OFFICIAL 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP THREAD

[flukeshot]

Germany wins 1-0 in extra time. Argentina defended well most of the game but not on the winning goal. Argentina had some chances and the game could've gone the other way but as expected the Germans were better so it's a fair result.

 

It was a fun tournament. Would've been a lot more fun if Wondo had converted that chance at the bitter end against Belgium, but oh well.

[Crawford]

Can one of you soccer buffs explain what a offside is? Because it seems to me Argentina would have won in regulation if wasn't for a offside just before they had scored.

[futfan]

Offside is being past the second to last defender when the ball is played to you by a teammate.

The line they show on TV showed two Argentenian players about one yard past the second to last defender (Goalkeeper being last) at the moment the ball was passed to him by his teammate

There are many subtlties to the law, such as the arms are not counted, only parts of the body that may play the ball, etc, but that was a clear cut case of offside.

[futfan]

In the knockout round, Netherlands beating Costa Rica, and then host Brasil was my only wrong bracket picks.

The tournament was full of great matches, and a few surprises.

I think Netherlands got a couple of goals they shouldn't have, I didn't agree with the PK or yellow, and the second was shown to have been offside,

but the third was no mistake, and Brasil never found the net.

US, although on paper did not do as well as last Cup, I thought played better. Howard was a beast. They just had a lapse against Netherlands that was unforgiving.

[futfan]

Really, you don't add more time when one team is leading at the end of regulation. I understand that's how it's always been, but it's just one more reason why I don't like watching soccer. <_<

Whether one team is leading or not is not the criteria. The referee adds up all the time wasted or used in delays for injuries and substitutions, and at his discretion, adds up the total to be added at the end of the match. If this were not done, the team ahead could use skillfully played gamesmanship tactics to run out the clock. This way, any time wasted is nullified.

[Coach Rab]

Whether one team is leading or not is not the criteria. The referee adds up all the time wasted or used in delays for injuries and substitutions, and at his discretion, adds up the total to be added at the end of the match. If this were not done, the team ahead could use skillfully played gamesmanship tactics to run out the clock. This way, any time wasted is nullified.

 

If he really added up all of the time wasted, we would be looking at 20 minutes a half. Everytime a guy gets kicked in the back of the leg, he goes down for 1 1/2 minutes like he has been shot.

[futfan]

I saw a graph on how many fouls each team had committed against them, and how much time they spent on the ground in pain. The US team were among the highest in time per foul. I would've thought the Italians...

 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-world-rankings-of-flopping-1403660175

[JustAFan11]

We did have 3 legit injuries. Jozy and his hamstring, plus 2 broken noses although Bedoya caused Jones broken nose!

[futfan]

Those injuries were enough to make a difference in our overall play, not to make excuses. Our back four was our weakness.

The injury/ writhing time was more related to the Psuedo injuries that happen with the slightest touch, but are cured by the magic stretcher.