Anyone interested in Soccer?

[janesill]

So guys, euro 2016 (http://www.dafabetsports.com/en/) is just 2 weeks away. Happens once every 4 years. You got any particular teams to root for? As for me, I am still kind of undecided between Team Germany and France. England is my third option. Team Germany has all the skills to bag the championship but let's not forget how France won the world cup and euro championship back in 1998 and 2000. They were playing on their homeland back then. How about you guys? Which team are you rooting for?

[MickintheHam]

I would have to believe Team Deutschland would be the favorite. They should have a number of players on the roster from the World Cup Championship Team. I would be surprised if England gets to the semis.

[Darrell KSR]

Picked up my 15-year old son from school this morning and asked him. I usually get immersed in it when he's watching, and he's much bigger fan than me. This is what I remember.

Spain team is one to look out for even though they tripped up in world Cup. Missing a good strike force. Cut their best striker, Costa. Good midfielders and really good defense. (He's rooting for them because of the World Cup, so maybe he's biased).

He's also rooting for England because he loves their strike force, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy.

Obviously Germany is favorite to win it, he said.

Sees Netherlands as having "good players, but not a team that can win."

He likes France. Says they have really good players, midfielders and decent strike force.

That's about it. Sees Spain as the surprise team.

[Darrell KSR]

Watched the second half of France v Romania in the break room. What a match. What a shot in the 89th minute to win it. It was like Aaron Harrison winning a NCAA game.

[dan_bgblue]

Another low scoring game. Final score 14-7

[Darrell KSR]

Another low scoring game. Final score 14-7
All 21 points scored in the 2nd half, too!

[Darrell KSR]

Wales with a 1-0 lead on a 40-yard Bales free kick goal, the England keeper was sluggish and couldn't stop it.

Sterling missed from 6-yards with his left foot over goal earlier. Vardy would have buried it.

The last time England trailed at halftime of a EURO match was in 1988 ... against the Soviet Union.

[Darrell KSR]

Second half underway...

England had gone 20 Euro matches in a row without trailing at half, the longest such streak in tournament history

[Darrell KSR]

VARDY! Ties the game 1-1, ball deflected off Wales and bounced it in. He should have started the game in place of Sterling.

[Darrell KSR]

Vardy with his fourth goal in his last five games for England.

[PedroDaGr8]

USA plays tonight in the Americas Cup. Somehow USA won their section and made it into the knock-out round. I plan on watching it, though I only get it on Univasion (it is still OK to watch even with spanish announcers).

[Darrell KSR]

Sturridge! Wow, goal in extra time, 92nd minute. Heartbreaking loss for Wales, huge win for England.

[Darrell KSR]

USA plays tonight in the Americas Cup. Somehow USA won their section and made it into the knock-out round. I plan on watching it, though I only get it on Univasion (it is still OK to watch even with spanish announcers).
I like watching USA, have seen them in person, and of course, root for them. But our star power just isn't at the elite level and it's a little like watching my local AA Barons play minor league baseball compared to the Cubs. That's an exaggeration, but when I can even see the skill level difference, it's significant enough.

The guys for team USA 🇺🇸 I really like are Bobby Wood, Fabian Johnson and the 17-year old, Christian Pulisic. Oh, and Zardes... I love watching his speed. Notable for my omission - Bradley and Dempsey. Good, not elite. Need elite there.

Tonight is going to be very interesting. Yedlin is out because of the two yellows last game, and an astounding 7 Team USA players have a yellow from last game, meaning that if they pick up one tonight, and USA advances, they will be suspended for the next game. Some strategy possible in deciding who to start, although I think Klinsmann is planning on not changing anything other than Yedlin's replacement.

[PedroDaGr8]

I like watching USA, have seen them in person, and of course, root for them. But our star power just isn't at the elite level and it's a little like watching my local AA Barons play minor league baseball compared to the Cubs. That's an exaggeration, but when I can even see the skill level difference, it's significant enough.

The guys for team USA ���� I really like are Bobby Wood, Fabian Johnson and the 17-year old, Christian Pulisic. Oh, and Zardes... I love watching his speed. Notable for my omission - Bradley and Dempsey. Good, not elite. Need elite there.

Tonight is going to be very interesting. Yeldin is out because of the two yellows last game, and an astounding 7 Team USA players have a yellow from last game, meaning that if they pick up one tonight, and USA advances, they will be suspended for the next game. Some strategy possible in deciding who to start, although I think Klinsmann is planning on not changing anything other than Yeldin's replacement.

