at least three times

vogue not having alexis sanchez in their list is bs

<3 vuvuzelas, fuck fifa.

I like crowd noise more.

Mandzukic is suspended for the Brazil game, right?

Or injured?

hes not playing..

vuvuzelas r crowd noise bruv

He's suspended. xp

anyone who says they like vuvuzelas or even that they weren't that bad is a complete moron

soz

I give them about 50% of the blame for the shitness of the last world cup (the other 50 is for the jabulani obv)

not liking vuvuzelas = racist imo

read some fanon ffs

yep, definitely a complete moron

lol who you gonna blame if this world cup is shit, the stadium caterers? The advertising hoardings?

FIFA

ilxors of france, what's going on w/ yr midfield? does no ribery actually make pogba less likely to start?

Lionel Messi, Argentina
"It is impossible to communicate, it's like being deaf."

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
"It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate. A lot of players don't like them, but they are going to have to get used to them."

Xabi Alonso, Spain
"I think they should be banned. They make it very difficult for the players to communicate. They are a distraction and do nothing for the atmosphere."

Patrice Evra, France
"We can't sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6am. We can't hear one another out on the pitch because of them."

Tim Meyer, Germany team doctor
"You can think about ear plugs, but that would mean an even more serious communication problem on the pitch."

Thomas Sorensen, Denmark
"The problem is you just can't communicate. You really have to use eye contact. Whatever I say to the defenders will not be heard. You need things sorted out before the game, know where people are, use hands signs, because you have no chance on the field to do things quickly. When you play in England you are used to the good atmosphere and the people singing, but this is just a constant noise. It's obviously part of the tradition here, but I prefer people singing."

back in your box

On June 12, during the opening ceremony of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, eight paralyzed individuals will come onto the pitch. Seven will be seated in their wheelchairs. One of them, however, will be standing. He’ll walk a few steps toward a soccer ball. When he reaches it, he’ll hitch back his leg and then strike the ball. It may roll only a few feet, but that will be enough to officially kick off the Cup. To accomplish this astonishing feat, all he’ll have to do is think about walking. A bionic exoskeleton controlled by his mind will do the rest.

http://grantland.com/features/world-cup-2014-exoskeleton-miguel-nicolelis-brain-research-brazil/

give the players their own vuvus and they can just communicate that way

^

nn otm vuvuzelas pure shitness

game after game who drive you insane, baby it's the vuvu man
who's going to steal the show you know baby it's the vuvu man
who's going to blow and blow and blow baby it's the vuvu man

something keeps him drifting, Cape Town to Ellis Park
searching for a place to PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPP

=< vuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

=<

crying of lot 49 audio book just one long vuvuzela signifying tripped out fuckedness

not really feeling modric's haircut. bad news for croatia, imo

http://news.7msport.com/news/upload_img/20140526/44_2014052611411364.jpg

Brazil 3-0

nah 3-1

Ellen?

ilxors of france, what's going on w/ yr midfield? does no ribery actually make pogba less likely to start?

― ogmor, Thursday, June 12, 2014 3:36 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Don't think so - think Deschamps has half hinted at the possibility of not starting him, just to scare him into getting more serious about defending.

That haircut is doing him all the favors in the world, trust me. Now actually adorable.

Brazil 1-0. Opening games are always slow.

mostly, not always. not sure that Brazil will be able to exert caution and not sure they're gonna be a sit-and-hold-a-lead team

ilxor proxy ms Mac, Luka's other fan, does not agree with you l, so by default he's now yours. gratis.

Lol that mcdonalds ff thing is encouraging the worst 10-year-old-fm-player indulgence, I just picked a squad including messi, Ronaldo, neymar and iniesta.

Spose the fun thing about these tournaments is that the biggest players won't necessarily be the biggest points earners, but all the same

i changed my mind, I dunno that I have the time or inclination to do a fantasy pick

but you guys it's only 3 HOURS TILL KICKOFF WEEEEEEEEEE

I already have the app on my phone ready to go
(and two more apps as backup incase I decide the one I picked sucks)

is there ilxor fantasy league ?

yes. here: http://en.mcdonalds.fantasy.fifa.com/leagues/105415

aw are we not allowed to look at each other's teams?

Just wanna say, fantasy football is despicable nonsense trash

And please don't ruin this thread with it. Start a new one

Lol Lj you old curmudgeon, how can something as innocuous as fantasy football get you so riled up?

