World Cup 2014
Figured I would start a thread being that it starts in a couple weeks later this month. US topped Turkey in a friendly:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2082422-usa-vs-turkey-score-grades-and-post-match-reaction
Our team is in a very tough group and will need all the help it can get...
iJay 
Andy Loigu US will be lucky to come out with a point. Too many holes on the D and nobody has shown recently that they can finish.
Hope I'm wrong.
roywhite The Ghana game is everything. If we win that one, we've got a chance. JK has a methodical approach and he seems to have put together a team based on flexibility and speed. Although they may still be rough around the edges, I believe that anything is possible with this team.
pph 
iPhone-imal Different cup, but I'm with you, bro ... g-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o RAN-GERS.
Beat L-A. Beat L-A. Beat L-A. Beat L-A.
There, four times will do it.
Here is a video of John Oliver talking about FIFA and the World Cup. Truly funny stuff but sadly very accurate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I
Can't wait for the Cup to start. Ghana beating up on South Korea is a little worrisome but if Jozy and Bradley are in sync, anything is possible.
Is Spain the team to beat again?
I love hearing that announcer going GO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-AL,
G-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-AL...
Ah, the World Cup, the event that gave us the vuvuzelas.
Head for cover, the killer bees are coming ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCIFXqhLzo
"We cannot win this World Cup..." — Klinnsman.
Of course it is true, but saying it certainly ruins the fun.
Mohepinoke Not a big fan of soccer, but I do enjoy the World Cup and the UEFA Euro tournaments... at least until they start deciding games with penalty kicks; then, I start concentrating more on drinking, lol.
I root for Deutschland and the missus roots for the Azzurri. I don't think either team is very strong this year, but they should both make it out of Group play anyway. However, the way the second round is setup, I don't think they can play each other prior to the semifinals... and I'd be shocked if either team advanced that far.
Mohepinoke- I am looking forward to this WC as much, if not more than the past. I believe we are actually taking the strides necessary to win a WC but most likely not this one. Everything Klinnsman has done, down to the exclusion of LD has been in the interest of putting us a few steps closer to winning a WC.
The only thing that we need to make this aligning of the planets complete is for FIFA to take the 2022 WC away from Qatar and award it to us. Home field advantage is huge.
World Cup 2014: Riots, strikes and traffic jams cloud Sao Paulo's big kick-off
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/worldcup/world-cup-2014-riots-strikes-and-traffic-jams-cloud-sao-paulos-big-kickoff-9518021.html
LeRoy Grimace Sports Illustrated picked an Argentina-Brazil final, the two teams with home field advantage in this thing. That would be intriguing. They picked Argentina to win it all, said Messi, di Maria, Aguero, and Higuain are as fearsome an attacking foursome as there is anywhere.
My impression of Argentina in past tournaments has been that they play sloppy and lack a coherent system.
We shall see, maybe they've improved in that respect since 2010.
I doubt Argentina for it all. The Football media loves to hype up Messi being the greatest; he is not even in the top 10 in my book. He is not in the same league as someone like (in the past) Zidane who could rally a mediocre team. Messi is only great backed by a great team that passes him the ball (Barcelona). Argentina has not played together enough for Messi to get this benefit -- I doubt it will be any different than the past World Cup other than a South American home field benefit for Argentina.
Messi without Xavi and Iniesta (Barcelona) is not much. I will take Brazil over Argentina if it comes to that.
Normally the Host Nation advantage is huge but I think the civil unrest in Brazil is going to negate that normal advantage this time around. It would not completely surprise me to see Brazil make an "early exit" for them.
iJay- I wouldn't have worded it the way you did but I agree about Messi for Argentina is very different than Messi for Barcelona.
For that and other reasons, I think that Argentina to the final is a bit of a stretch. They do have the advantage of one of the "easier" groups. Bosnia would be my sleeper team that could make a big noise.
