Fierce_LiNk Posted November 22, 2022 Posted November 22, 2022 Bit of an awkward one this year with it being held in Qatar and...quite a few reasons for maybe why it shouldn't be there. Anyone watching this? Probably the biggest shock of all time today with Saudi Arabia beating Argentina. Mouth nearly hit the floor when I checked the score in work. Can't remember a score line like that. It's utterly insane.
Jonnas Posted November 22, 2022 Posted November 22, 2022 This was the most unenthused I've ever been for a World Cup since childhood, probably. This is the most cynical host in memory, and I can't feel excited by any potential match (except maybe for the prospect of Argentina and Portugal maybe meeting at some point, finally). And yet, as soon as it started, some exciting matches and stories have already come about, as they always do. Damn this event. But I must admit, the out-of-field drama has caught my eye, regardless. First we had Qatar outplaying FIFA in the beer department (and I'm actually glad they did so in this one particular instance), then we had grandstanding European players chicken out of supporting LGBT causes when an actual consequence was on the line (England's getting some flak for this, but the same happened with Belgium, Germany, and a few others), immediately followed by Iranian players actually pulling off a real, dangerous protest. Meanwhile, Portuguese media is pretending that C.Ronaldo is somehow more newsworthy than all of this. As for actual football, I hear the Arabians legitimately outplayed the Argentinians, so I'm happy for them. I only really watched the France-Australia from today, as far as matches go, and France seem to be in better shape than the majority of national teams I've watched in the past 10 years. Good for them.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 23, 2022 Posted November 23, 2022 11 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said: Probably the biggest shock of all time today with Saudi Arabia beating Argentina. Mouth nearly hit the floor when I checked the score in work. Can't remember a score line like that. It's utterly insane. I'd argue England actually playing well was the biggest shock. Decent tournament so far. As expected, France look like a force to be reckoned with. 1
drahkon Posted November 23, 2022 Posted November 23, 2022 Not watching the games, but there's no avoiding the news. I was quite surprised to see Argentina has lost
Hero-of-Time Posted November 23, 2022 Posted November 23, 2022 1 hour ago, drahkon said: I was quite surprised to see Argentina has lost Warms my heart seeing Messi fail.
drahkon Posted November 23, 2022 Posted November 23, 2022 9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Warms my heart seeing Messi fail. Sounds like you don't like him 1
bob Posted November 23, 2022 Posted November 23, 2022 I am de facto boycotting this world cup, but I'm starting to regret it a bit - it looks like a classic!Argentina and Germany losing their opening matches. Spain destroying Costa Rica, England similarly smashing Iran.I just wish football's governing body wasn't a corrupt shitshow and this one was being held somewhere less shitty!
Iun Posted November 24, 2022 Posted November 24, 2022 8 hours ago, bob said: I am de facto boycotting this world cup, but I'm starting to regret it a bit - it looks like a classic! Argentina and Germany losing their opening matches. Spain destroying Costa Rica, England similarly smashing Iran. I just wish football's governing body wasn't a corrupt shitshow and this one was being held somewhere less shitty! "If you are here, you are one of us" No, no... I accept and welcome LGBTQ+ people; I think women don't need to be chaperoned everywhere; alcohol is fine - if you don't like it, don't drink it... And I'm not going to turn into a sex-crazed maniac because I have seen an elbow.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 25, 2022 Posted November 25, 2022 How Iran haven't scored against Wales is beyond me. They have been all over them.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 25, 2022 Posted November 25, 2022 Buzzing for Iran. Easily the better team in the match. 1
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 25, 2022 Author Posted November 25, 2022 Had a pretty shit day at work and the Wales score directly in the middle of it didn't help. This England game is pretty bleh, too.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 25, 2022 Posted November 25, 2022 This is the England team I'm used to watching.
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 25, 2022 Author Posted November 25, 2022 12 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: This is the England team I'm used to watching. It does feel a bit too familiar, for all the wrong reasons. Wouldn't be surprised if the USA nick this late on.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 25, 2022 Posted November 25, 2022 1 minute ago, Fierce_LiNk said: It does feel a bit too familiar, for all the wrong reasons. Wouldn't be surprised if the USA nick this late on. Agreed. It would certainly make the final group games very interesting.
Eddage Posted November 26, 2022 Posted November 26, 2022 What has Foden done to piss Southgate off then? Cannot believe he isn’t starting ahead of Mount, or even worse didn’t even replace him at some point considering how poor he was all game! Foden is arguably Englands best player and yet doesn’t seem to be getting a look in. 1
Jonnas Posted November 26, 2022 Posted November 26, 2022 I hear Portugal's game was great. I was also happy to hear about Iran's success (no offence to the Welsh), and I'm now rooting for them to make it out of the group. Eng-USA was the one I caught a glimpse of, and the Americans looked in better shape. To be fair, their stakes were higher than England's, but still.
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 27, 2022 Author Posted November 27, 2022 Belgium are utter morons for sticking with Martinez for so long. 8 years! They've wasted such a great generation of players on a crap manager and have nothing to show for it. Needs to be ditched after this tournament, 100%.
Emerald Emblem Posted November 27, 2022 Posted November 27, 2022 Morocco have been really good, they've just made it 2-0.
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 27, 2022 Author Posted November 27, 2022 Morocco fully deserve this. Great all-round performance. Worked very hard for that.
Jonnas Posted November 27, 2022 Posted November 27, 2022 This was one of the few games I watched. Very glad to see Morocco come out victorious.
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 27, 2022 Author Posted November 27, 2022 11 minutes ago, Jonnas said: This was one of the few games I watched. Very glad to see Morocco come out victorious. Both games today have had more interesting scorelines than performances. The Japan/Costa Rica game was pretty dire, to be honest.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 27, 2022 Posted November 27, 2022 Game over for Canada but I'm chuffed that they got their first ever goal.
Fierce_LiNk Posted November 27, 2022 Author Posted November 27, 2022 I can't tell if the score is slightly harsh or not. Croatia totally deserved that win and really turned it on after the poor start. Canada was more than a little naive defensively...but they were against a quality team today who were up for it. Great for Canada to get the goal and there were many positive moments for them in that match. That third goal really did it for them, it was pretty much over at that point.
Jonnas Posted November 28, 2022 Posted November 28, 2022 Huh, we... actually made it out of the group? On our second game? No tiebreaker shenanigans or nailbiters? We're actually getting the results of a high tier team? I am legitimately surprised. Also, we're likely not playing this particularly motivated Brazil in the Round of 16, so that's great too. Dang, this relaxation is such a new feeling as a Portuguese fan. Incidentally, there's another reason I don't want us to face Brazil: out of all the tourney favourites, I'm rooting for them the most. As such, better if Portugal faces them in the final or not at all.
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