SubJeff on 1/7/2014 at 22:48
Still as blinkered, years later.
SubJeff on 2/7/2014 at 07:37
Go away Tony.
N'Al on 2/7/2014 at 19:20
So anyway.
All the favourites did make it through the round of last 16, then, in the end. But, boy, did they have to fight for it, every single one (It's quite something when France turns out to have had the least problems of the lot, and yet still had to wait until almost 10 minutes before the end to score).
Slight shame, since a few upsets would have a.) made the prospective quarters a bit more open-ended, possibly, and b.) would have certainly been warranted given how well most of the 'underdogs' played in those matches. Having said that, as much as I would have loved a France - Algeria clash, that would have been at the expense of my own team, so there's only so much leeway I'm willing to give. :p
Not quite sure what to expect from the quarter finals now, tbh. If all the teams play as badly as they did this round the games could turn into right old slogs, but if they do actually pull their socks up we should be in for some quite exciting matches.
Here's hoping for the latter.
Tomi on 2/7/2014 at 19:27
Since it's apparently only acceptable to talk about people dying in here, I hope that this is serious enough...
It's already been twenty years since USA '94, and today marks the twentieth anniversary of the most tragic day (for me at least) of the World Cup - the senseless murder of Andrés Escobar. I was only 11 back then, but I remember it so well and I'm still kinda angry about it all. Why would anyone do such a thing? So tragic and needless, what a waste of life.
[video=youtube;4lcj_B7_cJs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lcj_B7_cJs[/video]
RIP Andrés, I hope that Colombia wins for you on Friday.
SubJeff on 2/7/2014 at 20:25
I understood it wasn't necessarily any the football.
Thor on 5/7/2014 at 23:07
Jesus Christ the Holland - Costa Rica match! I really wanted Costa Ricans to win even though both of these teams are my absolute favorites of this world cup and wanted them to play in the finale which they both deserved, but I'm glad they got to play anyway. SO many great moments in this match and it still ended 0 - 0 after everything XD. Best match I've seen in this tournament. And Navas the Costa Rican goalkeeper was just amazing.
And that one Costa Rican attack near the very end... if they had scored... :D
Great predition abilities from the Holland trainer as well for saving the last exchange for the expert penalty goalkeeper Tim Krul. Anything to keep them from losing to fckin' Costa Rica. It is sad to see their epic journey end here, but I guess I'll know who to look out for in the next 4 years.
Since this was, for me at least, the culmination of the World Cup, I now just want to see Holland beat Argentina and Germany/Brazil. Probably Germany, since Brazil lost Neymar for this tournament :/. It would be truly anticlimactic if Argentina got to the finale... it is annoying enough they got this far. Didn't carefully observe every team in this world cup, but they struck me as the most dull and boring team, and they seem to mostly rely on Messi, like Portugal had to rely on Ronaldo.
Alright I think I've shaken my heart out enough...
faetal on 5/7/2014 at 23:09
That game really was all about the goalkeepers. I'm hoping for a Germany vs Netherlands final.
Tomi on 5/7/2014 at 23:37
Quote Posted by Thor
Best match I've seen in this tournament.
Haha, it's funny that you should say that, because I thought that this was the
worst game of the tournament so far! So defensive and ultra-careful play, Holland had a few great chances and they deserved to win, but I didn't find it very fun to watch. I like Holland a lot, but I always love the underdogs too, so I didn't know who to support in this match at first. I admire the Costa Rican and their fighting spirit - they played to their strengths and I can't blame them for that - but the way how they tried to kill the game and seemed to wait for the penalty shootout from the first kick of the game really was a bit frustrating, so in the end I found myself to be cheering for Holland. They were the better team today and deserved to win.
I like both Argentina and Holland so that'd be my dream final. Obviously that's impossible though, so I just hope that the better and more entertaining team wins the ARG-NED semi-final match next week. It'd be nice to see Messi win the World Cup and truly cement his place as one of the greats, but on the other hand I like Holland more as a
team. As for Brazil vs Germany, I hope that Germany wins and makes it to the final... and then loses. :p I'd love to see a new winner (Holland) or see Argentina to get payback for the Italy '90 final. But most of all I hope that the remaining games are a hell of a lot more entertaining than the utterly disappointing quarter finals.