I'm not a soccer expert (although I've seen lots of high school games and talk with Gary Thomas) but I like the way those high profile teams from Spain and their national team play the game ... they are like the San Antonio Spurs of international soccer ...can't overlook Spain.
No European team has ever won the World Cup on South American soil.
Out of all the European teams, I like Portugal as my sleeper to be the last European team standing. Brazil is practically like home with the language and the food. Plus, they get to play Group H coming out of the round robin, which is a lot easier than most teams. Their next game after that could also be versus a relatively weak opponent... or it could be Argentina.
First times happen now and then, but that could be the underlying reason SI is picking an all South-American final.
Well, let's hope the Kings don't win Lord Stanley's cup in "our house" tonight. Not ready for the season to end.
Take that series back to tinseltown.
Brazil won today but it wasn't pretty. Tomorrow's Spain Netherlands should be a good one...
what channels are broadcasting the games? and at what times?
i don't get any of the cable sports channels (espn, msg, etc) at my house.
BrotherDog ABC plays two games each weekend afternoon. Other than that, ESPN may be the only game in town. Spanish language channels might be an option though.
Here is the complete broadcast schedule.
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/2014-fifa-world-cup-tv-schedule/story?id=23748377
Even though I don't remember much from the Spanish classes I took in high school, I like the Spanish broadcasts because the announcers are SO INTO IT.
Who needs coffee when you've got those guys, all fired up, and you just feel their energy?
Even when the ball is just getting kicked around in the midfield, the chatter on the Spanish broadcasts is so full of excitement.
My son is in a staduim in Barcelona Spain to watch the game later today. He is there on business.
just coach Since the equator runs through that continent, I imagine the temperatures will be pretty hot down there ... could be a major part of the South American teams' home field advantage.
thanks for the schedule, ianimal, appreciate it, i often watch soccer on the spanish channels because it's usually better competition that what MLS has to offer.
but i only get a few channels, so it's spanish and ABC for me.
i'm actually out on the pitch refereeing games most of the times they are being broadcast.
skippy 1/3 of the stadiums will be hot/humid; the others to a lesser extent.
I give Spain little chance after this blowout.
oldredMust have been sad just coach...
Our local cup is over as the Rangers lost in double OT. It was great game other than the Rangers lost... Now back to the World Cup.
i have played and refereed soccer in heavy rain, snow, and blinding sleet with 40 mph winds, have played in muddy, swampy conditions.
it is not a game for wimps, i can assure you.
those who think it's boring, really do not know the strategies of a good game or understand what is actually occurring on the pitch. so i get that to the uneducated it can appear dull, but i assure you that if you knew what was going on you would find it more interesting.
it's called the 'beautiful' game for a reason, a well played match is really something to behold (and enjoy).
watch a few matches try and understand the mechanics , strategies and gambles that the players are taking. there is a lot going on in a soccer match. even if it ends up 1-0 or even 0-0.
pretty good explanation BD. BTW, you can find all matches live and/or delayed on ESPN3.
Personally, I think ESPN ought to have an alternate feed with Nascar announcers forced to call the game.
Y'all tune in Monday to watch USofA whomp Ghana
PS, I also played forever. But stopped at age 50 due to knee problems, but now feeling like I could give it a try again. Anyone know of an over-60 league? (Only half joking.)
i dont get espn3 or any of the other ones, i do get abc and i have the ondemand service, so i am hoping that i can catch some replays for free there, not sure about it though.
would like to see this game that was played in the rain.
it is? i did *NOT* know that, will check it out, thank you very much. i had no idea.
apparently there is also a cspan3, can't figure that one out either. once you get past cspan2 what else is there to talk about?
thanks again, HAGWE
Weeanimal has gone to the dark side... gearing up for England v. Italy in about two hours.
pmnsk Well, a Hackettstown-North Warren soccer game I watched last fall got pretty rough.
