Official World Cup Thread

[Filesharer 0]

I hate the stupid FYP thing but i'll make an exception

Damn straight. Come one Italy! Put your money on them now!Btw, slightly off-topic, but did we all see that Gianluca Pessotto, general manager of Juventus, "fell" from his office window the other day. Sure. "Fell". It's crazy what's going on over there now.

[Mercury69 3]

**** Italy. They were lucky to get by the 'Roos. That penalty call was the biggest sham of the World Cup thusfar. I'm sure the officials have something bigger up their sleeves. They wouldn't want to have the spectre of an extremely questionable call with 12 seconds left in Injury Time (?!?!?!) deciding the outcome of the game. And then seeing Totti run around with his thumb in his mouth. ****ing priceless. **** Italy. I wasn't "against" them before, but I am now. They will not win. Guaranteed. Brazil vs Germany final.

Wow...this is the most rigged sporting event I've seen in a long long time...everyone knows it. Brazil's 2nd goal was clearly an offsides, but oh no don't worry, they aren't going to call it against a 'soccer power.' This is all such bullsh*t, I love the World Cup, but I'm not even going to watch another game after this, not even the final. I don't even care who wins, they will only win because the refs wanted them to win. Ghana has been outplaying Brazil and should be only down 1-0...but the refs just put the game out of reach pretty much. F*cking retarded. F*ck World Cup.

QFT, but I'll watch anyway.

[gkunit20 1]

My bracket is ****ed. I had Spain in the finals and the netherlands in the semis. Otherwise, it's going great.

[DonkSlayer 1]

**** Italy. They were lucky to get by the 'Roos. That penalty call was the biggest sham of the World Cup thusfar.

I can think of at least 43 other episodes where referees made a much worse/controversial call.Merck's penalty against the US24 cards between Portugal and NetherlandsRed Card against Italy in the Aussie/Italy match3 Yellows for Croatian player

[runthemover 39]

What? I was talking about the France/Brazil quarter...

ohh umm I wasnt really paying attention. sorry, i'm on auto-pilot 23 hrs a day

[yergan 0]

I can think of at least 43 other episodes where referees made a much worse/controversial call.Merck's penalty against the US24 cards between Portugal and NetherlandsRed Card against Italy in the Aussie/Italy match3 Yellows for Croatian player

There may have been others that were worse or more controversial, but how many had such a direct impact on the result of a game?

[Filesharer 0]

**** Italy. They were lucky to get by the 'Roos. That penalty call was the biggest sham of the World Cup thusfar. I'm sure the officials have something bigger up their sleeves. They wouldn't want to have the spectre of an extremely questionable call with 12 seconds left in Injury Time (?!?!?!) deciding the outcome of the game. And then seeing Totti run around with his thumb in his mouth. ****ing priceless. **** Italy. I wasn't "against" them before, but I am now. They will not win. Guaranteed. Brazil vs Germany final.QFT, but I'll watch anyway.

Of all the bad calls so far I really don't see this one as being particularly bad. He went off his feet in the penalty area, and was nowhere near the ball, so I can sympathise with the ref.

[Mercury69 3]

There may have been others that were worse or more controversial, but how many had such a direct impact on the result of a game?

QFT

Of all the bad calls so far I really don't see this one as being particularly bad. He went off his feet in the penalty area, and was nowhere near the ball, so I can sympathise with the ref.

Sorry, but I must disagree. He made a sliding play at the ball and, imo, visibly made an effort to AVOID contact (holding his arms very close to his body, sliding away from the Italy player's trajectory) and the Italian STILL allowed his foot to clip the Aussie, "causing" him to fall, thus drawing the penalty. Completely manufactured, imo.Sad call, sadder result, esp the direct effect on the game's outcome.

[Filesharer 0]

QFTSorry, but I must disagree. He made a sliding play at the ball and, imo, visibly made an effort to AVOID contact (holding his arms very close to his body, sliding away from the Italy player's trajectory) and the Italian STILL allowed his foot to clip the Aussie, "causing" him to fall, thus drawing the penalty. Completely manufactured, imo.Sad call, sadder result, esp the direct effect on the game's outcome.

I'll give this one to you since I've only seen the tackle once, so you're obviously presenting a much more informed opinion. Still, if you go off your feet in the penalty box...

[Guest Guest]

I am Australian, have lived in italy and england so i know alot about football and i know that call should not have been a penalty. It is sad to go out in that way after all the hard work to get to the world cup. I believe that we would have all been less upset if we just lost 1-0 to a normal goal, it was just we have had bad calls all cup against us., and this one left us no chance to fight back.On the other hand we should have scored a goal. As the coach always says, you cant win if you dont score, and you most likely will let one in.

[gkunit20 1]

France is pwning Brazil. They are in control of this game, even with the score 0-0.

