World Cup Day 9 Thread
and of course....Brazil!
Lets see if Neymar can get hacked to death in this game too
The penalty that called back should've been a yellow to Neymar for diving. He's got so much talent but his antics make him very unlikable.
Iceland.
This may be a controversial statement, but I think Bjork's music sucks.
she is sort of the Scandinavian Yoko Oni
Sigur Ros / Jonsi is awesome though.
Of Monsters and Men are really good though.
Interesting to see how much South American teams have struggled so far this cup. That might turnaround (and personally with Brazil I hope it does even though Neymar is a whining baby) but still has struck me as a little surprising.
S.American teams have been relatively overrated for a couple years now mainly because Brazil and Argentina will always be viewed as favorites. Argentina has talent (don't let announcers fool you to think otherwise) but the Messi v. National team issues are real and Brazil lacks balance.
The Brazil mystique is over for me too. They seem to think they just have to show up and the other team is going to lie down for them. Neymar plays like an entitled brat. Their style of play used to stand out, but other countries have caught up to them. In fact in the last WC Germany of all teams played some of the most beautiful soccer I've ever seen.
I cant stand Neymar. Plenty other players dive and flop and cry (which drives me insane) but Neymar is an absolute disgrace to the game. This PK is a great example. He rather go for the foul (PK) instead of taking the shot. I'm glad VAR called the PK back.
Great reversal. Didn't even take that long.
To my friend who talks about the flopping and why it's part of the game, that is EXACTLY why we need VAR. Because in the past, that was a penalty.
Crazy to overturn that Neymar penalty kick. He didnt deserve it but Ronaldo would have got that shot
Neymar is such a little bitch. Go Costa Rica!
I'm confused. If you are going to go to review and decide that isn't a penalty isn't it an automatic yellow on Neymar? It has to be right?
I agree, should have been a card. They need to crack down on the flopping. Start giving cards and maybe just maybe the flops will go away!
VAR is the GOAT. I love its application, specifically how fast it's implemented. We should be able to make decisions that quickly in American football as well.
I don't know what's worse, Brazil's flopping or Costa Rica's time wasting. This game represents everything that casual fans hate about soccer.
Man, if casual fans hate theatrics and time wasting, then casual fans must also hate every other sport in existance. No wonder no sports teams can make money in America.
Personally I love to watch Costa Rica play at the World Cup. We as USMNT know their game, but it's hilarious to see other big national teams get Concacaf'd and not understand what is happening, nor expect it. It was awesome to see Costa Rica do this exact same thing to Italy, England, Uruguay, the Netherlands and they never see it coming
Time wasting is part of the game, of course. But CR's time wasting was getting a bit embarrassing towards the end.
But yeah, CR is always, always a tough match-up, especially with Navas, who is so good.
Sure, every sport has those things, but to the degree we saw today? And there is a difference in most other major sports: the clock stops for injury. Sure they add stoppage time, but it almost never actually makes up for the time lost. You have to have heard people complain about players who act like they are dead and have to be carried off the field, only to magically jump up and run to midfield to come back into the game. Does that happen in any other sport?
I somewhat agree with you about the Ticos. Yes, it's always funny. But at the same time I don't particularly enjoy watching their style of play.
Yeah other sports waste time by going to 5 minute TV timeouts so that 25ish minutes of actual action gets drawn out to 4 hours.
Damn.
Welp. The nutmeg for the win. Can't really be happy for them
See this is where I get frustrated with Brazil (and South American teams in general). They are capable of such amazing passing, they see the field so well, they can get to goal. And yet they can spend huge stretches of games just trying to draw fouls instead of trying to score.
Brazil haven't look great so far and it probably doesn't help starting an 80% Neymar, but this is also just what Costa Rica does. For like the last 8 years they've devised and drilled a system of heavy deep defending with efficient low volume counter attacks that has worked wonders. Brazil is not the first big time team they've made look worse than they actually are.
Brazil haven't look great so far and it probably doesn't help starting an 80% Neymar, but this is also just what Costa Rica does. For like the last 8 years they've devised and drilled a system of heavy deep defending with efficient low volume counter attacks that has worked wonders. Brazil is not the first big time team they've made look worse than they actually are.
I agree, but if I see Neymar try to pull another dive like that, I'm travelling to Russia and pushing him myself...
Yeah, that dive was bad. He should have gotten a yellow. I'm hoping VAR cuts down on that. 4 years ago that penalty would have stood.