Someone remarked that he's seen more hitting on the soccer field than on the football field this year.
I only saw Tiger football twice last year, losses to Dover and Warren Hills.
A parent complained that I didn't give the Tigers any honorable mentions on All-Warren, said I should have seen more games ... they went 1-8, how many games did I need to see to know they were awful?
Oh well, I try not to go negative, but sometimes parents can push you into telling them the hurtful truth.
I'm sure there were a lot of great future scientists, lawyers, doctors, financial analysts, engineers, and businessmen on that Htown football team last year.
D-1 scholarship football players? Maybe if somebody really works hard and develops over the summer.
Spring Fever Great win for the USA ... it was on in the press box at the IronPigs game, got more attention than the game on the field.
A very good day indeed for the US team. With Portugal's failure, injuries, and Pepe out the next game due to a Red Card, we have a good chance at beating them.
USA will need to get more energy......their ball possession time total was weak. I am a USA fan all the way......
Overall they were sloppy and got lucky to beat Ghana. Their keeper also isn't anywhere near as good as he happens to think he is. I'm glad they won, but it doesn't really change anything as far as their prospects of advancing go. If Altadore can't play and they don't play a much more disciplined game, they don't stand a chance against Portugal or Germany. Portugal isn't nearly as bad as they looked today; I only hope that Germany is that good... but I doubt that too, lol.
The next game against Portugal in Minaus will only have worse conditions -- much more humid and a bit warmer. Portugal looked bad against a great team. Germany almost always starts out very strong and fades as time progresses.
The USA soccer team may be like the Mets are every year ... a good start leading to false hopes.
We'll see if the USA's 4-3-2-1 alignment can slow down Portugal, known to be a speedy and fast striking team, compared to Ghana, which was more of a deliberate ball-control team.
It will be interesting.
Since they will be down in the Amazon, might as well play this song before they start, just like at the Hackettstown basketball games;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tj2zJ2Wvg
Tim Howard really is that good. But a great goalkeeper alone is not going to get the team far...
It was kind of cool during the USA match how one of the cutaways to cheering fans was at the Steel Stacks complex in Bethlehem, PA.
By the buzz of the crowd, you could tell the IronPigs fans were following it at Coca Cola Park. When the USA won, everybody knew.
Will be rooting for the Netherlands in their game against Australia; just started. After all, we Northern Hemispherians should stick together, right? :)
jd2 
Clyde Potts The Dutch got lucky, I think.
Except for one bit of bad luck. I learned today that it is really bad news when the ball hits your hand!
Stick a fork in the Spaniards... they're done.
Clyde, I'd like to, but not sure if I can. I'll give you a call Saturday and let you know if I can make it.
Australia played a great game in their loss. Spain was the best from 2008-2012, they will need new blood to replace many of their great but older players.
Sunday's USA v. Portugal is a must see...
Cameroon had some funky unis out there, but got smoked by the checkerboard wearing Croatians ... sounds like some Indian tribe out of an old western movie ... I'm getting silly.
Gotta be careful what I say about them injuns these days.
The Three Lions are on life support... don't think they're officially out of it yet, but it's not looking good.
At its highest level, played by its most dynamic players... soccer is almost entertaining. Then you see Japan play Greece and the sport gets set back at least a decade, lol.
Now you are getting it ian. The 2006 World Cup was awesome because Zidane last played there (in his mid 30's). Here is a highlight video, he is my vote for the best player ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7mXGMcpA0g
The headbutt heard round the world... I remember that final match well. Shame it had to end on penalty kicks.
Vic 
emaxxman 
When I was that age everyone knew I was born to play basketball ...
I was dribbling;-)
ianimal - love "nonno's" face - and weeanimal looking right at the camera - great picture!
Nice photo ian, but not a very good World Cup for Italy. I am looking forward to a USA win over Portugal on Sunday.
Losing to Costa Rica was a disappointment, I'm sure... but they still advance with a win over Uruguay.
