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2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - Predictions/Discussions/Updates
It's back! The ultra-mega 4-year event filled with plenty of bling and razmatazz, and which has zillions of followers around the world, in every country you can think of.
Even in HDC, we have been constantly updated all through WC 2006 and WC 2010, and now is the ripe moment to indulge in the soccer fever which is slowly but steadily gripping the soccer planet, specially in Brazil. 32 teams are in the fray yet again, split into 8 groups of 4 teams each. We tee off on Thursday, June 12th, and the Final is scheduled for Sunday, July 13th. These are the team groupings (read as: Goal Difference, Total Points) - Group A Brazil (+5, 7 pts) -- A1 Mexico (+3, 7 pts) -- A2 Croatia (0, 3 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Cameroon (-8, 0 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Group B The Netherlands (+7, 9 pts) -- B1 Chile (+2, 6 pts) -- B2 Spain (-3, 3 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Australia (-6, 0 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Group C Columbia (+7, 9 pts) -- C1 Greece (-2, 4 pts) -- C2 Ivory Coast (-1, 3 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Japan (-4, 1 pt) -- KNOCKED OUT Group D Costa Rica (+3, 7 pts) -- D1 Uruguay (0, 6 pts) -- D2 Italy (-1, 3 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT England (-2, 1 pt) -- KNOCKED OUT Group E France (+6, 7 pts) -- E1 Switzerland (+1, 6 pts) -- E2 Ecuador (0, 4 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Honduras (-7, 0 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Group F Argentina (+3, 9 pts) -- F1 Nigeria (0, 4 pts) -- F2 Bosnia-Herzegovina (0, 3 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Iran (-3, 1 pt) -- KNOCKED OUT Group G Germany (+5, 7 pts) -- G1 USA (0, 4 pts) --G2 Portugal (-3, 4 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Ghana (-2, 1 pt) -- KNOCKED OUT Group H Belgium (+3, 9 pts) -- H1 Algeria (+1, 4 pts) -- H2 Russia (-1, 2 pts) -- KNOCKED OUT Korea Republic (-3, 1 pt) -- KNOCKED OUT This is the schedule of the 2014 FIFA World Cup: (to be read as: Match number, Date, Team vs Team)
GERMANY ARE THE 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS!! Golden Ball = Lionel Messi (Argentina) Golden Glove = Manuel Neuer (Germany) Golden Boot = James Rodriguez (Colombia) For the official listing of matches - http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html Downloadable - http://resources.fifa.com/mm/documen...en_neutral.pdf |
For once none of the Scandinavian countries have managed to qualify, so i'm rooting for Germany and Belgium instead.
I predict either Brazil or Spain will win the trophy. |
This is the first time, I've kinda less interest about WC. No support for Argentina this time. I'm frustrated with them ::embarrassment::
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Germany, Netherlands, Uruguay & Russia can be the long runners in the tourney. |
I am all for a Brazil vs Argentina Final this time around!
The Latin American countries should do well, considering the Cup is in their continent. Uruguay look solid (Luis Suarez is a real humdinger!) and are certainly top-4 material. A bit disappointed with all/most of the European teams this year. None of them excite me. Spain have an ageing side and their Cup retaining chances look bleak. |
Top stars who won't be playing at Brazil WC 2014:
Kaka (Brazil) - poor form Ronaldinho (Brazil) - age catching up? Carlos Tevez (Argentina) - troublemaker? Radamel Falcao (Columbia) - Anterior Cruciate ligament Kevin Strootman (The Netherlands) - knee Rafael Van Der Vaart (Netherlands) - calf Gregory van der Wiel (The Netherlands) - poor form, injuries Fernando Llorente (Spain) - better attack options? Alvaro Negredo (Spain) - poor form Jesus Navas (Spain) - indifferent form Isco (Spain) - poor form Samir Nasri (France) - troublemaker? Eric Abidal (France) - poor form, announced retirement Mario Gomez (Germany) - recurring injury issues Riccardo Montolivo (Italy) - fractured tibia Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) - knee All 32 teams have announced their final squads of 23. Details :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_squads |
Don't know how many people in Brazil even ever heard of Bangladesh...but here we have some crazy, weird fans...:shocked:
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps4fdf5793.jpg |
Players to watch out for:
Cristiano RONALDO (Portugal) Lionel MESSI (Argentina) NEYMAR da Silva Santos (Brazil) David LUIZ (Brazil) Luis SUAREZ (Uruguay) Andres INIESTA (Spain) Karim BENZEMA (France) Andrea PIRLO (Italy) Mario BALOTELLI (Italy) Yaya TOURE (Ivory Coast) Arjen ROBBEN (Netherlands) Robin VAN PERSIE (Netherlands) Alexis SANCHEZ (Chile) Thomas MUELLER (Germany) Mesut OZIL (Germany) Mario GOTZE (Germany) Samuel ETO'O (Cameroon) Wayne ROONEY (England) The kickoff for the first match of WC 2014 is only 28 hours away!! |
And the opening ceremony is on, full-swing!!
