FIFA World Cup coverage.

[DrLeftover]

Welcome to the final Wednesday of Group Play.

Today finds Group F in the early games, and Group E later on.

Only two teams of the eight have reasonably safe passage to the next round with two wins, Argentina in F, and the French in E, are all but assured a spot. And only two teams are on their way home, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Honduras have two losses apiece.

Everybody else can only catch a berth if they win.

That's bad news for Nigeria who takes on Argentina at noon Eastern, but good news for Iran who plays Bosnia. If Nigeria loses and Iran wins, guess who goes home? And of course, ties by anybody mean it is decided by points and Nigeria has the edge there.

Group E sees Ecuador and France meeting later with Honduras and Switzerland in the other game. Ecuador and Switzerland are tied in the standing with a win and a loss each. Ecuador has a slight edge in the points tiebreaker, so it would be better for either team to win, but if BOTH win, it'll be right back to that tiebreaker, and then suddenly France wouldn't be so safe and might end up seeded second or even out depending how the deal goes down.

So barring any random bites and a few head butts, it may be another good day of football.

 

[DrLeftover]

Group F
Argentina and Nigeria both went in to win the game and the group. Argentina did it. Nigeria stays in second.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were simply playing for pride. And they proved they had some left by beating Iran 3 to 1, ensuring that the Iranians went home instead of having a shot at advancing.

Group E

Ecuador thoroughly underwhelmed everybody by their lack of drive today. They played a very tough game to prove exactly nothing and end up in a scoreless tie and stamp their ticket home.

France did everything they had to do to win the group and the top seed going out by simply NOT losing, not getting any of their players hurt, or drawing a red card which would keep somebody out of next week's game.

Switzerland saw a chance to advance and did so by kicking Honduras hard and often, and the Swiss move on in second in the group.

 

[Sinon]

I thought Switzerland played awfully. I know they got goals, but they seemed to be doing a lot of diving and fouling that wasn't caught by the ref. At one point a Swiss player pushed a Honduras player from behind sending him to the ground, ref didn't even book him. That was a yellow card if ever there was one.

 

[DrLeftover]

Today is the last day of Group Play and it sees a full slate of games.

Group G goes first with Ghana and Portugal each looking for a win and a possible chance to go through to the next round.

In Group H Belgium leads the group and will make the cut no matter what they do against Korea. However, the second spot in this group is not decided and won't be until Russia and Algeria finish their game. IF Korea beats Belgium, they're in. If it's another tie, then the winner of the Russian/Algerian game goes to the next round. If everybody plays to a draw, Belgium has the edge on tiebreakers right now.

And so we're ready to look at the bracket in the knockout round where one loss ...

"hey, stupid. what about THE US GAME!?!?"

Oh, yeah. The US and Germany.

They're playing too. With a shot to win the group.

The US has a chance to go out and act like choking winos and play as flat-footed as they ever have to embarrass everybody back home and then pack up and leave and let Ghana take the second slot coming out of the Group Round.

Of course, Team USA COULD go out and play one of their best games ever, and not stop to celebrate so their opponent gets another last minute goal, and make a statement about the state of Association Football in the USA. They Could. But. We almost dare not expect them to do that though.

It begins at noon.

 

[DrLeftover]

I thought Switzerland played awfully. I know they got goals, but they seemed to be doing a lot of diving and fouling that wasn't caught by the ref. At one point a Swiss player pushed a Honduras player from behind sending him to the ground, ref didn't even book him. That was a yellow card if ever there was one.

The Swiss knew they had to win to move on, and they were willing to risk a red card to do it.

The most surprising thing was that more fouls weren't called.

However, we all know that if they had been playing Brazil or one of the African countries, they would have been subject to Yellow Fever.

 

[DrLeftover]

The US tried their best to lose the game and their bid to keep playing next week. But Ghana just couldn't do their bit and beat Portugal.

Germany wins the game and the group by 1 to 0.

The US is still the runner up.

Ghana and Portugal go home.

 

[DrLeftover]

The Group H games were ugly, with lots of Yellow Fever and a few spots of Red here and there.

There were incidents of poor sportsmanship, unnecessary rough play, and even some intentional stupidity.

But at least they weren't boring games.

Belgium is through with a perfect record in their group. They will face the US next week in the knockout round.

The runner up in their group is Algeria, their tie with Russia earns the right to face Germany for their next game.


Coming soon to a screen near you, TheMediaDesk looks at the coming matchups and makes some 'predictions' that may even involve who might win.

 

[DrLeftover]

And Now Comes The Knockout Rounds.

Unlike the Round Robin group round where everybody is guaranteed three games, Saturday begins the "lose one, go home" phase of the tournament.

The First teams to meet and go for all or nothing are Brazil and Chile. Then you get Columbia and 'toothless' Uruguay who is without the services of Luis Suárez. Then Sunday we find The Netherlands and Mexico in the early game and then the surprise matchup of the tournament: Coasta Rica and Greece.

So, of these first eight teams, who, besides Brazil with the best home court advantage anybody has ever had, does the Desk expect to go through to the Quarter Finals?

You've got to like Columbia's chances after the hoot and holler that has happened to Uruguay. The Netherlands is probably one of the favorites to win the tournament although Mexico could put up one heck of a fight. Between Costa Rica and Greece, that's a tough call. It would be something of poetic justice for either of them to win, although you'd think that the Costa Ricans want to make a statement more than the Greeks.


Monday's Round of 16 games have France and Nigeria kicking off the day followed up by Germany and Algeria. Early Tuesday comes Argentina and Switzerland, and then the USA and Belgium close out the round.

