FIFA World Cup Football 2014 Official Thread

[Penguin]

After some shit calls, Brazil wins. Neymar is pretty good. U_U

 

[Naruto.]

lol Brazil. What a tense match.

 

[Reaper]

****ing bullshit blind ref >.>

 

[McRazor]

Disgrace to football. Instead of a majestic match all we get is another FIFA intervention. Well done, I hope the referee can sleep well.

 

[Naruto.]

****ing bullshit blind ref >.>

Disgrace to football. Instead of a majestic match all we get is another FIFA intervention. Well done, I hope the referee can sleep well.

Ikr? The Yellow Card to Neymar and the Penalty to Croatia were both examples of poor refereeing.

 

[McRazor]

Ikr? The Yellow Card to Neymar and the Penalty to Croatia were both examples of poor refereeing.

All I can think of when I read the referee's name.

Spoiler

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[Kerrah]

All I can think of when I read the referee's name.

Spoiler

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First thing I thought of when Croatia lost was to see what your reaction was lool

 

[fiend]

FIFA should now introduce review system like tennis, wherein teams get three reviews, when they challenge the ref and get review in their favor their reviews remain intact otherwise they are expended.

 

[Escorpiius]

Escorp's World Cup Coverage

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3 - 1

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Brazil v/s Croatia | 12/06/2014

Given the amount of matches, I won't do extensive pre-match analysis/post-match reviews till the QFs or SFs stages. That being, I'll try to make my fair share of contribution and personal insights. With that in mind, I'll divide those early matches into Quick thoughts of the results, Analysis of Each Teams, Standout Players of the match in both good/bad way, and any personal opinions on certain topic (if any).

The Match: As every opener of a World Cup, it's undeniable that the awaitness of the event precedes the anticipation of the match even more. Moreover, Brazil embodies the status of hot favorites and this eventually gave a match with a very tactical Croatia side in 4-4-2 during defensive portions. Brazil also seemed more crisped and burdened by the weight of playing in their home ground than freed to give their best display. It was by such, no surprise, for me, to see a much better start for Croatia, fully deserved by the opening goal. Neymar eventually scored to equalize before the half-hour mark with the luck of the post. With the goal, Brazil snatched the momentum from Croatia but lacked the spark to light up the stage, as they are supposed to do in their home. In a pretty tight match, with an unconvincing domination by Brazil, the deadlock was eventually broken by...the referee. A penalty for one of the most blatant simulation, Neymar barely converts the penalty for his double and putting Brazil in the lead. Oscar added a glossy 3rd goal after Croatia pushed valiantly for the equaliser, sealing Brazil's victory.

The Result: Any result other than a win would have been a huge setback for Brazil and by such, those opening 3 points are sign of a job accomplished by Brazil. Accomplished only - the well-done credits are yet to be earned. Croatia can rue their luck though; with their goalkeeper lacking the required elasticity on both goals and the referee even giving an unjustified penalty call against them.

Impression on Brazil: Still pressurized by their own World Cup. Tactically perhaps better suited to play a counter-attacking football given their wily, pacy players as seen on last goal. But given their hot favorites tag, they'll be forced to put their foot on each game early on. There is definitely lots of room for improvement but a positive start was perhaps the required amount of oil to all that machinery. To be seen in their next matches. Their defensive lapses on the flanks will also need to be corrected. Against top sides like Germany or Argentina, they could be cruelly punished.

Impression on Croatia: A valiant performance. But with an experience Cameroon and an interesting Mexico side, they certainly now need to perform on a consistent good level to clinch that second place...with a defeat on their back already. They can take positives from this match nonetheless, with a pretty impressive central midfield by the hub Modric. And with Mandzukic returning, their offenses might borne better fruits next time.

Top Standout Player/s: Neymar and Oscar. While Neymar will undoubtedly hit the headlines with his equalizer and penalty clincher, Oscar was a constant calm head during the offensive passing and worked well on defense. His 3rd goal was utterly deserving of a very good performance. Neymar showed all - some signs of disappearance and some magic, some diving and fouls but importantly, the ability to perhaps indeed be the savior of a whole country. It's very important psychologically that Neymar scored today and even better that they are important goals. The tag of trying being a country's hope is already huge enough. Showing that he has the potential of being that player from the early goings, is morally great for him, for Brazil and for Brazil's progress. Brownie points to Modric and Luiz Gustavo who impressed me also.

Flop Standout Player/s: Daniel Alves and Pletikosa. Daniel Alves had way too many lapses in his defensive tasks. Ousted and slow in each assaults on his right flank, the Croatia goal even came from a cross from his flank. He lost most duels in the first half while he needed the much-needed support of Thiago Silva in second half. Offensively dangerous but having two attack-minded full-backs like Alves and Marcelo can be suicidal for the Selecao in future matches. Pletikosa lacked the flexibility and agility to stop Neymar and Oscar's goal. Despite being well-placed balls, they remained stoppable shots for a goalkeeper of better calibre. Marcelo also gets the same negative remark as Alves from my side as he also netted the unfortunate own goal.

Escorp's Personal Remark: While it's stupid to claim scandal of favoritism toward the host country given the nature of the penalty, I still hope refereeing won't try to unfairly protect the Brazil side too much during the tournament. A fair tournament is for the betterment of everything. Speaking of refereeing progress, a good point was the line drawn during freekicks while I liked a lot.

