Match Day 2 (pbp) - Portugal v. Spain- Sochi

ehehheheh, Football as rich kids sport, ehehheheh... Sorry, rich kids play polo, tennis and golf, skeet shooting, hunting, rowing, maybe rugby - these are their sports. Anyway, has nothing to do with Spain and Portugal.

 

I expected Godly Cristiano to win it alone, yet Spain actually got over their coaching situation a bit better then anticipated, and somehow managed to hold Cristiano to a draw. It took a titanic effort on Costa's side, who delivered his best performance in Spanish jersey. Nevertheless, it was entertaining match, and I expect more this Cup from Cristiano, as well as from the Spanish Armada.

 

So glad I pvr'ed this one and avoided anybody who may have spoiled it for me - long day, lol. As expected, Spain looked good in possession and Portugal had a good plan to neutralize - these teams know each other well. I bet for a 1-1 draw, but this was much more entertaining. Some awesome goals - Costa, Nacho, CR7 fk, wow

 

Lol at football being a rich white kid sport(considering the fact that majority of footy players went through poverty).

 

Magically?
The first was a dive to win the penalty , second was a keeper howler only the third was magical .

 

Same difference (and no - it was a penalty). It's all on Ronaldo though.

 

Rabbit season, duck season .... no no no it is RONALDO season )
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Even Gary Lineker said he bought that penalty...

 

Sure, he bought it. But it was a clip. More of a clip than today.

 

Ronaldo made the dive, but there was still contact. It was a penalty.

 

Yeah, some are acting like 3 goals vs Spain by the goat is no biggie.

 

Yeah, two mods have wanted to talk so I let them. I thought

 

I'm not sure what Hierro was doing. On the one hand, it looked as if he did not manage the game well. He may very well have won had he not taken out his most dangerous players after going 3-2. On the other hand, it looked as if Hierro wanted to save his best player for the latter stages (to keep them fresh). I think he wanted to see how his team would fare trying to close a game out too. It seemed perhaps he didn't care that much if the game ended in a win or a draw (so long as they didn't lose).

I think the controversies over Cristiano's opener and Costa's equalizer have their merit; however, the referee didn't get it altogether wrong.

Was it a penalty? Yes, but it was a soft penalty and Ronaldo did go looking for it. He knew exactly what he was doing and drew the foul. Moreover, Nacho only has himself to blame, not the referee, and I didn't like how later in the game he got away with stamping on Ronaldo. He's lucky he didn't get booked.

Did Costa foul Pepe? Arguably, but Pepe chose to go to the ground when he very well could have stayed on his feet. I'd rather see play go on than see players look for fouls and for me that goal deservedly stands. Pepe is getting on in years. I'm not surprised he couldn't go toe-to-toe with his old nemesis Diego Costa.

Overall, a great, open game. Spain were incredible in possession. The way each player can both hold the ball and spray passes around is sensational. No team will get the better of them to this end. And technically, there is no better team. Just look at the technique Nacho displayed on his goal. Every player on the Spain could produce something like that and goes to show that Spain are indeed strong favorites.

The same could not be said of Portugal, save for Ronaldo who was the best player on the pitch by far. If not for Ronaldo, Spain very likely would have won 3-0. Portugal's reliance on Ronaldo leads me to believe they won't be able to beat of teams Spain's caliber. How far they will go is not certain, but I can't see them winning on Ronaldo's back alone. The risk of Ronaldo being hobbled by an opponent is very likely in my opinion, especially if Portugal are drawn against South American opponents (consider how Colombia took out Neymar in 2014 or how Ramos took out Salah in the recent CL final). Nacho almost did it in the game, but he did it craftily enough to avoid a yellow and to avoid serious harm to Ronaldo. Just enough to set him off a little was all Nacho was looking to do. Portugal don't seem to have anyone who can inspire them otherwise to greater glory and I just can't see them winning it all for this reason.

 

This is my biggest concern with Hierro. Not necessarily in the way we play or even setup but with in game adjustments and substitutions. Can he read what is happening on the field?

 

Well if Mario Fernandes can play for Russia 4 years after playing for Brazil's first team then they should let Messi play for Spain

 

Great game. The best I've seen. Spain were the better team and deserved to win but the Portuguese made the most of their chances. They've looked the two best sides so far.

 

Well you obviously did not see the 1-1 Argentina vs Iceland game (not a dig against Argentina or Iceland).

 

As a hunter and fisherman, hunting is not really for rich people. It can be pretty grueling out there most rich people wouldn't last a day, it can get real dirty at times too. Edison Cavani grew up in a humble rural area and he is an avid hunter fisherman. You can make anything expensive that involves gear but you don't need a Beretta or some other Italian made gun to hunt. Tennis is the rich kid tell tail sport.

 

In most places soccer is for the poor. Many it's different in certain American places.. larger cities I assume where u don't have many fields or facilities might lead to an increase in cost.. but all u really need is a ball and a couple nets. Problem for us may be that basketball football and baseball are principle sports... followed by wwe... but hockey and to a lesser extent football and tennis are for a class of people with a little more money to spend on their children's physical activities.

 

You should check the prices on sending your kids these facilities for Tennis its outragous. Training your kid to actually do something in the rankings at their age group is really expensive. Guys like Nadal and Feder they had the support of rich families to allow them to pursue that career. Not many kids will try Tennis when they come from a poor house, they'll go for the big sports where more athletes are employed. Though the Williams sisters are an exception here for sure being from Compton. Tennis has a fairly low equipment cost but when you have to bring in trainers and facilities into the equation it becomes more elitist than even Hockey.

 

Was it Pavon who actually got tripped today but VAR didn't give a penalty ??

I don't get it ...

 

Pavon should have had a penalty, but the first one wasn't a penalty.

And the referee from Poland decided to ignore VAR on both occasions and made two mistakes, which thankfully evened out.

 

I also expect the Polish referee to not get much more games due to this. It was the worst ref performance so far.

 

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