Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

White supremacy is terrorism.

You cannot shame the shameless.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

I really should read my own blog.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

You are here: Home / Sports / Italy v Costa Rica Open Thread

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198Comments

  2. 2.

    ? Martin

    I wonder if the Italians have a clause in the contract that pays them every time they fall on the ground when an opposing player gets close?

  3. 3.

    Amir Khalid

    Based on the luck that England have had at World Cup 2014 so far, I’m predicting a win for Costa Rica tonight.
    ETA: … Or a draw. That will still knock England out, right?

  4. 4.

    Alex S.

    It will be interesting to see how good Costa Rica really is. I can’t imagine them winning though. 2-0 Italy.

  6. 6.

    mali muso

    (longtime lurker, first time commenter)

    After watching that first surprise Costa Rica win at the home of Tico friends who were ECSTATIC at the results, I have an emotional attachment for the team. But then again, my grandparents were Italian immigrants, so a win by Italy would suit me as well. Really just hoping to see a match that is more exciting than last night’s crapfest between Greece and Japan…

  7. 7.

    Calouste

    @Amir Khalid: The only way England go through is if Italy win both their next matches and England wins theirs. And probably they also need to win by more than one goal.

    A statistic I heard yesterday: England haven’t won a World Cup match in which they conceded the first goal since the Final in 1966.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    Because playing with numbers amuses me, I spent some time thinking of ways of breaking the group ranking system. It turns out to not be all that difficult to contrive situations where there’s a three-way or four-way tie in a given group. The easiest is the 12-point solution: All group matches end in ties, all of which have the same score (say 1-1). There are also 15-point solutions (3 teams, each of which has a win and two ties, plus one team that gets shut out), 16 point solutions (all four teams have one win, one loss, and one tie) and a 18 point solution (three teams with two wins each, one loser).

  13. 13.

    Morzer

    I hope Costa Rica win, although if you had asked me before they played Uruguay, I would have predicted a walkover for Italy.

  14. 14.

    scav

    I’d nearly side with Amir in re Italy, were it not for the sneeking suspicion this WC is animate and tweeking the upset and suspense dials. (or it’s all really about The UK and prolonging their mathematical hope.) As for the diving, I find it as much an affected performance of masculinity and signaling as the carefully squared jaw and belt-buckle swagger post ignored obvious concussions. Peacocks got different tails but the same end goal. And, as an advertising ploy to attact referees, there are worse. Both extremes can be overdone, that is manifestly true — refs must have perfected the eye-roll by now. “You? Off on a stretcher. You? Off to the Emmys. Play Ball!”

  16. 16.

    Morzer

    @scav:

    “Referee, I am blind. I can’t feel my toes! Tell me truly, will I ever play the violin again?!”

  19. 19.

    scav

    @Morzer: If it gets a result, we’ve seen the equivalent in boardrooms, courtrooms and on the floor of the stock-market. Advertising, “sneaky” self-promotion and flash.

  20. 20.

    dmsilev

    @piratedan: I wonder how much it would cost to buy sufficient referees to arrange for one of these pathological results. Just for giggles and to see what sort of contrivances FIFA would come up with to break the ties.

  21. 21.

    Morzer

    @scav:

    My wife and I enjoy imagining the impassioned appeals uttered to the referee by the latest cripple who will be miraculously healed 2 minutes later. Simple pleasures, but they entertain us.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    @dmsilev:
    A few World Cups ago, my memory tells me (but I could be wrong about this), one group finished with each team having one win, one draw, one defeat, and one goal to its credit. I don’t remember how they sorted that one out.

  23. 23.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Valdivia: Hey, you are around. People have been asking about you – specifically in regard to the recent DC meet-up thing.

