Will Cristiano Ronaldo be 100% by game time? Will the German squad’s depth stifle Os Navegadores’ dreams?
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by Randinho| 98 Comments
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Will Cristiano Ronaldo be 100% by game time? Will the German squad’s depth stifle Os Navegadores’ dreams?
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raven
Should be a barn burner!
raven
Merkel in da house!
Chet
Not soccer-related, but I just found out that Tony Gwynn has died of cancer at the age of 54.
I hadn’t even known he had cancer. This is a total, terrible shock.
morfydd
Watching in the big conference room on the big screen TVs. Free beer, all would be well except a senior developer brought a German-flag-colored vuvuzela. We may have to inflict violence.
Steeplejack
@morfydd:
Take that dog down!
Steeplejack
Who is favored in this here shootin’ match?
piratedan
@Chet: that is sad, supposedly as good a person as he was a ballplayer (at least that was his general reputation)
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Steeplejack:
Germany- even before the PK.
HumboldtBlue
That was a generous penalty call
Steeplejack
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Okay, thanks. I did make a desultory effort on the Google and couldn’t find anything.
morfydd
Streaming went out right after the goal for several minutes, and you have never seen so many worried Germans in one place…
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Steeplejack:
The whole “Group of Death” thing is a tiny bit misleading. I’ve not seen any predictions that haven;t got Germany winning the group. It’s the second through fourth spots that are under dispute.
Calouste
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
You’d think if there is one Group of Death, it’s the one with three former World Champions in there.
Randinho
No question about that one.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Calouste:
But it’s the only group that you can look at and think “Every one of these teams can make it through to the quarter-finals.” I don’t think you can say that about even Group D (former champs Italy, England and Uruguay along with Costa Rica), where the Ticos have never seemed to have that potential.
Steeplejack
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Yeah, saw a lot of heat-not-light about that, nothing about who is the death-iest of the death-y.
And Germany is definitely dominating so far. I’m a few minutes behind on the DVR—had to analyze that penalty in depth—and just saw the second goal.
Amir Khalid
I’ve heard it said Portugal are basically just Cristiano Ronaldo + ten guys.
morfydd
Oh my.
Randinho
Pepe loses it again.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Portugal’s done. Maybe for the tournament. This looks like a real meltdown.
flaneur
Disgraceful by Müller
SRW1
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I might be wrong, but Ronaldo looked like his heart wasn’t in it any more already before the sending off. He didn’t make any attempt to chase that loose ball in front of the German goal, though that was of course a split second decision and he may simply not have recognized it fast enough.
Amir Khalid
@flaneur:
And what would you call Pepe’s reaction?
Bailey
@Amir Khalid:
Well, Christian Ronaldo + 9 guys now.
flaneur
Anger
SRW1
@flaneur:
An attempted head butt disgraces the intended target?
Randinho
@flaneur:
Disgraceful by both. The Guardian’s take on it is dead on:
Some of it may have been Pepe’s reputation, but so be it. His rep precedes him.
raven
Well, ya win some, ya lose some and some you shoulda never showed up for!
Randinho
More from The Guardian:
Indeed.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Pity I’m not watching this as I seem to be the only non-German that actually likes and roots for this team. Except when they play the Dutch.
Then again, the Dutch are basically Germans with a sense of humor.
piratedan
looks like this one is over….. now to return to my other regularly scheduled programming.
Amir Khalid
Deutschland are 3-0 up. This match appears to be over as a contest.
morfydd
@Randinho:
was that a push to the chest? I saw a backward fist to Müller’s jaw, but I didn’t see it clearly.
scav
Mmm, I think someone awarded the weird hair award to France entirely too soon. Rather enjoying the competition: it’s a rich one, fought on many fronts.
SRW1
I bet somewhere Klinsi is quietly hoping for more. A huge smack down of Portugal by Germany and a win of the US against Ghana later today may mean a draw against Portugal will suffice for the US to make it out of the group.
