2014 FIFA World Cup

[Slade]

I was very surprised Spain went out of the competition and it reminds me of France in 2002. They've been great over the last few years but I think this is the end of an era.

Chile looked very good against Spain although it annoyed me when the Spanish broke near the end and the Chilean player went down feigning injury and the Spanish player put the ball out of play. It was pure play acting and I not sure a team should be obliged to put the ball out if someone is out of commission.

Brazil were just awful against Mexico and they are going to have to play a lot better than this to win the competition. What really annoyed me is that Fred tried to win a penalty by diving again. Thankfully the referee didn't fall for it and he was lucky not to be booked.

Germany are looking really good although Pepe effectively ruined any chance Portugal had of getting back into the game. Even though Pepe was stupid for falling for it Muller still annoyed me though.

Agree with the comment about the British punditry although at least Alan Hansen's back. I hear RTE's coverage hasn't been too bad.

Pembie, although a win would be the best result for England they could lose and still go through. I think it will be a draw though.

[Red Ranger 1]

Oh...heck.That was the last thing we wanted, obviously.Played two, lost two.Only thing that can save us now is if Italy hammer both Costa Rica and Uruguay and we manage to beat Costa Rica next week and sneak through on goal difference.Anything other than an Italy win tomorrow and we're out.You just knew Suarez was going to score:Again, an equaliser gave us hope and the possibility of at least a draw but the overall feeling is that they weren't good enough.Still, good on the England players for taking harsh challenges on the chin and not joining in with the rolling around on the floor trying to get players booked.

In other news, yay for Croatia, who I'm feeling quite a bit of sympathy for, getting a good win under their belts.Topping the group might be a bit beyond them unless Brazil slip up against an underwhelming Cameroon but they've got a good chance of nicking second place.

[Jezz]

Big loss for England and I really struggle to see how they'll make it now but mathematically it's not impossible provided Italy and Costa Rica don't draw against one another.

Uruguay aren't a great side overall, but with Cavani and Suarez they were always going to be tough to match with in terms of their attack. England would be greatly disappointed this as both losses they've had have been narrow overall.

I was very surprised Spain went out of the competition and it reminds me of France in 2002. They've been great over the last few years but I think this is the end of an era.

Good comparison between the current Spanish team and the French team that bowed out in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup. I was thinking along the same lines as well about those two sides.

One thing I did feel hurt France in 2002 was not having Zinedine Zidane who retired from International Football at that stage but he came out of retirement to play in the 2006 World Cup and France ended up making the final but losing to Italy on penalties in the end so it's no coincidence he had a big influence and presence when he was playing with France during the years of 1998 to 2006.

[Slade]

One thing I did feel hurt France in 2002 was not having Zinedine Zidane who retired from International Football at that stage but he came out of retirement to play in the 2006 World Cup and France ended up making the final but losing to Italy on penalties in the end so it's no coincidence he had a big influence and presence when he was playing with France during the years of 1998 to 2006.

Oh absolutely. He was one of the best players France had ever had. It's a toss up as to whether he was better than Michel Platini but both were great. I remember at the time when Zidane was injured a couple of British pundits were saying that France were such a strong team they didn't need him but the reality is they wouldn't have won the world cup in 98, the Euros in 2000 and got to the final in 2006 without him.

Once again England were poor defensively. The cross that Cavani delivered to set up the first goal was weighted beautifully however not a single England player picked up Suarez and there were about 5 of them in the box. They were too busy ball watching.

This will sound cynical but I felt the only reason England got back into the game was because the Uruguayans sat back and defended. There was a spell for about 10 minutes after the beginning of the second half where they had 3 or 4 really good chances that should have been put away. Nevertheless England were back in it and a draw would have put them in not a bad position. Admittedly they would have relied on the Italian's to beat Costa Rica but their last game would be a lot easier than the Uruguayan's. Unfortunately Gerrard's flick-on header straight from a goal kick, which gifted Suarez the opportunity to score the winner means that England are virtually going home.

