2010 World Cup

[jason21nl]

replay in soccer??

 

the blown call had to be crushing

[Funketown]

Argentine just "scored". Tevez was 5 yards off-sides and headed the ball in.

 

What percentage of goals have been called correctly in this world cup? Maybe 75-85%? This is an absolute disgrace.

[ILuvDaBush]

I'm still sticking by my Oranje Crush. The Van Persie/Robben Machine hasn't shown us what their great nation can do.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Am I the only one who is enjoying watching England getting thrashed? Blown call aside, the English defense has been terrible.

Not in the least. I've grown to dislike their arrogance quite a bit. Also, I dislike so many of their key players from my EPL allegiance that it's hard to root for them.

Seeing them, and Mexico get put to the sword today helped ease my pain a bit. Especially Mexico.

 

[yoshii8]

Its too bad Argentina and Germany have to play each other already, I think they are the two best teams in the tourney and I would've loved to see them play in the finals.

[danzig6767]

replay in soccer??

 

the blown call had to be crushing

 

If any sport should have replay, it's World Cup soccer. It's a sport that only happens every four years and a sport where a single score can have a massive massive impact on who wins or loses a game. The majority of games seem to be decided by a single goal, a blown call on a goal isn't some small obstacle that you can say, well that can easily be overcome. Plus, the average soccer game has what, three goals scored in it total? If replay was in place for goals only, you are looking at in the majority of games maybe one replay needed and often none needed.

[Hofbraunhaus]

I am just a casual fan (basically every 4 years for the World Cup) so I have a question for those who follow soccer more closely. Obviously there has been a large number of blown calls in this World Cup which has brought a push for replay. Have blown calls been this common in past World Cups and the Premier League or is this just a case of a bunch coincidentally happening around the same time? If it is this common, has there been a huge push for replay for awhile or just starting?

[Fatter than Joey]

Can someone explain how the substituting works? - and the general strategies involved?

[Paulus88]

Can someone explain how the substituting works? - and the general strategies involved?

Each team can make three substitutions per game. They can be done whenever there is a dead ball (throw in, corner, goal kick). The clock does not stop while the substitution is made.

The strategies generally vary depending upon the score of the game. Teams that are leading substitute in order to put more defenders on the field, put fresher players on or if it's really late, to waste time.  Trailing or tied teams will use subs to put more offensive players on the field.

 

Other substitution reasons is if a player has a yellow card and is susceptible to picking up another. In that case he may be substituted to put on a player with no warnings. Ineffectiveness and injury can also result in subs. 

[Fatter than Joey]

Thanks Paulus88!

 

I don't know much about soccer -- I assumed that there were subs like there is in hockey....

[bigredrobbo]

Thanks Paulus88!

 

I don't know much about soccer -- I assumed that there were subs like there is in hockey....

One other point of note regarding substitutions - a player substituted for cannot return to the game, even if the team hasn't used all 3 subs.

[homer]

Wow, this Ghana Uruguay match is unreal. Ghana misses a penalty kick with basically no time on the clock in extra time.

[M Skjellyfetti]

It doesn't get much more exciting than this. Wow....what a game.

[crewcrazy]

What a demoralizing loss for the entire country of Ghana. To go from total ecstasy to crushing disappointment to renewed hope to defeat within the span of about 10 minutes is just unreal. I can't think of a similar loss ever happening in any sport...it even dwarfs the Bill Buckner loss.

[tigerbrew]

Wow, Germany trashed Argentina 4-0.

[TooLiveBrew]

Germany have been very impressive this WC. At this point, they probably deserve to win it just based on how overpowering they've been.

[GoudaBrew]

What a demoralizing loss for the entire country of Ghana. To go from total ecstasy to crushing disappointment to renewed hope to defeat within the span of about 10 minutes is just unreal. I can't think of a similar loss ever happening in any sport...it even dwarfs the Bill Buckner loss.

Interesting that it's not considered in bad taste for a non-goalie to intentionally punch the ball out of the goal. That's like a third baseman tripping a would-be scorer as he's rounding that base.

[Diskono]

Interesting that it's not considered in bad taste for a non-goalie to intentionally punch the ball out of the goal. That's like a third baseman tripping a would-be scorer as he's rounding that base.

Sure it is, that's why the refs will give an automatic penalty and a red card. To expand on the baseball analogy, after the third baseman trips a would-be scorer, it would be like having the run (more than likely) count anyway, and the team having to play without a third baseman the rest of the game.

[TooLiveBrew]

What an amazing game between Paraguay & Spain. Of course it was David Villa that finally found the net. He's played so well all tournament.

 

But the thing I'll remember is the awesome display of sportsmanship, both from Paraguayan & Spanish players, after the match in consoling Paraguay's striker Óscar Cardozo (who'd had both his penalty kick around the 60th minute, and another shot on goal in roughly the 89th minute, blocked by Spain's goalie Casillas). The penalty would've meant a 1-0 lead, the other shot would've tied things up. He looked beyond devastated after the game.

[M Skjellyfetti]

I was listening on the radio in and out. Man, I wish I would have been able to see the game, particularly the 2nd half. Sounds like an awesome game to watch.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I agree with the appreciation for the good sportsmanship. I guess that is the reason I hate teams like Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. It is one thing to be good and know you are good. It is another to have blatant disrespect for your opponent and the officials. And it goes without saying that there is no room in sports for cheap shots (insert name of the the brazil player who embarrassed his country and his sport).

 

I didn't like that the "intentional hand ball" allowed Uraguay to move on, but by in large i feel the four teams left are all classy teams. Argentina being absolutely destroyed by Germany was absolutely beautiful. The world now can stop hearing how great the biggest cheater in the history of sports (mr. hand of god) and Messi are...

 

 

[sbrylski]

Yeah, I can't believe people celebrate the HofG. If that was a defining moment of my national team, I'd be extremely embarrassed.

 

I'll be pulling for the two nations still left that haven't won a World Cup yet - Netherlands and Spain. Though at the same time, I'd like to see a final match between two teams from different continents, so I wouldn't mind a Uruguay-Spain final either.

 

The team I don't want to win is Germany. I'm still mad about 2002 -

[RobertR]

I have to say though that of the teams left, Germany has been easily the most entertaining to watch. They're really brilliant counter-attackers and they're too young to hold grudges against. And I get the feeling that their best days are ahead of them, which is a scary thought.

 

The Spain - Germany match is really going to be something. Spain's only real weakness is that they're enamored of the short crisp passing so much that they don't really open up the field creating space. They give defenses time to regroup. They'll probably win if they can keep the match low scoring though, that's their game.

 

I kind of have mixed feelings on Uruguay and Netherlands. I believe that every player for every team would have made the same handball penalty to save the game. It's taking a pass interference penalty to save a sure touchdown. But I can certainly see being annoyed that they advanced because of it. I like the Netherlands, but they really like to flop. I think the Netherlands are a better team, but they've been more efficient than fun to watch so far.

 

Robert

[ILuvDaBush]

And the Dutch go into the half with a 1-1 draw. The Oranje goal was a thing of beauty. The Forlan goal was a four-leaf clover emerging from Diego's derrierre. The Dutch goalie is terrible. By the way, when is Rob VP going to net his second goal? And also, why wasn't Caceres sent off for the bicycle kick to the Oranje defender's jaw? The Malicious Blind Bicycle! Ugly! Is it my imagination or are the Dutch getting NO calls? Is it payback/karma for the Oscar-worthy performances of their team?

[yoshii8]

I thought Forlan's goal was pretty sweet, it had a lot of pace and movement on that shot.