Goooooooooooooooooooooooooool

[Brad]

So much for my crystal ball abilities 

[uli]

12 minutes ago, Brad said:

So much for my crystal ball abilities 

not too shabby.

[Brad]

Brasil -- I mean Russia  -- scores!

[Brad]

You have to feel bad for Russia. 

[Dmitry]

Croats did everything to lose this one, but didn't succeed. 

[Brad]

3 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

Croats did everything to lose this one, but didn't succeed. 

You need luck sometimes. As a famous baseball executive once said, “luck is the residue of design.”

[sonnymax]

6 minutes ago, Brad said:

You have to feel bad for Russia. 

The hell I do!

[erwbol]

5 minutes ago, sonnymax said:

The hell I do!

[Dmitry]

I'm actually quite surprised at how the Russians had blossomed from match to match. No doubt the coach is a major factor. All in all an indistinguishable team, like the Swedes, the Danes, and (sorry) the English, they'd disciplined themselves, and played some decent football.

[mjazzg]

10 hours ago, Dmitry said:

I'm actually quite surprised at how the Russians had blossomed from match to match. No doubt the coach is a major factor. All in all an indistinguishable team, like the Swedes, the Danes, and (sorry) the English, they'd disciplined themselves, and played some decent football.

Good post. There's invariably sides in these competitions that by teamwork and good coaching play better than everyone expects and Russia have certainly exceeded the initially low expectation of the home crowd

 

10 hours ago, Dmitry said:

and (sorry) the English

No need to apologise. I've said all along that England are a limited side with a lack of midfield creativity which will be an issue when they come across a side that has what we don't - this could well be Modric and Rakitic. But so far an excellent coach has a young, internationally inexperienced team (this seems to be missed by many commenters because the names are known from the PL) playing to their strengths which have been too strong for their opponents, and long may that come to pass.

And whilst as football fans we all want to see the beautiful game let's not forget this isn't a beauty contest.

Edited July 8, 2018 by mjazzg

[sidewinder]

Not to under-estimate drive and ambition in a young side, along with having a coherent plan. The 1966 side weren’t expected to win and making the final was far from cert, so don’t underestimate an inspirational manager and captain, together with gutsy stubborn-ness and belief.

The best thing they did was jetisson Rooney and co. !

That said, Croatia will be a challenge.

Edited July 8, 2018 by sidewinder

[Dmitry]

1 hour ago, sidewinder said:

 

The best thing they did was jetisson Rooney and co. !

 

He should bench brother Raheem next. Sterling has played all of their matches and, I think, and only has one measly assist...in the Panama rout. Give someone else a chance to start already..like Rashford.

[sidewinder]

I don’t think he will though. Sterling’s pace caused quite a bit of trouble and mayhem - albeit his finishing sucked somewhat.

[uli]

Allez les Bleus!

[erwbol]

België!

[soulpope]

A bit boring, I'm afraid ....

[Brad]

Belgium had some chances early and France later. Hard to see how this one will go. 

[Dmitry]

7 minutes ago, soulpope said:

A bit boring, I'm afraid ....

You're joking, right?

[mjazzg]

Really enjoyed that half of football.  

[Brad]

The half time stats favored Belgium. Of course, the only stat that matters is the score sheet. 

[erwbol]

Cold shower for the Belgians.

[mjazzg]

Terrific match. Well played France.

Great to see Mbappe in the final

[erwbol]

Belgium - England Saturday night.

[Dmitry]

Just now, erwbol said:

Belgium - England Saturday night.

One can only hope...

[mjazzg]

We'll see