World Cup
 

I can't believe there isn't a thread about this already.

United States vs. Ghana today in four hours. Who is watching?

Re: World Cup
 

I'll be watching.
I assumed there was no thread because many weren't interested?

But its been an awesome time on Twitter. :lolz:

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I've been watching most of every game, for every team.

I'll admit, I was watching the US play [whoever they played last - I forget], and I wasn't cheering for them or anything, but when they scored in the 91st minute I felt all excited on the inside.

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I knew USA was Ghana lose that game.

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Boo, sir. Boooooo.

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G-H-A! G-H-A! G-H-A!

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That was a tough one to watch. I thought the Yanks had a real shot at the semi-finals. There's always next...I mean, there's always 2014 when Brazil will win on their home turf.

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I've hardly seen any matches. I'm following Holland (up against Slovakia today) and sometimes I see some random other matches. In the supermarket I watched Germany beat up England for a minute.

So what do you guys think of the Dutch team? In Holland people are very very pessimistic. We're winning, but don't ask how. The gameplay is very boring to watch.
So I'm not too optimistic about Holland's chances. :)

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I also root for Holland, as I always do :)

But yes, as Angrist says, they aren't playing very well..

Oh well, I'll still be following them :)

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Yeah, I actually like the Dutch as well. Rooting for Japan and Ghana now as well just because they are the underdogs. Don't really expect them to get through though.

We're probably in line for Brazil vs. Spain or something.

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Yesterday's match was better than what Holland has shown so far. It was good to see Robben back in action. The yellow card he got was rediculous! He clearly couldn't help that the ball got shot against his arm. In the replay you can see he even tried to pull it away.
And our keeper (V. Stekelenburg) getting a yellow card was weird too. :unsure:

Next Friday may be a great match: Holland vs Brazil. Either that, or we are going to lose terribly.

Right now I'm watching the replay of Chili vs Brazil. I might watch Japan - Uruguay live instead.

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I watched the Japan/Paraguay game, and it was pretty intense. I personally think Japan deserved to win, but they also looked like they played for the penalty kicks to try and win it there, which backfired on them entirely.


I also do think that Brazil will completely crush Netherlands. I hope they don't, I hate Brazil - but it would be pretty close to a miracle if any other result happened.

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Woah, no reactions here on the last games??

I'll let somebody else say something about Brazil - The Netherlands.

What Uruguay did to Ghana was unbelievable... :(

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I didn't think the Dutch were going to win that game, even when I was watching it. I'm pulling for them now, though.

I also think the Ghana game was a joke. They need to re-vamp the rule for intentional handballs. If it was clearl going to be a goal - it should count as a goal and the player should get red carded. Ghana deserved to win that hands down.

For a final I think Netherlands/Germany would be a good final.
Both semi-final matches should be really good, too, though.

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I can't believe how dirty the Brazillians were playing. They were really trying to injure Robben (who's had many injuries before).
Luckily there was a good ref (arbiter as they call them now?). That seemed to really upset the Brazillians, which was their downfall.

So now Holland is up against Uruguay tomorrow. The tricky thing of the Uruguayans is that they're not playing with 1 but with 11 goal keepers. :p
That guy who hit Ghana's ball out of the goal plays for Ajax, a Dutch club... But he'll miss the game against Holland.
I think we'll win this one, but I fear the final... Germany or Spain, I don't care much. Germany - Holland has always been more of a classic though. :)

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They still call them refs...:ohreilly:

A lot of teams have been playing cheaply this World Cup.
I remember watching the US - [I forget] game, and all the players on the opposing team kept making blatant attacks on the US players; like elbows to the nose, stepping on ankles, fists to the face - and the refs weren't calling anything.

But the Brazilians are generally just a really cheap team. Without attempting to over-generalize, it's pretty true that the South American teams and Spain tend to dive a lot, and take a lot of cheap shots at the other teams. That's no fun to watch.

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Orange - Uruguay starts within 4 hours!!

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That was a great game. I like the way The Dutch play - sort of like the English. Up the wings, and cross it in.

The ref at the end of the game just looked really confused - like he just wanted the game to keep on going because it's the last one he's reffing. It should have ended well before he blew the whistle.

It was a great game though. I'm pulling for a Dutch/Germany final, now.

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I think I've got to root for Spain in the next semi-final. It'd be nice to see two teams in the final that have never won it, even though they are two very good European teams.

Spain may also be my favorite European country to visit, partially because of my crappy grasp on the language. The Netherlands is up there as well though, I'd be happy with either.

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A Holland - Germany final would be awesome. It's always a classic for the Dutch (we usually lose from them).

Those last 3 minutes against Uruguay were nerve wrecking. Our team thought they had won when it was 3-1, but it was scary to suddenly see a 3-2 and then some chances for Uruguay.
I also don't get why our player (Van Bommel) got a yellow card and then we got a free kick.'..
Oh and did you see the kick in the face another one (De Zeeuw) got? :( That must have hurt so bad.

Anyway, WE'RE IN THE FINALS!! This is only the 3rd time, last time was in '74. :D

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So it will be The Netherlands vs Spain next Sunday.

Exciting.

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I believe he got a yellow card for celebrating too early, which was rather stupid in my opinion. He was only celebrating because he thought the whistle for the free kick was the end of the game.

It's good to see two teams in the final that have never won it. The Netherlands is always the second team I root for, behind the United States, so I'm rooting for them on Sunday.

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Article from Slate on the championship. NSFAngrist.

http://www.slate.com/id/2259911/

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Pff what a terrible match so far. All faults, no soccer or chances.

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That red card shouldn't have happened, in my mind.

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Well, he hit the other player's foot with his hand, I think he deserved his second yellow for that.

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, I don't think any of the teams deserved to deserve that match. But Spain was probably a bit better.

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LOL!

Paul the Octopus was batting 1000, he was never wrong!

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Kind of a rough game but still kind of fun to watch. The best part may have been all the slow-motion replays of the fouls. The ref was an entertaining disciplinarian as well. He was very busy. I'm happy for Spain. I feel like neither team played that well, but Spain got the goal, so that's all that matters.

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It's crazy how all these soccer players have super regenerative powers.

I mean, one second their leg seems to be broken in 10 places, they do a quick look around, and they're up and running again!

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I didn't see him do that initially when I made that comment.

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I forgive you.

I also saw that yellow card for Robben coming. I wonder if complaining to the ref ever helps.

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I think it's hilarious how grown men complain to the refs. No ref will ever say "You know what, you were right. Let me reverse the call I just made, and take back the booking I gave you. I'm so sorry."
Just shut up and play.

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Professional athletes are grown men?

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Last time I checked the members of World Cup '10 were. :ohreilly:

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On the other hand, it might influence the ref's next decision.
Only it didn't. :( Spain scored from a offside situation (not the last pass but the one before it).

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I hate how the World Cup Final is played in a way that both teams keep themselves from giving up a goal, instead of trying to score. That's what happened in 2006 with France vs. Italy, and it went to a stupid shootout. This game ALMOST went to a shootout, but Spain just happened to score in the remaining minutes of extra time. The 3rd place game was much more exciting, though I know that the pressure is off of them, since they can't win the World Cup, but I wish that the Final was played that way. The 3rd place game came down to the end as well, but at least there were 5 goals before that free kick at the end by Forlán.

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Well, it tactically makes sense.
In a sport that relies more on preventing the other team from scoring, and less on constantly scoring [baseball, football, hockey].