Ode to the beautiful game... (Soccer)

[Lara]

So Russia, England and Bosnia (for the first time!) all qualified so far. Portugal in the playoffs I believe.

Looking forward to Commebol/Concacaf action tonight! Although it seems I'll have to hunt for a Telemundo stream for Mexico/Costa Rica...

 

[Buzz]

Poor Egypt! I was so hoping both them and Venezuela would make it to Brazil but alas it was not to be. Egypt was just plain unlucky to get pitted against Ghana. But on the other hand Ghana certainly did very well trashing Egypt 6-1.

 

[Lara]

Is Venezuela officially out now (though I know there wasn't much chance)? Shame.

 

[Buzz]

I believe with the draw against Paraguay their WC run is officially over.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/12/us-soccer-world-venezuela-idUSBRE99B01520131012

 

[Lara]

Wow, Uruguay is really trying for the automatic qualification over Ecuador (with a little help from the ref...no expert but that sure seemed like a bogus penalty elicited from Suarez). Good match against Argentina!

ETA - still need 3 goals though to pass Ecuador, probably too much.

 

[Lara]

Ecuador lost but qualifies, Uruguay wins but off to playoffs.

And eeek - Panama 1-0 over US, Costa Rica 1-0 over Mexico atm. If it stays like this Panama is off to play New Zealand and Mexico's eliminated.

 

[Lara]

Wow that went down to the wire! US tied, Panama scored again to take the lead and it looked like Mexico was out...until the US came back in the final minutes and scored not once but twice. Heartbreaking for Panama.

Mexico still didn't play like they deserved to be even in the playoffs. New Zealand probably does have a decent chance, they shouldn't be intimidated for sure.

 

[oleada]

WHeeee Colombia! Comeback from 0-3 down against Chile was nuts!

 

[Buzz]

The US did Mexico a huge favour. LOL

 

[Gil-Galad]

Iceland in the playoffs kind of makes my day. The smallest country ever to get this far, I think.

Congrats to Bosnia, may you have a brilliant tournament.

Also, my country needs a decent defense as soon as possible. When I started watching football, Germany always had an excellent defense and scored goals on set-pieces. Granted, they were also really boring. These days we score tons of beautiful goals, have tons of great attacking midfielders - but the defense is awful, and I can't remember the last time we scored a goal after a corner.

 

[NeilJLeonard]

Wow that went down to the wire! US tied, Panama scored again to take the lead and it looked like Mexico was out...until the US came back in the final minutes and scored not once but twice. Heartbreaking for Panama.

Mexico still didn't play like they deserved to be even in the playoffs. New Zealand probably does have a decent chance, they shouldn't be intimidated for sure.

This is a link to a thread on BigSoccer dot com. It is a replay of the final couple of minutes of the USA v Panama as shown on a split screen of that game and the Mexico loss to CR on one of the Mexican TV channels. It is in Spanish, but there is a rough translation in the thread. It is hilarious......

www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/this-honestly-deserves-its-own-thread.1995506/

The Mexican commentator says it all.....

NJL (Watched it live on English language BEin....2 goals in added time in the 92nd and 93rd minutes....unbelievable ending)

 

[Lara]

This is the direct YouTube link - I was at the commentary! (But he did tell it like it is...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz1XhaBT45I&feature=youtu.be

 

[NeilJLeonard]

This is the direct YouTube link - I was at the commentary! (But he did tell it like it is...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz1XhaBT45I&feature=youtu.be

Did he ever! If Mexico plays New Zealand like they played CR last night then NZ has a very good chance of going to Brazil next year.

