# Brasil 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 6, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840 "2014-05-06T21:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 91
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1801 "2014-06-26T19:51:26Z")
Ah the World Cup, where ties feel like losses and losses feel like wins. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1802 "2014-06-26T19:54:21Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Benedikt Howedes at LB is the biggest problem with Germany’s defense, IMO. He has no pace, offers nothing going forward, can’t read situations in defense, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s found out. I don’t know why he’s starting, because it should be Durm, but I’m sure Loew feels Durm doesn’t have enough experience. The only problem with that is Howedes doesn’t really either, because he’s a CB/RB. All the attacks from Ghana were coming down his side, and I hold my breath every time the ball gets near him. Problem is, our current defense consists of four learned CB’s and that makes it kind of slow. Ghana exploited this weakness, while the USA were just too passive today to take advantage of it. Could become a problem against more agile offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1803 "2014-06-26T19:57:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Problem is, our current defense consists of four learned CB’s and that makes it kind of slow. Ghana exploited this weakness, while the USA were just too passive today to take advantage of it. Could become a problem against more agile offense. Why isn’t Lahm playing in the back? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1804 "2014-06-26T20:04:52Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Why isn’t Lahm playing in the back? That’s the big discussion here. Mainly it’s because Pep Guardialo made him (successfully) a mid-fielder for Bayern Munich last season, and Löw adapted his position in the national team. If his talents serve us better in the defense or as a 6 is still up to debate. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1805 "2014-06-26T20:05:40Z")
I’m glad that the US went through, but we were thoroughly out matched by the Germans (as stated, why didn’t we play wide and cross it in against, effectively, 4 CBs). And what is up with Michael Bradley?! He’s looked horrible in all three matches. I’m a bit scared to play the Belgians in the Round of 16 (it looks as though it’ll be them). Oh, and while Christiano Ronaldo had a very nice goal, the US did not NEED that goal folks. A draw between Portugal and Ghana would have put us through. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1806 "2014-06-26T20:07:59Z")
Russia up 1-0 against Algeria. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1807 "2014-06-26T20:12:51Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’m glad that the US went through, but we were thoroughly out matched by the Germans (as stated, why didn’t we play wide and cross it in against, effectively, 4 CBs). And what is up with Michael Bradley?! He’s looked horrible in all three matches. I’m a bit scared to play the Belgians in the Round of 16 (it looks as though it’ll be them). > > Oh, and while Christiano Ronaldo had a very nice goal, the US did not NEED that goal folks. A draw between Portugal and Ghana would have put us through. His play against Portugal was fine. One bad giveaway 70 yards from goal that required the defense to completely lose a mark in the box to hurt them. His passing completion is second on the team (to Beckerman, who doesn’t play any attacking passes, while Bradley does a lot of riskier through balls). He was shit against Ghana, and marginal against Germany. He’s taking way more flak than he deserves, IMO, even though on average he is below his usual standard by a decent margin. As far as group winners go, Belgium is a decent team for the US. I’d certainly rather play them than Argentina, Holland, Brazil, France, Germany, or (probably) Colombia. The US has already exceeded expectations. Anything from here on out is gravy, and there’s a decent chance for a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1808 "2014-06-26T20:16:10Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Starting to wonder whether I should watch using that or stick with Watch ESPN. The quality of the latter is just so damn variable… I’ve been watching Univision for the whole Cup, and i’ve never had any problems with the stream. It comes through in excellent quality, and when there are two interesting games on, i can easily stream one to each screen on my dual-monitor setup. Of course, the commentary is in Spanish, but that’s fine. My Spanish is not fantastic, but is good enough to catch most of what they’re saying, if i pay attention. And, to be honest, i don’t really need commentary anyway. I’d be quite happy if they offered an audio feed with nothing but crowd noise. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1809 "2014-06-26T20:21:31Z")
