World Cup 2014

[arcadianagain]

England went into the competition with low expectations, and managed not to reach those.

[dozer]

Can you imagine this man motivating you?

[Pagey]

It's like a hypnotist has clicked his fingers and sent him to sleep !!

[STEVE G]

Private Eye got it right last week:
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/pictures/c ... 68_big.jpg

[PeteC]

Germany/Ghana 2-2 draw. This tournament is full of surprises so far. Germany didn't look sharp at all to me, maybe the heat has gotten to them. A lot of walking defenders against running Ghanaians. The old adage/movie title "white men can't jump" comes to mind as well. Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

I thought it was a very entertaining match. End to end action, plenty of shots and opportunities to score and two teams who both wanted to win. Also the ref was great.

[PeteC]

I just don't think Germany was hungry enough. Ghana is a team the USA beat without too much trouble. What I saw especially in the second half:

- Ghana consistently beat Germany to the ball.
- They won almost every header.
- Germany seemed to have no sense of urgency when 2-2.
- Ghana had a 5 on 2 toward the end and screwed up with an off sides pass. How do you get a 5 on 2?
- Ghana had little offensive strategy though from what I saw. Not well coordinated or executed when they had the advantage.

I really think these African and South American teams are coping with the heat much better than others, to be expected. A long way to go though and the EU teams have to get used to it too, quickly.

I still have either Germany or Holland winning it all, but I scratch my head a little tonight. Pete

[dozer]

Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal to give Nigeria a victory against Bosnia-Hercegovina .

The best thing about this game was not getting spam emails from Nigeria whilst they watched.

[Bamboo Grove]

If you haven't decided who your favouites are or if your favourites are already packing (sorry, England fans), you can still pick up one with the help of this table.

http://www.tickld.com/x/for-any-confuse ... ely-genius

[migrant]

Great USA Portugal game! 15 sec to go and they never give up!

[PeteC]

Great USA Portugal game! 15 sec to go and they never give up!

Unfortunately the USA where either exhausted or made a kids mistake being too confident in the last 3 minutes. They gave the ball to Portugal continuously and see what happens.......they blew a win. The Portugal equalizer came with less than 5 seconds on the extra time clock. Pete

[PeteC]

I don't know about the rest of you but this tournament is turning me into a raving maniac, more so than usual. I normally sleep about 5 hours and get up very early. Now I've been sleeping 2-3 and getting up really early having tried to get some sleep in the afternoon/evening in preparation. I'm feeling like crap and this can't be good for a person....and I'm not even drinking while watching the matches....only tea! I feel and look as if run over by a truck. Pete

[pharvey]

I might just put a fiver on Costa Rica at 66-1.......

[dozer]

I don't know about the rest of you but this tournament is turning me into a raving maniac, more so than usual. I normally sleep about 5 hours and get up very early. Now I've been sleeping 2-3 and getting up really early having tried to get some sleep in the afternoon/evening in preparation. I'm feeling like crap and this can't be good for a person....and I'm not even drinking while watching the matches....only tea! I feel and look as if run over by a truck. Pete

I don't go out of my way to watch a game, I just can't get excited about this World Cup or any of the recent ones. Much prefer the EPL and Champions League.

[pdm3547]

I don't go out of my way to watch a game, I just can't get excited about this World Cup or any of the recent ones. Much prefer the EPL and Champions League.

I'm with you 100%.

Back in the day, internationals used to be a step up in quality. All of the best players from all the teams in England getting together every so often and competing against the best from other nations. Players you had only heard about through newspapers actually being seen in the flesh!

Now the PL has the best the world can offer. With the notable exceptions in Spain (BCN, RM), you can see the best players in the world stage week in, week out.

Internationals are a distraction; you run the risk of injuring key players for their clubs' competitions, and who - let's face it - pay the wages of their superstars.

IMHO, it is a greater honour these days for a young player to play for the likes of a Liverpool or Manchester United than England, especially if they have grown up as supporters of their clubs or through their respective academies.