A break from Viagra: Brazil vs. Ghana -- World Cup today.

Who here is familiar with the way that Brazil plays? I thought there was an uncharacteristic amount of ball hogging today. Ronaldo broke the record in number of goals scored in World Cup, but he could have easily had a second one if his teammate passed him the ball on a 2 on 1 play. It happened again and Ronaldinho was robbed a goal when another teammate took a shot instead of cross the ball to him.

Is this characteristic of the Brazilian superstars? I've seen it on teams of elite young players, but I never expected to see it from Brazil.

health plan?

Maybe there's a blackmarket in Costa Rica?

They got one of their goals on a clear (imho) offsides that wasn't called. Their usual unselfish play was nowhere evident. It was like they were hungover - partying with the referee. I believe Ghana outplayed them - and certainly played better against expectations than Brazil. I'm rarely inclined to criticize Brazil's team, but this game was nowhere near their abilities.

Edit: spelling/typos.

Can't tell you how many times I've seen young elite players take those shots when they have a teammate open. And it is purely selfish. They want the recognition. Unfortunately, college scouts and high school reporters are only interested in those who score goals. I got the impression that with the Brazil game today, there was some jealousy over Ronaldo's record breaking.

and I was rooting for them to score after Brasil locked it up. The players were cordial, the atmosphere was sportsmanlike and there were no egregious fouls. Kingson is a rising STAR! Mark my words.

Spain/France were messing with each other and many more yellows than called were well-deserved. I'm in love with Viera (although I expected him to foul out) Ribery, Henry and Zidane.

ON TO THE QUARTER FINALS!

After the other day's fiasco with more yellows than a taxicab convention and more reds than May Day in Moscow, the referees have gone from being ridiculous to subliminal.

I've been a fan of Kingson since the Italy(!) match - where I thought he deserved MotM. He's terrific!

I was so glad to see Zidane's goal! Wow! Zidane and Viera were outstanding. (I think the yellow on Zidane was insane.)

Simple enough.

GO FRANCE!!!

I don't pretend to be an 'expert' on soccer - I've never played except in just messing around. I do, however, love the aesthetics and athleticism of the sport and its democratic nature. The France v. Spain match was far closer to representing the sport as I like to see it played, even though there were a couple of blatant "Drama Queens" on Spain's team - and just a couple of poor calls by the referee. The Brazil v. Ghana match was an embarassment.

The France v Spain game was one of the best matches so far. To the Quarter Finals - this is football heaven :D

I'm a big supporter of France so don't listen to me, but that was one of the better matches so far. I lived in Aix and Paris as a student for four years, a period that encompassed the Platini years and the tragic loss to Germany in 1982, and I learned to love the way they play the game. I'm hopelessly biased, but we're headed for a great quarter-final; Brazil will be heavily favored, but you know they would have much preferred playing Spain. France eliminated Brazil in 1986 and 1998, so, who knows...Me, I'm just happy to be able to watch Les Bleus play another high-stakes Cup match and perhaps their final one with Zidane, a once-in-a-generation player. It will be memorable.

Brazil is my team but this will be a tough match. Zidane had a great match today.