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[nkirbit]

top level teams rarely play their strongest side in their domestic cups until quite near the end, especially when facing lower tier teams. even then the true talent level differences between the teams and the manager's tactics probably allows for a small percent of lower tier teams to win their matches anyway.

Here's the Bayern München lineup in their first round 2013/14 at fourth-tier team BSV Rehden which they won 0:5 (0:2):

Neuer - Rafinha, v. Buyten, Dante, Alaba - Schweinsteiger - Kroos, Robben, Shaqiri - Müller, Mandzukic

I'd call that as close to their strongest side as it can get. I didn't watch the match but two yellow cards indicate they were not slacking this one.

While strong, that's 5 or so players away from their strongest side.  Gotze, Ribery, Thiago, Lahm, and Boateng are all missing from that lineup.  Although that lineup is very, very strong... Bayern doesn't really have weak players.

[Teproc]

German realism strikes again... also Lahm is actually playing where he should be, that should be outlawed.

We can do it though, we've had a decent amount of opportunities. Neuer is so good though...

[Davio]

Neuer isn't thát good, you just have to aim a bit better.

[soulnet]

Neuer isn't thát good, you just have to aim a bit better.

Well, he was probably the man of the match today...

[2.71828.....]

ugh.  just realized I forgot to pick the Germany-France game.  My intention was to pick Germany if that counts for anything.

Still tied at #1 though, but it is pretty close up top, and if theory or greatexpectations pick a correct score they are right there in it as well.

[silverspawn]

meh.

[Teproc]

Neuer isn't thát good, you just have to aim a bit better.

Neuer is the best goalkeeper in the world. Not that they neede the best goalkeeper in the world to win against this team in the second half...

In any case, quarterfinals loss against Germany was pretty much the deal going in, this was a young team, and the Euro at home should be interesting, and the team should be competitive to go far.

Now hoping for Colombia to beat Brazil, although I'll be for Germany to win the whole thing regardless.

[soulnet]

Neuer is the best goalkeeper in the world. Not that they neede the best goalkeeper in the world to win against this team in the second half...

I liked Ochoa more. But he is probably top 3.

[soulnet]

The referee in Colombia - Brazil is embarrassing. Spain cannot get anything right.

[2.71828.....]

How has Netherlands not scored yet?

[soulnet]

How has Netherlands not scored yet?

Maybe Neuer has to go down to 3rd place as a goalkeeper. Navas is doing really well this match.

Also, Courtois (I hope I am writing it correctly) was also pretty solid this afternoon against Argentina. Lots of good goalkeepers this cup.

[Davio]

What a game.

Another brilliant move by van Gaal, bringing on Krul for the penalty shootout. He chose the right corner every time and stopped two.

Our boys really gave it their all, but Navas played brilliantly and we had some bad luck with the post and the crossbar. I'm happy the attacking team won out in the end.

On to Sao Paolo to face Argentina.

Overall, what a world cup. If I wasn't Dutch, I probably would have rooted for the underdog Costa Rica, but oh well.
The final four is such a classic composition of world cup legends: Brazil, 5 time winners, Germany, 3 time winners, Argentina, 2 time winners and Netherlands, 3 time losers.

Maybe Netherlands can finally win one, but the competition is so very hard to beat with Argentina first and then possibly Brazil or Germany in the final!

[Teproc]

Pretty impressive how the Netherlands won despite being 10 against 11 the whole game... has someone explained to Van Persie what "offside" means and why it's not something you want ?

[2.71828.....]

I think that whoever wins between Argentina/Netherlands will end up facing Germany.  I just don't see how a depleted Brazilian side will beat them. 

It was also extremely disappointing how Neymar got hurt.  I mean, it was a totally reckless and uncalled for challenge, and it is sad that we will not be seeing a full strength Brazilian team.

[ashersky]

Overall, what a world cup. If I wasn't Dutch, I probably would have rooted for the underdog Costa Rica, but oh well.
The final four is such a classic composition of world cup legends: Brazil, 5 time winners, Germany, 3 time winners, Argentina, 2 time winners and Netherlands, 3 time losers.

Maybe it's because I'm not European, or from those countries, but I gave the exact opposite feeling from this final four.

To me, it's just "oh, these four AGAIN!?"  It's like another Yankees World Series, for baseball fans.  Sure, I'm unhappy my team is out, but having the same teams over and over gets really boring.  There are no underdogs (not counting the unfortunately injured state of Brazil's team), no compelling stories...just the regular strongest teams playing each other again.  The Netherlands are the only team there without multiple cups...and they've been there 3 times.

All 8 group winners...and now all 4 expected favorites.  Zero surprises, zero drama.  It's just too dull.

I'll root for Brazil, but I don't imagine I'll even wake up for another game.

[Davio]

My ideal final four would have been: Colombia, France, Netherlands, Belgium

Netherlands is a bit of a surprise, nobody expected them to do this well, but the boys keep pulling it off game after game. They never let their head down and they dominated and played focused for 120 minutes + penalties, so impressive.

But with this final four, it would be even more epic if we could beat both Argentina and Germany.

[Teproc]

Yeah the Netherlands weren't expected there before the competition, but after the 5-1 against Spain...

Would you have been happy with a Argentina-Costa Rica semifinal ash ? I wouldn't have. They're not good. The Dutch are miles better than them, even though they struggled way more than they should have, and the match is going to be mroe interesting because of that.

Anyway, time for Germany to finally win that World Cup as a united nation. This generation deserves it.

[ashersky]

Yeah the Netherlands weren't expected there before the competition, but after the 5-1 against Spain...

