Group stage is complete! 16 teams are heading home. 16 teams remain in Russia, 8 of which for only one more match. So how do things look after half the field have been eliminated?
Group Winners and Runners-up
Group A
Winner: Uruguay
Runner-up: Russia
Group B
Winner: Spain
Runner-up: Portugal
Group C
Winner: France
Runner-up: Denmark
Group D
Winner: Croatia
Runner-up: Argentina
Group E
Winner: Brazil
Runner-up: Switzerland
Group F
Winner: Sweden
Runner-up: Mexico
Group G
Winner: Belgium
Runner-up: England
Group H
Winner: Colombia
Runner-up: Japan
Russia and Japan might be the biggest surprises to advance. Groups E and G are the only groups to produce the top two teams based on rankings from their respective groups. Ten teams from Europe will advance. Four teams from South America made the final cut. One team each from Asia and North America will get at least an extra game.
RO16 Fixtures
Saturday 30 June, 2018
In the early game we'll see France take on an Argentina squad which many believe are fortunate to make it this far. Will their advancement revive them to deal with a French team many pundits believed had the depth and talent to go all the way? Both teams advanced despite looking less than impressive during the Group Stage. Which team will put it all together first?
Following that match is an intriguing match-up between two teams with flamboyant strikers. Uruguay and Suarez will face Portugal and Ronaldo. Each team scored 5 goals through Group Stage but Uruguay kept a clean sheet (the only team to do so). If history tells us anything, it's that the World Cup winners usually have the Golden Gloves winner. Can Uruguay keep their net empty or will Ronaldo have enough magic left to lift his team to the Quarter-finals?
Sunday 1 July, 2018
To get the day started Spain is tasked with dispatching a rather spunky Russian squad which scored 8 goals in two matches. Uruguay showed the blueprint to taming the Siberian beast. Will Spain win a game everyone believes they should or will Russia continue to surprise on their home turf?
Later that day we're treated to a match between Croatia and Denmark. Croatia has looked impressive thus far in the tournament. They have a well balanced team and have done well to keep goals scored against them to a minimum. Denmark, on the other hand, only won a single game in their group and have managed a pedestrian 2 goals through three matches. Can Denmark find some offense against a disciplined Croat defense or will their lack of scoring potential sink them?
Monday 2 July, 2018
Monday starts off with a bang as Brazil have to face a Mexico team which has looked formidable thus far. Brazil, like France, have tons of talent but they have looked less than impressive so far. Will they put it all together to send Mexico packing or will Mexico overwhelm them like they did Germany? This has the potential to be a very entertaining game.
Don't worry about saving any of your energy from the first game. The second game is quite the snooze fest. Belgium won the RO16 lottery with their win over England to earn the privilege of playing a Japanese squad that doesn't look all that threatening. Belgium, which has been one of the best teams in the tournament so far, scoring a tournament leading 9 goals through three games, should be able to put this game to rest by half time.
Tuesday 3 July, 2018
Tuesday will provide a better finale to the RO16 than the Group Stage finale. Both matches feature fairly evenly matched squads and, honestly, any of the four teams could win. The day kicks off with Sweden taking on Switzerland. Sweden impressed in their win over Mexico but Switzerland looked like no slouch against Brazil. This game could go either way.
To cap off the RO16 we're treated to a match between England and Colombia. England have looked much more threatening, and frankly more fun to watch than in decades past, when they play their starters. Colombia has plenty of talent and they can string together passes with the best of them. England's defense has looked vulnerable in all three of their Group Stage fixtures. Can Colombia capitalize? England has also displayed their ability to score goals in bunches. Can they get enough goals to take the W? Between England's penchant for scoring (with their starters) and their suspect defense this game could potentially produce a lot of goals. This could be quite the bang to end the RO16.
Who are your picks? Which teams do you wish to see more of / less of?
Discuss!! And, as always, Happy Watching.
