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World Cup 2018 Qualifiers - Play-offs


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6 minutes ago, Blue said:

Its not always the best who wins, sometimes its the smartest. For me, Atletico Madrid weren't better than Bayern when they knocked them out in the semi-finals but they did well in outwitting Guardiola.

You're talking about top level games!  Sometimes in top level competition it's all about tactical decisions and implementation of those ideals...  That can many times win you games at top level competition.  Here we're talking about playing New Zealand.  It may seem I'm giving New Zealand a hard time but in my view I'm just being a realist.

In saying this (and I repeat what I said in an earlier post in this debate), there are ways NZ can win this but it depends on a lot of luck and serious discipline once they start reading the nerves in the Peruvian faces...  All of this if they can elongate the game without being out of it.  But that in normal circumstances is a big ask!

There are NO excuses and that's what @Anton was getting at I think.  It's not about the pitch...  It's about feeling nerves where you shouldn't be.  Feeling nerves in a situation such as this means you really aren't all that good in reality and that you can't believe you've gotten this far.

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The nerves aren't that I don't think we're that good. I think on form we're one of the top sides in the world.

However, since the Jamaica game in June we've not been as good. We've underperformed and grinded out results. I suppose that is a good thing though, because we didn't have the ability to grind results before. My worry is that we'll underperform again and at the worst time possible. Granted, we should still be able to grind a result against New Zealand but weird things have happened in football.

We used to batter opposition on the ground. Pitch perfect first touches and passing. We've not had quite the same vision since. It might be the nerves though. 

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10 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

You're talking about top level games!  Sometimes in top level competition it's all about tactical decisions and implementation of those ideals...  That can many times win you games at top level competition.  Here we're talking about playing New Zealand.  It may seem I'm giving New Zealand a hard time but in my view I'm just being a realist.

In saying this (and I repeat what I said in an earlier post in this debate), there are ways NZ can win this but it depends on a lot of luck and serious discipline once they start reading the nerves in the Peruvian faces...  All of this if they can elongate the game without being out of it.  But that in normal circumstances is a big ask!

There are NO excuses and that's what @Anton was getting at I think.  It's not about the pitch...  It's about feeling nerves where you shouldn't be.  Feeling nerves in a situation such as this means you really aren't all that good in reality and that you can't believe you've gotten this far.

As a player I would say some nerves are good. Shows you're up for it. 

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7 minutes ago, Anton said:

As a player I would say some nerves are good. Shows you're up for it. 

Well it definitely keeps you on your toes and doesn't allow for complacency.  But I would call that respecting the opposition which you must always do even in unbalanced situations such as this one.  Anything other than that and you can be made to look foolish.

Plus team sports are different to say boxing or tennis (single sportsman sports) where you're on your own and nerves has a big part to play in a mental game.  From all the stories I've ever read or heard from footballers in interviews, those that feel nerves (not all do), they tend to get them the night before a really big game, a deciding game.  But on the day and once that whistle blows, you're only concentrating on one thing and haven't got time to think about feeling nervous.

Nerves in football tends to come in when you're underperforming and expected to win (anxiety)...  If a game lasts too long and you haven't put it to bed or still level, then you start feeling the tension and the fans tend to start getting on your back...  Playing at home can be terrible in situations such as these.  As an away player and an underdog to boot, you want to make those fans start to go silent and then subsequently show dissent.

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Looks like we're going with this

Probably not that exact formation but I think its a smart lineup. Different and not what Anthony Hudson had in mind. Just hope it works.

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1 minute ago, Blue said:

Looks like we're going with this

Probably not that exact formation but I think its a smart lineup. Different and not what Anthony Hudson had in mind. Just hope it works.

Has someone lost their boot or are Perú upto something odd? o.O

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Just now, SirBalon said:

Has someone lost their boot or are Perú upto something odd? o.O

Whats up?

Its a different lineup but I don't see anything wrong with that. Again I doubt we're going with a 4-2-3-1.

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3 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Sorry to go off topic here for a second but I have to say that today I had some great Belgian Waffles at Borough Market.  You've got to try them guys! :)

i wish you'd stop waffling on about it

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I'm trying to make out what Hudson wants to play. That looks like a team that is bound to never attack, but then if that's the case why would Tommy Smith be left out? Very odd.

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GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLll

What a play by Christian Cueva!

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