[ds968]

Phew, the release of the collective tension in Holland must have sent a shock wave ( much like the F1 cars exiting the tunnel in Monaco ) felt all the way to Bulti's back yard :-).

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[Bulti]

It was like the ball was cursed or something: it would NOT go into that goal. Congrats Holland!

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[ds968]

In addition, Navas is very good so that helped keep the ball out of the net. And the there were four.....



Jake, how did your predictions fare for these matches, and what are the next ones ?

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[Langley968]

Got all four right.

Holland will beat Argentina

Brazil will beat Germany

Final will be Holland x Brazil

Who will win? I will be torn cheering for both sides. May the best side win!

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[Langley968]

After some careful examination, I see that Argentina is the only team that has won all their games. Maybe they will continue this run and cause the biggest heartache imaginable for the Brazilians: Argentina world champion on Brazilian soil, The first time Brazil hosted the cup (1950), neighbouring Uruguay stole the show. Will another neighbour repeat the feat....

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[Bulti]

Saw the video of the Argentinians singing about Brazil in their changing room? They're not exactly friends of each other. Could be a great final!

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[ds968]

Messi will have to do all the work himself ( and it's no easy task without DiMaria ) just to get to the final ...and if they get there, the team will rely on him to repeat that feat. Ugh, tough ! But I suppose there's no greater chance to prove himself as the best player in the world.

No easy task for Brasil either without Neymar, or Thiago Silva but IMO, and many will disagree with me especially when it comes to Neymar, neither one of them is as instrumental to the team as DiMaria is to Argentina. Still, I think Germany will win the semi, and Argentina the other. Only because Netherlands is inconsistent so you have no idea whether they'll be brilliant on that day, or just so-so, Argentina has been pretty solid all along. As to who I'd LIKE to see win the cup , between those four : it's the Netherlands . All the others already have cups to their names it's time for Holland to get one also after so many close calls ... But for that to happen they have to play their best game and hope the opponents have a few weak moments as well.

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[Langley968]

The strategy of the Dutch coach to bring in a substitute goalie was brilliant! While warming up, I saw the assistant coach was yelling something and the goalie would move his arms either right or left. I think the assistant coach was yelling out the Costa Rica player numbers (or names) and he was then diving right or left. Tim Krul dove the correct way on all 5 Costa Rica penalty shots and as a result he saved two! Just brilliant!

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[ds968]

Agreed , I don't recall ever seeing that done before in a World Cup but brilliant indeed. Two things : having played as a GK in leagues since I was about 10 and ultimately as a pro for a bit ( only six months, and in the US, but stil..) I know this : just as is the case with field players who excell at a particular thing ( such as free kicks for example ) vs. others, there are also goalkeepers who are better than others at PKs. Secondly, this is a psychological mind-f**k game as much as anything and just the switch alone can play enough tricks and doubt on the PK taker's mind need to botch what might be otherwise a flawless kick. The pressure is ALL on the taker, never the GK so mindset is crucial. To Van Gaal : Well played sir, well played !

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[shinrai]

wow!..10 pages on a 968 forum.



The Cup has been exciting indeed. I managed to get to 3 of the games in the opening round at Itaquerao in Sao Paulo.



The energy has been amazing and the country has been transformed.. albeit temporarily. If anybody is currently out this way send me a PM.



I trust Germany will overcome Brazil in this afternoon´s game. A Brazil / Argentina final would undoubtedly be the most epic battle in our lifetime but I imagine it would only lead to further hostility between the two nations. A Brazil win would bring temporary euphoria to the country but has the potential to have an extremely negative impact on the future of Brazil. But that´s another matter.



Go Germany!



I missed the opening game of the tourney because I was on a plane out to the East Coast of Canada to meet a very special gentleman with a very special car. Its new home will be in the Toronto area. It was a pleasure to be up there and to be the new caretaker of a perfect amazon green ´93. I´ll post more in the future and it´s great to be back on this forum.

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[Bulti]

Brazil minus Nymar equals Deutschland in the final.

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[Langley968]

I am hoping that the Brazilian team will play with a "Let's do it for Neymar" attitude. As a result, EVERYONE plays at their top potential and they simply overwhelm the Germans.

Yet... I am afraid that the Germans will implement their stoic game plan, frustrate the Brazilians, causing them to make mistakes and then punish them with a goal or two.

Going out for munch with the boss to watch the game live at a local watering hole...

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[ds968]

IMO, Germany is a far superior team to Brasil ( yikes, did I just use the word "superior" associated with Germany ?! Faux pas ;-) ) , with or without Neymar. Brasil has a handful of players on the bench just as effective as Neymar, albeit not as flashy . However, the weather will be the biggest factor, and the crowd is the other key factor. If this game would be played today in Munich tne result would be 6-0 for Germany ..but we're not in Munich :-).

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[ds968]

Holy crap, I may have jinxed Brasil with my 6-0 remark...

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[Bulti]

... And 0-4 advantage Germania. Ouch!

0-5 WTF?

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[ds968]

Is that the Brazilian defense playing on the field , or the 1939 Polish armored division ?!

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[Bulti]

[quote name='ds968' timestamp='1404851293' post='159808']Holy crap, I may have jinxed Brasil with my 6-0 remark...[/quote]



Making quite accurate prognosises there DS. HOLY COW



0-6



Even the Polish offered SOME resistance, with their horses and everything. Lol. Good one Dan.

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[Bulti]

0-7. Olé!



I must be dreaming, this just can't be real.

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[Bulti]

Just for the record: 1-7.



People around the world will talk many years about this game. My god.

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[biosurfer1]

That was ugly...Brazil looked like 10 year olds against the Germans

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