Cant believe how poor Germany have been....

I thought Giroud was poor in the other game....

Ozil has been even worse......:eek!:


Would love to see the Algerians sneak it in extra time.....8-P

GERMANY 2 ALGERIA 1 (AET)

It took me 30 mins before i realised that Germany were NOT playing in green...

Thats how dominant the Algerians were in the first half and should have been at least a goal up.

The Germans pressed more in the second half but couldnt find a way through a decent defence and the odd time they did the Nigerian goalie was more then up to it.

Extra time and an early goal from the Germans from Schurle eased the pressure but still the Algerians tried to press forwards and with a couple of minutes left of extra time the Germans scored again to seal victory.

There was still time for a consolation goals and a deserved one at that for Algeria who bowed out of this World cup with heads held high after a great couple of weeks.


Tonights Bets........ALL LOST


New Balance.....21 points

ARGENTINA V SWITZERLAND 5pm

This looks like another tight encounter.

The Swiss are usually solid at the back but they do need to keep Messi quiet and that will be a job.

Going forwards that lack a bundle of goals but i see a close scoring match and another that might go all the way to pens.


Todays Bets

ARGENTINA TO WIN IN EXTRA TIME @ 10/1......3 points

ARGENTINA TO WIN ON PENS @ 16/1........3 points

SWITZERLAND TO WIN ON PENS @ 28/1....3 points

ARGENTINA TO WIN 2-1 @ 8/1.........5 points

HIGUAIN TO SCORE FIRST @ 6/1.....4 points

SHAQUIRI TO SCORE FIRST @ 12/1....3 points


Total points wagered......21

Good luck mate ..

Think i'll have a look at a sporting bet, win double Argentina and USA :brains:

Wasn't that a shyte (o)<

Ok I'm having a bet on USA in the next game 8-P

ARGENTINA 1 SWITZERLAND 0 (AET)

One word sums this up ......MESSI.

Argentina are a one man team and this was the worst game so far in this world cup.

The Argies were as poor as it gets and when Messi isnt playing well the rest dont.

Just the one extra time goal by Di Maria who for 118 mins looked like he had just seen a football when they came out for the kick off.

Maybe if the Swiss played like they did in the last 4 mins earlier they would have been through.

Lets hope tonights match is better....

Well it cant be worse.....:eek!:


Todays Bets.

ARGENTINA TO WIN IN EXTRA TIME @ 10/1......3 points

New Balance....33 points

BELGIUM V USA

This match HAS to have goals.....;)

The USA have entertained from day one and i wouldnt right them off here against a Belgium team full of big named players but also a team that dont looked to have bonded and maybe to many individuals...

I think the USA could take this to extra time and maybe pens.

Goals in this one for sure so high scoring draw could pay.


Tonights Bets.

BELGIUM EXTRA TIME @ 10/1.....4 points

BELGIUM AFTER PENS @ 12/1.....3 points

USA EXTRA TIME @ 18/1............2 points

USA ON PENS @ 14/1.................2 points

90 MIN DRAW 2-2 @ 16/1..........3 points

DEMPSEY (USA) TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 9/1......4 points

HAZZARD TO SCORE 2 OR MORE @ 16/1.......3 points

PEN IN MATCH @ 3/1..........6 points

OWN GOAL @ 14/1.............2 points


Total points wagered.....29

Great game to watch that was :clap:

BELGIUM 2 USA 1 (AET)


The last match of the last 16 saw another 0-0 draw over 90 mins.

But there are 0-0 draws like the Argentina match before and there are 0-0 draws....:eek!:

This was a great game to watch as Belgium knocked on the door through out the 90 mins but the stubbon USA mixed with the great goal keeping of Everton goalie Tim Howard kept them out.

The USA never stopped running and could have had one or two themselves in what was at times end to end.

But after 90 mins and for the third 9pm game in a row it went to extra time.

Lukaku came on and made an imediate impression setting up a goal for De Brune early in the first half. Another break away goal scored by Lukaku looked to have sealed a victory for Belgium but theose plucky Americans fought back in the second period of "over time" to score and make a grand stand finish and with a bit more luck the USA could have taken it to pens but alas they didnt and Belgium went through.

Great fighting spirit by the USA and really deserved to go to a shoot out at worst.



Tonight bets.

BELGIUM EXTRA TIME @ 10/1.....4 points


New Balance.....48 points

So we now know the last eight teams in this world gup..

Whats surprising is that they ALL won their group.....:scribe:

So our last eight games are...

Friday..

