Brasil 2014

[PaulParkhead]

@Sir_T-Cups

I am not privvy to world cup rules, with Altidore out AT LEAST on Sunday, if not longer, can the US call up someone (coughdonovancough) and replace him? Put Altidore on the world cup DL of sorts?

Or is the US just gonna have to eat the injury and yay for subs?

He can’t be replaced now, no. The list of 23 players is final under most circumstances, so the US will have to work with what they have.

[AK84]

No Donavon, I am afraid.

[lisiate]

Looks like the latter if I’m reading the FIFA World Cup regscorrectly:

[QUOTE=FIFA regs clause 29]

6. A player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of
   serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of his team’s first match.
   The replacement players do not need to be limited to the release list. Such
   replacements must be approved in writing by the FIFA Medical Committee
   upon receipt and acceptance of a detailed medical assessment in one of the
   four official FIFA languages. The FIFA Medical Committee shall approve the
   request if the injury is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part
   in the competition. The participating member association shall inform FIFA
   accordingly of the player’s full details (cf. par. 4 herein) at the same time as
   when submitting the request to replace the injured player.

[/QUOTE]

No changes to the 23-man roster for injuries once the Cup starts seems to be the rule.

ETA Bah ninjaed, but I provided a cite…

[Sir_T-Cups]

Well boo

[Bozuit]

Disappointing finishing from Ghana. They set up some potentially good goals but never seemed to be able to get the most important part. Well, except that one time.

[Octarine]

Random digression: I think the current Google Doodle is my favorite, or at least the most poignant, so far; it features an angelic Paul the octopus. Google really is outdoing themselves this time - with lots of them, they probably have to make two “final result” Doodles because they can’t know who’ll win.

[by-tor]

Someone teach the US team how to pass!

[ISiddiqui]

@Lamar_Mundane

I’m not sure the gameplan was the problem, but more the inability to string together passes, even when guys were wide open. Bradley in particular was uncharacteristically atrocious.

Well, it seemed to me that the gameplan was, in order to neutralize Ghana’s speed, bunker down. True, I’m sure Klinsy’s plan included better possession play (FAR better possession play), but I don’t really like the defense first plan either.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@ISiddiqui

The US was lucky to get the result it did. Ghana dominated the game from 20 minutes in, up to a bit after their goal. Someone said the US seemed to do much better when we needed a goal and that seems to be right. Our gameplan was not all that great for most of the game.

I’m VERY happy for the win (which I don’t think we deserved), but if we play like that against a Portugal team that is angry, we’ll get destroyed.

Heck, if Ghana was better at finishing, they may have scored 3 goals - they had the chances. What was it, 20 shots?

Don’t all teams play better when they “need” a goal? And FFS, who cares how many shots Ghana had…they only converted one of them and the US keeper is tits out.

I did not see this game the same way. Yeah, Ghana had more chances on goal, but THEY were the ones behind for almost the entirety of the game!

[ShibbOleth]

Ghana was generally awful in the final third. Shooting is part of the game. The US deserved to win.

[Novelty_Bobble]

@ShibbOleth

Ghana was generally awful in the final third. Shooting is part of the game. The US deserved to win.

The US were pretty bad. 2-1 flatters them enormously but there you go. If you can’t finish your chances you leave yourself open to the sucker punch.

If they can’t raise their game against Germany and Portugal they may well get battered.

[amanset]

@straight_man

The camera in the Iran-Nigeria game is getting terrible lens flare. It’s driving me insane!

Bringing the incisive comments, I know.

And that may well have been the most exciting thing about the Iran-Nigeria game.

[abel29a]

@racepug

…snip… (I’ve seen that sort of thing happen before - in 1998 when Brasil won its group with a match to spare and then up popped Norway to beat them in their last group match and claim a second round spot. And Norway didn’t have the benefit of a Norwegian managing the Brasil team). 'Course, if the USMNST doesn’t beat Ghana’s team today then that all probably become moot, at least as far as the USMSNT is concerned.

You say this as if it was a surprise - I’ll have you know Norway is the only national side who has played Brasil and not lost a game (2 wins, 2 draws)

(Granted it all started in the '98 cup, so my point is moot, but the bragging rights, oh the bragging rights )

[Ximenean]

I was quite impressed by the scale of the travelling US support. Of course, Americans have got more money than most other countries, but it still costs a pretty penny to get to, and around, Brazil.

[lisiate]

@abel29a

You say this as if it was a surprise - I’ll have you know Norway is the only national side who has played Brasil and not lost a game (2 wins, 2 draws)

(Granted it all started in the '98 cup, so my point is moot, but the bragging rights, oh the bragging rights )

Nice if this Wikipedia tableis accurate Norway is the only team never to have lost to Brazil. Brazil is less dominant than I thought actually, there all-time winning percentage is only 63%.

[Bozuit]

@Ximenean

I was quite impressed by the scale of the travelling US support. Of course, Americans have got more money than most other countries, but it still costs a pretty penny to get to, and around, Brazil.

And of course, Americans are generally closer to Brazil than people from other rich countries.

They probably just drive there. Americans drive distances on a whim that I would take weeks to prepare for.

[Cumbrian]

@lisiate

Nice if this Wikipedia tableis accurate Norway is the only team never to have lost to Brazil. Brazil is less dominant than I thought actually, there all-time winning percentage is only 63%.

So speaks a supporter of the All Blacks with their 80+% winning percentage.

[Ximenean]

@Bozuit

And of course, Americans are generally closer to Brazil than people from other rich countries.

They probably just drive there. Americans drive distances on a whim that I would take weeks to prepare for.

I hope no one’s actually tried to drive to Brazil, otherwise there’ll be a lot of Americans stuck in Panama right now!

[Laggard]

1-1 would have been the fair result but that doesn’t matter does it? I don’t in the slightest bit think that these games are fixed but if one was partial to those theories the first goal by the U.S. last night would be good evidence that fixing happens. Two Ghana defenders made absolutely no attempt to defend Dempsey. It was like they were hypnotized. Very strange.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

It wasn’t so much that they weren’t trying to stop Dempsey as he was moving very well and already in the penalty area. Defenders are very cautious about tackling a player with the ball at his feet because refs (and particularly the refs at this WC) are apt to give penalties for even minor contact.

Those were two superb goals - Dempsey’s goal and the Ghana goal. The latter is probably neck and neck with Van Persie’s header for Goal of the Tournament.