World Cup Schedule

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Other note, Neymar and Brazil confirmed today why he is my least favorite athlete of any sport on my least favorite team in the entire world.

I don't care how good he is, what he does is ridiculously obnoxious. Card him every single time he cries with a fake injury or keep him off the pitch for the length of time he's rolling on the ground.

Enough is enough.

And no, it's not just a part of the game. There were no issues in the Japan Belgium game.

[MU82]

General rule is 30 seconds added for each goal, and stoppage time for the second half is never less than 3 minutes. No conspiracy here.

As a guy who knows little about soccer, I will defer to your obviously superior knowledge.

[GGGG]

Furthermore, Japan has two good chances to score toward the end as well.

[JWags85]

100% agree.  Also love the fact that there hasn't been a bad knockout game yet.

Id argue the Spain/Russia and Croatia/Denmark games were pretty awful.  Take out the drama of a shootout and it was a lot of bad soccer.  Croatia and Denmark seemed to forget how to play after a great start and Spain was HORRIBLE, passive, and toothless.  And De Gea has not been good.

Furthermore, Japan has two good chances to score toward the end as well.

Both keepers really turned it on.  Japan's GK was fantastic in the second half, despite giving up the goals.

Other note, Neymar and Brazil confirmed today why he is my least favorite athlete of any sport on my least favorite team in the entire world.

I don't care how good he is, what he does is ridiculously obnoxious. Card him every single time he cries with a fake injury or keep him off the pitch for the length of time he's rolling on the ground.

Then your issue is with the officials.  If players stopped receiving benefits from diving or embellishment, it would stop.  I'm not defending Neymar, but I also saw a stat that he's been on the receiving end of the most challenges by the opposition in the WC but a decent margin.  He's so talented and quick that teams only shot is to be physical with him.  That being said, he does take it to another level.  But my god is he incredibly skilled.

[Its DJOver]

Id argue the Spain/Russia and Croatia/Denmark games were pretty awful.  Take out the drama of a shootout and it was a lot of bad soccer.  Croatia and Denmark seemed to forget how to play after a great start and Spain was HORRIBLE, passive, and toothless.  And De Gea has not been good.

You must have a pretty high bar, because I thought both games were great.  Would you judge a basketball or football game based on the first 3 quarters?  If not, why are you treating soccer differently? If a game goes to a shootout, it almost always doesn't even matter what happened the rest of the game because shootouts, whether in soccer or hockey, are one of, if not the, most exciting things in sports IMO (the soccer hockey hybrid that the MLS used in the 90s was the best).  Were the Sunday games as good as the 7 goal thriller that was Argentina France? No. Were they as good as the 5 goal second half Monday? No.  But they were still great games.

If you were expecting a 7 goal game from Spain Russia, then you have not seen Spain play in the last decade.  Croatia Denmark had one of the best extra times in recent memory.  Very open, both teams going for it.  Honestly my biggest complaint about the Sunday games, was the shockingly high number of really poor penalties.  Koke and Iago never even should have been taking spot kicks for Spain, and the missed penalties in Croatia Denmark were also just bad penalties.  Watch the shootout in the Croatia Denmark game, at this level, every single player should be converting penalties at at least a 90% clip.  The second Danish shot (the first converted penalty) is exactly what everyone should be able to do.

Of the penalties that he faced, De Gea really only had a chance to save one.  Other than his Rob Green esq goal conceded against Portugal, his tournament was fine, Russia had all of 1 shot on target in the 120 minutes, and it was the penalty, you can't make saves if the other team doesn't shoot.   

[JWags85]

You must have a pretty high bar, because I thought both games were great.  Would you judge a basketball or football game based on the first 3 quarters?  If not, why are you treating soccer differently? If a game goes to a shootout, it almost always doesn't even matter what happened the rest of the game because shootouts, whether in soccer or hockey, are one of, if not the, most exciting things in sports IMO (the soccer hockey hybrid that the MLS used in the 90s was the best).  Were the Sunday games as good as the 7 goal thriller that was Argentina France? No. Were they as good as the 5 goal second half Monday? No.  But they were still great games.

