What a Round of 16 THAT was!! Amirite? It had it all! Exciting finishes, boring finishes, beautiful football, not-so-beautiful football (*cough* diving *cough*), penalty kicks, upsets, pretty goals, come-from-behind wins. Really, it had just about everything! So, where do we stand now that another 8 teams are on their way home?
France v Argentina - This was the best game either team had played in the tournament. France had looked tentative throughout group stage, despite winning their group, but really came on strong against a revitalized Argentina side which looked more confident after a pretty shaky start to their campaign. Both teams trailed for part of the game and were tied at the half way point. The second half produced a flurry of goals which really heightened the atmosphere and excitement. The back-and-forth affair looked as though it could really go either way until child prodigy Kylian Mpabbe scored two quick goals for France in the 64th and 68th minutes finally putting the game out of reach of the Argentine side. A stoppage time goal for Argentina made the score line look a little closer than it really was at the end.
Uruguay v Portugal - The Edinson Cavani show took the spotlight. Despite Portugal leading Uruguay in virtually every statistical category (and by pretty wide margins at that) Cavani was able to find the back of the net twice for Uruguay lifting them up over a Portugal team which looked pretty decent on the night. Ronaldo had a quiet evening and that may have been the difference.
Spain v Russia - Spain was clearly the better team for the duration of the game. Interestingly, however, both goals were scored by Russia (one being an own goal...oops). As I watched, Spain looked to me to be decidedly uninterested in scoring but when you look at the stats they had 23 shots, nine of which were on target. Not bad numbers but it felt like they should have had way more. To me it looked as though they would possess the ball and just pass it around Russia's penalty area looking not quite sure what else to do with it. Spain possessed the ball 79% of the time and had more shots on target (9) than Russia had total shots (7) but at the end of the day it was Russia's goal keeper who made a remarkable PK save with his foot to send Spain packing. An excellent finish for the home town underdog.
Croatia v Denmark - These two teams had very similar stats throughout the game in nearly every category. Denmark picked up several more fouls than Croatia but otherwise the stat sheets are almost interchangeable. Following up the Russia v Spain finish by also taking a 1-1 score to PKs seemed about right for this duo. Neither team was particularly sharp striking the PKs but Croatia edged out Denmark to advance.
Brazil v Mexico - Brazil was much more effective at putting shots on target (10 - 1) and drawing fouls (17 - 6). Otherwise the performances looked statistically similar. Brazil still looks a bit unsteady but they are gaining confidence as they go deeper in the tournament. This team is hard to read. I'm not yet convinced that they are a team that can win the World Cup the way they are playing now but the potential is certainly there.
Belgium v Japan - This match will probably earn the most superlatives: Most Exciting Finish, Best Come-From-Behind Victory, Most Heartbreaking Loss, Most Beautiful Team Goal (I think Most Beautiful Individual Goal would go to Pavard or Cavani). Heck, I might even be missing one or two more. Japan looked like they were going to shock a team which looked very strong during Group Stage. Belgium looked like they were going to lose another disappointing game they should win. Then, all of a sudden, Belgium won the game outright. It's really hard not to feel badly for Japan, even if you consider how Japan finished Group Stage. Perhaps Karma bit them instead of England.
Sweden v Switzerland - Yet another game in which one team (Switzerland) dominated nearly every statistical category except the one that matters. This game looked, on paper, to be a bit of a toss-up. I believe it lived up to that billing. This could have gone either way but ultimately Sweden was able to do what Switzerland couldn't and as such they will advance.
Colombia v England - This may have been the least fun match to watch. In the wise words of Alum07 (paraphrased) this game turned into a ridiculous clown show. Both teams have shaky histories in the RO16 but in the end it was Colombia who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory (or something like that). England will be happy to advance but it was an ugly affair. For everyone's sake, lets hope we don't have to put up with any more clown shows down the home-stretch.
Now on to the more fun stuff! Quarter Final Fixtures!!!
Friday - 6 July, 2018
There is a two day break before the Quarter Final matches commence. The first match on Friday will feature France v Uruguay. France should be stronger on paper but Uruguay has looked more like a team that could win this. Uruguay has only conceded one goal through four games but France was starting to look like a formidable team against Argentina. One wonders if France finally figured it out or if Argentina is really that bad. I think Uruguay will help to answer that question.
