***Official 2018 FIFA World Cup thread*** | Page 4 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

***Official 2018 FIFA World Cup thread***

Just watched the Peru/Denmark match . . . .man Peru deserved better. Guerrero came on way too late but regardless you gotta put the ball in back of the net on this stage. So many chances. Fun team to watch.

Denmark is going nowhere in this tournament
 
Serbia just too much of a step up in class for the Ticos.

They played that typical Costa Rica gritty style and relied on their keeper but that was a world class strike by Kolorav to beat a top 5 keeper in the world in Navas.

The better team got the deserved points. Costa Rica needed a point and will likely be facing elimination against Brazil next match.

Serbia gonna have to finish those chances if they want to make noise at this Cup, but they played well.
 
Germany gonna destroy Mexico aren't they
 
That was one heck of a first half from Mexico. Deserving lead entering the break.

Germany should adjust to the counters and really you have to wonder how the fitness for Mexico shakes out later in the 2nd half . . .they are doing a lot of running. Germany seems completely unphased . . .not sure if that lack of urgency is a good thing or not.

But Mexico is playing like a team that has played together for years and Germany is playing like a bunch of guys who just haven’t gotten used to each other, similar to what we have seen in the friendlies leading up to the WC

Should be a great second half.
 
Great game from Mexico man.

As for Germany, the old cast of characters look like they aged overnight. Khedira, Ozil, Mueller all looked out of it. Too much loss of possession all game. I feel bad for Timo Werner, the guy was testing Mexico’s backline all game and these “great” midfielders just didn’t even bother.

More Reus, Brandt, Goretska and Sane (oh wait) next game. Keep Draxler and Werner in.
 
Kdawg954 said:
Great game from Mexico man.

As for Germany, the old cast of characters look like they aged overnight. Khedira, Ozil, Mueller all looked out of it. Too much loss of possession all game. I feel bad for Timo Werner, the guy was testing Mexico’s backline all game and these “great” midfielders just didn’t even bother.

More Reus, Brandt, Goretska and Sane (oh wait) next game. Keep Draxler and Werner in.
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The game was really lost by Germany rather than won by Mexico. Germany's passing was completely off. 85% accuracy in the first half is awful for them. It was also a mistake to put Plattenhard instead of Hector on the back line.
Germany arrived at the WC in the 60th minute and the chances started piling up.

It's a wake up call.

In regards to Sane: he was left at home deserving. I saw pretty much all of Germany's games and he never ever did anything to justify a spot on the team. You can be great on a club level but to go to the world cup you have to add to the national squad. His performances at times were horrendous.

You can only send congrats to the Mexico squad. They played hard and their game plane was successful. Germany was mentally not ready yet.

Old cast of characters? :laugh That team is in his prime. Mueller is 28, Oezil is 29 and Khedira is 31.
I was never very fond of Oezil. He is a prima donna. He can play great but too often he looks like a by-stander. I always felt that his lackluster efforts are more a handicap for this generation in Germany. I understand the coach's philosophy and the possible brilliance of an Oezil which could change a game but more often than not he was just "one of the players". He certainly will not be remembered as the other great 10s in German history or on the world stage.

I also have to wonder if the Oezil/Guendokan/Erdogan issue was a distraction after all and was contributing to the lackluster beginning. Certainly it was on the minds of German fans as they booed Oezil with literally every contact.
 
I agree it’s a wake up call . . . .and they still should advance.

But when I say aged, those veterans don’t look hungry out there. Too complacent and there is loads of young, hungry talent waiting to step in.

I just take it back to 2006 when Germany beat Argentina in the QF. They play Messi most of the tournament and leave him on the bench that game for lack of experience. Sometimes you gotta play your youth . . . If for nothing else to get some of that hunger on the pitch.

I doubt Mueller gets benched, and that is ok, but I would seriously look at benching Ozil and Khedira. Reus needs to start, play Draxler in Ozils spot and maybe tinker with Brandt or Goretska over Khedira.
 