My FIL opined that the humidity down there is killing the UEFA teams. How true that is, I don't know. But it's gotta be just as rough on the USNFT. It'll be interesting to see if they can beat Portugal. If they can even manage a draw, they should advance... unless they get beat worse by Germany than Portugal did. And that was a rare beating.
let's go Bosnia and Herzegovina :)) (and USA )
https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10345558_10202697533493565_3127149396457966192_n.jpg?oh=343c5b8d6a57d761200b08f04c054972&oe=5421EFFD
Bessie Wow, what a game, USA-Portugal. Things looked bleak for the USA...then they had it won....then....
Exciting games can end in ties. Should the NHL have kept their regular season ties?
"Exciting games can end in ties. Should the NHL have kept their regular season ties?"
Maybe. I would have no problem with a specified OT duration, be it 5, 10 or 20 minutes and then a tie in the regular season.
But they sure as hell should never allow the championship be decided on penalty shots... that is the most ridiculous thing in all of sports. It's pretty much the same as Game 7 of the World Series being tied and they go to a Home Run Derby or the Super Bowl being tied and having the opposing QBs throw a football through a tire at 50 yards.
The fact that they can't devise a more acceptable ending to determine a world champion is primarily why it's a second rate sport and the rest of the world are morons for enjoying it so much... Just my opinion, obviously.
If Ghana beats Portugal, I think the USA is done. USA has a 2 goal lead over Ghana in differential, but I think Germany wins that match by more than a goal. They've got a much more comfortable 5 goal differential over Portugal currently. Too bad the USA Germany match is during work hours.
Thursday 12:00pm USA Germany, this is a must see game. Prepare your lunch reservations now...
Must see game? Hopefully yes. But....each team potentially has more to lose from a defeat than to gain from a win. A tie would be fine for each. So the fear is that both may just sort of go through the motions.
Agreed, jd2... Italy v. Uruguay today should be a much more hard-fought match, since it's essentially an elimination game. In the event of a draw, the Azzurri go through.
Balotelli just got his second yellow card. Is he out of the next game (if Italy goes through) or does it reset after the round robin?
Sad day in the Spaghetti Triangle... This would probably be a bad day to burn the meatballs.
I find watching the grass grow at the stadium slightly more entertaining then the soccer match.......but thats just me!
I'm putting some leftover meatballs into the microwave as we speak, and I'm going to put ketchup on them. I can only do this when my wife, of Italian heritage, is not here to see it.
One thing I must say in appreciation of these world class soccer players, they are athletes, in top running shape. When a guy goes out of a game, he can't come back in, so most of these guys are running up and down for 90 minutes.
Could you imagine if they played basketball that way?
You don't see anybody who looks like Bartolo Colon, Prince Fielder, or Refrigerator Perry playing World Cup soccer. LOL
Actually, they're running for 45 minutes at a time. Plus they put trackers on these guys and the total distance traveled in the whole game was something like 7.5 miles, which works out to an average of 5 mph. You can walk 4 miles in an hour, so in between the running, there's plenty of standing around going on.
On Memorial Day 1974, in Lakewood, NJ, I walked 10 miles in an hour, and 48 minutes, and actually won first place for the 20-29 age group in a walking race. I was a total novice, had never walked in one before.
Nobody was ever more surprised to win something than I was that day ... I entered just because I was going to cover a local walking race, so why not enter it and gain the perspective of someone who walked in it?
I did practice the heel-toe method a couple of days before, but winning a trophy never crossed my mind.
champion ship games have been analyzed carefully and generally players are sprinting at full speed for about 11% of the match. jogging or running slowly for about 40 - 50 % and walking the rest of time
as a working referee i see differences in teams who have a poor team shape having to run harder further longer than teams who keep up good positional play with decent foot skills
the less skilled teams do tire out earlier in the match and end up getting beat bad in the last 15 mins. they just can;t keep up.
i agree that the kicks from the mark are a por way to decide a winner, but it is better than the old way.
the world cup winner in case of a tie used to be decided by a coin toss
that's right, if tied at the end of competition the Soccer Law Book instructed that the game be decided by the toss of a coin. (and in some world cup matches it was)
then everybody can go home happy, right?