If 2 Big Ten teams played grinding, stalling basketball and went to overtime tied 31-31, but overtime was back and forth with each team hitting a big shot, id still say it was a crap game.  The majority of the game was terrible.  When teams play for a shootout, I don't care how fun the shootout is, its cynical soccer and isn't pleasant viewing.

If you were expecting a 7 goal game from Spain Russia, then you have not seen Spain play in the last decade.  Croatia Denmark had one of the best extra times in recent memory.  Very open, both teams going for it.  Honestly my biggest complaint about the Sunday games, was the shockingly high number of really poor penalties.  Koke and Iago never even should have been taking spot kicks for Spain, and the missed penalties in Croatia Denmark were also just bad penalties.  Watch the shootout in the Croatia Denmark game, at this level, every single player should be converting penalties at at least a 90% clip.  The second Danish shot (the first converted penalty) is exactly what everyone should be able to do.

Come on man, there is a big difference between expecting Spain to be in a firefight and the bulls*** we saw for 110 of the minutes of that match.  No pressure, no attacking.  They completed 1000 passes with non of them being dangerous.  This is one of the top teams in the World, with an embarrassment of riches from a talent perspective, who played like a minnow hoping to get to a coin flip in PKs.  No creativity in attack, no change in strategy.

The Croatia/Denmark match was different.  Extra time was quite good and the penalties were high drama, but that game started so brightly, and both teams have some exciting attacking talent, so the fumbly last 75 min or so of the 90 were disappointing.  I hear your point about an ending, but soccer has almost double the game time of an NBA game, and there is no shot clock or play clock to force play, so passive, complacent playing out of a game feels even more egregious.  For me, a TERRIBLE game ending in penalties is not a great game just because penalties are fine.  You are entitled to think differently.

Of the penalties that he faced, De Gea really only had a chance to save one.  Other than his Rob Green esq goal conceded against Portugal, his tournament was fine, Russia had all of 1 shot on target in the 120 minutes, and it was the penalty, you can't make saves if the other team doesn't shoot.   

De Gea had the worst GK stats in the WC in 50 years.  Penalties aside, he really did nothing of note, and gave up a couple of goals you might expect a top 3 GK, which is how he's been thought of for some time, to stop.  He didn't have to do much in the Russia match, but he wasn't good against Morocco or Portugal.  Trust me, I'm not the only one with this opinion, criticism of him is wide ranging.

[GGGG]

I think penalty kicks are a boring way to end a game. I know why they are necessary, but it is so unlike the rest of the game that I find it dull.

Oh and Spain firing their coach for accepting another job after he was going to be out of contract was dumb.

[Its DJOver]

If 2 Big Ten teams played grinding, stalling basketball and went to overtime tied 31-31, but overtime was back and forth with each team hitting a big shot, id still say it was a crap game.  The majority of the game was terrible.  When teams play for a shootout, I don't care how fun the shootout is, its cynical soccer and isn't pleasant viewing.

You must absolutely hate baseball.  The majority of those games, nothing is happening.  Yes they're higher scoring, but they're also usually twice as long.

Come on man, there is a big difference between expecting Spain to be in a firefight and the bulls*** we saw for 110 of the minutes of that match.  No pressure, no attacking.  They completed 1000 passes with non of them being dangerous.  This is one of the top teams in the World, with an embarrassment of riches from a talent perspective, who played like a minnow hoping to get to a coin flip in PKs.  No creativity in attack, no change in strategy.

The Croatia/Denmark match was different.  Extra time was quite good and the penalties were high drama, but that game started so brightly, and both teams have some exciting attacking talent, so the fumbly last 75 min or so of the 90 were disappointing.  I hear your point about an ending, but soccer has almost double the game time of an NBA game, and there is no shot clock or play clock to force play, so passive, complacent playing out of a game feels even more egregious.  For me, a TERRIBLE game ending in penalties is not a great game just because penalties are fine.  You are entitled to think differently.