Kdawg954 said:
I agree it’s a wake up call . . . .and they still should advance.

But when I say aged, those veterans don’t look hungry out there. Too complacent and there is loads of young, hungry talent waiting to step in.

I just take it back to 2006 when Germany beat Argentina in the QF. They play Messi most of the tournament and leave him on the bench that game for lack of experience. Sometimes you gotta play your youth . . . If for nothing else to get some of that hunger on the pitch.

I doubt Mueller gets benched, and that is ok, but I would seriously look at benching Ozil and Khedira. Reus needs to start, play Draxler in Ozils spot and maybe tinker with Brandt or Goretska over Khedira.
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While I agree with you on Oezil and Khedira I doubt Loew will bench Oezil though. I would definitely give Brandt and Reus a shot. That team became much more effective when they came in. Reus is extremely hungry. He missed the 2014 WC and 2016 Euro because of injury.

Germany did not play horrific just was not in the game with their heads: 25 shots/9 on goal; 67% possession
But here comes the killer: 86% accuracy (Mexico 75%). Most of those errant passes were self inflicted.

You have to give Mexico credit though. They played for counter attacks and it worked well for them.
 
The Swiss/Brazil match was pretty annoying.

While Brazil certainly didn’t look like some powerhouse . . .how many times are you gonna let Brazil clear a defender, the defender clearly holds the shirt or makes contact, and no card is given.

If Neymar is 1 v 1, beats you and can be headed for goal, you tug the shirt and stop the play . . . It’s a minimum yellow and honestly maybe even a red card.

The Swiss goal is called a foul 90% of the time as well.

Just an overall meh game by the officials.

I do give the Swiss credit for coming out and playing hard and stringing together some nice counters.
 
dam Sweden lucked out. :laugh
Wild WC. Out of the top 10 (Chile never made it) only France (barely) won with Belgium and Poland yet to play their first game.
 
phins_4_ever said:
Now up: Panama vs Belgium
America watch it. That should have been you.
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While not being here is embarrassing . . . I can only imagine Bruce Arena trotting out Michael Bradley and friends one more time instead of focusing on the youth like we are now.

For me, it really only sucks for Pulisic . . . Imagine him on that Croatian team right now with Modric and Rakitic.

You never want to miss this event, but I truly believe American soccer will be better off in the long run.
 
Too much class from Belgium over Panama . . . Panama played pretty decently until the world class strike from Mertens.
 
Kdawg954 said:
While not being here is embarrassing . . . I can only imagine Bruce Arena trotting out Michael Bradley and friends one more time instead of focusing on the youth like we are now.

For me, it really only sucks for Pulisic . . . Imagine him on that Croatian team right now with Modric and Rakitic.

You never want to miss this event, but I truly believe American soccer will be better off in the long run.
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:laugh
Yeah, you are right. I said it back then that is was a huge mistake going back to Arena after Klinsmann. They hung onto Klinsmann too long as well He was a cheerleader and good at making changes surrounding soccer. He made some major changes to German soccer and how the old farts look at soccer especially on the youth level. The introduction of a GM for the National team was brilliant.

I am not as positive yet about the future of US Soccer. Cordeiro is too much of "as it was before". They should have made a new fresh start from the top down. They don't even have a new coach yet. They are wasting valuable time. I have seen some of the games recently but despite the youth I have not seen anything which makes me think we are moving forward. Sure we beat Bolivia but they are a bad team. They lost to Curacao a couple month ago, tied South Korea and got slaughtered by Serbia.
The art of bringing up youth is have a team identity and then develop the youth into that system. The US plays with literally no system and identity for a good decade. We are stumbling from one game to another.

Pulisic is the player you want to build your future team around. He is still young and plays at a team where he learns soccer the right way. But I have the feeling he will never get a fair chance.
 
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