Too many uefa sides stink up the joint in non euro WCs This tournament looks to be dominated by South American sides But brazil will likely play chile and Colombia probably Uruguay so two of me will be gone quickly A Brazil Uruguay quarter final would be epic
They're down a man, I think they've been fantastic to be honest playing 10 on 11 the last hour or so.
Agreed They just stink up the joint with their ugly football But yeah for being a man down they did well and looked a threat on set pieces, they are much taller and stronger than the Japanese though I think Ivory Coast will be difficult for Greece, probably a draw which would put ivory in the round of 16 most likely
Oh yeah, they play some ugly football, even with 11 guys. They have no attacking skills at all, it's a really sloppy "hope the opponent makes a mistake" kind of thing where they generate all their chances. Japan on the other hand, such an incredible disappointment. Lifeless against Cote d'Ivoire, can't do anything against a 10 man Greece. I picked them to get out of the group with Colombia, it looks like they'll be heading home with the Greeks.
My Current (Relative) POWER RANKINGS hard to do this since not every team has played 2 games, but I will update it after everyone has played 2 games. 1. Netherlands (look a bit vulnerable at the back but Robben and Van Persie are flying high) 2. Germany (looked good but ref helped them and Portugal self-destructed) 3. Brazil (home advantage, solidity, organization, need more creative spark) 4. Colombia (looking great, but played against relatively weaker opposition) 5. Italy (Solid as usual, backline a little slow, but look clinical in front of goal) 6. Chile (great performances, look a little vulnerable at the back, strong attack) 7. France (looked good but played very weak opposition so far, well balanced side.) 8. Uruguay (I expect will get better, now that Suarez is back they look deadly) - Argentian - Messi scored, can take them far, di maria looked amazing. 9. Belgium (came from behind to beat Algeria, with 2 subs scoring . suggests good coaching and depth) 10. Croatia (held their own against Brazil, hammered Cameroon... can they defeat Mexico?) 11. Mexico (comfortably beat Cameroon, 1-0 but should have been more. tied Brazil. can they defeat Croatia?) 12. Switzerland - beat Ecuador, look organized, have a quality manager 13. Ivory Coast (beat Japan, Yaya toure playing well, I expect them to proceed at the expense of the Greeks) 14. Costa Rica (beat Uruguay without Suarez. Are they for real? or was it a one-off?) 15. USA (beat Ghana, with heart, commitment, etc can they get a result against Portugal?) 16. Ghana (lost to USA, but gave them problems. should have scored) 17. Russia (tied south korea) 18. Bosnia-herzigovina - lost to argentina, held their own. but need better decision making in final 3rd. 19. ecuador - fast strong players 20-21. Japan / South Korea - Weak teams with no strength, this isnt 2002 so they arent going anywhere 22. Algeria - scored their first goal at a WC in many years. they got some decent strikers. 23. Portugal - self imploded against Germany, but everything went against them and played with 10 men. can they rebound? Can anyone support Ronaldo? how fit is Ronaldo? 24. England - one foot out of the cup, were victimized in a difficult group but their defines and midfield look lacklustre. only bright spot is their strikers such as Sturridge, and Rooney scoring a goal. 25. Greece- one foot out of the cup, struggle to score, but on the bright side they look threatening on set pieces. will need to beat Ivory Coast to progress, a draw wont cut it. 26. iran - shit 27. nigeria - shit 22. Australia/ Spain/ Cameroon ------ ACABOUUUUUUUUUUU 11. 12.
Lets see if Costa Rica they can pull it off against the pizza makers. I enjoy watching Italy play and I hope they win, but I wanna laugh at these italian tools in another thread haha
Costa Rica has been amazing, they're playing very good football. They are aggressive, press and don't just sit back but attack very direct and with purpose. Deserved lead, should have had a pen too.
Looks like there was a little dust up in the tunnel when the players were walking in after half time. It was a huge crowd of people from both teams and a bunch of guys in suits trying to break it up.
Nice list Z man! Rooting for Chile this WC. I like their swagger. How many offsides Italy? Calma. They look nervous.
Italy notorious for anti football are getting trolled by Costa Rica playing anti football hahahahah ahhahahahah ah
The weather is brutal. Just brutal. Not making excuses but Italy looked drained. Good job Costa Rica! You trilled the ref
the 3 teams I hate the most are Italy, Uruguay and England, all in the same group. This result means 2 of them will be eliminated
yeah Costa Rica the surprise of the tournament, deserved win the most obvious penalty of the entire WC that I have seen, not called. that Chilenni tackle made Joao Pereira look like a Saint. but the Big countries like Brazil, Italy, Germany, France seem to get off the hook from this stuff. anyways, I am now thinking Uruguay will take out Italy. Suarez and Cavani are just beasts.
Uruguay needs to sort out its defense. Godin could have gotten red, Rooney hitting the post..we'll see. It will be epic, most likely.
That's your FIFA rankings for you. Ukraine is actually ranked higher than France going into the finals and France knocked them out of World Cup participation in the playoff
My ESPM bracket had Brazil-France Portugal-Spain semis the first part looks likely to occur, I can see the French giving the Germans a rough ride in their likely QF matchup, and now they are flying high with confidence (again , easy group but they have quality all over the pitch and they got size and wont be bullied by the Germans. Oh yeah, and they have legit strikers on their squad!)
We have no cause to laugh at anyone at this point. You embarrass yourself laughing at a team with a better chance of progression then us.