The 2010 World Cup Thread / South Africa

[SouthernExplorer]

What a disappointment. Now I understand why Jay DeMerit plays for Watford~he's just not that good. Jozy Altidore-disappointing. Landon-great as always~he's grown into a wonderful leader. Tim Howard-he can perform so much better than he did today~I hope he gets another opportunity in Brasil. Moving forward the Women's World Cup is only a year away in Germany!!!! Our #1 ranked women can do the job, and make us proud. It's time for us to throw our support behind our women's team now.

England v Germany ~ I don't know who to root for as I want them both to do well. Germany has better looking players, I guess I'll be rooting for them LOL. Although, it would be great to see England vs. Argentina too. Sorry Mexico, enjoy your flight home. I can't wait to see Brasil and Portugal again. Beautiful footballer and better looking players. Speaking of which I hope Brazilians don't like vuvuzelas.

 

[DianeV]

I thought Altidore had a good Cup. At least he is physical and doesnt get pushed off the ball. Was disappointed when he was subbed out

Starting Clark was not the best thing to do today obviously...

 

[PixieDust32]

I'm with Mexico too, obviously, but I know Argentina is going to make Guacamole tomorrow. Argentina plays way better. Some of my Mexican friends were rooting for ghana and making fun of US, not cool.

 

[SouthernExplorer]

This may be the last FIFA World Cup that I follow. After today's matches it is now apparant that FIFA does not care about the integrity of the game. They only care about "controversy", and their egos. FIFA can do what it wants, but so can I. If they don't care about the integrity of the game, then I don't see why I should care about the game itself. There are many other sports to give my money and attention to. College football is just a few short months away!

BTW, England should be called The Three Cubs lol. Lion cubs are cute, but not ferocious. "Lions" imply that England are ferocious, fit, and devour eveyone in their path. The Queen has what 40 million subjects, and not one of them is a good keeper.

 

[eduk8r26]

FIFA needs to get with the 21st century and start using instant replay. A lot of controversy would have been eliminated regarding illegal goals and offsides.

 

[Cat0727]

FIFA needs to get with the 21st century and start using instant replay. A lot of controversy would have been eliminated regarding illegal goals and offsides.

I know; it's been terrible. Hopefully things change after the World Cup ends b/c I doubt they will institute video review in the middle of the tournament.

 

[PixieDust32]

FIFA needs to get with the 21st century and start using instant replay. A lot of controversy would have been eliminated regarding illegal goals and offsides.

I know! Embarrassing!

England scores a goal and it didn't count! Why? They had no eyes?

Then Argentina's goal against Mexico was way offside and it counted

I thought they were going to get into a fight at half time.

 

[FireDancer]

FIFA needs to get with the 21st century and start using instant replay. A lot of controversy would have been eliminated regarding illegal goals and offsides.

I hope they don't add instant replay, especially for offsides. Errors of judgement are part of the game. What they do need though is goal line technology. FIFA has been experimenting with using some sort of goal line technology for years but has never pulled the trigger. Hopefully the England situation will push them to actually use it. Worst case scenario they should do what UEFA did in the Europa league this year and have an official behind each goal that has only one job, looking for the ball crossing the line.

What they have to keep from doing is what they do in American football and stopping the game to look at a replay. As long as the technology can be used in real time (a chip in the ball that uses GPS to signal a goal, a referee with no job other then looking for goals, etc) I am all for it. Anything that stops the game I am not. I can't stand watching football because they stop way to often anyway but they they stop and hold the game up for replays. Soccer has to keep flowing and can't stop every 5 minutes because they have to confirm the offside call or lack thereof or go watch a video for 2 minutes to confirm a goal.

England looked terrible today. Granted they should have lost 4-2 instead of 4-1 but Germany looked the better side for most of the game.

The US was valiant but threw away the game. Clark should never have started and his turnover lead to the first goal. Tim could have done better too, he was cheating to the far post and probably should have been able to get his fingers to the ball for the first goal. Demerit was out of position so often it was laughable and the second goal should never have happened. It was poor positioning.

Landon, on the other hand, has finally stepped up and played like the leader he should have been for years. I hope he moves over to Europe and gets into a team where he can start. Jozy is a good strong striker but my God he is a truck. If he had a little pace there were two opportunities which would have put him through on goal without a defender anywhere near him. One trickled to the keeper and that chance where he fell should have been taken 5 feet in front of the defender instead of shoulder to shoulder with him.

I am disappointed with getting knocked out in the round of 16 but am glad it got the team noticed more in the mainstream.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I hope they don't add instant replay, especially for offsides. Errors of judgement are part of the game. What they do need though is goal line technology. FIFA has been experimenting with using some sort of goal line technology for years but has never pulled the trigger. Hopefully the England situation will push them to actually use it. Worst case scenario they should do what UEFA did in the Europa league this year and have an official behind each goal that has only one job, looking for the ball crossing the line.

Respectfully snipped.

ITA on this! I would really hate to see them ruin the flow of the game by constantly stopping for every offside call. I also like the idea of having a "goal judge" behind the net like they do in ice hockey. It would cut down on a lot of the missed calls on goals. Yes there would still be errors, but that's all part of the game.

As Soccer attracts new groups of "casual" fans, these types of debates always pop up. It's a game that is steeped in tradition, and, as a die-hard fan of the sport, I don't want those traditions sacrificed just to satisfy new fans. There have been small tweaks to the rules over the years (the offside rule alone has undergone many revisions), but jumping right into video replays, computer chips in balls, etc. is a big step that I'm not willing to take. But, like I said, I've been a fan for many years, and bad calls/great calls both play a part in the majesty of this beautiful game!