All in all, these games may show us some better football than the weekenders with the class of the overall field taking to the pitch in their kits, as our friends who are now giving all of their attention to Wimbledon would say.

OK, who's the Desk picking here?

It has some sort of mental block against picking France for anything, but Nigeria has absolutely come apart at the seams, so, we'll... we'll dodge that one for now and look for Germany, who have played a very strong set of games to beat Algeria who may have done all they can do to get this far.

Argentina is probably still the betting line second favorite to win the Cup, but the Swiss too have been playing incredible ball. Are they up to this one? It may be close, but no. And remember, from here on in, there are no ties. They play the game, then they play a couple overtime periods of fifteen minutes each, then if after that extra half an hour of game play there is still no winner, then it goes to penalty kicks until somebody else comes out on top including rounds of 'sudden death'. No Ties.

And then you have the US and Belgium who have had a perfect tournament. This one too could easily be that close. The US proved that against a powerful team they can play WITH them, they just have trouble scoring on them.

The Desk hates to pick against the US just like it hates to favor the French in their game. But. It would like to be proved wrong on both counts.

 

[DrLeftover]

Other than some World Class flopping, I wasn't impressed by either Brazil or Chile in their game.

 

[DrLeftover]

Two days.

Four Games.

Half of them ended in Penalty Kicks after a full half hour of overtime.

One came down to an almost literal LAST MINUTE goal in 'stoppage time'.

Only one of the first set of Round of 16 games was played and decided during regulation play.

OK.

Time to catch our breath and get ready for the next batch of games.

Kinda of gives the Bocephus line "are you ready for some football" a whole new meaning.

 

[DrLeftover]

Two more days, four more games.

More "added time goals" and more scores by substitutes including one heart stopping one from a kid from the US in their loss against Belgium.

But it was a wild set of games all the same.

Oh, yeah, and there was some more world class flopping by guys who appeared to have suffered a mortal wound, only to be miraculously cured and suddenly able to jump up and continue playing when the ref shook his head at them.

Amazing, no?

We'll take a look at the remaining eight and see how those matches look later.

 

[cynosure.x]

Belgium - USA was one hell of a game. I truly enjoyed it and I'm not a soccer fan.

 

[DrLeftover]

So did I. They played one hell of an overtime. Now they have to learn how to play like that for the whole game.

 

[DrLeftover]

Everybody, especially the fans who have been watching it, get a break for a couple of days.

And, of course, those players that have been engaged in over the top theatrics rolling around on the ground as if they're being stung by a swarm of bees can get some rest too.

The Quarter Finals with the eight surviving teams don't begin until Friday.

Brazil has made it this far only through luck. They Did Not Score a regular time goal in their 'win' over Chile, and now they have to carry their sorry excuse for game play into the stadium and face a Columbian team that is kicking with all cylinders. If Brazil doesn't get their act together, they won't get through to the Semi Finals. It's that simple. Columbia is a GOOD team, and Brazil has to beat them, they are not going to beat themselves. That is, of course, if the Ref stands down and lets the players decide it.

France and Germany are the other game on Friday, and this one may be the game to watch of this set. The French, and it is tough to say, but the "cotton pickin'" French have one hell of a team. But, their neighbors across the river do as well, and Germany may have a touch more stamina than the Francs. This one may come down to overtime, and if it does, we're picking the Germans.

But as with the Round of 16, the second batch of games may be the better ones. The Netherlands have looked like the class of the field so far, and pulled it out even though Mexico did as advertised and made a game of it. The Dutch never looked as desperate as some of others have and simply went about their business and won. They're up against those surprising guys from Costa Rica who needed overtime and penalty kicks to put away those pesky Greeks. As with Brazil, the Costa Ricans may have one hell of a time playing against a really good team, and the Desk doesn't believe the magic will work this time. It's picking the Europeans.

We're going to reverse that pick for the last game of the round and pick against Europe in the game between Belgium and Argentina. Yes, the Belgiums beat the US, but they barely beat the US. In the game against Switzerland it looked like Argentina was holding back and playing the game as a training exercise for the next round. If that is the case, oh well.

The good news for everybody, floppers included, is that after this weekend, they've got a few days off before the Semi Finals on the Eighth and Ninth.

The Finals happen on the Thirteenth with the consolation game the day before.

 

[cynosure.x]

So did I. They played one hell of an overtime. Now they have to learn how to play like that for the whole game.

Yeah it's a sad thing that the goals came only in overtime. :/ Belgium Argentina will be either one hell of a game as well, or Argentina will be too strong and Belgium won't be able to fight and then it'll be a huge defeat for Belgium.

 

[DrLeftover]

If ESPN is to be believed:

There have been more: Extra (over) Time goals. More "stoppage time" goals. And more goals scored by substitutes in this World Cup than in any previous world cup. And it isn't over yet.

 

[cynosure.x]

If I'm correct, all Belgium's goals are by the bench.

 

[Kirito]

If I'm correct, all Belgium's goals are by the bench.

De Bruyne was in the field from the start with USA - Belgium. And whoever scored in the South Korea match also wasn't from the bench.

But yeah, it's pretty normal tbh that they score a lot. They got an advantage.

 

[cynosure.x]

Yeah 2 goals were from players who started on the field. Yet the other 4 goals were from "the bench". It does make sense though, they're fit.

 

[DrLeftover]

And Germany goes to the Semis by scoring ONE GOAL in the first half and then choking France's offense to death.

Or was it the French that choked.

Hard to say.