PhoeniX wrote:GG Team Europe #2. Even if three of your players can't score when faced with an open goal .
Hardly an open goal, but the post, crossbar, defender on the line (inc crossbar again) were troublesome for us. Well, van Persie could've been a bit sharper.
i still think belgium is over rated. they came out of a soft group, squeaked by the US, and got bounced by the first real team they faced.
dutch have looked strong though. props.
Don Carlos wrote:Brazil might be guided into the final...the refs have been questionable at best when it comes to decisions going their way. And they always have Fred
Ahh Fred, Im glad they allowed Fred to play, the bloke who came to fix the boiler, to stay with the team and even take the field. Decent with a spanner, they say, freaked out by having to deal with a football. Still, what a great way to get the general public involved.
Having said that is the general public involved? There are black people in Brazil arent there ?, theres certainly a lot of black faces amongst the players and yet you can search for a black Brazilian supporter and be fucked, everyone is white as a preachers sheets, apart from a few green people. The green people are there for Hulk who seems to play as if hes helping Fred mend the boiler. He did a series of step overs the other day that were so slow and glacial that they left terminal moraine scattered on the pitch. Then he tripped over his own feet.
Van Gaal the van man is a ballsy fucker too, could've easily back fired and I'd hardly call failing to beat that Costa Rica team in 120 mins a tactical masterclass. Despite that though, whilst also looking like a tortoise, his subs have been spot on throughout the tournament.
Belgium shouldve done better with that team at their disposal n all, for me Chile have been the stand out squad in the tournament. Was a shame to see them knocked out.
losCHUNK wrote: I'd hardly call failing to beat that Costa Rica team in 120 mins a tactical masterclass
Nonsense. There really isn't much you can do against a team that plays to not lose rather than to win with 11 players in the 16m box. Costa Rica refused to play football at all. The Dutch team did everything they could to build up controlled attacks rather than long balling it in there. A decent amount of scoring opportunities were created, with Costa Rica having really only one serious chance in 120 minutes of play.
So yes, tactically it was sound play on the Dutch side. They just had a boatload of bad luck, with shots on the woodwork. Still, the Dutch won and probably the most deserved Dutch win so far.
Breaking down teams who park the bus is part of the game, its how you beat Italy. Taking the game to penalties and relying on krull is never sound play and what teams like Costa Rica / Greece rely on, or the occasional breakaway.
Tika Taka vs counter attack etc
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it was a fucking dull game though, until the last 15 minutes or so when it turned mental
perhaps FIFA should scrap the last 16 and have extended group stage play, just so we can see teams trying to win. the paltry scorelines of the 16 and quarters compared to the luxurious win margins in the group stages tells its own story
Don't think that would work either, teams will be playing for a single point if a draw is on the cards. They've tried livening it up with the golden ball n shit in the past.
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Reason that never works is because teams will be too scared to make a mistake so you end up with 30 minutes of goalkeepers kicking the ball to each other.
losCHUNK wrote: Taking the game to penalties and relying on krull is never sound play
if NED was as defensive as CRC and stalling, then yes.
but that's not what happend. NED was playing very offensively and actually broke through a couple of times (and alas fumbled). When it ultimately came to penalties - certainly not due to lack of trying to score - it was a display of huge testicles to swap in a fresh goalie.
losCHUNK wrote:Breaking down teams who park the bus is part of the game, its how you beat Italy. Taking the game to penalties and relying on krull is never sound play and what teams like Costa Rica / Greece rely on, or the occasional breakaway.
Tika Taka vs counter attack etc
lol, you saying that it was NL that wanted to take it to penalties? Either I'm misunderstanding you or you're blind and stoopid.
edit: ignore this trolly post and read MKJ's post a second time.
If Holland can't put their chances away in the 120 then he's taking it to penalties, keep up slow poke.
MKJ wrote:
losCHUNK wrote: Taking the game to penalties and relying on krull is never sound play
if NED was as defensive as CRC and stalling, then yes.
but that's not what happend. NED was playing very offensively and actually broke through a couple of times (and alas fumbled). When it ultimately came to penalties - certainly not due to lack of trying to score - it was a display of huge testicles to swap in a fresh goalie.
Netherlands in the first 90 were dire, Van Gaal only opened up play after that which is only when Holland looked likely to put the game to bed at which point the team looked disjointed and couldn't finish their dinner with long ball tactics... This is a Costa Rica team that was absolutely mauled by Greece ffs. Holland have been playing extremely negative football since after the Spanish game.
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