Comments
Who has looked most impressive so far? I've watched as much as I can while being at work but from what I've seen, Belgium has looked the most balanced to move beyond round of 16
I think Croatia has looked impressive as well, but they were in a weaker group so it can be difficult to assess. I think Croatia's biggest worry will be finishing. I watched Croatia's first two matches and despite winning both, they squandered quite a few great chances at goal, in the knockouts those chances tend to come less often so they will need to step up and be clinical. However, that is true for each team, not just Croatia.
I got: France, Uruguay, Spain, Croatia, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, England.
Upset alert: Uruguay over Portugal, wouldn't be surprised to see Colombia over England.
I'm not so sure Uruguay is an upset over Portugal outside of Ronaldo being in good form. They have a better midfield, an elite centerback pairing who play for the same club, and PSG's all time leading scorer and Suarez up top. They are a better team from top to bottom, but Portugal do have a way they play and they tend to get results even if they have been happening in strange, not always exciting ways over the last few years.
I'd like to see Portugal go through to the quarters, especially because I hate Atletico (Godin and Gimenez) and I loathe Luis Suarez, but I'm not particularly confident about it.
Now Colombia over England, I think that would be the most England thing that could happen to them after intentionally getting 2nd to get the easier side of the bracket.
Yeah, Portugal and Uruguay is pretty much a toss-up, but I suspect a lot of experts and betting public will back Portgual to go through and that will be reflected in the narrative if/when they lose.
The betting response will be very interesting. I think in general, with teams from all over the world, and fewer people who actually study and watch all these national teams (who play far fewer games for smaller sample sizes) for years (as opposed to leagues which often have many expert bettors following, monitoring, and studying one league closely for years) creates a rather uninformed/emotion based betting population. I'm not sure if that makes it easier or more difficult for oddsmakers, i'm playing through the pros and cons in my head at the moment.
Ronaldo tho
How's James's calf doing? If he can't go, I don't see them beating England.
It's possible there will be 7 teams from Europe and Brazil in the quarterfinals...I would think that puts to bed which confederation is the strongest
It's also possible that the final will be between two South American teams... Over the last 3 world cups (2018, 2014, 2010), an astounding 14 of 16 (88%) of South American countries in the world cup advanced to the knockout rounds. 22 of 40 (55%) of qualified European nations advanced to the knockout rounds. CONMEBOL is the strongest federation and it's a joke that they only get 4.5 spots in the current format. Chile, for example, would have surely qualified in any other federation besides CONMEBOL. This world cup is in Europe, so typically European teams will over-perform. In 2014 and 2010, European teams were woeful outside of the champions, Germany and Spain. Since Europe has so many countries, and South America so few, it's deceptive.
I like Sweden from their side of the bracket. Other half is brutal, especially with the Saturday games.
Sweden? That's interesting. There are 4 or 5 better teams on their side IMO. Other side is brutal though. No denying that
I'll take France, Uruguay, Mexico and Belgium on the brutal side. Then Spain, Croatia, Sweden and Colombia on the not so brutal side.
I'm not sold on France yet but I also think Argentina is fairly easy to beat. France ought to have the talent to neutralize Messi.
Uruguay still has yet to concede a goal and I think overall they're just a better team than Portugal.
Brazil doesn't have me convinced. I think Mexico is more organized and for that reason I see them winning a close one.
Belgium just might be the best offensive team in the tournament. They have firepower all over the field.
Spain is a solid team. Not necessarily the best team, but certainly good enough to end Russia's run.
Croatia might be the most complete team on their side of the bracket. Denmark doesn't have the scoring threat to go any deeper in this tournament.
Sweden and Switzerland are two teams I haven't been able to watch yet. Switzerland managed to advance with only one win, though. I think Sweden had a tougher road and they looked slightly better on it. This is a real toss-up for me.
Oh, England, my England. Playing for second to get the better draw in the RO16 will burn them just like it should. I think this game ends with a draw and leads to penalty kicks. Jesse Lingard will send his either just over the crossbar or a tad wide which will ultimately cost England the game. Colombia advances only to lose to an inferior Sweden squad in the quarter-finals.
