soulpope Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 11 hours ago, mjazzg said: Russia, home advantage and momentum.Could be interesting Good catch .... like Argentina 1978, but obviously no Mario Kempes type player on nowadays Russian squad detectable .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say CR is on fire. He's playing on a level higher than at Madrid. Â They have to be viewed as a serious contender for the Cup. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Brad said: I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say CR is on fire. He's playing on a level higher than at Madrid.  They have to be viewed as a serious contender for the Cup.  A brave fight by Marocco .... putting a big question mark behind Portugal`s contender status as against stronger teams "CR only" could potentialy be not sufficient .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 I thought Morocco played very well but Portugal made a lot of good saves. Pepe is such an actor. He’s never changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Good beginning for Uruguay, one of the countries I root for. I lived there as a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) España is making me very stressed, especially deGea Edited June 20, 2018 by Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 18 minutes ago, Brad said: España is making me very stressed, especially deGea Another team evidently struggling to keep the untouchable status .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Gracias a Dios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 10 minutes ago, Brad said: Gracias a Dios. Sort of .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 49 minutes ago, soulpope said: Sort of .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 They are running out of beer at the World Cup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) Spain is head and shoulders above Iran. Try playing against a team that parks a bus in its penalty box, where every player is a defender...even the best of the best will not have an easy time scoring against a team like that. Plus Iran looked at every opportunity to break Spain’s rhythm, faking injuries at almost every collision. Had Spain scored early the game would've been quite different. That being said, Spain was lucky to score a pinball goal. I am quite stunned at how both the Saudis and Egypt played against Russia, versus how they played against Uruguay. They made it so easy for the so-so Russians to score 8 goals, where Uruguay struggled to score just 2. I'm just sayin'....   Edited June 20, 2018 by Dmitry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 They definitely parked the bus. I was vociferously complaining to my son.  As the game was nearing its conclusion, he told me if I didn’t calm down, I was going to have a heart attack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 2 hours ago, Brad said: They definitely parked the bus. I was vociferously complaining to my son.  As the game was nearing its conclusion, he told me if I didn’t calm down, I was going to have a heart attack Which is the result of not assembling the best but geographically "widespread" teams .... but it is FIFA and therefore obligatory about MONEY .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 5 hours ago, soulpope said: Which is the result of not assembling the best but geographically "widespread" teams .... but it is FIFA and therefore obligatory about MONEY .... I'm afraid you lost me on that one. Every team, no matter the team, tries to assemble the best team. Looking at the composition of the Spanish 23 man squad, there are 10 players from Real Madrid (6) and Barcelona (4) together, three from Athletico Madrid, four from other Spanish teams and six who play for teams outside of Spain.  That seems like an even distribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, Brad said: I'm afraid you lost me on that one. Every team, no matter the team, tries to assemble the best team. Looking at the composition of the Spanish 23 man squad, there are 10 players from Real Madrid (6) and Barcelona (4) together, three from Athletico Madrid, four from other Spanish teams and six who play for teams outside of Spain.  That seems like an even distribution. I think he means the conferences which show unevenly. Weak teams from weak  regions make it to the WC , while the very strong South America is underrepresented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 19 minutes ago, Dmitry said: I think he means the conferences which show unevenly. Weak teams from weak  regions make it to the WC , while the very strong South America is underrepresented. Yep .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) Yes, but I think there should be more African and Asian teams and less European teams, although you too probably disagree. This problem will be ameliorated in 2026 although I think 48 teams is a bit too many. South America has 10 countries (not counting Surinam, etc.) and five qualified.  I would have liked to see one more, probably Chile. The World Cup extends to Siberia although it isn't an easy reach Edited June 21, 2018 by Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 3 minutes ago, Brad said: Yes, but I think there should be more African and Asian teams and less European teams, although you too probably disagree. This problem will be ameliorated in 2026 although I think 48 teams is a bit too many. The World Cup extends to Siberia although it isn't an easy reach Just try to imagine that someone would come up with the idea to grant the two wild card spots in the Baseball Play Offs to European teams just to make baseball more "international" .... obviously a hilarious idea and so ist idea to have even less (!!) European teams at the world cup - already now top teams as Italy or the Netherlands are not part (due to tough qualifiers) and instead spectators now can marvel about Saudi Arabia .... Iran .... Panama .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Brad said:  The World Cup extends to Siberia although it isn't an easy reach 1 hour ago, Brad said:  Buryatia's average annual temperature: −1.6 °C (29.1 °F) Where are they supposed to play, when the big chief from Moscow give them no ball , no net and no grass? Just mosquitoes and much fire water.. Russia's ruling cartel isn't interested in people playing soccer. Everything in the country runs of the hand-outs from Moscow, based on the proceeds of sale of oil and gas to the West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 52 minutes ago, soulpope said: Just try to imagine that someone would come up with the idea to grant the two wild card spots in the Baseball Play Offs to European teams just to make baseball more "international" .... obviously a hilarious idea and so ist idea to have even less (!!) European teams at the world cup - already now top teams as Italy or the Netherlands are not part (due to tough qualifiers) and instead spectators now can marvel about Saudi Arabia .... Iran .... Panama .... The sports are not really comparable but every few years there’s the Baseball Classic in Spring Training and there are strong teams and weak teams. I’m happy to see teams like Panama and Iran, who still have a shot to move on. We in the New World see things differently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Brad said: The sports are not really comparable but every few years there’s the Baseball Classic in Spring Training and there are strong teams and weak teams. I’m happy to see teams like Panama and Iran, who still have a shot to move on. We in the New World see things differently I believe my comparison was aimed that a World Cup or World Series (and in Baseball honestly the best squads wordwide are the MLB top teams) the very best teams should compete independently of their geographical location - and there are quite a few "Baseball Classic" type soccer tournaments where also other (exopansion) factors come into account .... but don`t get me wrong, nobody - even me - is obliged to watch (boring) soccer games .... and it is ok you`re rooting for the "New World"  .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 I can’t say I completely disagree with you but then we’d never see some of these countries. Anyway, I hope for the best for Peru. I can’t see them winning but maybe they can get a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Second victory for France. Still not really impressed with the team. It has potential, several great players but fails to show us how they could win this WC. Hope they will prove me wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Yes, flashes of inspiration from Greizmann and Mbappe. The team looked better set up than in their first match with Giroud leading the forward line. I'm hoping to see them fulfil their potential, as long as that's not against England A pity to say goodbye to Peru who played attractive football and had great fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.