Wow I didn't realize it was that rough. I missed the last game, but plan to watch this one tonight. My buddy who plays soccer is REALLY hyped about it.

[Darrell KSR]

Wow I didn't realize it was that rough. I missed the last game, but plan to watch this one tonight. My buddy who plays soccer is REALLY hyped about it.
I'll be watching it with you guys ;).

Oh - USA picked up so many yellow cards partially because they played almost the entire 2nd half 10v11, with Yedlin's two yellow cards equalling a red and getting him booted quickly in the 2nd half. They had to play extremely hard to maintain their 1-goal lead, which they did. I had a lot of fun watching it.

[PedroDaGr8]

GOOOLLLLLLLL 1-0 USA!

[Darrell KSR]

USA! USA! USA!

[PedroDaGr8]

USA! USA! USA!

That red card and yellow combined really hurts the USA, especially in the next game.


GOOALLLL 2-0

[Darrell KSR]

Fewer players on the field make it more goal likely... Yech

[Darrell KSR]

You know it's fun when even the keeper gets a Yellow.

[Darrell KSR]

USA 🇺🇸!

[Darrell KSR]

First COPA semifinal for USA since 1995.

[PedroDaGr8]

You know it's fun when even the keeper gets a Yellow.Refs were like Oprah giving out cars.

You get a yellow card and you get a yellow card and YOU get a yellow card

[PedroDaGr8]

Chile had its way with mexico. Winning 7-0, they just manhandled Mexico non-stop.

[Darrell KSR]

It's Team USA v Argentina tomorrow night in the COPA semifinals. I don't give USA much of a chance, but that's what sports miracles are made of.

USA will be playing without Jermaine Jones, Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya, and will be facing the # 1 team in the world. We will miss Bobby Wood, who I think has been playing fantastic.

Zardes will need to come of age. He has the raw talent/speed. Beckerman needs to have a fantastic game replacing Jones. Some say (I do not follow them enough to know) that Beckerman actually matches up better in a defensive posture vs Lionel Messi than does Jones, so this could work out ok for the US.

Can't wait. We have had two extra days of rest that Argentina will not have, thanks to the draw, so we have a little luck headed our way in Houston.

I'm guessing Argentina, 2-1.

[MickintheHam]

I am fired up about USA v. Argentina. This obviously would be a seriously tough match for the USMNT at full strength, but down three starters, are you kidding me? Somehow I have to believe the bench players who get the nod will play well. Hell, they are on the same field as Lionel Messi! It's the chance of a lifetime. Don't be surprised if they game is much closer than expected.

I attended the USA Argentina match in the opening game of the Olympic Games in '96 at Birmingham's Legion Field. The Argentins we met before the match were terrific people. They know how to tailgate. Claudio Reyna hit a goal in the first minute of the match. Legion Field erupted. It was the loudest crowd noise I heard anywhere, anytime in my life. The upper deck above us was swaying. Alas, the US eventually lost the match, but it always left me believing USA could play with anyone. (Alexi Lalas sure looked different back then than he does on TV today. I hardly recognized him.)

[Darrell KSR]

Schedule Today:

EURO
Wales (1-0-1) v Russia (0-1-1) 3:00pm ET, ESPN2
England (1-1-0) v Slovakia (1-0-1) 3:00pm ET, ESPN

TUESDAY
EURO
Poland (1-1-0) v Ukraine (0-0-2) 12:00pm ET ESPN2
Germany (1-1-0) v Northern Ireland (1-0-1) 12:00pm ET ESPN
Turkey (0-0-2) v Czech Republic (0-1-1) 3:00pm ET ESPN2
Germany (1-1-0) v Northern Ireland (1-0-1) 12:00pm ET ESPN

COPA
Argentina v USA 9:00pm ET FS1 (Semifinal 1)

(The other semifinal is Wednesday, Chile v Colombia, 8:00pm ET, FS1)

[Darrell KSR]

FIFA Rankings (for me, and others who may not follow the sport all that regularly):

Argentina is # 1 in the world. USA is # 31. Waiting in the wings for the winner is # 3 Colombia v # 5 Chile.

Some good matches in EURO:

Wales # 26 v Russia # 29
England # 11 v Slovakia # 24
Poland # 27 v Ukraine # 19
Germany # 4 v Northern Ireland # 25
Turkey # 18 v Czech Republic # 30

Those are some powerhouse matches. There are 209 ranked countries, so this is almost like rankings in NCAA basketball, where everybody involved is a top 25 type team.

