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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 01:01 AM |
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Brazil? For me they still have to prove quite a lot (aside from ref decissions  )
2nd half gogogo!
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OhforfSake
Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
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posted June 15, 2014 01:01 AM |
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No, I don't mean as a team, I mean player for player.
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Living time backwards
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 01:57 AM |
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GGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!
Best match of the tournament so far, if anybody hasn't seen it they should, or at least the highlights, matches like this one are worth staying late 
OhforfSake said:
No, I don't mean as a team, I mean player for player.
That's another story.
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted June 15, 2014 02:07 AM |
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England were the better team, Hodgson's starting XI was good but his substitutions were weird, Gerrard and Rooney looked really tired but neither of them were subbed off.
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Neraus
Promising
Legendary Hero
Pain relief cream seller
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posted June 15, 2014 02:09 AM |
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I knew I wouldn't be disappointed, this night made my day.
Outside people are rejoicing for the victory, and we are still at the first match.
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Noli offendere Patriam Agathae quia ultrix iniuriarum est.
ANTUDO
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 02:18 AM |
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Vindicator said:
England were the better team
I disagree.
It was a clash of styles. England came with fast, strong attacks & counterattacks, but the dangerous ones were rather infrequent. On the other hand, Italy had much better possesion of the ball, and whenever the ball ended in the feet of that sexy bearded man known as Pirlo, it created magic.
Another player that's worth praising was Balotelli. He was totally focused on the game and played beautifully, not just scoring, he was constantly moving and working in conjuction with the rest of the team, he was on point today. His sub, Inmobile, looked way too nervous and was constantly offside.
Overall I think England had great attack but bad defense, while Italy had good defense and great attack. I'd say Italy was the better team, even if not by a large margin.
Vindicator said:
Hodgson's starting XI was good but his substitutions were weird, Gerrard and Rooney looked really tired but neither of them were subbed off.
I agree. Although I'd loved to see Rooney without defensive tasks and more freely on the match.
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blizzardboy
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Nerf Herder
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posted June 15, 2014 05:21 AM |
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Vindicator said:
England were the better team
Not really. If they could get the ball within 10 yards of where they wanted it to go. Lots of bad kicks / passes from them during critical moments.
Ivory Coast vs Japan was fun to watch. Lots of aggression and individual runs for the goal from Ivory Coast; not that great with coordinating their offense. That isn't going to work against a stronger team. Japan was weak after the first 20 minutes.
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"Folks, I don't trust children. They're here to replace us."
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VOKIALBG
Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
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posted June 15, 2014 10:43 AM |
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England wasnt the better team. Best moment from the game:
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Sandman
Known Hero
Fearsome Warrior
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posted June 15, 2014 10:45 AM |
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Proud of England. They gave it 100%
No one can ask for more, great game.
Italy were just that bit better on the night.
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 01:08 PM |
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Sandman said:
Proud of England. They gave it 100%
No one can ask for more, great game.
Italy were just that bit better on the night.
Agreed, while Italy looks like a title contender, England didn't looked terrible as expected, they can make out of the group.
VOKIALBG said:
Best moment from the game:
Doesn't load for me. What moment was?
BTW, you were damn right about Costa Rica giving Uruguay a hard time. So much they actually beat Uruguay 
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foxxxer
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted June 15, 2014 01:14 PM |
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The games are really intersting so far. It's real manifest of the attacking football. Average more than 3 goals per game. There was two surprises - Nederlans and Costa Rica. Even England and Italy scored 3 goals (I expected borring game 0-0). What do we want more. I hope the great foorball will continue.
Sandman said:
Proud of England. They gave it 100%
No one can ask for more, great game.
Italy were just that bit better on the night.
If this is their 100% they should go home. Yeah, I agree that the heat and humidity were the reason for the slow tempo but I didn't see any idea in England's game except some sparks like Sturridge's goal. They are so tired after the long season. Kids like Sterling, Barkley, Welbeck won't save the day. I don't see England as a serious contender for the title. This was only one game so I hope they'll prove me wrong just in sake for more interesting tournament.
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angelito
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
proud father of a princess
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posted June 15, 2014 02:11 PM |
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Edited by angelito at 14:13, 15 Jun 2014.
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The win of Costa Rica vs Uruguay was completely unbelievable for me. Even harder to understand than the dutch crushing against the spaniards. 
I really thought the Urus were one of the best 4 teams in that competition. But the arrogant way the have played yesterday after they have scored their first goal ("Ok guys, that's it. Just save your power for the harder games against the italians and the english guys!") makes the win for CR a well deserved one.
