So Germany pulled saved their collective asses with a beautiful stoppage time goal to put advancement back on the table for them. Now all they need is a win next week and a Mexico to win or draw OR a win and goal differential advantage over Sweden. What's fun about all this is that if Sweden and Germany win next game, we have a three way tie for 1st place in Group F. Mexico doesn't have an insurmountable goal differential, either. If Sweden and Germany both win by 3 (not super likely, but bear with me), then Mexico manages to go home in the group stage after beating the defending cup holders and standing atop their group from day 1. I love the world cup.
Anyway, new thread, blah, blah, blah. Discuss.
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Comments
The possibilities for advancement in Group F are complicated...
We'll probably need a third part for the knockout stages...and then one for the final rounds
It will be done
Wow, Panama is the dirtiest team I've ever seen. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Panama...are not good.
John stones currently has two more goals than lionel messi
This is now a training exercise...if you don't like Panama you're loving this
Karma. Run it up England. Run it up.
3 players should be red carded by now for Panama. I'm loving the sweet retribution on the scoreboard.
Didn't watch the Belgium game but you are correct they're dirty AF. if they want Kane's shirt so bad they can swap after the match.
Trump has decreed that the team of MS-13 gang members playing for Panama will not be allowed back into the United States.
He has decreed that ICE will review all MLS rosters in and attempt to clean up the national football league.
In all seriousness, if England hands more than 8 without giving up any, I feel donations to the Premier League are in order.
I think England might have worked out their issues with finishing
It is Panama. Watching Pep's defenders Walker and Stones handle the ball makes me wonder if England may be underrated at this point. Walker can actually one touch the ball properly and Stones not too far behind him. They still look a little shaky at times, but they are playing marvelous long balls out of the back.
Yeah John stones injury early in the year really took some uumph out of our lineup this year. Early season John stones when he was healthy was imo one of the best center backs in the world. I'm glad hes playing like it in the WC hes awesome
Panama or not, England had major issues with shitting themselves in the box the first game. So to see them rolling like this should absolutely help their confidence going forward.
Given what we've seen with the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, etc so far, it's difficult to undersell any good team beating the piss out of a lesser one.
Chicks dig the long ball
Randy Marsh agrees with this statement.
ENGLAND AIN'T PLAYED NOBODY PAWWWL
I'm pleased with the result. Clean sheet would have been cherry on top but part of me is glad to see Panama score their first world cup goal. Their fans truly cherished that moment and that's what the world cup is really about. A heartfelt moment, I thought. I'm still concerned about the defense but pleased England finished opportunities better. I guarantee no defense wants to see England
EPL 8-1 MLS
Should it be 9-1?
Dries mertens plays for Napoli
UGA fan totally owns Mountain West by proving once and for all that the SEC is a better conference
Anyone else rooting for a Poland-Colombia draw just to add to the drama of that group? You could legitimately have a four way tie at 4 points if they draw today and then both win their third match.
Certainly would make for interesting drama at end of the stage. But go Poland!
checks scores...come on, Poland, get your crap together. Stop killing my dreams.
About that
I know I said you wouldn't see a better pass than the one that set up Switzerland's game winner against Serbia, but that pass from James to Cuadrado for Colombia's third was sublime
That pass was sick and just unfair...
FIFA to investigate goal celebration hand gestures by Xhaka and Shaqiri against Serbia. Serbian manager responds by comparing the hand gestures to genocide and suggest The Hague should prosecute them.
Not to get political, but when you run away from near genocide in one country, and then score the game winner in a world cup 20 years later against that country, you can make all the hand gestures you want.
Not only that but at least one of the players had his father detained by those same forces, and the Serbian fans weren't exactly innocent, talking shit throughout the game after some arrived and sat front row with the face of Ratko MladiΔ on their t-shirts. The same MladiΔ who was the Yugoslavian general charged with genocide against Albanians, among others.
But yeah, let's investigate a hand gesture...
It's like hand gestures to wvu. Even if you're Marcus Vick, you're allowed to do that.
How can anyone not root for Colombia? The most fun team to watch in the world cup by a mile. Anyone who says soccer is boring needs to watch them.
Turning the game on, I expected to see the usual South American flopping and tendency for the dramatic (sorority girl esque, not a good thing). But I was VERY pleasantly surprised they play brilliant football. Sharp, decisive passing, good tackling, some excellent team play. They looked very dangerous today. And that pass by Rodriguez to Cuadrado gave me a slight chub. No shame.
We have reached the home-stretch of Group Stage! Each team has now played 2 games. How do things look with one game remaining for 32 squads? Six teams are definitely through to the RO16. Nine teams are certainly heading home on Friday. 17 teams are fighting for the remaining 10 slots. This should be a good, strong finish to the Group Stage.
Group A
Russia and Uruguay each have 6 points and will advance to the round of 16. Should they draw in their last game against each other Russia would win the group on goal differential. Egypt and Saudi Arabia will play each other for pride alone as neither have an opportunity to advance.
Group B
Morocco is eliminated from contention for the RO16. Portugal and Spain lead the group with 4 points each but Iran, with 3, has a chance to advance with a win or draw. A win would definitely get them through but a draw would require some help from Morocco to upset Spain for Iran to advance on goal differential. Should Spain and Portugal both win with the same score-line the last tie-breaker before drawing lots looks at fair play. As it stands now Spain would win the group because they have fewer bookings by FIFA officials.