I think Italy will beat Costa Rica and if they do I can see them playing for a draw against Uruguay as they will only need a point to top the group. I can even see them resting one or two key players in preparation for the knockout stages. The way they've lost the first two games, I'm not sure England deserve to go through anyway. Not when you defend like that.

Have to say both Suarez and Cavani were outstanding. Suarez especially and so clinical. The premiership's top scorer and not 100% fit either. Looking forward to seeing what he can do against the Italians.

Saw Cahill's volley against the Netherlands. Great goal but can't decide whether it was better than Messi's effort against Bosnia.

I wouldn't underestimate the Mexican's. They've beaten Croatia before and it wouldn't surprise me if they and Brazil qualify from that group.

Congrats to Columbia who assured qualification to the second round with Greece and Japan drawing 0-0.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, that's that then.England go out at the group stage for the first time since 1958(although they didn't even qualify for three of the intervening competitions, 1994 being the most recent), leaving them with only pride to play for against Costa Rica who, on the strength of their first two results, will probably top the group.Anyone else thinking "1988 European Championship" here?Italy had better watch out:On the basis of that, I can see Uruguay beating them, with Costa Rica already qualified, and them joining us on the plane home.Feels a bit like everyone played really well against us and really badly against Costa Rica but that's the way it goes, I suppose.

[Slade]

I hadn't seen much of Costa Rica but I wasn't expecting them to play so well against the Italians. I guess this proves their result against Uruguay wasn't just a case of the Uruguayan's not playing well. England out. I'm kind of glad this has happened because I believe there's a much wider problem than them simply not being good enough which needs to be addressed. The Premiership has become totally commercialised so teams are under pressure to achieve instant success and rather than build up players via a youth system the managers just buy them because this is the simplest option (Can't blame the managers because they are only doing their jobs). Subsequently there's a shortage of home grown talent and I'm not sure there's anything Hodgson or any other manager can do about that. And unless things change it's only going to get worse.

Anyway with Italy losing, the Italy/Uruguay game will hopefully be a cracking match. The Uruguayan's have to beat the Italians but the Italian's don't have to beat Uruguay so I guess Italy can sit back and play on the break. But I think both teams have to go for it. I'm honestly not sure who will win but if Suarez is 100% fit and on form and they can stop Pirlo like the Costa Ricans then they have a chance.

Well, who would have thought that after scrapping past the Ukraine in a playoff match that France would be two for two and score 8 goals in their first two world cup games. They looked really good yesterday although I think what ended the game for the Swiss was when they conceded the second goal straight from the kickoff after conceding the first. They then had to come out and get a goal back which left them vulnerable on the counter which France exploited. And to think France scored 5 goals, missed a penalty, hit the crossbar and Benzema's effort at the end was denied because the referee blew the final whistle. So how far can France go? I'm not sure but if they can win the group and avoid Argentina (The pundits were already talking as if the Argentines had won the group yesterday and they haven't even qualified yet) then there's every chance of a quarter final birth awaiting them.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, England Reserves managed to get a point against Costa Rica and avoid a repeat of 1988's three defeats.Good on Hodgson for giving the rest of the team a run-out, although I was surprised he didn't give Lambert some more game time.Not a complete disaster but a disappointment and there's a few players there who I doubt will still be around in 2016 and a few others that are a bit ordinary. Meanwhile, Uruguay send Italy home, so I got one prediction right and maybe my tipping them to go far wasn't as silly as it seemed.The European teams do seem to be the ones going out, there's only Netherlands and Greece made it through from the four groups finished(the latter thanks to a last minute penalty)with France and Belgium already through from the other groups and only Germany and possibly Switzerland really likely to join them.

