FIFA 2014 World Cup all-purpose thread | Page 55 | Syracusefan.com

FIFA 2014 World Cup all-purpose thread

Argentina will beat the Dutch. If Neymar was healthy I would favor Brazil but I think Germany may play Argentina.
South America will win this year either Brazil or Argentina.
 
That is what I love about soccer. Obviously, Hockey is my favourite sport and soccer and football tied at number 2, but i LOVE hiw a game can change so quick in soccer!!!
 
Argentina will beat the Dutch. If Neymar was healthy I would favor Brazil but I think Germany may play Argentina.
South America will win this year either Brazil or Argentina.

My daughter won me over. Pulling for Messi now. The guy is a winner in every sense.
 
So after all the hype with upstart teams and upset bids we have a final 4 that is a group of the usual suspects.
 
Fair enough and thats why I struggled a bit naming top keepers. There are several facets to a keeper beyond shot stopping abilty. Take my keepr, Mignolet, for example. As a shot stopper he's quite good but his distribution from the back needs work and his organization on set pieces was a comedy or errors so I didn't think to name him for a second. To me the keeper is somewhat responsible for the organization of the defense but there's obviously some parts out of their control. To me Vertonghen reminds me of Glen Johnson and I don't mean that as a complement. On top of that your one center half, who's name escapes me, is sadly out classed vs pacey forewards so I get what you're saying. The reason I picked Speroni was the sheer number of saves he makes in the midst or a shooting range every week.
Vertonghen isn't a LB but was forced to play there because there wasn't a better option and he plays there for Belgium. He's horribly exposed there. One of the best CB's on his day in the Prem. Dawson is far and away our worst CB and only played there because Chiriches and Vertonghen were hurt and he was forced to. Will be sold to Hull or QPR in this transfer window.
 
I guess it's the hip thing to rip on the best player in the national team's history. Heil Jurgen!

Seriously, what kind of pedestal are we putting this guy on? He did an admirable job, no doubt. But the praise is a little over the top imo.

Don't get me wrong, he's the right guy for the job ... at the moment. He still needs to show improvement. Win the Gold Cup next year at a minimum. And I think that's well within reach.

Until then, he's a guy who led his team to the Round of 16. Very good. Not great.
 
Who do you favour in both fixtures?

Ability wise, the Germany with the way the Brazilian team has gotten treated by the ref its a tough call. I'll go Germany v Argentina for the cup. Argentina's defense looks good at the moment and I'm not sure that's ever been the case for them.

Who are the refs assigned to each fixture? Perhaps I shouldve asked that before making a prediction.
 
Vertonghen isn't a LB but was forced to play there because there wasn't a better option and he plays there for Belgium. He's horribly exposed there. One of the best CB's on his day in the Prem. Dawson is far and away our worst CB and only played there because Chiriches and Vertonghen were hurt and he was forced to. Will be sold to Hull or QPR in this transfer window.

Seems as though a lot of Prem teams are bereft of options at LB/RB. How else could Shaw sell for £30 mil and Sevilla try and Get £20+ for Moreno? Both are talented young players but neither are the finished product which you hope they'd be for that money.
 
Seems as though a lot of Prem teams are bereft of options at LB/RB. How else could Shaw sell for £30 mil and Sevilla try and Get £20+ for Moreno? Both are talented young players but neither are the finished product which you hope they'd be for that money.
The hype for Shaw is out of control.
 
unlikable diver
Huh... he's much more likable than he used to be. You'd need to see his interviews on Dutch TV to appreciate that. Every time he went down against Costa Rica was as a result of contact. I saw lots of other players go down yesterday who weren't even touched.

It was a crazy game... was hoping for Wesley to connect. In the end, the better team won. This is the first time that there was Dutch success in a penalty shootout. The 1992 Euro failure was ridiculous.

Nigel will be missed against Argentina. Argentina is owed a loss for '78 where a goalpost cost them the championship. Then the Germans deserve payback for '74. It's been a good run for a team that was not expected to make it out of its group.
 
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I guess it's the hip thing to rip on the best player in the national team's history. Heil Jurgen!

Seriously, what kind of pedestal are we putting this guy on? He did an admirable job, no doubt. But the praise is a little over the top imo.

Don't get me wrong, he's the right guy for the job ... at the moment. He still needs to show improvement. Win the Gold Cup next year at a minimum. And I think that's well within reach.

Until then, he's a guy who led his team to the Round of 16. Very good. Not great.
I don't put him on a pedestal but Donovan has taken every shot he could take Klinsmann. Donovan was a great player for the USMNT but his bitterness is annoying. People hammering Klinsmann for saying the USA couldn't win the WC are annoying as well. He was being honest out talent isn't good enough right now to win the WC but raising the expectations of getting out of the group stage consecutively was met. I was watching the Czech Republic game from 2006 and boy was that a crapshow. If Klinsmann stays on board I think the USA could win it all by 2026 in our nation's 250th anniversary.
 
