complixicata1

And so it was a case of Europe 2 Africa 0. But neither Nigeria nor Algeria have nothing to be ashamed of, they played their hearts out last night. But it all means that France will play Germany on Friday. Can't wait, bring it on.

So then, back to Robben. Taken from the BBC Sport website. (I could have used the Daily Mail quotes, but as everyone in the UK knows, that paper is a complete sack of shit.) "World Cup 2014: Arjen Robben apologises for dive against Mexico Arjen Robben apologised for diving as the Netherlands beat Mexico 2-1 in the last-16 of the World Cup but said it was not for the decisive penalty. Klaas Jan Huntelaar converted the match-winning spot kick in stoppage time after Robben had been fouled. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera accused Robben of diving three times in the game, but the forward told Dutch television: "I have to apologise. In the first half I took a dive. "The one at the end was a penalty."" Earlier, I stopped short of calling him a cheat. I fully take it back. The view upon whether the decisive penalty actually was a penalty can be debated for ages, but he's nontheless revealed himself to be a cheating scumbag who also will do whatever it takes to con the ref. The Netherlands on the whole have been a good team at this tournament, but their actions have been tarnished by Robben's indiscretions. Perhaps FIFA should charge him for bringing the game into disrepute.

I would just have the option of disabling Mental State altogether. For me, the whole thing is pointless and not very well thought out at all.

Yes, Greece leaving it late again. I fear for Costa Rica, both physically and emotionally in extra time. They look absolutely spent, Greece should probably finish this before it goes to penalties. Hmmm, edit time... Haha, read 'em and weep. But bloody hell, Costa Rica looked as good as done. But even so, their ten men perked up as much as their energy reserves would allow towards the end of the second period of extra time. And what a master class in penalty taking. Of course you feel sorry for the Greek lad who missed his spot kick, but what a save. Chances are the Dutch will tear them apart in the quarter-finals, but then again, this was the same team that was supposed to finish bottom of the group...

Nice one, well done. Arjen Robben though, someone needs to have a word. He really did make the most of the penalty that was given. I'll stop short of calling him a cheat, as there was contact made, and enough for the referee to give it. But there are more honest players in the game who would have tried to stay on their feet. Tough on Mexico, but you felt from watching the action unfold that one goal was never going to be enough for them. Also, I wonder how close van Gaal was to substituting Sneijder. He'd pretty much done fuck all in the game until his equaliser.

Uruguay are eliminated, and the rest of the world says, "Good riddance!!!!!!" Columbia to play Brazil on Friday, and based on this evidence, the host nation need to seriously up their game.

I know, talk about a heart-in-mouth moment. Brazil have got to do a hell of a lot going forward from here, Scolari needs to get over his man crush on Fred, for a start. He's playing like the Brazilian equivalent of what Emile Heskey was for England. Almost completely pointless. Starting with Jo seems to be the better option. And they need to defend better, and to stop making stupid mistakes. David Luiz in particular needs to stop playing like an attacker at the back. But a big positive is Julio Cesar. Only eight club games all season, and he's getting better as the tournament progresses. His second save in the shootout, pure quality EDIT You might be on to something there. Holy shit...THAT goal against Uruguay. If something else beats it to goal of the tournament, it's going to have to be pretty damn special. .

After watching Brazil-Chile, anyone who wants to talk shit about this sport can do one as far as I'm concerned. Feel sorry for Chile, they gave it absolutely everything, but unfortunately there had to be a loser. Yeah, there might be a few talking points (Turned down penalty appeal for Brazil? Did Hulk handle the ball?), but such drama, such excitement. Can the other seven games in this round match up? Let's see, bring it on...

Belgium are not a bad team. They have decent players up front, and star man Eden Hazard can change a game in an instant. They are also the most defensively disciplined team at the World Cup, being the only team not to concede a goal from open play. And they have won all three of their games while playing at a level nowhere near to their best. So do not be quick to underestimate them. If the USA win, it would have to be considered one of the greatest wins in their history. Since predictions seem to be the order of the day, here's mine for the other games. I fancy Brazil to be given a tough test by Chile, but they should win by one goal. With Van Persie back, the Netherlands should destroy Mexico, though it would be interesting to see how they would react to Mexico taking the lead. For reasons other than football, I think that most of the world wants Columbia to beat the living crap out of Uruguay, but out of the teams considered 'dark horses', the Columbians have impressed me the most, particularly with their counter-attacking play. The Uruguayans clearly are not the same team without Suarez, and even though they will be defiant, I expect Columbia to win handsomely. Greece-Costa Rica. Be honest, who had that one before the tournament started? Anyone? No, didn't think so. Tough one to call, of all of the 2nd-round matchups, this one has 'penalties' written all over it. But based upon what I have seen, I believe that Costa Rica will be favourites here, as long as they don't get too nervous. Greece's best strength appears to be their defence, if they get ahead, the Costa Ricans will find them tough to break down. But I'm still going to predict Costa Rica for the win. Didier Deschamps is in that great position of having a 'good problem to have'. The French coach could pretty much cut and paste any given eleven players into his starting lineup, and they would still do a top job. Karim Benzema appears to have taken it upon himself to be France's talisman in the unfortunate absence of Franck Ribéry, and they will go as he goes. I ultimately think that France will be found out later in the tournament when they play a stronger team, but for now, I believe them to have plenty to beat Nigeria comfortably. Switzerland could pull off a shock win if Argentina are overconfident, or if they rely a little too much on Messi. For all of the brilliance of the little genius, the likes of Di Maria and Aguero have hardly set the tournament alight, and number 10 can't do everything on his own. For the Swiss, they got over their mauling to France pretty quickly, and Shaqiri has shown that he is one of those 'one chance' players. With all that said, clearly Argentina have more than enough quality to win here. It's about time that they gave the complete performance the world is waiting for. I already gave my thoughts on USA-Belgium above, so the final one here is Germany-Algeria. While it would be fantastic for Algeria to pull off the shock win, and finally put to bed any ill-feelings of unfair play from Germany back in the 1982 tournament (look it up if you can be bothered), it clearly isn't going to happen here. Germany to win at a canter. The group stages, by and large, were a great spectacle. Let's hope that the knockout phases more than live up to the standards that have been set.

