The Glade 4.0

It was at least an entertaining game to watch once the second half began. The extra time was just ridiculous with the stalling and dives, but hey, that's what most teams would do in that situation. They needed to kill 25 minutes once they got the goal in extra time.

The result is obviously disappointing though, as I feel we should have beat them. I don't feel this based on our performance yesterday, but in general, I feel like we're the better team. Both of their goals were the result of breakdowns, not tactical offense. They definitely deserve to go on though, as they were the better team yesterday.

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I don't think they were physically prepared. They looked flatter the more the game went on (aside from a few spurts of energy). Their only goal came on a penalty kick. Even Donovan was making bad (short) passes towards the end.

Hopefully next world cup the USA will show up with a team that is a little more fit than this one.

They dominated the second half. That penalty kick was surely a goal if he weren't tackled so hard in the box. They earned that goal, so saying, "their only goal came on a penalty kick," doesn't give the team credit for the effort that got him standing there for the penalty kick. They really did look like they were going to pull it off in the second half. I don't know how many one on none chances the US players had against the Ghana goalkeeper. They had at least four times in the game where they had no one but themselves and the goalie, but the goalie made the save or they kicked it wide.

After the second half, they really fell apart though. I'm just giving credit where credit is due. They did do well in the second half. It wasn't just little spurts. They controlled the entire second half.

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So, football isn't played with the feet you say? Tell me more about this... 'world series' of yours with the sticks and the balls and the hittings

It's like cricket without breaks for teatime? That's as Klose a comparison as I can think of. Sorry, I mean close, inadvertent slip

The NFL could learn a thing or two from soccer, to be honest. How many commercials do they have in an entire soccer match? Answer: How ever many they can run during the relatively short half-time.

It sure beats the hell out of having a commercial break after every drive in football, at the end of the quarters, as well as timeouts and two minute warnings.

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I'd have welcomed the opportunity to be not watching, to be honest ;-p

We were muellered.

lol my sincere condolences I felt about the same. This time at least we had no one to blame against Ghana but ourselves.

As far as England, we'll never know what the game would have looked like had England not had to continue with the shock of Lampard's goal that was(n't). Then again my feeling has pretty much always been that England's cup run ended with John Terry back in February. At least there's some symmetry there - England's troubles began and ended with someone getting screwed.

I admit I secretly wish that Maradonna's boys take it out this year... just cause I can get all nostalgic and shake canes at the youngens living at my house...

In other news, this year has been completely jaw dropping for me. Jap game tonight, early enough for me to watch.. yay~

Good bye Japan

You played a good game, but you stuffed it in the end, it's okay we still love you just the same /huggles

I've decided that Spain's my team, surreptitious glances notwithstanding.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Japan played a brilliant game against a better team. And they didn't stuff it so much as Paraguay's Keeper made 2 brilliant **** saves in PKO.

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Just out of curiosity Khross, who you going for this year?

Currently I'm learning towards Argintina, but I'll admit thats more a childhood maradona thing.

I'd love to see Argentina take it, but I suspect that the overall winner will be decided in the Brazil/Netherlands match. No one's really challenged the Netherlands and they've been playing lazy ball. They haven't had to work ... yet. And that's part of the problem, I think with gaging their performance: the Netherlands are the dominant team in this tournament and they're sliding under the radar. Brazil and Argentina are both really strong, but if I had to pick one of the two, I'm going with the latter. Argentina is a scoring machine that's playing fluid, aggressive soccer. They're taking chances and making opportunities; and, perhaps most importantly, they're the fastest team out there. Spain is still an outside shot, because they've demonstrated a better understanding of THIS ball than most everyone else: it's way too **** light.

That said, I think the tournament is going to be decided tomorrow. Brazil has their work cut out for them: the Netherlands is rested and has had no trouble just loping they way through.

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Oooh, could we see Netherlands-Spain? That would be a fun match. Heck, even has some historical animosities that we could play off of. Would love to see that matchup in the final.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Ze Germans.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

Where the hell did THAT German team come from? They shut out the best scoring team in the tournament, beating Argentina 4-0. Uruguay got through on Penalties, and the Netherlands' Keeper turned into a god after the Brazil's only goal. Netherlands should have no problem with Uruguay. Germany has to keep playing like they did against Argentina or anyone left is going to thrash them.

