Official 2010 World Cup Thread

[Henry Sugar]

"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."

[reinko]

Holanda aka Paies Bajos aka Netherlands aka Holland looks goooooood

[MU B2002]

Holanda aka Paies Bajos aka Netherlands aka Holland looks goooooood

Aka Oranjie


I think this is all because of the orange mini-dress promotion.

[reinko]

Aka Oranjie


I think this is all because of the orange mini-dress promotion.

Or this lovely lady.  HUP HUP indeed   

[reinko]

Anyone looking for a good feed, here ya go...no sound (unless you speak Spanish of course, great quality.)

http://futbol.univision.com/fifacopamundial/partidos-en-vivo

[Henry Sugar]

"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."

unless, of course, Spain is playing Germany

/gratuitous self-quote

[Henry Sugar]

Poll added

[MUBurrow]

i wonder who Paul has in the 3rd place game, i feel like placing a bet.

[brewcity77]

i wonder who Paul has in the 3rd place game, i feel like placing a bet.

I'm expecting that third place game to be way more entertaining than the actual title game. Two free-wheeling sides with plenty of attacking options and no one suspended. And if Lugano is out for Uruguay, it will only open up the pitch even further.

God help us if Spain scores in the first half. Could lead to the most dull 45 minutes of pass-around the World Cup has ever seen. I really hope the Dutch score first in the final, regardless who wins it will be more interesting with Holland on top early.

[MU B2002]

paul picked germany and spain.  Btw the spain pick for the title was his fastest pick yet.

[MU B2002]

Diego Forlan is amazing.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Go Holland, the motherland

[brewcity77]

Pulling for Oranje today, but expecting Spain to win. Would love to see the Dutch get a first half goal to make it interesting, though I doubt it will be anything near the adventurous free-for-all we saw yesterday. That third place match was simply fantastic. Both teams came from behind to take the lead, Forlan was extraordinary (Golden Ball imo), and a 20-year-old took the lead for the Golden Shoe.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That was one boring game

[tower912]

Chippy, ugly, easily could have been 3-4 red cards during regulation.   The one that WAS called turned the game, though Spain had been dominating for awhile.   i started out rooting for the Orange, but they committed so many ugly fouls early that I switched.   Unfortunately, I think this game will be remembered for the number of fouls and missed opportunities.   

[Jumping Jesuit]

Xavi and Inesta were fantastic throughout the tournament.

[MUfan12]

Xavi and Inesta were fantastic throughout the tournament.

No doubt. Was a just ending that Iniesta bagged the winner.

BTW, thought Howard Webb was fantastic today. De Jong should have seen a straight red, but beyond that I thought he was really good. Kept a game in check that could have spiraled out of control.

[Golden Avalanche]

No doubt. Was a just ending that Iniesta bagged the winner.

BTW, thought Howard Webb was fantastic today. De Jong should have seen a straight red, but beyond that I thought he was really good. Kept a game in check that could have spiraled out of control.

Couldn't disagree more.

There's no doubt the Dutch were the aggressors but Webb created an environment where acting was always going to win out (well, except for Robben who will always be eyed with suspicion) and Spain took advantage of that as the game reached the deep stages.

As for Iniesta, he is a fantastic player. Completely underrated in the shadow of Xavi. That said, he spent more time diving yesterday then in an entire campaign in La Liga. And he should have been booked for the petulant hip check he put on Van Bommel, which ironically came directly in front of Mr. Police Sargent Webb who chose to ignore it. Not the only action he ignored.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Second yellow totally uncalled for and we saw more diving from Spain than Robben who had a terrific World Cup. Spain clearly was the better team and it was a fitting win .

[MU B2002]

The Germany - Uruguay match was the most exciting of the whole tourney imho.


We need to find a way to get Forlan or Mueller to defect.

[MUBurrow]

all the commentators put on apologists masks for that game, but i didnt think that was necessary.  sometimes i like watching a game with two entirely different styles/strategies/skill levels, even if it means the game doesnt have remarkable up and down flow and pageantry.  i thought that from a competitive point of view, watching the Dutch tow the line between physical-disruptive-admittedly dirty soccer but not get sent off and see how for the end of the 1st through the middle of the 2nd they were totally in the spaniards' heads was really interesting.  sure it didnt end 3-2 or anything, but a close watching made for what i thought was an intriguing game with the dutch forced to play with fire strategically.

that being said, I thought Webb did a pretty okay job, the Dutch were bound to be viewed with suspicion - their strategy necessitated it.  I didn't like booking Robben for complaining, but beyond that thought he did a pretty solid job.

[MU B2002]

I can't remember who got the card for the dutch, but the dive by Iniesta was beyond obvious.  There was zero contact.

[MUfan12]

There will always be bad decisions in the course of a match. And I agree that Iniesta should have been booked for diving rather than the Dutch player being cautioned.

Unfortunately from the get go the Dutch forced him into tough decisions with their cynical tactics. I believe it was van Bommel that came straight through, high and studs up and took out a Spanish player. He could have easily seen red.

[JWags85]

There will always be bad decisions in the course of a match. And I agree that Iniesta should have been booked for diving rather than the Dutch player being cautioned.

Unfortunately from the get go the Dutch forced him into tough decisions with their cynical tactics. I believe it was van Bommel that came straight through, high and studs up and took out a Spanish player. He could have easily seen red.

It was De Jong, and that was ridiculous.  As has been stated, I don't have a ton of problems with the officiating compared to some of the other games, but Iniesta going down like he had been shot all game was just absurd, and was rewarded all game.  Even Robben, a fairly accomplished diver in his own right (who i dislike for that and his whining even though I love the Dutch), looked like a rugged competitor compared to some of that crap.

[ATWizJr]

Couldn't disagree more.

There's no doubt the Dutch were the aggressors but Webb created an environment where acting was always going to win out (well, except for Robben who will always be eyed with suspicion) and Spain took advantage of that as the game reached the deep stages.

As for Iniesta, he is a fantastic player. Completely underrated in the shadow of Xavi. That said, he spent more time diving yesterday then in an entire campaign in La Liga. And he should have been booked for the petulant hip check he put on Van Bommel, which ironically came directly in front of Mr. Police Sargent Webb who chose to ignore it. Not the only action he ignored.

Webb created an environment?  How, pray tell?