What you listed is what I hope happens with the exception of Switzerland over Sweden. And therefore it's almost certainly going to be the opposite.
As a fan of the three lions I am okay with that
Uruguay, France, Belgium, Croatia are some of the easier picks that don't require explanation. Next up:
Brazil. Mexico looked lost as shit in the last game, and when's the last time they advanced far into the a tournament on the big stage. I'll be rooting for them but heavy advantage (an overrated) Brazil.
Russia. I got the home team shocking the world against an always stacked Spain. Spain hasn't been dominant and I'm sure this is the game Russia has circled from the start of the tournament.
Sweden. Close game, two similar teams from the same continent at similar levels with similar sounding names, yawn. Sweden put balls to net when it mattered in the group they do it again here.
Lastly, we get the ugliest game of the round of 16. English international football is basically a joke but they're snobby as shit and play with that same air of entitlement. Colombia is underrated, they got really unlucky with Japan otherwise they'd be 3-0. Colombia wins 2-1 with the winning goal coming towards the end of the first period of extra time
Leg for the bold pics.
if james is fit i think colombia win and teach england a lesson for basically going for second. toss up for me if james isn't good to go
i think brazil are going to win and make it at least to the semis because roberto martinez is not a good manager
switzerland are underrated imo and could make the semis.
we could get a repeat of south korea 2002 with the russia/spain game
i would like to see croatia, france/uruguay, brazil, colombia in the semis
>>i think brazil are going to win and make it at least to the semis because roberto martinez is not a good manager
this
I can't believe the talent on that team and at times I feel like RM just wants it to be the Jonathan Hazard show. How has Kevin DeBruyne buried so deep in that formation contributed to so many opportunities. He was # 2 recently behind Nemar. Don't they have a crunching tough defensive mid to free up DeBruyne to have a Zidane like coming out party? Oh yeah they left him off the team - Radja Nainggolan. Hazard is a great little guy who can get totally shut down when an athletic small defender focuses on him. He lacks the vision and creativeness to contribute when this happens. Frustrating. DeBruyne can be eliminated by an enterprising formation because he lies so deep, put a little guy on JH and this team can be shut down.
Jonathan Hazard? Is this an unknown third Hazard brother nobody knows about? It's Edin Hazard and his younger brother Thorgen. Edin Hazard, surely. France has such a small guy: N'golo Kante. So if Belgium beats Brazil and France beats Uruguay then yes, Hazard can be neutralized by Kante.
If you're gonna roast someone for getting Eden Hazard's name wrong, you might wanna get it right yourself. 😉👉 Also his brother is Thorgan.
pretty funny... how did I get Jonathan from Edin or Eden... good catch all the way around
my kids will be dropping quizzes on both u mfers in 20 years see how your brains have fared ; )
I guess I might as well stick with my original prediction of a Brazil - Spain final with Brazil winning, who knows. Rooting for the super unlikely Argentina - Colombia final even though that'll never happen.
Damnit I wish we were in this.
Pavard what a goal...what a game
MBappe..the boy is a bit special, isn't he?
Favorite player for sure
Incredibly dirty game from Argentina which is far from unexpected. Happy to see them go out after that trash.
Idk who down voted you, but people here should stop being chumps. Some pretty rough and cheap tackles at there, especially that scissoring challenge at the end. That's how you end careers....
Because there is a difference between "dirty" and "physical." Oftentimes the inferior team (like Argentina today) can't compete with the quality of the superior team so they play physical AF to try and take the flow out of the game. Argentina fouled a lot, but that doesn't mean it was "dirty" because it's part of the game. The only thing I had a problem with from that standpoint was Mercado's late challenge that you referenced. That one was too much. I don't remember any others that crossed that line.
not a reason to downvote though
and i believe it was otamendi that should've been sent off toward the end as well
I mean it was misleading. "incredibly dirty" I think was an unfair statement
that's your opinion.
another view is that argentina should've had two men sent off for straight reds which could be called dirty
Yeah that is my opinion. And you said yours. And the other guy said his. It's a forum for people to discuss their opinions. Popular posts get upvoted and unpopular ones get downvoted. Am I doing this wrong or something?
