FIFA WC Soccer 2014 , GROUP B (Netherlands, Spain, Chile, Australia): All previews, reviews and matches thread

BengaliPagol · #2 June 12, 2014, 05:11 AM

Australia have got dis.

Sohel · #3 June 13, 2014, 12:19 AM

I was disappointed by the Netherlands throughout the last World Cup. Led by that extreme douchebag Van Bommel, they deviated from their traditional commitment to "total football 2.0" and played dirty soccer like a bunch of Argentines. Cheating, diving, fouling, being melodramatic and what not. But they did stay away from doing drugs, fathering bastards, racism, and other fine Argentine traditions we've come to know so well. Sadly, none of their forwards matched the flair and skill which makes Argentine soccer bearable at moments. Robben despite his incessant whining and diving was still fun to watch. Van Persie played like a spaz. I hope they don't play like that and just crush Spain's annoying tiki-taka nonsense with a pacy and direct approach! This is a rematch of the 2010 final and the Dutch better have an effective plan they can execute. That said, I see this probable war of attrition ending in a 0-0 draw.

Team Profile: NETHERLANDS

Team Profile: SPAIN

Sohel · #4 June 13, 2014, 12:26 AM

I have strong personal ties to Chile and want them to do well. Spent a lot of time financing businesses and projects there on behalf of my employers during the 90s, and witnessed their democracy-driven, pro-worker, rapid development first hand. I admire the place but cannot overcome my desire to see any underdog do well. In this game Australia are the underdogs. That said, I think Chile will win this 2-1.

Team Profile: CHILE

Team Profile: Australia

**Zunaid** · #5 June 13, 2014, 02:46 PM

What a brilliant header by van Persie for the equalizer. 1-1 so far.

shaad · #6 June 13, 2014, 02:50 PM

IMO, van Persie's header has been the goal of the tournament so far.

shaad · #7 June 13, 2014, 03:59 PM

My father-in-law (Dutch) is going to be a very happy man today.

This was an utter demolition of an once-feared team. By the end, you could see that the Spanish were psychologically shattered: no longer playing tiki-taki football, just trying to kick the ball out of the field whenever the Dutch attacked.

BengaliPagol · #8 June 13, 2014, 04:14 PM

jesus christ netherlands absolutely humilating the world champions

iDumb · #9 June 13, 2014, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaad
My father-in-law (Dutch) is going to be a very happy man today.

This was an utter demolition of an once-feared team. By the end, you could see that the Spanish were psychologically shattered: no longer playing tiki-taki football, just trying to kick the ball out of the field whenever the Dutch attacked.

shaad bhai the way the way netherland played attacking game today, if they continue like this, tell your father in law, this may finally be it.....

dutch will no longer be underachievers...hopefully his daughter didnt underachieve there with her man :p

shaad · #10 June 13, 2014, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDumb
dutch will no longer be underachievers...hopefully his daughter didnt underachieve there with her man :p

ROFL!

BengaliPagol · #11 June 13, 2014, 07:05 PM

Wow what a match. Im proud of the effort the Socceroos displayed today. Despite the scoreline they were definitely troubling the Chileans and were definitely displaying a lot of heart on the field. On paper Australia are easily the worst team but are also also one of the youngest teams in the world cup but were still able to really display a good fight against a class Chilean side. Cahill's headed goal was fantastic and showed why he is the best headerer of the ball in the world. Oar and Leckie displayed a lot of pace on the wings and Bresciano created fantastic opportunities for our forwards. The scoreline was 2-1 throughout majority of the game and my heart sank when Cahill's goal was given offside or it could have easily been 2-2. Bresciano had a fantastic opportunity to score as well. Besides the attack the players defended very well in one on one situations and also put in some great challenges. Overall a lot of positives to take from this match and i hope we show a lot of heart in the next coming matches. And one thing to note we are ahead of Spain in our group

Sohel · #12 June 14, 2014, 12:27 AM

Boy, was I ever wrong about the Holland-Spain game! Not a war of attrition at all because the Dutch simply didn't allow Spain to carry on with their negative, tiki-taka faizlami. They were physical and strong on the ball, and pacy enough to expose and penetrate the rattled defensive structure Spain simply could hold together. The score could easily have been 7-1 or 8-1. Unless they're peaking too soon, impossible to tell so soon, they're likely to go far with this kind of positive approach.

Chile was simply the superior side technically and tactically, but give the Aussies an "A" for effort. Sadly that kind of effort doesn't show up in your transcript unless you're Australian. I think we'll see two more "A"s like this before they go back down under with three defeats.

Holland, Chile and Spain all have the chance to finish 1-2 and move into the next round but only two can. I'd love to see Chile as one of those teams but that may not happen.

shaad · #13 June 14, 2014, 08:35 AM

My two worries with Chile are:

They get too caught up with intricate passes in front of the opponent's goal to actually score.
They put so many players forward on the attack that there are major gaps in defense. A more ruthless team like the Dutch, or even the Spaniards, would take advantage of those defensive lapses.

That said, I would love to see the Netherlands and Chile qualify out of this group at the expense of the tiki-taki dilettantes.

BengaliPagol · #14 June 18, 2014, 03:41 AM

Definitely the odds of the Socceroos defeating Netherlands are stacked against the Socceroos. But the last match the Socceroos showed that they are capable of. Sometimes even though your team does not have the quality, you as a fan just need to believe. All the Socceroos fans want is the players to play with a lot of heart and give it everything they got. We as fans just want to see a never give up attitude. I want to see the effort from the boys and you never know a win or a draw might happen. Stranger things have happened in football. After all apparently the Netherlands have never beaten the Socceroos. So the luck may just sway towards Australia tonight.

al-Sagar · #15 June 18, 2014, 10:52 AM

Line ups

Australia: Ryan, Davidson, Cahill, Spiranovic, Leckie, Oar, Jedniak, McKay, McGowan, Wilkinson, Bresciano.

Netherlands: Cillessen, Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind, De Jong, Janmaat, De Guzman, Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben.