They still aren’t great going forward, but that defense is the best in the tournament by far and they can make good on what few chances they create.

Sweden was a dick-and-balls once, then it got castrated. Now it looks lonely.

When you spend all of your time running from alligators ( and doing meth ) It makes every small victory seem like a championship, no matter how meaningless it actually is. I’m sure my cousins in Florida would agree... if not for the alligators. :/

No, him diving repeatedly and making me root for the other team was his fault.

The fact that it was the near universally disliked Medel, just made it better.

Not in a clear cut sort of way, no.

They will probably still get a new team, eventually. If/when the Canadian Dollar rebounds and gains some on the US Dollar it will become a more attractive prospect for the league. If the Coyotes or some other poorly supported sun-belt team decides to move, I’m sure Quebec City will seem attractive with facilities…

Messi’s diving turned me off a bunch as far as he goes. I found myself pulling for Chile in the second half. Still felt bad for Messi at the end, but Chile were deserving winners.

Given that the end of Maradona’s career in Europe and for Argentina was an absolute disgrace, it’s really amazing that none of the shine has worn off in the eyes of his fans.

You don’t think being the primary target of his idols ire would affect Messi? Especially when he is under more pressure than probably any other player in the international game and doesn’t really enjoy a ton of support with Argentine fans.

Pepe has been almost frighteningly well behaved. It has to be an accident because he has no history of behaving regardless of the stakes.

Argentina doesn’t question Maradona, he’s the national hero. He has an unparalleled platform from which to spout his nonsense and he takes full advantage of it. His own failures never seem to enter into the conversation though.

Portugal desperately need an actual striker if they ever want to be competitive. When was the last time they had one? Nélson Oliveira never panned out and I can’t even remember the last good Portuguese striker.

I think he’s bitter about Messi being called the best ever ( I still think Pelé is personally and never though Maradona was ) and he lashes out because of it. Like many ageing former stars, he realizes that he has nothing but his legacy, which he defends with a ferocity best applied to something other than his own…

With the incredible amount of pressure Messi is under to perform internationally, I don’t blame him for being fed-up. If it’s true that the entire core of the team is thinking about quitting, I think that says an awful lot about the state of Argentine soccer, as do people like Maradona constantly belittling the…

Yeah, aside from Mexico and Costa Rica, I can’t think of many national teams whose “nicknames” are actually used a bunch.

At least Belgium have the talent to be expected to perform. Portugal basically only have Ronaldo and Nani in terms of attacking talent and they don’t really play well together.

He’s not especially good at free kicks compared to the best free kick takers like Roberto Carlos, or Juninho. Even quite a few active players are better at them. Ronaldo’s fk strike rate isn’t that impressive either, compared to a few dead ball specialists.

Totally worth it. I’m willing to live with the consequences.

This seems a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Clearly he blames himself for the losses. To bear the crushing weight of an entire nations hopes, dreams and aspirations each time he goes into a major tournament must be exceptionally draining. Especially when he and his team have failed to live up to those expectations on so…