Jennifer Lopez is yelling at the top of her lungs, screaming OLE! OLE! |
Jennifer's got camel toe
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Action-packed first 10 minutes, and can you believe this...
IT"S 1-0 TO CROATIA OVER BRAZIL!! And it's an own goal!!!!!!! |
Half-time Score:
BRAZIL (1) - CROATIA (1) Brazil looked ragged during the first 26-27 minutes, until Neymar, riding on a yellow card, thundered one home in the 29th. Their midfield and central defense need improvement. Croatia sitting back after that own goal didn't help their cause much. Scolari was very, very vocal and expressive, to say the least. I predict more goals in store in the second half!! |
Final Score for Match 1:
BRAZIL - 3 (Neymar 29', 71' (PK), Oscar 91') CROATIA - 1 (Marcelo 11' OG) Well, Brazil scored all 4 goals in the match, but brownie points to Croatia for stretching the favorites. Oscar's added time goal was a bright spot in an otherwise ragged Brazil performance, with their defending leaving a lot to be desired. Croatia have their work cut out. Brazil needs to improve. A LOT. |
Match 2, Half-time:
Mexico (0) - Cameroon (0) The rains beating down...and 3 goals, 3 offsides - 2 of them very, very marginal calls. Mexico should have been up 2-0. Poor Dos Santos! Damn the referees! |
The bribed referees World Cup. ::mad::
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Final Score for Match 2:
MEXICO - 1 (Peralta 61') CAMEROON - 0 The last 10 minutes were the most interesting, though. Cameroon came closest to scoring in the 86th minute when a superb cross found no takers, and again in the 91st minute, when a header across the goal was stopped by the Mexican keeper. In the end, Peralta's incisive presence-of-mind-and-body goal proved to be the difference. And now for the mouth-watering Match #3 - SPAIN take on the NETHERLANDS! |
Match 3, Half-time:
SPAIN (1) - NETHERLANDS (1) Now this, is what I call attacking football!! No less than 8-9 shots at goal, with 2 of them scoring ones. A very dubious penalty kick call helped Spain surge ahead 1-0 in the 27th minute through Xabi Alonso, but trust the Flying Dutchman, Robin Van Persie, to deliver when the Dutch need him the most. A cross from the center line found him in perfect onside position, and the diving forward header looped well over Iker Casillas to find the nets behind him, and the famed keeper could only stand in despair and watch. For once, the rock-solid Spanish defence was caught with their pants down, utterly and completely. Fantastic first half. Hopefully an equally fantastic second half awaits. Let have some more goals!! |
SPAIN ARE BEING DECIMATED!!
4 - 1 to NETHERLANDS...WOOHOO!!! :danger: |
Spain-Netherland 1-4
CRAZYYYYYYY!!!:shocked: |
1-5
CRAAAAAAZZZYYYYYYYYY!!!! ::big grin:: |
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But of course, once I played the game a few times, who could resist the urge to successfully win the World Cup playing as Cameroon? That was one of my fondest video game campaigns. |
Holy hell, what a game! This will most likely be the highlight match of this World Cup, and one of the biggest football surprises ever.
