World Cup Group A - Brazil, Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico

[NWND]

because paulie is obviously better

 

[milo]

But he's played like that for a year now only exception being Stoke at home but then it's Stoke.....at home!

Players having a run of bad form and recovering does happen though.

I cannot pretend to have seen much of him before last summer's confederations cup, I suspect that is the case for most of us, but he came to us highly rated by many who know a bit about the game.

It is possible that he's always been ****, it's possible that he used to be good but has lost it and there is a chance that he used to be good, has struggled over the last year but will cone good again. I don't know which it is.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Fapatalk

 

[Spurs7891]

Well done to Mexico for finiding their goal scoring form and progressing to the next round. Really enjoyed their performance in the second half as they showed their old form of attractive football. But unlike the past, Mexico have found it difficult to score goals in this WC and scoring 3 goals against Croatia will go a long way to improve that. The fact even Hernandez scored a goal will help their cause. But Mexico were again unfairly treated by the ref as they had a genuine penalty appeal turned down when the score was 0-0 in the second half. Hernandez's shot clearly hit the arm of a Croatia player and should have been a penalty. Fortunately for Mexico they didn't let that affect them can went on to score 3 goals. But that penalty and the 2 legitimate goals wrongly ruled offside against Cameroon, could have put Mexico above Brazil in the standings. Instead, the referees' blunders means Mexico stay 2nd and have to meet Netherlands in the Second Round which will be very difficult.

For a while, thought Brazil will embarass themselves by letting Mexico go above them. But they managed to recover in time. Wish Brazil will meet Netherlands in the Second Round as that would have given them chance to get revenge on Netherlands for beating them in the Quarter Finals in 2010. Don't think Chile will give them much problem in the next round. Unlike Netherlands, Chile don't seem to have any ambition of winning the WC.

 

[indianspur]

Chile have plenty of ambition to win the WC....they like all the south american nations feel they have a chance.

 

[Spurs7891]

Chile have plenty of ambition to win the WC....they like all the south american nations feel they have a chance.

Ofcourse all the nations want to win the WC. But only a few have the quality and the mentality to do that. Chile may have the the quality but don't think they have the mentality. They played like champions against Spain but played like school boys against Netherlands. They hardly showed any urgency to score the goals to beat Netherlands and avoid Brazil. Brazil have 100% record(played 3, won 3) against Chile in WC history. That should have fired up Chile to try to avoid them. But they didn't and now they can forget about going further.

 

[DHSF]

Ofcourse all the nations want to win the WC. But only a few have the quality and the mentality to do that. Chile may have the the quality but don't think they have the mentality. They played like champions against Spain but played like school boys against Netherlands. They hardly showed any urgency to score the goals to beat Netherlands and avoid Brazil. Brazil have 100% record(played 3, won 3) against Chile in WC history. That should have fired up Chile to try to avoid them. But they didn't and now they can forget about going further.

Dont underestimate Mexico, I think they are much more organised defensively than Brazil are and Chile will cause their defence more problems than they would Mexico. Thats my view. I agree with your notion but dont think the tie is cut and dry.

 

[Superted]

I ****ing love how Brazil do their national anthem by the way, turning off the tape and letting the crowd finish it off with the players shouting at the top of their lungs. Goosebumps.

 

[Seedy Ron]

It's a bit of a dirge though, almost as bad as GHod Save The Queen.

The Commies/Yanks/French know how to do a national anthem.

 

[Superted]

If you turned GSTQ off half way through and had the crowd sing it like you normally do any football song, it would be victorious, happy and glorious.

 

[Seedy Ron]

Doubt it. Do you remember when they played us 2 verses of GSTQ at one of these things, and no one knew verse 2? All stood there looking confused :lol:

We should all learn the verse about crushing the Scots, put that back in as soon as they ditch us.

 

[Superted]

There's a second verse?

 

[Seedy Ron]

Yeah there's loads of different verses, could be there all night if they wanted to be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
GHod save The Queen.

Let's bring it back

 

[NWND]

I love winding my Scottish mates up about that verse. Also if you have any Welsh mates, that the word 'welsh' comes from the old English word for 'foreigner' or 'slave' muahahahha

 

[braineclipse]

Ofcourse all the nations want to win the WC. But only a few have the quality and the mentality to do that. Chile may have the the quality but don't think they have the mentality. They played like champions against Spain but played like school boys against Netherlands. They hardly showed any urgency to score the goals to beat Netherlands and avoid Brazil. Brazil have 100% record(played 3, won 3) against Chile in WC history. That should have fired up Chile to try to avoid them. But they didn't and now they can forget about going further.

I didn't watch the Holland-Chile game, but I think it could be argued that Chile are more likely to do well after taking "a game off" and playing against a slightly better, but under pressure Brazil than to run themselves into the ground trying to beat Holland in an attempt to face a slightly worse, but confident and relaxed Mexico.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Brazil midfielder Fernandinho betters Paulinho against Cameroon but which will Luiz Felipe Scolari choose? - Telegraph

...Having been a mainstay of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Seleçao for two years, Paulinho’s time may be up. Against Cameroon on Monday night, he was substituted at half-time to make way for Fernandinho. Zico has been critical of him in recent days, writing in The Guardian: “He is a shadow of the player who last year proved so important in creative and defensive duties. It’s blatantly clear he lacks rhythm and confidence.”

Fortunately for the rest of us, the timing of the substitution allows us to make a handy comparison of the two players. How did Paulinho in the first half stack up against Fernandinho in the second?

Again, on the face of things, it was no contest. Fernandinho helped create Brazil’s third goal, scored the fourth himself, and gave a poise and thrust to Brazil’s midfield that had been so lacking in the first half, when Cameroon briefly threatened a major upset.

And yet, you could also see why Scolari is so enamoured with Paulinho. He runs. He runs and runs. According to the official Fifa statistics after the game, Paulinho covered more ground than Fernandinho, and at a higher pace. Of all his runs, 14 per cent were at “high-intensity” – more than any other player on the pitch. Team-mates love playing with Paulinho. He makes everyone’s job just a little easier.

The problem comes when he gets near the ball. In terms of tackling, passing and creativity, Fernandinho beat him hands down. You could argue that Cameroon faded in the second half, giving Fernandinho more room to play. Still, the statistics tell their own story. Fernandinho’s 22 passes were as many as Paulinho achieved in the entire goalless draw with Mexico. Also, most of Fernandinho’s passes were medium-range passes, the sort that can switch play quickly or form the springboard to a counter-attack. He is also quicker than Paulinho over a short distance.