  32. 32.

    dmsilev

    @Amir Khalid: Wikipedia says:

    If one considers all possible outcomes (win, draw, loss) for all six matches in a group, there are 729 (= 3^6) different outcome combinations possible. However, a certain number (115) of these combinations lead to more than one team occupying the second place in the group. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined as follows:[43]

    Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches
    Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches
    If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:
    Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams
    Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams
    Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams
    If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots

    So, the ultimate tie-breaker is indeed ‘pick numbers from a hat’.

  34. 34.

    HumboldtBlue

    Ticos courting disaster with that off-side trap, Pirlo is gonna carve them up from 40 yards out

  39. 39.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Valdivia: Just a week or so ago. Dee Loralei was in your neck of the woods and people got together in Alexandria. You were asked about and missed.

  40. 40.

    Morzer

    I am really enjoying Costa Rica’s approach to this game. Italy are wise not to underestimate them.

  41. 41.

    Calouste

    @Calouste:

    Actually, 1994 had quite a few instances of teams finishing on equal points but being separated by goal difference, goals scored or head-to-head results.

  42. 42.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Morzer: Costa Rica is no joke, they are most certainly on par with the second tier South American teams and they play the best defense in the Western hemisphere

  48. 48.

    tsquared2001

    Don’t start pouting like a little kid, Mario. He needs Marlon Brando to grab his face and say – You can act like a Man!

    And the gambling high line pays off. Son of a bitch

  49. 49.

    Alex S.

    Really impressive, if Costa Rica can keep this up, they’ll be the biggest (positive) surprise of the tournament.

  50. 50.

    Amir Khalid

    Per the Beeb, former England striker Gary Lineker tweets:
    “I know we’re reliant on them, but that’s no excuse for Italy to play like us.”

  51. 51.

    HumboldtBlue

    And the gambling high line pays off. Son of a bitch

    No shit. They are also winning more than their share of 50-50 balls

  60. 60.

    tsquared2001

    @HumboldtBlue: Italia looks like the Brazilian night life has got their claws in them. I hear that can happen but, boys, you make a shitload of money and can party in Rio whenever the fuck you want. On the other hand, maybe they just want England to not go through. I can get behind that plan, if a plan it be

  61. 61.

    Morzer

    This is the Guardian’s summary of the half:

    http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/20/italy-v-costa-rica-world-cup-2014-live-england

    Half-time: Italy 0-1 Costa Rica
    Time for England players to make a decision on that always-tricky moral dilemma: to sneak some hotel towels and toiletries into your case before check-out or not. Unless Italy change dramatically in the second half, England are homeward bound. Costa Rica don’t look like letting this slip – they have been mostly solid at the back, dynamic all over and incisive going forward. They should really be two goals in front, Campbell having been refused a blatant penalty.

  62. 62.

    Valdivia

    @Morzer:
    I jumped up and down and screamed so much my cats went to hide.

    Ps lol, I’d be a super terrible sub ;)

    @Baud:
    :D I promise! It was such a hard year it was difficult to do anything but lurk and when I finally got the chance to get away I just took it. But I’ll tell next time.

  63. 63.

    lol chikinburd

    A denied clear penalty, and moments later ESPN gets to go to Ruud van Nistelrooy in studio. “Where was that penalty call?” “Um…, I eated it back in the 1990s.”

  69. 69.

    SRW1

    @Morzer:

    Man, I tipped Italy to top the group, but I wouldn’t mind to have egg in the face if that is how it plays out.

  72. 72.

    HumboldtBlue

    Italy is far from done, they are one long Pirlo pass that opens the back line and Balotelli finishes

  74. 74.

    tsquared2001

    @SRW1: Why the hate for Italy? I know the diving is completely insane but Italy IS my first soccer love and I don’t like anybody talking shit about my baby.

  77. 77.

    Morzer

    @tsquared2001:

    Dude, you talk plenty of smack about other teams. You’ve got no right to complain if other people talk it about the Flopping Berlusconis.

  78. 78.

    Burnspbesq

    Navas is having a good tournament. Especially noteworthy since he’s maybe the seventh best keeper in CONCACAF.

  80. 80.

