World Cup 2010

[Anpanman]

Hmmm, Iniesta's not on form, only 7.6 for that latest dive.

[NemesiS]

Germany have gone to sleep........

[Anpanman]

I've enjoyed it though, particularly second half, the quality of passing & crossing from both teams has been very good.

Looking at these two compared to England you see how ****e we really were.

[NemesiS]

Paul the psychic octopus has got it right again.......

[Anpanman]

Ha ha yeah.

Good goal though, nice corner and thumping header.

[NemesiS]

Played well in second half Spain and defended superbly. I had a feeling they'd have the possession but i never saw this result for them after the tournament they have had. Very boring, but you have to say it's been effective.

[prinnysquad]

Pisspoor performance from Germany. They've played a silly sit-back-and-let-them-come-on-game against the best passing team in the world, whilst simultaneously losing the ability to pass to each other with penetration. It's a shame because I really wanted Germany to win but they've been rotten and deserve stuff all. Sitting back, scared ****less, not closing down, FFS.

Spain on the other hand are real arty-farty bores, trying to walk it in, as typified by Pedro not passing to a wide open B'Elanna Torres. Their tournament has been a painfully dull, tepid one, yet they fully deserve to win this game.

A PREDICTABLY **** outcome to a game I wanted the exact opposite to. I should have written this down before the game and gloated in its obviousness - Germany playing a wary, nervous game lacking in the confidence and quality they've displayed elsewhere, and Spain edging it despite their utter wankness in front of goal. I base my comments not on football stats or anything like that, but rather the absolutely typical nature of everything I ever want to happen in sport - as a fan or a neutral - to not happen, ever, when it comes to the crunch.

For the record, I want Holland to win on Sunday. Sorry, Dutch fans, you're now doomed. The Dutch will sit back and be terrified of moving forward. Simple passes will go astray. Spain, despite their skill and decent forwards, will play one up front and try to walk it in with tic tac toe bobbins.

[MisterBubbles]

well said prinny , you cant give all the time they want , ATTACK Holland, dont sit back.
GO HOLLAND

[NemesiS]

Yeah, I fully expected Germany to wallop em, but on the night they needed their va va voom football they decided to sit back and defend and hit on the break. Just silly when they couldn't get the ball. And tbh, i don't think Spain are that convincing, regardless of their great passing.

Deserved winners tho even though the game was sooo f*cking boring. I dread to think what the final will be like now.

Does that mean it's a new winner on the trophy?

My only consolation is i have Holland in the works sweep, so i've won ?60 whatever happens

[MisterBubbles]

Yup Spain and Holland have never won it.
Casillas looks well dodgy on crosses and such, Germany never really tested him

[prinnysquad]

Yeah new winner.

I just can't believe how poor Germany were at closing down the ball carrier and their attacking options, and how poor their limited time on the ball was. They didn't even try to repeat their successful tactics of killing the midfield and breaking in numbers. A coaching error to sit back? It certainly hasn't worked, and Spain relish teams sitting back so they can carve them up. The Germans let the Spanish run the midfield. Yes, Spain are good on the ball, but they had so much more possession where it mattered. Germany just didn't close down the carrier and shadow the passing options. Maybe they should have played 3-5-1-1? Flood the midfield and use the break with more confidence.

[saturn-gamer]

Spain was actually really good tonight. Gave nothing away against a 14 times scoring Germany, basically destroyed them. Spain are favourites against us.

We won't sit back, never did. 80% of our lamer people wanted Germany to be the finalist, as we weren't that impressed by them. Because they were exactly like the Holland of old; ultimately bottling somewhere too early.

But Spain is beatable, they did lose a game. They have serious problems with scoring while we always score. Luck is on our side too, so far. Also, Holland still didn't show their true colors yet, Robben for example was still holding back yesterday. We expect him to take risks in the final. This one can go either way.

[NemesiS]

I don't understand loew's tactics at all there. Spain were there for the taking imo and Germany were the team of the tournament full of confidence playing with real verve. So for him to alter the game plan and let Spain come on to them is baffling.

Just because its a semi, doesn't mean you should change whats got you there regardless of the opposition. Be interesting to see his after match interview/comments

I'm going to ask that bloody octopus for the lottery numbers. Better than mystic meg that thing

[MisterBubbles]

Germany where playing zonal marking and just sitting back , yes wrong tactics, Yogi nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. Holland sit back and do the same Spain will win a boring final 1-0 , attack and 2-1 Holland.

[prinnysquad]

I hear what you're saying saturn, and credit to Spain, who did what they do to good effect, and it worked. This was their best game by far, but they weren't devastatingly good. You often get the feeling with Spain that they've not reached their max, even when they win games and tournaments. You always feel like that 6-0 destruction is round the corner, but it never comes. They're just frustrating to watch.

I think today was a case of Spain playing their normal game, and Germany not playing theirs.