FRANCE V GERMANY @ 5pm

BRAZIL V COLUMBIA @ 9pm


Saturday

ARGENTINA V BELGIUM @ 5pm

HOLLAND V COSTA RICA @ 9pm


To be honest i dont think anyone would have complained if the USA or CHILIE or even ALGERIA had all gone through.

They all gave 100% and entertained us every time they played...Not like England,Italy and Spain all who didnt give 100% and were poor entertainment and deserved to go home early.


So we are in for what looks like four tight matches and the way thing have gone in the last couple of weeks it could be a toss of the coin to find our semi finalists.

We still have a few quid to play with so i will look at the first game FRANCE V GERMANY in a bit.....:news:

FRANCE V GERMANY 5pm

This promises to be a tough and tight encounter as two of the best teams sp far meet in this last eight match.

The French have been the surprise team here so far as before a ball was kicked they were favs to be going home early but the squad who everyone thought was in transition for the Euros to be held in France in 2016 has shone here so far and could well go all the way.

The Germans are always fancied when it comes to big competitions and after a decent start they have tailed off a bit but we all know you cant write the Germans off and this match is no different.

Both teams look to attack so i can see plenty of goal mouth action and surely goals.

For me the French might just edge it but maybe they will need more then 90 mins..


Todays Bets

DRAW 2-2 @ 11/1 (90 MINS).............4 points

MATUIDI TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 7/1......4 points

SCHWEINSTIGER TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 7/1......3 points

FRANCE TO SCORE A PEN @ 10/1.......3 points

GERMANY TO SCORE A PEN @ 10/1.....3 points

FRANCE TO WIN IN ET @ 14/1............4 points

FRANCE TO WIN ON PENS @ 12/1.......2 points

GERMANY TO WIN ON PENS @ 10/1....3 points


Total points wagered.....26


BRAZIL V COLUMBIA..... selections will be posted after this match

It seems the Germans are all sick with a flue virus :eek!:

FRANCE 0 GERMANY 1

The French exited this world cup with a whimper.....

For the first two weeks they have entertained but tonight after going a goal down in the first half didnt show any real urgency to get back into the game.

Benzema everytime he got the ball wanted to shoot and for 98% of them those shots wouldnt have bothered my nan (if she was alive).

So the Germans do again what they do best and get a goal up and sit on that.

They are through to play the winners of tonights other match between the hosts Brazil and Columbia.


Todays bets All lost.....


New balance......22 points

BRAZIL V COLUMBIA 9pm

If there is going to be a major shock in this world cup i think its coming tonight....:eek!:

Brazil in my opinion have been very average and how FIFA can make David Luiz the player of the tornie so far is laughable....o:D

Brazil were lucky against Chile but i think tonight the Columbians will go marching on to the semis.

They have looked a decent team going forward and the Brazil defence is poor so i can see a goal fest...:scribe:


Tonights Bets

COLUMBIA TO WIN IN 90 MINS @ 5/1........5 points

PENALTY IN MATCH @ 3/1.......5 points

OVER 3.5 MATCH GOALS @ 7/2.......6 points

OVER 4.5 MATCH GOALS @ 8/1.......4 points

FIRST GOAL MATRENEZ (COL) @ 12/1...2 points


TOtal wagered........22 points

BRAZIL 2 COLUMBIA 1

Brazil make it to the semi finals but i feel this is as far as they go..

This Brazil team is poor by comparison of world cups gone by and if we had "smell a vision" through our tv screens then last night i would have had to open the windows to watch the last 20 mins....:eek!:

They hung on by their finger nails and if there would have been another 10 mins im sure Columbia would have got the equaliser and gone onto win

The defence was all over the place and any team that has FRED and PAULIHIO in it cant win the world cup.

The Germans will rip them apart and at around 7/4 i would be looking to double up the Germans with a few horse fancies over the coming few days....:brains:

With no Silva at the back and a possibility Neymer wil be missing i cant give them a prayer in the semi's...


Winning bets

PENALTY IN MATCH @ 3/1.......5 points

FIRST GOAL MATRENEZ (COL) @ 12/1...2 points void)


New balance......22 points

ARGENTINA V BELGIUM 5pm

This game could be anything.....Both teams can play and both teams have also looked poor at times and maybe its down to one player from each team to kick start the rest.

Messi has scored a few already but has also drifted out of games and when that happens Argentina loose their way.

Hazzard for Belgium although not scoring like we know he can has flattered to deceive in a few games but could do a lot of damage today against a fairly average defence.


I can see this going into extra time and maybe even pens to decide and to be honest not too sure who will win ....:eek!:


Todays Bets.

