<p>PK’s…again… 
</p>
<p>Pura vida! Los Ticos come through!</p>
<p>Phew. @-) </p>
<p>Vamos Ticos!</p>
<p>Finally! A team I was rooting for this weekend wins. Not sure how Greece could let that get through their hands.</p>
<p>Que viva los Ticos!</p>
<p>I felt bad for Mexico. As for the penalty awarded on Robben, it’s part of the game that players try to draw fouls in the box. The defense has to expect that. In that case, you can’t stick your foot out, kick at the feet or anything that would look to the referee like a trip. From the ref’s angle, it was a foul that had to be called. Robben played that game well. I gather the ref didn’t see the first half possible PK.</p>
<p>The Greece/Costa Rica game was like watching paint dry until well into the 2nd half. </p>
<p>First time I’ve seen a yellow card given to a player on the bench. Must happen from time to time. The ref had a hard time keeping the game under control, even with liberal carding. But then when you have two teams that have trouble running offensive plays, that can happen. </p>
<p>For the Dutch, if van Persie doesn’t play better they can’t win. Teams can mark Robben to take away his speed game but that opens up if van Persie plays well. </p>
<p>Notes on Brazil: when will we see a Brazil team? Neymar dribbles around 3 guys. Hulk tries to go 1 on whatever. They don’t run plays. They rely on talent. They were outplayed and deserved to lose. Columbia could beat them.</p>
<p>Neat that so many games have seen late goals.</p>
<p>Can anyone predict tomorrow’s games will be ugly or smooth?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>This might be the clincher in this WC. At certain venues, the survival of the fittest has played a huge role. Is it an accident that Robben played a soft game in the first half but ran through Mexicans for the last 30 minutes? That Marquez was … late with his intervention? That the Mexicans were unable to mark the Dutch midfielders on the first goal? Tired defenders are at a bigger disadvantage than forwards. </p>
<p>Teams that are fitter and manage their resources better have come out winners at the end of the game. Playing a great first half has not meant as much as playing well in the last twenty minutes of a game. </p>
<p>great games this weekend!</p>
<p>Netherlands fight back to make it through.
Chile hits the crossbar in the 120th minute.
Costa Rica making history.</p>
<p>James Rodriguez will not be playing for Monaco (France) for much longer. One of the big clubs is going to scoop him up. Monaco bought him from Porto (Portugal) last year for ~$60-65 million.</p>
<p>If Brazil doesn’t play better, Colombia has a good chance to beat them in the quarterfinals.</p>
<p>I only got to see parts of this weekend’s games so I can be off base , but I don’t see any dominant teams. Looks to me like this world cup is wide open. </p>
<p>I only saw the highlight show on espn of the Netherlands, Mexico game and it looked like Robben had a huge impact on that game. Did not look like he could be marked by one guy. Seemed like there were multiple guys around Robben many times.</p>
<p>No?</p>
<p>Games tend to get ugly in the knockout stages. Desperation increases when your entire nation is wrapped up in the outcome. Hard fouls, lots of whistles as the ref tries to keep control, lots of play-acting rolling around the ground or, my favorite, lying still with the hands over the face. </p>
<p>As of now, I’m picking Columbia over Brazil based on team chemistry. I assume Brazil’s coach is trying to beat that into the guys now. </p>
<p>I also feel Columbia will upset Brazil. Temperatures above 90 degrees also contribute to the ugliness. I’m crossing my fingers that the US can get an early goal on Tuesday like they did against Ghana. </p>
<p>There’s been a few times when players have grabbed shirts and it’s so obvious to everyone. A US Midfielder got away with one a few matches ago.</p>
<p>I think the German keeper just gave his fans a heart attack, coming out of the box like that!</p>
<p>^^Yes, fortunately for him it worked out okay! </p>
<p>No contest: Algerians are the worst fans at this Mundial. Perhaps they wanted to honor Africa in reminding us how the South Africans ruined the entire WC 2010 with vuvuzelas! </p>
<p>The whistling of their opponent is both classless and annoying. On top of the use of lasers, smoke bombs, those degenerates show their true spirit. Hopefully, the Germans can quiet those idiots down with a handful of goals! </p>
<p>I agree that Colombia will probably beat Brazil. The Colombian team is playing better. I think the winner of the France/Germany game will beat an overrated Argentina team and most likely play the winner of the Colombia/Netherlands game in the final. </p>
<p>I’m cheering for Algeria. :). Which means they’ll probably lose.</p>
<p>My company will broadcast the USA game again for everyone to watch tomorrow. There will be no food this time though.</p>
<p>Potluck!</p>