Then for dessert we're treated to Brazil v Belgium. Both teams have had their moments. Both teams have looked vulnerable. Neither team has lost yet. Something's gotta give. I expect this to be a very exciting game with second half fireworks. Can Brazil keep up with Belgium's firepower? Can Belgium maintain their confidence after that scare from Japan? If you can clear space on your Friday schedule to view this game I advise to do so. Should be a fun one!
Saturday - 7 July, 2018
This side of the bracket is seemingly less competitive. Things kick off with Sweden v England. Sounds pretty ho-hum. England will be favored to win this but as history will tell you England can't be counted on in big tournaments. This will be my "Upset Watch" match. Otherwise this isn't a terribly compelling tie.
The later game, Russia v Croatia, is slightly more interesting if only for the fact that Russia is surprisingly still alive. Contrary to pundit and "expert" opinions Russia has looked like a much stronger team than they should have been. Can they continue the magical journey with another surprising win over Croatia? Or will Croatia-which has quietly put together possibly the most solid overall performance in the tournament-prevail? I'm sure all eyes will be on this game despite not having particularly sexy teams. And who knows, we could see some wild stuff. It is Russia, after all.
As always, discuss below and Happy Watching!
Comments
I expect Friday to be great, Saturday...not so much. Brazil v Belgium might be the game of the tournament.
I picked 6 of 8 RO16 games correctly, with Spain and Switzerland being my two hiccups. For the QFs, I like:
Uruguay over France, assuming Cavani is fit to play. France looked like all around world beaters vs Argentina but were rather uninspiring in the group stages. Incredibly talented side, but Argentina are a tactical nightmare and played a suicidal formation against France with Messi as a false nine, no on-ball press, gobs of space in the midfield, and a crazy-high back line. Uruguay are so much better defensively than Argentina that it's laughable. I think France dominates possession and shots and set pieces, but Uruguay makes the best of their few chances and wins a nail biter or in penalties. Cavani needs to play, though. Matuidi is suspended for France.
Brazil over Belgium. This one could easily be a semifinal or a final matchup as both of these teams are among the best. Brazil hasn't played to their potential and can (and should) punish Belgium for lax Belgian defending. The talent is there for the Belgians, but the focus for 90 minutes hasn't been consistently and I just don't trust them enough to pick them. HOWEVER, having said all that, Casemiro is the best defensive midfielder Brazil has and would have played a key role in mucking things up for de Bruyne in the middle, but he is suspended for yellows accumulation. I'll take Brazil uncomfortably, which means Belgium will probably win 4-0.
Croatia over Russia. Russians have had a nice run, but Croatia is a much better team who are more comfortable playing a gritty and physical game than Spain was. Croatia will also be way more comfortable playing crosses into a target man and back post runners than Spain seemed to be, as Mandzukic is one of the best in the world at that particular role. I think Croatia wins 2-0. I don't expect any controversy that benefits the hosts, but I wouldn't be surprised either.
England over Sweden. Lustig is suspended for Sweden, who are about as unimaginative and uninspiring as it gets. I think England will boss possession and create chances, and convert enough of them whether through set pieces or otherwise. A quarter final matchup with Sweden or Switzerland is why England played the bench against Belgium and didn't mind dropping into this half of the draw. I think Sweden plays defensively and looks to steal a goal on a counter or set piece, but is pretty much playing for extra time and penalties against a better side. If England goes ahead, it could get ugly later in the game as Sweden has to push forward for an equalizer.
I thought I read somewhere Cavani pulled his hami, that will probably keep him out or to a fraction of his effectiveness
Well done on your picks, and I still think Switzerland was better than Sweden. So you really should have had all but 1 in my book.
Edit: also, it looks like cavani is out. Uruguay's defense is excellent, but I'm leaning back towards France on this one now.
Without Cavani miracles, I think France takes this one. Uruguay was brutal enough in their previous match, I think we have a new ref team throwing more cards and less kicks. Now in that last game, they were both playing physical soccer so it was fair.
Raise your hand if you had England and Uruguay this far
PUT YOUR HAND DOWN LITTLE STEVE
If you count my dreams.... I'm a cynical England fan so I want them to go all the way but, naturally, can't count on them to get out of group stage. Uruguay, though, has been one of my dark horse favorites and I could see them getting to the final relatively easily
My terrible pick of Sweden vs Belgium final is still alive!
If that happens, you want to go to Vegas with me on Labor Day weekend?
So it's possible to have an Uruguay vs Croatia final. Uruguay's population is 3.44 million and Croatia's is 4.17 million. That means that both entire nations COMBINED have a lower population than New York City. Imagine how good the U.S. could be if everyone actually cared about soccer...