Yes, you are.
A downvote does not mean "I don't like this," it means "this is offensive or otherwise against the Community Guidelines."
Then what's the point of the downvote button? It should be replaced with a "report" or "flag" button if that's what it's for, no?. Like SB Nation's format for example
answer to your first question:
for what it's worth i actually agree that they aren't necessarily dirty plays because the argentine back line is actually that bad and clumsy
Upvote: the post adds value or is a positive contribution to the community.
Downvote: the violates the Community Guidelines.
Accumulation of downvotes can lead to bans. Misuse of downvoting can lead to bans. Neither Joe nor I have time to investigate every "report" of bad behavior. TKP is a community-moderated place, and we give our members enough chance to redeem themselves before they get booted.
In fairness, I totally get the misconception - the rules vs reality is generally quite different (e.g. - hot girl gifs and qb/te jokes aren't really adding to the community, but they do generally garner lots of legs).
My apologies then. I figured downvote meant opposite of upvote, but you're a moderator so you make the rules, not me. Sorry for wasting your time
The only player in the world who can get criticized for creating 2 goals while his defense gives up 4 is Lionel Messi. Hopefully that wasn't his last game in international play, but I'm afraid it might have been.
At his age I suspect it's his last
I'd be somewhat surprised if he doesn't retire from the national team in the coming days, but maybe he'll stick around for next year's Copa America to give that another go. I can't imagine he would go through the ridiculous CONMEBOL qualification for 2022 (18 games over 2 years) to have a go as a 35 year old in Qatar
We counting the lucky deflected goal off Mercado a "created goal" as if that was remotely on purpose? His ball to Kun was a beaut though.
For the record I thought he played well.
I mean he created something out of nothing. A shot on goal and a good touch from Mercado to throw of Lloris. It's like a good hockey slapshot that gets re-directed past the goalie
I'm totally counting it that way. And yep, I am Messi fanboy. Guilty as charged. 😁
Cavani though
Today is I wanted to see France v Uruguay. Cavani, Suarez, Mbappe and Griezmann.
Love Cavani. Suárez is so good but he drives me insane. I really like the way Uruguay defends. Hope they go all the way. Would be a hell of a story.
...THIS...though you might not be talking about Cavani's first but in my mind this is the goal of the tournament (though Uruguay's second oozed class)...cross-field pass to Suarez...great control...pin-point cross back to Cavani with a world class finish. No defense could stop it...absolutely ridiculous goal...ridiculously good. Golf clap.
Sad to see Argentina go but they really don't have it together. Happy to see Portugal go.
I've said throughout this tournament so far that I haven't been impressed by France. But I watched them yesterday and they looked downright scary on offense (OMG that goal by Pavard was sexy). That's the best they've looked to me so far. I find myself wondering if they're really that good or if Argentina is really that bad. Perhaps a mix of the two. I was unable to see the Portugal-Uruguay game but I'm not surprised by the result. I think Uruguay might be one of the best teams in the field at the moment. They'll be a tough out for anyone. That match-up with France in the Quarter-finals will be very interesting.
I'm in the same boat. Not sure how much credit to give France for that, or if it was more of a factor of playing Argentina. Regardless, it was a great game to watch. Uruguay's defense looks so good to me; Ronaldo couldn't do anything against them.
Yet another own goal...couldn't happen to a nicer country
Deserved it. Wasn't even pretending to look at the ball. Just straight up tackled the Spaniard
Is it just me or has Spain's midfield been kinda lazy. I'm not seeing a lot of off ball movement
russia is really emphasizing "park the bus" with their forwards being no more than 30-35 yards from their own goal. getting forward is going to be tough, think they need to be quicker side to side
I'm pretty sure their tactics at this point consist of hoping to make it to penalties and then take their chances.
