Taca's 2014 FIFA World Cup Pairs - Knulpuk+Jpk are Champions

[Vid]

now that I am out, I will not be touching my team again

I'm ploughing on, against my better judgement.

I'm quite enjoying it, that might come to a sudden end though

[Surprised]

I have no real confidence in my team.

[Tacalabala]

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A preview of the semis will follow in the coming days...

[Surprised]

Well played England

[jpk]

Heady days

[tenpinterry]

Well done Russia.

My 5 Columbia players were 4 too many

[moonlightdribbler]

Well played England

Merci.

Our kick and rush tactics are taking this tournament by storm.

[the dude abides]

Yeah, thanks Surprised.... The Costa Rican block defence were good value
Thanks to the guys doing the write ups as well, but please don't tip us to win ..... We prefer to upset the odds.

[wiseowl65]

Well played Chile my pick to go on and win it now and good luck for the rest of the comp also thanks Taca for the sterling work as always in setting up and persevering with this competition given the numerous problems encountered with the game format from the very start at least it has passed on a month before the real deal begins in August.

[Knulpuk]

Good work jpk, England look a strong team in this world cup - there's a sentence.

[jpk]

I've just realised you can actually click on other players in the league and see how they lined up. It's given me a few ideas I can tell you.

Eg 5 in defence looks like a good tactic

As does very few subs

As does having a clue about international football

(mind games you know)

[Tacalabala]

Blimey, they really are coming along with this game now.. with 4 games left.

[Tacalabala]

With the inclusion of a third place play-off, all four sides are assured of one more match, but only two will go on to contest the final for a shot at World Cup glory...




What a turn around this has been for The Dude Abides, surviving Spring 16s relegation by 3pts to the World Cup semi finals, and what's more, he is the favourite in this tie against Knulpuk. Knuls went for a 5-4-1 formation in the goal drought that was the quarters, while TDA also went defensive with a 5-3-2.




These two performed better over the FPL season than their team mates, but here they contest the 'lower' head-to-head of the tie. The Englishman has the edge in total points, but Moony will know Jpk is a tough opponent on any day. Perhaps surprisingly, Jpk favoured an attacking 3-4-3 line-up in the last round, as opposed to the now conventional approach taken by Moony of a 5-3-2. Interestingly (well, at least to me ), these two could well be divisional rivals in Spring 16s next season.




I can't really look beyond the Three Lions in this semi, they have the better combined total so far and it would a surprise to see them make the wrong decisions at this stage.




Stemania has carried on his fine Spiderm4tt 16 win on the international stage, and stands on the brink of greatness... Kris_fiso is the hurdle he must now overcome to make the final. Ste is the overwhelming favourite, leading Kf 86pts overall, though with a wildcard anything is still possible. Kris went for a 4-3-3 last round, Ste opted for a 5-3-2 formation.




He might be something of an unknown quantity in sidegame circles, but From4corners has more than done himself justice in this competition and has pushed Stemania all the way in the inter-squad battle. Fingerpass hasn't been able to match such feats, but clearly he has done enough to help France make it to this stage. Fingerpass is a tough customer, surviving until GW35 in Star Wars - can he show those same fighting qualities here in this crucial head-to-head? Both favoured 5-3-2 last time out.




Surely it'll be a case of adieu for our Gallic duo, with the Chileans strong favourites to win not just this, but the World Cup itself. Can the French pull off the ultimate shock?

[Knulpuk]

Nice write up - I think we have been underdogs in every round so far - imagine the teams will begin to converge a little with the stick or twists being where it is won or lost, along with of course the captain decisions. Good luck England, more luck Comrade.

[Malrom]

Everything went wrong for me at the beginning ..... 10 players and no double points for Neymar for me.

Now at halftime I'm on 62 points already...

[Smurphy Paw]

Everything went wrong for me at the beginning ..... 10 players and no double points for Neymar for me.

Now at halftime I'm on 62 points already...

Hey, partner. As soon as the whole group stage counted as one round we were sunk. Never mind, and good recovery. What was your total this evening?

[Malrom]

Everything went wrong for me at the beginning ..... 10 players and no double points for Neymar for me.

Now at halftime I'm on 62 points already...

Hey, partner. As soon as the whole group stage counted as one round we were sunk. Never mind, and good recovery. What was your total this evening?