Interesting info.
In high school basketball we were required to run a six-minute mile ... the coach said that was so nobody would be loafing in the games.
We were taught that defense is played with your feet, you get in position to draw the offensive charge that way, and you cut down on the opposing team's penetration toward the basket.
We consistently shot more free throws in games than the opponents ... we'd hear the fans (especially parents) of the other teams beefing, but it was no accident.
We were always taught, fouling is not good defense.
Again, the only soccer I ever played was in sixth grade, I was talked into playing football when I became the biggest kid in the school, but I'm sure running helps in any sport that is played seriously.
Momma said KNOCKOUT ROUND
Momma said KNOCKOUT ROUND
Momma said KNOCKOUT ROUND
Momma said KNOCKOUT ROUND
Thanks to Portugal, we are still alive; and a 1-0 loss to Germany is not that bad. When we get Altidore back we are in a position to move further forward.
sloppy poorly played game by the us team, the strategy of non-engagment cuased them to play back on their heels in 'reactive' mode the entire match
they are lucky they didn't loose 6 - 0
i'm very disappointed with their effort today.
and they were worn out in the last 15 mins of the match, they had no gas left in the tank after having to run fast chasing the Germans around all game,
the Germans looked really good, played well, showed great foot skills and great patience. they are a real contender.
The Germans certainly kept attacking the box ...the USA needed Hogan's Heroes today ... glad the USA did a better job in WWII.
Deutschland. Deutschland uber Alles... they're like the friggin Mets, lol. They look like world beaters for a while, then they lay an egg and lose a match they should have won. Last time, they beat Argentina 4-0 in the quarters and looked unbeatable. Then, they played a completely lackluster and uninspired match and let the Spaniards beat them 1-0 in the semis. Hopefully this year will be different.
Germany is following their old ways, start out very strong and then fizzle in the end. Germany had an extra day of rest against USA and now they are rewarded with less rest in the next stage. It is going to be very exiting going forward as if you loose you are out.
I understand no European team has ever won the World Cup in South America.
I recall some time ago the Netherlands faced Argentina in the finals, in....Argentina. The night before the game, people outside the hotel where the Dutch team was staying were making a lot of noise to try to keep the Dutch from being able to sleep. Did it work? I don't know, but Argentina did win.
Seems like the biggest problem for the European teams and the USA is the humidity and tropical monsoons in Brazil.
I know they are well trained world-class athletes, but Brazil's climate really challenges them.
Although I think in southern Brazil, like in Sao Paulo, it is not bad right now - [a mild] winter, actually.
That's reassuring. As the number of teams narrows down now, I believe the primary base for the rest of the tournament is Rio and Sao Paulo.
What a ridiculous way to end a great game. This is why soccer will never be as popular here as it is in the rest of the world. The rest of the world sucks and they're happy for whatever they have. We demand better. Our music is better, our movies are better, our TV is better and our sports are better. Of course, we're primarily a nation of idiots... but we know how to entertain, lol.
That's Football (soccer). Being a fan for quite a long time I understand and agree. After 120 minutes do you really want to watch players flutter around until a goal is scored?
Never say never ianimal, fast forward 30-40 years and I bet soccer will be up there.
If American pussification continues at the current rate, you're probably right, Jay. Luckily, I'll probably be dead by then, lol.
Soccer won't be very popular here on a regular basis until they figure out how to add many commercial breaks!
It's so unamerican the way the game-clock just keeps going and going.
How about that header that enabled France to break the ice and win today?
That was quite a Sports Center worthy play.