I'm convinced they're doping and they expect to just have more energy late to get a goal against a tired Spanish side
Man is it just me or have we just not seen any real good consistent play from any of the top teams this tournament? Spain looks awful today, Germany went out already, Argentina is out, Brazil has needed some last minute heroics... This just has the feel of a bad team winning the whole thing because nobody seems to want it this year.
Belgium has looked good in each game so far. Russia has looked much better than people are willing to say. Croatia has also looked solid. Uruguay doesn't look like a "bad" team
There's just no dominant team, realistically almost every team left could win it all (except maybe Denmark or Japan)
I can't believe Russia managed to get Spain to PKs. This is insane. If Russia wins they'll have a great shot at sneaking into the final. That's equally infuriating and fascinating
Squeaky bum time
#TEAMCHAOS
Russia, Colombia, or England will be in the Final game
Don't sleep on Croatia
Don't sleep on the Danes
But their Prince is indecisive, sees ghosts, and lets his sister get rekt.
Croatia! Don't sleep on them they're a deep, complete team
Edit: What First 48 said
DENMARK
Do we call that a double mulligan?
Today has been the most fun single World Cup matchday I can remember.
Looked like it was going to be Modric's hero moment but Schmeichel keeps Denmark alive!
This is incredible, although I don't know how that was not a red card. I thought that was textbook.
Edit: I didn't realize the rule changed to where you can't get a PK and a red card for the offending player as long as the player goes for the ball on a goal scoring opportunity. In this situation, where you beat the goalie and no one is in front of you, that should be a straight red.
100% red card. Vegas made the call.
From what I understand they changed the rule recently. It's no longer an automatic red card if you make an attempt to play the ball. The foot of the defender was a couple inches away from the ball.
Ok I didn't know that...but how convenient....
Even if it was a straight red, you do that every time with that little time left in that situation. It is such a weird rule change because now you do that and a yellow card isn't going to stop anyone from fouling you in the box.
Yeah...but it was a straight up slide tackle from behind to deny the obvious goal scoring opportunity. Shoulda been red and a PK but Denmark got away without too much penalty.
Croatia ends up with it though, so I guess it all worked out in the end
True, but imagine if the offending Danish player scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out...the ensuing shit storm would've been epic
It was prior to April 2016. Now they did not want to give a triple punishment (ie PK, send off, and one game suspension), so it is only a yellow.
I wasn't emotionally invested in that game, but that sequence has me shaking with rage. That was some absolute bullshit.
If i'm Schmeichel I'm pissed off beyond belief. He was so good, but his shitty team could only make 40% of their penalties
That last one for Denmark was really bad.
I'm hoping Croatia looks better against Russia though.
Expect a replay of the Spain v russia game.
That's what I'm expecting but I'm hoping for something better. Something more along the lines of Croatia v. Argentina haha.
Spain just decided not to shoot the ball. It looked like they were practicing out there, not playing a knockout stage game. Hosts always overperform anyway, nothing here too stunning. I don't expect the Rooskies to get to a semi.
Croatia came away with it, which they should have. Fun game to watch albeit a little sloppy.
Well, I didn't expect them to reach the RO16 so.....
TLDR
that's a hell of the first 2 days
There goes Neymar being a baby yet again.
Even if he did get stepped and it probably should have been a card for Layun, the over-acting is so embarrassing.
I had intended to root for Brazil out of the big favorites since one of their starters plays for my favorite club team, but I just can't do it. It's impossible to root for Neymar
Agreed. I looked at a couple replays and I could not see where the Mexican player did anything that could have hurt him.
I wish these were the types of things they could review later and discipline players.
At least twice this game he has acted like he is seriously injured only to eventually walk it off. It's an embarrassment to the game.
