Just saw a lipreader's transcriptions of what Queirós was shouting into the pitch, and he was constantly ordering the players to win the midfield war.

"Tiago! We can't lose the ball there, okay? We can't lose the ball there. We need to be more aggressive."

"PEPE! OVER HERE" (gesturing to "zone 6" [defensive midfielder] line - note that Pepe is a centre-back and later almost broke a Brazilian player's ankle)

Violent football gets the job done in midfield, and when a team dominates midfield, that's half the game. It's not pretty, but these aren't friendlies either.
On that note, i am very surprised at Bruno Alves being quite efficient and not fouling nearly as much as expected. In his club, he's known for being a real tractor of a centre-back, excessively violent, which is part of the club's tradition, to have one of those and one very clean and efficient centre back.
For the national team, though, it's like he's a whole different person.

Just watched Chile vs. Spain. I was pretty sure that they were going to tie, but with that ref who expelled Estrada with no reason at all, i was expecting maybe a 3-0 for Spain. Luckily, Chile knew how to stand up and keep playing without a player.
I didn't even see a foul before Estrada's expulsion. The spanish guy tripped with the field.

may have been posted before. if it has, pretty sure people won't mind me reposting.

korea hwaiting tomorrow.

Afraid Ze Germans will get you?

The way i see it.

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

I think something like that, but with Portugal winning instead of Spain.

a song that makes me think of me if someone could just ask me out ive tried asking them out didnt say yes

At 6/25/10 07:57 PM, monkeymadeline wrote: garbage

how has someone not banned this clown already

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

I could live with that, since Germany beats England. But I don't think Spain will make it, propably it's Brazil again that wins the WC... :/

At 6/25/10 07:28 PM, Slightly-Crazy-Dude wrote: Afraid Ze Germans will get you?

Not really. Teams change over time and strictly speaking our team is made up of better players on paper then the current German team is. If we play more like we did the other day then I'm not worried too much.

Good luck to USA though. I hope they get far.

At 6/25/10 07:25 PM, jonthomson wrote: may have been posted before. if it has, pretty sure people won't mind me reposting.

korea hwaiting tomorrow.

Eh, she's wearing a Paraguay jersey so she's not Korean. Nonetheless still pretty fucking hot!

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

I can see that too, though Uruguay and US can go either way and Brazil is going to win it. No European teams has won when the World Cup hasn't been hosted on their continent. I don't see that changing seeing the way they have played so far.

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

I wouldn't trust Spain going all the way. Their group play didn't impress me one bit and I don't think they can stack up to quality teams like Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil. The Netherlands are a surprisingly talented side that could pose a serious threat against Brazil assuming the two meet each other. I think if they meet that would be the game of the tournament.

And Argentina despite having a somewhat shaky defense are still my picks to reach the finals on the other half of the bracket. I think they can easily handle Mexico, a weak Germany/England, and have a good enough team to match Spain, assuming they play them.

But the knockout rounds are when all of the pretenders get eliminated and now we finally get to see some real intense, quality playing. There's no more playing for ties and everything is on the line in these games. I can't wait for the matches to start.

i think canada will win

team with the most fans that consist of big ass titties paired with wristbands

so much enthusiasm over kicking a ball

At 6/26/10 04:16 AM, Ship wrote: But the knockout rounds are when all of the pretenders get eliminated and now we finally get to see some real intense, quality playing.

I wouldn't count on that. We can't expect "fireworks" from either team, as no team wants to lose. So they will try to have a strong defence to not concede any goals.

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

That would make for a pretty uninspiring tournament, without a single shock along the way (except arguably the USA beating Uruguay). I'd like to see at least one unfancied side dishing out an upset to one of the big guns.

Also I missed the games yesterday as I was stuck on the M25 for hours... and hours, but I am really glad Chile got through- they played some excellent and exciting football, despite only needing a draw to progress. That red card was an absolute farce and I wish there was a way to appeal it and avoid the ban.

Off to Turkey now for 2 weeks, so I'll be back for England vs the USA in the world cup final!

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

Looks good to me, although I would put Argentina in the finals instead of Spain and would put Uruguay in the semi-finals instead of the USA.

Also, maybe Chile can surprise by beating Brazil, but I wouldn't bet on it.

At 6/26/10 04:54 AM, Sentio wrote: That red card was an absolute farce and I wish there was a way to appeal it and avoid the ban.

It wasn't a red card but two yellows. And Estrada simply had it coming. He should've been sent off a few minutes earlier, when he fouled a player yet again.

Also speaking of "avoiding the ban": How on earth did Villa not get banned? He clearly hit an opposite player in the face in the match against Honduras, so why wasn't he banned for that? The FIFA should stick to their own rules and not privilege one team over any other team...

At 6/26/10 04:16 AM, Ship wrote:

At 6/25/10 07:38 PM, Molotov wrote: The way i see it.

