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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 12:18 am
by Puck
Congrats Per! Sweden have played well and with enthusiasm. Germany were a bit flat. No big loss having them out, in my opinion, and I’m a Germany fan.

Hats off to Costa Rica drawing the Swiss to give Concacaf a shred of dignity on the way out. Whitecap Kendall Waston with a nice header goal. 😎

So Per, can you get a ticket to St Petersburg? You could wear a Henrik Sedin Sweden jersey and wave to us from the stands...

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 6:30 am
by Topper
Someone said the last time Germany didn't make it out of the 1st round they invaded Poland.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:19 pm
by Carl Yagro
Germany gets defeated in Russia again.

Can't blame the weather this time.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 12:36 pm
by Per
So, the round of 16 has started! :D

Saturday:
France beats Argentina 4-3!
Uruguay is ahead 2-1 against Portugal with 15 minutes remaining.

Sunday:
Spain vs Russia
Croatia vs Denmark

Monday:
Brazil vs Mexico
Belgium vs Japan

Tuesday:
Sweden vs Switzerland
Colombia vs England.

The winners of each game will face the other winner having played the same day in the QF.

So much winning! 8-)

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:04 pm
by rockalt
This has been a sensational World Cup. Best I can remember!

Of course the collision course that was Ronaldo vs Messi never was! Not too surprising as most pundits picked France and Uruguay but nevertheless, those were two great games, especially the France Argentina one.

I still can't get over all of the last minute heroics so far. I wonder how many more surprises we have left in store?

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:12 pm
by rockalt
Per wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:36 am Hoping the Spaniards will win, as I find Christiano Ronaldo rather intolerable.
Sure, he's a great footballer, but damn is he full of himself. and he plays for Real to boot.
You a Barca fan by any chance? :lol:

In all seriousness sad to see what is likely the last World Cup for both Messi and Ronaldo (though despite being older I think there's a better chance we see Ronaldo again over Messi)

I feel blessed to have witnessed the rivalry of two of the greatest players ever. It has been a spectacular decade of sport !

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:19 pm
by 2Fingers
I found Portugal lacking creativity in today’s game.

Too predictable, I like open play, long balls up the wing or middle.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:01 am
by rockalt
Reefer2 wrote: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:19 pm I found Portugal lacking creativity in today’s game.

Too predictable, I like open play, long balls up the wing or middle.
Uruguay has arguably the best defence in the tournament and it was a matchup of two teams which play similar counter attacking styles. Maybe it's a case of lowered expectations but I was expecting a much duller game. You were never going see open play against that stingy defence, certainly not with the talent level of Portugal. Uruguay were full value with two deadly strikes. It will be interesting to see how they manage against a much deeper French team. The French struggle to play in sync often but they are loaded with offence and Kylian Mbappe has the chance to blow past Uruguay forcing their defence to open up.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:01 am
by rockalt
Reefer2 wrote: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:19 pm I found Portugal lacking creativity in today’s game.

Too predictable, I like open play, long balls up the wing or middle.
Uruguay has arguably the best defence in the tournament and it was a matchup of two teams which play similar counter attacking styles. Maybe it's a case of lowered expectations but I was expecting a much duller game. You were never going see open play against that stingy defence, certainly not with the talent level of Portugal. Uruguay were full value with two deadly strikes. It will be interesting to see how they manage against a much deeper French team. The French struggle to play in sync often but they are loaded with offence and Kylian Mbappe has the chance to blow past Uruguay forcing their defence to open up.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 3:15 am
by Per

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:10 am
by Per
rockalt wrote: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:12 pm
Per wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:36 am Hoping the Spaniards will win, as I find Christiano Ronaldo rather intolerable.
Sure, he's a great footballer, but damn is he full of himself. and he plays for Real to boot.
You a Barca fan by any chance? :lol:
I have to confess that I do harbour some fondness for them, even though I did study at the University of Valencia.
I guess it's partly for the long series of great players they have had, the tici-taca style that Cruyff implemented and that has stayed with them since and the history of fans singing and chanting in Catalan during games back in the Franco era when that language was banned. When they all stood side by side in the stadium, there was not much the guardia civil could do.
In all seriousness sad to see what is likely the last World Cup for both Messi and Ronaldo (though despite being older I think there's a better chance we see Ronaldo again over Messi)

I feel blessed to have witnessed the rivalry of two of the greatest players ever. It has been a spectacular decade of sport !
Agreed. I feel sorry though for Messi who has never been able to convince his native Argentina of his greatness. He just never reaches his potential on the national team. I think they would have been wise to adjust their game to more mimic that of Barcelona, which fits him like a glove.

I'm also sorry that Zlatan stayed firm with his decision to retire from the national team.
Sure, we have done great without him, and at this point I would not like to see him as captain or even starter, but on the bench as a supersub. Imagine bringing him onto the pitch with fifteen-twenty minutes remaining in a tied game..... :look:

196 cm/100 kg of raw muscle and fresh energy against a bunch of defenders with tired legs... could have been a thing of beauty.

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:21 am
by Per
Rather boringly I predict that the group winners will win all the round of 16 games.
That would give us the following quarter finals:

France vs Uruguay
Spain vs Croatia
Brazil vs Belgium
Sweden vs Colombia

It's football though, and I guess one or two upsets are bound to happen.

:mex:

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:21 am
by Per
Shit! Spain is out. :(
Too bad. I like their brand of football.

Russia, the least talented team still in the tournament, will face the winner of Croatia and Denmark.
Neither of those teams is a powerhouse, so perhaps the Russians can ride the home crowd support all the way to a semifinal?

We'll see.

Spain was the better team, but sat back once they had a one nil lead. Then when Russia scored the game tying goal, they started showing what they got, and the Russians were severly outplayed but managed to prevent a game winning goal and then went on to win on penalty shots.

I'd say poor coaching by the Spanish, and keeping in mind that they fired the head coach two weeks ahead of the tournament, when it was revealed he had signed a contract with Real Madrid, that was almost inevitable. How can a coach get a fair shot when he takes over the reins just two weeks ahead of a tournament?

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:49 am
by Topper
Per wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:21 am Shit! Spain is out. :(
Wonder what that cost?

Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:28 am
by Carl Yagro
Hmmm... is FIFA Putin's official sponsor?

Should some independent 3rd party be looking into the host's anti-doping program... like the Americans?