Who's on Netherlands "To Advance"?

[HoulihansTX]

Brazil

[suckerforparlays]

Both my Futures are on Netherlands and Brazil to win the World Cup so I guess I just ride this game out

[lasker]

No way, it's SAMBA time

[HoulihansTX]

[lakerboy]

Houli explain to me why you think Netherlands will advance please.

[WiseGrumpy]

Holland has the worst misfield in the next round other than Paraguay. With that, without Robben at his best, they are VERY average. Brazil always had a deadly offence, now with a great goalie and a VERY strong defense, Holland has NO chance.
The only team that can deal with their style is Spain.

[antifoil]

i have a future on brazil so i will be rooting for them

[sweethook]

they dont have cockkeye

[rise]

brazil has pretty girls brazil to tough

[cala56]

Its sound like racial discrimination, a monkey and the name of brazil, but....
im on NETHERLAND

[GT Hoosier]

Thinking of going for Netherlands +300 or the draw at +230, but since I am a traditional American and know nothing about soccer, this is the kind of bet you just put SBR points on.

[MyLuck888]

brazil will be the one

[juuso]

I'm scratching my head to the odds. How the hell is betting markets pricing Brazil straight win in 90 mins at 50% ? I would see this closer to something like 40%-30%-30%. Have to do some more number crunching, but at the moment I'm leaning heavily on the Netherlands +0.5 +100.

[Dark Horse]

Holland has now played 12 competitive games with van Marwijk as coach, and won all twelve. This is unusual. It is very easy in soccer to have a bad game and either draw or lose. The point is that Holland, even when they play bad, still collect the three points. That is an art in itself, and suggest a very high level of concentration.

Holland has given up two goals in the tournament so far, both from questionable penalties (the first a handball, that stopped a free kick that looked on its way high over the crossbar, and the second a flop). In the 12 games under van Marwijk they've given up 4 goals total. And yet experts seem to agree that the central defense is the weak spot. If you saw the last match, against Slowakia, the opponent had three very dangerous shots on goal in the last half hour of the game, all from the center of the box. But ... the problem was not the central defense. It was Van Der Wiel, on the right. Once he let his opponent go (apparently afraid to pick up a yellow card and miss the game against Brazil), and twice he forgot to step up when the rest of the defense did (to catch opponent offside). Even Dutch commentator Ruud Gullit didn't pick this up when he commented on the soft spot in central defense. Undoubtedly, Brazil will try to get around the offside trap, so I'll wait with my pick until I know the ref and linesmen. If they're from South or Middle America that would be very different than if they're from Europe (look at the Holland-Brazil tape from 1994 if you want a stunning example).

As to Brazil, I'm not on the bandwagon. Very unlikely that they'll win the World Cup. I think they're soft. Both Argentina and Spain are better. If Holland play as they did in their final friendly before the WC, a 4-1 demolition of Ghana (!), they are better than Brazil. They can easily do it, but that Holland hasn't shown up at the WC yet. So far it's been all business. Personally, I don't like Van Persie as striker in the center. It's not his natural position, and I would prefer him on the left, with Robben on the right. With the passing ability of Sneijder and Van Bommel that would give Holland both wings open for the deep pass and fast counter.

[Checkerboard]

are those the girls that FIFA had removed from the stadium and subsequently got arrested 'cause their outfits looked subliminally like one of the Dutch beer labels?

[minet123]

Netherlands will win in another thrilling nil nil PK shootout

[Dark Horse]

are those the girls that FIFA had removed from the stadium and subsequently got arrested 'cause their outfits looked subliminally like one of the Dutch beer labels?

Yes. They are known as the girls for that label, but they showed no signs of the brand name here. South Africans were very angry about FIFA's role in this (corporate fascism), especially with their past. One South African made Fick Fufa T-shirts, and sold them out quickly. FIFA is really a disgusting organization. They've taken the world's most popular sport and sold it out to sponsors, to the point where these girls can't show up without being arrested.

[zlate22]

netherland wins robben will score

[Pegasus]

Netherlands will win in another thrilling nil nil PK shootout

They are not penalty experts. Furthermore, they can't play 120 min football.