Would you have been happy with a Argentina-Costa Rica semifinal ash ? I wouldn't have. They're not good. The Dutch are miles better than them, even though they struggled way more than they should have, and the match is going to be mroe interesting because of that.

Anyway, time for Germany to finally win that World Cup as a united nation. This generation deserves it.

Costa Rica - Belgium vs. France - Brazil was what I wanted from the remaining 8.

At this point, Brazil - Argentina in the final is the best I can hope for.

[Teproc]

You are aware that Argentina/Brazil was the predicted final ?

Anyway, I'm for Germany because reasons, and I'm against Argentina because they're still not very good except for Messi. The Belgians were very disappointing (much like the French against Germany in the second half actually), and I hope Van Persie wakes up for the semifinals.

But I'm fine with Argentina winning to get destroyed by an actual team in the finals though.

[soulnet]

Anyway, I'm for Germany because reasons, and I'm against Argentina because they're still not very good except for Messi. The Belgians were very disappointing (much like the French against Germany in the second half actually), and I hope Van Persie wakes up for the semifinals.

European teams were always more complete and well organized and South American teams were always more unbalanced but more energetic and, sorry for the bias, more creative. What happens in general life gets reflected in the most popular sport, I guess. There is a reason why Europeans as teams do so well, but most star players in their leagues still come from South America.

Regarding Argentina having only Messi as good player (not even Di Maria? really? he is out alright, but still), what great plays had Germany showed? Neuer? If the number of players playing great is what wins the world cup, I would say the Netherlands should win, because they had 2 every game (Robben + Van Persie or Sneijder).

Still, Costa Rica's defense yesterday did not do a super amazing job, and the Netherlands still could not score. Argentina keeps winning by a 1 goal margin. Brazil is the worst Brazil in history, playing lots of defense and horrible offense, and now they do not have their only really creative player. And Germany, well, they are always the same. Add the inherent tension for being decisive matches and I expect the remaining 4 games to be exciting but not particularly well played (well, maybe Messi or Robben can do some exceptional plays, but I don't see any of the rest).

If I were betting, my money is still on Brazil-Argentina being the final, and Brazil being the champion.

[Teproc]

Yeah, I didn't mention Di Maria because of the injury.

No german player has been as good as Messi in this World Cup, but all of them are better than any non-Messi/Di Maria player in the argentinian team.

I don't see Brazil beating Germany without Neymar and Thiago Silva. They played well against Colombia, but that's too much to overcome I think.

[soulnet]

Germany was pretty unimpressive after the 4-0 against Portugal. They are possibly the most even team, but I don't think their average is way above the average of any of the other semifinalists as you seem to imply. I am not trying to say that any of the other teams are playing excellent football, but all the supposed stars of Germany's attack (Ozil, Muller and Klose, mainly) were just average players in the last couple of games.

BTW, no defensive midfielder still in the cup is better than Mascherano, both in general and in this world cup, which has one of the hardest tasks because Argentina is the most offensive of the 4 teams.

There is also Rojo, which I did not like throught all qualifiers, but he is playing an excellent world cup on both sides of the court, thought I must say I would prefer to have Lahm or any of Brazil's excellent lateral defenders (is that the word? I do not know the English term for positions 3 and 4). Rojo is possibly on par with Kuyt, which played decently against Costa Rica.

Finally, Higuain played horribly on the first phase and on the round of 16, but last game against Belgium was clearly the best player on the match, even if you do not take into account his goal. By far a stronger play than Klose's in his last match, but of course, it is just one game.

[Teproc]

I disagree with your assesment of Müller, I think he's having a great world cup. Just because he hasn't scored ten goals (although he's scored a few) doesn't mean he's average in this tournament : he's very good. Klose shouldn't be starting matches, I'm not sure why Löw did that. As for Özil... I agree there, he's the big disappointment of the team. Kroos, Schweinsteiger, Müller, Lahm, Hummels are all playing very very well. There's a sense that the team knows what it's doing and has a confidence that they will win.

I'll admit that Mascherano is a pretty good player and Higuain played surprisingly well against Belgium. I just don't know what Argentina's plan is, beside passing the ball to Messi and seeing what happens.
Part of it is also that Argentina has faced no opposition. Belgium was theoretically strong, but didn't show anything in the QF. Switzerland showed their huge weaknesses againt France in the group phase, and the group was pretty weak, yet Argentina had a rough time, especially against Iran.

[ipofanes]

The final four is such a classic composition of world cup legends: Brazil, 5 time winners, Germany, 3 time winners, Argentina, 2 time winners and Netherlands, 3 time losers.

To think that they were all in one of two groups in 1974. Back then we wisely decided to send our B team into that group.

[ipofanes]

Overall, what a world cup. If I wasn't Dutch, I probably would have rooted for the underdog Costa Rica, but oh well.
The final four is such a classic composition of world cup legends: Brazil, 5 time winners, Germany, 3 time winners, Argentina, 2 time winners and Netherlands, 3 time losers.

Maybe it's because I'm not European, or from those countries, but I gave the exact opposite feeling from this final four.

To me, it's just "oh, these four AGAIN!?"  It's like another Yankees World Series, for baseball fans.  Sure, I'm unhappy my team is out, but having the same teams over and over gets really boring.  There are no underdogs (not counting the unfortunately injured state of Brazil's team), no compelling stories...just the regular strongest teams playing each other again.  The Netherlands are the only team there without multiple cups...and they've been there 3 times.

All 8 group winners...and now all 4 expected favorites.  Zero surprises, zero drama.  It's just too dull.

I'll root for Brazil, but I don't imagine I'll even wake up for another game.

Argentina is in the semis the first time this century, Netherlands the second time, Brazil the first time after 12 years. The only dull team up there is Germany.