[dan_bgblue]

Amazing goal scored by Switzerland


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_gq9la150E

[dan_bgblue]

USMNT going forward

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2648520-usmnts-copa-run-leaves-a-few-important-questions-about-program-moving-forward?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

[CitizenBBN]

I'm glad those of you who follow it enjoy it. I watched some of the German game today while out having brunch (a most rare event for me) and it continues to just not click with me.

I certainly respect their conditioning and talent, but it' just doesn't make me want to watch.

that being said, modern sports would be in huge trouble if relying on me. I'm not huge on our football, and never watch golf, tennis or much else either. I'm a big fan of women's beach volleyball though. :)

[dan_bgblue]

I am trying to understand the rules, I really am, but there is no way for me to do that. Tons of contact all over the field. Some of the contact is is a penalty and some is not and it all looks the same. Some contact gets a yellow card, some gets a red card, some is just a common foul, and some of it goes unpenalized. I would like to enjoy the game, but that is not possible based on my limited knowledge of how it should be officiated. I am watching Chile vs Argentina and it looks like an uncontrolled scrum. Time to watch something else

[Darrell KSR]

Dan, many people unfamiliar with basketball would say the same thing. You and I can watch a game and we know when the referee will blow a whistle when contact occurs, and we know when the whistle won't blow. To outsiders, it looks the same. The basketball rule is "illegal" contact, which the rulebook defines as contact that creates an advantage. But if you haven't played the game or watched it, I daresay that definitional rule provides no guidance in knowing what will be a foul and what won't be.

A cheat sheet guide on soccer is that they must play the ball, and not the man. So if you hit the guy and then get the ball, it's a foul. If you are hitting the ball at the same time (tackling-which is entirely different than tackling in American football), then it is a legal play. So if you see a guy get tripped or slammed before the ball is contacted, it will be a foul.

As a further cheat sheet, whether it is a card or not can, rule of thumb, be determined by degree of severity of the foul. It's like the US Supreme Court's definition of obscenity - you can't define it, but know it when you see it. Red cards are rarely given, unless it's a "dirty" play, usually dangerous, or extreme unsportsman conduct. Usually a red card appears because the same player receives two yellow cards in the same game, which is, by rule, a red card.

Of course, fans disagree with soccer officials just like we disagree with basketball officials. Think of how often we argue about basketball referees, and then apply that to an outsider. Having watched hundreds of games in the last 10 years, I find soccer much easier to define an infraction than basketball.

Much of the enjoyment won't come for Americans until we follow the various Euro leagues. It is confusing, but having leagues in England, Spain, etc. make it confusing to follow. The way to understand it is to analogize those five major leagues to the Power conferences in US colleges. La Liga may be like the SEC, other leagues like the Pac-12, etc. Knowing the players helps following the games.

It is very hard to get involved in the sport without that emotional investment. Just the way it is, and I admire those who at least give it a chance without it. It's hard.

As an aside, I began writing a book about Enjoying Soccer for Reluctant Soccer Dads and Others, which explains a lot of soccer on a basic, analogous to common US Sports levels. One day when I get time I may pick back up on the project. I sat with a friend of mine whose son plays high level high school basketball (not a 4* or 5* player, but recruitable) at a freshman soccer game and we talked the entire game. I began with analogies and by the end of the 70 minute game he told me he enjoyed it a lot more after that (well, his words were that I made it tolerable) and he said I should write a book.

Some day. I got 12 pages in and stopped. It won't be long, but I'm thinking 50 page e-book kinda thing.

[Darrell KSR]

I'm glad those of you who follow it enjoy it. I watched some of the German game today while out having brunch (a most rare event for me) and it continues to just not click with me.

I certainly respect their conditioning and talent, but it' just doesn't make me want to watch.

that being said, modern sports would be in huge trouble if relying on me. I'm not huge on our football, and never watch golf, tennis or much else either. I'm a big fan of women's beach volleyball though. :)
It's very understandable, for the reasons I posted in reply to Dan, too. It becomes more enjoyable over time, like developing a taste for your favorite adult beverage!