I was just at a match for my home team yesterday, and as the referees went into the tunnel below us at halftime, they were greeted by several hundred profanity-laced diatribes! If they didn't get things wrong, where would the fun be in that?

 

[Guy Incognito]

Respectfully snipped.

ITA on this! I would really hate to see them ruin the flow of the game by constantly stopping for every offside call. I also like the idea of having a "goal judge" behind the net like they do in ice hockey. It would cut down on a lot of the missed calls on goals. Yes there would still be errors, but that's all part of the game.

As Soccer attracts new groups of "casual" fans, these types of debates always pop up. It's a game that is steeped in tradition, and, as a die-hard fan of the sport, I don't want those traditions sacrificed just to satisfy new fans. There have been small tweaks to the rules over the years (the offside rule alone has undergone many revisions), but jumping right into video replays, computer chips in balls, etc. is a big step that I'm not willing to take. But, like I said, I've been a fan for many years, and bad calls/great calls both play a part in the majesty of this beautiful game!

I was just at a match for my home team yesterday, and as the referees went into the tunnel below us at halftime, they were greeted by several hundred profanity-laced diatribes! If they didn't get things wrong, where would the fun be in that?

either an extra ref on both ends with their only responsibility to watch the goal line, or a ref up in the video booth to review potential goals *only*.... wouldn't have taken more than 30 seconds for someone watching the replay to see the second England goal was in; then call down to the field and it's a done deal....

would it have made a difference in a 4-1 match? Obviously not.... but a 2-2 game at halftime changes the whole strategy of the match.... Germany might come out a little more on edge, and England more relaxed/confident if they scored 2 quick goals to tie it up before the half.... (personally I think the final outcome would have been the same).

 

[gometros]

What a disappointment. Now I understand why Jay DeMerit plays for Watford~he's just not that good. Jozy Altidore-disappointing. Landon-great as always~he's grown into a wonderful leader. Tim Howard-he can perform so much better than he did today~I hope he gets another opportunity in Brasil. Moving forward the Women's World Cup is only a year away in Germany!!!! Our #1 ranked women can do the job, and make us proud. It's time for us to throw our support behind our women's team now.

Give the guys a break. They were still emotionally and physically spent from the Algeria game. Jay Demerit raised his stock this world cup after shutting down Rooney and otherwise stellar play. Jozy is only 20-years old for crying out loud. He can only get better. He had a monster game against Algeria and his headed ball that Michael Bradley put in against Slovenia was a game saver. Landon and Timmy didn't have their usual strong games, but again, I attribute it to the fall off from the Algeria game.

I place the blame squarely on Bob Bradley. For a team to consistently give up early goals indicates a lack of pre-game preparation. That's the coaches job. And why he went back to Findley and Clark when he should have stayed with the group that performed so well against Algeria is beyond me. His error caused us an early substitution, that you cannot afford in games that can go into overtime like this one did. It forced him to save his third and final substitution in case we went into the overtime period, instead of possibly bringing in a pair of fresh legs in the second half.

 

[gometros]

FIFA needs to get with the 21st century and start using instant replay. A lot of controversy would have been eliminated regarding illegal goals and offsides.

either an extra ref on both ends with their only responsibility to watch the goal line, or a ref up in the video booth to review potential goals *only*.... wouldn't have taken more than 30 seconds for someone watching the replay to see the second England goal was in; then call down to the field and it's a done deal....

would it have made a difference in a 4-1 match? Obviously not.... but a 2-2 game at halftime changes the whole strategy of the match.... Germany might come out a little more on edge, and England more relaxed/confident if they scored 2 quick goals to tie it up before the half.... (personally I think the final outcome would have been the same).

Agree one hundred percent. Instant replay will never work in soccer, because it disrupts the flow of the game. The solution is to add extra referees as you said, to watch the goal line.

You're right about how it changed the whole scope of the England-Germnay game. Germany's two goals in the second half were the results of counter attacks, because England was pushing up for the equalizer. Had it been tied at halftime, England's shape would have been entirely different.

 

[PixieDust32]

Brasil

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Brasil

They looked incredibly sharp today. Argentina-Brazil final would be absolutely epic the way both squads are playing right now!

 

[PixieDust32]

LD's goal sounds awesome in Spanish ♥

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhAZD5XCucY


2 different stations, the last one said LD was the best US player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IsPbbS-fxI&feature=related

 

[PixieDust32]

They looked incredibly sharp today. Argentina-Brazil final would be absolutely epic the way both squads are playing right now!

Love watching them play like that.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Tough one for Brazil today. For a team that was on fire just a game ago, today they looked like they never wanted to win the match. Interesting setup though with the Dutch through to the Semi-finals. 4/5 of the Latin American teams made the Final 8, but will ANY make it to the Semis? Still some games to play, but with Brazil out, it either makes an easy road for Argentina, or blows this whole World Cup wide open!

 

[PixieDust32]

Dang it BRazil

No I hope Uruguay beats Ghana ♥

 

[LilyWDW]

Dang it BRazil

No I hope Uruguay beats Ghana ♥

They did... but barely. I didn't appreciate all the near heart attacks today.

Not sure if Uruguay can beat Netherlands in the condition the team will be in. Hopefully, they can get some injured players up and going for the next game, but without Fucile and Suarez...

My guess is they will play a very defensive game against the Netherlands with only Forlan and Cavani up front. Then again, unless Cavani decides to actually PLAY, they may as well have Forlan up there alone.

 

[joyjoy]

Vamos, vamos Argentina!