2014 FIFA World Cup: Group H (BEL/ALG/RUS/KOR)

[Boognish]

This Hazard fellow is pretty good

[TheAdmiral]

Did Mahrez really foul Alderweireld?

[cgf]

Never underestimate the Russian soccer team's ability to **** the bed and play below their talent level. Especially with how Capello's been running them.

You're just being ridiculous with the Capello thing at this point. You'd think qualifying directly ahead of a team like Portugal was old news to Russia the way you go on about him.

Where were they four years ago? Didn't Slo-freaking-venia knock them out in the play-off?

Portugal sleepwalking even harder through that group shouldn't have you skim over how lifeless they played. Russia dwarfed every other nation other than Portugal in that group in talent with their backups and third choice players. I watched most of that qualifying campaign. They've yet to play near their talent level under him. Hiddink or whichever dutch coach preceded Capello certainly failed to overcome the Russian soccer team's instinct to choke, but at least when they weren't choking they were playing the kind of slick soccer they have the players to play.

[BUCKnation]

Jan loves left back

[5DOM]

Why is Chadli playing?

[El Turco]

up until the start of the game i thought chadli was algerian. he is playing like one too.

[Rasho Brezec]

up until the start of the game i thought chadli was algerian. he is playing like one too.

Better than the rest of the Belgian squad?

[NotaHypeJob]

UEFA teams sure are getting exposed this World Cup

[Ted Lasso]

Never underestimate the Russian soccer team's ability to **** the bed and play below their talent level. Especially with how Capello's been running them.

You're just being ridiculous with the Capello thing at this point. You'd think qualifying directly ahead of a team like Portugal was old news to Russia the way you go on about him.

Where were they four years ago? Didn't Slo-freaking-venia knock them out in the play-off?

Portugal sleepwalking even harder through that group shouldn't have you skim over how lifeless they played. Russia dwarfed every other nation other than Portugal in that group in talent with their backups and third choice players. I watched most of that qualifying campaign. They've yet to play near their talent level under him. Hiddink or whichever dutch coach preceded Capello certainly failed to overcome the Russian soccer team's instinct to choke, but at least when they weren't choking they were playing the kind of slick soccer they have the players to play.

Capello's teams always seem lifeless. Real Madrid seemed lifeless and boring under him as they completed an unlikely comeback to win the league title on the last day. Unless your priority is entertainment, it's a meaningless assessment.

And they dwarf many nations on paper. They dwarfed Slovenia. They dwarfed Greece and the Czech Rep. At least Capello has delivered results thus far, unlike others, which makes constantly criticising him to the degree of ridicule unwise.

Similar to your dissatisfaction with Joachim Low, the problem actually stems from the way you overrate the tools they have at their disposal across the board.

[Ted Lasso]

UEFA teams sure are getting exposed this World Cup

Which ones in particular?

[El Turco]

UEFA teams sure are getting exposed this World Cup

up until today they either lost to each other or to tournament favorites with essentially homefield advantage. they didn't have result like uruguay yet, although belgium is halfway there.

[Trilogy]

Why is Chadli playing?

This. Seriously what in the actual ****?

[Grants Goggles]

This has been disappointing so far, hopefully they can turn it around, but it looked like they can't handle the expectations in half 1. Lousy way to give away a penalty as well (and a lousy shot one, too).

Hopefully they right the ship in the second half because if you go into the matches against Russia and South-Korea with 0 points it's going to be awfully tough to get through.

[cgf]

Portugal sleepwalking even harder through that group shouldn't have you skim over how lifeless they played. Russia dwarfed every other nation other than Portugal in that group in talent with their backups and third choice players. I watched most of that qualifying campaign. They've yet to play near their talent level under him. Hiddink or whichever dutch coach preceded Capello certainly failed to overcome the Russian soccer team's instinct to choke, but at least when they weren't choking they were playing the kind of slick soccer they have the players to play.

Capello's teams always seem lifeless. Real Madrid seemed lifeless and boring under him as they completed an unlikely comeback to win the league title on the last day. Unless your priority is entertainment, it's a meaningless assessment.

And they dwarf many nations on paper. They dwarfed Slovenia. They dwarfed Greece and the Czech Rep. At least Capello has delivered results thus far, unlike others, which makes constantly criticising him to the degree of ridicule unwise.

Similar to your dissatisfaction with Joachim Low, the problem actually stems from the way you overrate the tools they have at their disposal across the board.

Those teams were also massively talented and capable even more than Capello got out of them, in Milan in particular he took over a dynasty and made them a still successful but far more boring dynasty. Which isn't always a problem unless it creates a misuse of talents and wasting of strengths. Russia's best players by a wide margin play higher up the pitch and Capello's neutered them so far, he has accomplished nothing his various predecessors didn't either, until the russians actually have some success to point to defend their lackadaisical style of play that card doesn't work. They've qualified for major tourney's playing attractive soccer before, hell they made a sweet run in the euros the one time Arsha decided to give a **** and became the Russian answer to Ronaldinho.

You've mentioned slovenia and that slovenian team would've easily been at least the third team in that group over Israel, capello didn't have to beat slovenia in a playoff, he needed to not wake Portugal up during their match and cross his fingers really hard, like the manager of every other team in that group did. This year they have an even easier group to deal with and we'll see if they do embarrass themselves again.

I also didn't realize I had gone full-massimo on the subject before you brought it up, so my bad on that.

[cgf]

CONMEBOL teams sure are getting exposed this World Cup

Yeah, but they're just not that good so what can you expect?

[AdamTheGreek]

Wetzel was shocked that ball got to his head.

[britblazerdude]

This is hilarious. Belgium...what are you doing.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

Belgium looks more golden girls than golden generation.

[Grants Goggles]

Pfft that was close.

Belgium still looks like they're sleepwalking out there.

[TheAdmiral]

Whoa, that was close.