Onkel Fritze
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): What’s “humor”?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):
No, no. I’m rooting for ’em, too. I love the up-tempo game they now play.
Randinho
@morfydd: Muller made a meal of it, but Pepe clearly has no self-control.
Bailey
@SRW1:
US shouldn’t play for a draw against Portugal. They are beatable with or without CR7. Do they have some depth to replace Pepe?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Bailey: I don’t know that any team can replace Pepe’s ability to draw cards. He’s a unique talent.
Alex S.
Someone’s getting slaughtered…
Everything’s going in Germany’s favor so far. Each of these single things, penalty, red card, 2 goals by set piece, is ok on its own, but in this combination, they’ve destroyed Portugal. They must think that the world is against them.
Alison
So, Portugal getting their asses kicked – do we think that makes them demoralized and thus easier for the US to beat, or angry and thus more determined to beat us?
Hmmmmmmm.
Randinho
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): FTW!
IM
WellI liked the german game so far. Potugal, even with 11 players lucked lackluster. especially Ronaldo.
Steeplejack
@morfydd:
Based on my analysis of the slo-mo replay, further slo-mo’d by my DVR, it was a push to Müller’s right shoulder that came across Müller’s face and touched it. Tough to say how hard, but it did look like Müller way oversold his reaction. Pepe’s hand was not in a fist; it was more a kung fu grip position (fingers together, thumb apart in a sort of U-shape). The fingers are what hit or touched Müller’s face.
Randinho
Not a smart move, Raúl Meirelles.
scav
Don’t miss more from at the Guard Liveblog, 6:02. Raúl Meirelles, my current favorite hair of game guy opining.
ETA, not exactly shining confidence and good sense, agreed.
Onkel Fritze
@Randinho: Not gonna play vs. US
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Oh, hey, I can at least listen to the radio broadcast.
Onkel Fritze
On second look, those weren’t his middle fingers.
Steeplejack
If Raven is around, here’s the Hyundai TV ad I was talking about with the guy trying to get home to the DVR without hearing the game score. Very funny.
Calouste
12 games into this World Cup now, only one game in which less than 3 goals were scored, and no draws (well, if this ends in a draw, it’s still a honorary non-draw). That’s pretty good going.
scav
@Onkel Fritze: But I’d say the intention was likely there, despite the clever use of the gestural fill-in of fudge. Might be enough for refs though.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
The radio announcers are saying that it’s a strongly pro-German crowd and that they boo Ronaldo every time he touches the ball. Is that because the Germans traveled well or are the Brazilians rooting against Portugal? I don’t know anything about the relations between Brazilians and the former colonial power.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Steeplejack:
Don’t score too early, don’t hit the ball too well, and don’t go to super-duper slo-mo.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Randinho:
That will not end well for him or his team.
Steeplejack
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
You might be interested in the back issue of my newsletter where I analyze the Zapruder film. It’s a classic.
Alex S.
@Calouste:
I am surprised by the number of goals. Maybe the climate isn’t quite as draining as the teams expected.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
The US/Ghana game looks really big right now.
Randinho
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Many jokes in Brazil start with “Two Portuguese were . . .”
There is a lot of resentment over the decades of the amount of riches taken out of Brazil and delivered to Portugal.
Onkel Fritze
@scav: I’d say you’d have to see it in video. A picture can be deceiving and in motion it might be a completely different gesture. He could be signaling running patterns towards one of his teamates.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Steeplejack:
It’s about time someone did that!
Randinho
Another good point from The Guardian:
Klinsmann must really be happy.
SRW1
Mesut Oezil does a bit have the physique to look sad, but I suspect this air of him appearing unfulfilled when being replaced by Schuerle was real.
Not his year. I wonder how long until the first press comments in Germany to do a Rooney on him and ask for him to be dropped from the starting eleven.
scav
@Onkel Fritze: Could very well be. Is just a still and I don’t know his role on the team, just enjoying the hair. It just somehow doesn’t have that floppy in-betweeness somehow, and all the team’s focus would on the ref at that point, I would think.