Edit: I googled and was able to find a reply on Twitter that does show contact between Layuns's foot and Neymar's ankle.
So I take back that there wasn't any contact but still did not look serious to me.
Ironically enough it looked like Layun's heel (which I assume had the majority of the weight) was on somebody else's foot).
I do agree with Stu Holden saying that Layun knew what he was doing and it probably should have been a red for that reason.
I think if Neymar had acted like a normal person would have after getting stepped on, he might actually have gotten the red.
Last year my 7 yr old son broke his left ankle and played through the majority of the game like that. Even scored a goal with that left foot. Meanwhile, in the land of Neymar ...
Neymar is the exact fit for the soccer player stereotype. Makes it so difficult to watch.
I actively rooted against both teams all tournament. So I guess I couldn't really say who I wanted to lose more. But I'll say that I'm not pleased that we'll have to deal with at least one more game full of Neymar antics. What a waste of talent he is. He'd be so much more fun to watch if he wasn't such a prima dona. I hope Belgium dispatches Brazil in the quarters
The sad part is jesus firmino costa would be an amazing forward line, they're talented enough with or without neymar to put the ball in the net
Totally agree. I said it in one of the earlier threads, but Firmino is such a great team player. He makes the offense work when he's in there.
I wasn't rooting FOR Brazil, just AGAINST Mexico. The fact that it was Dos A Cero was just icing on the cake! 😂 🇺🇸
How has Belgium not scored 4 goals yet?
And now they're down 0-2 Yikes!
Japan v Russia final? Who had that in their bracket?
Whoa!!!!!!! 2-2
Japan needs some Honda heroics
Holy finish to Belgium and Japan. That fast break was SICK
11 seconds from release from Courtois to back of net.
Faster than Rick Pitino!!
Golasso!!!!!!
The Fighting Waffles have done it!!!
WHATTTTTTTTTTT!!!
What a heartbreaker from Japan.
While watching the counter develop I thought to myself "a more cynical team would foul right now."
Japan now feels like we did after the Sugar Bowl against Michigan. Feel terrible for them.
More like how we did after Matty Ice...
That was the most ruthless counterattack I've ever seen.
De Bruyne dribbling right down the middle of the field at that pace with numbers is terrifying.
that was the most beautiful dummy I've ever seen
You cant give debruyne that space and time to find a pass, especially when they have those kind of numbers hell burn you EVERY time
Damn it, James out for Colombia. England is getting way too much luck this tournament.
Not even available as a sub... That could be a big swing for England, who is controlling play early.
Why you hatin on England?
I'm not hating, they have been lucky though. Playing Colombia without their star player on the crappy side of the bracket after getting a free pass through the group stages by having two of the worst teams in the tournament in their group. That said, I really don't like England. Screw this "it's coming home" crap. English football gets shoved down all of our throats just because they speak English. English fans are also really distasteful and arrogant from my experience. So I am hating now I guess... But anyway I like Colombia, so I'm rooting for them out of all the teams left so I'm especially against England today.
I'm an England fan. You're calling me arrogant and you don't even know me.
The fuck? I'm talking about British people who I have interacted with. I didn't say anything about you
Well, you're interacting with me and technically I'm British. So....
#Notlivinguptothyusername. 😁
England created the sport
..that's why they say it's coming home. England is the home of football
It's annoying af. They act like the World Cup belongs in England. URUGUAY hosted the first ever tournament. England should have done so if they wanted the World Cup's "home" to be England.
They're talking about football in general, not specifically the World Cup. Association Football started in England.
I'm well aware. However, by that logic every single tournament, season, everything belongs to England. The World Cup is Uruguay's thing. Since they invented the sport in England, maybe they should have thought to host the first world cup.
Uruguay got the world cup in 1930 because they were two-time defending Olympic Champions (1924 and 1928), as there wasn't a professional tournament to determine a world champion before that time. FIFA was fairly new at the time.
