Posted June 25, 2018 Do you mean by drawing our knockout stage games, or by “drawing” a strong side in the round of 16? I meant by drawing lots to see who wins the group, coming second and then getting a stronger team who knocks us out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Wow. Devastating first half so far for Russia. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) 33 minutes ago, bob said: 2 hours ago, Julius Caesar said: Do you mean by drawing our knockout stage games, or by “drawing” a strong side in the round of 16? I meant by drawing lots to see who wins the group, coming second and then getting a stronger team who knocks us out. Oh right, yeah, it’s odd to me. If we’re already playing Belgium anyways, why not just take it to extra time and/or penalties to decide it? The flip of a coin seems to go against the whole point of having a group stage, and I’m not the fan of the televised gamble like this would bring about. However, it doesn’t make much of an immediate difference where we finish in our group, as the three teams we could end up against in the Round of 16 from Group H (Senegal, Colombia and Japan) have so far shown themselves to be around the same level, with no clear “stronger” team in their group. It’s in the quarter finals where it actually makes more of a difference: if we came first and then went through to the quarter finals, as things stand, we could come up against Brazil or Germany; adversely, if we came second, we’d currently end up against Mexico or Switzerland. The quarter finals is as far as I think we could realistically go to be honest (I’d love to see us go further and push on, though), but, clearly, coming second in our group would be a more realistic way of going further than that, when compared to the likely opposition should we come first. That’s all thrown out of the window if Germany hammer the Korean Republic and Mexico lose to Sweden, though, as coming first would likely see us come up against Brazil in the quarter finals, whereas coming second would then likely see us come up against Germany. Edited June 25, 2018 by Julius Caesar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Oh right, yeah, it’s odd to me. If we’re already playing Belgium anyways, why not just take it to extra time and/or penalties to decide it? That only works if you're playing against the team you're competing against for the top spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) 6 minutes ago, bob said: That only works if you're playing against the team you're competing against for the top spot. That’s exactly what I was hinting at; it’s a bit pesky that we’re up against them anyways, and a draw and a balance of yellow cards sees it taken to what is essentially a televised coin flip. There’s no way to balance it in the rules across the board, for obvious reasons, but it’ll be a shame if it comes down to that. What I’m saying is that the pure coincidence that we have our final group game against them should be a chance for FIFA to take the initiative, for fans watching the game and for the sake of stopping potential backlash, by taking it to extra time and/or penalties, should a decider be required (which would seem very unlikely, anyways). However, as I went on to say in the rest of my post, coming second would likely work better in the long run for us than coming first would, which goes against your original suggestion that coming second would see us come up against strong opposition sooner. That’s the point that I was trying to make in the three other substantially sized paragraphs in my post. Edited June 25, 2018 by Julius Caesar 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 I mean that wouldn't be fair on teams who weren't playing their rivals in the last game, but I guess that this situation happens so rarely (only once in World Cup history I think) that it probably doesn't matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) 38 minutes ago, bob said: I mean that wouldn't be fair on teams who weren't playing their rivals in the last game, but I guess that this situation happens so rarely (only once in World Cup history I think) that it probably doesn't matter. Yeah, I agree. I definitely think that there a few ideas better than the current ruling of coin flip, but alas, this is FIFA we’re talking about Would love to see this Uruguay team come up against Portugal in the Round of 16, as I think their defence v. Ronaldo would be a very interesting matchup to see. Diego Godín has been imperious in this game against Russia. Edited June 25, 2018 by Julius Caesar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 So, Uruguay have won all three of their group stage games for the first time at a World Cup — and without conceding a single goal. Dark horses? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Crazy games at the moment. Morocco just hit the crossbar vs Spain and Ronaldo missed a pen in the Portugal game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 They need to start issuing more cards for simulation. It's getting ridiculous. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 What a header! Absolute bullet!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, drahkon said: Ronaldo is very lucky... What did he do? I've got the other match on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Wow. No way is that a pen for Iran. Totally wrong call. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: What did he do? I've got the other match on. Hit someone's face with his elbow. If the ruling is a foul (which it was), it has to be red card in my opinion, and not just a yellow. https://www.clippituser.tv/c/nbqmkl Edit: Unbelievable that Spain is now first What a match day yet again. Edited June 25, 2018 by drahkon 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) Crazy that Spain nicked it. Would have been amazing if Iran buried that final chance. Still can't believe that the pen was given. Shocking call. Edited June 25, 2018 by Hero-of-Time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Had a fiver on Morocco at 12/1. ,😠 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 We had both games on at the same time, on our two tv screens. It was pretty crazy, we didn't know where to look haha. We were rooting for both Iran and Morocco, but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Will be interesting to see Portugal against Uruguay though, they have been playing well this tournament. