Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 27 (July 12 - Match Day 24)

> MANCHESTER UNITED has stopped 2014-15 season tickets sales at 55,000 after a crunch to buy tickets due to the arrival of LOUIS VAN GAAL. ..  

Match 63: BRAZIL v. NETHERLANDS 

Date: Saturday July 12, 2014     

Venue: Estadio Nacional, BRASILIA

PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?

Again, there is a place for the WC CONSOLATION MATCH, no matter what the media says > It affords the opportunity for a side to win the last of their seven Festival matches and go home with a little bit of hardware .. ..

And, there is nothing wrong with a 90-minute kick-round the day before the Final .. ..

1st  With a pleading, encouraging Brasilia behind them, the poor BRA defence reared it's head again with a terrific release ball from ROBIN VAN PERSIE setting ARJEN ROBBEN free and was hauled down by THIAGO SILVA who was lucky

USA Wins Group C?

This was not the easiest path, but the USA gets an extra time clincher from Donovan and win Group C (first time in 1st since 1930)  with England following in 2nd.  Same two teams most people picked but certainly not the way most imagined it.  As much as the early goal should've counted, the ref repaid us bigtime in the extra time by calling a phantom foul on a ALG late corner kick, then giving a yellow card to the one Algerian who wasn't in his face (and thus his 2nd yellow), and then keeping to the 4 minutes of extra time despite the long USA celebration and the long red card walk of shame.

So did Dempsey have a poor game or was he the unlikeliest bloke on the pitch?  Bruised, beaten, shots off goal, missed chances.

(Photo: Landon Donovan sent USA top above England in Group C with his injury-time winner. (Reuters: Amr Abdallah Dalsh))