Some reactions of US fans in[Manhattan and Chicago](http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/us/us-world-cup-reaction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1). Quite a crowd and mostly young people… wonder if its a trend. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1810 "2014-06-26T20:26:02Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Some reactions of US fans in[Manhattan and Chicago](http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/us/us-world-cup-reaction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1). Quite a crowd and mostly young people… wonder if its a trend. According to a [New York Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/fashion/soccer-particularly-englands-premier-league-growing-in-popularity-in-new-york-creative-circles.html) from a couple of months back, the hipsters are flocking to soccer in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1811 "2014-06-26T20:27:46Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > His play against Portugal was fine. One bad giveaway 70 yards from goal that required the defense to completely lose a mark in the box to hurt them. His passing completion is second on the team (to Beckerman, who doesn’t play any attacking passes, while Bradley does a lot of riskier through balls). He was shit against Ghana, and marginal against Germany. He’s taking way more flak than he deserves, IMO, even though on average he is below his usual standard by a decent margin. Even against Portugal, his first touch was horrid. He had a few good offensive runs, but was not all that good (maybe above average, if I’m being generous). And against Ghana and Germany was really useless. He just can’t control the ball on the first touch in this tournament - not exactly the best thing for your attacking MF in a 4-2-3-1. I’m not saying he wasn’t leagues better against Portugal than against Ghana or Germany, but that’s a low bar to clear for him. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1812 "2014-06-26T20:29:21Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Starting to wonder whether I should watch using that or stick with Watch ESPN. The quality of the latter is just so damn variable… Beyond Youtube, I have terrible luck with streaming video, but Univision has been flawless on my laptop using Chrome. Plus the announcers are a kick with their deeeeep machine gun voices. I don’t speak Spanish but they use lots of cognates so I can kind of gist it, and I don’t pay that much attention to announcers anyway. I’m a World Cup newb, so I just watch. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1813 "2014-06-26T20:35:19Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > According to a [New York Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/fashion/soccer-particularly-englands-premier-league-growing-in-popularity-in-new-york-creative-circles.html) from a couple of months back, the hipsters are flocking to soccer in NYC. Soccer has been fairly hipsterish here in Chicago for the last half-to-full decade or so, from what I’ve noticed. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1814 "2014-06-26T20:45:58Z")
Holy crap - deserved red against DeFour of Belgium. He stomped on that ankle… ouch! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1815 "2014-06-26T20:48:05Z")
Another justified red for studs on shin, and again not malicious, just badly timed. The Belgian offender did not protest. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1816 "2014-06-26T21:02:57Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Another justified red for studs on shin, and again not malicious, just badly timed. The Belgian offender did not protest. note again, both feet off the floor. If the ref sees that clearly they are pretty much forced to act. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1817 "2014-06-26T21:10:12Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’m glad that the US went through, but we were thoroughly out matched by the Germans (as stated, why didn’t we play wide and cross it in against, effectively, 4 CBs). And what is up with Michael Bradley?! He’s looked horrible in all three matches. I’m a bit scared to play the Belgians in the Round of 16 (it looks as though it’ll be them). > > Oh, and while Christiano Ronaldo had a very nice goal, the US did not NEED that goal folks. A draw between Portugal and Ghana would have put us through. Yes, but Ronaldo’s goal will have calmed a few nerves. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1818 "2014-06-26T21:14:42Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Yes, but Ronaldo’s goal will have calmed a few nerves. That it did. In other news, this is Russia’s best performance this World Cup. Only up by a single goal, though. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1819 "2014-06-26T21:17:53Z")
Slimani does it again!! Algeria ties it up - if it holds, Algeria is #2 in group. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1820 "2014-06-26T21:18:04Z")
And Algeria has tied it up. Did anyone see the lasers beings aimed at the eyes of the Russian keeper before the free kick? They weren’t to blame for the goal, but it’s pretty fucking poor sportsmanship from the fans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840.md?page=90) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840.md?page=92)