FIFA World Cup Football 2014 Discussion Thread

[quote=Khazem][quote=BlueArtist] -[b]France vs Nigeria. Matuidi's tackle on Onazi was so bad, he only got a yellow. That strike could have [/quote] [spoiler=click at your own risk][img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BrZNsowCYAA-kRl.png[/img][/spoiler] yeah definitely should've been straight red. Defour/Marchisio did similar things to a lesser degree and were sent off immediately.[/quote]

[quote=Toshabi]Thank god America lost. Now people can stop pretending to care about soccer in my state. Now we just need Mexico to get eliminated...[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=Toshabi] Thank god America lost. Now people can stop pretending to care about soccer in my state. Now we just need Mexico to get eliminated... [/quote] The Dutchies already took care of that. Related: [embed=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUpSDyaTzQ][/quote]

[quote=BlueArtist]In my cute little list those matches in bold could have yielded a different result. Argentina and Brazil, with their performances now the final could be Costa Rica vs Colombia.[/quote]

[quote=Wayne3100]My predictions for the quarter finals (winners in bold text): [list][*]France - [b]Germany[/b] [*][b]Brazil[/b] - Colombia [*]Argentina - [b]Belgium[/b] [*][b]Netherlands[/b] - Costa Rica[/list] Some of them are tough to call though, gotta say.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=Wayne3100] My predictions for the quarter finals (winners in bold text): [list][*]France - [b]Germany[/b] [*][b]Brazil[/b] - Colombia [*]Argentina - [b]Belgium[/b] [*][b]Netherlands[/b] - Costa Rica[/list] Some of them are tough to call though, gotta say. [/quote] My thoughts are pretty much the same, although I'm not entirely sure if Belgium will defeat Argentina. I do hope they do though; would be fun to see Netherlands vs. Belgium in the semifinals.[/quote]

[quote=BlueArtist]For me... [b]France[/b] - Germany [b]Brazil[/b] - Colombia Argentina - [b]Belgium[/b] Netherlands - [b]Costa Rica[/b] This world cup Germany's performance is quite shaky. Against Ghana, Algeria, United States, they didn't have any impressive games. But if you look at France, it's totally different. Benzema is quite strong this world cup, and Neuer is bad. Did you see his fail kick? Brazil vs Colombia.. meh, Brazil. [spoiler=Argentina vs Belgium] Argentina vs Belgium.... similarly, Argentina's performance is unsatisfactory, but Belgium is the same too. Currently they are kind of relying on Messi, but Belgium is more all-rounded than Argentina. Rojo, Garay, Zabaleta, Mascherano are the core, and di Maria, Higuain Messi and Aguero upfront. It seems leaned towards offensive ("Seems"). While Belgium has pretty much good players on every line, Witsel, Hazard, Origi, De Bruyne, Fellaini, its attacking is good and will be better if Lukaku finds his form. Why I think Belgium will lose is that I doubt Messi and Di Maria / Higuain can break through Belgium's defense with Kompany, Vertonghen, van Buyten (speed though) and Toby. Especially Courtois. Argentina scored 6 goals and conceded 3 in this cup, and while Belgium scored 6 and conceded 2. Argentina has 49 shots on target, while belgium has 55. It is important to note that Belgium scored all 6 goals in the 6 yard box, and argentina has 2 of them outside 18 yard. Since Belgium > Iran, and Iran held through 90 minutes and only lost it after that, Belgium > Argentina. [/spoiler] Netherlands vs Costa Rica - simply relying on Robben to support attacks. (Maybe Sneijder too?) For Italy, Pirlo was the heart of the attack, and Costa Rica did a good job on him. The same thing could happen on this match. Costa Rica's form is kind of the best out of the last 8, and especially when I had a bet with my friend that Costa Rica will win, I support them. Don't hate on me, dutch people. I am sorry[/quote]

[quote=Vynertje]I HATE YOU However, my point is that we have more than just Robben, we also have Van Persie. This duo has been regarded as one of the (if not THE) strongest forwarding duo's in this year's world cup. Besides that we still have a lot of talent and a very strong organization due to Van Gaal's approach.[/quote]

[quote=Khazem][quote=BlueArtist] [spoiler=Argentina vs Belgium] Argentina vs Belgium.... similarly, Argentina's performance is unsatisfactory, but Belgium is the same too. Currently they are kind of relying on Messi, but Belgium is more all-rounded than Argentina. Rojo, Garay, Zabaleta, Mascherano are the core, and di Maria, Higuain Messi and Aguero upfront. It seems leaned towards offensive ("Seems"). While Belgium has pretty much good players on every line, Witsel, Hazard, Origi, De Bruyne, Fellaini, its attacking is good and will be better if Lukaku finds his form. Why I think Belgium will lose is that I doubt Messi and Di Maria / Higuain can break through Belgium's defense with Kompany, Vertonghen, van Buyten (speed though) and Toby. Especially Courtois. Argentina scored 6 goals and conceded 3 in this cup, and while Belgium scored 6 and conceded 2. Argentina has 49 shots on target, while belgium has 55. It is important to note that Belgium scored all 6 goals in the 6 yard box, and argentina has 2 of them outside 18 yard. Since Belgium > Iran, and Iran held through 90 minutes and only lost it after that, Belgium > Argentina. [/spoiler] [/quote] did you not see the game yesterday? Belgium played an incredible game and Lukaku had a huge impact, unlike in his previous games. I'm pretty sure if they continue to play like that they'll make quick work of Argentina... Unless Messi pulls a Messi but I believe in Courtois.[/quote]

[quote=BlueArtist]Psst I forgot about that... how did I? Ye the attacking is really formidable, and then De Bruyne. Messi can't pull a Messi if he is locked down properly.[/quote]