The match is tied entering extra time. The first goal wins, right? Nah... let's play a full half hour and give the other team a chance to tie it up. That way we can decide the game on penalty kicks. What a complete joke. Did they pick the dumbest person from each country to get together and decide the rules?
It is indeed hard to understand why they don't play sudden death. Maybe there is a reason, or maybe there is no reason.
Mike Golic kidded that he's sworn off eating Brussels Sprouts. Not hard to do.
Now, giving up Belgian Waffles, hmmm, that's asking a lot.
Ironic, isn't it - we were complaining that overtime isn't sudden death - then today we witnessed a VERY exciting 30 minute overtime with THREE goals and NEARLY a US equalizer at the end.
It was thrilling, you play the cards that are dealt to you, but I still prefer sudden death, must be from 50 years of watching ice hockey.
Shootout? Gag me with a spoon.
botheredbyuu2 Yeah, thrilling. I love the excitement of the announcers when Belgium scored. "Oh, my God... that MIGHT be the winner." LMAO, what a stupid concept of playing a fixed amount of time rather than sudden death.
Imagine if baseball playoff games automatically went three extra innings rather than inning by inning and then, if the game was tied after those three innings, regardless of how they got there... the opposing managers get in a dunk tank while the pitchers from each team try to hit the target and knock them in the water. Pretty much sums up what a joke FIFA is when it comes to deciding games. Maybe they should go back to a coin flip, lol.
The refs were fair except for the 1 minute of stop time should have been 2 minutes at the end of OT. Good game but we came up short against a team with a lot of top players.
In a month things will probably calm down but 4 years from now it will be crazy popular again...
Very impressive ball-handling by Belgium, except for putting the ball in the net. Belgium was able to rest its best players in their previous game, which they didn't need to win or tie; that must have helped them today against the U.S.
Howard was unbelievable. His instincts were AMAZING. I would love to watch just a reply of all his movements in the goal.
Howard was very good. The USA could easily have been embarrassed by 3 goals or more in regulation if not for him. The US was fairly pathetic in this tournament. Ghana outplayed them by a wide margin, even though USNFT got lucky and won anyway and Germany had their way with them as well. Ironically, their draw against Portugal was probably their best effort, but they choked when the game was on the line. Even today, we had a chance in like the 88th minute to score the first goal and the guy choked and put it over the crossbar. Reminded me of the Rangers in the SC Finals, lol.
I was talking to a guy at a graduation party over the weekend. He was born in Colombia but moved here when he was ten ( I didn't ask to see his papers). He said that if the best athletes in the US devoted themselves to soccer instead of other sports, we would dominate international soccer. He's probably right, but I would still prefer our best athletes to devote themselves to better sports. Let the rest of the world have their "beautiful game"; I prefer more entertaining ones.
yep, to my eye the right team won the match, belgium had better control, more shots on goal and got the win, they had some good combos that could have scored easily
usa did have some quick counter attacks that ended with decent shots on goal, just not as many as belgium did
and again at the end of this match our guys were tired, out of gas again, running too much, too fast, too long trying to keep up with a better skilled opposition, that happens with teams that don't; have real good foot skills and it is an essential part of soccer and is one of the reasons why only 3 substitutes are allowed. with 11 v 11 for 90 mins you really need to know how to play in order to keep wining. This is a fundamental part of the design of the game. usa got tired and worn out earlier because they were forced to keep sprinting much more than the other guys. and it shows, on the field and in the results column
agree about the usa goalie, he is great, really good, and it's funny because some of the press before the tourney started were saying he wasn't very good. guess they were wrong (wrong again liberal media)
he looked awesome to me, and in game after game he kept us in it.
By the powers invested to me by the soccer gods for playing, coaching and ref'in for nearly 40 years now I no longer allow iphone-animal to watch, discuss or comment on soccer. We don't need you and could care less if you (and those similar to you) don't "get" the game, we're happy without you. Go watch the NFL with its 11 minutes of actual action, the NBA where it take 1 hour to play the last 5 minutes, go bowl or watch (why I'll never understand) poker on TV.