OVER 3.5 GOALS @ 3/1.......6 points

OVER 4.5 GOALS @ 8/1.......3 points

BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS @ 2/1......7 points

MERTENS TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 5/1........4 points

DRAW 2-2 @ 14/1.............2 points


Total wagered........22 points

ARGENTINA 1 BELGIUM 0

Yesterday we had France and today we had their neighbours Belgium wimping out of this world cup.

What amazes me is that teams who go 1-0 behind wait till the last 7 or 8 mins before throwing caution to the wind.

Belgium were poor and as for Hazzard i think he has been found out in this world cup as a bit of a lazy one trick pony and hopefully PSG will come in with 60 million and Chelsea can bundle him off to the French capital.

The Argies won with a bit of a lucky goal and then just fell about for most of the match.

The group games were great but the knock out matches on the whole have been boring except for the smaller nations who gave it their all.


Todays bets......all lost


New balance.........0 points

HOLLAND V COSTA RICA 9 pm

The last of the so called "small teams" take on the surprise package Holland in this last 8 game.

The winners will play Argentina in the semis and i doubt either of these two will loose much sleep over that...

Lets be honest Holland should roll these over with little fuss but this could also be the best game of the last eight if Costa Rica get at the Dutch early.

For me its the Dutch to go through in what could be a tight game for 70 mins until the Dutches superior fitness kicks in.


Tonights Bets

OVER 3.5 MATCH GOALS @ 3/1.......6 points

HOLLAND TO WIN 3-1 @ 14/1.........3 points

ROBBEN TO SCORE TWO OR MORE @ 9/1....4 points

BLIND TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 12/1.......3 points

HOLLAND TO SCORE A PEN @ 7/1.........3 points

COSTA RICA TO SCORE A PEN @ 16/1......1 point


Total wagered.....20 points

Have you replenished your fictional account :scribe: o:D

Yes im at -20 points........:'D:'D

HOLLAND 0 COSTA RICA 0 (AET)

HOLLAND WIN 4-2 ON PENS


I have taken a few days to report on this game.....

The Dutch were so poor against a fairly well but limited Costa Rica.

What makes me laugh is the Van Gall gets all the plaudits for taking off the goal keeper with a min to go in extra time and bringing on the Newcastle keeper for the pens.....:eek!:

Ok he saved two of them but....

If Van Gall had sorted out his team in the 90 mins then there would have been no pens...:brains:

Someone better tell him we only play 90 mins in the premier league...8-P

Costa Rica went out on their shield and could have nicked it at the end which although undeserved would have been funny....o:D

So the Dutch go on to play Argentina on Wednesday night and will need to improve a lot if they are going to lift this world cup....:scribe:


TONIGHTS BETS .......All lost


New balance......-221 points

BRAZIL V GERMANY (Semi Final) 9PM


Down to the last four and a repeat of the 2002 final in South Africa when the Brazilians won 2-0.

This Brazil team is nowhere near as good as that one was and in truth this team is one of the worst i can remember.

With no Neymar or Costa i feel this is the end of the road for the host nation tonight.

Although they have got this far on the whole its been a struggle and also some help from the refs hasnt gone amiss.

The Germans just look to powerful and too good for Brazil and i think it could be a fairly easy nights work for them to get revenge for 2002.

At the back the Germans have been solid and their midfield is way better then the Brazilians not forgetting their strikers who have all done well in this competition.

Compare that to Fred and Hulk and even Jo who really must be the worst strikers Brazil have ever fielded.

So for me its the Germans who will be in Sundays final and i doubt we will be having a late night.


Tonights Bets.

GERMANY TO WIN IN 90 MINS @ 2/1..........10 points

GERMANY TO WIN 3-1 @ 25/1.....................3 points

GERMANY TO WIN 3-0 @ 28/1.....................3 points

OVER 3.5 MATCH GOALS @ 4/1....................5 points

MULLER TO SCORE 2 OR MORE @ 14/1.........4 points


Total wagered........25

Half time report...

BRAZIL 0 GERMANY 5 (FIVE)......o:D


Not even i can believe how bad this Brazil team is.....:eek!:


I cant remember watching any match where a team has scored goals so easily.


Did laugh when the commentator said..."Fred has done nothing cant see him coming out for the second half"....:scribe:


Think he ment "Any half again"........o:D


Lets just hope they dont make the excuse that they didnt have Neymar and Silva.....:eek!:

BRAZIL 1 GERMANY 7 (SEVEN)

What can you say ......:h?:

In all my years watching football i dont think i have ever seen a team with so many big named players get a beating as bad as Brazil did tonight.

