2014 World Cup

[Liep]

Ah well.  France will take care of Brazil as usual

Zidane.



Petit.

[Liep]

Just saw a recap. That wasn't just a weak penalty, that wasn't a penalty.

[Monoriu]

As a fan of Brazil, I have to say their victory was totally unconvincing.  Yes, their first goal was brilliant.  It said tons about the superb shooting ability of one guy.  But overall, their cohesiveness and capacity to regularly produce effective shots and crosses was low.  The penalty was a 100% mistake.  The last 10-15 minutes of the game, the Brazilians were practically under siege.  At no point in the game were they sieging the Croatians.  Their third goal was only possible because the Croatians threw everything they had at the Brazilians at that point. 

[mongers]

Just saw a recap. That wasn't just a weak penalty, that wasn't a penalty.

Indeed.

Shockingly bad refereeing, did he do anything right?

[alfred russel]

I'm off Monday and Tuesday and plan to watch all the matches those days, including our loss to Ghana.

I wrote Klinsmann with a plan that will ensure a victory. At a critical point in the match, we should unveil a huge buffet of food on the sidelines. The players from Ghana will be distracted, and probably some will leave the pitch to eat.

[derspiess]

More games like this where diving is rewarded & I'll quit watching.  Does FIFA do anything at all to discourage it?

[FunkMonk]

Not really, no. Unfortunately it's all up to the referee for that particular match and the standards of refereeing vary enormously. Shit refs like the Japanese guy for this game can potentially ruin everything.

This sport is just brutally unjust sometimes, honestly. To some degree it contributes to the passion and the allure of the game, but sometimes it's just plain infuriating.

[alfred russel]

It doesn't help that FIFA insists on using refs from around the world in the world cup. The really top flight referees are officiating top flight competitions, and those are basically all in Europe. What do you expect to happen when you let a guy with limited (or no) experience in the top tier of soccer officiate in the most high profile tournament in the world?*


*I have no idea what I am talking about. I only watch the world cup. I'm just repeating things I read on languish last world cup.

[Ed Anger]

[Barrister]

Rooting for Brazil is terrible and you are bad for doing it

When it comes to Brazil-Croatia: don't hate the playa, hate the game.   

[Syt]

Poor Croatia.

Kovac in that suit looked like Hannibal.

I wonder if he speaks better German or Croatian, or how much of an accent he might have in the latter.

[jimmy olsen]

USA! USA! USA!

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/6/12/5805306/world-cup-2022-qatar-united-states

Could the 2022 World Cup really move from Qatar to the USA?

By Ryan Rosenblatt @RyanRosenblatt on Jun 12 2014, 7:57

People have been calling for FIFA to strip Qatar of the 2022 World Cup since the day they were awarded the tournament. Now, according to Jorge Ramos in a Tweet since deleted, FIFA is prepared to do just that, and if they do strip Qatar of the World Cup, they'd like the United States to be ready to host.

As of now, it is a single report from a single person. There hasn't even been a rumbling of this development from elsewhere, and with FIFA's investigation of potential corruption in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids not due to conclude until late July, it seems unlikely that they would move the tournament now. Ramos also throws out a lot of rumors, so to act as if this is true or in any way decided is a major stretch.

United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati has also come out and flatly denied the report.

Sam Borden @SamBorden

Just spoke to Gulati, who is president of US Soccer and FIFA ExCo member. Could not have been more forceful in saying no approach made.
8:42 AM - 13 Jun 2014

Still, this is something that could happen, if not now then in the future. Many FIFA members, including president Sepp Blatter, have said that hosting of the 2022 World Cup would have to be revisited if there was any corruption found and several outlets, most notably The Times of London, have found clear instances of bribery.

In the event that Qatar is stripped of the World Cup, most believe FIFA would conduct a re-vote. In that case, countries would have to re-submit new bids to host, so the U.S. would have to want to host and put forth the effort necessary to bid. Most assume they would, as would Australia, Japan and South Korea, the rest of the countries that lost out in the original bidding for 2022.

The U.S. would theoretically have a leg up on any competitors in a re-vote because of its massive existing infrastructure and potential revenue. The U.S. already has more than enough stadiums thanks to the NFL, as well as transportation and hotels, plus MLS and colleges can provide the training facilities. Add in that the 1994 World Cup, which the U.S. hosted, was arguably the most financially successful tournament ever, and the Americans will be considered front-runners in a re-vote.

There is also a belief that the U.S. would hold an advantage because of a shortened timeframe to prepare, with the tournament changing hosts, but that's not really true. The 2022 World Cup was handed out extraordinarily earlier. Normally, FIFA announces hosts seven years in advance, so if a new country is awarded the right in the next year, they will have a normal amount of time to build whatever is necessary and organize the tournament.

But while the bulk of the speculation has been that FIFA would conduct a re-vote, it is possible that they just give the tournament to another country. That becomes especially likely if it takes a few more years before FIFA decides to strip Qatar of the tournament, leaving insufficient time for countries to bid, a vote to be held and then a country to organize the tournament.

In that case, the tournament would likely be given to the U.S. Its existing infrastructure means it can host on short notice and the revenue potential remains.

If that were to happen, NFL stadiums would host most, if not all, of the matches. New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and a potential new NFL stadium in Los Angeles would likely compete to host the final and opening match, but as many as 12 venues around the country could host matches. It would likely be the biggest World Cup ever contested, with average capacities topping 70,000 seats, and could potentially take soccer in the country to a whole other level.

Of course, right now Qatar is the host of the 2022 World Cup. Despite reports that it could be stripped of the tournament, it doesn't appear imminent. And even if it does, there is no guarantee that the U.S. would get to to host. Odds are, it will go to a re-vote and the U.S. would have to beat out Australia, Japan, South Korea and maybe others.

Rumors are going to swirl until FIFA actually takes the tournament from Qatar or Qatar hosts it. Until then, it's just a series of "what ifs."

[Norgy]

I really hope Blatter gets ousted and/or jailed, and someone living in this century takes over.  The bad referee calls are not the good kind of uncertainty;  they're the kind of uncertainty that destroys the credibility of the game result.

The referee was horrifyingly biased. Neymar could very well have been sent off, instead he scores two. One is a penalty that never should've been given. The third goal could have been disallowed for the challenge before Oscár (who was my MoM) gets the ball. All in all, Croatia has every reason to feel aggreived by the refereeing and the result.
Brazil really need to up their game if they're going anywhere. Both Hulk and Fred looked completely lost at times. Brazil's Bernard will probably start more games. He was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise so-so side when he came on.

[Warspite]

You work your ass off for four years to be ready for the World Cup, and then an incompetent referee takes everything away from you. I feel terrible for the players.

[Norgy]

Bias or incompetence, the end product was the same.
I am very unsure about the disallowed goal for Croatia. 
Julio Cesar is clearly not in any shape to play a World Cup.