Well if England is "home" for football you would think they would be able to beat Uruguay and win the Olympics
I'm not sure why you're so worked up about this.
Let people enjoy things.
English people don't let people like me enjoy other leagues (I watch Serie A) because in their eyes everything besides Premier League is a "farmer's league"
Well, since we're generalizing...
Americans are fat
Americans are arrogant
Americans love Trump
Americans hate Muslims
Americans only care about their guns
Americans are ignorant
Americans are rich
Americans never travel
Americans can't understand real football
See how that feels? I'm sorry that you've had some bad experiences with English people. But generalizing is ignorant, offensive, and rarely well representative of the generalized subject. Don't do it. I have no issue with you refusing to root for England. I have no issue with you being a fan of a team I personally don't like. You do you. But stop grouping an entire national population into a single narrow-scoped basket. I'm English. I'm not telling you which sport to like, or trashing your team or league because it may not be English.
There are ignorant people the world over. Don't be like them just because they offended you.
"I'm sorry that you've had some bad experiences with English people. But generalizing is ignorant, offensive, and rarely well representative of the generalized subject. Don't do it."
Agreed. Very well said.
"Teams coming from more expressive cultures (Latin America, Mediterranean Europe) are the worst offenders of the over emphasized theatrics"
Oh....
Touche. Take your leg.
So literally the sentence after telling me to do whatever I want, you tell me what to do? Classic. Look, I have had way too many bad experiences with English fans but I never said "all British people suck" or anything stupid like that. I'm just explaining why I don't like English football. Never said anything bad about you and I never intended to generalize anybody. The one generalizing thing I can find is when I said "English people never..." You're right I should have specified that I was talking about the English fans I interact with, not all English people, but I incorrectly assumed that was implied. My bad. Don't think that was worth a whole rant though.
If you enjoy watching Serie A, that's cool. No one should be able to take that away from you. The fact that you do, is on you, and no one else.
There will be at least one red card in the second half.
Both teams are just being chippy but I don't think it'll get too far out of hand.
There should already be a red and Colombia should be playing with 10 men from here on out
Wow, if that report is right, sounds like there was a tussle in the hallway at half, and Sterling took an elbow from one of the Colombian coaches on the way back to the lockerroom.
Classy
Card party early in this 2nd half. And really, its about time. Colombia has been playing over the line for a while so far in this one.
Colombia really wanted to beat England (up)
That was.... rough to watch. Up until the last 10 mins of regulation, they had zero intentions of playing a straight up game. Fouled early, fouled often, and dared the ref to card them. Once the cards started, England started embellishing because, of course they did, and it just became a clown show.
lol@ the Colombian team bringing the argument to the penalty spot so they can dig it up.
Didn't matter. Kane buried it. Just pressed the shot button with no direction in FIFA and let the goalie move out of the way.
OH WOW! COLOMBIA WITH THE EQUALIZER IN STOPPAGE TIME!
This game is ridiculous.
I was about to comment earlier that England almost Englanded the game away with some of that passing... but they managed to still England it right at the end.
I'm not sure who was on the backpost on the Columbia goal, but he mistimed his jump all sorts of ways. I think he could've gotten it out with a timed jump.
I've watched six or seven games and I'm over it. I'll just watch the highlights of goals. The whining, faking, and acting is so overblown and obnoxious. These are some of the best athletes in the world and they get touched on the shin and down they go rolling around like they broke their leg. What a joke. I remember getting kicked in the face, stomach, chest and stepped on when I played goalie in high school. I got right back up and kept playing. Hell, for two straight summer league seasons I played goalie with broken ribs. It hurt like shit but I still played and didn't roll around for 5 minutes after making a save.
Nice goal to tie it by Colombia but running up to the stands and taking 3-4 minutes to get back to your side of the field as time essentially expires? Maybe I'm too American or impatient for this but I've had so many football fans tell me American football is boring because it is too much stop and go. This World Cup is all stop and go while these guys roll around like children.