You must have also hated the 2010 World Cup, because in that tournament, Spain set the record for highest average possession by a champion, highest passes per game by a champion, and fewest goals per game for a champion.  They scored all of 8 goals in 7 games.  That's just the way that Spain has played for over a decade now.  You may not like the style, but anyone who has watched them play knew exactly how it was going to go.  The only way you would have been dissapointed is if you were expecting a high scoring affair.  You can also make the argument that anytime the host is playing in the knockout stages, it will either be a good game or a blow out, just based on the environment.

De Gea had the worst GK stats in the WC in 50 years.  Penalties aside, he really did nothing of note, and gave up a couple of goals you might expect a top 3 GK, which is how he's been thought of for some time, to stop.  He didn't have to do much in the Russia match, but he wasn't good against Morocco or Portugal.  Trust me, I'm not the only one with this opinion, criticism of him is wide ranging.

First I find this hard to believe. Source?

Second, Spain conceded 6 goals in their 4 games.  Not great number, but 2 of them were penalties, which brings it down to 4 goals in 4 games which is above average. De Gea had no chance at either of the goals against Morocco, the first being a terrible mistake by his defenders, and the second being a header into the top corner off a set piece.  He kept a clean sheet against Iran, not exactly impressive but a clean sheet is a clean sheet.  He had his terrible mistake against Portugal, then couldn't stop a penalty, or a world class shot by Ronaldo.  By no means am I saying that he looked world class, but he had one terrible mistake, and a pretty average rest of the tournament.  That's not worthy of the criticism that he's receiving IMO.   

[GGGG]

I thought the 2010 World Cup Final was boring. Yeah Spain may play that way, but like Badger basketball, I’m not going to pretend to enjoy it.

[Its DJOver]

I thought the 2010 World Cup Final was boring. Yeah Spain may play that way, but like Badger basketball, I’m not going to pretend to enjoy it.

It really depends on how you look at it.  You can say that in 2 hours of play there was exactly one goal, and that's a fair point. You can also look at the record number of yellow cards (double the previous record), the one on one save between Casillas and Robben, the flying judo kick by De Jong (which amazingly wasn't a straight red), the sending off in extra time, and say that it was a good game.  Not the most exciting I've ever seen certainly, but it did have its moments.

[JWags85]

You must absolutely hate baseball.  The majority of those games, nothing is happening.  Yes they're higher scoring, but they're also usually twice as long.

Yes, by and large I find baseball to be boring.  However, most of baseball is not purposefully boring, its just a function of the start and stop nature of the sport.  I dont find soccer boring.  I find it thrilling.  The build up, the clever runs and movement off the ball, the changes in pace and tempo.  Its fantastic.  When most of those moments are taken away, it sucks.  I don't like watching many Mourinho coached squads either as a result.  If he doesn't have a clear talent advantage, they sit.

You must have also hated the 2010 World Cup, because in that tournament, Spain set the record for highest average possession by a champion, highest passes per game by a champion, and fewest goals per game for a champion.  They scored all of 8 goals in 7 games.  That's just the way that Spain has played for over a decade now.  You may not like the style, but anyone who has watched them play knew exactly how it was going to go.  The only way you would have been dissapointed is if you were expecting a high scoring affair.  You can also make the argument that anytime the host is playing in the knockout stages, it will either be a good game or a blow out, just based on the environment.

Yea, it wasn't great.  It was the UVA of soccer.  Made even worse by the fact that they have so much talent as I said.  If you loved the Spain/Russia game, more power to you.  But don't come at me like I dont understand or appreciate soccer cause I found it to be boring and the Spanish attack to be banal.  If they won 1-0, ok.  But they were tied, as a better team in a hostile environment, and still made no effort to truly win it in regular time.  Thats just lame.

First I find this hard to believe. Source?

