FIFA World Cup 2014

[Casperian]

Ouch

Ivory Coast 1 - 1 Greece

[ederson]

Oh man...  Third time the ball hits on a post...  We could use a bit of luck

[Casperian]

Colombia 3 - 1 Japan

[Casperian]

OMG

[Who]

Oh my gosh, penalty for Greece! ... in added time!

Goal !!! Samaras!

[ederson]

It was not a penalty

[Casperian]

It was not a penalty

I'm not so sure, neither is the german commentator.

Looked like the IC defender touched him before he tripped

[Casperian]

Colombia 4 - 1 Japan
Ivory Coast 1 - 2 Greece

Final standings in group C

1. Colombia
2. Greece
3. Ivory Coast
4. Japan

Fixtures in the next round

Brazil - Chile
Netherlands - Mexico
Colombia - Uruguay
Costa Rica - Greece

[ederson]

And we are through....  we don't play attractive football but the same time Spain Italy Bosnia Croatia are travelling Greece gets ready to face Costa Rica.... 

The last call was absolutely wrong  IMHO Samaras tripped himself.... but Greece deserved the win todaa

[AngryAndIrritable]

And we are through....  we don't play attractive football but the same time Spain Italy Bosnia Croatia are travelling Greece gets ready to face Costa Rica.... 

The last call was absolutely wrong  IMHO Samaras tripped himself.... but Greece deserved the win todaa

Samaras falls over his own feet for Celtic on a regular basis. It's kind of his signature move...

Well done to Greece though. They are to the beautiful game what the Miami Heat are to modesty, but you can't argue with the result. They have a reasonably winnable match against Costa Rica next as well.

[ederson]

The comparison isn't very flattering but it gave me a good laugh

In a tournament where powerhouses are already heading back home I'd the ugly qualification anytime!

It should also be noted that Colombia honored the sport and although they didn't need to, gave their best to win. 

[AngryAndIrritable]

Yup, Colombia have really surprised me this tournament, I thought they would be toast without Falcao.

Ibarbo has probably been their unsung hero for me. The guy is an absolute monster on the wing and I will be amazed if he stays at Cagliari for much longer.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Was coming to blow a gasket over Nigeria conceding the early goal. Then Ahmed Musa struck. Wow! 

[Who]

Uh oh -- do not like seeing Aguero forced to come off with injury (hamstring?)

Well at least Aguero walked off. Optimistic it isn't too serious then.

[Moranis]

I was specifically talking about its effect (or lack thereof) on who advance to the next round and who doesn't.  Also how one country advancing is totally dependent on another country (whom they have absolutely nothing to do with) winning or losing.  Confusing.

Which is patently true for just about any sport that has group play, except you may need to swap country for franchise. Also, getting rid of ties doesn't affect this specific issue.

Not sure what your point is, but perhaps your preferences are better suited for tennis or something similar.

Exactly.  I also don't see why it is so difficult to understand.  Points are first.  If there is a tie, it is goal differential (which is clearly in the standings).  If they are still tied it is goals scored.  After that, it is points in the matches for all tied teams, then goal differential among the tied teams, then goals scored in the matches among the tied teams, and finally drawing of lots.  That last one is obviously not ideal since it takes it away from the field, but you have to do something.

If you look at the tiebreakers for the NFL, they are just as complicated.  The NBA is actually pretty complicated as well.  MLB just has a play in game, but that is pretty much impossible in the World Cup. 

In other words, tie breakers are complicated in pretty much all the major sports.  Soccer really isn't any different until you hit that last one (the drawing of lots).

What is complicated about NBA tiebreaker?  They keep playing until one person wins.  5 minutes increment to determine the winner is not complicated at all.  And as far as the playoffs seeds, it's based on regular season wins.  For playoffs, it's best of 7 games.  Easy.

If two teams are tied for the 8th seed, how do they determine which team makes the playoffs in the NBA.