DeAndre Yedlin appears set for a preseason trial with Liverpool. Thats interesting on quite a few levels for me.
Actually looks like Roma got him and will let him stay on loan in Seattle. Maybe they move him to Serie A at some point in the season and give him an opportunity to play in the Champions League knockouts if Roma can get through the group stage.

http://www.football-italia.net/51681/roma-snatch-usas-yedlin
 
Argentina will beat the Dutch. If Neymar was healthy I would favor Brazil but I think Germany may play Argentina.
South America will win this year either Brazil or Argentina.
I didn't think so at first but I was extremely impressed by how fast Argentina's defense was and how they were able to bottle up the Belgium attack. I figured Belgium's speed would tear that defense to shreds but Hazard, Mirallas and Origi were pretty much non-factors. I do think they will miss Di Maria though. I'd take Germany over Brazil anyplace else but in Brazil. I expect that one to be another foul fest similar to the Brazil - Columbia match.
 
Actually looks like Roma got him and will let him stay on loan in Seattle. Maybe they move him to Serie A at some point in the season and give him an opportunity to play in the Champions League knockouts if Roma can get through the group stage.

http://www.football-italia.net/51681/roma-snatch-usas-yedlin

UK journos are the worst. Suppose we'll wait for official word from Seattle but him going to Europe is a plus for the US and Roma is certainly a good club as well.
 
We need as many Americans as possible to play for Champions League squads. Yedlin to Roma would be great. I wish he wasn't loaned to Seattle till August 2015. 9 of our 11 starters at the 2010 WC played in Europe this WC only 6 of 11 played in Europe. I want the MLS to grow but I don't want the starters for the MNT coming from MLS squads.
 
I guess it's the hip thing to rip on the best player in the national team's history. Heil Jurgen!

Seriously, what kind of pedestal are we putting this guy on? He did an admirable job, no doubt. But the praise is a little over the top imo.

Don't get me wrong, he's the right guy for the job ... at the moment. He still needs to show improvement. Win the Gold Cup next year at a minimum. And I think that's well within reach.

Until then, he's a guy who led his team to the Round of 16. Very good. Not great.

Poppy, I think you can agree that Landon could do himself, and US Soccer, a huge favor and keep his mouth shut. Maybe one of the reasons he wasn't in Brazil is because he can be a divisive figure? He needs to let it go. And whatever issue JK has with Landon, he has to let it go too.

I respect what Landon has achieved and done for the advancement of the USMNT. Regardless if he is the greatest homegrown player in the history of US Soccer, the MNT is bigger than he is. It's a train that is going to keep plowing forward with or without him. I would like to see him involved, but he has to support the direction. Klinsmann is clearly the guy we need right now, and US Soccer obviously agrees. His contract goes through 2018. If Michael Bradley can play for Klinsmann, Donovan should be able to play for him too. I expect we'll see him again in the coming months, once this Cup is a memory.
 
We need as many Americans as possible to play for Champions League squads. Yedlin to Roma would be great. I wish he wasn't loaned to Seattle till August 2015. 9 of our 11 starters at the 2010 WC played in Europe this WC only 6 of 11 played in Europe. I want the MLS to grow but I don't want the starters for the MNT coming from MLS squads.
Sending a 20 year old kid who speaks no italian to Italy is a potentially career changing move. He shouldn't be going to Roma solely because they are a Champions League squad. He needs to go somewhere that will help his development. Staying with Seattle will allow him to further develop. We have 4 years until the next World Cup.
 
Poppy, I think you can agree that Landon could do himself, and US Soccer, a huge favor and keep his mouth shut. Maybe one of the reasons he wasn't in Brazil is because he can be a divisive figure? He needs to let it go. And whatever issue JK has with Landon, he has to let it go too.

I respect what Landon has achieved and done for the advancement of the USMNT. Regardless if he is the greatest homegrown player in the history of US Soccer, the MNT is bigger than he is. It's a train that is going to keep plowing forward with or without him. I would like to see him involved, but he has to support the direction. Klinsmann is clearly the guy we need right now, and US Soccer obviously agrees. His contract goes through 2018. If Michael Bradley can play for Klinsmann, Donovan should be able to play for him too. I expect we'll see him again in the coming months, once this Cup is a memory.
France left super talented Samir Nasir from Man City off their team. Managers pick the best teams they can and chemistry matters. Klinsmann cut Donovan and he needs to and move on. Donovan's analysis this entire WC has been mediocre at best. Donovan was good in the past but he wants to continue this feud for no good reason IMO.
 
Also, Klinsmann left Donovan off the team because he wasn't going to start and they didn't want a sulking Landon in the locker room. Pretty sure a few of the squad players don't like Landon very much either. Landon's past his prime and the sabbatical was stupid.
 
France left super talented Samir Nasir from Man City off their team. Managers pick the best teams they can and chemistry matters. Klinsmann cut Donovan and he needs to and move on. Donovan's analysis this entire WC has been mediocre at best. Donovan was good in the past but he wants to continue this feud for no good reason IMO.

Sometimes Its addition by subtraction. France looked like a much better team without Ribery as well.
 

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