Group C
France leads the group with 6 points and will advance. They will need to win or draw against Denmark in their last match in order to secure the top spot. A loss to Denmark will leave them in 2nd. Denmark is not safe, however. A loss to France puts them at risk of being overtaken by Australia but that likelihood is low, IMO. Australia will need to beat Peru and gain, at minimum, a 2 goal swing in differential against Denmark. Should France and Denmark draw that will be enough to put them both through in their current positions of first and second respectively. Peru is playing for pride but will go home early.
Group D
Croatia will advance with 6 points and will likely take the top spot, though it is not technically locked up for them. A loss to Iceland coupled with a Nigeria win over Argentina would bump Croatia into the second spot. Nigeria, with 3 points, Iceland and Argentina, each with 1 point, are all fighting for a spot in the RO16. Nigeria has the obvious advantage but will need, at minimum, a draw with Argentina in order to advance. Although Argentina is mathematically worse off than Iceland, they have an easier path to advancing. A win over Nigeria is more likely than Iceland winning over Croatia, IMO. Iceland will need to beat Croatia no matter what. They will need additional help from Argentina, however, to ensure Nigeria does not get any more points. Unfortunately for Iceland, they can't count on Argentina. This rat-race will be a fun one to watch. Can Argentina do the unthinkable and secure the second spot in the group? Will Nigeria take care of business and represent Africa in the RO16? Can Iceland pull off a magical performance (with a little help from Argentina) to keep their Cinderella-story alive? Good story-line potential in this group.
Group E
Brazil and Switzerland sit atop the group with 4 points each, however, neither is guaranteed a spot at the RO16 table. Brazil and Switzerland would both advance with wins. Draws could get them through but now without a little help from the other match in their group. Each team could technically lose and still advance but would need to get help from the other match in their group, again. Serbia, with 3 points, can put themselves in position to advance with a draw in their final match with Brazil (with help from Costa Rica to help goal differential) and will certainly advance with a win. Costa Rica is the only team with nothing more than pride to play for. This will be another group to keep an eye on. It could get confusing.
Group F
Mexico, with 6 points is most likely through and they will probably take the top spot unless Sweden goes HAM on them in the third match (unlikely, IMO). Germany has the best chance at securing the second spot in the group with a win over South Korea. Sweden will need to beat Mexico by enough goals to win the differential tie-breaker since there could be a 3-way tie if Germany also wins. In the event of a 3-way tie, Mexico could potentially be jumped by both Germany and Sweden if both teams score crazy amounts of goals in the third match (again, unlikely, IMO). Sweden will need to play a much more aggressive style of soccer against Mexico if they want to stay alive in this tournament. Germany is probably content to rely on Mexico handling Sweden and taking care of their own business vs South Korea to advance in the second spot, which is what I believe will happen.
Group G
Belgium and England will both advance with 6 points each. Tunisia and Panama will play against each other for pride before heading home early. This group probably has the most inconsequential games on both sides of the group (aside from perhaps group A). England technically sits in the top spot right now as they have fewer bookings than Belgium. A draw in their final match would leave England in first and Belgium in second. Both teams are comfortably through so it wouldn't surprise me to see them play back-up-heavy lineups to rest their starters for the RO16. Group H hasn't looked terribly dangerous so I'm not sure either team is too worried about securing that top spot.
Group H
Senegal and Japan lead the group with 4 points each. Colombia is hot on their heels with 3 points and Poland is going home much earlier than most expected. This will be a group to watch. All three of the remaining eligible teams have a legitimate shot at the top spot. Similarly, all three teams run the very real risk of not advancing. If Colombia wins against Senegal they will certainly advance with 6 points. A draw could put them in jeopardy should Japan play well enough to advance in their place. A loss would send them home for sure. Japan and Senegal need wins to ensure advancement. Draws would put them in good position to advance but leave them vulnerable to being jumped depending on the result of the other game in their group. Poland might be down just enough for Japan to take advantage and shock the world by winning the entire group. Senegal could potentially join Nigeria in the RO16 which would be a cool story-line for African nations. Colombia could be the come-back story after a disappointing loss to kick off the tournament.
There are quite a few tight races which make for high drama in the last week of group stage. Should be some good football watching this week.
The Monday games aren't particularly interesting to me. Russia and Uruguay are just playing for position. Spain and Portugal will likely win their games comfortably to advance.
Tuesday is a little more interesting with the 3-horse race in Group C and the even more wild 4-horse race in Group D. Those Group D games will be very intriguing.
Wednesday probably has the most dramatic plots, though. Mexico is the only team in the tournament currently with 6 points which is not guaranteed to get through to the RO16. However unlikely it may be for Sweden to do enough to ruin Mexico's dream, it's still a possibility. A 3-way, 6 point tie at the top is still possible for Group F so this will be a fun race to watch. Then, right after all of that drama plays out you get to enjoy the frantic race in Group E, where any of the three remaining teams could be taking the top spot or packing their bags for home. In my opinion, if you had to take one day off work this week to watch football, this is the one to take.
Thursday's first set of matches will hold the potential climax of the week as two underdogs fight to maintain their positions at the top as Colombia tries to break through to the RO16. Can Senegal stifle Colombia? Will Japan complete the humiliation of Poland? Will Colombia end up on top after looking listless vs Japan? After the exciting finish to Group H we're left with Group G to complete the Group Stage. Unfortunately, Group G will be almost as boring as Group A. So much for a grand finale.