You may however continue to comment on the NHL, however as a Ranger fan your comments sting a bit.
Ahh, I jest of course, its all in good fun, I'm glad to read people are actually discussing the game, I look forward to see what people are thinking good or bad. I also thought the US midfield began to get tired, very surprising as USA is supposed to be the most fit. I hope I live to see the day when our best player is not the goalie as it has been IMO for many years.
Thanks all....
I think, slowly but surely, that the USA is turning the corner in soccer.
It gets more and more exposure on TV, kids actually know who the players are on Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Liverpool and Manchester United ... we just need to get more of them away from their soccer computer games and onto the pitch, er, field as we say in America.
The interest in this tournament has been amazing, I see it everywhere, even when other countries are playing. There's something in the air, here.
Don't worry, Roy... it'll be another four years before I'm interested again. But seriously, it's not that I don't "get" the game... I understand it completely and appreciate the skill level involved, esp. when 3 or 4 short passes in quick succession lead to a run and a scoring chance. My problem isn't with the game itself, rather the bureaucracy who have decided on a completely dissatisfying way of (potentially) determining a champion. Imagine if Game 7 of the SC Finals was decided on penalty shots rather than sudden death.
I get where imal is coming from regarding the overtime procedures ... I don't like the way they do it, either.
Imal just has a way of saying things sometimes, that infuriates people.
There are things I would change in baseball, basketball, hockey, and football, too ... I hate the way colleges and high schools play overtime in football ... they should do it the way the NFL does.
And, now that I've gotten started, get this ... Warren Hills lost the state semi final in softball this year, because in the 11th they went into tiebreaking rules, they give you a runner at second to start the 11th inning.
Could you imagine if they did that in GAME 7 of the World Series?
Well, it's not a perfect world. Does that come as a shock to anybody?
Maybe, if the USA becomes the 900-pound gorilla of soccer in a future generation, we can get the overtime procedures changed one day. As with many big-time sports decisions, the chance to make more money will be the determining factor.
agree that 'kicks from the mark' (as they are properly called since there was no penalty called) are a poor way to end a match
other schemes i have been involved with as a player, coach or referee include:
golden goal: keep playing until someone scores, teams change sides at the 10 min or 15 min overtime mark. first goal wins the match, period.
using a boxing type of point system to determine a winner post match by the governing authority using one or a combo of these things; highest number of corner kicks taken, fewest cautions and ejections from the match.
each side remove one player from the field every 5 minutes of play until one side scores. (this is as bad as 'kicks from the mark')
coin toss
the 'kicks from the mark' method is better than a coin toss correct?
so ianimal, using that great engineering mind of yours, what suggestions would you make for determining a winner?
I dont think theres any other way for it to be done in a tourney. They cant play more than 2 hours And they cant have a replay as some domestic leagues do.
Watch some EPL games this year the talent is nearly as good as the cup.
You can take the NHL shoot outs away while your at it the points system and method is no better. Although nothing better than playoff triple OT...
I'm a proponent of the golden goal approach. Play till someone scores. 30 minute periods with 15 minute breaks in between.
When the teams have played sudden death to exhaustion, with still no golden goal, I'd go with either most shots on goal or most corner kicks.
I defer to Brother Dog, which one is the better indicator of who played the better game?
Now that the USA is out of contention for the World Cup Warren County residents can go back to the games that really matter to them -
http://www.nj.com/warren/index.ssf/2014/07/families_vie_for_glory_at_blairstown_campground_during_redneck_olympics.html#incart_river_default
Remember the nasl and those break away shots from 35 yards away? Similar to to
The nhl but a shoot out all the same.
I saw a New York Cosmos game way back when, a Baltimore Bays game, too, and covered some Philadelphia Atoms games for the South Jersey daily where I worked in the 70s.