I'm interested in the style Uruguay will play the next 2 games though. Against England it's already a final game. The losing team will have a 95% chance of getting home in June
And the moral of Costa Rica will now be on top, so let's see how they will do against Italy.....a draw wouldn't surprise me to be honest...
Greece did like I expected. From my point of view, this team is one of the 3 worst teams in this years WC (sorry if I offended someone here, but that's just my 2 cents..). I have yet to see Iran and Honduras playing their first game in competition style, but greece was just horrible..
Ivory Coast is the strongest african team in my eyes, and the coach did something right, what the coach of cameroon failed to do:
Bringing their best player (Drogba; Eto'o) after about 60 minutes into the game! Both are over 30 years old and won't have enough power to play 90 minutes at their highest level. But they can both decide a game by their own. Eto'o was out of power after 65 minutes, so cameroon didn't have any sharp sword in their offense anymore. Drogba came in with full power, while japan was already "infected" by the power of the weather conditions. And then the game changed...
I am sure we will see a lot more games changing after minute 60/65. This is the time when the team with the better substitutes and the better fitness will gain advantage over the game...
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Better judged by 12 than carried by 6.
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The_Polyglot
Promising
Supreme Hero
channeling capybara energy
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posted June 15, 2014 02:41 PM |
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Ugh... Staying up for games like Italy-England was soooo not worth it. Let's just skip ahead a month and get to the final already! WC's boring so far, with the obvious exception of the Spain-Netherlands match.
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Friend-shaped
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 02:57 PM |
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angelito said:
I am sure we will see a lot more games changing after minute 60/65. This is the time when the team with the better substitutes and the better fitness will gain advantage over the game...
I fully agree here. I hope Spain learns this, players like Xavi can't keep a full game, let alone under this conditions.
Weather is taking a big role in this WC. Spain players were very slow on the 2nd half, both Italy and England looked worse on the 2nd half, specially on the last 20 minutes. And I've read Japan suffered from this too.
PS: Gerrard is surely having an interesting season with slips, heh 
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foxxxer
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted June 15, 2014 04:03 PM |
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Storm-Giant said:
I fully agree here. I hope Spain learns this, players like Xavi can't keep a full game, let alone under this conditions.
Weather is taking a big role in this WC. Spain players were very slow on the 2nd half, both Italy and England looked worse on the 2nd half, specially on the last 20 minutes. And I've read Japan suffered from this too.
About the weather, there's nothing unexpected. Ever since Brazil won the host bid, it was clear that the weather will be a key factor especially a disadvantage for the european teams.
I think Spain suffers same syndrom Barca does. Tiki-taka becomes borring when there's no constant movement (position exchange) of the midfielders, wings and strikers. Just unfruitful great amount of passes and ball possession. In the great years of Spain (and especially Barca) there was constant and fluid exchange of positions on the field. That's why very often defensive midfielder or even defender ended up on striker postion and scored.
I have to agree about Xavi here. Imho Xavi is the real problem of Spain. He is old (34 yo) and can't play the game he did. Usually he is the engine of the squad and controls the rhythm. Iniesta and Silva are very creative but can't control the game as Xavi does. Maybe Alonso is the closest equivalent of Xavi but he is more defensive.
Another problem is the high defensive line imo. You can't play 90 min so high in these terrible weather conditions. It's almost impossible to endure 90 min not only for Xavi but also for the whole defensive line.
The_Polyglot said:
Ugh... Staying up for games like Italy-England was soooo not worth it. Let's just skip ahead a month and get to the final already! WC's boring so far, with the obvious exception of the Spain-Netherlands match.
Poly, I've been wathing WCs since USA'94 and can say that most of them started borring with low amount of goals except if there's some big difference in the teams' classes. Somehow this one is different and I hope the current pace will continue. Besides the goals also the games are interesting.
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 05:56 PM |
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Today:
Switzerland - Ecuador 0-1
France - Honduras 3-0
Argentina - Bosnia 3-2
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted June 15, 2014 06:18 PM |
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Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador
France 4-0 Honduras
Argentina 3-4 Bosnia
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Storm-Giant
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
On the Other Side!
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posted June 15, 2014 07:59 PM |
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Vindicator said:
Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador
Winner goal on the last second, dang!
You got that one right, grazt Vindi.
PS: Still no draws on this WC, soooo many goals
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foxxxer
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted June 15, 2014 08:21 PM |
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France 2-0 Honduras
Argentina 3-1 Bosnia
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted June 15, 2014 09:58 PM |
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Storm-Giant said:
Vindicator said:
Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador
Winner goal on the last second, dang!
You got that one right, grazt Vindi.
PS: Still no draws on this WC, soooo many goals
The Swiss had Shaqiri, they weren't going to lose
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