And Argentina despite having a somewhat shaky defense are still my picks to reach the finals on the other half of the bracket. I think they can easily handle Mexico, a weak Germany/England, and have a good enough team to match Spain, assuming they play them.

Also assuming that the big Europens teams keep playing like they played before...

But the knockout rounds are when all of the pretenders get eliminated and now we finally get to see some real intense, quality playing. There's no more playing for ties and everything is on the line in these games. I can't wait for the matches to start.

Also, I just noticed that Brazil's work is really easy until the final..on paper, at least.
But I think that someone is going to have a surprise win against them.Spain...hm, they will definitely make it to the semifinals, but after that, I dunno...Agrentina will probably lose against Germany IF they face each other...
But, once again, anything can happen.

At 6/26/10 04:19 AM, unowned wrote: team with the most fans that consist of big ass titties paired with wristbands

mm?

so much enthusiasm over kicking a ball

OH GAWD, ALL PEOPLE DO IS KICK A BALL, SO BORING!!11!!!one!!

Whats this? Do i see the German team behind bars scared of three lions? We'll be seeing deja vu tommorow no doubt

At 6/26/10 07:19 AM, ProffesorCrumpets wrote: Whats this? Do i see the German team behind bars scared of three lions? We'll be seeing deja vu tommorow no doubt

Lol Germans in the back of a cattle car driven by a black African, scared for their lives and curious as to what's about to happen.
Oh History, you amuse us so.

At 6/26/10 08:06 AM, C-Hawk wrote:

At 6/26/10 07:19 AM, ProffesorCrumpets wrote: Whats this? Do i see the German team behind bars scared of three lions? We'll be seeing deja vu tommorow no doubt

Lol Germans in the back of a cattle car driven by a black African, scared for their lives and curious as to what's about to happen.
Oh History, you amuse us so.

While the three lions roam free :')

Anyway I'm still looking forward to it. Got to love playing the 'old enemy'. There is just something 'romantic' about England vs Germany, and considering our history together I tend to think we're all quite nice about it. Besides having a few laughs of course..

But whatever you do, don't mention the war.

Oh well, now the real deal begins...

I'll be cheering for Uruguay against South Korea. I like their football, and I want as many South American teams on the quarter finals as possible, to show how much we are AWESOME.

As for yesterday's Brazil vs. Portugal... eh, I expected at least a goal. I thought Nilmar was going to do really well in the second half, judging from his first half, but we couldn't get the ball to him, since we were playing more defensively in the second. It was a pretty rough match, but it cooled down in the second half, when Felipe Melo was changed. He's a freaking horse!

And we have Chile ahead now, and they will play without three of their starters. It won't be easy, though...

I really hope someone starts "10 German bombers" during tomorrows game. That'd be epic.

Psyched for the second round! England-Germany is tensing up. It could seriously go any way I think. Good luck to the American fans - I can't really make a prediction on that game either.

At 6/26/10 08:31 AM, Gagsy wrote: Anyway I'm still looking forward to it. Got to love playing the 'old enemy'. There is just something 'romantic' about England vs Germany, and considering our history together I tend to think we're all quite nice about it. Besides having a few laughs of course..

Yeah, from what I've seen and heard, the England-Germany rivalry is really more of an in-joke to football fans, because the cores of both fan bases just love the football and the humour that goes along side it. Of course, everyone gets passionate about it, but it's hardly angry in the majority of cases. It's a gentlemanly relationship, often with lots of beer involved. My Dad described the atmosphere inside and outside the arena during a UEFA Cup Bolton-Bayern Munich game (which Bolton won 2-2) as one of the best he's known, and the lamer chants were shot down by the Bolton fans themselves.

Wait, no! I was doing us all a favour!

klaxon

Hmm the Korean defenders were just standing there expecting the ball to dance out... oops.
1-0 Uruguay

YES! 1-0 Uruguay!

Although this goal was plain foolery in Korea's defence. They simply let the ball pass by, just staring at it, while Suárez was standing there all alone! Also, nice perseverance play by Forlan.

This promises to get even better! :)

WTF? After Maximiliano Pereira shot, a Korean defender clearly touched the ball with his arm >:(

Half time: Uruguay 1, South Korea 0.

Not a bad game so far. As others have said above, the goal was well developed with some good play between Forlan and Suarez, but it was ultimately down to defensive and goalkeeping blunders. It's somewat clear that the central defense is where SK's weakness is. SK have a quick-paced attack, but it's largely been all bark and no bite so far - there's not much in the way of concluding what they're doing. They've managed to keep it up, but when Uruguay get some breathing space, they become dangerous. A controversial not-handball call in favour of SK should provide some food for thought.

SK will be wanting to maintain these tactics methinks, to draw on their set piece skill.

At 6/26/10 10:56 AM, Ejit wrote: A "psychic" octopus is said by its aquarium owners to have predicted the country's football team will knock England out of the World Cup.

I'm somehow strongly reminded of South Park. Don't ask me why, I've no clue.