2014 FIFA World Cup

[HAL]

What was it like before a thrilling night of football last night here's hoping for more exciting moments as France take on Nigeria and then heavy World Cup favourites Germany take on Algeria ?

[Jezza]

France 2-0 Nigeria

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27969976

Key Moments:
Goals:
France - 79' (Pogba)
France - 90' (Yobo) - Own Goal

Talking Point:
- France cruise through to the last 8 as they face a highly-anticpated contest against Germany this week!

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Germany 2-1 Algeria (after Extra Time)

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27969924

Key Moments:
Goals:
Germany - 92' (Schurrle)
Germany - 119' (Ozil)
Algeria - 120' (Djabou)

Talking Point:
- Algeria brave in defeat and proud of their overall World Cup campaign but Germany's quality is enough for them to advance to the last 8!

[Jezza]

So tonight we have two more matches to round out the round of 16 matches with Argentina taking on Switzerland first up and following this we have an exciting clash between two rising teams in Belgium and the USA!


Argentina v Switzerland - 2am (EST)


Belgium v USA - 6am (EST)

[Pies4shaw]

So, Argentina took 118 minutes to get ahead of Switzerland. A good result for the competition but Messi really needs some support. He had 3 players marking him for the game but only De Maria offered a viable alternative route forward. It doesn't matter how good the star is, unless it's Diego Armando, help is required. Argentina needs to find a striker fast.

[sixpoints]

Now the quarters!
The cream rose to the top in the last 16, with all 8 group winners getting through. Some in extra time, one on penalties...but still we have clearly the best performed sides to date left in it.
One half offend draw has; Netherlands v Costa Rica and Argentina v Belgium.
I'd be stunned if the Ticos got up again, so Oranje 2-0. The other game has two sides who have found scoring difficult. Just because of Messi, ill go Albiceleste 1-0. But if Wilmots starts Lukaku all could change.
The other side of the draw has the really tasty match ups. Brazil v Colombia and France v Germany. For all their exuberance, I just can't see Colombia knocking off Brazil. Winning in Brazil is something that Colombia never seem to do, so in a ball tearer, Brazil 3-2.
France & Germany to go to penalties. That of course means the Germans will get through.
Roll on.

[Jezza]

Great games so far apart from the Argentina and Switzerland match. Now we have the Quarter Finals coming up which I can't wait for.

France against Germany is going to be a huge game for both sides. I think Germany is a slightly better side than France but France do have some excellent players like Benzema and Pogba who can easily change the whole context of a match and get France over the line like they did against Nigeria. France didn't do too much wrong against Nigeria despite leaving it late to score their goals. Germany were poor against Algeria despite the win they had but you still can't overlook the talent and quality they have in their side with the likes of Ozil and Khedira leading the way for them. My prediction is that this match will go down to penalties and Germany will prevail on penalties but only just!

Brazil against Columbia is another game I'm really looking forward to. A lot of people are doubting Columbia's ability to beat Brazil because of the obvious home advantage Brazil has and the strong record they have on home soil but if there's any time where Columbia will beat Brazil this is the time in my opinion. In contrast to Brazil, Columbia's form up until now has been magnificent with 11 goals in 4 matches and how good have the likes of Rodriguez and Martinez been in this World Cup so far. I'd go as far as saying that Rodriguez has been the player of the tournament so far in the World Cup and imagine if Falcao was playing for them as well. Brazil on the other hand have looked shaky in all their matches but are luckily advancing through to the next stage of the competition as good teams do. I haven't been convinced by them though with a win against Croatia which flattered them and was also assisted by some poor refereeing in that match which changed the momentum of the game, a then poor and lacklustre performance against Mexico followed by an easy win against a low-morale Cameroon side who had nothing to play for but looked promising against Brazil for about the first 30 minutes or so and then a lucky victory against Chile in the last 16. If Neymar is fit, he'll always be a threat for Columbia but I'm tipping Columbia to win this in a tight contest with the final scoreline being 2-1. This is going to be an awesome game and I imagine that the atmosphere will be electric.