1-5 is what Spain usually beat smaller football nations. And this match could have ended 2-7. Damn... Good for this World Cup. Good for all of us. Good God. |
Final Scoreline for Match 3:
SPAIN - 1 (Xabi Alonso 27' PK) NETHERLANDS - 5 (Van Persie 44', 72', Robben 53', 80', De Vrij 64') The second half will be etched in soccer history. The World Cup Holders were completely massacred and torn to bits by the high Flying Dutchmen on a Friday which is also the 13th. If that dubious penalty kick is taken out, it would have been 5-0. A very forgettable night for the Spaniards. They will need to pull out a real rabbit from the hat to make it to the next stage now, after this very heavy defeat. This is a pale shadow of the team which lifted the Cup four years ago, and even their superman, Iker Casillas, was completely, utterly overpowered. BTW, take that all you Spain supporters!!! :danger: ::cool:: ::big grin:: |
Final Scoreline for Match 4:
CHILE - 3 (Sanchez 12', Valdivia 14', Beausejour 92') AUSTRALIA - 1 (Cahill 35') Must have been a great game. Sanchez is in great form, and other teams need to watch out for him. |
HA-HA-HA!!
Remember what I said before...:danger: Quote:
Btw, " ::love:: " Wow! I think I've asked about some love-emotion signs earlier, thanks V...that's really sweet!!::cool:: |
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Scoreline might have been 8-2, if Van Persie's thunderbolt didn't hit the side bar, another sizzler from the front was acrobatically stopped by Casillas, and Robben bungled up a great chance in front of the open goal by gently lobbying it into Casillas's hands. And of course, Torres totally missed out on a great chance in front of the opposing goal as well. The Brazilian Diego Costa did Spain no favors. Not only was he mediocre in his performance, but his direct headbutt went unnoticed by the referee which warranted a red card. He was also continuously booed by the spectators because he was playing for Spain instead of Brazil. I suspect he will not make the starting 11 in the next match. Torres should be his ideal replacement. But yes, last night would have shaken up the entire soccer world. The defending champions getting mauled in such a manner - Netherlands have sent two strong messages out, 1) Beware of the flying Dutchmen, 2) Spain can be beaten and their famed defense can be penetrated, not once/twice but many times. Spain needs to do some serious damage control, or it's an early exit for them. They need to win both their next matches comprehensively to bring the goal difference under control AND get full points. |
Final Scoreline for Match 5:
COLUMBIA - 3 (Armero 5', Gutierrez 58', Rodriguez 93') GREECE - 0 History lauds the Greeks for their "never-say-die" spirit. Sadly, that can't be said for their soccer team. Listless, demotivated and flat, specially in the last 20-25 minutes, they simply never got going, despite loud cheers for their senior-most player, Karagounis (37, 136 caps). Columbia just drove their nails (and point) home in the 3rd minute of added time in the second half, when Greece had all but gone on their knees, begging for the match to be stopped. |
My Prediction...:danger:
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!! [::big grin::] http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps8f5245e0.jpg |
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I predict a Germany vs Argentina final, or to please the crowds, a Brazil vs Argentina final. ::wink:: |
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Thing is, from Italy'90 to South Africa'2010...Argentina disappointed me heavily. And from the recent records, I wanted but actually can't expect promising results from neither Argentina nor Brazil. |
Final Scoreline for Match 6:
URUGUAY - 1 (Cavani 24' PK) COSTA RICA - 3 (Campbell 54', Duarte 57', Urena 84') Wow! Who saw that coming?! The much-fancied Uruguay in practically their home turf getting their socks beaten off?! Must have been one heck of a second half! And to think they didn't play Luis Suarez because they didn't fancy their opponents highly, and thought it might be a cakewalk. BIG mistake. ------------------------------------------------ Final Scoreline for Match 7: ENGLAND - 1 (Sturridge 37') ITALY - 2 (Marchisio 35', Balotelli 50') Expected result. England's young guns are still a bit raw and the Azurri are way too experienced when it comes to WC finals. Combine that with the red-hot form of Mario Balotelli, and it would have been curtains for the boys across the pond. Having said that, they couldn't equalise in the next 40 minutes, even with Rooney?! *shaking head* ------------------------------------------------ Final Scoreline for Match 8: IVORY COAST - 2 (Bony 64', Gervinho 66') JAPAN - 1 (Honda 16') Another expected result. Credit to the Japanese for scoring the first goal so early, but the Coast boys are relentless. Two back-to-back goals within 2 minutes says a lot about their firepower. Still, a closer result than they would have expected. |