A high school soccer coach who went to games with me, said, "That's not soccer. It's anarchy."
True anarchy was being in Seville the day they won the UEFA. Fireworks, beer bottle throwing, up all night, TPing the trees. And that was the quiet neighborhood.
GC Tim Howard really stood out yesterday, but US wasn't the stronger team overall. Check out the video clip here vs Bolton. (not recent, but wow)
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/sport/football/tim-howard-spotlight/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
hktownie Tim Howard was awesome, can't fault him one bit. I have a favorite soccer player now.
In case you missed the game -
http://longvalley.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/north-brunswicks-tim-howard-all-16-saves-in-a-minutelong-video60621
All four quarterfinal matches look like great games, I don't see a decided underdog anywhere.
Costa Rica is the underdog, just like through the whole tournament so far :). For now, they're my team.
On the US: Howard was fantastic, but I think Klinnsman's strategery let us down: We should have opened up at about 70'
Yep, watch out for The Dutch ... I like watching Arjen Robben ... the guy just flat out flies all over the field, plays the midfield position with true passion, both offense and defense.
Gotta love a team that wears orange.
I'm guessing penalty kicks aren't on the agenda for today. Lol, this is an ass-whooping on par with the last Super Bowl.
It seemed like Brazil, in the one-game absence of their defensive signal-caller, had no idea how to play defense! No doubt there will be a real house-cleaning over there.
I guess Messi is the best? Let's see what happens tomorrow.
The last games this weekend. Brazil Netherlands on Saturday for 3rd place and Germany Argentina on Sunday for the final.
What a crappy game yesterday. The penalty kicks were like a mercy killing, lol.
I agree, a crappy game; except for one of my friends that is unfortunately a lifelong Argentina fan...
yes Brazil in using the flat back four defensive technique had problems picking up and defending the attack alleys that germany constructed and used to great advantage.
in other words . . . . . .(american football words) . . . . . .Germany successfully split the zones, over and over and over again
i predict that because of this historic (tragically historic) match that the current fad and popularity of this 'flat back four' defensive scheme will fall out of favor and go away, it's been a failure in my opinion and way too popular for too long for all the wrong reasons.
soccer has trends just like the fashion world does and i have been waiting a long time for this bad soccer trend to come to an end. time will tell if i am right about this.
That Netherlands-Argentina match must have set soccer back a ways. Is there anything to prevent the final from being just as bad?
Funny that they have a third-place game. I don't think either side wants to play it. Maybe it will be entertaining if the defenses don't go all out as a result.
It's over and the favored Germany did win but it was not easy. A little perplexing that Messi was awarded the Golden Ball since he didn't score in the last four games and was not the best IMHO. This is the biggest problem with Football (Soccer) in that they love to hype players.
The tournament was pretty good overall, I thought. I learned some stuff - like they play on the "pitch", not a field! Sometimes the games were exciting, sometimes boring. I don't know that it was good enough to make soccer fans out of non-fans - it hasn't done it for me.
Well, maybe a little bit.
Well, at least it will be big again (probably bigger) in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Soccer has plenty of fans and plenty of kids playing.
The sport is in great shape, even in the USA. That freight train is gaining momentum.
Bonv 
Iris 
Calico696 Congrats to the Women's team... especially to the 2 Jersey Girls
Carli Lloyd from Delran Township and went to play at Rutgers & from my hometown of Basking Ridge, Tobin Heath. Graduated Ridge High School 10yrs after me, which makes me fee very old.
darwin Try this for a bit of a retrospective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgPGPdxwNn4
strangerdanger You're not old, you Ridge Red Devil.
Congratulations USA ... way to get it done.
Thrilling game!! Way to go ladies. Four from New Jersey. Add Heather O"Reilly from East Brunswick and Christie Rampone from Point Pleasant. Job well done.
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