WCF: Group A : Brazil-Croatia-Mexico-Cameroon

[fulhamben]

Why pick on Brazil, most South American countries will do that and some if not a majority of European countries too.

maybe because brazil are the ones actually playing. im sure all cheats will be flagged if and when something happens

[Fulham1959]

After the penalty I just stopped watching the game as I was so disgusted with the dive.

[ron]

There's plenty of writhing and face clutching to endure before this lot is put to bed

It's getting as difficult to do well in the World Cup by playing honest, decent football as it is amassing points with a good song in the laughable Eurovision Song Contest.

[grandad]

I am convinced this will be remembered as the cheating WC. It is coming more prevalent in the Premiership & the biggest culprits are all at the WC.

[Kent Cassandra]

Cheating is part and parcel of the south American game, I hate it but what can you do.
It was imperative tonight for FIFA, the world cup, and the Brazilian government that Brazil win.
The referees decisions I think affected the result of the game, Luis gave away a nailed on penalty.

[Lighthouse]

Croatia played well and were unlucky. Agree about the penalty. Don't have much doubt we have seen the best teams in that group. But a good start and quality from everybody but the ref.

[Beamer]

If that is the quality of the reffing then they might as well give the cup to Brazil now - how on earth did he stay on the field for that forearm jab when he had clearly lined the bloke up in advance. If Brazil have to resort to blatant fouling and cheating what can we expect from less 'gifted' teams.
Having said that it looked like the ref was going to be assaulted by half the Croatian team at one stage.
Some of the football was great when it broke out but you have to worry about the way the whole game is going.
Highlight for me was at half-time when they explained the goal-line technology by showing the Croatian goal crossing the line and stopped the ball just behind the line and just before it went into the back of the net - thankfully another potentially contentious decision cleared up then.

[OdecaMynoT]

That Japanese referee should slope off quietly and commit hari-kari.

That was a shameful and gutless performance. Septic Bladder will be happy.

Neymar should have been sent off for that elbow job before he scored.

The penalty..........What penalty??

Croatian disallowed goal was legal.

Mind you Croatia's keeper didn't exactly cover himself in glory.

Yet another football match where refereeing decisions have swayed the result.....heavily.

[YankeeJim]

Too many Brazilians play in Italy who invented the trashing about over nothing. Spain is a close second. What I don't understand is how the ref can't see it. The giveaway are the legs. You knock a man down as he is running or trip him his legs splay out and he flops like me trying to do a swan dive. When they are acting, the legs stiffen and they fall like a log. The dive was bad enough but the elbow that Neymar threw into the face of the defender about two minutes before he scored was to me deserving of a straight red. On the replay, you can see him looking at the defender as if to measure and than curled his arm and held it straight out. When you are jumping the elbows are in motion. Guess its a version of Fergie time wherever you play. As the old country song says  "rich man busy dancing, poor man pays the band".

Too be sure, if Brazil is to win this they'll have to do better. The Croats put up a good fight and until the breakaway for the 3rd goal I felt they were the most likely to score.

[the nutflush]

Same old crap every four years.  Bad acting gets the nod over trying to be a man and stay on your feet.  God help the game if this is one of the worlds best refs.  Surely we can find the worlds best referees inside four years?  I cant wait to watch Chiles antics v Australia. 

[Berserker]

Thought Lee Dixon was going to have a go at Viera last night over diving

[nose]

I  cannot say that there was anything diodgy in the brazil crotia game BUT the four big descisions all went brazil's way
twice nemar should have seen red forelbowing, once just before he equalised.
Crotaia score a perfectly good equaliser
The penalty was a joke.
In each of the incidfents, if the colur of the shirt had been reversed the player would have seen red, no [penalty and a goal allowed.

As i say there is no intent to suggest there is anything fishy about the referee but you might care to think that based on FIFA's recently reported antics. Personally I thought the 12 men of brazil were not all that and extremely lucky to get the result. If would have been the croatian manager I do not think i would have kept that calm.

here is an idea,
Why not just award Brazil the world cup now and eliminate them from the rest of the competiton that everyone else will play to decide runners up! It's pointless having brazil in the tournament if that is what is going to happen.

My opinion.

