FIFA 2014 World Cup - Official Discussion Thread

[Hamster]

France to win the world cup?

[GMantis]

Perhaps FIFA should reconsider their seeding system...

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Perhaps FIFA should reconsider their seeding system...

Just use the Elo ratings.

[GMantis]

Benzema seems to have taken pity on the Swiss.

[ZuWo]

Balm for the soul. Scoring isn't that difficult, after all.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The last two goals are just France not caring. I don't blame them.

[Hash]

ugh somebody please destroy France soon.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

ugh somebody please destroy France soon.

inb4 they win the world cup

[Keystone Phil]

The non-win is typical for us. Haven't won our second Group match (especially when against mediocre opposition) in any tournament since Euro 2000. This will help to light a fire under our ass, which is when we perform best. Still embarrassing though. And while we go through with a draw, any time we play for a draw in a competitive match, it backfires big time (see: Italy vs. Slovakia 2010). 

Hats off to Costa Rica though. Really. No one ever imagined they'd make it out of the Group. If you would have said they'd not only win the Group but win it after (likely) having three wins, you would have been committed.

[Bacon King]

Matches so far at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador:

Spain 1 – 5 Netherlands
Germany 4 – 0 Portugal
Switzerland 2 – 5 France

later games here will be Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran, and USA (or whoever is second in our group) vs Belgium (or whoever is first in theirs)

[windjammer]

Well, I understand more why my father was so happy .At least France won't be as ridiculous as the last time (I hope).
(Lief, see your PMs)

[Keystone Phil]

Hahahahahaha what a result!

Nothing sweeter than our North American brothers triumphing over the old world countries!

Hey, please read the PM I sent you ...

Well, I understand more why my father was so happy .At least France won't be as ridiculous as the last time (I hope).
(Lief, see your PMs)

What's going on here, ladies...?

[windjammer]

Hahahahahaha what a result!

Nothing sweeter than our North American brothers triumphing over the old world countries!

Hey, please read the PM I sent you ...

Well, I understand more why my father was so happy .At least France won't be as ridiculous as the last time (I hope).
(Lief, see your PMs)

What's going on here, ladies...?

Phil, don't worry, nothing important .
And seriously, I'm probably sure Tender Branson PMed him for an another reason than me!

[King]

non-win

I believe the correct term is "loss."

[Keystone Phil]

non-win

I believe the correct term is "loss."

Let me explain it for you: "non-win" applies to both losses and draws. We have a history of losing or drawing (the latter being more common) in the second match of the Group stage.

[King]

Being the usual idiot that you are

Temper, temper.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i'm going to repeat here what i told my family after uruguay-costa rica -- costa rica is a team that could certainly win the whole thing and will almost certainly make it to the semifinals.

[minionofmidas]

FIFA might want to consider taking away some spots from uefa and giving them to concacaf for 2018.

FIFA should also have removed the 1/2 spot from CONCACAF after the 2006 World Cup, but since it didn't do so, it would hardly be fair to remove spots from UEFA now (not that fairness matters or UEFA wouldn't have lost two spots without justification).

Places per continent are an openly political decision. They are not intended to be based directly on recent results.


I watched 5-10 minutes of the first half while waiting for a streetcar at Darmstadt train station, and Italy scoring seemed only a matter of time. I arrived at the pub where I was meeting people, the second half was just beginning, and the score was 1-0 for CR. I watched the second half with half an eye at best and Italy didn't seem to have any kind of idea of how to deal with the situation. It was... weird.

[minionofmidas]

Oh, and FIFA seems to be trying everything in their power to deny Karim Benzema the Golden Shoe.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Oh Italy, you will never easily cruise through the group session, will you? OK, a draw against Uruguay should be enough to qualify, but knowing our past history we definitely can screw this up. Come on guys!!!

ROFL @ France-Switzerland.

[Keystone Phil]

i'm going to repeat here what i told my family after uruguay-costa rica -- costa rica is a team that could certainly win the whole thing and will almost certainly make it to the semifinals.

^ this is why using drugs is very, very bad.

[politicallefty]

From the standpoint of seeing the US advance, we want to see Germany beat Ghana today, correct? From the way I understand it, more permutations than not for a US advance need to have Germany win today (and they get pretty ugly with a Ghana win). What happens if today's game sees Germany and Ghana tie? In other words, my question here is what is the optimal result in today's Germany/Ghana match that best leads to a US advance?

[Keystone Phil]

From the standpoint of seeing the US advance, we want to see Germany beat Ghana today, correct? From the way I understand it, more permutations than not for a US advance need to have Germany win today (and they get pretty ugly with a Ghana win). What happens if today's game sees Germany and Ghana tie? In other words, my question here is what is the optimal result in today's Germany/Ghana match that best leads to a US advance?

If Ghana somehow beat Germany today and assuming Portugal wins tomorrow, this will really become the Group of Death. Of course, there are still goal difference advantages (unless Portugal win by three goals, you'll still technically be in second place) but everything will be left to play for on the last day and you don't want that going into the Germany match.

A draw today wouldn't be the worst result from the U.S. perspective but, again, Germany would be fired up for that final match because they'd only have four points. If Portugal end the weekend with three points, they would win the group with a victory against Ghana if Germany can't beat the U.S.

[politicallefty]

If Ghana somehow beat Germany today and assuming Portugal wins tomorrow, this will really become the Group of Death. Of course, there are still goal difference advantages (unless Portugal win by three goals, you'll still technically be in second place) but everything will be left to play for on the last day and you don't want that going into the Germany match.

A draw today wouldn't be the worst result from the U.S. perspective but, again, Germany would be fired up for that final match because they'd only have four points. If Portugal end the weekend with three points, they would win the group with a victory against Ghana if Germany can't beat the U.S.

Yeah, it now does seem pretty clear that a Ghana victory today is bad news for the US. However, some seem to want a tie today as opposed to an outright German victory.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Of course, draws in group sessions are, all things being equal, a good thing for the other two teams, since fewer total points are awarded (1 each) than if one of the teams had won.