OT: Saturday World Cup Open Thread

Submitted by wlubd on

Knockout Round kicks off today. No more of that group nonsense, win or go home at this point.

All South American battles today. Winners will meet in the quarterfinals on July 4th.

12:00 PM EDT - Brazil vs. Chile (ABC)

4:00 PM EDT - Colombia vs. Uruguay (ABC)

 

BloomingtonBlue

June 28th, 2014 at 2:00 PM ^

Idk if it's their colors or the way they play or what. But they're one of my favorite teams.

M-Dog

June 28th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^

I like their unis.  Should be more of what the USA's look like and less of Russia.

Throw in a couple of stripes on the shirts and a few stars on the pants and you have a classic look that you don't have to keep changing, ala Brazil and Argentina.

 

imMaizeNBlu

June 28th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^

Are tired, but I think Chile needs better then this, Brazil or should I say Hulk looks like he could take it there anytime now and it's then just a matter of time before he scores.

They could continue to weather the storm, but they are REALLY dancing with the devil if that's all they have to strategize with.

blackstarwolverine

June 28th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

It doesn't seem as if Chile has great depth. Losing Vidal was crucial. He and Sanchez are irreplaceable and central to their style of play. If you know you can't win on the open field, you take your chances with penalties, in which anything can happen. Do these Brazilian players have the nerves to make all of their penalties?

alum96

June 28th, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^

its a best of 5, so not necessarily 5 shots each.  If one team has a 3-0 lead for example its over.

 

If tied after 5, its sudden death

gwkrlghl

June 28th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^

It would be great to see the upset, but in a strange way I'd sympathize with the Brazilians whose government spent billions to do this World Cup (instead of on its citizens) only to see them drop out early

alum96

June 28th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^

It is, but no good options in this sport.  Players are exhausted. 

I'd try the hockey scenario where you take one player off the pitch in OT ... maybe in the 2nd 15 minutes.  Maybe open the field up more.

THis is the amazing thing about hockey - how they play those 3-4-5 OT games in playoffs is beyond me.  But at least the hockey players get a rest every 40-55 seconds.  80% of these players on the field have not had a rest.

gwkrlghl

June 28th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^

I think playing extra time with 8-9 men makes a hell of a lot more sense than PKs for soccer. That would create a lot more scoring chances. Someone would almost certainly score at this level.

Doing PKs at this level is just a coin flip basically as the goalie has to just guess.