FIFA World Cup 2014

Argentina v Belgium game pretty underwhelming so far. Belgium look rather lifeless and devoid of urgency. Argentina deserve their lead. Quite a contrast to the passion and energy shown in the Brazil/Colombia game. Hope this one hots up in the second half.

Disappointed with the lack of passion shown by Belgium. Didn't really press until the last 10 mins.  Too little, too late. Argentina deserve their place in the semi-final.

I thought Fellaini had a very good game for Belgium. He was very aggressive, used his size well, and won a lot of balls. A stark contrast to the tentative way he played last year for Man U. Poor coaching perhaps?

After raining all those shots on the US goalie, how many shots on goal did Belgium have today?  Maybe 2?  

After getting the early goal, the Argentines were positively Germanic in their tenacity and ball control.  Shame about di María -- hope he is not out for the semifinal.

ATB.

Hoom

Belgium were terrible! There is unlikely to be an Argentine team as mediocre as that one for some time. The bald Argentine guy with a bootlace stuck on the back of his head should win an award for 'elegance'!

Inasmuch as my maternal progenitors are Belgian, I am disappointed...

Messi should have made it 2-0 towards the end. with only the keeper to beat a player of his class seldom misses.

Mista h

Have to say cracking first half goal from the Argies.

Mista h

I think the Dutch will have too much quality and guile for Costa Rica.  3-1 for me.

And into extra-time.  Costa Rica have ridden their luck but well done to them for taking the Dutch this far.  Robben looking very good again - fast and focussed. VP having something of an off-night, though. 

And Robben still goes down too easy. I bet he dives and get's a penalty in extra time. 

Into penalties. Van Gaal making a big call in bringing on Krul as sub keeper for just that purpose.  VG's going to look a right prat if Krul fails to save any.

Now that is what you call "A Substitution"

Well, VG's gamble paid off with Krul saving two (VG's clearly a man of high self-confidence). So the Dutch are through but hats off to Costa Rica. They can go home with their heads held high and should be received as returning heroes.

Krul, the bigger/longer of the two goalkeepers looked well prepared. The substitution was clearly planned in advance.

CRC was hoping for a repeat of the Greece match, and given the Netherlands record in shootouts, it was probably their best chance at a win.

All in all, the four best teams are now in the semis.

ATB.

Hook

Agree with you about the goalkeepers antics. Shocking.

Wat...I didn`t watch last nites game,but tell me did Princess have a good game ? I do hope so then in the next few weeks we can flog him to some European club that might just be stupid enough to pay Fulham loadsa money for him.

Mista h

As someone with no access to the games on TV, what, may I ask, did the goalkeeper do?

Tim Krul tried to put off the penalty takers. Standard fare - nothing wrong with it and certainly not shocking. 

FIFA does give refs considerable latitude in the punishment of unsportsmanlike conduct. While yellows are regularly issued to players who threaten the ref, celebrate in excess, or dive, we rarely see yellows issued for trash talking between players during a match.

As with most other team contact sports, taunts happen constantly throughout the match, and for the most part, refs view it as a harmless way for players to "blow off steam". Also, the TV viewing public rarely sees/hears what players say to each other on the field, so the overall image of the game isn't effected. But when taunts become more serious, a ref will usually step in and card a player or two in order to prevent the situation from getting out of control.  

What makes this particular situation different is that millions of eyes were on this goalkeeper and penalty kicker, and the former was clearly seen to taunt the latter.  IMO, Krul deserved a yellow. but the ref decided to let it go.  Hard to know, but he may have been thinking to himself about the post-game analysis, and not wanting to be accused of favoritism, or of having too large a role in determining the game's eventual outcome.

The problem, IMO, is that when such a highly visible incident is ignored, players begin to think that it's acceptable behavior. I thought it was ugly to watch, an unnecessary distraction, and I would hate to see it become the norm. I hope that FIFA is dealing with it quietly today, letting teams know that it will not be tolerated in the future.

ATB.

Hook

I still don't think there was anything wrong with Tim Krul's gamesmanship - so there was nothing to give a yellow card for. Actually it was barely even noticeable 

What I thought was manifestly wrong was the way the Costa Coffee goalkeeper jumped forward before every penalty - but thankfully every Dutch penalty was scored 

As a former Ref Krul should have been yellow carded for unsportmanship like behaviour but a lot of refs have been poor at this tournament.

The problem it has now caused is that it will now be deemed to be acceptable for keepers to do that.

+1

Walking up to the penalty taker and trying to get into their face (and head) was ungentlemanly conduct deserving of a yellow.