In any event, grab some friends and enjoy the matches. Happy watching!
We could be looking at a Germany v Brazil matchup in the round of 16...JUICY!
There are actually circumstances in play where it could be tremendously advantageous (on paper) for England/Belgium to finish second rather than first. The draw will be totally settled by the time their game kicks off, so it's possible that finishing second would allow the team to avoid playing Germany, Brazil, France, Portugal/Spain until the final. Finishing second would mean the team is (at worst) the second best team in the half of the draw, with the other best teams on that side being (potentially) Spain/Portugal, Croatia, and Mexico
An excellent point, indeed. One side of the bracket, should things end as expected, looks much tougher on paper. I agree with that. As a fan, though, I think I would want my team (England) to play through the tougher half and reach the final against a team that perhaps hasn't been tested rather than cruise through the easier side and match up with a battle tested squad.
Please Cristiano, please. ππ΅πΉ
Nigeria and Senegal have stolen my heart, though now I have a soft spot for Japan, too.
Is Uraguay supposed to be this good? They look great vs Russia (from my completely novice perspective).
Uruguay is a solid team that everyone expected to win this (admittedly very) weak group. Cavani and Suarez is about as good a 1-2 punch as you'll see in the world. Russia is not a "bad" team, but they definitely looked much better than they are against Saudi Arabia and Egypt and I'm not very surprised they are exposed against Uruguay. That said, both teams are already qualified for the knockout rounds and Russia left a contributor or two on the bench.
They finished 2nd in South American qualifiers, which is the toughest qualification. Only Brazil finished ahead of them.
Do. Not. Sleep. On. Uruguay.
I'm not saying they'll win it all but let's be serious - Uruguay hasn't let up a goal yet, only Croatia can match that. And Uruguay has the best tandem up top in the tournament.
Impenetrable defense and killer offense? No complaints about Uruguay, don't sleep too hard on them.
Would love to see them play France. Those two front lines could be fun.
The officiating is so one sided in favor of Portugal. Poor Iran hasn't stood a chance.
This is hilarious considering Iran tied this match with something that is absolutely never a pen. Worst call of the tournament so far.
If the arm makes the body bigger, the ref has every right in the world to award a penalty. Also, Iran could have had another penalty when the Portuguese player bulldozed the Iran player from behind. And since they gave Portugal the penalty on less contact, I think they probably should have given that one too. Plus, if that's not Ronaldo with the elbow, it's a red card. Any other player would have been sent off IMO.
You've perfectly summarized my impressions of what I saw. Until that call that set up the penalty kick, Portugal seemed to get several calls going their way, including Ronaldo's elbow to the jaw, which was clearly intentional.
1st PK called by VAR in favor of Portugal was correct. Defender made no attempt to play the ball and took Ronaldo out (his finish is a whole other story lol). To me it doesn't matter if it's Ronaldo or some nobody on the ball, it's a foul and a PK.
2nd PK that would have been in favor of Iran was a miss IMO. Same situation. I don't blame the referee for not calling it right away, because these things are so bang-bang, but cmon, VAR should have picked up on that and awarded the PK.
3rd PK that WAS called in favor of Iran. The most subjective of the three moments. I think they got it right in the end, but not an easy call.
The foul by Ronaldo? Yellow. Not red. The Iranian was all over him and he retaliated. Was it naughty? Yes. Was it using excessive force? Nope. I've seen much dirtier challenges this tournament. That one wasn't particularly glaring for a red. Always a yellow and nothing more IMO, however could easily have been red and Portugal would be in a very sticky spot.
In no world was that a pen and that would be the softest red card ever if they had given that. I promise you can't find one other example of a handball penalty being called at that distance (less than a foot from his head to contact) that wasn't a player intentionally blocking a shot on goal. The arm isn't in an unnatural position for an aerial duel and it didn't change the path of the ball significantly as he headed it straight down. That is never, ever a pen and 99% of the world agrees with me. Congratulations on being the 1% that feels the need to be contrarian.
If no one agrees with me than why do I have a better comment score than both of yours?
Unless you're actually Portuguese (Idk maybe you are) then I have no idea why you are acting so butthurt. And if you are, you should be happy since they went through. Your exaggerations like "softest red card ever" are ridiculous unless you have never watched soccer before this tournament. An elbow to the face is by definition a red card, sorry. The VAR booth found it to be a "clear and obvious" error that a red wasn't given, so they asked the ref to review it. The ref chickened out and gave a yellow, which makes no sense. It's either nothing or a red, period. And since there was unnecessary contact to the face, it has to be a red for violent conduct.
Is it really worth this kind of vehemence? Goodness.
good point, wait until we get to the knockout rounds...yikes!
Ronaldo fanboys always taking the fun out of things
I'm not a fanboy, and even more ironically, it is you that has expressed your dislike of Portugal, so you have expressed inherent bias already. Regardless, that is not a pen. If you listen to any podcasts, or have read any of the reactions nobody is saying that's a pen. It wasn't the fault of VAR, it was the fault of incompetent refereeing as they have the ultimate final say. I also thoroughly explained why it wasn't a pen. You never see handballs called at that distance unless it is directly impeding a shot. In this case, it absolutely was not, it wasn't even redirecting the path of the ball. To suggest that when you jump for an aerial duel your arms should be pinned to your sides is absurd, and if you watch a match, that doesn't happen.