    SRW1

    @tsquared2001:

    Nothing to do with hate. It’s just that tournaments like this live from underdogs doing the impossible (as long as it doesn’t happen at the expense of the baby I take no shit about, of course).

    ETA: Actually, I am an admirer of Prandelli. That guy is a tactical genius.

  88. 88.

    Morzer

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Forcing Italy to take off Candreva is a big win for the Ticos. He’s been the architect of most of Italy’s better moves in this WC.

  89. 89.

    tsquared2001

    @Morzer: So not a biter? That is a low bar but he did get over it. Well done Campbell.

    Right now Italy looks slow and old and the defense looks like shite.

  90. 90.

    Calouste

    Irrespective of the outcome of this match, does anyone see England beating this Costa Rica team? No takers? I thought so.

  94. 94.

    Burnspbesq

    @HumboldtBlue:

    If you were building a team from scratch, would you take him ahead of Howard, Ochoa, Guzan, Peneido, de Jesus Corona, or Rimando?

  96. 96.

    SRW1

    @tsquared2001:

    What are the local conditions?. Hot and humid I supose, and not very conducive to European gentlemen, some of whom close to retirement, chasing after a ball. Any more detailed info available?

  97. 97.

    HumboldtBlue

    Well, not Howard, Ochoa and Guzan, but only because Ochoa has been standing on his head and has opened a lot of eyes, he wasn’t even going to be on the WC squad

  99. 99.

    tsquared2001

    @Onkel Fritze: I think that is going a bit too far. How about the 78 Argentina side? How about Goddamn Germans? Seriously, everybody has got to hate the Germans.

  100. 100.

    Morzer

    Super Mario not looking so happy today. I guess Liz Windsor isn’t going to have to smooch him after all.

  101. 101.

    HumboldtBlue

    And yes, Costa Rica’s Yeltsin Tejeda is named for the former Russian premiere.

  102. 102.

    Burnspbesq

    Costa Rica does a great job in transition when they lose the ball. They get seven back in a big hurry.

    And Mario the Petulant Child makes an appearance.

  104. 104.

    Morzer

    @tsquared2001:

    Right now the Germans are rolling over and laughing at this performance by Italy. They must be seeing themselves strolling through to the finals now that their main European rivals have apparently collapsed. Spain have fallen, Italy look empty, Portugal are a one trick pony without its trick, and England.. well, probably not considered a rival these days.

  105. 105.

    Burnspbesq

    Michael Umana, who was an absolute bust in MLS, is holding his own against the best that Serie A has to offer. Go figure.

  107. 107.

    tsquared2001

    @Morzer: I got NO problem with smack talking but just a little bit (you know, like on the side) respect for the FOUR time champions.

    All the time with the giveaways. Just killing me.

  108. 108.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Burnspbesq: They’re composure has been excellent as well. Italy can add pressure to pressurized situations and the Ticos are handling it very well

  109. 109.

    scav

    Is there a certain populist underdog unexpected theme developing all in all? Or is this par for the course?

  112. 112.

    Amir Khalid

    @Morzer:

    and England.. well, probably not considered a rival these days.

    I envy your gift of understatement.

  118. 118.

    Burnspbesq

    Somewhere, Paulo Wanchope and Hernan Medford are shaking their heads and smiling.

  119. 119.

    Amir Khalid

    Had England defended like Costa Rica are doing today, they’d likely be top of the group.

  120. 120.

    Morzer

    Pirlo seems to be compulsively flattening an uneven part of the pitch. Now that’s public spirit for you!

  121. 121.

    SRW1

    @scav:

    A giant tripping up always results in an oversupply of Schadenfreude. Nasty people, these football afficionados.

  125. 125.

    Morzer

    @SRW1:

    We need more bipartisan centrists in the beautiful game, because, as we all know, both sides do it.

  127. 127.

    tsquared2001

    Dang.

    @morzer @humboldtblue @onkel fritze – obviously, I came to the wrong open world cup thread.

