The Official 2018 World Cup Thread...
- Thread starter LesClaypool
- Start date
Croatian friendly ref letting Croatia players murder the England side. It works as they even up the score 1-1.
Sigh, didn't enjoy that at all.
I can appreciate that the refs swallowed the whistle a bit but it wasn't Neymar they were officiating.
Go France.
I can appreciate that the refs swallowed the whistle a bit but it wasn't Neymar they were officiating.
Go France.
Croatia was much better offensively, but the officiating seemed terrible. Croatia was murdering England players and nothing from the refs. Kind of made it a difficult game to watch. Not happy with the way that went down although, with the refs allowing that style, Croatia was better and England wasn't prepared to punch back.
Not a dog in the fight, but I finished that game thinking England kinda got hosed. last free kick should have definitely resulted in a corner.
Yeah. Had same feeling watching mysel regarding one sided ref. In the end, Croatia was not gassed. England was.
The whole group of referees did not surround themselves with glory. I don't know how many times they said on tv that was a missed call against England, including simple things like the ball going out of bounds. But Crotia completely dominated the midfield. They were getting to balls first all of the time and England had to resort to lumping balls over the top. Southgate needed to make a change earlier than he did to shore up the midfield.
I was surprised with how poor England was at midfield. They played like they were the team on tired, aging legs.
Only way Croatia can win is by the officials allowing them to play thug ball. I'm reasonably sure FIFA will not allow this in its showcase event.
They can have a glorified scrimmage on Saturday during the Third Place game, I think there are enough sp*rs between the 2 teams.
Crotia will not be able to boss the midfield against France. I expect France to win fairly easily.
I expect that too...but will be rooting for Croatia. I won’t be terribly disappointed if Giroud wins a WC though.
Croatia looks like they are a mix of eurasian henchmen and techno methheads.
So im pulling for Croatia.
Man that was rough to watch. Credit to the Croatian manager for not making ANY subs in regular time. Knowing that his squad had just played over 240 minutes of soccer within a week, he got to use the freshest legs when it would pay dividends the most.
Yes, that ref was awful, but force his hand at allowing rough play both ways.
What really hurt England was not being able to score in the flow of play. That was, what, 8 of 12 goals on set pieces during the tournament?
Still quite satisfied with a run to the semis when this squad was utterly picked apart when Southgate released his roster. Change out 4-5 aging pieces and these boys will be squared away for a few years.
Yes, that ref was awful, but force his hand at allowing rough play both ways.
What really hurt England was not being able to score in the flow of play. That was, what, 8 of 12 goals on set pieces during the tournament?
Still quite satisfied with a run to the semis when this squad was utterly picked apart when Southgate released his roster. Change out 4-5 aging pieces and these boys will be squared away for a few years.
Homeslice Kane had 2 great opportunities and their keeper played brilliantly (english speak), but the Croats kept it on. And after their 1st goal the momentum swing was incredible. You can say what you want about the refs, but Croatia played like escaped prisoners with the 5.0 on their heels.
I watched the Kane thing like 10 times looking for what he did wrong. At first I thought he loafed on the rebound, but he didn't really. Then I thought he should have dinked the 2nd shot over the goalie, but upon review he tried to get some air under the ball but the goalie got right on top of his foot. Pretty awesome play by the goalie.
Dele Alli was invisible yesterday...particularly in the second half.
Though I picked a France Coatia final, I expected Croatia to get there with kovacic playing vital minutes and somehow keeping Modric fresn. Neither has happened, much like the Madrid season Modric has gotten worse each game of the tourney and is a dead man walking.
Perisic and that amazing defense are why Croatia are in the final not Modric.
The refs weren’t great, however Croatia dominated possession and attacks on goal so they forced the refs to treat them as the attacking and more aggressive team. England were on their heels after their brilliant start and Kane will sadly live with one of the worst misses in World Cup history.
Right up there with Robbens breakaway vs Spain and Baggios pk vs Brazil.
Perisic and that amazing defense are why Croatia are in the final not Modric.
The refs weren’t great, however Croatia dominated possession and attacks on goal so they forced the refs to treat them as the attacking and more aggressive team. England were on their heels after their brilliant start and Kane will sadly live with one of the worst misses in World Cup history.
Right up there with Robbens breakaway vs Spain and Baggios pk vs Brazil.
Higuain missing the sitter in the 2014 WC Final was the worst Miss I remember.
That and obviously Wondolowski vs Belgium. Grrrrr!!
Was thinking earlier today, why even have the 3rd place game?
Can’t imagine the teams are terribly fired up unless they’re both “Cinderella’s”.
Can’t imagine the teams are terribly fired up unless they’re both “Cinderella’s”.
I was talking about this with a colleague the other day.
Can you imagine if they had a game preceding the Super Bowl that featured the losers of the NFC and AFC Championship games?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...ers-told-stop-zooming-hot-women-games-1126519
World Cup: Broadcasters Told to Stop Zooming in on 'Hot Women' During Games
Soccer governing body FIFA wants to crack down on images of attractive female fans in a bid to fight sexism.
International broadcasters have been ordered to stop focusing on “hot women” fans celebrating at World Cup matches.
In a bid to tackle sexism at the 2018 World Cup, soccer governing body FIFA has called on television broadcasters to avoid cutting away to attractive women celebrating in the stands of games.
"We've done it with individual broadcasters. We've done it with our host broadcast services," said FIFA diversity chief Federico Addiechi. He added that FIFA was not yet being “proactive” about the policy but would “take action against things that are wrong.”
Booooooo!!!
World Cup: Broadcasters Told to Stop Zooming in on 'Hot Women' During Games
Soccer governing body FIFA wants to crack down on images of attractive female fans in a bid to fight sexism.
International broadcasters have been ordered to stop focusing on “hot women” fans celebrating at World Cup matches.
In a bid to tackle sexism at the 2018 World Cup, soccer governing body FIFA has called on television broadcasters to avoid cutting away to attractive women celebrating in the stands of games.
"We've done it with individual broadcasters. We've done it with our host broadcast services," said FIFA diversity chief Federico Addiechi. He added that FIFA was not yet being “proactive” about the policy but would “take action against things that are wrong.”
Booooooo!!!
How will the common fan know who to cheer for then? For the final, will they just show tons of the Croatian president instead?
I don’t agree at all that this is a cakewalk for France. It’s a team of men vs a team of boys (except Giroux). The French have gelled this whole tourney, they look strong. The Croatians have had an up and down tourney but they proved to be resilient and have the skill (and luck) to win the games. I see this as a close game, up for grabs. Croatia’s top four; Modric, Mandzukic, Perisic and Rakitic are excellent players on big clubs. They can compete.
Eh, I don't know about that. England didn't have a shot on goal all game after their goal. Most of that was the Croatian mids not even allowing England to get to the back line. Probably helped that England really doesn't have a creator of any kind on the field, either.
I was really impressed with how fit Croatia was and seemed not to slow down in extra time whereas England looked a little lost on what to do. They say American football is a game of inches, well soccer is too in that what might be seen as an overlooked foul could have been the set piece that leads to a goal.
Or the number of Croatian players that should have been playing with yellow cards and forced to play a little more cautiously had the ref called the game properly. To be fair, England should have recognized this and played more physical.
Future looks bright for England. I would expect a nice run in the Euros and I dont think there is any key players that wont be in their prime for WC 2022.
Or the number of Croatian players that should have been playing with yellow cards and forced to play a little more cautiously had the ref called the game properly. To be fair, England should have recognized this and played more physical.
Future looks bright for England. I would expect a nice run in the Euros and I dont think there is any key players that wont be in their prime for WC 2022.