Handling the ball
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the
ball with the hand or arm.
The following must be considered:
β’βthe movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand) [non existent in this case]
β’βthe distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball) [30cm at most]
β’βthe position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an offence
FIFA official rulebook laws of the game
Please, please, please, please, keep telling me I'm just being a fanboy and that this is a stonewall penalty.
Update: only crickets, but someone did shoot me a downvote for bringing the official rules and cold hard facts into the debate.
I'm gonna be honest I have no interest in extending this combative conversation any further when there are other games happening with fun things to watch. Don't know why you're grinding this axe so hard but it's not surprising that there's "crickets".
Because you're both wrong. It wasn't a penalty and doesn't hold up under any of these three considerations in the official 18/19 FIFA laws of the game.
Also I was insulted and called a fanboy, I won't stand for that. Especially when my argument is based on nothing but the rules of the game.
I'm with Chris on this. In no universe was that a penalty. I remember some absolutely ridiculous handball calls in 1998 where the world was in uproar, and this one wouldn't have been called in that tournament. Absurd call. Also, in no way was that "elbow" by Ronaldo even a foul, let alone a yellow. I respect the other opinions, but I've been watching the game for 40 years and no way was that a penalty/red card.
Now, how about that play in the Argentine box where Iheanacho gets kicked in the head by the Argentine defender (who won the ball). Outside the box, that's a foul due to dangerous play as the ball was above chest-level. That was a definitely foul in the box...hence, penalty. And it's not even being discussed or reviewed.
If results hold we'll have a R16 France vs Argentina. The R16 round could be shaping up to be epic.
My only stance on this conversation is that you need to chill. I haven't voiced an opinion on the penalty.
I'm with HokieBone on this.
Some of these players should have caught yellows or second yellows for dissent a long time ago.
holy balls this is a tense set of matches. spain and iran both scored equalizing goals at the same time. if iran scored and spain didn't, it would have been Iran through to RO16, instead, both results means that Spain wins group B
I thought Ronaldo was pretty poor in this game. Even though Portugal controlled a lot of that one, it feels like they're lucky to have gotten that result.
VERY lucky. They are gonna have a really hard time against Uruguay.
I believe that will be an awful game...two teams that defend first. It'll likely come down to the brilliance of either Suarez or Ronaldo. If it's any more than a meh 1-0 game I'll be shocked. I hope Spain destroys Russia.
Lucky to have gotten a result? Iran got a penalty that is never a penalty. The Iran guy headed a ball down 6 inches onto the guys arm, that is never a pen, it didn't impede a shot on goal (it was heading straight downward) and its not unnatural for your arms to be out like that while contending an aerial duel, PLUS handballs are never given at distances like that unless it is clear and obvious it was intentional. Absolutely awful call.
Dude, relax. I said, "feels like they're lucky..." That includes how the game was ref'ed too. I thought the earlier incident where William looked to have pushed a guy in the box was more legit for VAR than the handball call.
Portugal controlled a fair amount of possession, but never felt very dangerous and Ronaldo only had a couple moments where he affected the game. When you combine that with the reffing in this one, it felt to me like Portugal was lucky to escape that game with 1 point.
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned and obviously its something everyone knows about football / soccer but holy helly, the dramatics over getting one's toe stubbed or a tug on the shirt and then falling is making this harder and harder to watch. I watched two games today and it truly waters down the game. These guys need to watch a hockey match
COLOMBIA
I'm glad someone decided to finally play big boy football against Russia. I look forward to their early exit in the knockout stage.
Was running around like a headless fool when I thought Iran had scored in extra time yesterday at work I work with a bunch of dutch people so they all were losing it in a happy way thinking spain or portugal were heading out till they said side netting. If every day 3 game could be like yesterdays second set were in for a treat that was too fun watching morroco score on spain and Iran take portugal all the way.
Alright peeps lets get in some predictions for the next group up I'm going with Argentina beating Nigeria 2-1 messi with both goals BUT I'm going with Iceland 1-0 over croatias B team and that means Iceland are onto the knockout stages on GD by -2 to -3 of argentina.
Argentina already has one foot on the plane. They might get a draw today...
it ain't over yet. They pretty much control their destiny short of Croatia taking a dive. If they can get motivated enough to beat Nigeria, they go through. Big if, I know.
Oh I know...I just don't think they have the desire to play hard to win. They've checked out.
Almost 2 years ago today. And I don't think they've changed a bit.
Nigeria knows that a point will be enough for them, I'm not too familiar with them but if they park the bus, I can't see Argentina getting a win (not in the state that they're in). What a sad way for Messi's World Cup career to end (if he's even on the field, that is-I think leaving Messi on the bench would throw Nigeria for a loop tactically, let's see how brave Sampaoli is).
Iceland couldn't beat Croatia's U-18 team.
About that. (link)
Croatia is resting everyone but Modric and Perisic.
Oh that was a nifty little touch on the dribble by Messi, especially at full sprint. Pretty goal
Ew Messi
Banega is dominating this game so far.
Emery pls.
