2014 FIFA World Cup

Greece's coach being sent off is another truly absurd and outrageous decision by the referee, judging by what he said and what you could actually see on the field, adding to the pile of idiotic decisions throughout this world cup.
 
Greece's coach being sent off is another truly absurd and outrageous decision by the referee, judging by what he said and what you could actually see on the field, adding to the pile of idiotic decisions throughout this world cup.

Also the amount of yellow cards in that game... I think I counted 9!
 
Greece's coach being sent off is another truly absurd and outrageous decision by the referee, judging by what he said and what you could actually see on the field, adding to the pile of idiotic decisions throughout this world cup.

Unfortunately I doubt FIFA will change the "hey, every country must have a referee present" approach. Better to pick after the best available referees.
 
What did you guys think of that penalty call against Mexico in the 93rd minute? Did you think that it was justified?
 
I have to disagree with you guys regarding the referee. Maybe I'm biased because he's from these parts of the world, but I think he did an outstanding job (and in his other two games so far). It's always disappointing when a coach gets sent off, but you don't know what was actually said down there. And I don't see how that would have any affect on the ensuing shootout. If anything, it would rile up the players a bit and get them extra emotion and adrenaline as a boost. Perhaps I'm also used to the style of refereeing in Australia, therefore I was more expectant of the decisions. But in general I think most of the referees have been very good. I know there have been some horrible decisions, but single decisions don't ultimately dictate who wins a tournament. There's 90 minutes in a game of football, which is more than enough time to win a game. One bad call has to be looked at in the context of an entire match. (Also, I should remind any Greek fans out there that it was a shocking penalty call that allowed Greece into the round of 16 in the first place, instead of Ivory Coast).

What did you guys think of that penalty call against Mexico in the 93rd minute? Did you think that it was justified?

This one was definitely borderline. In my opinion, if you're a defender and you stick your leg out like that you're asking for trouble. Robben made the most of it and got the rewards, and that's football. At the very least, earlier Robben could easily have taken a dive with the same defender sticking his legs out, but he chose to jump over them. I suspect this biased the referees judgement in favour of Robben, thinking he wouldn't just take a dive in the box when he has a chance to score normally. Overall I think it was justified.



As for me, that's four games, and four correct tips. Again, only just with Costa Rica.

I'm sure France and Germany won't let me down tomorrow. If either of those African teams sneaks a win I'll eat my slippers.
 
Looking at the statistics of greece- costa rica greece was way better |
Greece -cista rica
Possesion 57-43
Fouls commited 16-23
Shots 24-6
On target 13-2
I am dissapointed :( since penalties is just having luck (except if you are germany :P )
 
Looking at the statistics of greece- costa rica greece was way better |
Greece -cista rica
Possesion 57-43
Fouls commited 16-23
Shots 24-6
On target 13-2

Why bother having lots of forward runs if you're always offside? (Greece 10 - 1 Costa Rica). It just goes to show that stats don't really mean a lot.

Anyway, there are two parts to football; attack and defense (and Greek fans should understand this more than any :p ). I think Greece's overall defensive mentality cost them. Once they found themselves controlling the ball they didn't know how to create chances. In the same way that Greece stood solid and held out Japan, Costa Rica stood solid and held out Greece (and with only 10 men haha). Don't forget, coming into this match Costa Rica had only conceded 1 goal (equal first with Mexico). And that was playing against Italy, England, and Uruguay. It was never going to be easy to break them down (although I have no doubt my Netherlands boys can score another 2).

To be honest, I think it's a shame that Greece hire such a defensive-minded coach, when the Greek Super League is known as a great attacking league full of spectacular goal scoring (at least, that's how it's portrayed over here, I haven't actually watched any of it).
 
I think Greece did pretty well with a solid team given the absence of good players they once had. Seemed they couldn't handle the pressure (and heavy legs) to beat Costa Rica. That final 5 on 2 opportunity, which is not commonly seen, was a good example. I am happy for Costa Rica, the first time I looked at where Costa Rica was on the map, was for 1990's world cup, and it's nice to see they are playing well for this one.
 
That final 5 on 2 opportunity, which is not commonly seen, was a good example.

Yea that was a shocker, can't believe they bombed that one. I guess there were too many options >.<

At least one of my slippers is safe, although Nigeria gave me some scares there.
 
I think Greece did pretty well with a solid team given the absence of good players they once had. Seemed they couldn't handle the pressure (and heavy legs) to beat Costa Rica. That final 5 on 2 opportunity, which is not commonly seen, was a good example. I am happy for Costa Rica, the first time I looked at where Costa Rica was on the map, was for 1990's world cup, and it's nice to see they are playing well for this one.
That 5-2 thing : greece does to many "easy/non skill" passes wich means that predicting where the ball would go was easier to identifie.also the way the play with eachother in the game is pretty bad (if this team was in fifa 14 i would give it 30 chemistry ;D)
 
Two more matches down, two more tips... just... again... Neither team convincing. I didn't expect France to dominate, but Germany certainly weren't great and they don't really have any excuses.

Last two matches coming up, and I thought these were the hardest two to tip >.<

Can't wait for Argentina vs. Switzerland!
 
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