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Spain v. Morocco was great, but it became a right mess at the end. Linesmen have been told to keep their flags down in the event that the ball goes in from what may seem an offside position — so that the VAR crew can intervene and assess the goal thoroughly. The chaos that ensued for a good four or five minutes at the end of that game for VAR just goes to show why exactly they’ve been told to do that. Add in the fact that the linesmen actually runs on the pitch (hence why he probably didn’t have a good enough angle to make a call; he seemed to be repositioning his feet at the same time the call was made), and it wasn’t a great time to make such a call. Not to mention the way they messed up stoppage time: the goal was scored prior to the 90th minute, before the length of stoppage time was revealed, and play was delayed by a good four or five minutes for the Aspas incident alone; add in the stoppages accrued prior to the incident and the faffing around during stoppage time and I think we probably should have seen a few more minutes played. I think we would have seen some people from the Spanish NT arguing that if they went on to lose. Aspas’ goal was excellent, but sadly completely overshadowed by the VAR chaos; Morocco were great all around, besides sometimes being overly aggressive; I have no idea how Pique didn’t end up with a yellow card. I don’t think that he should have got one for when Carvajal, from a few yards away, chipped it at his arm (nor should a penalty/free kick have been given), but going in with a pair of studs showing was very dangerous. Something I haven’t seen mentioned about Portugal v. Iran is the Iranian keeper’s save of Ronaldo’s penalty. He’s very clearly stood behind the line, and if I’m not mistaken, the laws of the game state that the defending goalkeeper should be positioned on the line during a penalty kick. Spain looked without purpose tonight, and it’s worrying that their best game was against Portugal. Were they just lazy and complacent in the other two games, or just without the purpose that they clearly had in their group stage opener? Portugal v. Uruguay should be a cracking match (at least on paper), and Spain v. Russia should be a good chance for La Roja to find a bit more purpose and confidence in their playing style. They really need to start being more direct, I think, by going through the middle of the pitch to drag the opposing defenders away from the wings before deploying their speedy fullbacks in the final third with some well-timed sprints. We’ve already seen in the group stage alone that having both fullbacks deployed in the final third during every attack has a lot more drawbacks than it does benefits, because it’s such a big part of the modern game, meaning that everyone’s ready to counter it with a swift counterattacking manoeuvre. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Ahhh, crazy games. As @Eenuh said earlier, we had both games being shown on the two tvs and it was interesting how some crucial events seemed to be happening at the exact same time in both games. Crazy finish to both games too, with Iran almost snatching it. There doesn't seem to be one clear cut amazing team in this tournament. Both Spain and Portugal can be exposed. I thought Pique had a terrible game for Spain and was very lucky not to be sent off for what was, in my opinion, a clear two-footed tackle. Definitely a red. Really enjoyed watching both matches and loved the drama, which both games had. Great World Cup, so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) Yeah, both matches tonight were reduced to VAR chaos. I think on the whole VAR has been used effectively and hasn't interrupted the flow of the games too much but tonight, especially the Portugal game, it got completely out of hand. I think the game was stopped three times for a significant amount of time for the referee to check an incident on the pitch side screen and all three of them were contentious and certainly not 'clear and obvious' errors. Ronaldo wasn't in control of the ball when he went down in the box, yet a penalty was given, then a few minutes later he was judged to have struck an Iranian player in the face but replays showed it was just an accidental collision and then to top it off the referee awarded Iran a late penalty for a handball that very clearly wasn't deliberate. If Iran hadn't scored then Portugal would have topped the group and would be playing Russia instead of Uruguay and have a potentially much easier route to the quarter finals. On the balance of play though Iran probably deserved at least a draw but it has shown that VAR still has a long way to go to become a seamless part of the laws of the game, even though each decision is looked at by the panel of video assistants it is still left up to the opinion of the individual referee on the field so when contentious decisions are reviewed it can still end up with the wrong outcome being given. Oh and I wasn't around to post my thoughts about England's performances so far but the 6-1 yesterday was very flattering to them. They started off nervously (as Southgate correctly mentioned in his post match interview) and they never really did much with the ball. The result is the important thing obviously but I hope that in the Belgium game they play more like they did in the opening 20 minutes of the Tunisia game than they did for much of the Panama game. The press and fans are getting a little too carried away with things, I still think reaching a quarter final would be a big success for this squad and with Kane on form they have a great chance of doing that whoever they end up playing in the next round. Edited June 25, 2018 by killthenet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 Portugal/Iran turned out to be entertaining enough. I'm happy with the performance of both teams, and I was sad to see Morocco didn't win in the end, as I would've loved to see Iran and Portugal both pass to the next round. Here's hoping Iran will come back even better next time. As for our next challenge... I think we can take Uruguay. Think Suárez will bite a Portuguese player this year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2018 5 minutes ago, Jonnas said: Portugal/Iran turned out to be entertaining enough. I'm happy with the performance of both teams, and I was sad to see Morocco didn't win in the end, as I would've loved to see Iran and Portugal both pass to the next round. Here's hoping Iran will come back even better next time. Even if Spain lost 2-1 to Morocco, if the score remained 1-1 in the Portugal v. Iran game, Spain still would have made it through to the knockout stage ahead of Iran thanks to a superior number of goals scored (as they would have been on the same number of points - 4 - and would have had an equal goal difference - 0). Quote As for our next challenge... I think we can take Uruguay. Think Suárez will bite a Portuguese player this year? It’ll either be Ronaldo or the goal frame 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 26, 2018 (edited) An interesting stat I think is worth mentioning ahead of today’s games: Iran’s penalty late on in their game against Portugal last night was the 20th penalty awarded at this World Cup, with Ronaldo’s being the 19th, meaning the previous record number of penalties awarded at a single World Cup finals (18) has already been surpassed. And, as of last night, we’ve only had 36 of the 64 games that the current format of the World Cup entails, meaning that, on average, we’ve seen a penalty awarded in pretty much every other game! Edited June 26, 2018 by Julius Caesar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 26, 2018 Is this just because more fouls are being caught due to VAR? Is it a coincidence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