  132. 132.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Morzer:

    Belgium, France and Switzerland are all capable of giving the Germans hell. Maybe Croatia is, too.

    @SRW1:

    I can’t stand Italy, either, but I’m not taking them lightly. Three points (at worst) after the first two games of the group phase? Heh. Italy has looked worse than this at the same point in some recent major tournaments, only to end up in the finals.

  135. 135.

    HumboldtBlue

    @tsquared2001: Gesticulates madly with both hands while head and body shake with faux-rage while exclaiming in a loud voice the poor moral character of your mother

  137. 137.

    scav

    @SRW1: Wondering actually about a little extra oomph to it given the current economic situation actually.

  138. 138.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Burnspbesq: I am not surprised at all. I have commented earlier that the international gap in quality play has closed dramatically over the past 8 years

  139. 139.

    Morzer

    It warms the heart to see the fraternal embraces in the Costa Rican penalty area.

  143. 143.

    Alex S.

    Interesting. In the group of death, with 3 former world champions, nobody gave a thought to the fourth team.

  145. 145.

    tsquared2001

    If I could whistle, I would be whistling my ass off right now. Like call the cops whistling

  149. 149.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @SRW1:

    Yeah, I would, too. If Forlan was the same player he was four years ago, I might see it different, but…

  152. 152.

    Morzer

    Well, heartiest congratulations to Costa Rica, both team and people. Valdivia the Terrible comes off the bench to lead the team to glory.

    Roy Hodgson, you might want to register a pre-emptive appeal for mercy.

  154. 154.

    Amir Khalid

    After his failure at Liverpool, I figured Woy Hodgson didn’t really have the tactical nous or the force of character England needed in a manager. I was surprised at his appointment to this job, but not so much at the results he got. Hmm. I wonder if Mike Bassett is available?

  155. 155.

    Morzer

    Elizabeth Windsor @Queen_UK
    Text from Roy Hodgson: “Football’s not coming home”. Neither are you lot, one can assure you. #WorldCup2014

  156. 156.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Morzer: I believe you have started an internal and WC specific meme — The Ticos have an unheralded and previously unsuspected special weapon — Valdivia The Terrible.

    I hope Randinho is paying attention

  157. 157.

    Hill Dweller

    Bob Ley and Mike Tirico are soooo self-conscious about their lack of soccer knowledge. They over-compensate by shoehorning superfluous stats into every damn sentence. It’s annoying.

  158. 158.

    tsquared2001

    Italia got undressed like a lady of the evening who was bought for the night.

    That was…….quite disappointing.

  160. 160.

    Amir Khalid

    @SRW1:
    Hannibal Suarez could win it for Uruguay. Just the other day, he helped send half his club’s starting eleven back to England.

  161. 161.

    Morzer

    @Hill Dweller:

    It makes for some damned amusing syntax though. They sound like the first run at a translation of a German manual for “how is the football to discuss”.

  163. 163.

    Morzer

    @Amir Khalid:

    It might sound harsh, but this could be the failure that English soccer desperately needs. No more of the Olden Generation, for starters.

  164. 164.

    burnspbesq

    Ticos need a result against England to win the group. And they’ll want that result. You would much rather play Ivory Coast than Colombia in the round of 16.

  165. 165.

    KG

    @Hill Dweller: i think the problem is that American viewers are so used to sports that actually have more than three stats, so the announcers don’t know what to talk about.

    also, was listening to the game on the radio, the Irish color commentator said one of the players was out there with no “jizz”. There was a bit of awkwardness in the booth for that one. then he had to explain what jizz meant in Irish slang.

  166. 166.

    Amir Khalid

    From The Guardian:

    Luis Suárez has said that Roy Hodgson made him more determined to beat England when he denied the striker was worthy of being called a “world-class” player.

    Woy lit a fire under the wrong guy.

  167. 167.

