Football (Soccer)

[AngelofDeath]

Yeah, he's been fairly silent in the majority of his international caps. Looks like that may finally start to change for him, though. I guess the same could really be said for Rooney, too.

Really hoping for a Germany and Spain final.

[SlightRight]

Blanc seriously needs to be fired!

[Mikevigar]

His record coming into the tournament was great, As for Spain, they really do know how to take all of the excitement out of football

[Sombre]

As for Spain, they really do know how to take all of the excitement out of football

Thank you. I don't watch football to see a team make 50 passes, get into a shooting position, decide they don't want to shoot but want a pretty goal instead, then can't find the right pass, so go back to the central defenders and start again. Almost every game they play puts me to sleep.

I really think Germany has been better than Spain (except the Greece match - they were bad by their standards). If those two meet in the final, I'll be rooting for Germany.

[theetruscan]

I really think Germany has been better than Spain (except the Greece match - they were bad by their standards). If those two meet in the final, I'll be rooting for Germany.

Germany has been more exciting, but Denmark (wait, they have a team?), the Netherlands (awful), and Greece all scored against them. It's a rather porous defense. Which is great for fans of soccer.

[AngelofDeath]

I don't think Greece scoring two goals against Germany properly reflects how badly they were manhandled.

[blowdown]

i think the hate for spain nowadays are uncalled for, across some football forums as well as commentators labelling it boring at times...

people dont really know how difficult it is to completely outclass your opponents retaining 70-75% possession in a single game, im sure people who post here plays football.. feel that we have to give credit to them nonetheless

[Mikevigar]

I don't doubt the brilliance of Spain in keeping possession and suffocating their opposition, but as a neutral their games are soooooooooo boring to watch - that was my point.

[blowdown]

yea but i guess they dont really have a choice as their players are not those of the stature of german or english guys, when you have a team of average height only 5ft odd i dont really expect them to play direct or very physical football....

agree with you on the boring part though, hope they bring it against the Portuguese, nonetheless i will still enjoy watching them play

[AngelofDeath]

I found them pretty enjoyable to watch during the last World Cup, but I would say that had a lot to do with the competition being stiffer and the stakes being higher. They've really been a different class than the vast majority of the opponents they've faced since.

[theetruscan]

I don't think Greece scoring two goals against Germany properly reflects how badly they were manhandled.

Agreed. However, having a team that is being manhandled that badly still score twice is pretty revealing. Germany's defense has been, well, crap.

[coldcreep]

I think Germany will have their defense sorted out by the World Cup. Hummels is only going to get better.

[AngelofDeath]

I don't think their defense has been crap, necessarily, but it could certainly use some fine-tuning. And, yeah, they're a very young squad that's only going to improve. Their potential for the next World Cup is pretty vast.

[Verdandi]

I don't get the 'Spain is boring' either. They control the game like this and until now every team had to adapt to their style. And with Spain I always have the feeling they don't do more than they need to.

As for the England - Italy match: England were crazy to give Pirlo so much space, you cannot do that. I know almost no one watches Serie A but it should not be news to anyone that Pirlo is a damn fine player.
I don't think Germany will let that happen.

But damn, why Germany vs. Italy? I hate it when they play each other, 2006 was 120 minutes of torture

[swrecked]

I don't get the 'Spain is boring' either. While I love France, Spain was clearly the better team. I think Spain had another level that they didn't use during that match, but they'll need it against Portugal and Germany.

England was painful to watch against Italy. Italy was the better team and am so glad they didn't lose it pks. Their goalie is ridiculous.