[StraitShooter]

Id love to see Brazil eliminated since I have argetina to win it all

[cro]

lol @ netherlands

[WiseGrumpy]

Dark Horse I don't want to get into this too much because I'm tired. I can only say that I can bring up stats that are not far from what you have here about England and Portugal and we know where they are today. Holland is a good side, but is very far from Brazil, Argentina, Brazil or Spain. They have one superstar and a lot of good players, no midfield which is the most important thing, and their second best player doesn't play more than 15 min. There defence is not bad, but didn't block their opponents well, thnx to a good goalie and weak opponents they conceded only after PK's.
I went to ALL their games in the last European cup, they played amazing and when it matter most, all the things I have mentioned simply killed them. It's a different team today but the same style.
They won't win anything this way, and they have no chance again the best Brazilian team in years.

[French Tickler]

I already bet $100 on Netherlands 7-1 to win the Cup today.

Im going for it all!!

GO DUTCHMEN!!

[ScimmiaPazza]

Dark Horse I don't want to get into this too much because I'm tired. I can only say that I can bring up stats that are not far from what you have here about England and Portugal and we know where they are today. Holland is a good side, but is very far from Brazil, Argentina, Brazil or Spain. They have one superstar and a lot of good players, no midfield which is the most important thing, and their second best player doesn't play more than 15 min. There defence is not bad, but didn't block their opponents well, thnx to a good goalie and weak opponents they conceded only after PK's.
I went to ALL their games in the last European cup, they played amazing and when it matter most, all the things I have mentioned simply killed them. It's a different team today but the same style.
They won't win anything this way, and they have no chance again the best Brazilian team in years.

who's the Dutch 2nd best player, Huntelaar?

[paste_me]

I just can't see the Orangemen advancing

[Glada Tartan]

Might be worth a shot!!

Holland maybe will dismantle the brazzzzilians...

[Dark Horse]

Dark Horse I don't want to get into this too much because I'm tired. I can only say that I can bring up stats that are not far from what you have here about England and Portugal and we know where they are today. Holland is a good side, but is very far from Brazil, Argentina, Brazil or Spain. They have one superstar and a lot of good players, no midfield which is the most important thing, and their second best player doesn't play more than 15 min. There defence is not bad, but didn't block their opponents well, thnx to a good goalie and weak opponents they conceded only after PK's.
I went to ALL their games in the last European cup, they played amazing and when it matter most, all the things I have mentioned simply killed them. It's a different team today but the same style.
They won't win anything this way, and they have no chance again the best Brazilian team in years.

I don't know where you get the idea that Holland has no midfield. Sneijder, Van Bommel, en De Jong are pretty solid in my book. Two of them, in fact, played in the last CL final. (the third plays on the same club team as Robinho). In addition, Brazil is having problems at midfield. Elano may or may not be fit in time, Melo has an ankle problem, Baptista has a knee problem, and Ramires is out with two yellow cards.

This is not the Dutch team from two years ago. That team peaked early and had soccer fans around the world in near ecstacy (they beat the WC finalists France and Italy by three goals each). Holland has finally learned that lesson. This team hasn't peaked at all. That's a good thing, if you understand tournament soccer.

Lastly, this is far from the best Brazilian side in years, although I can see why people would think that. Sports is very much a matter of cat and mouse, and Brazil fervently believe they're the cat. Many opponents accept their role as mouse. Game over. Therefore, if Holland take the initiative right off the bat, that would very much increase their chances. But if they take a wait-and-see approach that would favor Brazil. (this idea is backed by their three earlier WC meetings. Holland won the first 2-0, when they dominated from the start. But when they took a wait-and-see approach they fell behind twice (0-2 and 0-1), only to reclaim the initiative and tie each of those games..!).

I don't bet much soccer anymore, except for the Euro and WC. This is some of the easiest betting to be found anywhere. http://contests.sbrforum.com/contest/1382/standings/ That said, this game could be a tossup. I expect Brazil to try to get around the Dutch offside trap, in which case the continent of origin of the linesmen could be crucial. Last but not least, there is the issue of yellow cards. The slate will be wiped clean after the quarter finals. That means that this game is, pretty much, open season. The Dutch should foul Brazil early and hard, because Brazil has certain key players, like Kaka and Robinho, that I would qualify as soft. It is one way to get a team off their game.