I want Nigeria to win and advance. Not sure they will. I think Iceland is done regardless
streaming the game on my phone at work and... if I had a penny for every pixel in this stream... I'd have about 23 cents
Rut Ro...PK!
The PK call comes off the corner forced by three Argentine players combining to head the ball off each other with no Nigerian player around. Comical.
Oh I dunno about that penalty call... Looked like the Nigerian player threw himself to the ground.
Either way, tied things up, and if Argentina doesn't score, Nigeria moves on
He had a hand around his ribcage, but also put his back into the going-to-ground motion. 50/50. But find it comical that he wasn't in the play really...
Could there be another PK????
Argentina might finish DFL in the group.
Iceland ties it up off the handball by Croatia. GO ICELAND!
Iceland and Argentina both need wins to move on (both can't, I know). Only 5 minutes of regulation left.
And Argentina goes up 2-1...
CALLED IT ROJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Not the best game of the tournament thus far, but definitely the most dramatic. Breathtaking stuff.
Argentina handball correctly not given when the defender headed it onto his arm while jumping.
Hmmmmm
proving costly now, eh? and of course Maradona proves what he's all about...pic coming shortly
Ehh in this case the Argentina player (Rojo?) gained no advantage by the ball hitting his arm. In fact, it went right to the Nigeria player for their best chance of the match besides the penalty (which shouldn't have been given)
If you are making yourself bigger, the ball hits your arm / shoulder, its a penalty. You can't know what the player intended nor can you know whether this gained him an advantage. Yes there are extreme exceptions to the rule ...say the ball is going out of bounds and it could never have been a goal scoring opportunity. There it would make no sense to go to the spot. And yes that means you can get away with handballs more easily in the box than outside. And I didn't see the play... so if it is 99.99999% certain he gained no advantage, yes the referee could no call it. Extreme exception. If you're a defender and you like to wave your arms around, you should be punished.
Say goodbye to Jurgy Love. Good riddance .... they may or may not get through this round but the team looks like crap.... he deserves it for leaving Sane off the squad.
No, no, no. If a player makes a legitimate attempt to play the ball and it deflects off of their own arm AFTER hitting another part of their body, a handball will never be given.
Exhibit A: Rojo heads the ball and it deflects off of his arm. He made a legitimate play on the ball and then it hit his arm. He was gaining no advantage and made a soccer play, so it will never be called.
Exhibit B: Chicharito just had a similar play in the Mexico game. He played it off his torso and then it deflected into his own arm. Again, it was not given after a VAR review because he made a legitimate play.
As far as the Portugal one, the first part of the body that the ball touched was his arm. THAT is what makes it different than the other cases.
I explained in detail why you are completely wrong about the Portugal one quoting the FIFA laws of the game directly and linking to the page in the official manual above I suggest you give it another read. You are incorrect, it was not a penalty by any definition of the official laws of the game.
Been a pretty good competition to replace the good Dr. Joe Matchnik. Can you guys do TV? Telephone calls to the booth?
I won't let up. I proved him dead ass wrong with the official laws of the game and his response is downvoting all my comments.
Did you ever consider that you're at -3 and -4 for being a douche? How many accounts do you think I have lmao? I agreed with the refs and disagreed with you, I explained my view & defended the officials, you explained yours and you won't let it go. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing. I was not proven "dead ass wrong" because I explained why the separate handball cases are viewed differently in the eyes of the referee. The laws only get you so far, you need to use discretion and understand when to let things go because no advantage is gained. This is the last time I will be replying to discuss the handball cases. Hope you enjoy the remainder of the games.
this is a good call-I'm convinced Joe Matchnik has only a marginal understanding of the rules of the game. Is he volunteering his services and that's how he got the gig. I'll do it, I've got nothing better to do.
Should this have been a penalty? **ducks**
Oh shit! From the brink!
would be hilarious if Iceland scores their second now....
Welp...
Maradona with the double birds to go with the double watches.
gifs or it didn't happen
Okay pftcommenter tweeted something about the amount of cocaine coating the glass....but really look around twitter there's another couple picture with copious amounts of what appears to be coke around him. Just likes to party.
classy
if someone can guide me how to embed this i'll gladly do it
beaten by VT_Fencer...touche' my good man
Share - Embed... Copy/Paste
coz I know you're a fan
Talk about a depressing story arc... jeez
MCPOYELLLLLL
Iceland give up a second, and that should do it save some heroics.
Messi would have a chance for the greatest redemption story in recent memory.
Nigeria had two great chances to put this away and were unable to do so. I feel bad for them but you have to take your chances well.
Any reason Mascherano was allowed to play with so much exposed blood on his face?
great question I don't have the answer to...but his face certainly looked Messi
Yeah that was really confusing. I had always assumed protocol was to go off and clean blood off the skin and kit, as that's what I've always seen happen, including the Germany-Sweden match three days earlier.
That's correct, there cannot be any visible blood on the player or any of his equipment. Mascherano should have been sent off until it was corrected. I have no idea why the ref didn't enforce it this time when it's been consistently enforced in the rest of the tournament.
even in a game that wasn't necessarily the best, you have to love drama like that. Reminded me a little of the Aguero stoppage time goal against QPR to win the EPL.
France have not looked good, a lot of talent and struggle mightily to score still. That's going to be an interesting game, I like Argentina to advance despite how bad they've looked for most of the tournament.
