2014 FIFA World Cup™ Semi-Finals: Netherlands vs Argentina| Wednesday, Jul 9, 4:00 PMET

I must say: Even the penalty kicks were boring and lacked tension.

 

Just wanted to check in. I´m off to celebrate. To those saying this was a bad game, I have news for you. You know shit about football. This match was brillantly played by both sides and could have been won by either.
The dutch should keep their heads up. They showed talent and flexibility in this world cup. And they have the second best player in the world.
Thank you Jefecito!

 

Not what I saw TBH. Neither team looked particularly interested in going forward. Argentina invested slightly more during regular time, Holland slightly more in extra time.

 

That is the problem with Suarez. He gets fouled in the box and PK's are not given so Liverpool fans scream they are cheated. Then the referees accept that he changed so he responds to this by diving and receiving a penalty or 2 . Then the rest of the teams scream murder because Suarez once again cheated
So a new cycle begins where Suarez is legitimely fouled in the box legit penalties are not given and so on

Last year this cycle happened twice
I think this is the same for Robben

 

Granted, I don't care if the neutral's didn't find the game pleasing to the eye. For me it was stressful and in the end we lost. And I appreciate fans like you that know well what the game is really all about because so many of my American friends are completely clueless.

 

Hermanos is a term of art. The Argies get it. It oozes sarcasm and irony, but it's still fundamentally true. We are a lot more similar than we are different. It's like an intense sibling rivalry.

There's no question that logic says Germany. They have great incentives too: Being the first UEFA team to win on American soil after ending Brasil's home unbeaten streak in the most "emphatic, comprehensive, and incontestable" fashion imaginable, as I said yesterday. Equaling Italy in the number of Cups won. And avenging 2006 and 2010.

But fantasy--that mysterious, intangible thing about football--to me says Argentina.

 

Even though it may sound terribly biased, my own view is that the only game Argentina didn't deserve to win was against Iran. While they struggled in the rest of the game you mentioned, in each of them, they deserved to come out the winner. As in their last game against Holland as well.

Holland, on the other hand, also struggled to beat Australia, didn't deserve to beat Mexico really, and beat Costa Rica on penalties. Tonight, for 75 minutes, they were decidedly second best compared to Argentina. They came out of their shell afterwards and became more assertive, but it was really a gift that gave them their best scoring chances in injury time. They did more or less dominate the 1st overtime period but in the 2nd overtime period it was Argentina that could and should have scored on two separate occasions.

 

VGaal just said he would change Cillissen again, but vPersie was 'walking on his last legs', and he thought with Huntelaar Holland could finish it before the penalty shootout

 

Bad game yes. I will never understand matches without a single goal. No interest to play offensively.

 

I love Brazilian football but:

Brasil, decime qué se siente
tener en casa a tu papá.
Te juro
que aunque pasen los años,
nunca nos vamos a olvidar...
Que el Diego te gambeteó,
que Cani te vacunó,
que estás llorando desde Italia hasta hoy.
A Messi lo vas a ver,
la Copa nos va a traer,
Maradona es más grande que Pelé..."

 

One day you will win it!

 

Well played by both sides, especially after what happened in the other semi it was always going to be conservative by both sides. I think over 120 minutes, Argentina were more 'deserving', took the initiative and looked the likelier to make something happen.
Fair play to the Dutch, when the draw was made, I was convinced they'd be out in the group stage.

As for Messi, I'd say alongside Mascherano and Vlaar was the best in normal time but Messi faded as the match wore on. Leaving those two as the MVPs.

 

If you say so, it really doesn't matter at this point.

 

Shut up smart ass.

 

Definitely, 6-4-0...prepare for that!

 

The Germans won't bunker.
If Argentina manages to keep the space between the lines small I wonder how the Germans will deal with it.

Germany still favorite for the title.

 

I would like to commend the Argentine fans on the board, with one exception they were all good natured and put up with my Dutch nonsense. You are great ambassadors of the sport and until today it has been a fun week.

 

It's hard to say. I think a strong majority of Brasilians will support Germany. The arch-rivalry with Argentina will prevail for most. Plus, you're going to play in the Maraca. The Flamengo fans will turn out in droves if you use the FLAlemanha kit. What happened yesterday will not be forgotten, of course, but we have no real answer to it at the moment. It was our worst defeat in nearly 100 years in terms of goal difference. I would say it was the worst ever simply because it came in the WC, at home. That defeat will and should force a serious re-examination of Brasilian football.

This may sap a lot of enthusism for the final from Brasilians. I would suspect that many local final ticket holders will want to make money on the exchange, and they won't particularly care whether they are selling them to Argies or Germans. Even if Germans and Brasilians are in the majority, the barra quilombera will be very loud and they will sing the whole time. They are used to invading the Maraca for the Copa Libertadores.

We'll see how it plays out.

 

2nd that.

We will have other weeks of fun in the future VFish

 

so did the germans' job just get that much easier?

 

I'm sure Holland can take great comfort in the fact that they never really did try to win this game, they tried "not to lose", that was the bravest thing they could come up with and the reason why they passed the ball between them for 80% of their possession ... I'm sure they are satisfied with that decision now after the game ...

I could be as sarcastic about Argentina but unfortunately they somehow qualified for the final, don't know how that could happen with that ultra-defensive style ...