<p>…and it turns out their not playing Belgium after all, whoops.</p>
<p>Regardless, that first match against Ghana is going to be critical to the U.S.’ success. If they can get three points out of that game, then they have a chance of breaking out of the group stage.</p>
<p>@hailbo
that was such an ingenious move by suarez…i literally stood up and clapped. sure, it was a cheap move, but hey, it worked.</p>
<p>That was amazing. Do anything you can to win. And it’s not like he went unpunished for it.</p>
<p>Netherlands is a great team, and Belgium’s still meshing. They have a relatively easy group to navigate through, so I’m expecting that by the time they hit the round of 16, they’ll be kicking some serious butt. Can you imagine how potent a front line of Hazard-Lukaku-Januzaj can be? Or will be in another 4 or 8 years?</p>
<p>I’d start Mertens over Januzaj @mrnephew </p>
<p>One more day! :D</p>
<p>You’re either a terrible judge of quality or you just don’t watch either of them at all.
That’s like saying you’d rather start Miroslav Klose instead of Goetze.</p>
<p>Yay soccer.</p>
<p>first things first- Brazil vs. Croatia
As tournament opener, will be very exciting. Most people are expecting a Brazil win.
Expected Brazil squad (4-2-3-1) - Julio Cezar-Marcelo, David Luis, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves-Gustavo, Paulinho- Neymar, Oscar, Hulk-Fred
Nothing wrong with expecting Brazil win seeing that Croatia’s defense is weaker.
This is a very strong line up, but I think Croatia possesses one of the greatest midfielders of all time: Luka Modric. Modric has proven to be exceptional at Real Madrid this season, and was one of the main reasons Real did so successfully this year (have you seen his killer passes??)
The only other downside of Croatia with their defense is that Mandzukic can’t play due to a red card in the last round of playoffs.
Top 3 expected scores for me:
0:0 Tie
1:1 Tie
1:0 Brazil Win</p>
<p>Also, many people are saying Belgium will get pretty far in this tournament. Yes their squad is very strong (honestly Hazard is a beast) but they simply lack experience. I’m 99% sure they’ll make it out of the group H with either Russia or Korea Rep. (Hoping for latter; will explain below), but will likely meet Portugal or Germany in the RO16. Most likely Portugal, since G2vsH1, and G1 will prob be Germany; I’m expecting the Portugal-Belgium match to go into Extra-time and possibly even penalties. Even if Belgium beats Portugal in RO16, RO8 is the farthest they can get. They simply do not have enough experience.</p>
<p>Russia vs Korea Rep.
Contenders for 2nd place of GroupH. Russia recently left off their captain (idk his name) off of their 23man squad, leaving a lack of holding and leadership (once again) in midfield. Korea however, has two great wingers, Son HM (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, this season stats: 10G5A in Germany; selected as top 11 u-23 players to watch in Brazil) and Lee CY (Bolton of Championship, but still have been very good for them). They also have a CAM from Mainz 05, Koo JC, who also is captaining the squad. Don’t forget he captained the U23 Korea team to a bronze medal in London 2012 with a lot of the current members and current coach Hong MB (beast for Korea in 2002). Defense line is ok with Park JH (3rd rank LB in Bundesliga this season), and CBs Hong JH (Augsburg) and Kim YG (Guangzhou). The Striker (Park CY), RB and GK are eh. But don’t forget Ki SY in midfield, who has proved exceptional for Sunderland in their fight against relegation in the EPL and finishing 14th; he also had that big goal in the semi final of Capital One cup against Chelsea. Korea will prob make it to RO16 as H2, and will lose to G1 (Germany).
Koreans still have an anti-Russian feeling after Sochi2014, where Sotnikova SHOULD NOT HAVE WON the gold medal in woman’s figure skating. Koreans are expecting a figure ceremony if someone manages to score.</p>
<h1>queenyuna</h1>
<p>and my semi finalist predictions: Brazil Argentina Spain and Darkhorse (idk who yet)</p>
<p>(AND YES, I am Korean–American, if you couldn’t tell by above 
)</p>
<p>Haha I’m really loving these “Neymar sucks” tweets on twitter</p>
<p>lol @ marcello </p>
<p>Neymar scored a brace. Although one of them was a penalty. His other goal was sublime.</p>
<p>And I don’t think Belgium are as doomed as you think they are. Lack of experience might not end up hurting them that badly.</p>
<p>Here’s to hoping Korea kicks Russia’s rear end back to their homeland.</p>
<p>Ref ruined the game.
Penalty should not have been called for that subtle of a tackle; almost less than Ramos breathing on Neymar during the Clasico.
Neymar should’ve gotten a red for that elbow.</p>
<p>Modric with a superb shot; Cesar had a great save tho.</p>
<p>On side note, Fabregas to Chelsea (5yrs). Move was expected due to that Pique interview, but to Chelsea? Wow. the last two captains (vanPersie → ManUTD, Fabregas → Chelsea) to their rival clubs. gg arsenal</p>
<p>Brazil definitely won’t win the World Cup if they play like they did today. Unless they continue to receive the referee’s blessing</p>
<p>Those Japanese though…</p>
<p>God Man Utd., you chase after players you can’t get, and then when you CAN get them, you don’t want them.</p>
<p>This isn’t good Woodward… Not good at all…</p>
<p>And I agree, Brazil wasn’t that great today, no matter what the scoreline represents. But Oscar was fantastic.</p>
<p>The only person worse than the Croatian keeper was the ref. Sheesh, how do you get both hands on a ball in a penalty kick and still let it in? Also, how do you let that last goal in? It’s not like he was going to shoot across his body, the guy was falling down.</p>
<p>Man Utd doesnt need a CAM like Fabregas. They already have Mata, Kagawa, and even Rooney that can play in that position.
Man Utd nees strong CM and maybe a winger to replace Young. Also, new defense. Pls LukeShawtoMUFC</p>
<p>I like Shaw too, but Fabregas can play CM. He’s not an exclusive CAM.</p>
<p>That Brazil v. Croatia game…</p>
<p>That ref made some really bad calls. The Croatian “goal” at ~83 minutes should have counted and the Croatians deserved to have won it. I hope they manage to escape the group somehow</p>
<p>I think that Brazil overall played better and deserved to win, but I do disagree with the circumstances of which they won in.</p>