Everything Soccer

[IrishLion]

To my still relatively-untrained eye, the US looked like a whole different team than what we normally see in the first half.

I usually watch games and think, "Man, I wish the US could possess the ball and make the other team look truly inferior like these guys are doing to us."

The first half last night, it was finally the opposite! The US looked dominant in terms of possession, and made Ecuador look like the truly inferior side (again, just my novice opinion. Tell me if I missed something). Even Bradley looked good, taking touches in the middle and dishing it out to push against Ecuador's defense.

Things kind of went back to normal in the second half, and the match became a shit show when both sides went to 10 men. Brooks had one clearance late that I thought for sure was going to be an own-goal, and we were going to see extra time.

If a match goes to extra time, do they play two periods of that and then go to shootouts if it's still tied?

 

[dublinirish]

To my still relatively-untrained eye, the US looked like a whole different team than what we normally see in the first half.

I usually watch games and think, "Man, I wish the US could possess the ball and make the other team look truly inferior like these guys are doing to us."

The first half last night, it was finally the opposite! The US looked dominant in terms of possession, and made Ecuador look like the truly inferior side (again, just my novice opinion. Tell me if I missed something). Even Bradley looked good, taking touches in the middle and dishing it out to push against Ecuador's defense.

Things kind of went back to normal in the second half, and the match became a shit show when both sides went to 10 men. Brooks had one clearance late that I thought for sure was going to be an own-goal, and we were going to see extra time.

If a match goes to extra time, do they play two periods of that and then go to shootouts if it's still tied?

yup cos its a knockout game

 

[IrishLion]

yup cos its a knockout game

Yeah I just didn't know if it were two periods of extra time or just one, or if there were any tournaments that do Golden Goal or go straight to penalties.

 

[NDohio]

To my still relatively-untrained eye, the US looked like a whole different team than what we normally see in the first half.

I usually watch games and think, "Man, I wish the US could possess the ball and make the other team look truly inferior like these guys are doing to us."

The first half last night, it was finally the opposite! The US looked dominant in terms of possession, and made Ecuador look like the truly inferior side (again, just my novice opinion. Tell me if I missed something). Even Bradley looked good, taking touches in the middle and dishing it out to push against Ecuador's defense.

Things kind of went back to normal in the second half, and the match became a shit show when both sides went to 10 men. Brooks had one clearance late that I thought for sure was going to be an own-goal, and we were going to see extra time.

If a match goes to extra time, do they play two periods of that and then go to shootouts if it's still tied?

Typically yes, but I believe the Copa America goes directly to PK's. I would have to check that though.

Edit: Here it is

Copa America overtime rules: How extra time and penalties work - SBNation.com

There's nothing better than a dramatic extra time period in a knockout soccer tournament. Don't you love it? Well, you won't get to watch it until the final of the 2016 Copa America Centenario.

To save everyone's legs, Copa America does away with extra time in the quarterfinals and the semifinals. In the event the United States and Ecuador are tied after 90 minutes on Thursday, they won't go to extra time. They'll go straight to penalty kicks.

In the final, the rules you're used to will apply. Two teams will play two 15-minute extra time periods in their entirety, with no golden goal. In the event that the score is still tied at the end of those 30 minutes, the two sides will then have a penalty shootout. Unlike continental club and domestic cup competitions that use the away goals rule, there is nothing along those lines used at international tournaments.

Penalties are best-of-five, with each team taking alternate shots until one team is mathematically unable to catch the other. If they're still tied after five takes each, penalties then go to sudden death, and the match will end in the first round that one team makes their penalty and the other misses.

 

[dublinirish]

italy-sweden very tedious so far - niether team wants to lose

 

[NorthDakota]

italy-sweden very tedious so far - niether team wants to lose

Yeah pretty lame.

 

[dublinirish]

Yeah pretty lame.

you gotta blame platini for this
he promised an expanded tournament to get elected.
too many teams/too many spots in 2nd round that allows teams to draw their way through group stages to advance.

the standard/quality of expressive football is what suffers.

A kick and chase/uninspiring team is going to win this tournament through attrition and it will be a forgettable one when all is said and done.

 

[NorthDakota]

you gotta blame platini for this
he promised an expanded tournament to get elected.
too many teams/too many spots in 2nd round that allows teams to draw their way through group stages to advance.

the standard/quality of expressive football is what suffers.

A kick and chase/uninspiring team is going to win this tournament through attrition and it will be a forgettable one when all is said and done.

Yeah I preferred the normal format. 16 teams right? Get into the top 2. Gotta win games to advance then.

I still will go with France or Germany to win.

 

[dublinirish]

Yeah I preferred the normal format. 16 teams right? Get into the top 2. Gotta win games to advance then.

I still will go with France or Germany to win.

yeah and it was brutal for the lower seeds. Last time round Ireland had Italy, Croatia and Spain in their group and got thumped in each game. It was misery.

 

[dublinirish]

Italy steal it at the death

Great result for Ireland

 

[Emcee77]

Italy steal it at the death

Great result for Ireland

Awesome.

Can't wait to hear what quote-machine Zlatan has to say.

