And it looks like Almeida might be out as well. Rough for Portugal, aside from the drubbing they just took.
missing 2 games for a direct red, We aint getting out of the group so out for the tournament Coentrao is one of the top LBS worldwide, Pepe one of the top CB' our defense becomes pure shit aint winning
It's not over yet we lost to the best team in the group and after losing a man we were still keeping shape if Besler was red carded in this game the result would of been greater no disrespect intended USA won't win Germany if they are not already quailfed they will that game ruthlessly and if they are already advanced by that game expect Klose to up his tally What a ruthless team
I never knew it was so hard to tell the difference between the Portugese and the French. The olny way I can tell is the Portugese really aren't as good with the head as the French are.
Paulo Bento has a chance to save face on Sunday and it'll be interesting to see how he shakes the team up. Obviously, Pepe, Coentrao and H. Almeida are out. I expect to see William Carvalho in the midfield and hope to see Eduardo in goal, but I'm unsure of other changes. Ricardo Costa replaced Pepe, so I assume he'll get the nod next to Alves rather than Neto; Veloso could be moved to LB because he's done that before and lord knows he doesn't contribute much in the midfield against good teams; Andre Almeida subbed in today, but just isn't very good; I expect to see Ruben Amorim and Silvestre Varela at some point in the next match; Eder should start up front unless Bento thinks Postiga's one-touch finishing in the box is preferable to Eder's ability to stretch/challenge the defense.
I know I'm not suppose to laugh about this, but that is hilarious. I can just picture Portuguese fans emailing FIFA that picture and begging them to suspend him.
Portugal's defense, now even more decimated after this game, appeared highly vulnerable. As a team, they were emotional wrecks. This is setting up nicely for our high pressure, fit team to cause serious problems.
Honestly, even if Portugal gets a result that keeps it alive going into the Ghana match, I'm not sure Bento will be too quick to toss Pepe back out there.
In leagues I think that's how it usually is. I guess because of the fewer number of games, they wanted to limit it to only 1. From wikipedia: "Any player picking up a red card is expelled from the pitch and automatically banned for his country's next match, whether via a straight red or second yellow. After a straight red card, FIFA will conduct a hearing and may extend this ban beyond one match. If the ban extends beyond the end of the World Cup finals (i.e. if a player is sent off in the match in which his team was eliminated), it must be served in the team's next competitive international match(es)."
Huh, I have never heard that a player gets banned for two games off a red, whether straight or two yellows. (Unless you count the immediate game as one of the games). For as long as I can remember, a red card means booted from the immediate game (not replaceable) and banned from the next game. Discipline committees of certain leagues have been known to step in and extend bans if warranted, but that is pretty rare.
I'd be surprised if it wasn't a two match ban. I would also not be surprised to see Meirelles (sp) get a ban for his verbal assault on the ref. Even without that, the US can't ask for any more handicaps for Portugal in that game. The loss of Pepe and Coentrao alone is just a massive loss. Coentrao to me playing with Ronaldo makes them so dangerous against any team not named Germany.
I'm sure it's different from league to league, but in the Premier League, 2 yellows means you're only banned from the following match. A straight red means you're out for the following 3 matches.
Interesting stat from BBC: "Since 2002, Portugal have had six red cards in 15 World Cup games - twice as many as any other side." Them's some dirty mofos.
This game went about as well for the USA as we could have dreamed, short of Ronaldo aggravating his hammy and having to miss our game. Portugal was a mess. Meltdown of epic proportions. I actually thought Germany took their foot off the gas pedal in the 2nd half and probably could have had 2-3 more if they really wanted. There were 2 occasions where Portugese players made contact with the ref, after the PK and after the non-PK call. Surprised there were no reds shown for those.
You don't generally recover from patellar tendinitis with only a week of rest. He is not 100 % and wont be until the e nd of the Summer.