It is not that bad for Brazil though. It is basically Neymar Junior (group stage) vs James Rodriguez with some minor part of Oscar vs Juan Cuadrado
Wait so Brazil not losing is not a product of (1) referee help vs Croatia (2) Facing a terrible, arguably the worst team in the tournament Cameroon team??? Their toughest competition in the group and they drew that. Their group was no great shakes either. Since when are Ivory Coast and Greece bad teams? Ivory Coast would thrash Cameroon handily. Greece vs Croatia would be a toss up. Japan are neither bad nor anything special. Por favor, which analysts called Luis and Silva the best defensive duo in the tournament so far? Van Buyten, Kompany(in only two games against average competiton I know), Medel, Even ugh Marquez has been better than Luiz. Some of those mentioned have been as good or better than Thiago. Thiago has been good like he almost always is but def not great and not better than any of those mentioned. $hit I might even be persuaded to take Kenneth Omeruo of Nigeria over Luiz atm. Omeruo has been fairly solid and despite not being partnered with a rock like Thiago Silva and instead being partnered with...ugh Joseph Yobo, Omeruo has been solid as well in saving Nigeria and his center back partner numerous times.
If you are so certain, go to Vegas and put all of your money on Colombia. With the line as it is, you will make like a bandit if Colombia wins.
i wonder if dwight howard watches the world cup and if after seing "hulk" on the back of a jersey, if he might want to get superman on the alternative uniforms.
Sure.... Martinez scored two against Japan... but Elimination stage is a whole different matter..... IMHO attacking midfielders usually score at that stage more unless your name is Ronaldo, Klose, Mueller, Batistuta and so on Neither Ramos, Bacca are at that level. Martinez is on the rise but the Portuguese league is still not Top 5 in Europe. Just my 2 cents here.
I'll stick to Elimination games have other rules, are usually closer than group stage games where it is more usual to see a 5-1, 5-2, 4-0 and so on The usual results are 1:1, 1:0,2:1, 0:0 and sometimes 2:0 Rarely do you see: 3:0, 4:2, 2:2
Oh boy. Was the ref help with Croatia? Sure, but the score reflected a tough battled match that was defined by the Brazilian individualities. Which is exactly what Scolari plays for. Defend first, offensive liberties. Keep in mind, Croatia is better than anyone in Colombia's group. I'll give you Cameroon, they're bad. But Mexico and Croatia would top Colombia's same group. If you don't think Greece and Ivory Coast are a couple tiers down the totem pole, I don't know what to say to you. We clearly have irreconcilable football visions. To which I'll say mine is the correct one. just messing with ya. And of all the backs you listed, I'd say only Kompany or Medel have played better than either Silva or Luiz. Brazil games are tough to watch, but you'll notice the opposing strikers rarely have few chances in front of goal. Mexico attacked, but had to stick with their dangerous long-shots. Chile attacked, and only had three clear cut chances (two being a product of the horrible defenders that Marcelo and Dani Alves are). Same for Croatia and Cameroon. Luiz and Silva are lock-down defenders. I really don't see Teo Gutierrez or Jackson Martinez doing much up front against them. If Colombia scores, it'll be off an idiot mistake that Dani Alves or Marcelo are prone to, or some magical play from James or Cuadrado. But they'd also have to go through Luiz Gustavo, who I also love. This Brazil team is the opposite of Jogo Bonito, it's the opposite of what you'd expect, but I have a hard time seeing them defeated. Scolari admitted a few weeks back that he wanted to avoid Chile at all costs, and that was for a reason. They play to Brazil's weakness extremely well. If Chile couldn't do it, I don't see Colombia doing it either. But hey, I've been wrong before, and I'd be damn happy to see Colombia beat Brazil.
What level? I'm pretty sure most that have watched Jackson Martinez,Adrian Ramos and Bacca play would take them over Fred and Jo. I might even take Gutierrez over Fred and Jo. Wait, you say Martinez is "on the rise" but the Portuguese league is not top 5 in Europe? So what? It's still one of the top leagues in the world and if we want to bring down Martinez' abilities just because he is in the Portuguese league then what does one say for Fred and Jo? Did you forget what league they play in? The Brasilian Campeonato is a very good and tough league but if you think it's definitively better than the Portuguese League then woah bro.
On the level that they can score on any team and when it matters most. There is discussion in this. Brazil has a chance in this even without strikers. So how many strikers did score goals vs Uruguay?! You just cannot argue for the sake of arguments. Being better than Jo and Fred is not hard. Does not mean it is a guarantee that they score. Pekerman can get back to his one forward formation - Teofilo against Greece 52%-48% for Colombia with Brazil having won their last penalty shootouts
You gotta feel for Chile. They had some really bad luck today. But in the end, the team that wins....well, they win. So credit to Brazil. The match between Colombia and Brazil will be very fun.
Lol come on man, anyway I fixed your post. Uh you mean Mexico and Croatia would top Colombia's group if Colombia was not in it...right? Plus I don't think Mexico or Croatia would be certain winners over Ivory Coast or Greece. Fairly even those matchups would be imo. They'd be a toss up. Nope I def don't think either team is a couple tiers down the totem pole from Mexico or Croatia. Greece might be "attacking wise" down the list after Mexico, Croatia and Ivory Coast, but we know when Greece takes the pitch, anything can happen especially with their ability to stifle, defend and bore. Meh, you take your football vision and go kick rocks lol. Man go check out the defensive ratings and let's see if Van Buyten hasn't played better than Luiz. No doubt Luiz and Thiago are saddled with some worthless (when it comes to defending) fullbacks but Luiz is blessed to be playing alongside Thiago Silva. If you pair him with Dante I think his flaws might be exposed even more. I give most credit to Thiago and some to David Luiz. He has been good, he hasn't been bad and he hasn't been great. Regardless, it's not enough for me to say David Luiz has been one of the best CB's in the WC(or one of the top 2 or even 5). Croatia w/o their lead striker to trouble Brazil still gave them trouble. Cameroon are worthless. I don't rate Gutierrez highly so I'd be tempted to agree w/you. I do agree with you on Colombia's scoring chances for the Brazil game. I think Chile gave Colombia enough of a blue print to follow to cause Brazil trouble. But hey, I've been wrong before, and I'd be damn happy to see Colombia beat Brazil.[/QUOTE] Well then, let's hope Colombia do it so we can all be happy together(and look for some Brazilian girls to comfort)
Huh? WTH again. On the level that they can score against any team when it matters most. Tell me again how many goals have Fred and Jo scored this tournament? 1 by Fred. Colombia's strikers haven't scored that many but they still have 1 more than Fred and Jo. You must not have properly comprehended my point. You were listing some key positional battles. I listed one positional battle that I felt there is no doubt Colombia has the edge in and that's striker. No one is saying Brazil don't have a chance even with the frauds they have playing up front for them. As long as Neymar is on the pitch they will always have a chance. No one is saying there is a guarantee Colombia's strikes will score but my point again, if one has to place bets on which striker on either team scores, I'd wager most people would place bets on the team that has strikers that have scored more goals so far and the team with two of the most creative players in the tournament (James and Cuadrado). You my friend should probably stop arguing for the sake of it and make sure you understand the point. To reiterate- good matchups for both teams both edge in strikers most would probably still give to Colombia.
Jeez! They might as well create a reality show about Barbers that can do stuff like that. Pretty damn talented!
my point was you do not need forwards to win games. I would like to argue how good jackson, ramos, ....are just not now. point taken. simple as that and move on.
Swoly and the other mexican fans. Good luck tonight (well not to much luck. You do have to lose). And enjoy a great game.