    Morzer

    @KG:

    Spunk, as used by Americans, always amuses the British, since for them it has the same meaning as “jizz” in the non-Irish sense of the word. Thus, to say that a girl “has a lot of spunk” is not quite the compliment one might intend to offer.

  169. 169.

    SRW1

    @Amir Khalid:

    No doubt, Suarez is Uruguay’s weapon and as we have seen against England, Cavani is capable of delivering a fine cross.

    I just think that Uruguay’s back line is somewhat suspect and Prandelli will find a way to neutralize, or at least diminish, the threat originating from Surez.

  170. 170.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Morzer:

    Who are they to be amused? They’re a nation well known for their seamen.

  171. 171.

    KG

    @Morzer: yeah, I’ve heard that one before… but it was just great because the play by play guy was like “um, what?” and when it was repeated he just says “oh, ok…”

  174. 174.

    big ole hound

    @Morzer: L’Orange will beat the Germany for the last European team which will lose to a team from the Americas

  175. 175.

    SRW1

    @scav:

    Shouldn’t it be the other way round?

    tico > tiki-taka

    and for the particular combination of countries it should be

    tico > catenaccio

    (though catenaccio is more the Greek style these days)

  178. 178.

    scav

    @SRW1: I used my arrow for movement but yours might even be better as it looks like munching! so @Morzer is getting quite into the spirit of things.

    ETA forget lego animations, let’s do recaps using lunchfoods.

  179. 179.

    SRW1

    @Morzer:

    I’d support that. Holland looked like the absolute world beaters in the group stage of Euro 2008 and then they got dispatched 3-0 by Russia without any resistance.

  181. 181.

    cokane

    @burnspbesq: they have a 3 goal edge over italy, 4 over uruguay. they just need for that gap to not be crossed.

    to clarify, at best italy or uruguay can tie CR on points. and CR has a big edge on the first tiebreaker.

  183. 183.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @SRW1: England doesn’t have deserts. Okay, culturally speaking, Essex qualifies, but still…

  184. 184.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @SRW1:

    That’s been the Dutch story in most major tournaments since they lost in the ’78 WC final: They look magnificent in the group phase, they get shut down in the first round of the knockout phase. 2010 was the outlier.

  185. 185.

    scav

    @Morzer: V. good. all I could think of was Trifle, as Besos are South American, sigh, Reinas or no Reinas. How about Gooseberry?

  186. 186.

    Calouste

    @big ole hound:

    That only works if one of them doesn’t win their group. If they both win their groups the first time they can meet is in the final.

    I think Brazil-Germany and Argentina-Holland look like the most likely semi-finals at the moment.

  190. 190.

    Morzer

    @Calouste:

    Hard to bet against that, although I have a feeling that Mexico might spoil someone’s party before all is said and done.

  192. 192.

    mali muso

    Well, my first comment got held up in moderation until the game was over, but I did get my wish. A very exciting game! Enjoyed the commentary. Sorry England. No luck today.

  193. 193.

    daveNYC

    @Amir Khalid: That’s pretty insane. You’d think that the smart move would be for Hodgson to resign with the the standard “I take responsibility for our poor performance… blah blah blah.” Right now he’s just setting himself up to be the most hated person in the country unless England crushes at the 2016 Euro Cup.

    Nut up, take responsibility, fall on your sword, get a fat severance package. It’s the best way to go out looking somewhat good.

  196. 196.

    Morzer

    @daveNYC:

    I don’t agree with you. England has some promising young players coming through. If they can find a way to strengthen the defense and give Sturridge a partner up front, Hodgson might well have a good team on his hands, just as Italy and Spain are fading.

  197. 197.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Calouste:

    You’re right. My memory has conflated a couple of disappointing knockout phase losses into all of ’em.

  198. 198.

    Burnspbesq

    @Morzer:

    The Spanish fade is likely to be temporary. They’ve won the last two Euro U-21s. At the U-20 worlds last year, they went unbeaten in a group that included eventual champions France, Ghana, and the US, before being upset by Uruguay in the quarters.

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