OK, yes, Costa Rica. Always a frustrating team to play. But I'm not just talking about this game. And even when the Ticos were playing their game Brazil still was getting all kinds of chances once they actually pushed forward late. I just find it a bit frustrating to watch extremely talented South American teams play for free kicks sometimes instead of going for goal. Yes, it happens to everyone, but they are easily the worst offenders.
I'm most excited for Serbia-Switzerland. Malinkovic-Savic has to get the ball far more than he did in their first match.
Tough one for Costa Rica, who are always a difficult match. Neymar is such an incredible player but my God the constant flopping is so aggravating.
I am in Costa Rica right now, the people I am staying with are very loyal, if realistic fans. There is a pall over the proceedings, which is not helped by the fact that I woke up this morning with an awful stomach bug and a mild fever. I actually fell asleep in the last 10 minutes of the game, right in front of the tv, and never saw Brazil's goal.
I'm in Brasilia and watched the game with a bunch of locals at a bakery. They were ready to fly to Russia and string up the referee. I told some I thought the referee was calling a good game, and that he wasn't buying what Brasil was selling. They wouldn't talk to me the rest of the game. I did however think Brasil was the much better team.
The issue with South/Central American teams/players is that there is no real stigma against diving in their cultures. If you can sell the referee on a dive, you helped your team win and that's all that matters. Diving is a skill that's rewarded, and while specifically not encouraged, definitely not discouraged. It's gamesmanship.
What makes this so infuriating, as others have pointed out, is that they are among some of the most creatively gifted players in the world.
However, VAR has made this tournament so much more enjoyable for reasons like the Neymar dive today. Long live this implementation of VAR.
Let’s be fair though: everyone (even our American guys) will dive now and then. Embellishing contact is part of sports in general. If there’s a difference between Latin Americans and other players, it’s only a matter of degree.
Absolutely. Every country has players who will dive... Arjen Robben is much more likely to throw himself to the ground than Robin van Persie (both Dutch players). And if you get hit, tripped, or shouldered in the box to the point it throws you off just enough to make your attempt at goal more difficult, often times it's best to go down because referees will do anything to avoid calling a penalty and if you get a weak shot off they won't blow whistle. Showing the referee you were fouled (or "embellishing contact" as you phrased it) is a part of every sport, from basketball players throwing their heads back to wide receivers throwing their arms up as they are being grabbed by the cornerback.
However, I'm speaking to the cultural hatred of diving (when there is little-to-no contact). Generally, the public reaction when players from England, United States, Germany, Italy, and others around the world dive, there's a consensus of disdain for those actions and those players are labeled "soft." That culture of disdain is simply not there for many South American countries.
Even then, everything is on a sliding scale. A player from Iceland seems less likely to dive than a player from Spain. A player from Argentina seems less likely to dive than a player from Columbia.
Is there anyone left in Iceland? Their entire population is in that stadium in some form.
It’s incredible. Their national economy must just be on hold for the moment.
It sounds like literally the entire population of Iceland flew to Russia for the game.
You’d think this game was being played in Reykjavik.
Nigeria's kits are so great. I wish Nike were as creative with all of their soccer designs rather than the boring templates they use for most countries.
In general Nike's kits look pretty good this year. All the major manufacturers use templates, of course, so there's no getting around that, but I'm happy with the look of this WC.
Nike got off to such a good start when it broke into the business, though, it's disappointing that they simply aped the Adidas strategy for most of their tenure. In 1998 they outfitted Brazil, Netherlands, Nigeria, Italy, and the US, and all five teams looked unique and fantastic.
But they never went back to that type of portfolio again.
Nigeria has literally 500 times the population of Iceland (170 million vs 330,000). And yet it seems like anyone’s game.
Fun fact.
Iceland population: 335,000
Nigeria population: 168 million
Washtenaw County: 360,000
I am a bit disappointed that only one Icelander chose to grow a Viking beard. That should be a team requirement.
Reports are that Argentina players had a meeting and asked for Sampaoli to be removed as manager before their match with Nigeria.
Sweet first touch and cool finish from Musa. 1-0 Nigeria. Great counterattack
I don't know why, but half volleys always look cool.
Feel bad for that Iceland defender who took and accidental knee to the back of the head after that goal.
For sure, volleys are always cool. He got subbed off after the head wrap...should be 5-6 minutes of stoppage time at least.