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As per ETS tradition.
And thank you, @fillow, for the reminder and the picture.
Schedule of matches.
Hierba Gatera
As per ETS tradition.
And thank you, @fillow, for the reminder and the picture.
Schedule of matches.
Last edited by Baphomette; 06-11-2014 at 11:25 PM.
Member
I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm going with Brazil and any team that's from North America or South America.
Throbbing Member
Brazil absolutely has to win this one on home soil or else the unrest over staging the Cup will get even worse. That being said, I think they are the favorites and rightfully so.
Hierba Gatera
For those of us without cable, Univision will live stream every match of the tournament’s first two rounds for free! The games will be broadcast in Spanish but, honestly, watching a game without Spanish commentary is like eating a pizza without cheese (be it real or vegan)
Univision Live Stream
Univision Live Stream mobile app
Last edited by Baphomette; 06-12-2014 at 02:39 AM.
Vertiginous Member
Just going to leave this here.....
As for my picks... Brazil stand a very good chance of winning on home turf. Neymar is a force to be reckoned with, and they're fielding a very strong side. Still, as that would be too easy and obvious, I'm going for Portugal.
I feel very sorry for those two or three Americans who care about football, Group G is a nightmare.
Active Member
In my bracket I have Germany v Argentina in the final, with Germany winning. I reaaally hope that Brazil doesn't win this, in my opinion Neymar is nothing to be excited about. I predict Chile and Belgium will be the surprises of the tournament.
Quiet Member
I fuckin hate soccer with a furious passion so I'll stay out of the this thread from here on out (thank you by the way, for not making me read about this shit in the real sports thread) but hey at least it's good for some funny gifs, and I can't lie soccer broads wearing soccer shit is sexy as hell.
Throbbing Member
I actually thought a couple of times of boycotting this tournament because of FIFA, but I just can't. John Oliver was so right. I think it would be boring if Brazil wins, I hope someone else does it (like, uh, Germany). Interestingly, although no nation won the cup more often Brazil, they never did it at home. Everyone else but Spain in 2010 has at least won it once at home. (Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, Germany in 1974, England in 1966, Argentina in 1978, France in 1998)
Last edited by ambergris; 06-12-2014 at 02:42 PM.
Member
The game so far has been pretty good. Croatia is doing all it can to defend while Brazil keeps attacking.
Throbbing Member
Croatia's GK was Brasil's best friend today.
Soft Penalty too. Brasil outplayed Croatia overall but that wasn't that impressive of a game for them.
Vertiginous Member
Ref was Brazil's MotM.
Hierba Gatera
The last samba of the Ents.
Throbbing Member
Some shitty refereeing thus far the first two matches hopefully that doesn't become a point of talk beyond those matches. Anyways an early heavyweight battle between Spain and the Netherlands, should be a good match. I'm interested to see Diego Costa's impact up front for Spain, who knows if he is even fully fit yet. Needless to say it is last World Cup's finals rematch.
Member
The Mexico-Cameroon game was alright though the referee really made things worse due to bad calls and 2 goals for Mexico that could've been counted even though they still won.
Throbbing Member
The Netherlands destroying Spain. Casillas is so bad.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
Poor, poor Ca5illa5.
Throbbing Member
oooph that was bad on Spain's part...
Member
What the fuck? Spain just fucking collapsed. The Best Goalie in the World just became a laughingstock. Spain's defense was terrible.
Hierba Gatera
Wow. That was BRUTAL. Poor Casillas. Netherlands played great, though.
Throbbing Member
Soooo happy with the Netherland's win. Well deserved, let's hope Chile can turn Spain over too.
Shocking decisions in the Mexico game.
Stubby Member
Games so far today have been fun despite some poor calls in the Mexico game. Very excited for tomorrow. Forza Azzurri!
Throbbing Member
England for sure, Italy are too old
Throbbing Member
And Mourinho went through hell couse he knew Casillas place's was on the bench, back when he was coaching Real. And lets not forget how he did in the Champions League final against Atletico.Originally Posted by thevoid99
Vertiginous Member
Well, I'll grant it to Hodgson, he's gutted out the vast majority of England's old guard. Though curiously the position where we still have 30-something stalwarts, midfield, is by far our strongest area. And I can't help but feel that Peter Crouch could still have done something, he's one of those players who vastly excelled his usual performance when fielded in an international match. In his last appearance, he scored within five minutes of coming onto the pitch.England for sure, Italy are too old
Currently we just have zero execution near the end of the pitch. Rooney's consistently underperformed for England for years somehow without any manager noticing, and though the other forwards are now comfortably into their '20s (except Lambert), they lack ultimate polish, confidence and consistency. Defence isn't anything special either. England can have 80% possession and still easily lose.
Throbbing Member
Daniel Sturridge scored 21 goals last season, Rooney 17, Gerrard/Lambert 13, Welbeck/Sterling 9. We have great firepower going forward it's just a case if we can play well as a team which has always been England's problem. I have more optimism for this team than any other in recent memory. We have youth and pace as well as a decent spine of experience, we will top our group I think.
Italy are very ordinary at the moment but I would never write them off.
Throbbing Member
Every golden era ends some day... Now I can see the Dutch winning it all, but they always give this impression after their first game, let's see...
I looked at the FIFA world team ranking to see which group is the hardest one in terms of highest average ranking of the teams in each group. There are two groups that are significantly harder than the rest. Group D is the hardest one overall with an average team ranking of 13,5 (the one with England and Italy), Germany's group is second at 14 (with Portugal). The weakest group is Group F with 28,25.
About today, England are perennial favorites that underperform while Italy are always in trouble but always overperform. I think that England will not survive the group stage but for once, they seem to agree in general.
Flaccid Member
Up the Potters.
Crouch is perhaps past it now at int'l level (now in last year of contract at Stoke and I suspect Pulis will come sniffing, but personally I'd keep him), but there was a case that Crouch or Carroll would have offered something different to the squad.
The real crime from a Stoke fan perspective is that Chris 'Chris' Smalling is in the squad ahead of Shawcross, who has been monstrous this season.
Stubby Member
Spain got served like a volleyball.Let's see how they do against Chile.
Throbbing Member
What a great game from Costa Rica. They definitely stunned the world today.
Throbbing Member
-Costa Rica IMO outside the Netherlands played one of the best match thus far in the WC. I got some family from Costa Rica bet they are gonna be celebrating all night. Not over for Uruguay by any means but they are definitely in trouble.
-Colombia handle Greece, who couldn't really get anything going and the chances they did get they blew them.
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