I mean, fair enough. There’s really no arguing with that.
If they just put a seventh man out there, he’d probably score too.
It’s symptomatic, really. It reminds me of when a soccer goalkeeper decides to push up the field for an attack—suddenly, every last cross seems to find its way right to him. 😂
The Germans have a massive lead now. Even Krečmar says he’s happy, though apparently, even he didn't see this coming. 🙂
Alright, who in Germany is actually broadcasting Germany-Mexico?!?! It’s definitely not ESPN, NBC, or anything else. 🤷
The picture quality over on PBS is even worse than what I'm seeing locally—just black bars and this totally washed-out image. 🤦 And here I was, thinking I might actually get to "root" for our guys. 😁
rustywalker1 said:Does anyone have the stats on how many teams have actually made it to the semifinals with zero points in the second round? Or maybe just one point? I'm curious if there's any data on that.
Think back to when the Pole2 team played the World Cup here in the States and finished the group stage with zero points. It just crossed my mind—I don't know if there are other cases, but that’s a pretty recent example. I suppose if a team is truly talented and in good form, a little bit of luck with the brackets might be enough to pull it off.
They’re completely messing this up by sticking to that 6-0 defense, and Hansen is just tearing them apart at this point. After they took that massive hit, that right winger (is that even Laudrup? feels like it!) just knocked in two or three quick ones, and suddenly we're looking at a loss. Still, we're only down by one with five minutes left on the clock.🍿
Robert Morales6 said:Did anyone catch the crazy Polish game? They almost pulled off the comeback of the year!!! I guess that Swedish mentality just wasn't there... based on how the match went down http://www.eulivescore.com/poland-sweden/1023781/ I'm actually pretty bummed I missed it. What a shame.
I watched it. Sort of. The Swedes just seemed terrified of actually winning. Still, it’s a good sign—both teams are definitely still in the hunt.
It’s one of those days where everything seems to be spiraling into pure chaos. I suppose this game shouldn't be viewed in isolation, either. I wonder if tomorrow will be just as unpredictable. If it is, then maybe the Frenchmen and Spaniards can enjoy a halftime lead tomorrow.
Daniel Cooper40 said:I honestly don't see why everyone is jumping to conclusions so early. We’re sitting at a maximum of four points right now, which means if everything goes our way, we could still snag second place. They have matchups against the US and maybe even some tough games against teams like Canada, both of which are winnable for them—and we all know how we've been performing against those types of opponents lately. Let's just slow down a bit. 😉
Oh... please. As if I didn't already know all that.
But...
The Spaniards could probably pull off four points from their matches against Canada and Iceland, if they actually decide to show up. Canadians too, I suppose. That makes seven. And that’s all assuming we haven't even played our own games yet. I suppose we might eventually develop a kid of our own who can actually compete. I find that hard to believe. 😉
Finally, some good news: they're OUT of the tournament!!! There is absolutely no chance they make it to the semifinals now. Americans 4 Spaniards and Canadians 3 Canadians 2 Frenchmen 0 Icelanders 0
San Antonio 1.35 - following that loss to Milwaukee last night, and they’re traditionally solid at home.
Miami 1.8 - Wade is returning, and I imagine yesterday's loss stung; besides, they seem hungry to prove themselves against the heavy hitters this year. Plus, Chicago is sitting at two losses already, so a third might cause a bit of a slide in the Eastern Conference standings (though I realize there are still 50+ games left to play).
Portland 1.65 - I might even consider taking Orlando under. I'd rather just take this one to avoid the anxiety of wondering if some random three-pointer will ruin everything and push the total over.
Toronto 1.55 - they tend to handle these smaller Western Conference teams quite efficiently when playing at home.
OKC 1.35 - honestly, the only pick that makes me a little nervous, but OKC is just too strong. When you're fighting for the top spot in the West, you really can't afford to drop this one.
Here we go again with the USA. I have a feeling this might actually be the toughest matchup of the second round, mostly because the Polish and Swedish teams look pretty underwhelming right now. If the Americans manage to take down the Poles in the quarterfinals, Sweden is going to end up with absolutely nothing. It’s going to be an absolute nightmare deciding who takes second place.