That was not even close to their starting lineup today. My wife is French so I've been watching a lot of their games. They didn't even play Pogba or Lloris at all. Also they didn't bring MbappΓ© in till very late and when they did, they took Griezmann out. I personally think MbappΓ© could end up being one of the most exciting players in the tournament, he has some serious skills.
That's fine, but they had th fewest goals scored of any UEFA qualifying nation and their 3 goals this tournament have been: 1) penalty 2) own goal 3) lucky deflection. They parked the bus for 45 minutes against Peru. People love them because of raw talent, but that talent hasn't produced.
Holy crap what a match, just watched the full Argentina-Nigeria match after hiding from the internet all afternoon/evening. Hope all the non-soccer people that claim soccer is boring have been watching this tournament.
Croatia, Nigeria, Argentina was a pretty big time group. I think Argentina goes down in next round, but I would like to see at least one African country get seeded every tournament. I don't think it would have been Nigeria, but they played well enough to advance, Argentina like Spain needed VAR assistance to stay in tourney.
How did Argentina need VAR assistance? No penalty was called even without VAR on the "handball." Argentina outplayed Nigeria, they really dominated the game. Nigeria only had a penalty and another half chance. Argentina had 2 goals, hit the post off a great save, and forced another good save on HiguaΓn's first half chance. I think it's unfair to say Nigeria deserved more than what they got.
Haven't watched it, but heard that he pointed to the spot, which made it VAR reviewable. VAR then made him rescind the PK. Really wanted to watch it last night just kept falling asleep.
Argentina didn't dominate the game and had a lower xG by every outlet that calculates xG. Nigeria wasted multiple chances to put the game away but couldn't finish.
Stats don't work very well in soccer. Argentina had the more threatening chances in that game IMO. Nigeria had some too, but the outcome wasn't out of line with the flow of the game.
Disagree, I think Nigeria had the two best chances of the game between Ndidi and Ighalo. That said, I think it was closely contested, I just would certainly argue that Argentina did not dominate that game.
Agreed that nobody dominated. The stats thing just doesn't work. Soccer is too subjective to put hard numbers on things like that. Arsenal's most mistake prone defender was 'statistically' their best last season. It's baffling how that happens.
It lacks the discrete events that allow for stats to be so useful in football and especially baseball, but xG is a step in the right direction and soccer stats are getting better with time.
Hopefully the early games are dramatic as the late ones were yesterday and not like the early slot games from yesterday
Oh and now it gets interesting. Sweden goes up on Mexico
2-0 Sweden!
Things are getting very interesting, indeed
Mexico is a German goal away from going out after beating the defending champions and racking up 6 points.
Just switched over to Germany-SKorea... This is gonna be a fun ending
South Korea has had a couple of great chances in the last couple minutes.
Wow. Some dramatics in this World Cup!
DO IT FOR AMERICA GERMANY
The only time I ever root for Germany they play extremely sloppy. This is so disappointing.
3-0 Sweden... Germany has just under 10 minutes to save their WC
All aboard the Swedish hype train!!
I'm all for an Andres Cantor call should S. Korea score here
Good God. That poor poor member of the South Korean team. That one hurt me.
#2 nearly assisted on a goal off of getting blasted in the dick.
OH MY GOODNESS SOUTH KOREA!
VAR going to play a major role here.
EDIT: BOOM THERE IT IS!!!
Oh I don't know about that offside.... I don't know at all.
If this gets overturned, Mexico is going to burn to the ground tonight.
How the hell did they call that offside in the first place?
GERMANY IS OUT!
holy hell
Somehow, this is all Klinsmann's fault
this is the post of the tournament...brilliant!
Germany deserves every bit of this. They played like children out there. Every one of them.
Losses to Mexico and South Korea.
Yeah I'm sure this will go over well in Berlin the next few years...
Time for DAS REBOOT 2
South Korea probably feels like they won the whole damn thing. Not often you crash out in the group stages and get to feel good on the flight home.
I thought it interesting that all three of their goals in group stage were in injury time.
aufwiederzein, felicia
While we didn't qualify this year the only thing that would've made me happy would be Mexico crashing out in dramatic fashion. All Germany had to do was beat South Korea and they couldn't. This is very depressing.
Mexico's biggest win has come from what turned out to be one of the biggest frauds in the tournament. I'm not sure they're going to advance far.
Cheer up, they'll probably play Brazil in the R16. Now I'm rooting for Brazil.
Dear Germany:
Germany out in the group stage was as unexpected as it gets.
There is a precedent...France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and now Germany. All World Champions that didn't make it out of their group in the next World Cup.
Precedent was there for sure, but Germany hadn't shown many signs of trouble heading into the tourney. Hell they won the confed cup last year with a B/C team.
And that can be the problem. Not letting go of the old guys. They may have been better off with the B/C team.
Leaving Leroy Sane off the squad? Good enough for Pep, evidently not good enough for Love. See ya later Love!
"Not letting go of the old guys. They may have been better off with the B/C team."
You forgot to sign this:
"Sincerely,
Jurgen Klinsmann"
If you've been watching, Bayern Munich, curious if you didn't see the signs of deterioration there.