My score was 91 points.... With Goetze not playing and Schuerle on the bench (13 points)

Still 3 Gauchos in defence and Messi upfront

[Tacalabala]

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[Knulpuk]

Well played partner - I was in the 80's but taken taken the armband off of Luiz and dropped a couple (Bernard anyone?) - 5 played 6 to come.

Long way to go yet...

[moonlightdribbler]

Sadly, football isn't coming home.


Well played Russia. We were well beaten.


Bloody Toni Kroos....

[Tacalabala]

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A preview, as ever, will appear in the run-up to the weekend...

[Knulpuk]

Tough final - plucky underdogs take on the class acts of the tournament - I know which team deserves to win but are we peaking at the right time. Tricky too with the 3/4th counting - need to make sure can digest the team news on the Saturday....hmmm

[MorrisonDullforce]

Disastrous round for me 4 useless strikers ending with 2 point slimani and average elsewhere apart from Ospina(13) Belkalem(16) sorry Morrison Dullforce, enjoying the game now, will continue anyway to see what it could of been.

No need to apologise. I made some errors with my subs and selections as well.

Congrats jpk and Knulpuk, I was looking at the scores before, and during, the Belgium and USA game and when I saw that only Knulpuk's score was going up I knew our goose was cooked.

After my harsh words about the FIFA game website in the first few days, I'm enjoying it now and will play to the end.

I will also follow the Pairs competition with interest. Cheers Taca for organising. Excellent as always.

My predictions:

Russia v England & Ghana v Chile - Semis

& Russia - Chile final. (gotta stick with the team that knocked us out)

The other four teams prove me wrong

If only I could get these things right when it involved money.

[the dude abides]

Well played you Russians.... We didn't do a lot wrong really, i had Kroos, but i suppose you guys had the wisdom to Captain him, whereas i picked Hummells..
Good luck in the Final.

[MorrisonDullforce]

I'll be wearing this hat for the final



and not this hat

[jpk]

At least one half of Russia hasn't really known what it's doing in this game so to get to the final is something of a surpise

[Tacalabala]

The big day is upon us! Who will follow in the footsteps of Euro 2012 winners Spain (TheTon and Isalla) and Euro U21 '13 winners England (Thebillfella, Ashers, Tadpole) to win the World Cup?! Just two teams remain from the 32 - Russia and Chile - and by the end of Sunday night we'll know which one has come through to reign supreme. Also, as is customary at the World Cup, we have an 'undercard' in the form of the much-maligned third place playoff between England and France, so something of a cross-Channel rivalry to boot.




What an achievement it is to reach the final, and what a privilege it is for these two to lead their respective nations in the 'top' head-to-head. Knulpuk was the top player in the semi finals, and he'll have to be on top of his game again to defeat From4corners, who swaps roles with Stemania for the final. Needless to say, the destination of the World Cup may very well be determined by what happens in this encounter.




Jpk looks to be peaking at just the right time, so Stemania will need to recover from a slightly off-colour performance in the last four. Both finished the FPL season in the top 10k, so the potential for this to be high scoring is there and if either hits the target dead-on, that might prove decisive overall.




Chile have every right to believe that they have one hand on the Cup - they do occupy 2nd and 3rd in the FISO league after all - but Russia look like they have hit top form at just the right time, so to say it would be a shock if Russia won would be wide of the mark. Still, if you put a gun to my head (please don't), I'd have to go with Chile.




It'll be tough for either side to pick themselves up after the disappointment of not making the final, but coming 3rd is not to be sniffed at, and this H2H could be an intriguing one if either goes for something a bit experimental. The Dude Abides will fancy his chances but Kris_fiso has been one of the surprise 'unknown' stars of the tournament and might have one more rabbit to pull out of the hat.




Fingerpass will probably be disappointed with his own personal performance in the competition, certainly not matching his FPL season of 5,073 in the world, but nonetheless this game provides an opportunity for redemption of sorts. Moonlightdribblers' semi final score would have been enough to beat either Frenchmen, so he'll go into this quietly confident that he can repeat the feat.




I think much will depend on what kind of Fingerpass turns up - the star of the show ala Balotelli, or the sloth ala Berbatov! That aside, the numbers point firmly to a win for England.

[Knulpuk]

Hmmmm 61 points last night with 7 to play but have 9 eligible players with the decision to be made in defence, I need 2 from 2 Germany 2 Argies.

Was not expecting to have to stick with 4 players.

[Tacalabala]

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[Stemania]

Finally, an opponent worthy of Chile's verve and guile. Best of luck to all tonight.