Second, Spain conceded 6 goals in their 4 games.  Not great number, but 2 of them were penalties, which brings it down to 4 goals in 4 games which is above average. De Gea had no chance at either of the goals against Morocco, the first being a terrible mistake by his defenders, and the second being a header into the top corner off a set piece.  He kept a clean sheet against Iran, not exactly impressive but a clean sheet is a clean sheet.  He had his terrible mistake against Portugal, then couldn't stop a penalty, or a world class shot by Ronaldo.  By no means am I saying that he looked world class, but he had one terrible mistake, and a pretty average rest of the tournament.  That's not worthy of the criticism that he's receiving IMO.

https://talksport.com/football/393680/manchester-united-david-de-gea-world-cup-2018/

He recorded a single save the entire tournament.  He didn't face as many as some, but he had the huge gaffe against Portugal.  Morocco's first goal was a save you could expect a keeper to make.  Watch it again, the Morroccan forward didn't do much even with it being a 1v1.  Spain as a whole played poorly, but De Gea wasn't good.  Didn't have a single moment of magic.  Again, he's receiving criticism cause he's viewed as one of the top keepers in the world, for good reason.  And his performance didn't reflect that (shrug).

[Its DJOver]

Yea, it wasn't great.  It was the UVA of soccer.  Made even worse by the fact that they have so much talent as I said.  If you loved the Spain/Russia game, more power to you.  But don't come at me like I dont understand or appreciate soccer cause I found it to be boring and the Spanish attack to be banal.  If they won 1-0, ok.  But they were tied, as a better team in a hostile environment, and still made no effort to truly win it in regular time.  Thats just lame.

My post was not intended to be an attack, if it was perceived that way I apologize.  I do disagree that they didn't go for it.  Iniestas shot in the 85 min could have very well gone in.  It was a good save by Akinfeev considering the traffic.  Rodrigos turn and run in the 109 min was another moment that almost created a winner.  Spain can't really create chances quickly so I think the number of opportunities created was about indicative of Spains style. 

https://talksport.com/football/393680/manchester-united-david-de-gea-world-cup-2018/

He recorded a single save the entire tournament.  He didn't face as many as some, but he had the huge gaffe against Portugal.  Morocco's first goal was a save you could expect a keeper to make.  Watch it again, the Morroccan forward didn't do much even with it being a 1v1.  Spain as a whole played poorly, but De Gea wasn't good.  Didn't have a single moment of magic.  Again, he's receiving criticism cause he's viewed as one of the top keepers in the world, for good reason.  And his performance didn't reflect that (shrug).

Looking only at save percentage is pretty misleading.  For example in the 2014 World Cup game against Belgium, Tim Howard allowed two goals and had 15 saves, for a save percentage of 88.  While that is an above average number, it is not at all representative of the record setting and world class performance that he displayed in that game.  Native European papers are also notoriously critical of their own countries players, often making claims that are a bit extreme (see Raheem Sterling).  "De Gea's World Cup has been a disaster", he didn't look like a top 3 keeper in the world, but calling it a disaster is a bit of a stretch.

[JWags85]

My post was not intended to be an attack, if it was perceived that way I apologize.  I do disagree that they didn't go for it.  Iniestas shot in the 85 min could have very well gone in.  It was a good save by Akinfeev considering the traffic.  Rodrigos turn and run in the 109 min was another moment that almost created a winner.  Spain can't really create chances quickly so I think the number of opportunities created was about indicative of Spains style. 

No worries, all good man.  I think they can create chances, they just tactically chose not to.  Look at their attacking players, they all play in systems at Real or Man City or Barca where they score in flurries.  I think the choice of strikers was interesting, regardless of last Premier League campaign, Id rather plug in the proven success at the international level of a Morata or Pedro as opposed to Aspas or Rodrigo.  They put a lot of pressure on Costa to perform.

And no, they didn't sit on it like Japan, but Russia had 1 attempt on goal in the second half, ONE!  And Spain had almost 80% possession.  I don't care if they have the slowest build up in history, with that possession, that talent in the midfield, and a team that was BEGGING you to attack them with their passive defensive tactics, I would expected more.  Great save on the Iniesta shot, but other than that, Akinfeev was largely untroubled for the majority of the second half.  All perception I guess, but Ive seen Spain turn on the pressure and intensity and I didn't see it there.

