FOOTBALL

[Case]

End of first half:

US : Defensive lapses hurt. At least two lapses gave Portugal a goal, and possibly a second with the Howard flub. But the US is playing strong in midfield and creating more chances than I expected. They are playing better than I thought they would.

Portugal: I'm actually surprised that Portugal isn't attacking more. Maybe after the Nani goal, they went in a defensive position, but I think that's a mistake. Portugal is FAR better on the offensive side, and I think if they really wanted to, they can run all over the US defense.

---

And now it's 1-1. Woo!

 

[9006]

Ronaldo's not playing as good, though that nice bit of skill was pretty good.

 

[Case]

2-1 USA! USA! USA!

 

[Drama]

Whoaa...

 

[Case]

Great goal by Portugal. Wow.

---

So close for the US, but well done to both teams for earning the draw.

 

[thelonegamer]

US are playing wonderfully. I never expected them to put on such a fight, but they're lucky they have players who play/played on the best league in the world for years so experience in european styled football is important. Dempsey, Jones, Bradley, Howard, all have the european experience and I bet Klinsmann took advantage of that.
Great campaign so far for the US, Portugal are doomed. I don't think they can surpass such a compact Ghana side that they have now.
My boy Ronaldo must score, it'd be shameful if he doesn't... But I'm sure he will

 

[Case]

Oh, man. Ivory Coast... I never rooted for them, but I can imagine how gutted the players must feel after losing their first Group of 16 berth by a PK. Wow.

 

[thelonegamer]

^ Yea, pretty gutted too. But that's exactly what makes football the most beautiful sport ever. I'm even more gutted that Bario Malotelli, Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi, Marco Verratti, Thiago Motta, and others won't be at the last 16. It's just shameful and it sucks that perhaps we will never see again Pirlo or Buffon at the Russia 2018 but that's just the beauty of football! Better luck in Russia four years from now

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It's official. I will cry when either of those hangs up their boots. I will literally cry. And why? Watch the replay of England 1-2 Italy, on the 90' when Pirlo striked that free-kick. If you see what I saw then you'll feel what I feel. Such talent! Such class! I'm lost for words. I'm a football nuts

 

[Triple Bogey]

Brazil v Argentina final is my bet.
Outside bets on Holland, Germany and Colombia to go far !

 

[Case]

As an American, USA v. Germany is really nervous for me. I have German ancestry, I chose Germany to win it all, but I just want the US to get to the Group of 16, so I'm hoping for a Ghana/Portugal tie.

 

[thelonegamer]

Portugal disappointed me. If they are going to play like this, it's better if they let Ghana go through instead. Ghana are playing ******* awesome for a ****** Portugal to prevent them from making history. I shouldn't even had expected anything at all from them. I just hope Ronaldo silences his critics with a strong showing in Euro 2016. This World Cup is lost.
I only support Portugal because of Ronaldo. My main team Italy is now gone (also pissed at them).
Now I guess I'll just support Germany since it's one of the teams I admire the most. My final: Brazil vs Germany. But only if they play Klose in all games. Otherwise they won't score anything

 

[Case]

I never thought I'd cheer a Ronaldo goal until today. US advances, and I'm very happy. Most likely, they'll play Belgium, and they're a much better team, so no predictions. Just hope.

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My final: Brazil vs Germany. But only if they play Klose in all games. Otherwise they won't score anything

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the only way Brazil and Germany will play each other is in the Semi-Finals. They can't meet each other in the final, it looks like.

 

[thelonegamer]

Well, Ronaldo could've gotten his hattrick and become a hero. Still hero. Now off to see Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany reach the last four
Colombia and Netherlands are the doubts I have

 

[Triple Bogey]

Well, Ronaldo could've gotten his hattrick and become a hero. Still hero. Now off to see Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany reach the last four
Colombia and Netherlands are the doubts I have

that won't happen. Germany play France in the quarters if they both get thru.

 

[Case]

Well, Ronaldo could've gotten his hattrick and become a hero. Still hero. Now off to see Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany reach the last four
Colombia and Netherlands are the doubts I have

that won't happen. Germany play France in the quarters if they both get thru.

Correct. My final four are : Brazil v Germany, and then Netherlands v Argentina.

 

[thelonegamer]

I'll come back with my prediction when I have a look at the schedule

 

[Triple Bogey]

Well, Ronaldo could've gotten his hattrick and become a hero. Still hero. Now off to see Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany reach the last four
Colombia and Netherlands are the doubts I have

that won't happen. Germany play France in the quarters if they both get thru.

Correct. My final four are : Brazil v Germany, and then Netherlands v Argentina.

yes I can see that happening. Colombia look very good but they may bottle it if they face Brazil. Upsets can happen especially when it can go to penalties though.

 

[Case]

I'm watching the Mexico/Netherlands match now, and our US broadcast is commentated by two Latin American commentators. (Which I find to be a bit of pandering to the Mexican-American audience where I live, but that's okay. I understand marketing enough to know that makes sense.) At present, no goals have been scored, but it reminds me of a slight annoyance of mine.

Legendary Argentine commentator, Andres Cantor (who is featured in a car commercial now in America,) is famous for originating the long, 8-10 second bellow of "Gooooooaaaaaaaaaal" during matches. I respect Cantor's commentating excellence, and he is a fixture of my youth. His commentating really changed the way Latin American games were called to the point where his extended goal calls are now standard among all announcers in Latin America and beyond.

However, where once it seemed novel and different in my youth, over the years I have found this goal call to be quite excessive and annoying.

Maybe it's due to the fact that almost 90% of the football announcers I listen to are of UK origin, and none of them use this goal call. (To be fair, Latin-American audiences would probably find UK announcers to be boring by their standards. This is understandable.)

To each his/her own, I suppose. If someone scores, I'll try to embrace the difference.

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Well, Mexico scored, and it wasn't that bad. lol

 

[Triple Bogey]

Brazil, Colombia and Holland thru so far !

 

[Case]

The way Netherlands won at the end was amazing. Now, I'm hoping disappointed Mexico fans in my area don't cause problems like they did when they advanced to the Group of 16. Riot police had to be called this past week to disperse crowds blocking roads.