<p>What is the possibility that Belgium drops down to the second place in the group today?</p>
<p>If Belgium loses to Korea this afternoon, and Algeria beats Russia, then Belgium drops to 2nd. Belgium is favored over Korea.</p>
<p>I am so confused…</p>
<p>Belgium is not going to drop down to second place. </p>
<p>It may with the red card now.</p>
<p>Check this out; a set of charts with ALL the possibilities.</p>
<p><a href=“World Cup Group Tables - Album on Imgur”>World Cup Group Tables - Album on Imgur;
<p>Looking forward to Belgium vs USA. Add Mexico to the mix, and possessing three passports is showing its ugly head. A lot easier to choose in the Winter Olympics! :)</p>
<p>It has been a great WC so far. Great games, plenty of goals, and lots of suspense. This morning seven teams could still hope to join the group of 16. Also, all teams played to win when it mattered. </p>
<p>Brazil was a wonderful venue to showcase the biggest athletic event in the world. One could now hope that FIFA will make the right decision by stripping Qatar of its WC, and move it to North America. A joint Mexico-USA would quite a soccer Fest. Even include Canada !</p>
<p>“I have to say, listening to the crowd singing their songs of support, I am so enjoying the lack of vuvuzelas. God, those were annoying.”</p>
<p>So glad they are gone! This dog had the right reaction:</p>
<p><a href=“Dog vs. Vuvuzela - Dog Wins - YouTube”>Dog vs. Vuvuzela - Dog Wins - YouTube;
<p>;)</p>
<p>^^^^OMG I was not expecting that. </p>
<p>You’re naughty, BB. </p>
<p>U.S. did what it had to do… it was clear some of our players had no legs left in the second half. I hope they can recover for the game on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The knockout games will have 30 minutes of extra time if they are tied after 90 minutes (and then go to penalty kicks).</p>
<p>I see that Belgium midfielder Steven Defour will not be playing on Tuesday, but it’s not a big deal because he was not a starter. I wonder if Cameron will play?</p>
<p>One thing that has helped boost World Cup ratings in the US is the use of multiple cameras etc. I remember years ago watching soccer games on TV from the vantage point of a spectator way way up in the 187th row at midfield. Now we see replays of goals from every angle plus closeups of trips, bites, shoves, shirt pulling, and set pieces. As one young fan put it, watching World Cup soccer is now cool for his generation. </p>
<p>FOX outbid ESPN for the next two World Cups. I can’t picture that network doing a better job with the TV coverage. The ESPN analysts have presented broad perspectives and don’t always agree with one another. </p>
<p>^ HD TV (and large screens) have made a HUGE improvement in watching soccer on TV.</p>
<p>PS - hockey and lacrosse are now WAY better on TV also</p>
<p>That laser in the Russia-Algeria game is crazy. And sad.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Considering how much damage they can do to a person’s eyes, I’d add scary and despicable. </p>
<p>People really suck.</p>
<p>I can’t hear much of what the ESPN commentators say in the sport restaurants because of simultaneous TV shows and the noise. </p>
<p>I don’t understand Univison commentators at home. I don’t have HDTV for ESPN at home. I can only watch ESPN on ABC or on my Surface ESPN Streaming connected to the TV.</p>
<p>Where do you guys watch the games?</p>
<p>The Watch ESPN app on TV via my iPad.</p>
<p>I watch them at home. I have them going on the TV upstairs in the Master bedroom (65" HDTV, nothing crazy, but good size for games) and on the TV downstairs in the family room. That way I can hear/watch as I’m puttering around the house doing my chores. We have the rewind function so I can rewind any time I hear lots of cheering and commentator excitement.</p>
<p>Time Warner offers a package with ESPN and ESPN2 free, but Univision would be extra money. We have 1,500 channels and one of my favorites is MLB Channel because they show a lot of baseball games and have excellent recaps. I wish they wouldn’t charge $9.99 to watch an Australian Rules Football game.</p>
<p>I still get a kick from the various TV (non-sports) commentators who have never followed soccer and do not understand the game at all. Particularly funny are the ones who have problems understanding the clock and would like a NBA or NFL type of clock flashing on the screen. They pretend it is confusing to have a clock that says 90 minutes with some added time at the discretion of the refs. I assume this stems from the late Portugal score in the added time. Others did not understand that a team could lose and still move on a la US vs Germany. They asked how can we celebrate a defeat! Pretty pathetic on the part of people who are paid to present the news! </p>
<p>The good news is that with the success of this WC in general and the good performance of the US, it has become less cool to criticize soccer. Although some did criticize the Jurgen invitation to skip work. 
</p>
<p>Ron Fournier, the editor of the National Journal, tweeted his confusion that the US lost to Germany, but still advanced. (He tried to link it to American politics, which is also bizarre. Does he think American politicians get to pick the rules for the World Cup? Apparently.)</p>
<p>When my son was eight, he began playing in national tournaments in his team sport. As with the World Cup and many many other team sports competitions, the tournaments would have a round robin, with the most successful teams advancing to the knockout bracket. Every single 8-year-old in the tournament understood how it worked. All of them. These dense TV commentators are unable to understand what 8-year-old kids can grasp easily.</p>