Btw, it just occurs to me that under the old format, there would have been no Zlatan and no Cristiano in this tourney, right? Whose butthurt, egocentric post-game quotes would we have to criticize?

 

[nlroma1o]

Forza Azzurri!!!

Another 3 pts when I would have been happy with 1.

I have no idea how Eder made that play. He has been horrible these first 2 matches. I really want Conte to swallow his pride and try and play Zaza and Insigne up top. Those 2 are so much more creative than Pelle and Eder. Pelle is a fukin tree. He does nothing up there but moap around. He doesnt work hard up top. Eder, if it wasnt for his 1 play/goal he made, had a bad game. Give Insigne a chance Conte. I beg you.

 

[dublinirish]

Awesome.

Can't wait to hear what quote-machine Zlatan has to say.

Btw, it just occurs to me that under the old format, there would have been no Zlatan and no Cristiano in this tourney, right? Whose butthurt, egocentric post-game quotes would we have to criticize?

lol funny thing about Zlatan was pre tournament he was saying "there are so many young guys on this team, i must inspire them as captain and encourage them"

Post ireland game after he was blanked (more or less ) "These guys are crap and gave me no service"

 

[notredomer23]

That first half of Italy-Sweden was a yawn fest. Kicking and chasing the whole half and Sweden was playing Zlatan too deep. Don't know if second half was any better but that was some MLS quality first half soccer.

 

[NorthDakota]

Yeah, this is bad. Bring back 16 team Euros!

 

[notredomer23]

Yeah, this is bad. Bring back 16 team Euros!

The round of 16 should be fun at least.

On an entirely different note, American Emerson Hyndman signs with Bournemouth. Perfect move for him. Lower mid table Premier League team he should be able to make an impact on quickly and if he thrives, it is the perfect stepping stone.

 

[Emcee77]

The round of 16 should be fun at least.

On an entirely different note, American Emerson Hyndman signs with Bournemouth. Perfect move for him. Lower mid table Premier League team he should be able to make an impact on quickly and if he thrives, it is the perfect stepping stone.

Love that move. Bournemouth is an exciting team that works hard and goes for it every time out, with a great team-first ethos. I just hope they hold on to that manager.

 

[ACamp1900]

Can't quite wrap my mind around Fulham to Bournemouth being an upward move... Strange times.

 

[nlroma1o]

Yeah, this is bad. Bring back 16 team Euros!

I take it you guys didn't watch the second half. It opened up once Zaza came on the pitch for Pelle.

 

[NorthDakota]

holy shit what happened croatia??? blowing a 2 goal lead lol

 

[calvegas04]

What kind of shitty security do they have at the Euro games? With the high terror alerts these fans should not be getting in with flairs and fireworks

 

[nlroma1o]

Busquets is trash.... that was such a bullshyt yellow he just caused Turkey to pick up. That flop was atrocious.

 

[NorthDakota]

Busquets is trash.... that was such a bullshyt yellow he just caused Turkey to pick up. That flop was atrocious.

He's a garbage dude. People like him are why it's so hard to find fellow soccer fans.

 

[notredomer23]

Really disappointed about the Croatia game. It's like their fans wanted them to lose.

 

[dublinirish]

Really disappointed about the Croatia game. It's like their fans wanted them to lose.

some of them wanted to team to lose/get thrown out.

there's a huge element in their support who believe the football federation in croatia are corrupt and damaging the game there. they want to the world to see they are unhappy with them. there's also a Split/Zagreb divide between supporters that will never ever go away

Some Croatia fans are on a mission to cause trouble, admits Slaven Bilic after flares overshadow Czech Republic draw | Daily Mail Online

also from r/soccer

who did it and why?
In short, extremist football club supporters ('hooligans', 'ultras') who are unhappy with how the Croatian Football Federation (FF) is run and the (supposed) corruption within. They don't like the leadership with whom they are at war for years now. What happened today is their attempt at trying to force their way, embarrass the Croatian FF officials and incite outrage in the football world. By doing so, they hoped to disqualify the Croatian national football team from the EURO competition. They think this (amongst other things) will put enough pressure on the people they want to step down to step down.
This is not the first time they've done something like this and they are adamant to continue until their requests are satisfied. You might remember Croatia being punished/fined/disqualified 15+ times in the recent years due to disturbances such as this one (riots, clashes with the police, racism, pitch invasions, etc). Especially prominent was the swastika mowed into the Split stadium field the night before the EURO 2016 qualifier match against Italy.
Again, it is important to understand that these are not random acts of boredom or drunkenness; they are planned and precisely orchestrated to further an agenda.

 

[NorthDakota]

So sad that such a Catholic country would behave in such a manner. Embarrassing for the country and get people. My dad spent some time in Medjugorje( yes I know it's not in Croatia but pretty close) and speaks very highly of the three region.

 

[ACamp1900]

Why does Hungary's goalie look like he's 55??

 

[ACamp1900]

Internet viral meme coming from the Iceland player spitting all over himself....

 

[NDinMich]

Why does Hungary's goalie look like he's 55??

Are those sweatpants he's wearing?

 

[calvegas04]

Are those sweatpants he's wearing?

yes it is