Match 56 (R16) - Spain v Portugal - PBP Thread [R]

So far, Portugal has been the most dangerous team.

 

Should have never started Torres

 

very entertaining game so far. sucks that i can't finish it

 

Gawd...omfg, my heart is pumping like crazy with everything that Ronaldo DOES NOT DO! He loses the ball way too much...doesn't fight enough...his one way running is pissing everyone off here. FFS!

 

Motivational Power Points are for girly-men.

 

baldassi likes "free flowing" games. he can get pretty annoying quick

 

He does better sitting on the ground.

 

Portugal will score one with their only chance in the second half, Spain will get a thousand chances but not score one goal....Spain = all flair no substance this WC.

 

AWESOME game!!!

 

Torres is useless there, hes a waste on the field.

 

I think most of Portugal is looking pretty good with the exception of Ronaldo. He is being his usual whiny self. Granted, some calls should be going his way, but he handicaps the team when he sits there pissed off because a call didn't go his way.

Coentrao and Tiago are doing great, I like the physicality of Almeida, and Carvalho has nearly perfect.

 

Seriously now, except from Tiago and Coentrao it does not look like 1/8th finals game

 

+1 on Carvalho. He's had an excellent tournament.

 

The same exact reason why Pep favour him ahead of Yaya Toure .....................................................

emm i have no idea , anyone else

 

This is exactly how I've felt about their squad for a long long time. They remind me of the more recent Arsenal who play beautiful but manage to have no real end product.

Brilliant players no doubt, just that they have the wrong idea of how the game should flow. Torres and even Villa look somewhat toothless in attack. I'm not sure what it is, they just don't look hungry.

 

I'd like to see him play back more and use his skill to help his team as a playmaker creating opportunities for them... but it looks like he's waiting for his team to do it without him for the most part. I assume he's used to playing with world-class players on his team and has no idea how to be a gamer without being surrounded by such talent.

 

I know this may seem a little premature since the game's not over yet...but Portugal can't finish. The only team they've looked good against Was the worse team in the tournament...North Korea. When Ghana couldn't score everyone talked about their lack of finish. For Portugal, it's called their "style." If they lose today it'll be because they can't score against better defenses.

 

Carvalho as well. Forgot him

Spain is pretty much Barcelona clueless again. It pains me to watch Spain this year

 

What do folks think: Cesc or Navas?

 

Portugal is playing a more tactically articulate game than Spain, which seems often without any clear idea on what to do with the possession it enjoys. If this trend continues in the 2nd half, I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal ends up winning the game.

 

He gets guys carded with his diving.

 

Cesc for Torres, sit in behind Villa.

 

Only possibility for Crynaldo to play team game would be if aliens abducted him and replaced him with a copy