You also have Sweden at 10 million and Belgium at 11 million (approximately the same population as North Carolina). If you leave out Brazil, the U.S. (~325m) has more population than the other 7 teams combined (~295m).
So you guys are saying I am not the world's biggest moron for having Croatia vs Belgium in my final, but pretty freaking close.
Brazil is gonna score against that Martinez coached defense. They need to push DeBruyne up higher to put stresses on the Brazil back seven. Hoping that Marcelo's sitting becomes a cancer to the Brazil camp.
Croatia, what can you say when you basically think the midfield is going to carry them? You can say you were wrong and Modric is carrying them. Other middies have the talent need to step up, or who knows maybe Modric went forward they hung back, I didn't watch that closely. They will be frustratingly inconsistent on offense. They seemed blithely unconcerned with the Danish height as they cracked away with crosses. Short passing when you play tall teams. For the Russian game, they are going to need to showcase their skill cracking the Russian bus strategy... again short passing probably best.
Both my guys may be going out. Whoever emerges from the top bracket probably going to win. I find myself somehow cheering for England. How the heck did that happen? I'd be ok with them taking out Croatia.
What I want :
France over Uruguay **
Belgium over Brazil
England over Sweden
Croatia over Russia
What I think will happen :
Uruguay over France
Belgium over Brazil
England over Sweden
Russia over Croatia
**lesser of two evils for me
The way sports are going right now, with the rapid succession of things you thought would never happen happening (Red Sox winning World Series, Cubs winning World Series, Cleveland becoming a city of champions, the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup, an expansion team making the Stanley Cup Finals, Leicester City winning the Premier League, England prevailing in penalties)... I dunno, I just have this sneaky feeling that the planets are aligning for England to win this thing.
I simultaneously like Uruguay the country while strongly disliking their national team because of the individuals on that team. Godin and Gimenez are fantastic, but pair together for an Atletico team that are extremely cynical and known for their aggressive fouling and antics (though Godin is an exception from the antics). And then there is Suarez, quite possibly the most unlikable footballer ever, an adult who has bitten another adult during a sport on three separate occasions. Through sheer force of [embarrassing] will, that has even become secondary to his primary antics which are extreme exaggerations of contact despite being one of the largest men on the pitch every time he sets foot on the field. If you follow European football you know he does this shit very consistently and there are many notable examples that probably spring to your mind immediately. Such as in Barca's 6-1 comeback over PSG where he had slight contact to the back of his leg and threw himself to the ground grasping his throat as if he'd been shot in the neck. Or most recently in the Portugal match where he went up for a header, received contact 2 feet away from his head to the middle of his back and went down clutching his head and screaming and even called the medical staff onto the field, stopping the match.
You can be sure I'll be rooting for France in that match.
The only other team I know for sure I will be rooting for is Croatia, other than that I'm having trouble deciding who I want to see win in the Brazil-Belgium and England-Sweden ties. Though I believe I will ultimately lean Brazil for Marcelo and Casemiro, and England because I find Sweden horrendously boring and negative in style of play.
Alright, who's in for France-Uruguay this morning?
fitting-the early exchanges are reminiscent of a boxing match
Dear college roommate who i don't really talk to anymore, but who hadn't changed his Comcast login information for the last 14 years, only to inexplicably decide to do it halfway through the world cup. Bite me.
love,
hokie07me
Watching Mbappe out there just makes me sick that Pulisic didn't get a chance to play in the WC this year.
Mbappe is on another level compared to Pulisic though
It's true. Doesn't change the fact that seeing a young kid succeeding in the World Cup makes me wish I could have seen Pulisic have his chance this year.
I would've liked to see Jadon Sancho. England seems to be doing okay without him, but he's an exciting young player to watch.
That right there was the second time a Uruguay player went knee to knee with a Frenchman on a tackle with his trailing leg. Considering the game is only 18 mins in, worth keeping an eye on. Combine that with I think I've seen at least 2 times a Frenchman has taken studs to the calf on a tackle... There certainly seems to be an emphasis by Uruguay to at least play to the line of acceptable play.
Boom! Hopefully that France goal stretches the game somewhat-Uruguay will have to come out of their defensive shell.
LOL at the kid with the baguette in the crowd.
And what a beautiful set piece
Hello Mr Muslera, this is Loris Karius please accept my deepest condolences and complete understanding.
Man there has been some BAD goalkeeping in this World Cup
That's a nasty shot, but he has to save that. France now looks to be moving on
That was a nasty strike. But you have to get in front of it and at least bounce it in front of you.
oof on that replay, that ball moved a good foot or more at the last second. On second viewing, I'm not sure the keeper had much a chance, given that late movement.