[dan_bgblue]

I have been able to watch enough that I have been able to understand much of what you shared about the fouls and how they should be called. Based on my observations the soccer officials suck worse than any official in basketball or football in the SEC. My biggest inability to understand the rules comes when a player is dribbling and players are pushing them from all sides including shoves in the back and the defender makes no contact with the ball or are they really making much of an attempt to do so. They are just trying to knock the offensive player off stride, or in many cases just shove them to the ground and no foul is called

[Darrell KSR]

Dan, your confusion on the fouls is because you're not recognizing that the contact you described is legal. Basically, contact is permitted in soccer when you play the ball, but playing the ball is different than contacting the ball (that's just a quick cheat-sheet version). Playing the ball means challenging for the ball, or even challenging for space within the ball's distance.

Shoulder to shoulder contact is permitted (that's not lowering your shoulder with a block, but pushing, shoving, and using body weight to move a player away from the ball you intend to "tackle"--i.e., you tackle the ball, not a player in soccer). So what you call the soccer officials "sucking," is them getting the call exactly right.

I disagree that they allow "pushing" (in the sense of a two-handed shove kinda thing) although if you asked if a player "ever" got away with using his hands to push, or hold, I'd have to say it occurs in every game I've probably seen--just as I've seen players push and hold a basketball player in every game I've ever seen.

Knocking the player off stride is also perfectly permissible, and a good defensive play, providing it is within the charge as well.

So add to the cheat sheet:

* It is ok to contact a player shoulder to shoulder almost anytime as one player charges to challenge for the ball. That includes running side by side, as well as approaching the player as well, or even via the back in an effort to screen the ball away from an opponent. Those are all "fair charges" in the rules of soccer, and legal contact.
* Caveat--it presupposes at least one foot will be on the ground (picture a guy with a flying block through the air, and that won't be allowed, obviously)

Legal contact OFTEN results in a weaker player, a player off balance, a player being caught on the wrong foot, or just timing, having his butt placed on the ground. Legal.

So now that I've added these additions to the cheat sheet version of rules, what is not legal contact?

Two things.

Illegal contact, and inadvertent contact.

Illegal contact is the bad stuff; the fouls. Basically, it's kicking another opponent, tripping him, holding him, striking him (with hands), or using excessive force--and that's obvious about 99% of the time. Mostly, these are "bad challenges." They occur when the player is careless, reckless, or dangerous/excessive (a red card violation). They can also be when you're not within striking distance of the ball.

Inadvertent contact (it may be called accidental; I don't remember), is something that falls in between. Just bad luck. Two guys trying to head a ball hit each other. Bad luck, no foul, accidental contact. Two players going for a 50-50 ball. Player lands awkwardly after two players get legs tangled up, with no real "instigator" of the contact.

As I said earlier, I think they do a very good job of officiating the games. My son can sit there and watch a game and make 95+% of all the calls the officials make before the whistle blows. So it may not be that hard to call it, taking the "fan bias" out of the game, as opposed to the officials being as good as all that.

[dan_bgblue]

That info is valuable, and it is obvious I have a lot to learn

[CitizenBBN]

You know, in women's beach volleyball you really don't care about the rules nearly as much. And they're a lot easier to learn anyway. :)

for me it's just the nature of the sports. Football has moments of action so you tune into those, and eat and drink the rest of the time, but you know when they'll be, so that works. Soccer may go an hour with nothing terribly notable happening, or something big may happen, and you have no idea when, so you either watch an hour of nothing important or you go about your social activity and figure if nothing else there's replay.

In basketball there's no guarantee either, but it is constant action that does within a few minutes have a big impact on the game.

It's just personal taste in the end. I've watched soccer when out, it just doesn't do much for me. Maybe learning the rules would help, but I doubt it. I know the golf rules pretty well and I can't stand to watch it at all. Nap to it maybe, but watch it no.

[Darrell KSR]

You know, in women's beach volleyball you really don't care about the rules nearly as much. And they're a lot easier to learn anyway. :)

for me it's just the nature of the sports. Football has moments of action so you tune into those, and eat and drink the rest of the time, but you know when they'll be, so that works. Soccer may go an hour with nothing terribly notable happening, or something big may happen, and you have no idea when, so you either watch an hour of nothing important or you go about your social activity and figure if nothing else there's replay.

In basketball there's no guarantee either, but it is constant action that does within a few minutes have a big impact on the game.

It's just personal taste in the end. I've watched soccer when out, it just doesn't do much for me. Maybe learning the rules would help, but I doubt it. I know the golf rules pretty well and I can't stand to watch it at all. Nap to it maybe, but watch it no.

Won't latch on until we start following "La Liga," "Champions League," etc. like we do SEC, ACC, Big TenWhatever, etc. JMO, but I think that's key.

