Guys, this is a post match thread. If your post isn't about the match, it doesn't belong here. There's plenty of threads in the general forum debating the merits of various teams based on performances thus far.
I agree--that Denmark defender who scored the idiotic own goal could've learned something about flick-on defensive headers from them. This North Korea team is NOT 105th in the world, that's for sure. Would love to see what they could do vs. the 2010 bottom-feeders like Greece or Algeria. Asia is doing itself proud (except for Australia).
Wow, what a surprise from North Korea. Just as the press said, they were a mystery team and the mystery was unfolded. They were not like China in 2002 which was one of the worst teams in WC. They were not like South Korea of the past, who crumbled easily against top teams. They were nothing like Japan. N. korea was well organized, poised, and played great defense while making good efforts to score. Their lone goal was superb just as 2 Brazil goals. Well deserved goal. I mean, if Maicon didn't make that fantastic goal, knows how it would have ended? By the way, Maicon's goal was no luck. Even though he is a defender, he has made fantastic shots before. He is one of the top players right now. Portugal and Ivory coast thinks one of them will be second. I think they have a lot to worry now after this game. North Korea is by no means a push over team ranked 100. I will now be rooting for NK to finish second. The Korean forward played extremely well.
I read some people saying only second half was fun. Come on. If you know soccer, watching a team like Brazil trying to crack a great defense like N. Korea is a spectacle to watch. BOTH FIRST AND SECOND HALF WAS GREAT. This was one of the best games so far in the tournament.
Shouldn't North Korea jump about 50 places in the FIFA rankings after only losing by only ONE goal to the BEST team on earth??
Kudos! A few things: 1) It's best if we keep world politics away from our beautiful game. 2) NK did well - respect. 3) IC and Portugal will now have to go at Brazil with all their might. For the points, and 1st place. No one wants to play Spain in the second round. 4) If ever, that either IC or Portugal is leading Brazil 1-0 in their games, expect the ref to ensure a Brazilian victory.
Conspiracy theories like this need to either be backed up, or avoided. This stuff would not be welcome in the ref forum and is not welcome here. This is a general warning to all posters. This stuff may seem innocuous but it has no business in game threads.
Just watched the game on replay. I was very very impressed by North Korea. I feel dirty rooting for them, but I won't lie I really wanted Jong Tae-Se to score at the end there. Regardless, this makes the group that much more interesting which makes the world cup just that much more interesting!
No doubt about that. Competitive games are so much better than blowouts that's why so many want North Korea to do well. If they were in a different group besides the group of death they could possibly ADVANCE!!
Nine pages, and no one thinks that Brazil did not want to run up the score out of respect. Watching the game it seemed at times they were just toying with the N. Koreans and not giving it their all. After N. Korea scored you could see that Brazil wanted to score immediately -- that's the Brazil I'm used to seeing for 90 minutes. Same behavior as when Brazil beat the US 1-0 in the US during WC94. It was the fourth of July. At that time I had seen only a few professional soccer matches but I could already tell that the yellow and green were a few classes above the red, white and blue. Nothing impressive about the N. Koreans in this game.
No and Portugal/Ivory Coast are going to struggle. At least now they are fore warned. If North Korean had played Portugal/Ivory Coast first then they might of got a point or even 3.
I think you are gravely mistaken, comrade. You've mistaken a lack of passion for an excess of respect. The Nokies simply wanted it more and therefore played harder and punched above their weight. And by the way the Brazilians are smart enough to realize that not running up the score could hurt their chances of winning the cup. This group may very well be decided on goal difference.
