Can Chile stop Brazil or will the absence of three of Chile’s defenders make them the first South American team to go home?
Reader Interactions
89Comments
Comments are closed.
Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Nothing worth doing is easy.
“In the name of Zandar, I will fight the Stupid!”
Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.
I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.
And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.
In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.
Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.
No Justins, No Peace
The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.
If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.
Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.
Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.
The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.
“woke” is the new caravan.
Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.
Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.
There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.
Damn right I heard that as a threat.
I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.
Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.
Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.
Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.
Peak wingnut was a lie.
Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.
frankdawg
Brazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz [inhale, back to vuvulezla] zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzil!
Stroszek
I hear Brazil is good at the soccer.
Violet
Got the TV on and they showed the crowds at the Copacabana beach in Rio. Wow.
Punchy
How about BJ-sponsored Brazilian waxes if Brazil wins?
NameRequired
Go Chile!
Morbo
Missing three defenders? Oh dear, I don’t think I’ve predicted a big enough win for Brazil.
Leeds man
Chile has an Argentine manager? That’s like England having a Scottish manager. Inconceivable!
Violet
Chile’s flag is very similar to the Texas flag.
wmd
Regardless of who wins a South American team will go home.
valdivia
interesting piece on Bielsa the chile team coach
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/timvickery/2010/06/bielsa_plots_brazil_downfall.html
NameRequired
Aguante el Locoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
frankdawg
@Violet:
We have a large Chilean community here & I used to wonder why all the Texans had moved in :)
Violet
@frankdawg:
Yeah, one of my friends is married to a Chilean. When I first met him, I couldn’t figure out why he had a Texas flag hanging at his house. So I asked and then felt like an idiot when they told me it was a Chilean flag. LOL.
Punchy
All this talk of Chile and Brazil makes me hungry for a bowl of some warm scantily clad swimsuit models
valdivia
is it my imagination or are the chileans giving the brazilians a fight?
Bootlegger
Chile refuse to bunker down and counter, they will attack from the start and pray to their Incan gods they get some goals. This game won’t be 0-0 at FT.
Bootlegger
New FIFA rule, if a player goes down too easy or doesn’t try to keep his feet no foul is called even if he’s hit with a 2×4.
wrye
I’d like to see someone new win the cup, but I suspect It’ll be another Germany/Brazil final. So go Chile, I guess?
Violet
@valdivia:
Chile seems to be fighting hard to me.
Bootlegger
“He’s gone to ground too cheaply.”
Kudos to the ESPN commentators who have consistently called out the drama queens.
Miss Kitka's Comrade Wayne
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Julio Cesar (Brazil’s goalkeeper) looks just like Buzz Lightyear?
I want more Chilean shots on goal the better to test this.
Violet
Ooh, nicely done from the corner kick.
Martin
Nice goal
Gozer
Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaalll!
(couldn’t resist)
Bootlegger
That Brazilian play looked like the ol’ USC student-body-right, two pulling guards clearing out for the back.
Bootlegger
Chile was going to live or die by their attacking style. Brazilians say DIE.
Martin
Wow!
Violet
Where was the Chilean goalkeeper?
Nethead Jay
Very nice first-timer from Kaka to Fabiano on the 2nd goal.
Moonbatting Average
How was that second goal not negated by an off-side?
Leeds man
Lucio looks like Seinfeld‘s Kramer.
Mike E
Wow, you can feel how wound-up Chile is. Brazil, so calm and clinical: This would describe the side that have any chance of hanging with them. Who dat?
Leeds man
@Moonbatting Average:
Fabiano was shooting into an empty net, not passing to Kaka. So no offside, even though Kaka was technically in an offside position (it was Kaka to his left, right?).
You Don't Say
Who can beat Brazil?
Violet
@You Don’t Say:
Uruguay?
Randy Paul
@Violet: En sus sueños. Em seus sonhos.
Violet
@valdivia:
Hey look! You’re being substituted in on the Chilean side! Let us know what it’s like to play Brazil.