I really thought the Germans would win fairly easily but this was a hammering of epic proportions...:eek!:

I cant remember seeing a team who just didnt have an idea of what they were doing....Not one Brazil player could hold his head up .

What the left and right back were doing only they know but it wasnt defending...

The other thing that totally amazes me is how Chelsea got £50m for Luiz....o:D

Talk about bailing out at the right time....Nick Leason would have been proud of that deal....8-P

So the Germans go marching on and who can stop them ?

Maybe no one but as we have seen tonight footballs a "funny old game" and this was only one match....The final could be oh so different....:news:


Tonights Bets Landed

GERMANY TO WIN IN 90 MINS @ 2/1..........10 points


OVER 3.5 MATCH GOALS @ 4/1....................5 points


I will also say that i cant believe Muller only scored once....:'D


New balance.......-192 points


Tomorrow we look at the second semi between ARGENTINA & HOLLAND

ARGENTINA V HOLLAND...9pm

The second semi final and tonight we see the another battle between the South Americans and the Europeans.


Last night we saw the demise of the host country Brazil who were thrashed by the Germans so tonight can the South Americans fight back..


The Dutch have surprised a few but have struggled in the last two games so maybe they arnt really as good as we thought they were early in the competition.


The Argentinains have been a bit like the Dutch and rely heavily on Messi to create and score for them.


If the Dutch can stop him i think they have a chance to make it a all European final.


I can see another fairly open affair but nothing like last night and this one could easily go to extra time or even pens to decide the out come which will be interesting if only to see what Van Gall does with his keeper this time.


So its the Dutch for me in a close encounter.


Tonights Bets.


GAME TO BE DECIDED IN ET @ 6/1.....5 points

GAME TO BE DECIDED ON PENS @ 5/1......4 points

HOLLAND TO WIN 3-2 @ 40/1........3 points

ARGENTINA TO WIN 2-0 @ 10/1.......3 points

ROBBEN TO SCORE AT ANYTIME @ 11/4.......6 points

HOLLAND TO SCORE A PEN @ 11/1.......3 points

ARGENTINA TO SCORE A PEN @ 10/1.....3 points


Total wagered.........27 points

Half Time Report

ARGENTINA 0 HOLLAND 0


"Intriguing" Andy Townsend called it......:h?

That was to stop people turning over to watch the news......:eek!:

I would sum it up a bit different....:scribe:

Bloody boring .......8-P

Both teams dont have a midfield that can make a telling pass.

Van Persie has turned into Fred

Robben has turned into Lord Lucan and

Messi has turned into every Dutch player within 5 yards of him....:eek!:

Lets hope for more action in extra time....o:D

ARGENTINA 0 HOLLAND 0 (AET)

ARGENTINA WIN 4-2 ON PENS.


Surely this was the worst match of the world cup.....:eek!:

I dont think we saw a shot to worry any of the keepers in 120 mins...:eek!:

Neither of these two teams deserves to be in the final and i for one hope the Germans do to Argentina what they did to Brazil.

They banged on about Van Gall the other night but in honesty i wouldnt like to have a season ticket at Old Trafford if this is the sort of tactics he will be playing...Boring Boring Boring....:eek!:

As for Argentina i think they played for pens with Messi not having ONE touch of the ball in Hollands 18 yard box in 2 hours of football.....:eek!:

As for Van Persie i think hes been nearly as bad as Fred and although the goal against the Spanish will live long in the memory the rest of the time he has been on the pitch wont....:eek!:


Tonights Bets

GAME TO BE DECIDED ON PENS @ 5/1......4 points


New Balance....-194


The next match we will look at is the third place game on Saturday.

BRAZIL V HOLLAND (Third place playoff) 9pm

It will be interesting to see how these two teams approach this non event game tonight.

The Brazilians need to bounce back and save face with a good performance and the Dutch will want to give their manager a decent send off in his last game.

Both teams will be shell shocked after losing the semi final but i think Brazil will have a lot more to prove and can win this to get some credit back.

I cant believe we wont see at least 5 changes in the Brazil team tonight with Scholari giving a few run outs to players who havnt appeared yet.

Surely FRED will not play and i doubt LUIZ and OSCAR will make the starting line up.

Holland were poor in their semi and i think we will see Huntelar up front instead of Van Persie who im sure Van Gall will want to save for Man Utd.


Tonights Bets

BRAZIL TO WIN BOTH HALVES @ 6/1........5 points

BRAZIL TO SCORE A PEN @ 8/1......3 points

BRAZIL TO SCORE IN BOTH HALVES @ 2/1......10 points

WILLIAN TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 4/1.........5 points

DE GUZMAN TO SCORE AT ANY TIME @ 7/1....3 points


Total wagered........26 points

The Golden Ball

This is awarded to the best player in the competition...