IMO, a major reason many are criticizing Brazil (this includes Brazil's sports press and fans) after this match is that they couldn't handily beat a team considered to be a weakling. But the cold facts show that this North Korean side is not a bunch of ragtag amateurs. Yes, some of them play in a semiamateur league, but it is also true that some of them have been together for 5 years - I did some research and found a number of names on today's roster that was present at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup and at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Now, it's not like the starting 11 have been playing together all this time, and even if that had been the case, it doesn't mean they would've beaten Brazil. But it goes to show that the soccer federation of North Korea has some kind of youth development program in place and that some of the better players do reach the senior level. Brazil was toying with them - or appeared to be doing so. I thought we were going to score when Robinho easily dribbled at around 2:30. Brazil easily recovered possession, and as I said in the Brazil forums, Brazil's solid defense, passing, and ballhandling were all very evident. Now, some Brazilian fans online are complaining about how Brazil missed about 108 passes - but is this really shocking when your opponent morphs into a 10-1 formation when your side has the football? And compared to other powerhouses, Brazil has better stats on possession. Credit must be given to North Korea's team. They were disciplined, showed no nervousness, did not give up after being down 2-0, and played a compact style of football with a highly organized defense. I definitely would not mind seeing them advance, although I admit Portugal as 2nd vs. Spain as 1st would make a more intriguing matchup. And to some of you who are not doing a very good job of concealing your pleasure that Brazil didn't do so well in this match - Brazil has a tendency to start "slow" in the opening stage. It's a month-long tournament, folks, and Brazil tends not to get worse as games come and go.
The result was a genuine one. North Korea did not want it more, and Brazil did not "opt" to not run up the score out of respect. This was the exact type of game that I was expecting (although I predicted a 1-0 scoreline). The reason Brazil did not score too much was because of their system. They are a counterattacking team. To be quite honest I was extremely impressed by Brazil in this match. They showed patience, and did not seem to be disheartened when the score was 0-0. I think this shows that they have bought into Dunga's system, and they act as one team, rather than a collection of stars (*cough* England *cough*). Brazil fans shouldn't panic. Their team will go very far in this tournament and if I were a betting man I would bet on Brazil to win without thinking twice.
Hi guys, new to the forum I am not a big fan of Brazil, but I do believe they are not receiving the respect they should get. Not to take anything away from N. Korea, they had a great game. Many teams could learn a little from their well organized defense and I hope my side plays as good tomorrow in their opening match. That being said, I think Brazil played extremely well and I venture to say that they are the best rounded of all the teams I seen play thus far. Although the score was a close 2-1, I do not think it does the game justice. Brazil had the game in the pocket, and was extremely comfortable throughout the whole match which is partly due to the Korean lack of initiative to attack. The sole Korean goal, as superb as it might have been, really just caught Brazil while in their zone of comfort. I think the game stats say it all. Don’t get me wrong, I am not predicting anything about NK’s future matches and I wish them the best. Instead what I am trying to say is that Brazil seems to be a true contender for the cup.
I have a question about the Maicon goal for anyone who is a goalkeeping expert. Was that a mistake on the part of the North Korean goalkeeper? To me it looked like it wasn't, but I'm no expert.
It's tough to say. Rule number one as a goalkeeper is to guard your near post. But when you look at the angle, Maicon's playing style, and the three Brazilian players waiting in the centre to receive the header, it was a calculated risk to take the step out expecting the cross. So yeah, you can probably say it's a minor mistake but really Maicon's brilliance is the reason for the goal. Personally, while not textbook goalkeeping, I think the 'keeper made the right decision based on the odds - it just didn't pay off.
I'd label it a minor mistake too, Maicon's timing on that is last-second and the keeper has properly positioned himself to cover a cross, the only issue is that the keeper should want to be able to dive to his left in case of emergency. More of an experience thing than anything else.
For people who think Maicon didn't mean that goal, watch the Brazil 6 Portugal 2 friendly, he did it TWICE in one game.
As I always say, it pays to look through the thread - AcesHigh posted that goal and another in this post: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21010738&postcount=60 You're right that he meant to shoot, at least I certainly agree with that and that's what he says.
Clearly a shot. Had way too much power and was too low for a cross. It came off perfectly. Brazilian fullbacks have a tradition of scoring that goal too.
the announcers here in the states on ESPN are part of the reason so many people don't think maicon meant to score. these idiots on ESPN think that if something doesn't happen in the EPL it doesn't exist, meanwhile any one that has remotely followed Inter/Brazil over the past 4 years knows maicon has scored goals just like this one before
Brazil is known for its skin-baring, samba-dancing female fans, but on this night, with a wind chill of 26 degrees, they were bundled in ski jackets, yellow and green scarves and knit caps. The matchup couldn't have been more intriguing.