I feel for you guys as you know from my USA Portugal thread.
Today I was lucky enough to be on the other side, had Netherlands +200 in regular time only. Chalked it up to a loss and was getting a beer from the fridge when the first goal went in, then actually started rooting for Mexico because if I was going to lose the bet I wanted our southern neighbors to advance. Maybe that's the secret for me, just root against my bet?
Today I was lucky enough to be on the other side, had Netherlands +200 in regular time only. Chalked it up to a loss and was getting a beer from the fridge when the first goal went in, then actually started rooting for Mexico because if I was going to lose the bet I wanted our southern neighbors to advance. Maybe that's the secret for me, just root against my bet?
Mexico is famous for pulling a Marty Schottenheimer.....They get a lead and play not to lose....Ironic since they have a big weakness on set pieces, yet they choose to play on that side of the field with their conservative play again.....Until this mentality changes they will keep staying in the Round of 16 although they almost got away with it....This is the World Cup and an elimination game so if they thought the other team was just gonna fold they were surely mistaken...Great job by the Netherlands taking advantage of a team playing not to lose..
The Mexican coach made a terrible call. He subbed their best attacker Giovani Dos Santos - the only threat they have who can score and can force the Dutch to play defense when there are plenty of time left in the game. Once he is off, the Dutch were all over the Mexican.
Bad call. Paid the price.
Bad call. Paid the price.
I was wondering whether Gio was injured, because I figured it was way too early for Mexico to close up shop. Guess I was wrong...and so was their coach with his decision.
It's really not a simple decision, though. Should Mexico have stayed aggressive through 80-85 mins and opened themselves up to be counter-attacked in the process? Or should they have just focused more on defending? Either way, if it goes wrong...every armchair QB will say you should have done the opposite of what you did. The only reason I question taking out your best player with 30ish mins left to play is because you then don't even have the option of countering at all. That's a move that would have made a lot more sense after around 80 mins.
Btw, there have been a record number of comebacks by teams who went down a goal and then rallied to win in this WC. Live in-game bettors have been making a killing on the longshots.
