it was not a pretty win by any means, but playing a man down for an hour and absorbing all that pressure is more about concentration and fitness than skill and fantasy futbol. these players are going to need some serious recovery physical therapy for the game against the dutch. and now if you will excuse me i need to go back to the celebrations!!
I agree it wasn't a nice game to watch, it was more like a battle. CR looked burn out since the 70th minute. After the Greeks tied, I thought it was over for us.
Congrats Costa Rica for the historical feat, and superb effort being a man down for a full hour of play! Regarding the odds though, I would still put them at 1000-1...
It wasn't on purpose, and the ball was dead , thats why the ref probably didn't take it.If it was a ball that could have ended at a chance he d give it,but I agree with you. And even before the red card we were dominating the game.
We have already said goodbye due to the nature of UEFA qualification and being unfortunate enough to get several tough groups in succession which has killed out seeding. My reasons are simple. You defended and bored us all to win a Euro and you have subsequently benefited from the elevated seeding it bought you to qualify for and then bore us once again at another tournament.
Thanks for replying. Good luck to CR against the Dutch, even though we know FIFA won't allow them to progress further, amirite?
That's pretty funny. You're group for 2014 was a bit difficult, but your 2010 and 2006 groups were far from "tough." All you had to do was beat Norway for a playoff berth in both qualifiers. It's not like you're ever going to win a group. So the team from the top pot doesn't really matter, because you would fail against Greece and the Swiss just like you did against the Dutch or whoever else. You belong in the 3rd or 4th pot.
The red card was a red card though , the player did the same foul 3 times . He gave him a warning the 2nd time he did it , reminding him he had a yellow.I agree with the handball though.It was a very bad angle i guess.
He was preventing the cross from finding its target who was waiting for it...but the ref didn't see it. Those things are hard to see in real time.
Did a Costa Rican player even protest that? I mean did anyone on the pitch saw that? The CR player whose ball was taken from him. Did he say anything?
I agree, Greece did well and it's time people stopped shitting on them. Just because a side doesn't have flashy forwards and finishers doesn't mean it's shite; it's just a different style of football that can also be employed effectively. Heartbreaking to lose on PKs but Costa Rica had a missed handball and a red card against them. I don't blame them for parking the bus.
I thought the Costa Rican stood up with his hand raised shouting and the announcers on my feed were yelling repeatedly for the call. Then it went back to the replay and they announced it as a clear handball. But I wasn't watching ESPN.
The issue I find with many comments in other places is that people are acting as if Costa Rica parked the bus throughout the match. They only did so after the red card. The first half was even, and after the Costa Rica goal they were taking control of the match. Since they're a team that relies on tactical discipline over individual talent, it's not surprising that they didn't know how to deal with a red card. Greece's offensive statistics were wildly overblown because of that. The Greeks really are a defense oriented team that creates few scoring opportunities in a match. I don't blame them for that, but I do have an issue with anyone who claims that this match showed anything different.
6 final opportunities in total. 2 on target. 1 the goal. All I saw was a key player named campbell being denied to take the ball. ruiz also had one shot and it was a goal. I don't reallyagree with that.
Ball was dead? As for whether or not it was on purpose, you stick your arm out like that and knock the ball, there better be a solid alternative basis for having done so, such as you've lost your balance and are flailing wildly. That wasn't the case here.
By the way,Ref did not see our handball,Ref also did not see your GKs exits from the line in at least the missed one ,and maybe in every, penalty kick.So I guess the mistakes he made are even for both teams.
in a 120 minute game it is pretty obvious they did, but even before the red card we had 2-3 classic attempts that should have ended up in a goal.anyways just glad for the future as our defenders are young , and the new coach promised to bring new blood in the NT
Nope. The handball means most likely it's 2-0 Costa Rica and no way does Greece come back from that, so the match doesn't even go to overtime let alone pk shootout if the referee would have caught it.