Steeplejack
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Teaser: J.F.K. was murdered!
Amir Khalid
This seems to be a surprisingly injury-heavy match.
Alex S.
Heh, should have been a penalty for Portugal.
Steeplejack
Everything is going Germany’s way! Portugal should have had a penalty kick there.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Steeplejack:
The fuck you say!
raven
Does Portugal have to play with 10 against us?
Alex S.
Someone better put the portuguese team on suicide watch.
SRW1
Jebus, you can’t offer Mueller that kind of a gift.
Steeplejack
@raven:
No, they get 11 men, but one of them will not be Pepe.
P.S. I found that funny TV ad I mentioned a day or two ago.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Sweden must be pissed not to be here given the Teutonic dominance of their games so far.
SRW1
@raven:
Nope. At least not physically, some may be absent mentally, though.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@raven:
My snarkdar is off. The straight answer is no. But Pepe can’t play for Portugal, and if Miereles is found out by FIFA for telling the ref that he’s #11, then he might be out, too.
HumboldtBlue
@raven: No
Amir Khalid
It’s been a rotten World Cup for Iberia so far. Each team will now be facing what should have been defeatable opposition who are thinking,”We can win this.”
Randinho
@Amir Khalid: Not to mention a very tough goal differential.
Davis X. Machina
@Randinho: Many jokes in
BrazilFall River start with “Two Portuguese were . . .”Calouste
@Randinho:
It’s going to be almost impossible for Portugal and Spain to finish first in their group with that goal differential. The Germans/Dutch only have to win one more game and they are out of sight.
If it’s Brazil v Spain in the second round, I expect it to be a rough game.
Face
When does the Iran/Nigeria thread start? I got a lot of puns to use….
Bombers vs. “Bankers”?
Brown v. Board of Even Browner?
Oil Producers v. Oil Refiners?
Need some time to get these tighter.
drkrick
@Calouste:
Not if two of them are England and Uruguay unless you have access to a time machine.
scav
@Face: Why do I so want that score to be 4-19 and for there to be a prince on the field with off-shore points needing to be repatriated discretely? (Might go some way to explaining the 19 actually).
Punchy
Am I the only (not real hardcore) soccer fan who thought Iran was barred from the WC as a result of sanctions against their nuke program? A bit stunned to discover (yeah, months late) that they’re in this thing.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@scav: Unfortunately, Prince Boateng plays for Ghana.
Randinho
@Punchy: Yeah, I think you are. I never heard of that and they were also in the 2012 Olympics.
Randinho
@Face: I try to start all open threads 10 minutes before kickoff.
scav
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Heavy sigh. so close.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Punchy:
I’ve never heard that before.
FIFA might be corrupt as any organization out there, but it’s apolitical…to a fault.
⚽️ Martin
Well, that was an encouraging outcome. Thats’s a Portuguese team we can beat. Ronaldo barely showed up.
smintheus
@Steeplejack: I was just a fairly normal push to his chest or collar bone. Nowhere near the face. Muller should have gotten a yellow card for that ridiculous dive. The ref deserves as much blame as Pepe for his failure to keep the diving under control.
raven
@Steeplejack: It’s is and it’s the story of my life!
Steeplejack
@smintheus:
Gee, who should I believe, you or my lying eyes? (Face touch at 0:40.)
Randy Paul aka Randinho
He got his face amd it was a foul. Pepe made it worse for himself. It’s his metier.
SFAW
@Onkel Fritze:
Try this. Actually, have someone test-read it zuerst.
“Wenn ist das Nunstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! … Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput! ”
Those verdammte Dutch don’t have anything as funny, I guarantee.
SFAW
@Davis X. Machina:
Actually, I think they say “Portagee” in the FaRiv environs, although I’m not sure it’s considered a term of endearment.