FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

It's not the end yet as German and Spain still have to face Uruguay and Netherlands respectively. But the match tonight brought Netherland and Spain to cup, closer than ever

And Klose still has a chance to break a record.

Well then, good night folks (tomorrow... gah I still have to solve that algorithmic problem that almost gives me nightmares... I hoped the game would help me to forget about it until tomorrow )

[risingstar3110]

So the race for top scorer still hold with Villa and Sneijder at 5; and Muller, Forlán and Klose at 4

[Bombo]

Grats for spain..They really deserve to go to the final..

about THE OCTOPUS....anyone have a gun with him!?

[Vicious108]

Spain 1-0 Portugal
Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Spain 1-0 Germany

And people say the Germans play clinical football. At least they scored 4 in both the last 16 and quarter finals.

Oh well. My ideal final was Uruguay vs Germany, so I guess I'll still see that game happen... only with half the excitement. T_T

[Solafighter]

Good game. Spain was the better team. Congrats to them.

[Ahiru77]

I wanted Netherlands vs Germany. ;_;

[imbehindyou]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Oh well. My ideal final was Uruguay vs Germany, so I guess I'll still see that game happen... only with half the excitement. T_T

This
;_;

Oh well, Spain played better, but for them to miss soooooooooooo many chances.... and.. lack of Muller really hurt for Germany.

I guess I'll be supporting Netherlands in the finals.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Spain 1-0 Portugal
Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Spain 1-0 Germany

How does the saying go? An inch of steel in the right place is all it takes to kill a man.

That said, the one-goal scorelines of Spain's matches against Portugal and Paraguay do not flatter them, especially in the game against Paraguay. This time round, however, it's a fair result, given how disciplined Germany's defence was — they gave away no chances and, any space there was, Spain had to create through sheer hard work.

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

And people say the Germans play clinical football. At least they scored 4 in both the last 16 and quarter finals.

Four goals each against Australia and England are, on hindsight, a fair reflection of those ageing teams' relative quality versus Germany. The four goals against Argentina, that was a shock indeed but, again, maybe not so surprising as many people had pointed out before that Argentina's back line had its weaknesses.

Spain's defence tonight, on the other hand, displayed few, if any, of those flaws. Both sides defended with great discipline, but because Spain kept the momentum throughout the match, the goal was eventually scored by them.

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Oh well. My ideal final was Uruguay vs Germany, so I guess I'll still see that game happen... only with half the excitement. T_T

I greatly fancy Germany's chances against Uruguay, but in this World Cup, it seems anything can happen. Still, Germany are definitely the odds-on favourites for that match.

Spain v Netherlands, though, I wonder. The Dutch have shown themselves to be tough opponents. They may not be as technically skillful as the Spaniards, but they're not afraid to brawl for a win. And, hey, if they can take down Brazil, there's every chance they can take down Spain too.

[Poetic Justice]

Yes!!! Go spain!!!

Germany's win against argentina lay solely on the fact that they were able to counter, This match showed just how weak they were when facing a strong defensive side.

Spain's passing is superb, They dominated the game giving germany very few chances to score.

Also pedro was a selfish ass, Could have been 2-0.

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by Poetic Justice

Germany's win against argentina lay solely on the fact that they were able to counter, This match showed just how weak they were when facing a strong defensive side.

I wonder why some people seem to have no sense of moderation. Germany was able to create chances against defensive sides just fine - even against Spain. If Kroos had scored his big chance, Germany would have made it to the finals. Calling Germany "weak" against strong defensive sides is just plain silly.

As a rule of thumb, there are no "weak" teams in the semis of a world cup. With Spain, the better of two strong teams advanced to the finals, and it was well-deserved.

[Mystique]

Happy day, OH HAPPY DAY!

The match favourites were beaten (based on current performances, it was weighing heavily on a German win)
But he must have grabbed his team by the calzones and run them ragged in the last two days.
Hee hee eitherway.

I GOT THE FINAL I WANTED, GO UNDERDOGS!

(and before anyone claims that Spain were never the underdogs)
In relation to the performances of the quarter finals, Spain were obviously weaker, hence it was lying in favour to Germany especially after annihilating Argentina.
Even the Spanish manager admitted this.
Same goes for Holland, people were sure on a Brazil "win" but it didn't turn out this way.
I have a sadistic desireto see the "obvious" belief based on hype being not only broken but smashed to little bitty pieces, it makes me heart warm, lol.
2010 WC has proven that "anything can happen in life", in this case, within a crucial 90mins

The general hype has once again been broken, another Cupset has occurred and both teams who have never won the World Cup before, make it to the finals (as it should be!)
There will be a different kind of drive and energy now for both teams that I hope to see for a fantastic final for 2010.
Here's hoping.