Final Scoreline for Match 9:
SWITZERLAND - 2 (Mehmedi 48', Seferovic 93') ECUADOR - 1 (E. Valencia 22') What a fantastic nail-biter! Ecuador did a surprise by blasting into the lead, and hung on to it till half-time. The Swiss needed an early equaliser, and they got it within the first 3 minutes of the second half. Then some fantastic soccer flowed for the next 44 minutes, with both teams attacking and counter-attacking, until just 30 seconds from the final whistle, the substitute Seferovic took full advantage of the break and a wonderful right pass to home in the winner. Heartbreak for Ecuador, but they have themselves to blame for missing some great chances. Full marks to the Swiss for coming back from behind and winning the match - they are 6th in FIFA rankings for nothing. And now, let's see how the French fare against lowly Honduras. |
Final Scoreline for Match 10:
FRANCE - 3 (Benzema 45', 72', Valladares 48' OG) HONDURAS - 0 Aggressive and physical as it can be, at the maximum. But Honduras surely learnt a lesson today - they would have benefitted hugely if they had stuck to playing soccer, instead of a rough game which was a mix of rugby and kickboxing. Granted, the men in Blue are notorious for playing rough as well, but that wasn't an excuse. Being reduced to 10 men after Palacios was sent off for tackling Pogba twice in quick succession, they never really stood a chance, specially with Karim Benzema in such relentless form. His 2nd goal was a delight to watch. Cheer for Argentina for me, will you folks? This tired old man needs his beauty sleep. |
Final Scoreline for Match 11:
ARGENTINA - 2 (Kolasinac 3' OG, Messi 65') BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - 1 (Ibisevic 85') Looks like it was a closer match than initially thought. Match might have ended in a draw if it wasn't for that very early own goal. Nevertheless, credit to B & H for keeping Argentina in check and stretching them to the distance. Will watch the replay later today, just to see Messi's goal. |
Final Scoreline for Match 12:
GERMANY - 4 (Muller 12' PK, 46', 78', Hummels 32') PORTUGAL - 0 Nope, Germany wasn't as dominant as that scoreline suggests. The match was very physical and aggressive in the first half, and Portugal's Pepe paid for headbutting an apparently "injured jaw" Muller, by getting a red card. Muller was clearly playing by crying foul, because right after the headbutt, he jumped right up and both players bad-mouthed each other continuously. Muller exchanged a lot of heated words with an "injured" jaw, didn't he? Either way, that unsavory incident played some part in the match (it was after Portugal was trailing 0-2 and it was still the first half), but Portugal's defense was really poor to have allowed Germany so many times into their goal. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he had only one good chance of note, that too in the 89th minute through a free kick, but it was parried out by the German keeper. Not Portugal's day. They'll have to tighten up their defence and concentrate on their attacking moves by giving C.Ronaldo a bit more support upfront, else they might be looking at an early exit. The Germans were relentless, although not as dominating as everyone expected them to be. Hopefully with the next few matches, they will return to their dominant ways. Muller was clearly the hero of the match, scoring the first hattrick of goals in WC 2014. |
Final Scoreline for Match 13:
IRAN - 0 NIGERIA - 0 Two disappointing teams playing out a boring draw, the first one of WC 2014! Glad that I went to bed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Final Scoreline for Match 14: GHANA - 1 (Ayew 82') USA - 2 (Dempsey 1', Brooks Jr 86') Rejoice, States fans! Your team has started it's WC Finals campaign with a win! With the fastest scored goal of the WC so far, right in the 29th SECOND from kickoff, the US team seems like it's out to impress. Ghana equalised in the 82nd minute but 4 minutes later, the US got their 2nd (and winning) goal through a thundering header which effectively sealed the match. Let's see how the US team now performs against the heavyweights of the group - Germany and Portugal. |
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http://horror.com/forum/showthread.p...=life+pictures Say V, why you dissin' us 'Mericans like dat? Every other match you report, the victor is in the top spot, but USA wins, and they're on the bottom. ::stick out tongue:: |
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Okay, you got me there.
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