2014 World Cup

England's problem isn't the influx of Johnny Foreigner. Every halfway decent British player gets a chance with a big 4 club. The problem is that few of them succeed and also almost no one in their prime goes overseas.

 

CONCACAF in the tournament: 4-1-1

 

My friend couldn't be happier about Costa Rica winning.

 

Dumb question: Would the World Cup be better if they made it a NCAA-tournament style bracket? I know that's the way it is for the second round on, but that kind of a structure would eliminate ties and teams that lost their first two games still having a chance to advance.

 

No. It would be awful.

 

Why would they want to change it?

 

Rick, a huge percentage of the games would come down to penalty kicks in a one-and-done format. That means 120 minutes of snoozing beforehand. It's precisely because there IS a tomorrow for at least the first two games that teams are willing to play more freely.

 

SEC, SEC ... I mean CONCACAF, CONCACAF, CONCACAF!

 

How 'bout those Ticos!!

 

You're right about one thing in that statement.

BTW, no team that lost its first two games has ever advanced, irrespective of the fact that it is sometimes mathematically possible.

 

I'm not sure how it would be awful. I don't hate the way they do it now and I don't expect them to change it, but I think the "win or you're done" aspect would be exciting. I'm sure anyone outside of this country would disagree, but I feel tremendously unsatisfied when anything finishes in a tie.

 

I thought that the whole "lets change the World Cup to conform more to the way American sports do it" thing was from #hottakes1994 or #hottakes1998.