[WiseGrumpy]

I don't know where you get the idea that Holland has no midfield. Sneijder, Van Bommel, en De Jong are pretty solid in my book. Two of them, in fact, played in the last CL final. (the third plays on the same club team as Robinho). In addition, Brazil is having problems at midfield. Elano may or may not be fit in time, Melo has an ankle problem, Baptista has a knee problem, and Ramires is out with two yellow cards.

This is not the Dutch team from two years ago. That team peaked early and had soccer fans around the world in near ecstacy (they beat the WC finalists France and Italy by three goals each). Holland has finally learned that lesson. This team hasn't peaked at all. That's a good thing, if you understand tournament soccer.

Lastly, this is far from the best Brazilian side in years, although I can see why people would think that. Sports is very much a matter of cat and mouse, and Brazil fervently believe they're the cat. Many opponents accept their role as mouse. Game over. Therefore, if Holland take the initiative right off the bat, that would very much increase their chances. But if they take a wait-and-see approach that would favor Brazil. (this idea is backed by their three earlier WC meetings. Holland won the first 2-0, when they dominated from the start. But when they took a wait-and-see approach they fell behind twice (0-2 and 0-1), only to reclaim the initiative and tie each of those games..!).

I don't bet much soccer anymore, except for the Euro and WC. This is some of the easiest betting to be found anywhere. http://contests.sbrforum.com/contest/1382/standings/ That said, this game could be a tossup. I expect Brazil to try to get around the Dutch offside trap, in which case the continent of origin of the linesmen could be crucial. Last but not least, there is the issue of yellow cards. The slate will be wiped clean after the quarter finals. That means that this game is, pretty much, open season. The Dutch should foul Brazil early and hard, because Brazil has certain key players, like Kaka and Robinho, that I would qualify as soft. It is one way to get a team off their game.

First of all giving names doesn't make anything good or bad, they are just names. With that the names you give me are not more than average, maybe Sneijder at times is above average. Holland game always gets in trouble when the go through the middle, and most goals are great moves by one player and amazing accuracy in front of goal. Brazil is almost perfect from the goalie to the keeper. The game goes with a flow, very accurate, and goes from foot to foot. With the ability all players have to dribble well, it's deadly.

First of all don't doubt my understanding in soccer, or football in my "world". Anyway, Holland from two years ago had better players, Holland now has the better teams. And I completely agree about the mistake they made two years ago, it doesn't change they are not even close to the top teams in the world.

Very true about the cat and mouse. Many teams lose sometimes because the name that they are playing, and not the actual skill. But this Brazil team is complete. For years Brazil had to score more goals to win, now they can win from defence, because the back line with the goalie are amazing, that is why they are by far the best Brazillian team in years.

Nothing to do with the things you wrote. Brazil plays a lot faster, too fast for Holland, they are too stable in defense and there is no way Robben can do what he did to Manchester or Slovakia, which will take a lot from the Dutch side.
We will know very soon who is right, but Holland is a good team, not more than that.

[Dark Horse]

What Robben did against Slovakia, he has done all season in the CL. lol

Sneijder above average? He was the key to Inter winning the CL. His precision passing gave them wins over Chelsea and Barcelona. Just as he steered Robben clear in the last game. (where was Kaka with Real Madrid?)

I probably won't bet on this game, because there are too many variables. But your ideas about this team are somewhat 'imaginative'.

[tblues2005]

I am picking Brazil in this one.

[aceking]

another european team out , brazil going to final vs argentina .

[GiveMeaBJ]

I'll be on the Dutch +0.5 and +whatever I can get to advance. They have been the most consistent team and Brazil isn't as good as advertised. People have them labeled as a team that should walk to the finals but frankly drawing Portugal 0-0 wasn't too impressive. You can pull the they had nothing to play for card but the Netherlands had nothing to play for as well and walked through there game. Not to mention they looked like one of the best teams at the cup without Roben and now that he is back they look almost twice as good attacking. Brazil is a moronic bet in my opinion.

[Augustus]

another european team out , brazil going to final vs argentina .

I can't remember a world cup final without an European team.

[Daveyboy]

Brazil to advance!

[Eleven]

I got to go with Brazil as well, they look unstoppable.