I couldn't stay up and watch this semi-finals, but I definitely will stay up for the final that I've been wanting ever since my favourite teams have lost.

Congrats to Spain and to Holland, may the best team win on Sunday!

And for Germans, well... I guess there is always the runner up match on Saturday


*mystie dances out of the thread looking for a spaniard to flamenco with*

[monir]

Originally Posted by Mentar

I wonder why some people seem to have no sense of moderation. Germany was able to create chances against defensive sides just fine - even against Spain. If Kroos had scored his big chance, Germany would have made it to the finals. Calling Germany "weak" against strong defensive sides is just plain silly.

I think the only "weakness" German showed was their inability to break away which they materialized at will in the previous matches. German really really missed Muller. We will find out by how much in their next match.

[ZGoten]

So, 0 - 1...if I'm not mistaken, that means Germany lost, right?
Oh well, it's just football. Now I'm looking forward to the real deal, Evo2k10! There won't be many Germans, but Daigo is all I need to root for. :O

[NakedAngelX]

Cook the octopus!!! T.T.....

But the result has been decided, 2:1 Holland:Spain

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Calling Germany "weak" against strong defensive sides is just plain silly.

Indeed. There was a moment in the first half when Germany managed to seize possession and the sudden surge of at least five players towards an almost empty Spanish half was scary to behold. It looked like blitzkrieg.

But it is perplexing why the team were so content to let Spain dominate possession, especially in the first half. Is it really a case of "too much respect" for Spain? I've been coming across so many comments about how "ugly" football wins games nowadays. That's partly why I don't quite enjoy the way Netherlands have been playing. At least they've started to show a bit more flair now, so it's not going to be a grinding World Cup finale, I hope.

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

But it is perplexing why the team were so content to let Spain dominate possession, especially in the first half. Is it really a case of "too much respect" for Spain? I've been coming across so many comments about how "ugly" football wins games nowadays. That's partly why I don't quite enjoy the way Netherlands have been playing. At least they've started to show a bit more flair now, so it's not going to be a grinding World Cup finale, I hope.

Did you see what happened when Germany had to open up in order to chase the equalizer? With which ease Spain played deadly passes from their defense to run fast breaks? You cannot risk an open slugfest against Spain like that, they're WAY too strong and technically savvy for that. Against Spain you MUST play from a solid defense.

One of Germany's main weapons - pressing - is ineffective against a team as technically strong as Spain. Therefore they had to be very very careful. I'd say they correctly played the game they had to, until the great header decided things.

That's why I find your remark so funny, Mystie. Naturally both trainers were praising the opponents. But people familiar with both teams could predict that this would be a very very difficult game, and Germany certainly wasn't the favorite going into this. Spain is the Euro champion from 2008, and my top favorite to win it all from the beginning of the tourney.

Holland definitely has a decent chance (like Germany), but if I had to bet my farm, it would be on Spain.

[Shinndou]

How on earth can Spain be considered an underdog by people is beyond me.

We're talking about the current european champions, also fielding 2/3 of F.C Barcelona.

UNDERDOGS?!?!
The only underdog in the top 4 was Uruguay, and to some extent Netherlands (although they do have players with enormous international experience).

Congrats to Spain though, they fully deserved the win today.

[Poetic Justice]

Germany were the clear favorites for the majority after they beat argentina 4-0.

[Shinndou]

Being favorites doesn't mean the opponent is an "underdog". We're talking about the semifinals, not about group stage. That, and no matter how Spain performed prior to today's game, there's a reason why they made it that far.

A team with Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, Sergio Ramos, Casillas, Puyol, Torres is a team of underdogs?!?!

o_o

Out of the absurdities I've read during this World Cup this has got to be one of the biggest

[Velsy]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Spain were the favourits to win the world cup before the competition started right ? Well being the favourits doesnt mean you will make the last 2. But it still takes alot of effort to beat the other 30 teams to the final as favourits.

mmm Holland to win 2 - 1. Be nice if they are down 1 - 0 at half time O_O