Hockey is by far and away the best world sport.
Japan vs. Belgium was the best advertisement for the sport so far in this World Cup IMO.
Tactical match, neither team resorted to dirty tactics, and there were lots of goals scored in the second half.
Yeah, not a good game to watch flyguy, and I'm with you on the flopping. Totally sucks, wish they'd just card 'em and move on. VTD is right - check out the Belgium/Japan game. Really, just watch the 2nd half. If you don't like that, then soccer's not your thing.
I did watch the Japan - Belgium match and it was fantastic. Just sucks to have to watch through all of this flopping to get to the good parts and have it continue to stall the flow of the game. I loved playing soccer in high school and later in Aspen summer leagues. We sure as hell didn't have any of the flopping though, save for one guy from Europe. I guess it is just the way they play
This comment right here is case in point why teams like Colombia are ruining the sport. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Teams coming from more expressive cultures (Latin America, Mediterranean Europe) are the worst offenders of the over emphasized theatrics which many Americans (justifiably) hate and associate with soccer. England was extremely frustrated by the end of the game because every time they breathed on a Colombian they fell over and every time they were tackled from behind the Colombian acted personally insulted to have been accused of a foul. So, naturally they tried to fight fire with fire and, as Alum pointed out, it became a clown show. I place 95% of the blame on Colombia. When England plays other northern European teams you don't see the same bullshit antics. But I've seen it in every single Colombia match I've ever watched. I wish players would get fined for bullshit.
If the goal was located about 10 feet higher, England would have scored on every corner
A SAVE!!! England advances!!!!!
Pickford just became a national hero. Swatted away decades of bad karma. Insane!
Yes!
Why do they make it so difficult all the time?
By the way, it sounds like Ronaldo is moving from Real Madrid to Juventus.
There's a thread for that!
If the tax authorities agree with Ronaldo's tax dispute settlement of $21M, but then issue a statement saying that because it was his first offense there will be no enforcement of jail time, I think Spain has essentially told him to leave the country.
I have no idea why the upcoming generation would play in Spain when every big star, who all appear to get tax structuring advice, have had a tax dispute settled for multi million dollars, for which they are dependent upon the good graces of the Spanish bureaucracy that they don't go to jail.
May the good lord help Real Madrid if they only get one bidder. Juve should immediately cut their offer, publicly stating they will pay Ronaldo more Spain less in order to help all future soccer stars avoid the tax pokey. I know that's probably not how the system works, but still.
Meh. Same thing happened to Messi and he didn't go to jail either. All the government wanted was the money and I don't think jail was ever a serious consideration. They aren't kicking Ronaldo out. He makes that country and Real Madrid so much money.
It's still stupid that either of them even got in trouble at all, it's not like the two biggest sports stars on the planet sit around doing their own taxes. The people who should be in jail are whoever is doing celebrities' taxes in Spain. It's not an issue anywhere else, but all the big stars in Spain have legal issues. Whoever these guys are hiring to do their taxes are corrupt af.
corrupt or incompetent
Shit, the world cup quarterfinals is consisted of exclusively teams who I don't like. At least England still blew a 13 colony lead
Much more than just 13 colonies...but take your leg
All these flavors, and you chose salty... interesting
Live look at me
Are you a Braves fan by chance?
Good thing there were 3 Spurs penalty takers! What a game. This World Cup is mad
Henderson had to miss a attempt didn't he? Still love my Reds though.
I can't blame the players when they have their shot stopped. It's when they miss and the keeper doesn't even have to touch it that it becomes ridiculous. See the Colombian who hit the cross bar soon after.
I can't wait for England to go out so this whole it's coming home thing will go away hoping for more chaos in the next round maybe a Russia over Croatia or belguim over Brazil maybe
I don't think I would classify Belgium over Brazil as chaos. Belgium was regarded by many as a real contender. Also, maybe the broadcasting is different in Uganda but I haven't seen a single "its coming home" thing that everyone is talking about.