2014 FIFA World Cup

[TheGayTent]

That's a goal too

[ThomThomDrum]

Croatia are getting fucked over here.

Free on the goal keeper? WTF? My hole that was a free

I hope the officiating is not this shit for the whole tournament as its one of the worst things about football

[pink_triangle]

Croatia are getting fucked over here.

Free on the goal keeper? WTF? My hole that was a free

I hope the officiating is not this shit for the whole tournament as its one of the worst things about football

[G-Stud]

That's a flattering scoreline!

[ThomThomDrum]

Keeper was shocking for the 3rd

Dont think Croatia deserve to loose this but you dont always get what you deserve in football. Its still one of the most unfair games going

[ThomThomDrum]

From this viewing Brazil need to step it up to win it all IMO

Suppose the win will do them good

[ThomThomDrum]

Going off that tonight they won't win it....

[pink_triangle]

Spain lost the first game last time and won the thing. While Brazil didn't impress, they looked fresher and fitter to me in the closing stages. Several of their players have not had intense domestic seasons, which I think is a big advantage.

[ThomThomDrum]

Bookies have lengthened the odds on Argentina, Spain and Germany after that! Makes no sense to me..............

Spain at 6/1 aint bad

[Dead throne]

Reff was choking. That should not have been a penalty. At all. Fuck of Brazil.

[Andre91]

Brazil look really shakey in defence. In know it's only the first game, but if they continue playing as they did tonight, I don't think they will win the World Cup. I don't think they will anyway (I'm backing Argentina), but Brazil are my second pick.

[Dead throne]

nah they won't. Maybe it's finally Holland's time....

[ThomThomDrum]

BTW Neymar should have been sent off before he scored. It was a deliberate elbow.............

[Andre91]

nah they won't. Maybe it's finally Holland's time....

[pink_triangle]

Brazil look really shakey in defence. In know it's only the first game, but if they continue playing as they did tonight, I don't think they will win the World Cup. I don't think they will anyway (I'm backing Argentina), but Brazil are my second pick.

[ThomThomDrum]

If you look at past winners we remember how they finished the tournament, but often forget about how they looked shaky at the start.

[pink_triangle]

Yeah but they won 3-1. Will they feel they need to adjust? And will they? They probably need to. Shaky starts usually end in losses and/or draws and so teams adjust and focus accordingly.

[ThomThomDrum]

Scolari is a clever manager...... Theres a lot to be said about not peaking too soon, the group stage is purely about getting the results you need.

[LondonTom]

Jesus christ, can the government not ban ITV from covering football or something...

Though the Brazilian protesters attacking the ITV studio kind of made up for it, who can blame for wanting rid of Adrian Chiles

The penalty, its soft but I am not sure its the worst ever call from a ref like some of the media are making out:

A shame as Croatia were doing well up until then!

[atomised]

Was a decent performance from Croatia. I think both sides will go through from that group. The penalty was a poor decision bit disgusting cheating led to it and possibly a homer decision

[Jackmypie]

I had some money on Brazil -1, never have I felt so jammy in my life. Neymar and Oscar played well, that was about it. I think they need a better striker if they are to win the world cup. Fred doesn't offer much apart from being a good finisher.

[t8yman]

I'm surprised people are saying Croatia did well? I thought their game was sadly lacking. Their passing was piss poor in the midfield, the only thing they did well was a few crosses into the box.

I really hope the cheating isnt going to go unpunished all the way through the tourney.

And ITV appear to have been able to surprise us all by proving that their coverage can get worse than it always was. Its fucking awful, Chiles is an utter dronebag. How the fuck he garners such a prestigious role is beyond me. Twitter was alight for most of the night with "WTF is this ITV?" and "adverts adverts adverts", and "ITV player goes down during the opening game of the WC", but my personal fave was #taxiforchiles

Makes me appreciate paying the TV license.

[eFestivals]

I'm surprised people are saying Croatia did well?

While they clearly weren't as skillful as Brazil, they properly went for it and on another night with a different bounce of the ball they would be walking away as winners.

It's not like they'd have done better if they'd sat back and let Brazil come straight at them for 90 minutes.

[pink_triangle]

I had some money on Brazil -1, never have I felt so jammy in my life. Neymar and Oscar played well, that was about it. I think they need a better striker if they are to win the world cup. Fred doesn't offer much apart from being a good finisher.

[TheGayTent]

He went to Newcastle didn't he and was equally as shit and like with France spent most of the time not playing?