Cornish Steve

Congratulations to Rubecula for receiving a perfect score on the 3/4 playoff game. A shoutout too to Geth who, despite making no predictions in the first round (16 games), may well be ahead of someone who has predicted all games at the World Cup (namely, yours truly). On the leaderboard, verreauxi goes into the World Cup final with a lead of six points. Since that game is worth double points, MikeO is still in with a shot.

I missed the first 20 minutes of this game, and therefore both goals. Since then, it's been a boring display by two very average teams. I would much rather have seen Colombia and Cost Rica in the semis.

Coleman, McGeady, and McCarthy facing Tim Howard.

Luiz has been terrible in most games. Yes, he scored a good goal earlier in the tournament, but he isn't doing the bread-and-butter stuff. Holland's second goal was a gift from Luiz.

And now Brazil get a dangerous free kick from a clear dive. It's so disappointing to see players do that.

Robben is such a cheat. He just tried another dive near the centre circle, which was so obvious. The referee rightly waved play on.

Enjoyed this little compilation from the BBC... http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28266510

And I can vouch for the fact that you don't come across that way at all.

Why am I the only one who would prefer a second place finish?! That would be an extraordinary achievement and guarantee CL football.

It means he will be sold.

By my reckoning, that means we need to bring in about eight more players while getting rid of at least one. They don't need to be big names, but they do need to fit in with our new strategy. If we could manage this, I'd be in seventh heaven. Incidentally, we've been getting rid of deadwood, which is just as important as bringing in new blood. Who else should we be moving off the roster?

For what it's worth, I'm beginning to think now that we will sign him for 20m. I also suspect we'll acquire some lesser known (and therefore cheaper) strikers who turn out to be very good. Time, of course, will tell.

You should have gotten your PhD in the "history of Everton football club." Then you'd know a ton about a subject that millions of people care about. At least your current subject matter has given you the opportunity to live on Merseyside for a while.

First off, the defender was already on a yellow card, so a second yellow would get him sent off. Second, the fact that it's stoppage time is completely irrelevant. What happens is that, with the ball at the defender's feet, he kicks it in the air and then heads back to the goalie. This, according to the rules, means a yellow card. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-pass_rule "As the rule specifically requires that the pass be done with intention and through a kick, an infraction would not occur if a player uses their head, chest or knee to make the pass nor would it be an infraction if a keeper recovers a ball that was merely last touched by a team mate. It would however be an infraction if a player was to use a deliberate trick to pass the ball to their goalkeeper, such as kicking the ball up and then using their head. If a player were to use such a deliberate trick then they must be issued a caution."

Another nice article about the growing ties between Everton and Barca. http://www.vavel.com/en/football/premier-league/everton/368224-everton-barca-the-start-of-a-promising-relationship.html

Impressive car. Congratulations!

The deal is done with Barca. "[Liverpool] did all they could to get me to stay." Sure. Even offered to include blood pudding on the cafeteria menu, but it didn't work.

The defender was already on a yellow card. Other than that, it's a real rule.

Proof required!

Think Costa Rica. I can see us trying to get a couple of players from that team. After all, before the WC started, they were the team with the least value, according to Lloyds. Even with their impressive performance, that translates to potential bargains.

Or did you get it on loan? What kind of car, by the way?

I'm surprised at comments along the lines of "but do we really need...". Yes, we do! We need to build a larger, stronger squad so that, even with half the team out injured, we can continue to push for a top four place.

Brazil (0)1 Netherlands (0)0 Germany (2)4 Argentina (1)2

For those who haven't already made predictions, here's the template for the final round. Brazil (x)x Netherlands (x)x Germany (x)x Argentina (x)x

Nope.