Yeah, that's a world class strike. Pure evil coming in hot. That's why I preach to take those shots. From 20-25 yards it has time to do it's thing, and move, and cause havoc.
Uruguay's goaltender has played really well this WC. That ball knuckled something nasty at the last second, and the goalie knew he was toast right then.
This will probably get lost as I didn't see this post until the second half of the Brazil-Belgium game, but there was an interesting article on The Athletic before the World Cup started where the author (Matt Pyzdrowski, an active goalkeeper) discussed the ball they're using this year.
Since the article is behind a paywall I won't post the entirety of the text, but I think this section is interesting given how Griezmann scored.
The 2018 World Cup ball will entertain fans and torment goalkeepers
...and out come the handbags...sheesh!
If there's a scrum, and Suarez is in it, I want no parts of it. I'd keep him at arms length at least. No way I'm getting near his mouth.
...for safety
And he's been a terrific flopper as well.
Side story. Went fishing with my son and a buddy of his, who both play soccer for their high school team. Buddy pulls in a little sunnie that is flopping around. A lot. He says "hey, Nemo is flopping a lot..." I said "You pronounce Neymar wrong." They were still laughing about it this morning.
Really unfortunate to see so many teams going out with a star injured. I would have loved to see today's game with Cavani in the mix. Colombia was eliminated without James and they are lifeless without him on the field. Even looking back to the group stage, it would have been fun to see Salah take on Uruguay's defense in that first game.
Of course Lalas takes the side that diving and embellishment should be viewed as an artform in soccer. Of course he did
Oh nooooooo Fernandino own goaled!
Belgium probably would have scored anyway with that positioning, but that makes things interesting.
Instead of being up 2-0 Brazil goes down 0-1 on an own goal. Worst start possible for Brazil.
It is eerily quiet in there right now given how much noise was being made earlier. Brazil fans are shellshocked
Belgian defending is as comical as Brazil's finishing. This game could have a lot of goals.
Belgium-England would be a wonderfully chaotic final
Lukaku looks like an All Pro tight end who happens to be a world class forward.
Ruh Roh, Brasil
My god their end to end game is skrong!!!!
Fast break soccer, with a FINISH!!!!!!!
Less than 10 seconds from pickup to back of net.
That Belgian counter attack is something else... wow!
Brazil should be up 3-0 or 4-0... down 0-2.
Brazil can't handle Germany or Sideways Germany.
Beer > Whatever they drink in Brazil
Caiparinhas - it's basically a Brazilian margarita...so yeah, good german beer lords it
I stand by what I said
Neymar isn't getting the benefit of any calls today... looks like his reputation is catching up to him
Wow, that was a clear penalty and should have been a PK. Buuuut it definitely looks like the refs are effectively punishing Brazil for their well earned reputation. If Belgium is able to score another, this could get downright ugly.
ugly? like...for example...7-1?
Oh I meant ugly as in dirty.
The chickens have come home to roost for Neymar and Brazil.
Oh its not over yet... the final 15-20 mins are going to be fun
GOAL Brazil...This is setting up to be one of those Alcoa Fantastic Finishes
Belgium wins!
What a match!
Wasteful Brazil as Belgium ride their luck to advance to the semi-final vs France on Tuesday. Gonna be another good one.
Just got to watch the game. It was a lot of fun, though I don't know if I'd call the win luck. Belgium is good, and I stand by a comment I made after Brazil's 1st game - had they started Firmino, I think they win that game.
CHEF LUKAKU v. CHEF MBAPPE
in
Iron Chef Russia:
Battle Frites
A European team is guaranteed to win the World Cup now.
Sort of, Russia is mostly in Asia, but the European portion is the only part worth a damn.
Russia is apart of eufa, so according to FIFA it's a european country.
Should be a moot point. If Russia wins the World Cup, something has gone horribly wrong (more so than just the group fixing, shitty park the bus soccer, and doping that's gotten them this far).
If we're gonna see a non-traditional favorite win the world cup, this is the year
Anyone but Russia and England at this point for me.
For me it's anybody but Russia and France
Saw a stat that this will be the first World Cup semifinal ever that doesn't have Germany, Brazil, or Argentina.
Yep, and all 5 countries to win the world cup multiple times - Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (2), and Uruguay (2) - are out already.