It's the first day of the World Cup, peace on earth, good will to all football fans etc

Ba, Ibrahumbug (£3.3m, CM)

Fantasy football determines one's football discourse a priori, and that's patently dangerous IMO

m8 we've got plenty to talk about, there are many possible prisms to view the WC through

shall we do best mascot now, or later

In for the Fantasy Football. No liking the wee union jack beside my name though :-(

tried to log in with Facebook then realised there was another layer of shite after that so nein danke

what about best name? feel like we've been spoilt this time. yeltsin tejeda, granit xhaka, mix diskerud, tommy oar, patrick pemberton, ciro immobile

Leaving work at 3pm to watch this. Thank you S. American timezone.

really wanna go watch this in the pub but i have to be in work early to tell somebody off :/

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/06/12/sports/soccer/WORLD-CUP-slide-A6FG/WORLD-CUP-slide-A6FG-superJumbo.jpg

Kind of want to participate in this fantasy league but too lazy, because I've never done it

Ian Wright is coked up to his fucking eyeballs

*cough* possibly

Ian Wright is a fud. Is he going to be doing this shit all tournament? Might need to find streams for things not on the BBC (though I expect they'll be doing a fuckload of Alan-Shearer-visits-the-favelas-and-patronises-the-locals guff an' all)

is that really Pixar who made that shitty Nike ad?

This giant LED ball makes the stadium look like the intro to a Nintendo 64 game.

yeah pixar :(

oh crap. Why do we have to have opening ceremonies?

because listening to sports commentators trying to describe them is pretty funny

I'm going to the rehearsals of the Commonwealth Games one in a couple of weeks. Am using this as practice at hating it.

stream pls?

anyone?

http://www.firstrowsports.li/ take your pick

grazie

paid for a UK VPN for this month, i mean i know itv is bad but fuck if i'm watching ESPN

getting concerned that nobody on TV seems to realise that Barry Manilow's "Copa Cabana" is not set in Rio

it is quite geographically specific about that too

i know right?

Ian Wright actually SAID it was the hottest place north of Havana. FFS, really?

Right, Pitbull's on. Thankfully they appear to have switched their mics off. I'm away to make my tea.

gonna need to get a few gifs of Pixar Rooney tho

"you can't choose your Nature" - Glenn Hoddle (sitting round a table on the beach with Gordon Strachan and Ian Wright, all three of them wearing shorts and sunglasses, on ITV, right now)

Brazil: Cesar; Alves, Silva, Luiz, Marcelo; Paulinho, Gustavo; Hulk, Oscar, Neymar; Fred.

Croatia: Pletikosa; Srna, Corluka, Lovren, Vrsaijko; Brozovic, Modric; Rakitic, Perisic, Olic; Jelavic.

anyone know 21 year old Marcelo Brozovic? he's only got one cap.

"you can't choose your Nature" - Glenn Hoddle

Karma chooses it for you iirc.

Ian Wright calling Gordon Strachan "Strachs" is an ealry contender for most annoying thing of tournament.

Bobby spirals, how do you deal with Steve mcmanaman on espn?

That Aldi advert with Graham Taylor also quite bad.

Brozovic more defensively minded than Kovacic? Maybe Kovac has thought better of fielding three creative midfielders with no holder

nevermind, guardian posted wrong lineup, replace Brozovic with Kovacic

lol

the british ppl they get for espn coverage are the barrel scrapings but steve mac is another strata unto himself. i feel bad because he is clearly actually, you know, in the imbecile iq range but yeah i have had to watch on mute in the past

It's the sound of waves crashing behind espn coverage that bothers me more than Steve mcmanaman.

I will probably try to watch England game over VPN but also I am lazy and have big, new tv

BBC are playing the 5 Live feed (currently a montage of the most famous pieces of WC commentary through history) over visuals of the players warming up on the pitch, infinitely preferable to Adrian Chiles' bullshit over on ITV

Brazil have a played called Hulk. HULK SMASH ball into the back of the net.

the World Cup thread welcomes everybody discovering football for the first time

brazil 2-1

Xp lol I was waiting for someone to post that

More excited to watch modders/rakitic playing together than any of the Brazil team.

Trying to work out how Croatia's two playmakers are going to work out against Brazil's two holding midfielders. Can see Croatia getting a load of of early possession and then getting ripped open the second they lose the ball.

btw, I assume there isn't any more opening ceremony bollocks we could be watching rather than listen to these fucknuts chuntering on?

I think they have to get all the giant LED ball segments and enormous green trampolines off the pitch before the games starts.

omfg itv player now experiencing technical problems. with a message up top saying "maintenance in progress"! are these fucking guys for real? a national tv network ffs, should be able to cope with a bit of traffic

ITV can't even get their channel to show a whole game let alone their website

"Croatia are not here to make up the numbers" puts foot thru TV screen

Brazil fielding rob green's back up

Olic on the wing, jelavic up top?

btw if you are having troubles in your area with broadcasts, check out this site:

http://www.vipboxus.co/sports/world-cup-2014.html

Oh aye, I guess so

xposts

Nice bit of a capella there

That second verse was proper spine-tingling. David Luiz was getting particularly into it.

yeah that was p. fucking stirring. David Luiz looks to be in the mood. Thanks Frobisher btw, but it's righted itself again now

damn i missed it i think, there better be a gif of the robo dude telepathically kicking the ball or whatever

What's this nonsense?

excitement of the anthems severely leavened by the sound of andy townsend's monotone

o damn

Lovely

Lol

ha omg

I've seen enough. Brazil are shite

oooooh great start brasil

amazing

Olic has so much space.