[nose]

fix - surprised they didn't choose a Qatari ref - totally inept

I never saw this before i posted, perhaps you may care to consider my last idea in my recent post.

[Wingnut]

Mexico have had two perfectly good goals disallowed so far. The officials are off to a seriously bad start in this WC.

[Burt]

Brazil singing the national anthem before the Mexico game... Wow...

Shame their footy hasn't been as stirring. Pretty average so far, nearly half time.

[bucksfulham]

Mexico deserve to be winning but don't be surprised if one flash of Brazilian magic gives them the win.

[TrexFFC]

That was quite a game.  Both sides could have pulled out a victory. Nothing like the other scoreless draw yesterday. Ochoa is without a doubt MOTM for me.

[YankeeJim]

I thought Mexico made Brazil and Neymar look human. Brazil seems to lack their usual quality striker. They may not win this thing after all.

[Forever Fulham]

So I'm in an Italian restaurant in downtown Dallas today for lunch.  There is a bank of three large HD TVS mounted on the wall above the bar area next to the restaurant's tables.   The employees are one or two Italian-Americans and 4-5 people of (likely) Mexican descent.  The TVs are tuned to the pre-game show before the Brazil v. Mexico match today.  Two are in English; the third's in Spanish. Every now and then a different person from the kitchen pops his head out from around the corner to watch the TV screen for 30 seconds.  All the employees are pretending to not pay attention to the TV, but the facade slips further away with every passing minute.  Five minutes into my lunch, the game starts.  I took a late lunch, so the place is mostly empty of customers by then.  There's a tension in the room. You can feel it.  A picture of David Luiz pops up on the screen and the man tending the pizza oven blurts out an obscenity.  The others laugh.  Then somebody else  starts to wildly gesticulate with his hands something about another Brazilian player.  So now it's just me, two elderly African American gents at another table, and a boozer at the bar.  Mexico's anthem first.  Then Brazil's, with the cameras doing a close up on Neymar who starts to cry and then fights off crying, then cries some more.  The staff looks at me, the three others, and as if one, decides lunch is informally over, we are 'OK',  and they all scramble to vacant tables around me, aprons still on, and it is ON!    I stayed for maybe 15 more minutes with this odd assembly of employees and management that temporarily adopted me, until a glance at my smart phone told me I was pushing it and had to get back to work.   Sigh. 

[YankeeJim]

So I'm in an Italian restaurant in downtown Dallas today for lunch.  There is a bank of three large HD TVS mounted on the wall above the bar area next to the restaurant's tables.   The employees are one or two Italian-Americans and 4-5 people of (likely) Mexican descent.  The TVs are tuned to the pre-game show before the Brazil v. Mexico match today.  Two are in English; the third's in Spanish. Every now and then a different person from the kitchen pops his head out from around the corner to watch the TV screen for 30 seconds.  All the employees are pretending to not pay attention to the TV, but the facade slips further away with every passing minute.  Five minutes into my lunch, the game starts.  I took a late lunch, so the place is mostly empty of customers by then.  There's a tension in the room. You can feel it.  A picture of David Luiz pops up on the screen and the man tending the pizza oven blurts out an obscenity.  The others laugh.  Then somebody else  starts to wildly gesticulate with his hands something about another Brazilian player.  So now it's just me, two elderly African American gents at another table, and a boozer at the bar.  Mexico's anthem first.  Then Brazil's, with the cameras doing a close up on Neymar who starts to cry and then fights off crying, then cries some more.  The staff looks at me, the three others, and as if one, decides lunch is informally over, we are 'OK',  and they all scramble to vacant tables around me, aprons still on, and it is ON!    I stayed for maybe 15 more minutes with this odd assembly of employees and management that temporarily adopted me, until a glance at my smart phone told me I was pushing it and had to get back to work.   Sigh. 

I saw Mexico play Brazil some years back in a resort bar in Puerto Vallarta. There must have been 200 people in the place which might have been designed for 40. It was an all inclusive place so the bar keeps during every break in the action just drew glass after glass of the local hooch and just put it on the bar. Mexican fans fit the bill of being rabid. When Mexico equalized early in the second half, everyone got a beet bath. It was close but Brazil scored late on the counter and the place went absolutely quiet. I had the good sense not to cheer. Great fun as long as they are not playing the US.