As for De Gea, I agree "disaster" is a bit harsh and excessive, but when your team isn't scoring goals, I think its fair for a critic to expect your keeper to stop shots he had in front of him/got his body on which was the difference between 9 points and 5 in the group stage, and maybe makes him a more confident keeper in the penalties.  Akinfeev was FEELING it heading into that, De Gea not so much.

[Its DJOver]

No worries, all good man.  I think they can create chances, they just tactically chose not to.  Look at their attacking players, they all play in systems at Real or Man City or Barca where they score in flurries.  I think the choice of strikers was interesting, regardless of last Premier League campaign, Id rather plug in the proven success at the international level of a Morata or Pedro as opposed to Aspas or Rodrigo.  They put a lot of pressure on Costa to perform.

And no, they didn't sit on it like Japan, but Russia had 1 attempt on goal in the second half, ONE!  And Spain had almost 80% possession.  I don't care if they have the slowest build up in history, with that possession, that talent in the midfield, and a team that was BEGGING you to attack them with their passive defensive tactics, I would expected more.  Great save on the Iniesta shot, but other than that, Akinfeev was largely untroubled for the majority of the second half.  All perception I guess, but Ive seen Spain turn on the pressure and intensity and I didn't see it there.

As for De Gea, I agree "disaster" is a bit harsh and excessive, but when your team isn't scoring goals, I think its fair for a critic to expect your keeper to stop shots he had in front of him/got his body on which was the difference between 9 points and 5 in the group stage, and maybe makes him a more confident keeper in the penalties.  Akinfeev was FEELING it heading into that, De Gea not so much.

I also think you also have to give Russia some credit.  They were very organized, and at most times has 10 men behind the ball.  Regardless of attacking talent that's going to be difficult to break down. 

Agree 100% about the substitution patterns that left Iago as the only striker going into the shootout.  Bringing on Iniesta was the right move, but I would have taken off Asensio instead.  I can understand not wanting two 30+ year old running your midfield, but as you point out there wan't much defensive work to be done.  Again, no problem with bringing Iago on (given the options available), but I would have kept Costa on as well.  With the ease that Iniesta, Pique, and Ramos finished their PKs, the argument of experience being the deciding factor holds up.  You give me a 5 of Iniesta, Costa, David Silva, Ramos, and Pique, and they go 5 for 5 more times than not.  If Russia converts all 5 too, then I would have gone with Isco before either Koke or Iago.  He was probably the best Spanish player throughout the game.  Spain had more talent, but the management decisions did not do them any favors.

[tower912]

Very chippy game between England and Colombia.  It is my impression that Colombia is generally the instigator.  But good lord, there is a lot of whining out there.

[JoeSmith1721]

Disgrace of a game. Ref lost control very early and it's been a disaster ever since. Hopefully the winner gets wrecked by Sweden.

[Its DJOver]

At least England's fully going for it.  Taking off Walker to put on Rashford.  You know they don't want penalties, especially given their history.

[tower912]

Went into the game agnostic.  May have to root against Colombia in perpetuity after this game.

[Pakuni]

England scores five times on penalties, four from Tottenham players.
#coys

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Damn.

England deserved it. Doesn't sting any less though.

Really weird game, never seen England or Colombia ever act like that before. They certainly brought out the worst in each other.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Went into the game agnostic.  May have to root against Colombia in perpetuity after this game.

Lol please.

England, Maguire and Henderson weren't exactly saints.

[GGGG]

Lol please.

England, Maguire and Henderson weren't exactly saints.

They weren’t. Colombia was much worse though.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

England scores five times on penalties, four from Tottenham players.
#coys

+1. Good day for Spurs players.  Sanchez played a great game too for Columbia.

LFC was the only bottler today.   

[tower912]

Lol please.

England, Maguire and Henderson weren't exactly saints.

Didn't claim they were.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

If there's one thing to take solace in, is that the Colombia back 4 will be around for a long time.

Mina proved a lot of people wrong this World Cup. Probably the last go around for Cuadrado and Falcao.