***Official 2018 FIFA World Cup thread*** | Page 15 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

***Official 2018 FIFA World Cup thread***

With Japan and Senegal tying 2-2 in a very interesting game none of the teams in Group H can qualify early for the knockout round. In the next game Poland vs Colombia the loser will be eliminated.

Right now the Japanese and Senegal fans are probably cleaning the stadium (no joke). This is the sad part of WC coverage in the US. There are so many beautiful stories to report and you don't hear crap about it.
 
Colombia is fun to watch. James pulling the strings while Cuadrado and Falcao lead the attacks.

Poland look dreadful. Poor Lewandoski going 1 v 5 anytime they send it long. They may need to put him on the wing more as a playmaker.

And yea that Senegal/Japan match was entertaining . . . Much rather see one of them advance instead of the so far overrated Polish team.
 
Colombia is fun to watch. James pulling the strings while Cuadrado and Falcao lead the attacks.

Poland look dreadful. Poor Lewandoski going 1 v 5 anytime they send it long. They may need to put him on the wing more as a playmaker.

And yea that Senegal/Japan match was entertaining . . . Much rather see one of them advance instead of the so far overrated Polish team.
Unless there is a miracle at 2 down Poland will exit. Poland is really just Lewandowski.
 
And with that Poland said good bye. I never thought they are that good but I never thought they would not come out of that group. There was no fight, no desire to change the fortune.
 
I mean the U.S. defeated them in a must win qualifier 4-0.

Taking nothing away from how disappointing the U.S. not qualifying was . . . .but one of the most underrated things about ConCaCaf is road games in Central America and the Carribbean. It’s not like going to some major soccer stadium in a Europe with good turf and training grounds. It’s 95 degrees, dirt training grounds, ****ty pitches and just a very rough environment.

So while the teams are weaker, qualification can’t be overlooked.

U.S. not qualifying was a necessary evil unfortunately.

See our game against Jamaica in the 2014 cycle, we played on a cricket field. that hadn't been taken care of so the game was much more narrow.

Also to answer why more kids aren't playing soccer, it's getting there but very slowly. I played from the time I was 5 until I graduated high school and during that time you played in leagues but you were pretty much self taught if you wanted to get better. Now as soccer as gotten more popular more legit developmental programs are popping up and academies which are helping. And you can see that as the US basically has no international quality players between my generation (guys like Altidore and Bradley) to Pulisic's generation.
 
See our game against Jamaica in the 2014 cycle, we played on a cricket field. that hadn't been taken care of so the game was much more narrow.

Also to answer why more kids aren't playing soccer, it's getting there but very slowly. I played from the time I was 5 until I graduated high school and during that time you played in leagues but you were pretty much self taught if you wanted to get better. Now as soccer as gotten more popular more legit developmental programs are popping up and academies which are helping. And you can see that as the US basically has no international quality players between my generation (guys like Altidore and Bradley) to Pulisic's generation.

I literally lol'd at the idea of Altidore being a quality player - what an awful player. One of the worst players I have seen in the premier league

Brian McBride on the other hand was a quality US player who nobody ever gives a crap about. And for all the hype of Donovan, Dempsey was much better imo. Shame Dempsey never got a move to a bigger club, or got to play in one of the much better Spurs teams a couple of years later. Cracking, underrated player.


Giuseppe Rossi had all the talent in the world. He could have been a real US star, I was convinced United would bitterly regret letting him go, but he was desperately unlucky with injuries. Though I suppose he decided he wasn't American anymore anyway
 
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So FIFA is awful busy these days.
- Discplinary review against Xhaka and Shaqiri for making political statements on the field which is a no-no under FIFA rules.
- Disciplinary review against two German association employees for their actions after the win against Sweden against the Swedish bench.
- Disciplinary review against the Serbian coach for comments against the referee.
- The Serbian association is filing a complaint for something. lol
 
So FIFA is awful busy these days.
- Discplinary review against Xhaka and Shaqiri for making political statements on the field which is a no-no under FIFA rules.
- Disciplinary review against two German association employees for their actions after the win against Sweden against the Swedish bench.
- Disciplinary review against the Serbian coach for comments against the referee.
- The Serbian association is filing a complaint for something. lol

on the bright side, at least they get to wear full kit while they debate it in an office

 
With Uruguay showing the Russians their limitations and a solid 3-0 win we have our first Group winner. Uruguay 1st and Russia 2nd.
Baring a major upset by Iran they will face Portugal and Spain.

The knockout bracket with the first two teams listed.

WC Bracket.jpg
 
Oh yeah, Saudi Arabia beat Egypt with late goals: they tying goal to 1-1 was scored in the 6th minute in stoppage time in the first half and the winner was scored in the 5th minute of stoppage time in the 2nd half. I am very disappointed by Egypt.
 
I despise VAR. Keep that shite out of football.
 
I despise VAR. Keep that ****e out of football.
Think the train has left the station on that one. Overall, I think there's potential to call a fairer game, but they really need to sort out the logistics better. As it is, it's still really hit and miss, and the misses look all the more ridiculous since everyone can see them in all their super slo-mo glory (e.g. the Mitrovic mugging).
 
So I can get 2 of the next 3 days off to watch World Cup.

One of those days will definitely be Wednesday with the Brazil and Germany groups.

Should I take tomorrow off with the main match being Argentina/Nigeria at 2 p.m. or should I take Thursday off with Belgium/England in the morning and Colombia/Senegal in The afternoon
 
Spain and Portugal with a lot of luck. Either team could have been packing today.

And our new bracket:

WC Bracket.jpg

And tomorrow is decision making time in Group C and D. France (C) and Croatia (D) are already qualified for the Round 16. Denmark vs France is hoping to beat France to take the #1 spot but needs only 1 point to advance. Australia's only hope is to beat Peru and Denmark has to lose.
In Group D Argentina (currently out of qualifying spot with 1 point) has to beat second placed Nigeria (3 points) and needs help from Croatia. For Nigeria to be absolutely safe they should win. Iceland (1 point) has a very slim chance. They need to win and in case of a Nigeria/Argentina tie Iceland has to win with at least a 2-goal difference against Croatia (depending goals scored Iceland may need a 3-goal difference). If Argentina wins than Iceland has to have the same margin of victory against Croatia as Argentina would win against Nigeria. Iceland's current goal difference is -2 and Argentina's is -3.

Some interesting games tomorrow.
 
So I can get 2 of the next 3 days off to watch World Cup.

One of those days will definitely be Wednesday with the Brazil and Germany groups.

Should I take tomorrow off with the main match being Argentina/Nigeria at 2 p.m. or should I take Thursday off with Belgium/England in the morning and Colombia/Senegal in The afternoon
The next 4 groups over the next 2 days will all be interesting. England/Belgium is really only for 1st place. DVR it. Colombia vs Senegal is interesting. But if you have to take 2 consecutive days off and you want to maximize it: Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
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