The Fav @ 5/4 is MESSI closely followed by MULLER @ 11/4

For me these two are not value and i doubt they will win as i think the voting panel will want to give this to a bit of an unknown to boost their popularity with the general football fans around the world who have had enough of "big time charlies" getting all the awards..

So for me its

JAMES RODRIGUEZ @ 4/1 (Bet 365)

Who i think deserves this award for his 6 goals and great entertainment in this competition..


Im having 20 points @ 4/1............:brains:

BRAZIL 0 HOLLAND 3

Brazil suffered another loss at the hands of the Dutch in this 3rd place playoff game.

Once again they were exposed at the back and with no real goal scorer another heavy defeat.

The first Dutch goal came from the spot and another poor clearance from Luiz gave the Dutch a gift second.

A late third sealed their fate...


TONIGHTS BEST.....

ALL LOST.


New balance......-240

ARGENTINA V GERMANY....8pm

2014 WORLD CUP FINAL


So we finally come to the final and after four weeks its South America v Europe...

We have seen some really good games and some of the smaller nations have entertained us with their never say die attitude...

But we have also seen some poor performances notably from Spain,Italy and England all going home before its really started.

Both these finalist have been good and bad with Argentina not really living upto their attacking set up and the Germans have scored plenty but have also had games when they could have easily lost.

I hope its a final in keeping with the group games of attacking football and not what we saw in some of the knockout rounds where teams seemed to settle for a penalty shoot out.

The Argentinians will rely on Messi to create chances and maybe they will bin Higuain who has been poor and start with Aguero who might just be a better bet near goal.

The Germans will win if they play like they did in the semi final and much depends on the midfield getting hold of the ball and getting it forward quickly.

I think the Germans might just have the edge and the passion to win and in 90 mins.


Tonights bets.

GERMANY TO SCORE IN BOTH HALVES @ 4/1........8 points

GERMANY TO SCORE A PEN @ 8/1........4 points

ARGENTINA TO SCORE A PEN @ 12/1......3 points

SCHWIENSTIGER TO SCORE AT ANYTIME @ 8/1.....3 points

PEREZ TO SCORE AT ANYTIME @ 10/1......3 points

GERMANY 3-0 @ 20/1..........3 points

GERMANY 3-2 @ 40/1..........2 points


Total wagered...24 points

good luck mate .. I had 50p, on 2 0 & 3 0 Holland yesterday o:D
So today it's 50p on Argentina 1 0 and 2 0 :eek!: ;)

GERMANY 0 ARGENTINA 0...Half Time


No goals but quite a lot of action.

The Germans have had more of the ball but maybe the better chances have fallen Argentinas way.

Both teams should have scored.....

Higuain a glaring miss after being put by a back pass for a one on one with the keeper which he fluffed wide .

Then Higuain again this time scoring but offside.

Right on half time a German corner saw a free header by Hummels who should have scored but hit the post from 6 yards.

Evenly balanced and this could go all the way to those dreaded spot kicks to decide the winners....:eek!:

Sorry but Argentina are kicking anything that gets past them and are the most boring team I have ever seen, considering the players they have. As for Messi being a "great" player.

GERMANY 1 ARGENTINA 0 (AET)

GERMANY are the 2014 World Cup Winners.....:clap:


In truth it was another poor game where the Germans had more of the ball but the Argentinians had the better chance and should have won.

Germany were arguably the team that deserved to win the trophy but even they were fairly poor in the knock out games with the exception of their semi final victory.

The ARGIES were poor throughout the competition and lacked any real spark going forwards and the chances they had and missed in this final tells the tale.

The Germans should do well over the next few years with the young squad they have but many of the bigger nations will be looking hard for some young talent to come through.


On the whole i enjoyed this world cup but bar one or two knock out games the rest of these were fiarly boring unlike the group games that were goals fests.

For me the small nations made this world cup and it will be interesting to see how these develop over the next few years..


Tonights Bets all lost..


FINAL TOTAL......-244 points.........:'D


Lets hope no one followed those selections........:-C

MESSI named player of the competition....

Well i doubt even Messi's biggest fan wouldnt have given him this one....:eek!:

You could see by his face that he was a bit embarresed by the award ..


FIFA are a completed joke and of course the award only went to him so they can use him in all the publicity photos....:eek!:


For me it was either.

J RODREGEZ or any of the German midfielders....:scribe:


But at least it wasnt David Luiz who led for the first two weeks.....o:D