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Nah, I want to see Netherlands:Germany in the final match.

A nice Northern European match up in the finals

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

To hell with it. This cup is the poster child for the futility of prognostications. Last cup's finalists (Italy-France)? Gone in the group stage. Last two South American teams standing? Uruguay and Paraguay (not Brazil and Argentina).

But I'll do it anyway

Forlan is out of his mind right now, but I think Uruguay needed Suarez too to have a prayer against the Dutch. And the talk of the deliberate handball being cheating is ridiculous. Would it have been a travesty had it been missed? Sure. But look at all the times you see a defender taking down an attacker who's just got by, to keep him from getting clean in on goal. They call it a "professional foul", not cheating. Suarez did just that, it was like the supreme professional foul. Take the red card to negate a certain goal, and hope the other guy botches the penalty. Would I do it in the first half? Hell no. Would I do it in the 122nd minute? Over and over and over again.

Spain-Paraguay here in a minute is going to be interesting. Should Spain cruise? Yeah. Do they have a knack for bottling it at the least opportune time? Yup. I think Spain get by today, and then the Spain-Germany semi comes down to "how do the refs call a game between the possession-oriented Spanish when the big physical Germans put a body on them?" Expect some Oscar-worthy performances if that game comes to be

Jeryn:

I'll point out that Netherlands has been my pick from day one. I expected them to beat Brazil. I did not expect them to beat Brazil the way they did. And, as I said, where the hell did the Germany that played yesterday come from? Argentina was faster, had better ball control, and better scoring strategy all tournament long. And then they get shut down by the Germans?

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So what is everyone's reaction to the Ghana vs. Uruguay game, specifically to the handball that stopped the game winning goal for Ghana?

In my opinion, I think FIFA needs to amend its rulebook in regards to handballs for shots on target. Meaning, if the ball was going in and you handball, it should be treated the same as goaltending in basketball. As it stands now, a handball at the goal-line is treated no differently than a handball on the corner of the goalkeeper's box. That, just isn't right.

Ghana went from having a ball that had a 100% chance of going into the back of the net, to getting a penalty kick, which is about a 10-15% drop in percentage of getting a goal. By deliberately using his hands to stop the goal from occurring, he lowered the chances of his team getting scored on with the penalty kick. As we found out in that game, three of the nine penalty kicks between both teams didn't go in. 33% of the penalty kicks didn't go in, which doesn't even count the one that occurred in extra time. Including all penalty kicks in the game, between both teams, only 60% of them resulted in a goal. So how is it they have a rule that allows for a team to increase its chances by up to 40% of stopping a goal by using a handball to stop a shot that has a 100% chance of going in.

I think it'd be the same if the NBA were to force Lebron to shoot free throws when a defender camped out at the rim and goaltended a buzzer beater shot that was going in. Should Lebron have to go to the line to make more free throws when his first shot was already going in, and it's against the rules to goaltend? No, the basket should count, just like it currently does in basketball. Sure, free throws are easy to make for a guy like Lebron, but there is no guarantee. I fail to see why soccer rewards the defense for breaking the rules. Sure Ghana blew it, and they had plenty of chances to win. However, this isn't about Ghana. This is just about the principle of the situation. Even if Ghana won, I'd be saying the same thing. A penalty kick and a red card is a far too gentle "punishment" for the crime. It didn't punish the team that broke the rules whatsoever. It actually increased their odds of winning. In the game of soccer, one goal is enormous to have taken away, as the US found out the hard way twice throughout the tournament.

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I agree with you Roophus, and said as much to my co-workers. That goal should have been counted.

That said, Ghana lost that match with some really piss-poor penalty kicks.

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Once, I was a ranger
Then, I was a warlock
And a mage
And a paladin
Now, I seek to be myself

I think fifa hates me this year...

Spain Vs Netherland in the final...

So, yeah ...

Netherlands in the final.

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