Mexico had two goals disallowed in the first half of their match with Cameroon. Both calls were for offsides that did not appear to exist. Add this to a bogus penalty kick that was awarded to Brazil yesterday, and the refs are off to a terrible start.
I’m also bummed that I am going to have to miss the Spain/Netherlands match today. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since they announced the schedule like a year ago. Somehow Chile/Australia doesn’t have the same allure for me.
Finally, Mexico scores a goal that is allowed to count. Should be 3-0, but it’s only 1-0.
I promise to watch the match for you!
You can watch the match on Univision.
http://futbol.univision.com/
Click on an image of the match and look for “en vivo”. I have seen both matches full or in part. I just watch without the annoying commentary.
And as to the offsides, the first was a fully correct call. The mexican guy was offside. The second was a bad call made from the sideline by the Ref asst, who had very bad sightline.
And the reason he was offside in the first call is that most of his body was offside.
Not exactly in a futbol state of mind, eh? Plus the pouring rain.
FECAFOOT sounds like the result of stepping in shit. That is all.
‘Allure’ and ‘soccer match’.
Heh.
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That is gonna be THE goal of this world cup. Of course, more good things could happen. 60 more games!!
Thus far, there have been 4 EXCEPTIONALLY interesting games. No 0-0 ties!! Australia competitive for 85 min against Chile!!! Oranje 5-Spain 1!!!!
You did write World Cup thread …
I enjoyed watching all the games of an excellent side, a great promise for the coming years …
See my previous post – USA Women Beat China 5-0.
My First Glance Dyslexia is getting worse. On close inspection, I see the match BooMan wishes to see is Spain/Netherlands, not Spain/Neanderthals.
After watching the first half, the term “neanderthals” may not be so inappropriate. This Orange side is a bunch of thugs. Take a pass, knock down a Spanish player…
I am beyond amazed. What a DESTRUCTION of Spain. 5-1 Netherlands. Spain was #1. In the world, and they never threatened. Never.
I was as surprised as anyone … those neanderthalers! That was the match four years ago, a disgrace. The preparation of the Spanish team was nearly impossible due to a heavy load of matches in the Primera Division. Their three top teams Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid and Barcelona were competitive until the last day of competition. Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid met in the Champions League final as two best teams of Europe. This is a natural back-lash, however Spain will qualify for the next round. Dutch player Robin van Persie had been out of competition due to an injury and Arjen Robben with Bayern Munchen earned the championship in a very early stage.
Although oddly enough they were in the dark blue kits. WAZZUPWITDAT?
The first goal by von Persie was a thing of wonder. The goal by Robben rivaled the Maradona goal against England – complete control from the midfield.
I have tried very hard to enjoy all sports and not be a sport bigot.
I’ve decided after all of these years that the main things which put me off a sport are: 1) ridiculous officiating, leading to frequently having the wrong competitor/team win, and 2) excessive violence. Given I like rugby, American Football, and Aussie-Rules among many other sports I have a very high bar for both (1) and (2) – on (2) pretty much only pro boxing/fighting are the sports I count out.
On (1), the sports I really struggle with are the judging bullshit sports like gymnastics and figure skating and soccer, especially FIFA-style soccer. The sport itself is fascinating, but the rules are designed to assure that probably 10% of world cup matches have basically the wrong team win – possibly as high as 25% in the knockout rounds when teams are more competitive.
The penalty kick is absurd – in a game where total goals average between 3 and 4 the ref is basically awarding a goal for an event which is in most cases a borderline penalty. And just to add to the injustice, the decision is based on one person’s view and no replay. Red Cards are almost as bad – again, often a borderline call, but without replacements the red card suddenly shifts the probability of victory massively in one team’s favor unless the team losing the player already is in the lead.
Then add in off-sides. In a sport where games average only 3-4 scores the majority of great scoring opportunities are disallowed due to this rule, and as Boo points out in this post, often incorrectly.
But the worst of all is the method of tie break. After 4 years of qualifying, and many tough matches, two teams can meet in a final, play their heart out, tie, and then essentially decide the victor on a coin flip. Holy crap. The penalty kick has zero to do with how soccer is played – the only similarity is that the same equipment is used. At least the hockey penalty shot approximates a breakway – an event that occurs a few times in most games. In a soccer penalty kick the kicker and goalkeeper both guess as to the other’s intention and if the goalkeeper guesses right his/her team wins – or if the kicker completely misses the goal his/her team loses. Wow. Such artistry, skill, creativity, and teamwork!