NameRequired
@You Don’t Say:
In order of likelihood:
Germany
Uruguay (yes Uruguay, arcane futbolistic reasons)
Argentina (Also arcane futbolistic reasons)
Netherlands.
Violet
@Randy Paul:
Yeah, probably. Brazil is looking fearsome.
Since I haven’t followed football at all prior to the World Cup, can someone tell me what Brazil’s record is against Argentina?
valdivia
@Violet:
lol.
NameRequired
@Violet:
In world cup Matches the only one I remember is 1990’s Argentina 1 – Brazil 0, glorious, glorious day.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@NameRequired:
No, not Uruguay. Ghana needs to beat them so I don’t feel as bad about our defeat.
Gozer
@Violet:
As per wiki of the 89 matches played between the nat’l teams 23 were draws with both nations having 33 wins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina_and_Brazil_football_rivalry
NameRequired
Off Course, generally they win, but they still remember that elimination in the round of 16
Mark S.
If I were Dunga, I’d start thinking about taking Kaka out. The last thing they need is for him to get another yellow.
Randy Paul
In more recent history they have beaten Argentina in the last two Copa America championship games.
Martin
Well, that should settle this match. Bring on the next victim.
KG
@Violet: All time record is 33-33-23, so they are actually evenly matched, historically. Of course, that doesn’t really mean much since it’s not like Maradona and Pele are playing these games. Much like in the World According to ESPN the Lakers losing 9 of 11 NBA Finals to the Celtics supposedly mattered – as if West, Russell, Cousy, and Chamberlain were going to be suiting up.
Fester Addams
So it’s all futbol all the time here at Jus de Ballon…
Violet
@Gozer:
Oh, wow. Wikipedia even has it’s own page for the rivalry. I should have known.
Sounds like they are evenly matched. So potentially they could play each other in the final, if they both make it that far.
I wish Chile would get a goal.
Miss Kitka's Comrade Wayne
@Violet: In World Cup matches, Brazil defeated Argentina in 1974 (2 to 1) and in 1982 (3 to 1). As NameRequired correctly notes, Argentina defeated Brazil in 1990 (1 to 0). I happened to have watched all three of those matches, each on a different color teevee.
Randy Paul
The last non-age restricted tournament Argentina won was the 1993 Copa America. The Olympics have age restrictions.
Randy Paul
@Violet: Not recently they aren’t.
Violet
Brazil looks formidable.
Eric S.
@KG: For the love of FSM, THIS! How I tire of historical analysis. At best it is interesting trivia and it is nice to know something about the history of sports.
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)
Since I’m a fan of the Dutch, just how much better are Brazil than the Orange? Is it worth bothering to turn the TV on?
Leeds man
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
We won’t know until they meet. The hooting for Brazil is a bit premature, given their performance against North Korea and Portugal. How good are Chile?
I think the Germans, Dutch, Spanish or Argentina would do a lot better than Chile. I further think England made Germany look a bit better than they are. I’m rooting for a first and long-overdue Dutch win.
Violet
Can’t wait to talk to my friend who has been watching this match in Brazil.
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)
@Leeds man: Just wondering, because the ESPN analysts have been savaging the Dutch defense all day and saying that Brazil’s attack is going to expose them.
Randy Paul
@Leeds man: North Korea was a bit of an unkown entity until Brazil played them. Portugal played a dirty game to tie.
Brazil played pretty well against Ivory Coast.
The best WC final would still be brazil v Spain.
Violet
Alexi Lalas has been slamming on England for awhile now. He just did it again. I know England sucked, but is there some kind of history there? It seems kind of personal, as much as he doesn’t seem to let an opportunity pass to say how bad they are.
Mike E
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): Just marking them will take the Dutch out of their game–today’s match looked like a heavyweight bout where the eventual victor was waiting for a little fatigue, some loss of nerve, and then the opening that leads to a knockout blow.
