Sorry for the late start. So, will Spain finish the group stage with three wins? Will Tahiti score again?
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by Randinho| 25 Comments
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Sorry for the late start. So, will Spain finish the group stage with three wins? Will Tahiti score again?
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Cassidy
What did the two team captains exchange at the coin toss? Is that a tradition ?
Villago Delenda Est
I’m rooting for Tahiti because, well, they’re Tahiti!
Amir Khalid
Too bad about the late start. Abel Hernandes scored the first goal of his hattrick against Tahiti just 79 seconds after kickoff. Someone at the BBC figured that if Spain were to win today, then Tahiti could also go through if they beat Uruguay 19-nil. Looks like that’s not going to happen now. Sigh.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid:
Well, stranger things have happened that Tahiti beating Uruguay 19-nil. For example, Obama beat Mitt Romney in the 2012 US Presidential race despite the polls being skewed.
Thlayli
@Cassidy:
One of these. Yes, it’s a tradition.
bill d
Late to the event. Checked the status of both games and it looks like Nigeria v. Spain it is.
Amir Khalid
A glimmer of hope for Tahiti. Uruguay’s Scotti is off for a second yellow card. Another five sendings-off, and Tahiti might finally get a glimpse of goal.
Thlayli
2-0 Spain. Torres header.
Amir Khalid
@Amir Khalid:
Fine sportsmen, those Tahitians. They get one of their own sent off, the numbers are even again, and Uruguay score. 5-nil. And Nando Torres scores for Spain right after coming on as a sub.
Amir Khalid
Will Uruguay break into the double digits against Tahiti? I mean, now that they’re no longer in danger of losing 19-nil …
burnspbesq
Just curious: does anybody really think that New Zealand would have done better than Tahiti against this competition? They might have given up a few less goals, but grab a point?
Amir Khalid
@burnspbesq:
New Zealand wouldn’t fare much better than Tahiti in the Confederations Cup unless you let them field the rugby All Blacks.
Thlayli
@burnspbesq:
New Zealand lost to New Caledonia in the ONC semis, who then lost to Tahiti in the final.
http://www.rsssf.com/tables/2012oc.html
Amir Khalid
EightSeven goals down. This match might be slipping away from Tahiti.Thlayli
Jordi Alba again. Game over.
Amir Khalid
Tahiti nil, Uruguay eight. Yep, this match is probably slipping away from Tahiti.
Amir Khalid
If nothing else, Tahiti and their supporters had some fun.
Cassidy
@Thlayli: that’s cool.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@burnspbesq:
N.Z. wouldn’t advance to the knockout round, but the goal differential would be much closer to 0. And I think they’d stand a chance at taking a point off of Nigeria by parking the bus across the goal, playing for the scoreless draw.
@Thlayli:
I’m not sure what happened in the OFC championships, but the All Whites ran the table in the World Cup qualifying tournament more recently (6-0-0), with a +15 GD. They stand an even chance or slightly better, imo, of beating the #4 team in CONCACAF in the WC play-in, especially if that team is Honduras- although if Mexico doesn’t return to form soon…
cmorenc
Spain v Nigeria was an entertainingly skillful, fast-paced match to watch, with cheap fouls and histrionics notably minimal. Spain put on yet another demonstration that patient possession play with a sequence of laser-quick possession passes to find or create weak seams in the opponent’s defense isn’t at all boring football, since it often produces open through passes past beaten ball-mesmerized defenders. Nigeria wasn’t too shabby at this sort of game either, even though their tendencies were to play a bit more quickly direct than Spain. But their defenders got caught too often with their backs to the first couple of quick well-timed steps of a Spanish attacker who then blew past them onside to run onto a beautifully accurate, well-weighted through pass. The game was not at all one-sided; Nigeria created plenty of dangerously close scoring opportunities as well.
We can only hope for more games like this one in WC 2014, and fewer like Italy v Brazil with all the cheap fouling and flopping, plus an astonishing blunder by the center referee with an early whistle on a goal that the referee counted anyway, even though the ball was technically dead on his early whistle for a foul &PK. That’s one referee team that will be going home now instead of being further considered for elimination round games.
Bill Murray
@burnspbesq: they got a point at the last Confederations Cup, but in the weak group. Tahiti did not get the weak group draw this year
burnspbesq
@Bill Murray:
Was that the same Confed Cup where the US beat Spain and had Brazil in a world of hurt for 45 minutes? Not sure you can draw any lessons from that tournament, given how out of alignment the planets were at the time.
Bitter Scribe
Anyone know why Casillas wasn’t in goal for Spain?
SRW1
@Bitter Scribe:
Del Bosque had promised all players in his squad that they would get a piece of the action. This game was Valdes’ due.
corte con laser
Nigeria v Spain and Tahiti v Uruguay Open Thread » Balloon Juice, ¿Que mas nos puedes explicar?, me resulta practico esta post. Saludos.