On the plus side, "Norwich City's Leroy Fer", which seems to be his full name at the moment, scored for the Netherlands within two minutes of coming on, so at least there's one person left in the tournament for me to cheer for when I've finished going "Why doesn't he do that for us?"(Okay, I think he did once.Once.)Bye bye, Croatia, after they flopped against Mexico.In fact there's a few teams making heavy weather, with Argentina needing a goal in injury time to clinch qualification and Germany unable to get a win against Ghana.The Germany/USA game could potentially be interesting unless they realise a draw will mean they both qualify and decide to sit back.

[Jezz]

So England managed a point in the end to an in-form Costa Rica in what has proven to be a disappointing campaign for them.

Great win by Uruguay against Italy, and Italy would be really disappointed to fall short of qualifying for the knockout stages for the second consecutive World Cup. They also missed out in 2010 as well, but the big talking point was the incident involving Luis Suarez allegedly 'biting' Italy's Giorgio Cheillini which goes to show that Suarez has been a repeat offender of this with him biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic last year in the EPL and also he did it once in Holland when he was playing with Ajax. I've been hearing some rumours about Suarez being possibly banned for two years from playing for Uruguay, but this ban doesn't include a domestic ban. Suarez is a fantastic player but he's got a terrible reputation that follows him and this won't improve it whatsoever. The footage and the images shown after the incident seem clearcut and here's an image courtesy of the Independent with what appears to be 'bite' marks on Chiellini's shoulder.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/worldcup/luis-suarez-bite-uruguay-striker-accused-of-biting-giorgio-chiellini-in-latest-controversy-during-world-cup-clash-9560650.html

Amazing victory by Greece to qualify in the end to the knockout stages against the Ivory Coast. Dramatic finish and I'm still staggered by how they made it, but I think based on form Costa Rica will take care of them.

Colombia are proving that they thoroughly deserve to be in the last 16 after an impressive 4-1 victory over a disappointing Japan.

[Slade]

I was far from impressed with Brazil against Mexico and even though they beat Cameroon comfortably I wasn't entirely convinced with that performance either. Similarly Argentina were uninspiring against Iran. Iran had defended really well and had three really good chances that should have been put away and you wonder against a better side if the Argentines would have been a goal down. Although Messi showed a couple of moments of brilliance against Nigeria when they took him off you could notice the difference.

The problem with both Brazil and Argentina is without their star players (Neymah and Messi respectively) you wonder where the goals are going to come from and at the back both teams look shaky. I don't suppose either team will really be tested until the quarter finals though. I would expect Argentina to beat Switzerland and as good a Chilie are, Brazil to beat them comfortably.

Ghana were brilliant against Germany but I do think the Germans had an off day. And it will be a completely different kettle of fish once they reach the knockout stages. They are usually pretty strong, very rarely lose to non European opposition and since I've been watching the world cup, can only think of twice where they have lost to non European teams - Argentina in 86 and Brazil in 2002.

Holland are looking good too, scoring 10 goals in 3 games and I fancy them to do well in this competition.

Suarez is finished. There is something seriously wrong with him. It's not as if Cheilini did anything worse than usual. TBH Suarez probably would have been better off just decking him. I don't think it's a question of whether FIFA will ban him but how long for? Not sure Liverpool will want him back either.

A lot of people have made the point the Greece are a very negative team but I think they deserved to win against the Ivory Coast. They scored two goals, hit the crossbar twice and the post.

The South American teams are doing pretty well in this tournament, I have to say.

[haaf14]

My word Saurez never learns does he? This time he should go get significant ban this time and there is no defence for what he has done.

I think England played well patches but the defence has let them down but lets be honest give it another 2 years at the Euro's and we will back to square one again. It happens after each tournament. Something drastic needs to change for England to compete with the big boys.

I've really enjoyed this World Cup more so than the last one is South Africa. USA game against Germany is the best game today and it will be interested to see how both teams approach it as they both need a draw to go through.

No team has stood out but what I will say Slade is that individual brilliance from Messi or Neymar can easily lift a team to perform better. Argentina and Brazil haven't been special but all it takes is that one little spark to turn the fortunes round for a team like Brazil or Argentina.