World Cup 2014!

[Pulsar_t]

That was a fantastic last-minute header.

[Aramonde]

I'm so pissed off, we were 30 seconds away from winning.

[ZeroAX]

Amazing game, perhaps the best one in the tournament so far. Both American goals were just beautiful, and so was the last header. Now the first goal, that was just stupid. Some amazing saves by your keeper in the second half though

[Aramonde]

no it wasn't, we should have had that game and w fucking choked. What does every teams i root for have to lose in such a way that pisses me off.

[Aramonde]

PORTUGAL ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!! AND WE LET THEM OFF THE HOOK!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWmQbk5h86w




I was reading the comments of the theguardian.com's USA/Portugal game and this thread of comments was funny and true about USA one day becoming a power house in football/soccer.


http://discussion.theguardian.com/comme ... k/37299515 Takes a little time to load but will take you to the comment that starts with

We invented football.
The Yanks hated it for decades.

They are now better at it than we are.

My favorite comments were

The US will never dominate football. It would require a total revolution in their mentality and ethics. They lack the wile and guile, the craftiness, the shrewdness, the astuteness, the cunning, the trickery, the gamesmanship that is required to be a world beater at this sport. They are too naive and pure. The only atribute that will always make them a bit of a threat is their awesome athleticism. But it is something to do with the widespread practice of sport in their educational/college/university system, which is second to none and will always produce supreme athletes even before they produce decent footballers.

this sounds to me like you're saying American players don't fake injuries and dive enough. You and I appreciate very different things, apparently.

Well, speaking as a Canadian, we who invented hockey (ice hockey to Brits ... they're not the only sports nomenclature snobs), we see USA as our main rival, they have a very strong team ....and hockey is not even very popular there.

So, don't be surprised, a sport doesn't need to have a strong following in the USA for them to become a power.

True, Hockey isn't that popular in the US maybe except for the north east but still not even then.

losing_haringey

Scary how dominant the USA might become if football becomes the premier sport there. With the size of the population and dedication towards sport they will be a top nation for sure.

Dominant?! Settle down...

[Sload Soap]

Just caught up with the USA Vs Portugal game. Another good game to watch even if the technical ability of both teams was lacking. Looks like Ronaldo is going to have another bad tournament.

Some more whacky tactics out on that Manuas pitch. USA seemed to press high sometimes and other times stood off which is no kind of way to play. It's either 100% press or not at all. Otherwise you leave too much space and that's what got them for the first Portugal goal. The USA also give the ball away far too cheaply. That really cost them later on. I know some people admire the US team for always looking to attack and not being cynical with the ball but the bottom line is that mentality cost them tonight.
I would worry as a USA fan because if this were a knock out tie, Portugal seemed to have the legs at the end whereas the USA players were shattered.

It's tougher now. Germany will want the win and I can see Ghana being galvanised by this result and their own against the Germans. I think the USA are still in the best position to go through though. Exciting group.

[catnip]

USA's totally gonna still make it outta this group of death, THEN CONTINUE THEIR DOMINANCE ON THEIR WAY TO THE CUP

[Blu]

It's tough for me to not be critical on that second goal. A better clearance by Bradley on that open midfield loss of possession is what resulted in the goal, along with slacking on Geoff Cameron and Omar Gonzalez's behalf. Parking the bus and being up one goal still seems dicey in US tactics. I don't necessarily think Germany is going to be super aggressive about trying to pull off the win, they know if they get a tie they still win the group. Portugal could also stomp Ghana (which I think is also unlikely). I think the strongest point you made is that Ghana has been galvanized and will show up hard against Portugal.

[Sload Soap]

I think Germany will just be pragmatic: they won't sit back for a draw and risk losing if they can just beat the US. They also might want to cement the top spot to avoid a potential quarter final with Argentina.

As for the game, it wasn't really a question of parking the bus. Having said that if you can't defend a 2-1 lead for ten minutes that itself is a problem. No, it was more things like in the 94th minute Yedlin should have just gone into the corner, put his foot on the ball and waited for the whistle. Beasley should maybe have brought down Ronaldo. Cynical but effective.

My favourite part of the game was the midfield battle between Meireles and Beckerman. Looked like two hipsters having a slap fight outside a coffee shop at times.

[ZeroAX]

I still think the US can take on Germany. Your players are super fast so you can handle Germany's counter attacks, but you have to focus more on closing up space on defense