So much to discuss. Fair play to the US for giving it their all against Germany. That shot from Mueller was a pure thunderbolt, and it's a shame for them that Dempsey couldn't get his header on target late on. Still, they are deservedly in the next round, and expected opponents Belgium would do well not to take them lightly. The days of Team USA being a joke team that few people inside their country cared about are well and truly over, and hopefully continued good play will see popularity for the sport in the country increase. And so, on to Luis Suarez. I don't feel sorry for him. One might argue that FIFA didn't go far enough. On the surface, it sounds like a strong punishment, and that a clear message has been sent. However, I would have gone further than that, and banned him from all football-related activity for at least a year. The guy just doesn't seem to learn. And no sympathy here for the Uruguay FA and their media. Their predictable apologist behaviour is nothing short of petulant, and efforts to blame the British media for their man's woes is fucking pathetic. Remember, this is the same British media who don't sell short their praise of him whenever he does anything good, and the same British media who voted him their Footballer's Writer's Player Of The Year last season. But heck, why let the truth cloud popular opinion? And why not ignore the rest of the world's media who haven't been slow in their condemnation? And finally, if there are any Liverpool fans crying out against the injustice, tough shit. A quality player, yes, but LFC knew that the man had previous when they bought him. They rolled the dice, and for all of the "smooth" that he has given them, they've also had to take their fair share of "rough" to go along with it. So again, no sympathy. Maybe they should sell him while they have the chance.

Oh well, this could go on forever. But the fact remains, as you say, that Ivory Coast were not good enough. Nigeria "soon to be world champions"??? Haha. Couldn't take advantage of a Messi-less Argentina in the second half, and most likely about to have their backsides handed to them by France. Enjoy.

He was impeded, for crying out loud. Note how the Ivory Coast players didn't run to the referee in protest after the decision was made. The guy who fouled the Greek player knew he'd blown it. What I was originally going to write: Wow...such drama in Brazil tonight. Greece denying Côte d'Ivoire at the death with the coolest penalty of the World Cup so far. Got to feel sorry for the Ivorians, going out of the World Cup three times in a row at the group stages. But Greece deserved it, well done to them. Nice to talk about actual play on the pitch.

Got to grab it while it's available. No way I can play a playlist and then be up for midnight your time, and then put in a ten hour shift. But at least I showed common courtesy in informing you all, as opposed to not showing up and keeping quiet about it. Judging from the pictures and comments, it seems that you all had a fun time without me anyway.

So no goals for England today, but at least they didn't lose!!!!!!! Oh well, the hard work for Euro 2016 begins now. But trust the English to find humour in the situation... And of course I can't finish this post without talking about Mr Suarez. I'll just reprint what I posted on my Facebook page and leave it at that... Let's see how many Suarez apologists come crawling out of the woodwork now, starting with the Uruguay coach: "I'd like to see the images first before making any comment. If it happened, then the referee probably didn't see it," said Tabarez. "Despite mistakes Suarez has made, he is the target of certain media, a certain press." Yawn, Here we go again. Brendan Rodgers will probably be next. The images here look pretty damn clear. And watch as the c*** (yeah, I went there) goes down clutching his face, as if HE'S the innocent party. If Columbia play Uruguay in the next round, I hope they fucking murder them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W8VC-WY-V8

I surprised that you didn't put a 'maybe' next to my name as per my indication. Anyhow, the overtime is on offer, so I won't be able to make it in tonight. But I'm sure you'll all have fun.

^^ I'll be sure to remember this when I finally go on that Canadian holiday I've wanted to take for years. Anyway, my crazy stories barely register. Mainly involving some of the crazy/stupid shit I've done in my pursuit of live music over the years...

Awww, USA just COULDN'T hold on for a few more seconds. Ouch.

BBC commentator Mark Lawrenson after the USA took the lead: "I'm not biased, I just want the USA to win". So much for impartiality. Sorry cuda, but I hope for the same, only because I want the USA to play Russia in round 2. And Brian, if you read this, calm down, don't overdo your celebrations.

Not a classic game so far, but it is intriguing. Heck, we even had an American-style break for drinks in the first half. I wonder if the US broadcasters took the opportunity to squeeze in a quick commercial...

Damn right it's bollocks. They'll feel the effects of the closure soon enough. That said, I hope that there's some entertainment group out there that realises the true value of the venue, and steps in to take it over at the last moment.

I went there just the once, I mainly went to Mad Ferret across the road. And yes, I'm VERY sad. Do you know the reason why?

Nice pics dude. When I lived in Manchester, I used to go to Preston on a regular basis to watch the band Next Stop Atlanta, so I know your manor reasonably well.

Well Bosnia were definitely disappointing, but Dzeko's "goal" that was wrongly disallowed was definitely a turning point. The linesman who raised his flag should definitely be sent home. Looking forward to Belgium-Russia today. EDIT: Well, the Belgians left it late, but they got their win. Russia have it all to do now, they'll have their hands full with Algeria, who are just KILLING Korea right now. If only they'd played like this against Belgium a few days ago...

I fancy Dzeko to bag a few.

Indeed. One of the best matches of the tournament so far, in particular the second half. Klose will be disappointed with that late miss though...