Wow, exciting last group play! Nicely done, Algeria!
ETA not over, yet, of course. Can Korea score on 10-man Belgium?
Theoretically SK could take it on goal difference?
They would have to win 4-0. Pretty unlikely.
I don’t know, maybe another Belgian or two will lose his mind.
I did say theoretical.
Russia still dangerous. Albeit a lot less dangerous than I thought they’d be. (I massively underestimated Algeria’s resilience.)
With my thinning dome I could totally rock a Palacio do.
Johnny Belgium does like to leave it late.
Goal for Belgium.
With my thinning hair, I’m rooting for Mr. Comb-Over, the Argentine ref, because that’s a piece of art.
Very well done for Algeria. Can’t knock them for organisation and effort. Russia certainly haven’t done enough over their three games to particularly deserve it.
Totally agree. I’m blown away by Algeria’s resolve, and was wrong about them.
That is quite wonderful.
Almost worthy of a nod of respect from themost famous comb-over in sport
Happy for Algeria! Now get some revenge on Germany for 1982!
Well that’s the massively entertaining group stage over then.
My picks for the round of 16:
Brazil - Chile
One goal from Neymar isn’t enough as Chile break the hosts’ hearts 2-1.
Colombia - Uruguay
A toothless Uruguay go down to the entertaining Colombians 2-0
France - Nigeria
Despite an early scare, France prevail 3-1 in the end.
Germany - Algeria
Algeria never come close to repeating their win in 1982 to lose 2-0
Netherlands - Mexico
Plucky Mexico make a game of it but the Dutch are just too strong and win 3-2
Costa Rica - Greece
Costa Rica make all the running but can’t quite score, Greece go through on penalties (boo hiss).
Argentina - Switzerland
Messi wins 1-0
Belgium - United States
Belgium does just enough in a game the US could have won, Belgium 1-0.
So, like 4 years ago, Holland and Argentina get the full 9 points - this time joined by Colombia. Still think France the strongest team right now.
What two matches in the round of 16 are you all looking forward to the most?
As an American obviously I await the Belgium game with earnest enthusiasm. Especially as it may be Clint Dempsey’s last appearance in the WC. He is my all time favorite player. 2006 WC was the first year I really got into soccer, after which I decided to follow Premier League for a couple seasons to see what soccer fandom was like. I knew next to nothing, but I did know Dempsey, with the added bonus that he’s from my state. Since then I’ve followed Fulham, and probably always will.
Other than that I’m excited for Mexico Netherlands. I imagine the Dutch will dispatch Mexico handily, but Mexico has unexpectedly played beautifully so far in this tournament and I’d love to see them pull off such a huge upset. Next to USA, team Mexico has massive support here in Texas so it’d be exciting around here if they advance.
Is it unfair of me to say that this US team is just not very good? If not for that odd first goal against Ghana and some very sub-standard play by Portugal they would never had made it out of their group.
As a US fan, I would say that it is a little unfair. I think that the US is very poor from a technical stand point. That is why they have so much trouble controlling the ball and maintaining possession. They are way behind most of the rest of the world on that, so at first glance that makes them look not very good.
The rest of the game, though, they are very good at. Mostly. They defend well, modulo Cameron fuck ups. They are well organized, hustle the entire game, can score off of a set piece, and they understand what they can and cannot do well. There are a few individuals who can hurt you in certain situations. They are also a fairly cohesive unit.
I watched a little of Cote d’Ivoire, and it seemed that they didn’t understand that teammates could help them win the game. Belgium also shows a bit of that, with several outstanding individuals that don’t seem to work well as a team.
At the end of the day, 16 other teams are going home and the US is in the next round. This from the group of death.
I think it is unfair too. The US team has only played against decent teams, without the opportunity to stat-pad that weaker groups provide. Portugal and Ghana are pretty good sides, and probably would have made it through in any other group (except groups B and D) and Germany is one of the favourites. Making it through that group at all means your team is pretty good in my opinion.
I’d say unfair and I’m not even remotely American. I was saying to someone the other day that for a good while now, at least a decade, the US could comfortably expect to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup. They remind me very much of Germany in the 80s and 90s, before they got all exciting and forgot how to defend. Basically, they are not particularly exciting but they are solid and get the job done, however they lack the little bit of magic that is needed to go further. For now, anyway.