FIFA is already known to be massively corrupt and incompetent and has been all my lifetime, but why does its incompetence have to extend to the games themselves?
The next month will be a great trial to you. Perhaps if you had a beer?
Why would it be hard on me?
Poor officiating is frustrating in many sports, which is why technology is an increasing part of officiating. This is the first World Cup with “goal line technology” that can decide if a ball has completely crossed the goal line. Baseball now has replay. Football has had it for a while.
The penalty kick is necessary for two reasons.
Fouling in the penalty box would destroy most scoring opportunities and cause a lot of injury if it weren’t severely punished. This is also why expulsion (red card) is necessary when a player is brought down from behind while going in to goal.
The second reason that penalty kicks are necessary is at the end of the game after 90 minutes and a further 30 minutes of overtime. Players are simply not capable of running much more than that and it would be unsafe to go on indefinitely.
One thing about penalty kicks: You can only take one kick. You must have different players. Compare that with olympic hockey, where TJ Oshie took about 6 penalty shots in 1 shootout with the Russians. That is really unfair.
I dislike penalty kicks. I think soccer could be hugely improved by a system like hockey, where you sit for a time when you foul. That would really open up the game.
Regarding the second reason – my response is a related problem, which is the concept of minimal (3 – used to be 2) substitutions per match, and they are permanent in nature. Most sports allow regular substitution and the sports are better because of it – the players are fresher, hurt and tired players get a break and come back, etc. When I ask avid soccer fans about this most give me some macho answer about real men playing the whole game.
So instead, most of the match is with one player moving the ball, a few nearby reacting, and the rest gently jogging toward the goal.
Regarding the first one, there are alternatives. Yes, there is a great potential for injury, but you have to be of limited imagination if the only remedy you can think of is a red card (with its current penalties) and the penalty kick.
I don’t support changing substitutions.
One of the main features of soccer is the incredible fitness required by the players, and if you look at the World Cup players, they are absolutely ripped. “Eye candy” as CabinGirl puts it.
It’s not so much a macho thing as it is a complete commitment to physical fitness combined with a battle of will and endurance.
Today, Italy physically wore England down to the breaking point and then broke them. Their superior acclimatization and training paid off.
Take that away from soccer and you’ve really lost something essential.
I miss the old NFL where the NY Giants could just break people’s will with their commitment to the running game and physicality on defense. They’ve still won two Super Bowls recently with that formula largely in place, but it’s not the same due to massive substitutions.
I can go a long way with your argument about ridiculous officiating. For me the nr. 1 above all others is cheating by sporters by using performance enhancing drugs: cycling, weightlifting, athletics.
To keep it about FIFA soccer rules, it’s ridiculous that a group of aged men have all the power to frustrate rule changes. A sport I have been officiating for over 25 years is field hockey which does change rules to make the sport more attractive, more speed and evolving skills of players. The game is officiated by two referees who make all the calls. The off-side rule has been taken out which increased the number of goals per match and made the game faster and more attractive. There are time penalties for players, a yellow card will keep a player off for 5 or 10 minutes. After an offense, the ball is taken with a self-pass which prevents time delay in the defense of setting up a wall of players and discussions with referees as play restarts instantly.
We had the Hockey World Cup in The Netherlands and it has been a continuous celebration during the past two weeks with teams from all over the world. Great, great fun experiencing sport in its purest form. There have been very few discussions about umpire decisions in the matches as a limited video referral is permitted by both teams and officials. Watch the Aussies for skill, speed and fitness
Many professional sports have been ruined by high stakes due to high financial rewards for sporters and corporate owners. The seemingly unlimited budgets by nations to hold the Football World Cup in for example Brazil and Qatar are quite ridiculous. The IOC also has been hit by corruption and high cost for organizing the Olympic games. BTW, in Brazil goal-line technology will be used.
Sounds rational. I haven’t seen top field hockey in a long time due to lack of availability but I’ll be sure to look it up next time I have the chance.
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○ BBC Sports Stats of Match (Video)