That'd be all - expecting better more exciting matches than this average opener.

​

 

[Luther]

People should stop being butt hurt, brazil are well deserved winners. Also on another note rakitic played good and had a solid performance and also showed he has good defensive qualities add that with his height and size and i think barcelona have a top player on their hands here, i cant wait till the deal is official yet.

 

[Memento Mori]

FInally Glad that Brasil Won

 

[ar1987]

There was a lot of poor refereeing because Fifa couldn't allow for a host to lose a opening match and for Brasil to lose to such a small country.

 

[Totsuka No Tsurugi]

The dolphin should have been sent off for elbowing Modric and that's not a penalty,
Poor refereeing.

 

[Caliburn]

Brazil's 6th world cup is suddenly far far away.

People should stop being butt hurt, brazil are well deserved winners. Also on another note rakitic played good and had a solid performance and also showed he has good defensive qualities add that with his height and size and i think barcelona have a top player on their hands here, i cant wait till the deal is official yet.

Brasil was overall more dominant and on that point you could consider them the deserved winner, but the reality of the situation is that they barely did anything with that dominance. Only the last 20-25 minutes of the first half the brought some moderate football, however everything else was just plainly world champion unworthy. They needed the referee to decide the match and there isn't really much of a discussion about whether that 'fault' being something you give a penalty for as you don't, you simply don't. On top of that it was a horrible penalty. That it went in had more to do with the Croatian goalkeeper than it was Neymar's doing. To finish Croatia had scored a 2nd goal, but it was counted as invalid for a supposed fault on the Brazilian goalkeeper, which can also be very strongly contested.

Reality of the situation is that a draw would probably have been the most correct result of this match as Brazil didn't do or couldn't do much with their dominance. At this rate Spain and Germany are the favourites for the title, not Brazil.

 

[xXMadaraUchiaXx]

wow Oscar is a f...cking young football god

 

[Xarpius]

Voted for The Netherlands since they came so close 4 years ago, and I believe they will do a good job this time around.

Plus: With their current coach I have no doubts that they will make it far.

---

It's Friday 13th tho. I hope Robben is going to be OK.
#BadFeelingT_T

 

[McRazor]

Interesting fact that just appeared on one of our news portals: Belgium is the country that has the least amount of km's to travel between matches. I know most people disregard statistics like this but having to travel 10+ hours in the same position can and most of the time is very uncomfortable on top of the obvious loss of 10 hours training time. With more time to prepare and rest for their matches, along with the youth and skill they posses I really, really want to see Belgium on top of everyone else. With the last nights performance of Brazil we surely can't count on them taking the cup (unless with a few more referee interventions) and everyone is saying that Spain doesn't have it this year. There's still a lot of good teams but for some reason I can't shake the feeling of seeing Belgium as one of the top contenders for the Cup.

 

[Xarpius]

Interesting fact that just appeared on one of our news portals: Belgium is the country that has the least amount of km's to travel between matches. I know most people disregard statistics like this but having to travel 10+ hours in the same position can and most of the time is very uncomfortable on top of the obvious loss of 10 hours training time. With more time to prepare and rest for their matches, along with the youth and skill they posses I really, really want to see Belgium on top of everyone else. With the last nights performance of Brazil we surely can't count on them taking the cup (unless with a few more referee interventions) and everyone is saying that Spain doesn't have it this year. There's still a lot of good teams but for some reason I can't shake the feeling of seeing Belgium as one of the top contenders for the Cup.

What's up with the Belgium obsession? They sure have good keepers and great players, but they do lack strength. Plus the their setup may look good at first sight, but having both Vertonghen & Lombaerts (← especially left) in their defense is eventually going to be their biggest mistake. I won't put too much trust in them if I were you, rather why won't you root for the Netherlands or Portugal? <_> ;p

 

[McRazor]

What's up with the Belgium obsession? They sure have good keepers and great players, but they do lack strength. Plus the their setup may look good at first sight, but having both Vertonghen & Lombaerts (← especially left) in their defense is eventually going to be their biggest mistake. I won't put too much trust in them if I were you, rather why won't you root for the Netherlands or Portugal? <_> ;p

Well, everybody is talking about Ronaldo and about how he's not ready because of the injury. While he's assuring everyone that he's OK, I'm sure he's hiding the fact that he isn't ready even from himself. He doesn't want to disappoint and he wants to carry his team and hiding an injury and not being ready is a very big deal. I know he's not the only player in Portugal, but he is their main player and they very much depend on him performing above average.

Regarding Netherlands, well, they just don't have it. Their main players are Van Persie and Robben while most of the others not that well known and I'm afraid their main problem might be their youngster goalkeeper. Without much experience on very high level play like a WC I'm sure there will be a lot pressure on him and I'm sure mistakes will happen.

I'm obsessing over Belgium because we were in the group with them and I've seen what they're capable of. I've watched their games and I love their fast, swift and fluid play. They transform amazingly well and have a deadly counterattack. They have a large number of upcoming young players that are starting to take main roles in their clubs and I'm sure they're confident enough. If you check Belgium's FIFA ranking all you see is a positive rise for months now. I'm sure it's just going to continue.

 

[Olorin]

my bets are on Germany

they should have won the euro 2 years ago, Spain wasn't the best even back then