See, you see no action, and I see constant action. Comparing it to football, where you watch a 6-second play, and then sit for 45 seconds, and I see football as more boring than soccer, where they "do" things for 45 seconds, and sit for 6 seconds while they call a foul and set up a free kick. (Those are both exaggerated numbers made just for emphasis).

The action isn't "just" scoring a goal. It's tackles, passes, traps, crosses, headers, fouls, corner kicks, one-two's (give-and-go's), shots on goals, breakaways, etc. It's movement toward scoring opportunities.

In the pseudo-book I'm writing, I compare it to football, and gaining first downs headed to an end zone before you punt. In football, many to most possessions end in a boring punt (although punt returns can be exciting). Is anything worse than a fair catch on a punt? Zzzzzz.

In soccer, most possessions end with an athletic tackle (steal) and the defensive team immediately on an offensive counter. In a big game, the tension is constant, and it wears you out. (This is where I like football, because you get to do "old man rest" between plays). No wimpy TV timeouts; the game continues until halftime, and then until it ends.

Just a different way of seeing it. But it isn't pinochle, and it will take years, or decades to "get there." As I said, I admire all who give it a chance--it is almost impossible to "like" in a similar way to sports we grew up with, learned, played, watched on TV, in person, through elementary, middle school, and high school, talk about with our neighbors, our co-workers, our business partners, read about in the daily newspaper (when they had those we read), chatted about on internet forums, etc.

I'm not trying to convince anyone of the sport. It can't be done. It is an immersion process that takes years (IMHO).

The pseudo-book I'm writing relates to those of us who have had soccer forced upon us. Kid started playing at 3 or 4 years of age, played in leagues, teams, then moved to competitive, traveled out of states, played indoors, year round, camps, etc. ad nauseam and we still didn't like it. We couldn't tell you the difference between La Liga and La Leche, between Lionel Messi and Lionel Trains.

I'm trying to give them some tips, some cheat sheets, some pointers, some analogies, and some alternate points of views and angles within which to view the same game they're having to watch anyway.

I'm not "there" yet myself, either. I'm talking a better game than I live. I can turn on a game; almost any college football or basketball game, and leave it on, regardless of the teams, and watch it. Now, granted, I allow myself to be distracted. I go to the kitchen and grab something to drink. I go to the restroom. I talk on the phone. I text. I read and post on this site. But I still have it on.

Unless the soccer match is, say, the semifinals of COPA, or an important Euro game, I won't necessarily be watching the soccer game, even in the same vein. Chile vs Colombia? Sure, fun game to watch. Argentina v Chile championship? Of course. But has to be "big" (or USA). My son watches Real Madrid, or Granada, or Leicester City, or whoever playing each other, but he knows the players, the strike force, etc. Lot more fun that way. I'm not there.

[Darrell KSR]

That info is valuable, and it is obvious I have a lot to learn

Make no mistake, there is plenty of discretion with officials in soccer like any other sport, too. I just think it's a little tiny bit clearer than basketball, for example. And don't get me started about football holding calls, which could be called on every play.

[MickintheHam]

I like the contact in soccer. For the most part it is fair play. It took me a long time to determine what was a legal tackle. You have to watch or play a lot to catch on. I find it to be a much cleaner sport than hockey or American football. The theatrics I can do without. More yellow cards for faking it are needed.

[CitizenBBN]

comparing it to football in action I see as fair, but then again I agree football has very little actual action.it's just well organized so you know when to drink, when to watch.

I'm not trying to be negative on the sport, I get that huge numbers of people enjoy it, and maybe if it mattered enough that I really got into it I might, but i doubt it.

I liken it to basketball, but a game where you are required to dribble and pass in such a way that the ball is stolen or turned over on 99.95% of all possessions. The movement and play is certainly constant, but the results are rare.

In basketball where there are 30 turnovers on each team and they shoot 30% we consider it a lousy game. Translate that to soccer and it's the highest scoring, most crisply played game in the history of the sport. ;)

I know it's not truly sloppy like in a bball game with all those turnovers, it's the nature of passing and defense for the sport, but it has the same effect.

The other thing that I really don't like is that I don't get the feel of ebb and flow I get in basketball. In that game with Germany they were up 3-0 but even up just 1-0 with 10 minutes to go it was damned likely they were winning, up 2-0 it was nearly a lock. Not that there aren't surges and comebacks, but I liken that to college ball before the shot clock and 3 point shot. It happened, but it was far too easy to take the air out of the ball and milk out a win.

