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Spain vs. France


alexgaddis
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Great match-up in the final game of the round of 16

 

outside of some french cafes, I think most people are cheering for Spain to move on...

 

 

Something tells me France wins this game...I hope i am wrong...

 

Go Espana!

Edited by alexgaddis
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Great match-up in the final game of the round of 16

 

outside of some french cafes, I think most people are cheering for Spain to move on...

Something tells me France wins this game...I hope i am wrong...

 

Go Espana!

 

I agree, this is going to be a good match. I also agree that France might just win this. They certainly have the experience and talent all over the field. I also think they have a better chance of beating Brazil than Spain.

 

Now, where's OUR spain to start with the French jokes? :D:D

Edited by darin3
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Spain will be labeled underacheivers yet again...

 

unreal after their first round domination...

 

:D They hadn't lost a game in 25 matches.

 

Gol. Zidane.

 

GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

 

Edit: And my Huddle FIFA team starts to look pretty darn good. Nobody's been eliminated and got a bunch of goals/assists today. :D

Edited by darin3
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the first 20 minutes were definitely 'sizing up the opposition round' moments. Neither team developping anything, and both teams wanting to avoid a costly mistake, and no one was playing crisply. The french especially worried me with their long ball play. Looked like they were trying to play to Henry's strengths (which is all well and good since he is so awesome, and that is a system he is familiar with at Arsenal) but at the detriment of the overall controlled game of the rest of France, and Zidane in particular. maybe this is why Zidane and Henry have never been the fantastic duo playing on the national team that they should be on paper. Looked like we were in for a long slog. Spain's PK really made the game come to life.

[side bar] since everyone at the huddle seems more obsessed by the refereeing than by the game itself, I will say that the refing in this game was perfect. I hate that a team gets a PK when they are in the box but obviously not a threat to score when they get fouled. I have always thought that there should be a different call for fouls commited in 'non scoring' moments (like a free kick anywhere on the perimeter of the penalty area) but that's just me: the ref has to go with FIFA dictates. This being said, the ref seemed to take the much looser aproach to refing that has always existed in the past, as opposed to the tightening that has happened in the last two WCS. FIFA made it clear last WC that all fouls should be called. So for Sepp Blatter to be all surprised that a ref follows the rules to the letter is really annoying. i maintain that the ref in the holland-portugal game called the game absolutely correctly by FIFA rules (missing only one or two calls that all refs would) [/end sidebar]

 

Riberry who I railed against last week (terrible terrible game against switzerland, missed two open net goals against togo) was true to himself, and to france in general: moments of unadultered brilliance tempered by mental breakdowns like you have never seen (henri leconte, Yannick Noah, Jean Van der velde). Often gave it away when trying to dribble one too many times, but had flashes of pure genius (did you see him acatuall trap the ball between his shin and foot?). He is pretty new to the international scene. My wife said 'god that guy looks stupid" and he sure plays stupid, with very little vision of the game. Should he ever develop nerves and vision, he could be great. Either way, he did all the hard stuff, but almost choked at his gimme breakaway goal (like he had done earlier with a quasi open net centered ball). My father would call him a gym rat. The guy that you know spent every spare moment in his life working on his juggling and trick plays. Anywho, nice gaol by riberry, though he sure made me sweat while watching it.

 

After that it was a wide open game. Spain turned to rapid strike counter attacks, and other than that really annoying player who looks like he is 15, with a fauxhawk, and a tendency to flop like I haven't seen in a long time, they played pretty well. The french defense definitely likes to try to handle the ball rather than kick it away, which i think is pretty neat, but also leads to some heart pounding moments. They definitely have faith in their skills, but once in a while you wishe they would just boot it away rather than trying to dribble past the opposition (Yeah, I'm talking to you , Mr Sagnol)

 

I'm still not sure exactly how they calculate posession, but at some point during the game a graphic came up saying that Spain had dominated posession. It's not the way I saw it, though I certainly was looking at the game through tri-colour glasses.

 

Vieira's header was the culmination of france just becoming more and more dangerous as the game went on.

 

Zidane's was just gravy, and a just reward for all he has done for this team.

 

He has slowed sown, but he is still a man amongst boys in how the ball just sticks to his feet and he can still direct traffic ont he pitch like no one else. best vision in the game by a long shot. He also now has the three stupidest red cards in WC history.

 

Well I can't tell you how elated I am by this win.

knocked over my Bergerac Sec at the local french cafe when Riberry scored.

looking forward to france-brazil

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