That was a fun final 20 minutes even though I was rooting for Brazil. They stepped on the gas and Belgium weathered the storm. Won't be a lot of talent in the stands the rest of the way now that Brazil and Uruguay are out.
The Official 2018 World Cup Thread...
- Thread starter LesClaypool
- Start date
England are the most unlikable team left in the Cup for me. Nothing but Spurs, ‘Pewl & Mancs. No thanks. I hope Sweden beats them 3-0.
But I can’t pick a winner, so I expect England to roll.
But I can’t pick a winner, so I expect England to roll.
That game didn't turn out like I expected other than Neymar being Neymar. I'm happy a ref finally called him out on it and just ignored him.
Belgium v France is probably the last great game though. I'm not overly excited about any of tomorrow's games other than hoping Russia loses. Whoever wins the Belgium v France game should be the favorite to win it all now although I'm pulling for England and Harry Kane to actually do the unthinkable and win it.
Belgium v France is probably the last great game though. I'm not overly excited about any of tomorrow's games other than hoping Russia loses. Whoever wins the Belgium v France game should be the favorite to win it all now although I'm pulling for England and Harry Kane to actually do the unthinkable and win it.
I said during Belgium's 2nd game that they're going to win the whole thing (and got that side's semifinal correct from pre-tournament predictions, with Croatia still alive for my right side), and I'm sticking with it. The only person(s) stopping Lukaku is himself and some bad passes/decisions by Hazard. Martinez going to a 4-3-3 with Lukaku/DeBruyne/Hazard up top was a stroke of genius. Some talks about trying to lure him to be the USMNT coach next quad, and I'd be 100% all about that if it's possible.
A Belgium/Croatia final would probably be the most entertaining, given the styles they play, so that's what I'm hoping for right now.
I think Brazil was somewhat overrated by the "experts". They don't play as a team. And Neymar has really devalued himself in this tournament, IMHO. Too many times he could've played balls to teammates that would've put the team in a better position, but he wanted to be the hero and got beat for it (not to mention his diving that ultimately cost them today when the ref refused to give in to that).
A Belgium/Croatia final would probably be the most entertaining, given the styles they play, so that's what I'm hoping for right now.
I think Brazil was somewhat overrated by the "experts". They don't play as a team. And Neymar has really devalued himself in this tournament, IMHO. Too many times he could've played balls to teammates that would've put the team in a better position, but he wanted to be the hero and got beat for it (not to mention his diving that ultimately cost them today when the ref refused to give in to that).
I hope Harry Kane trips over his nose and breaks his leg tomorrow.
I hope Belgium and England both die in a plane crash.
I don’t like Tottenham is what I’m saying.
I hope Belgium and England both die in a plane crash.
I don’t like Tottenham is what I’m saying.
Brazil has nobody but themselves to blame. So many missed opportunities and several times they just sat and watched to see if the ball would get past the keeper instead of attacking the rebound opportunity. Seemed like their shortcomings are in the mental edge area.
Of the teams left England and then France are my far and away favorites. I don't watch enough EPL to hate anyone on the English side. I only know Kane and Jamie Vardy, none of the others. Like France because of Mboppe.
I'm still bitter about Belgium crushing us in 2014. Don't care either way about Sweden or Croatia. Absolutely DO NOT want to see Russia win.
Of the teams left England and then France are my far and away favorites. I don't watch enough EPL to hate anyone on the English side. I only know Kane and Jamie Vardy, none of the others. Like France because of Mboppe.
I'm still bitter about Belgium crushing us in 2014. Don't care either way about Sweden or Croatia. Absolutely DO NOT want to see Russia win.
Gooners supporting Hotpants in any endeavor, is like a Nole doing the same for a Gator. Ain't gonna happen.
Nice work Belgium, Neymar and this Brazil team just don’t have the leadership to win big games.
I actually thought Hazard missed a ton of easy counter passes late trying to draw fouls but they held on. Kicking myself for not betting on the game, i was confident in Belgium
I actually thought Hazard missed a ton of easy counter passes late trying to draw fouls but they held on. Kicking myself for not betting on the game, i was confident in Belgium
I think not having Casemiro really hurt Brazil yesterday. His presence as a defensive mid has a huge impact on a game in snuffing out opposing counters, which lets the attackers on his team stay up more.
Just sayin'.....
You can root for a team while not liking certain players on it. There's a nameless Falcon from UF that I hope breaks his leg during practice, but it doesn't keep me from wanting the Falcons to win.
Yep. Fixing to be a polonium-210 outbreak in Croatia...
Took a guy with a Latin surname to score for the Ruskies.
Oh, no wonder...Fernandes was born in Brazil.
Oh, no wonder...Fernandes was born in Brazil.
Game should have been over after Croatia scored in overtime. Why finish the extra time? Then why go to a 2nd overtime? At least it’s better than PKs. Oh wait, that is next. I just hate it.
I had not seen a minute of the WC until I turned it on 30 seconds before Russia's tying goal. Now a storm has taken out my satellite signal during the penalty kicks.
I've already gotten four spam emails.
When they had "golden goal" it made the extra time play stale. No one went for the win because of the fear of being countered. It lasted all of one world cup before they went back to this. This is by far the best way to decide a match that must have one team move forward. Did you watch that game? After 120 minutes, they were all completely gassed (especially Croatia...the Russians just have that doping background to keep them going). No need to play further, it would just turn into a slog fest with zero attacking ability.
I don't like the way they do overtime. Seemed like in the first three games of this WC the teams all played not to lose. Very little offense. Just biding time till PKs.
Goals come seldom enough, so I'd prefer golden goal. That would give teams motivation to play 91 minutes instead of 120. That apparently not being something FIFA would consider, I'd like it if the game ended after the first OT because we had a winner. Instead, we had another 15 minutes of play by exhausted opponents. This time, that did result in at tying goal, which took us right to PKs again. In the three prior games that went to OT, nobody scored in that second 15 minutes (let alone in the first!).
How about reinstate the golden goal...If no one scores in the first OT, pull the keepers for the 2nd OT.
To me, the NHL postseason is the most exciting OT there is. Why can’t/doesn’t soccer allow more substitution? If players are gassed and the play becomes stale, then get fresh legs into the game?
PKs aren't played in the first 3 games; no overtimes, no shootouts.
It was already stated that the "Golden Goal" was no better and actually made the overtime periods even more stale. If you want to go back to "Golden Goal", I propose you just eliminate overtime and move directly to PKs. Sine I am not a huge fan of PKs, I don't like that option much either.
As for pulling the goalie, that wouldn't work very well. These pro soccer players can hit a goal from 50-60 yards out with a high percentage of success. So, instead of soccer you would be looking at kickball for 15 minutes.
They did add the 4th substitution this year, and personally I think it needs to be more. I would have at least gone to a 4th during the first 15 minutes and a 5th during the next 15 minutes.
As for pulling the goalie, that wouldn't work very well. These pro soccer players can hit a goal from 50-60 yards out with a high percentage of success. So, instead of soccer you would be looking at kickball for 15 minutes.
They did add the 4th substitution this year, and personally I think it needs to be more. I would have at least gone to a 4th during the first 15 minutes and a 5th during the next 15 minutes.
So does the final four all Euro significantly mark that the best soccer in the world is found in Europe?
