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And then there were four. The 2014 World Cup moves on towards its conclusion this weekend, but today we must determine who will be one of the participants in that final and who will play in the third place game. The first much places the creativity and passing of Germany against the strength and directness of Brazil, in a rematch of the 2002 final. Will Brazil finally look like Brazil, even with the loss of Neymar? Or will Germany get one step closer to its first title since the country was reunified? Find out with us!
Kickoff time: 4:00 PM EDT
Venue: Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
TV/Streaming: The usual: ESPN and WatchESPN for English-language, Univision and Univision online for Spanish-language. Unfortunately for all you cord-cutters, Univision online now requires authentication through an approved cable provider, much like WatchESPN. WatchESPN also will have Portuguese language coverage, if that's your thing.
Cliff's notes: Brazil will be without Neymar, who broke his back, and Thiago Silva, who received his second yellow card and is suspended; Luiz Felipe Scolari will have some changes to make, but with a bench like Brazil has, he shouldn't be too worried. Their previous match, against Colombia, was focused on shutting down James Rodriguez and company, which they did through an atypically Brazilian performance. On the other hand, Germany should have their full complement of players available to Jogi Loew and staff after a mostly boring dispatch of France, in which they went on cruise control after an early goal. Impossible expectations also follow the Germans, who have been accused of not being creative enough in their run to the seminfinals.
Who should I root for? My gut says to root for Germany, who have a chance to be the more creative side, and because Brazil took out Colombia. But, of course, all viewpoints are welcome here.
What are you drinking? I assume that many of you, if you are able, will be going home from work early to watch both today's game and tomorrow's (I know I will be). Since I will be at home, I will probably knock back a Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. What about you?
As always, this is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game commentary.