NJL

 

[Buzz]

Thanks for the links! There was a bit on CNN showing Mexico fans chanting "USA! USA!" and "God Bless America!". Hehehe here is what the headlines in Mexican papers looks like.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/wor...pt+Mexican+qualifying+play/9043229/story.html

 

[Buzz]

FIFA apparently changed the rules on how teams are seeded in the WC last month. Now the seedings are based on FIFA's ranking alone which according to this article could possibly see some of the top teams facing each other in the first round. We shall have to wait and see.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...s-italy-from-world-cup-elite/article14885546/

 

[Buzz]

Here are the top seeds for next year's World Cup:

1. Brazil
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. Argentina
5. Columbia
6. Belgium
7. Switzerland
8. Uruguay

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/248425.html

 

[Buzz]

Somebody decided to have some fun at the US expense and tried to figure out the different groupings the US might be part off. This commentator thinks it is a distinct possibility that the US may finish the 2014 WC without even a single point. I beg to differ but then again it isn't hard to find people who know more than me so we will have to wait and see. In the meantime the article below makes entertaining reading.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/2014-w...ints-bleak-picture-united-162800471--sow.html

 

[oleada]

Here are the top seeds for next year's World Cup:

1. Brazil
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. Argentina
5. Columbia
6. Belgium
7. Switzerland
8. Uruguay

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/248425.html

It's spelled ColOmbia

 

[Buzz]

 

[Lorac]

Here are the top seeds for next year's World Cup:

1. Brazil
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. Argentina
5. Columbia
6. Belgium
7. Switzerland
8. Uruguay

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/248425.html

Uruguay still have to qualify however - though they are the favourites against Jordan

 

[Lara]

Lovely goals by Arsenal against Norwich! Shame the match was online-only, suspect NBC should have shown it instead of United (sorry Buzz).

 

[alexikeguchi]

As an Arsenal fan, I agree Lara! At least we now have the option of choosing which match to follow, plus you can switch if your original choice is dull. There were so many highlights in that match, but my favorite moment was Ramsey's Maradona followed by back heel pass.

 

[Buzz]

I only actually got to see the first half of the game because the station lost the feed for the 2nd half. Meanwhile in the Bundesliga there is a bit of an uproar over a "ghost goal". Leverkusen scored after someone headed the ball at the goal and it passed through a hole in the side of the net. I have never heard of thus before.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24589671

 

[Zokko!]

Also, my country needs a decent defense as soon as possible. When I started watching football, Germany always had an excellent defense and scored goals on set-pieces. Granted, they were also really boring. These days we score tons of beautiful goals, have tons of great attacking midfielders - but the defense is awful, and I can't remember the last time we scored a goal after a corner.

Totally agree! Seems one can't have it all ... prefer it this way, though.
At least as long "we" still score one more than the other guys ...
May "the Rumpel" never come back ....!

 

[Zokko!]

I only actually got to see the first half of the game because the station lost the feed for the 2nd half. Meanwhile in the Bundesliga there is a bit of an uproar over a "ghost goal". Leverkusen scored after someone headed the ball at the goal and it passed through a hole in the side of the net. I have never heard of thus before.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24589671

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...ch?v=AxekQcBH3pc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[wustfan]

The UEFA Playoff Draw:
Portugal vs Sweden
Ukraine vs France
Greece vs Romania
Iceland vs Croatia

 

[Buzz]

Poor Iceland!

 

[Buzz]

Some big money Indian investors are busy setting up a Super League Football tournament modelled after their Premier League Cricket tournament. They have signed some big names from the past and are hoping to start it up early next year. The idea has met with mixed reaction from Indian fans because some would like a lot more invested in the local game. But others think it is a good start. We shall see. India in so many ways is one of the last countries to be conquered by football so it would be nice to see any kind of progress.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...all-league-next-year/articleshow/24451118.cms

 

[Lara]

Is India big on any sport besides cricket I wonder?

 

[Buzz]

The answer to that I am afraid is nope. But these investors seems to think there is room for a 2nd sport. The problem is some critics believe it is all going to be about the spectacle rather than the sport of football itself and therefore do little to further the game in India. But I am very curious and maybe just maybe it is a step in the right direction.