For me, the two old wingers really carried that team this year. One French, one Dutch. You can say what you want about Reus, Werner, etc. Why weren't they playing for Bayern? Bayern in the past will do anything they can to get the best talent. Seemed pretty clear the moving force behind Bayern this year was aging, and foreign. That there weren't german guys chomping at the bit to displace these old men, well, wished I would have bet on my intuition. I don't watch that much Bundesleague, don't really bet often either.
Yeah Bayern has been an interesting beast to watch over the last few years as they are somehow still very competitive and at the same time aging and showing increasing reliance on their non-German players like Ribery, Robben, Lewa, Thiago, James, etc.
However, w the German national team I felt their back line and midfield would be good enough to surely get them through the groups. So many creative attacking mids and true mids, but no finishing. I personally expected Werner to be the finisher but he struggled more than I thought he would. Plus he seems to have been forced into playing more like a left sided forward/winger than the 9/finisher role I expected him to fill.
Both outside backs (only speed team had besides werner) were up on one or both of Mexico's goals. Teams like the old ManU who rely on the outside back to score are playing a very dangerous strategic game. Last world cup, Philipp Lamm was making do with what his old bones could bring to bear. He was arguably one of the best, most valuable German players I've ever seen. I would argue losing him was a big big problem for Germany, one that certainly bit them in the arse. Watching Ozil leading the goalscorer, then lose a 40 yard sprint by 10 yards on the second German goal was simply effing laughable and something that should get Love fired. This team should not have allowed their outside backs so much latitude against Mexico.
So Germany's biggest weakness is their fullbacks and lack of speed at some positions(was last WC too but they managed to paper over that crack).
Why the fuck do they not experiment with a three back with kimmich and sane as wingbacks. Sane did it a lot early this season for city, wasnt great but hes got a really good skillset for it and kimmich cuts inside a lot anyway. I just feel like they could easily operate a hybrid system kinda like city last season and have tons of success for it. I just do not understand the sane omission at all he obviously had a place in this team as a player who could take on defenders directly to open up space for other players. They sorely missed that this world cup
Germany just lacked the cutting edge that even an aging klose used to give them Mario gomez wasn't starting for whatever reason as Mueller wasn't not Brandt who I thought looked lively but the coach bottled it but no way is this Germany like the last world cup winning side from 4 years ago. Look at Mueller and no gotze who was brilliant in Brazil and overall the back line was sluggish and exposed by their midfield that didn't want to defend overall they had alot of issues and I was saying before the world cup started this Germany wasn't good enough to go deep due to their issues but I even doubted myself thinking the German machine would get going in a poor group then boom Mexico happens and I guess that's why they always play the games! Can't remember the last time the group stages were this much fun to watch
I mean they were rolling coming in. This team isnt all that different, sure they missed gotze from last world cup but you cant tell me one of Brandt ozil or draxler couldn't at least adequately fill the role
Also mario Gomez does not belong anywhere near that team hes old, washed up, and just didn't fit the roster. They didn't give mueller the chances and the system just didn't make sense given the talent on the team. Their defense was absolutely not the issue. If you give up 15 shots on frame in 3 games you should walk out with more than a negative goal differential unless you're parking the bus
Defense wasnt their issue the problem was kheidera and his lack of inciveness and a terrible game plan that relied on him bringing the ball out from deep repeatedly. There was no creativity from the midfield moving forward
Forgot my final point: there was plenty of talent left at home that they didn't need to rely on these aging stars this is absolutely on the manager
You wouldve thought they were good enough yes but their friendlies leading into the WC they were all over the place atleast in the saudi arabia game they barely won they looked sluggish But it doesnt help when it didnt look like Low had any idea what his starting line up was, could I say this botched job looked a bit Bruce arena stubburnish? Shouldve had more of the younger talent from last years confederation cup available. Just my opinion but brandt shouldve played more he was their best threat I thought but oh well they now like the US have 4 years to figure it out and luckily they have apile of talent to pull from.
I think were in total agreement here. Brandt should've been in a lot more, and there didn't appear to be a clear message. It seems like low had one approach, possess and press, when that didnt work it turned into a hodgepodge of different attempts none with any clear commitment. It was just odd seeing the germans play like that, they really should've grabbed more of that young talent
Allow me to predict the German headlines...
"Ozil Blows World Cup Dreams, Aims for Hummels Shoulder"
Seriously though, not one single German player had even a halfway decent night. Shocking how lethargic they looked.
I've never seen a German team as wasteful in front of goal. They could have easily scored five today.
Agreed. The one wide open header where he completely whiffed and it went off of his shoulder sums up Germany's night.
They had 3-4 clean headers like that. Amazing not one found the back of the net.
They needed one man named Klose I believe in his age could've scored one at least
Klose was truly a special player for their national team.
I think I was too confident Werner could provide that, and maybe in the future he will become that decisive finisher but it's clear he wasn't ready for that role yet.
Now THAT was a decent UVA basketball impression
Well, scheisse!!!
YES SIR THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS SPORT AHHHHHHHH THE CARNAGE PROFESSOR CHAOS IS CAUSING TIME FOR SERBIA TO KNOCK OUT BRAZIL YESSSSSSSSSSS SIR
Now I will forever read your posts in Butters' voice
You sir are the real MVP and to those wondering I do prefer chaos at world cups so I plot like I'm butters when I'm watching the games, professor chaos is my alter ego you could say
Germany's stats averaged through 3 games:
- 67% possession.
- 22.33 shots/game.