Olic is a boss
Jelavic should score

:drains beer:

hahahaaaa lol

marcelol

Brazil were never behind in confeds cup I don't think

Amazing how quiet it suddenly got.

Roffles.

Been some terrific crosses so far

Good game

sorry about yr beautiful game brasil lol

it's sure nice to not hear those fucking vuvuzelas.

has anyone said anything yet about croatia not having read the script?

Now apparently the lights are going out or something.

All these crappy commentary teams and no one could offer Tim Vickery some work ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ

Brazil looking like relying on a set play goal. Silva from a corner prob

has anyone said anything yet about croatia not having read the script?

― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, June 12, 2014 4:18 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes

first class work

I can fearlessly say the ESPN commenting team are annoying dullards.

aw Ian Darke isn't so terrible. He's no Guy Mowbray

Damn those were some good saves.

Croatia leaving alarming space in left back area

And yeah, Darke's actually okay but whoever's with him again is sucking out my IQ.

Steve McManaman is a known plonker

Perhaps rope-a-doping alves? Prob not.

Xp

Hahah it is McManaman? I should have recognized that flat tone of death already.

xp to Ned: Good ol' Taylor Twellman. By which I mean, stinking smirking blond piece of shit Taylor Twellman.

fucking coward ref, the cunt got his fucking eye in before raising the arm

Or wait maybe he only does US games with Darke... I'm listening to the radio, JP Dellacamera and Tommy "Auld Onion Bag" Smyth.

Never a red windsor

Former Spurs reserve keeper is looking a lot better than QPR's reserve keeper right now.

Don't think Taylor Twellman has a Scouse accent ;)

imagine sending off Neymar in the opening game

Ooh

There it is.

you're right pandemic, but i've been drinking and the blood's up

ahhhhh man i'm glad he didn't walk!!!

Should have been off imo.

placement

poor from Pletikosa

That's not just celebration, that's also relief

yellow card the right call.

Neymar may end up the anti-messi. Great for the national team men for Barca.

"They needed that."

"Yes. Ooooh yes."

Lol meh, not men

have the lights gone back on yet?

So who are the guys doing the itv sports commentary cause that's the stream I'm watching. They seem pretty pointless.

also - yeah that was a yellow card, the guy got smacked right before he could get the ball -- lots of intent there.

Tydlesley and townsend

Pointless is praise for them

That reads kinda Yoda

http://o.onionstatic.com/images/articles/article/795/onion_news1941_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg

Neymar going so deep to find the ball

Vrsajlko seems to be doing pretty well for a right-back being asked to fill in

Heart sign celebration is a straight red card imo

The ESPN audio streaming glitch I'm getting now is pure Steve Reich.

Robertom mancini is good on espn but maccer is defintely room temperature (Celsius) iq

typical dour, uneventful opening game

Neymar maybe a shade lucky to still be on but i can't imagine any ref sending him off there. Croatia struggling to break out for the last 15 minutes, they need to get back down the wings cos I can't see them containing Brazil for 45 mins

music for 18 mcmanamans

Spent half the opening 45 minutes of the world cup reading about dick punching on a clusterfuck thread.
wtf is wrong with me?

tbf the World Cup is inherently sexist, being an entirely phallocentric exercise, so penance is probably due to us all

THIS IS A FOOTBALL-POSITIVE SPACE

listening to the ESPN radio broadcast also -- I don't mind JP and Tommy, kinda the 'sound of football' for my world cup experience for the last 2 tournaments

lol @ 'auld onion bag'

wish I could pull a brownie and be home watching :/

ahaha NV

this hs been great. croatia need to remember they have a boss midfield though and also lol try sending off neymar tonight, just try it

kinda feel like croatia are gonna get steamrolled in the 2nd half if they don't come in hard

It's usually p. much the kiss of death when all the pundits talk about how "fascinating" the game has been, but I really have been enjoying this. I mean the booze probably helps yknow, ma whatevrr

idk i'm just excited bc world cup

wish I could pull a brownie and be home watching :/

i will complain about an offsides in your honor

i also have the US Open on, so don't feel so bad

I always do like a game that follows the script, to crib a line from Clive Tyldesley and Brazil being punished by their fullbacks' defensive ineptness followed by Neymar scoring from 20-something yards is a fun narrative that makes sense to me

punctuation :|

Talking head cliche sure but I don't really understand how Fred is a Brazil starting xi player.

It occurs to me that I don't think I've ever seen Hulk play well.

Hulk is worse. At least Fred scores the occasional goal