Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Really? That seems odd. A defender can put another player in a headlock for two steamboats in the box, and not expect a penalty? I thought it was pretty clear cut.
Will Holland roll over for Romania? Seems likely to me. Shame this kind of thing can't be avoided. I think the only solution is to go to a bracket system like NCAA March Madness. Give the elite teams top seedings, and go from there. There is too much potential for mischief in group play.
|
Headlock is an exaggeration, he was holding him back a little... there's holding every time there's offensive play in the box. 99 times out of 100, that isn't a penalty... Luca Toni said it best, "if that was a penalty, every team would have 5 of those per game." Its a very routine infraction that every team does, and the typical penalty for that is a freekick, or if its a corner, a re-do.
As for Holland rolling over, I really don't think they care to lose momentum, and like I said, I don't think they really care if Italy or France get through.
Right now, it looks like this:
Holland v. Sweden/Russia
Spain v. Italy/France/Romania
Odds are, if they make it to the semi-final, they are playing Spain. Romania might be easier pickings for Spain than the Italians or French could be. Say France/Italy do the unlikely and beat Spain, well, the Dutch have proven they can beat both those teams, so why be afraid of seeing them again? I'd say, Holland is more inclined to seeing a team from C that they can beat that can also beat Spain. I bet they are even more inclined to simply beating Sweden/Russia, and losing momentum and being scared of teams they beat is no way to do that.