- 6.67 shots on goal/game.
Scored twice.
Combination of really bad luck, poor finishing quality, and overall lack of energy. They were never able to really force their opponents to make any mistakes either.
No fing yellow cards. Four for SK. Pansies. Let them know you're there. Show them you are boss. Something. Anything.
Finishing was dire in all three matches for sure.
Love the announcer counting how many times Neymar rolled after a light tackle. Love his skill but the embellishment is so bad.
There he goes again. Gets brought down by the shoulder and he goes grabbing his face.
Like I said in the last thread, Neymar is so talented but the crap he pulls to try and get calls makes him really unlikeable IMO.
The one challenge where he went rolling on off the field and the commentator was like where's he going? Wish someone could Photoshop a gif with him rolling out the stadium
Was it better not to make it in or lose like Germany...
make it and lose
Drink!!!
go serbia! #TeamChaos
So thanks to everyone and by everyone I mean the 30 folks we had in our work teleconference we managed to bog out the internet and lose connection to the conference multiple times thanks to the fact everyone was streaming the world cup on their phones it was blissful everyone but one guy wanted Germany to go through and everyone else lost it when Korea scored good thing the others on the call couldn't see us all
The more and more I see it used, the more I like VAR.
Everyone keeps talking about how pretty Colombia plays but whenever I watch them it's just a series of dives. I really hope Senegal wins, if for no other reason than I'm tired of Colombia's bullshit antics
Either their tackling is particularly lazy today or they're dirty players
They have only 3 yellow cards in 3 matches and 1 red, which was just due to a handball not a bad foul. The empirical evidence shows that they are not particularly dirty at all.
Rooting for Japan but they are some bitches. Running out 20 minutes to lose on purpose because thy have the tiebreak over Senegal with FairPlay points (only if they lose an unfinished game). Wtf is that bullshit, the opposite of sportsmanship there
And Colombia wins their Group. Japan also moves on
Seems there are incentives for both England and Belgium to prefer to lose the next game.
next round: Japan or Colombia (kinda a wash, but with James out I think Colombia is feckless)
round after: Brazil/Mexico or Switzerland /Sweden (vastly prefer Swiss/Swed)
round after that: Portugal/France or Croatia/Spain (slightly prefer Croatia/Spain, though I think Croatia goes through)
I dunno, I can't imagine they will attempt to throw this game, but I also think we could see really strange lineups and some teams taking it really easy
If there's one thing you can count on England doing, then it's throwing a game they should lose and winning instead. The hardest semi-final opponent for the loser of that game is Spain...otherwise you'd be looking at Japan then Brazil then France (if chalk holds).
Belgium v England is officially the game neither team wants to win...England has the tiebreaker so they have to lose, otherwise they "win" the group. Expect to see the worst players in each squad suit up in this one.
Imagine the chaos if they played to a draw for 89 minutes, and then England purposely own goaled right at the end
And then Belgium follows it up with an own goal and this continues until extra time is finished. Final Score 15-14. England loses (wins).
lol just think about the absurdity of England having to defend the Belgian goal after their own goal. The chaos that would ensue would be, as said above, one of the most glorious things to happen in sport. Here's the kicker... Its happened before
so...England will lose on an own goal in stoppage time?
Since it's England I'll go with this legend
This could end up being the most boring or most bizarre game so far.
I've had it with all the ads for these trash FS1 talking head shows and we still have two weeks to go.
The ads are almost as bad as Alexi Lalas.
Except that Verizon one with Donovan. That one is the worst.
Nothing is worse than Alexi Lalas. I'd rather watch a game officiated by Ron Cherry and commentated on by Verne Lundquist
TAKE THAT BACK
VERNE LUNDQUIST IS A NATIONAL TREASURE WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA
.
(Ron Cherry does suck tho)
It certainly seems like the players on the field are trying to get a win in this one... couple decent chances already. England could be down 2-0 right now if their keeper wasn't on his game.
I was hoping Cahill booted it into his own goal there...shucks
Best line of the England/Belgium game so far:
From: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2018/06/28/england-vs-belgium-worl...
Who else saw Batshuayi boot the ball into his own face off the post after that goal? The Chelsea is strong in this one.
good eye! I only caught it on the slo-mo replay
Can somebody gif that, for those who can't see twitter videos at work?
via GIPHY
at least it went in the net...otherwise, that would've been embarassing
And England wins by not winning the game or their group
I don't agree. Colombia will cause problems for England that I don't believe Japan would
I think England can get past either.
I'd rather have their side of the bracket where the next game is against Sweden or Switzerland then likely Spain or Croatia vs the other side where, after beating Japan, Belgium is going to face Mexico or Brazil followed by the team that comes out of Uruguay, Portugal, France, or Argentina...
England will be favored. But England is also England and the danger of losing to Colombia is very real because of just that fact.
Reminds me of 1998...R16...England 2-0 Colombia. And England had a Butt in their midfield
Ehh Japan is a guaranteed win unless they get better defense and some Honda heroics. Colombia has a great chance of winning straight up
Can't have both.
Not pleased with that game
England wins 0-1
Believe me having to play Colombia instead of Japan is NOT a victory. Hopefully Colombia punishes England for trying to plan ahead for the quarters before they even get there.
In fairness to England I believe Belgium was also trying to lose (and probably would have if England played starters) but England is just better at it