I didn't want to hijack and critique the sport mostly b/c I'm not a good measure of such things. I love basketball, I can watch football, it gets pretty thin after that. I like baseball if I'm at the game, but on TV isn't nearly so interesting (baseball was meant to be attended IMO more than any other sport), and after that there's no much I watch.

[Darrell KSR]

I like the contact in soccer. For the most part it is fair play. It took me a long time to determine what was a legal tackle. You have to watch or play a lot to catch on. I find it to be a much cleaner sport than hockey or American football. The theatrics I can do without. More yellow cards for faking it are needed.

I bet it took me longer, and I'm still learning, but it's now much more enjoyable because of it. Great point about the theatrics, which have spilled down to youth soccer, and it's probably worse to see a teenager do it.


In that game with Germany they were up 3-0 but even up just 1-0 with 10 minutes to go it was damned likely they were winning, up 2-0 it was nearly a lock. Not that there aren't surges and comebacks, but I liken that to college ball before the shot clock and 3 point shot. It happened, but it was far too easy to take the air out of the ball and milk out a win.

I didn't want to hijack and critique the sport mostly b/c I'm not a good measure of such things. I love basketball, I can watch football, it gets pretty thin after that. I like baseball if I'm at the game, but on TV isn't nearly so interesting (baseball was meant to be attended IMO more than any other sport), and after that there's no much I watch.

I think those critiques are fair. Goals are such a premium that a 1-0 lead can result in one team pulling an offensive player back and playing defense, which makes it even worse. Having a 2-0 lead late and it's dang near impossible to catch up, although there's a saying that a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead in soccer. (I'd much rather have the "2" than the "0," though.)

I discussed this one day with my son and I told him that I thought it would be a better game for Americans if the goal area was widened two feet on either side, and maybe 6 inches higher on the top end. My guess is that it would turn 2-0, or 2-1 games into 5-3 games. He's much more traditional, die-hard than I am, and he says, "Dad, don't you like a 1-0 pitcher's duel in baseball?"

He got me with that one. But there are baseball fans that don't like a pitcher's duel; I'm just not one of them. Great defense and pitching is a joy for me to watch as a baseball purist, so a 1-0 game is a joy to watch. And for him, a 1-0 soccer game (or even a 0-0 game) is also a pure game. I get that.

I tell you what I like about soccer so much. I like the fact that I can see plays developing. And the plays may develop over a 10-15 second period of time. They may not achieve a "goal," but they provide an opportunity for a goal. I like that.

Be a boring world if we were all in love with baseball only, or football only, or in this case, soccer only. I think it's great that people give it a try. I bet--and I could be wrong--but I bet that very few people who are not "immersed" in soccer can turn on the TV and enjoy it off the bat.

[MickintheHam]

Well things have become more interesting. Spain and England are toast losing in the first round of knockout play. Germany, Italia and France are still alive both are 5-4 favorites to win the Cup. Germany has the toughest road to the cup. If all the favored teams with Germany will face Italia, France, and Belgium. Of course it will be a tougher road for anyone Germany faces. I still like Germany but the Belgium team has been impressive. Any of these four teams could win. Deutschland Uber Alles.

[Darrell KSR]

Well things have become more interesting. Spain and England are toast losing in the first round of knockout play. Germany, Italia and France are still alive both are 5-4 favorites to win the Cup. Germany has the toughest road to the cup. If all the favored teams with Germany will face Italia, France, and Belgium. Of course it will be a tougher road for anyone Germany faces. I still like Germany but the Belgium team has been impressive. Any of these four teams could win. Deutschland Uber Alles.

Mick, you may know Neal Clement, who coaches at Briarwood--his office is next door to mine. He's from England, and a diehard. To say he's moping is to understate the obvious. He is ready to ship the whole team off.

Italy beating Spain surprised me, but I don't follow it as well as many do; it may not have even surprised you. Winning 2-nil was near shocking to me.

[MickintheHam]

It's just not Spain's year. They have to cycle their talent before the World Cup. Most EnGlish folks have an inflated opinion of their brand of football and its talent relative to the rest of the world. It will be a long time before they can think of returning to preeminence in Europe, much less the world.

[PedroDaGr8]

It is funny, I used to hate soccer and found it HORRIBLY boring. That was until a buddy of mine, who plays semi-pro soccer, properly explained it to me. The way the strategies work, what things to look for, etc. Like many games of finesse and strategy, it is very much an acquired taste. Now I watched most of the Copa Americas, messaging back and forth with him about the games.