[zimmer4141 0]

First big upset so far, France looked real good today. I think they've got a good chance to get past Portugal.

[gkunit20 1]

If France keeps playing like that, They're going to win the world cup.

[fatman 1]

If France keeps playing like that, They're going to win the world cup.

France looks to be the best team left right now. Don't bet against Germany though...it's going to be tough beating them on their home soil.Why the **** can't England make a ****ing penalty!!!

[KDawgCometh 2]

First big upset so far, France looked real good today. I think they've got a good chance to get past Portugal.

its not really an upset at all. This brazil team was greatly over rated and I had said numerous times that they weren't going to win this WC to various people and at various sites. 23 individuals a team does not make

[gkunit20 1]

its not really an upset at all. This brazil team was greatly over rated and I had said numerous times that they weren't going to win this WC to various people and at various sites. 23 individuals a team does not make

Look at Real Madrid, and soon to be Chelsea.

[yergan 0]

23 individuals a team does not make

Yes master Yoda.

[KDawgCometh 2]

Look at Real Madrid, and soon to be Chelsea.

there are massive differences between chelski and madrid. Madrid gave up defense for getting big time players, Chelsea make sure that their defense is well organized and then work from there

[gkunit20 1]

there are massive differences between chelski and madrid. Madrid gave up defense for getting big time players, Chelsea make sure that their defense is well organized and then work from there

I was actually agreeing with you on the "23 individuals" thing.

[CaneBrain 95]

First big upset so far, France looked real good today. I think they've got a good chance to get past Portugal.

What an awful semifinal. Who do you root for? I cant really get behind anything from France and the way Portugal acts/dives/fakes injuries/tries to win an oscar on every contested ball makes me want to vomit.IMO, diving and faking is ruining the World Cup and soccer in general. And **** that announcer on ESPN or ABC who keeps saying how great players are when they "sell" a foul. It is amazing how we as sports fans are able to so easily straddle the line between gamesmenship (acting for a foul call, spitballs, slyly grabbing a jersey on defense, etc....) and cheating (steroids, corking a bat, etc...)

[yergan 0]

As a soccer newbie there are two things that I think would greatly improve the fairness of the game.1: Eliminate diving: Why not have a review of the matches with players who are clearly diving given a yellow card for the next match. 2: Limited video referees: Allow each captain to ask for the video referee on 2 or 3 decisions per match. While a full video referee would slow the game, and remove the "human aspect" it also creates some unfair situations. Having the video referee on 2 - 3 decisions would allow for the best compromise IMO.

[randy 0]

As a soccer newbie there are two things that I think would greatly improve the fairness of the game.1: Eliminate diving: Why not have a review of the matches with players who are clearly diving given a yellow card for the next match. 2: Limited video referees: Allow each captain to ask for the video referee on 2 or 3 decisions per match. While a full video referee would slow the game, and remove the "human aspect" it also creates some unfair situations. Having the video referee on 2 - 3 decisions would allow for the best compromise IMO.

i agree about what you are saying but i would like these things (and im not new to football)1. Play should not stop for an injured player unless he has a head injury or is bleeding. No need for a team to kick a ball out. If a player is seriously injured and is down for an extended period of time then the official can, of course, choose to stop the game. This will reduce the time wasted while people roll on the ground in order to make a point to the official, stop the game so their team can setup defense, take a rest or whatever other reason they fake hurt for and then continue on with no real treatment. Also adds to the pace and flow of the game. 2. Speed up the game by allowing free kicks in the defensive 2/3rds to be taken from anywhere within a 10 yard range of the infringement, or anywhere behind the infringement, as long as it does not cause a significant advantage to one team. No need for ball to be stopped dead, or wait for the umpire. When there is the possibility for a goal to be scored the ref should stop the game so the defense can setup. If the umpire thinks you have taken advantage he should be able to call you back. This has worked extremely well in other sports as it increases the pace of the game and reduces the amount of professional fouls to slow the game. (eg. field hockey)3. The umpire can call for video replay to help decide card and penalty decisions, this helps to ensure fairness.4. More flexibility for yellow cards. I dont like players being rested incase they get a 2nd yellow in 2 games. Make it 3 out of 3 or something. This will keep the quality players in the game and allow them to play their natural game.5. If an official has deemed a player to dive he should be able to send him off for a set period of time. Something like a sin-bin to discourage such actions. That is because this detracts from the game as a whole and hurts the reputation of the sport.

[custom36 4]

As someone that never watches soccer, I think and hope Germany will win.

[zimmer4141 0]

I personally hate the 2 yellow card rule resulting in a suspension from the next game.On today's game, 20 minutes in, Germany has completely dominated, although Italy has had the best scoring opportunity so far.

[greatwhite 0]

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Italy all the way!And another goal for kicks.