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bawlmer
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Apr 2006
Posts: 2919
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Good luck today fellas. Very interested to see how Columbia does without Falcao against a solid Greece team. This game could really ruin my bracket!
From the blog...World Cup Matchday 2 Recap
In a scene that is bound to make any Manchester United fan giddy Robin van Persie, who had just canceled out Xabi Alonso’s 27th minute penalty kick with a spectacular diving header from 17 yards out that looped over the helpless Spanish goal-keeper Iker Casillas, ran straight to the coaches box and Louis van Gall, his current national team manager and future club boss, where a high five was exchanged before Van Persie was mobbed by teammates.
The scene was telling of both the past and the future as van Gaal, who has in the past received criticism for his sometimes rocky relationship with his players, has clearly taken control of a Dutch locker room that was divided at EURO 2012 and where a similar job needs to be undertaken later this summer at Manchester United, where he will attempt to guide the Reds back from their worst domestic campaign since the inception of the Premier League.
After a slow start and looking as if they had little to offer, van Persie’s header just before the break got the Dutch rolling, and four second half goals including two from Arjen Robben, another from van Persie and one from highly rated young defender Stefan de Vrij, led them to a 5-1 thrashing of the defending World Cup champions. We had mentioned in our World Cup team previews that with the injuries the Dutch had suffered in the run up to the World Cup would likely mean they would only go as far as Van Persie and Robben could take them. If the opening game was any indication, the Dutch have officially put the world on notice.
In other action on matchday 2, fellow Group B members Chile overcame a resolute Australian side for a 3-1 victory. Alexis Sanchez got La Roja on the board first in the 12th minute and then set up the second just minutes later, feeding Jorge Valdivia on the edge of the box who curled home for a 2-0 lead. It looked like the Socceroos were in a for a long night, but a young side that little of expected of at this year’s World Cup gathered their composure and cut the lead in half with a Tim Cahill header in the 35th minute. The game was still in doubt until injury time when Jean Beauséjour rocket to the bottom corner guaranteed all three points for Chile.
In Group A, Mexico overcame two controversial offside decisions by the referees assistant to down Cameroon 1-0. El Tri had thought they went ahead first when Giovani Dos Santos slotted home from a beautiful cross and then shortly thereafter off of a corner kick, however both times the referees assistant raised his flag to signal Dos Santos offsides, although replayed clearly showed the opposite. Oribe Peralta’s 61st minute goal and Guillermo Ochoa’s late game heroics in goal guaranteed a crucial three points and a much needed confidence boost for the Mexicans before their matchup on Tuesday against Brazil.
Matchday 3 gets under way today at noon eastern when a Radamel Falcao less Columbia takes on Greece. Uruguay takes on Costa Rica in the second game of the day where Luis Suarez has not been named in the starting eleven, England and Italy meet in Manaus where the heat and humidity might take a backseat to the condition of the playing surface, and the Ivory Coast faces off against Japan in the nightcap.
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06-14-14 03:44 PM |
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ryanjep
Registered: Oct 2007
Posts: 438
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Bawlmer you got a great price on the over two in the IC Japan game. Already at -165 or so at 5D. Smart move locking it in.
Im playing under 2 in columbia greece.
Got it at -123 at about 830 this morning.
Thanks for all the info and picks guys!
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06-14-14 05:48 PM |
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bawlmer
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Apr 2006
Posts: 2919
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From the blog...Match-Day 3 Recap:
Well that didn't take long. Just three days in to the 2014 World Cup and we had our first shock result, as Costa Rica took down heavily favored 3-1. With Luis Suarez watching as an unused substitute, Joel Campbell's 54th minute strike off set Edinson Cavani's 27th minute penalty, and a brave header by Óscar Duarte from a set piece in the 57th minute, followed by susbstitute Marco Ureña's 84th minute goal confirmed all three points and an unlikely spot atop of the Group D standings for Los Ticos.
Campbell, the Arsenal man on loan at Olympiakos who had made headlines with his goal against Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League knockout match-up earlier this year, will certainly have Arsene Wenger rethinking his summer transfer targets. He was the best player on the field for much of the game, coming close to goal on several occasions until finally hitting pay dirt in the second half.
There are now more questions than answer for La Celeste, as they not only face an uphill battle from the bottom of the table to advance past the group stages with difficult match-ups still to come against England and Italy, but they also must face the realization that Suarez may not be available for them at all. After going down 2-1 Suarez immediately leapt off the bench and began to warm up, and you expected him to enter the game at any point thereafter. However, Oscar Washington Tabarez chose to bypass him in a game where they needed to take away at least a point which may mean his injury is more severe than has been let on.
Just behind Costa Rica in Group D is Italy who dispatched England 2-1 in the first game at Manaus. The weather and field conditions took a back seat to the play on the field, where after a cautious start the game picked up when Andrea Pirlo's dummy of a pass drew the defense and allowed Claudio Marchisio a clear look at goal and he fired home to beat Joe Hart to the bottom corner. England came right back and equalized when Daniel Sturridge got on the end of Wayne Rooney's beautifully weighted cross that curled around the last line of defense and on to the Liverpool strikers foot. It was Rooney however, who missed the best chance to equalize after Mario Balotelli had put the Azzuri ahead again with a header from close range as he continues to struggle to find the goals that the Three Lions will need from him if they hope to advance to the knockout stages.
Over in Group C, Columbia took control of the top spot with a 3-0 defeat of Greece. After missing out on the last three World Cups Los Cafeteros and their traveling faithful, who turned the Estadio Mineirao in to a sea of yellow and essentially a home game for their side, got off to a fast start when defender Pablo Armero, the beneficiary of another dummy pass, got just enough on his effort to squeeze it inside the goal post and a 1-0 lead. Greece threatened to equalize just before the half but Panagiotis Kone' rocket effort was stopped by David Ospina and, after Teófilo Gutiérrez had doubled Columbia's lead in the 58th minute, Theofanis Gekas's header from just yards away rattled off the cross bar, somehow wasting To Piratiko's bests chance to get back in the game. An injury time goal from James Rodríguez was the icing on the cake to a squad that at least initially does not seem to be missing Rademel Falcao.
The nightcap in Group C saw the Ivory Coast use second half goals from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho just two minutes apart to beat Japan. The Blue Samurai drew first when Keisuke Honda was given too much room in the box and he fired home past a helpless Boubacar Barry. Les Éléphants threatened a vulnerable Japanese defense all night but were unable to break through until the second half when the substitution of Didier Drogba seemed to energize them, scoring both goals shortly after he came on, leaving many to speculate just how the Ivory Coast will lineup in their next trip out against Columbia, with the effects of Drogba to the team clear for all to see.
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06-15-14 07:02 PM |
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