Argentina against Belgium is another game I'm really eager to see especially with my interest in Belgium's rise in international football in the last few years and I actually made a bold statement last year on Facebook that they would win the World Cup in June 2013 even though I deep down thought Germany would win the tournament, but nevertheless I predicted Belgium to make the last 8 as a minimum considering the depth and quality they have. Argentina hasn't been in great form lately but with Leo Messi in the side they're still winning games and he'll be Belgium's biggest threat in this game. I actually believe Belgium has more talent than Argentina but with Messi in the side anything is possible for Argentina in a matter of minutes as seen against Switzerland, Iran and Bosnia in this World Cup so far. My tip is Belgium will win in extra time in what should be a thrilling contest.

The Netherlands against Costa Rica will be an interesting game with most tipping the Dutch to get through with relative ease. Costa Rica have had a superb World Cup campaign so far and they should be really proud of their efforts but I have a feeling that the Netherlands will have too much quality and experience around the park for Costa Rica to trouble them. After watching the Costa Rica and Greece game, I just felt that the Costa Rican players started to get tired and fatigued and I just think with a long game against Greece recently and a huge World Cup campaign lately, they must be flat against the Netherlands but I'd love to see them match the Dutch even if they can't win this one. My prediction is that the Netherlands will win 3-0 against them.

[Jezza]

Argentina 1-0 Switzerland (after Extra Time)

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27990606

Key Moments:
Goals:
Argentina - 118' (Di Maria)

Talking Point:
- Argentina struggle, but are through to the last 8 as they set up a clash against Belgium!

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Belgium 2-1 USA (after Extra Time)

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27990605

Key Moments:
Goals:
Belgium - 93' (De Bruyne)
Belgium - 105' (Lukaku)
USA - 107' (Green)

Talking Point:
- Belgium's golden generation live up to expectations in arguably the best game of the tournament so far!

[Jezza]

The round of 16 matches have now been completed with plenty of memorable highlights and excitement during these matches. We now have the upcoming Quarter Finals matches which will commence on Friday in Brazil so in Australia's case they will commence on Saturday morning at 2am (EST) and the matches will be played over two days with two on Friday and two on Saturday in Brazil.

Quarter Final Draw:
France v Germany
Brazil v Columbia
Argentina v Belgium
Netherlands v Costa Rica

[HAL]

Do you mean you and me have?

[sixpoints]

Twenty years to the day of the death of Colombia's Andres Escobar.
Gunned down in the car park of a bar in Medellin six days after turning a shot from John Harkes of the U.S into the Colombian goal during a shock 2-1 World Cup defeat that put them out in the group stage in 1994.
Drug lord Pablo Escobar (no relation) had himself been killed by Colombian authorities only months prior and Medellin was in even more chaos than usual. Prophetically, Andres stated that despite all the chaos, he was a proud Colombian and was keen to return to Medellin immediately following the World Cup. His famous quote "see you soon, because life doesn't end here" still resonates.
I still can recall the shock of hearing the news of his death. Twenty years ago, tempus fugit!

[Jezza]

[Pies4shaw]

^^^ IIRC, a BBC commentator a few days later had to apologise for saying during commentary in another match something to the effect that "That defending was so bad, [so and so] should be shot".

[sixpoints]

[HAL]

Not long.

[Jezza]

Tonight the World Cup Quarter Finals are about to begin with two very exciting matches coming up! First up we have France against Germany but recent news has revealed that Germany has up to seven players with an illness and are in a race against time to be fully fit against France. Following this exciting encounter, we then have a huge all South American clash with hosts Brazil taking on a red-hot Columbia led by James Rodriguez.

My predictions is that Germany and Columbia will go through to the Semi Finals with Germany beating France on penalties after the game ends at 1-1 after 120 minutes and Columbia will be too good against Brazil as I predict them to be victorious with the final scoreline being 2-1. These two games should make for fascinating viewing tonight.


France v Germany - 2am (EST)


Brazil v Columbia - 6am (EST)