World Cup 2014

xpost omg that is fantastic

bunch of my Spain fan friends on facebook are despairing all over the place, it's pretty lol

Looking forward to Fred finally looking a bit dangerous versus this defence.

croatia-mexico will be a doozy

lord what a shank

also xp otm

Secret most impressive feature of the game: The impeccable poise of Niko Kovac. Humidity/temperature have no effect on him.

had so much space i thought he was offside but no

Game most likely to having been fixed?

I feel sorry for Cameroon tbh.

God I love Modric

Just left wandering what might have been if their preparation hadn't been such a farce.

fixed? eh? cameroon started okay, croatia are just better. cameroon were worse vs mexico considering they had eleven men that game

I feel sorry for Cameroon tbh.

― In the airplane over the .CSS (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, June 18, 2014 6:31 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xp More like they just don't care, you don't even have to bribe them for this...?

enh, song's foul was so bizarre that it could raise the question

Pandemic, I was joking. But the defending, Itandje's appalling goal-keeping, that red card. It's all so appalling.

anytime a team is down a man i immediately cut the keeper a whole lot of slack, what a terrible position to be in

Mbia has reverted to his qpr form rather than his sevilla

he still keeps getting linked with liverpool. i'm praying

cameroon have been unlucky, even allowing for some woeful finishing. they drew 2-2 with germany at the start of the month. be nice to see them get a break

I like this Salli kid who came on for Cameroon. Hope he gets to start against Brazil.

They really can't get a break, jeez

Oh shit... Assou-Ekotto and another Cameroon player having a tiff

moukandjo really should have passed to BAE there tho

Never a good sign when your team's players start headbutting one another.

This just isn't a team. Sad.

glenn hoddle holding forth about how african teams need to play with spirit, I'm out

I didn't see this game but fuck Cameroon, they're shit and they're lucky it wasn't 3-0 against Mexico

croatia-mexico will be a doozy

it will. kind of sad that one of those two teams won't make it out of the group stages. i really wouldn't mind if it was brazil who didn't make it, but there's no chance of that happening

the shame is that its down to officiating

this is nuts:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/19/ian-wright-wife-children-burgled-knifepoint

My friend's 11-year-old half-Spanish son spent last night in floods of tears because since he was three he has only ever known Spain win, and apparently he literally just didn't know how to deal with it. Much like the Spanish players.

dry your eyes mata

damspaining

Thinking about the midfield issue, it may be the case that there's only one genuinely great midfield in this tournament, and that's Germany's. Croatia's is outrageously talented but lightweight and not terribly defensive, Chile's was great at pressing but lost possession a lot, none of the other contenders have looked exceptional in the middle of the park. The jury's out on France, let's see when they're playing someone better than Honduras. Italy maybe...

I think France and Germany have the best all round midfields.

As far as personnel they are able to call upon in squad definitely. In practice? We'll see.

My friend's 11-year-old half-Spanish son spent last night in floods of tears because since he was three he has only ever known Spain win, and apparently he literally just didn't know how to deal with it.

Was thinking that maybe Brazil are the only other side to have gone on this six-year unbeaten tournament run but I looked up the winners of Copa America and Uruguay won in '59 and Bolivia in '63.

Hard to tell how good Germany might be as Portugal were so shit. They'll be the most glad to be rid of Spain.

Germany have definitely looked the classiest side so far, didn't really have to break sweat against Portugal though

I thought Portugal looked the better team in that game with 22 on the pitch tbh

They had a couple of chances early on but were 2 nil down when Pepe got his red card. Bit generous to say they were the better team.

Chile looked excellent. Spain did some decent battle in the middle with them in terms of possession, but collectively there was no sharpness whatsoever. Nice that they seem a genuinely interesting prospect (apart from Brazil or Argentina, with the former often overrated but they are playing at home so..) Looking forward to getting a closer look at Colombia later. Only saw the 2nd half of Bosnia - Argentina. Just happy that it looks like Messi will make an impact at a World Cup.

On the European side Italy, France, Holland and Germany look focused and well managed.

thought they were only 1 down at the time but its been a whirlwind

Yah Chile are a pleasure to watch. Bielsa is the Velvet Underground of football managers.

Altidore out (shocker), Besler and Dempsey OK for USA v Portugal

I do love the way Chile play and am rooting hard for them (I'm from there after all), but I'm a tad worried that they'll make too much of this win and not focus on some things that need to tighten up. Spain had some very clear chances in the box, and just didn't finish. We might not be so fortunate against sides with more deadly strikers.

xxp I like the VU analogy

rip Jozy :(

Were belgium any good? Didn't watch thr game