Hm we got France and Belgium so far, and Europe will win the cup. It's too bad that they'll play each other in the semis, this half of the bracket was loaded.
Now I have to hope for England and Croatia as well. I'm not against Sweden but I sure do hope the Croatians stick it to Russia.
Sidebar: I know that I've been guilty of generalizing when it comes to diving but regardless of who we think are more guilty of it I think it's fair to say we all agree that the flopping and over exaggerations have no real place in the game.
That said, I think the best way to combat it is to have every single match reviewed for obvious flops and fine teams with huge financial penalties for each obvious occurrence.
My rationale is that teams could be fined heftier amounts than individuals and some individuals make so much that the fines may not be enough deterrence. Plus, I believe that flopping is a bit of a cultural thing so teams which actively or passively promote or support diving will have more players flop and would then accrue the most fines thus incentivizing them to discourage the culture of flopping. It would then be up to the teams to penalize their players on their own.
Thoughts?
I doubt fines would do anything. I'm a Roma fan and one of our good players, Kevin Strootman, was suspended for 2 (important) games the season before last for a dive. Various leagues are starting to implement these types of punishments. If FIFA does something like that, it would have the potential to solve the problem. The day a player gets suspended for like the semifinals and finals of a world cup for diving, is the day players will realize they have to stop.
I like the idea of suspensions. Why not both? Each dive costs the team $500000 and each player who dives is suspended for the next game. Or maybe suspensions will be cumulative. So if a player dives 3 times he sits out 3 games. I think diving would be cleaned up pretty quickly. So I didn't count the dives from Neymar in any games but let's assume there were 3 blatantly obvious dives by him in a single game. His antics alone would cost the team $1.5 million and he would be suspended for the next 3 games. Assuming that one other player dove once Brazil would have a $2 million bill. Money talks and even though there is a lot of money in the sport hefty fines like that could send the message. And teams like Colombia would be financially crippled and unable to perform with all their stars suspended unless they changed their ways. In any event, this type of system would probably help cut down on the ugly performances like the Colombia v England match
That would set a precedent that rich teams can dive and poor teams can't and it would hurt teams with less money disproportionately. So let's go with your assumption that the English team is richer than Colombia. Maguire dived against Colombia. I don't remember if a specific Colombian dived but let's say for sake of argument Cuadrado did since I know that he dives a lot. The hypothetical Cuadrado fine would hurt Colombia more than the hypothetical Maguire fine would hurt England.
Plus, in general I just don't like punishing a team for individual behavior. I mean should we punish a baseball team when they find out that one of their players used steroids?
If you think your employer is going to be okay with you collecting fines that they have to pay, you're very wrong.
Individual fines should also still be an option.
LOL, you're joking, right? You can't be serious. I don't remember Maguire's dive but I won't refute it. I know Lingard did once. But it's absolutely asinine to imply that no Colombian players did. You're either a ridiculous homer or you just clearly didn't even watch the game. Falcao has dived in every game I've seen. Multiple times.
Chill, bro. He didn't say no Colombians dived, just that didn't remember a specific instance. Don't look for an offense when there's not necessarily one there.
Hows this for a solution if you're hurt and completely stop the flow of the game for x amount of time you're taken off the field immediately and brought back on once youre ok. Your team is down a player till youre back on the field
The only specific dive I remember was the one below, Maguire's dive. It was the only dive egregious enough for me to remember it. I didn't say no one else dived. Stop being so defensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C6LfC_HOJ4
Not sure why someone would downvote your comment VPI, but anything they can do to mitigate the excessive fouling and flopping should be on the table.
Two extra time goals!?!? Holy cow what a game
What I thought was going to be one of the worst match-ups has completely surpassed my expectations. Very entertaining game, for sure.
Both of these teams are absolutely exhausted, I cannot imagine taking a Pk on those legs. Luckily, Russia's PEDs are probably kicking in.
CROATIA! As it should be. Modric's penalty that was saved but spun in off the post was unreal luck. Wow
Looks like someone out there is looking out for him
England had to be salivating watching just how exhausted Russia and Croatia both clearly were in Extra Time yesterday. Multiple times I just saw guys collapse after their offensive attack was thrwarted. A rested England might be able to run Croatia out of the building.
I've got
England over Croatia, 2-1
France over Belgium, 1-0
How crazy would an England France final be? Or a rerun of Belgium England but this time for all marbles. Euro 2018 might be the most exiting edition yet!
I gotta say, Croatia has been quite entertaining. I'm glad Modric was able to take time away from shooting his most recent Wallace and Grommet film to play.