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[johnslat]

Well, Brazil got through, but at a big cost. Without Neymar, will they be able to defeat Germany?

As for the others:

"ARGENTINA vs. BELGIUM

Lionel Messi has faced Thibaut Courtois plenty of times in club competitions, and the Belgium goalkeeper has a habit of getting the better of the four-time player of the year.

In fact, Courtois has kept Messi scoreless the last seven times his Atletico Madrid faced Barcelona. If he can do it again, Belgium will have every chance of reaching the semifinals for the first time since 1986 — when it was eliminated by Argentina.

Messi has scored four of Argentina's seven goals in the tournament so far and set up two of the others — including Angel Di Maria's extra-time winner against Switzerland in the second round.

Belgium is hoping a collective effort will be able to outshine one outstanding individual.

"I don't want to depend on a single player, I want to depend on many," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said. "That is one of our strengths."

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella also insists there are more players who can make the difference for his team, even though striker Gonzalo Higuain is scoreless in Brazil and Sergio Aguero is injured.

"Obviously he (Messi) is the best player in the world but there is teamwork," Sabella said. "It's a team that supports Messi, makes him stronger, makes him feel well. And, therefore, Messi performs as he's doing."

And while Argentina vs. Belgium is about much more than Messi vs. Courtois, the winner of that matchup will go a long way toward deciding which team reaches the last four.

Venue: Brasilia. Kickoff 1 p.m. local time (noon in New York, 5 p.m. London, 1 a.m. Tokyo)

___

NETHERLANDS vs. COSTA RICA

Few outsiders give Costa Rica much of a chance of knocking off the free-scoring Netherlands and extending its best-ever run at a World Cup. Then again, few people gave it much of a chance of getting out of the group stage, much less into the quarterfinals.

Costa Rica has been the little team that could at this World Cup, beating Uruguay and Italy to advance from a tough Group D and then ousting Greece in a penalty shootout.

Can it pull off yet another upset win?

"We want to keep writing history," Costa Rica midfielder Johnny Acosta said. "In 90 or 120 minutes, we will see which is the better team."

Most would say that's the Netherlands, which reached the final in 2010 and stunned defending champion Spain with a 5-1 win in their opening match in Brazil. While the Dutch haven't been quite as rampant since then, they've racked up a tournament-leading 12 goals so far despite often playing in a formation with five defenders.

Costa Rica, though, has only allowed two goals en route to its first quarterfinal appearance, despite facing three former world champions in the group stage.

"We should not underestimate Costa Rica at all. I think it's going to be a very tough match," injured midfielder Nigel de Jong said. "Costa Rica got here with a lot of passion and belief and, of course, they're playing without pressure, so we should not take them lightly."

Venue: Salvador. Kickoff 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. in New York, 9 p.m. London, 5 a.m. Tokyo)"

I suppose the smart money is on the Netherlands and Argentina. But wouldn't it be nice if Costa Rica, which didn't ever make it on the poll above, took it all?

Regards,
John

P.S. 90 minutes into the match and it's Costa Rica: 0, Netherlands: 0

P.P.S. Aaarrggh - so close: Netherlands (0) 4 - Costa Rica: (0) 3

[fat_chris]

[spiral78]

Oh, wow. Poor Brazil!!!

I was rather hoping they'd pull out a big win, given how much the Brazilian people have sacrificed for these games. But wow.

fat_chris is at least having some joy:-)

And, frankly, I'm usually a Germany fan. Just feel bad that the whole country of Brazil had so much riding on this long-term, beyond the actual games themselves.

[johnslat]

Wow - indeed: Germany 7, Brazil 1

Regards,
John

[JoeKing]

[JoeKing]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/08/sport/football/world-cup-brazil-germany-football/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Beaten, battered and bloodied and this a nation which had not lost a competitive home game since 1975, Brazil conceded five times in 18 minutes during the first half as Germany ran riot.

As Brazilian fans began to leave Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Schurrle netted a spectacular seventh to inflict the nation's heaviest ever defeat.

[JoeKing]

http://www.brasilpost.com.br/2014/07/08/bandeira-vila-madalena_n_5568515.html?utm_hp_ref=brazil

indignant supporters burn flag of Brazil in Vila Madalena

(in portuguese)

[Shroob]

To be honest I'm glad Brazil lost. Yeah, it's a big disappointment for their fans, but they should have gone out against Colombia. The ref was terrible and Brazil were dirty.

[fat_chris]

That there Brazil match...it's not Portuguese but...

¡Ay, caramba!



So...Germany vs. whom? I guess we'll find out soon. The Netherlands vs. Argentina could be a doozy.

scot47, indeed, I am happy.

Looks like I can continue to chirp the tune with which I started this whole thread: I still say Germany breaks the "curse" of European sides not winning in Latin America and they hoist their first Cup trophy in 24 years on July 13th.

Well...it seems that Deutschland gets their Cup every 20 years or so: 1954, 1974, 1990...2014?



Warm regards,
fat_chris

[Mushkilla]

What's wrong with Brazil?

Wednesday will be great day for Brazilian psychologists and cardiologist!

Let's see today what will happen with Argentina vs Netherlands?

Will history of yesterday repeats itself today?

[johnslat]

The not-so-beautiful game:

"But it is understood that by the time the latest information filtered up to FIFA’s security hierarchy in Brazil, the two referees in question had already officiated matches.

The suspicions surrounding the officials are linked to historic games involving the ‘double whammy’ identifiers of unusual in-game incidents matched with highly unusual betting.

FIFA responded to Mail on Sunday questions about the allegedly corrupt officials by saying: ‘It is important to note that we have no indications that the integrity of the FIFA World Cup has been compromised.’

There was no denial the information had been received or that it was considered serious.

‘Generally speaking, we are not in a position to comment or provide information on any match-manipulation investigations that are ongoing so as not to compromise investigations, nor do we provide any comments as to whether or not any investigations are underway,’ said a spokesman."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2682117/Two-referees-World-Cup-suspected-match-fixing-FIFA-past-allegations-tournament-started.html

Regards,
John

[johnslat]

Extra time again - Anyone want to bet against Germany in the finals?


Regards,
John

[Mushkilla]

Argentina.

[Mushkilla]

It seems football is like politics and vice versa!

[fat_chris]