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)
@Violet: A history is one possibility, but I also wonder if he’s just shit-stirring. With all of the Brits that ESPN has on board to cover this, he may be hoping to get a Scottish/English brawl going.
Mike E
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
Who, our Alexi? /snark
After saying that Seth Blatter only wants controversy about eleventy billion times, methinks he doth protest too much. He’s giving us redheads a bad name!
Leeds man
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
Has the Brazilian defense really been tested in this tournament? They haven’t met the likes of Robben, van Persie, Kuyt and Sneijder yet.
Leeds man
@Violet:
He wasn’t good enough to play in England.
You Don't Say
@Violet: I don’t know why Alexi does it, but I know I’d take every opportunity to rub in. ;-)
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)
@Leeds man: Besides, it’s hard to overcome the Dutch intangible advantage of having the best name in the tournament: Giovanni Van Bronckhorst.
burnspbesq
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
Make a sandwich when you say that. One of the two families that founded Boar’s Head was named Bronckhorst.
Paula
Crap. There’s no contest about who’s gonna win this thing, is there?
EDIT: On the plus side, NED-BRA is going to be entertaining. Or horrid.
frosty
Arghh.
Looking at the all the green and yellow in the stands, it reminded me of nothing so much as Yankee fans in Camden Yards. So now I know who I’m rooting against for the rest of the World Cup.
FTFY. That is all.
Leeds man
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
Too bad Jan Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink didn’t make the squad.
Wordsmith
Brazil vs Germany ……
Randy Paul
@Leeds man: I think that you could make the same argument about the Netherlands as well not having had to face the likes of Kaká, Robinho, Maicon, etc.
Gozer
I hope the Oranje make it through. If there’s a Holland v. Portugal final I wonder if it’ll get as hairy as 2006’s Battle of Nuremberg?
SLKRR
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
The Dutch have a really good team this year… I think they will play well against Brazil and could win. They will certainly be the first team of any real strength that Brazil has faced in this tournament.
Argentina x Deutschland is going to be a great game, too.
Leeds man
@Randy Paul:
Absolutely. I just want the Dutch to get a little joy. I saw the ’78 final, and it was a heartbreaker. ’74 was probably worse.
Violet
@SLKRR:
Yeah, I’m looking forward to these two matchups. Both promise to be exciting.
Randy Paul
@Leeds man: I was living in Germany in 1974 and I was the only person I knew pulling for the Dutch. I loved Cruyff, Neeskens and company.
Leeds man
@Randy Paul:
And Dennis Bergkamp is one of my favourite all-time players, despite the fact that he played for some obscure North London side.
Bill Murray
@Leeds man: or was he too good. He played in Serie A when it was better than the EPL
handsmile
@ Leeds Man
I share your respect and affection for Dennis Bergkamp, a footballer of immense talent and class. After retiring from that “obscure North London side,” do you (or another reader) know if he retired entirely from football or did he seek a sheik’s ransom with a Middle Eastern club? (“Et tu, Cannavaro?”, I weep.)
NameRequired
@frosty:
Welcome to the club, the beer is in the second drawer in the fridge.
Leeds man
@handsmile:
Wikipedia says he’s training to be a coach.
frankdawg
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):
Same here – but I am a very raw neophyte so I have no idea how to judge one team against another. The times I have watched I thought Brazil looked too good & the Orange just good enough. If I had to bet I’d say Brazil but I have no real clue.
BTW – in case you have not had enough vuvuzela there is a two disk CD of the greatest hits!
http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=50670
Cacti
@frosty:
The Yankees win a lot because they have the most money.
In what way is Brazil similar?
frosty
@Cacti: Umm. ‘Cause they’re a powerhouse team that beat the underdog guys I was rooting for? That’s how Brazil = Yankees.
Randinho
@Leeds man: IIRC he was with that obscure North London side the year they went undefeated . . . :-)
Randinho
@handsmile: Not likely as he has a deep fear of flying.