FIFA World Cup 2014

[Who]

Ochoa was fantastic. Man of the match. Brazil would have won this game if not for him.

Rafael Marquez and Thiago Silva (one bad foul excepted) were top class as well.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

This game.

Indeed. The only sad part was it was a draw, but man the back and forth of this match. Great  saves by Ochoa, the chances Brazil got. The pace being controlled by either team.

Very exciting draw. And Mexico got a great result.

[D.o.s.]

This game.

Indeed. The only sad part was it was a draw, but man the back and forth of this match. Great  saves by Ochoa, the chances Brazil got. The pace being controlled by either team.

Very exciting draw. And Mexico got a great result.

Absolutely. Outside of Neymar (who was absurd, as Who pointed out) Brazil hardly look like the world beaters they were touted to be heading into the tournament, especially considering their first match should've been a draw too.

[Casperian]

0-0, but a great game. Mexico came to play and continue to impress. Ochoa made a good case for a WC all-star nomination.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

0-0, but a great game. Mexico came to play and continue to impress. Ochoa made a good case for a WC all-star nomination.

Will probably make good money in France too.

If he keeps this up, he'll be one of the most sought after free agents in Association Football.

[Celtics18]

Stoked about Mexico.  So far, the two North American teams have brought a real gritty, fighting spirit to this World Cup.

I like it. 

[Celtics18]

Oof!!  I feel bad for the Russian keeper.  There have been some goal tending errors, but that was almost certainly the worst.  That was embarrassing. 

[ederson]

I still don`t like Brazil.... No creativity from central midfield.

And i can`t believe that the best striker they could find is Fred. Why don`t they try barcelona`s false nine approach ?

BTW Neymar only 22 years old is the 7nth all time Brazilian scorer just 2 short of Rivaldo.

[Who]

And i can`t believe that the best striker they could find is Fred. Why don`t they try barcelona`s false nine approach ?

They have tried it. A couple of times in friendlies over last year or two.

With both Hulk as the #9 and Robinho as the #9. I don't know if they tried it with Neymar or not (with two wingers). I don't think they did. But they did try the false 9 role with those two guys and maybe others. It didn't work well. So they scrapped it.

Went back to Fred and Jo. The balance of the team was better with them in it.

[ederson]

I didn`t  follow Brazil`s friendlies .... But if this is the "better" i`m glad i didn`t watch !!

It`s kind of sad though.... from romario to ronaldo to .... fred??

[Casperian]

For those who are interested in a more tactical analysis of the WC games, I suggest you check out Michael Cox' blog, zonalmarking.net.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/06/17/world-cup-2014-group-stage-day-5/

That's his analysis of monday's games. Even the comment section is quite good.

Here's an excerpt of one of the user's posts, noikeee, which I found quite interesting.

On an entirely different point, I think Germany and some other teams with unconvincing fullbacks or even playing narrow formations/lone wing-backs, are getting away with it due to the extreme heat. Typically teams like this get overrun down the wings by rampant overlapping fullbacks combining with wingers (which is why 3-5-2 is no longer a dominant formation), but in these conditions it?s very hard for fullbacks to bomb forward and track back all day long. I think we?re seeing a mini-resurgance of defensive fullbacks for this competition, and I suspect Belgium who has a similar setup might not struggle as much with it as expected.

Sounds exactly like Jogi Loew's statements prior to the WC, and could very well be one of the reasons why Brazil is having such a hard time to get the offense going.

Also, if you haven't read it, yet, make sure to check out his series of articles about "tactics in the 2000s", where he explains how, and more importantly why, football tactics changed the way they did over the past decade.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/category/decade/tacticsin2000s/

[BballTim]

Oof!!  I feel bad for the Russian keeper.  There have been some goal tending errors, but that was almost certainly the worst.  That was embarrassing.

  You could see that coming the way he mishandled some earlier shots. Korea would have won had they ran in on a few of the earlier bobbles or just went with a "shoot and go for the rebound" strategy. I was surprised we went with Nick Rimando as our 3rd keeper, but he's better than that guy.

[Casperian]

Oof!!  I feel bad for the Russian keeper.  There have been some goal tending errors, but that was almost certainly the worst.  That was embarrassing.

  You could see that coming the way he mishandled some earlier shots. Korea would have won had they ran in on a few of the earlier bobbles or just went with a "shoot and go for the rebound" strategy. I was surprised we went with Nick Rimando as our 3rd keeper, but he's better than that guy.

"That guy" is Igor Akinfeev, generally considered to be one of the best keepers in the world. You're right, though, he had a pretty bad game.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Tuned in for soccer 101, with Robin, Robben, and Nigel.

[Casperian]

Whoa, Robben with the goal, Cahill with the direct answer.