Evolution (cont'd): Another nice change that I saw in the game was the use of new technology.
Spraying is relatively low-tech, I know. It's just that, for someone who has been watching Spanish league games here and there, this is not something I'd see, if ever. And while it's not absolutely new since South American countries have been using this for awhile, it's nice to see a little more effort put into trying to make the games fair. There's still a long way to go when it comes to that (see controversial) but I hope that we'll eventually get there.
My heart broke a little watching this moment... but then France redeemed themselves so it's okay :P
Goal line technology. Again, reduces more fussing (over past events), and hopefully saves more referees' lives. Har har.
Unexpected: I think part of what makes this world cup so entertaining is that other countries you normally wouldn't hear much about are stepping up their game. It's refreshing to see that not all the "big name" countries made it to the round 16 (in fact, it's surprising to see England go home so early!).
From the get go, I wanted to cheer for Germany and Argentina as I knew their offence was traditionally strong in their previous major soccer matches. The more and more I watch however, I'm starting to have a slight change of heart. Don't get me wrong, I'll still cheer for them whenever they have a game, but watching games like France vs. Nigeria have been genuinely exhilarating. I mean, I don't know too much about the French team, but I feel that they've been playing better this year compared to previous years. They've had strong offensive play in all their games so far (and their opponents aren't super easy either!), and their coach seems to know how to adapt to situations that don't work to their favor at first (as evident in the match I just mentioned).
And funny enough, I was hoping Germany and Argentina would do better. I came into World Cup season knowing that their defence is not the greatest, but I still can't help but feel disappointed. This is especially so when I see cases where the other team almost scored on them due to a bad pass (and constantly muttering that "x team needs to get their shit together").
So Germany and France... will be an interesting match. I almost have no idea who to cheer for now, haha.
And can we also give a huge applause for Tim Howard?!? I never really batted my eye at the American team that much, but the valiant efforts of Howard truly made USA winners, despite the 2-1 loss. 16 saves in one game. SIXTEEN FRIKKIN SAVES. That's like the time I managed to eat 16 Buffalo wings in one sitting. Okay not really, but still!
Oh and last gif of the day (I can't believe someone actually got a gif of this! I cracked up so hard when I first saw this reaction... LOL!)
Part 3 coming soon!
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