World Cup Day 13 Open Thread
Welcome to Day 13 of the World Cup. We have the conclusion of Group C and Group D today. The highlight of today’s schedule is Uruguay and Italy, fighting for second place in Group D.
Group D:
12pm EDT
Costa Rica – England (ESPN2)
Italy – Uruguay (ESPN)
Costa Rica is improbably through to the knockout stages. England, of course, is not. Uruguay needs a win to move on whereas Italy needs only a draw due to Goal Differential.
Group C:
4pm EDT
Greece – Cote d’Ivoire (aka Ivory Coast) (ESPN2)
Japan – Columbia (ESPN)
If Cote d’Ivoire wins, they’re through to the final 16 for the first time in their history. If they draw and Japan beat Columbia by more than two goals, Japan would go through. Columbia will likely rest some of their normal starter’s as they are through into the Knockout Stage.
might be the best of the final matches. Expect a good effort from both teams.
Still, being alive with control of your own destiny is a fun place to be in the third game. Anything can happen.
Funny thing about this, If Colombia win their group and Uruguay come second, both of which could easily happen, there will be four South American teams in the same quarter of the knockout round bracket. Brazil would play Chile and Colombia would play Uruguay with the winners meeting in the quarterfinals.
At least 3 wouldn't be able to make the semifinals by default.
I wouldn't think they'd be terribly happy about a confederation merger, either. Inviting the big North American clubs to play in Copa America, sure. But adding all those Caribbean countries to what's now a pretty gripping WC qualification process? There's hardly a bad match in the South American qualifiers as they are; why would you want to watch a Brazil/Barbados home-and-home?
True. CONMEBOL is a pretty awesome federation as it is.
I suspect Prandelli will change up his lineup quite a bit today...I could see Ciro Immobile and or Alessio Cerci starting. Italy looked so flat going forward and so lazy with that CR Offiside trap.
Italy need some fresh legs on the field if they're going to move on.
Let's do it Uruguay!! I predict 2-1 with Forlan scoring the winner as a sub (crazy).
Costa Rica:
Navas, Gonzalez, Borges, Duarte, Campbell, Ruiz (c), Brenes, Diaz, Gamboa, Tejeda, Miller
England:
Foster, Cahill, Wilshere, Lampard (c), Sturridge, Smalling, Jones, Milner, Lallana, Barkley, Shaw
Looking over some of Nate Silver's data for today's games:
England / Costa Rica - he gives England a 42% estimated probability for a win
Italy / Uruguay - he estimates a 41% win probability for Uruguay
Both games have roughly a 30% chance of a tie, per his numbers.
Over in Group C, he is estimating a 65% chance of Colombia beating Japan and a 49% win probability for the Ivory Coast.
nate silver has quickly turned to the evil side and just spews out pop statistics.
Italy:
Buffon (c), De Sciglio, Chiellini, Darmian, Marchisio, Balotelli, Barzagli, Immobile, Bonucci, Pirlo, Verratti
Uruguay:
Muslera, Godin (c), Pereira, Rodriguez, Suarez, Gimenez, Lodeiro, Arevalo, Gonzalez, Cavani, Caceres
That's four changes from the match against Costa Rica: De Sciglio, Immobile, Bonucci and Verratti are in.
Also 5 defenders for Italy. The Suarez Effect.
...the 0:0 Gets Us Through effect.
Per Soccerway:
--------------------Buffon------------------------------
--------Barzagli----Bonucci-----Chiellini-------------
--------Veratti-----------------------Marchisio------------
-Darmian-----------------------------------------De Sciglio
------------------------Pirlo----------------------------------
-------------Balotelli-------------------Immobile--------
that this group is not the real group of death. when the team with the least talent wins the group, and the 2nd and 3rd place teams could viably win the whole tourney, it's tough to say that our group is harder.
The team that really got screwed was Australia. I mean damn.
They never show up for the Euros either.
I think maybe the more plausbie explanation is that they do show up but they simply aren't very good. It's not something that just sort of accidentally happens to them every two years.
in terms of players from europe or playing club in europe and diving/writhing/dying and players from not europe and diving
is hilarious.
Gotta admire the athleticism though.
gets a yellow card and if Italy move into the round of 16, he'll be suspended.
This match is ugly
I'm going to have to watch later on WatchESPN
Univision feed cut out?
Just saying...
For fucks sake Suarez biting someone (again) and Italy diving everywhere I wish there was a way both of these teams could be knocked out today.
And that goal was huge
Looked like Suarez just bit Chiellini. Good Lord.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLL Godin. Uruguay up!
3rd time he has bit someone...hard to tell if that was a true bite or a terrible head/shoulder butt.
There we go!
Ten after Marchisio went off...but yeah, this is looking like the Historical Italy.
BUT this is strangely entertaining.
The thing that gets me is when teams waste time during stoppage play, and the referee forgets to take it into account and blows the whistle right on the minute anyway.
Never understood that. Uruguay takes over a minute on the first F/K during stoppage time, then stoppage time should go to 96 minutes.