Posted December 10, 2022 From the final third or so I saw, France were more on form than England, but that ref was out of his mind with his doling out of fouls, or rather his blatant ignoring of them. Maybe people will go back to hating Qatar for the anti-gay stuff instead of it coming home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 11, 2022 I am never getting up at 3am to watch England again. What a shower of shit. Why is Pickford still first choice? HE CAN'T REACH THE BALL. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 11, 2022 8 hours ago, Iun said: Why is Pickford still first choice? HE CAN'T REACH THE BALL. I think they mixed him up at the airport with Canadian singing sensation Bryan Adams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 11, 2022 I think they mixed him up at the airport with Canadian singing sensation Bryan AdamsBut why would Bryan Adams be going to Qatar? No. That seems too unlikely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 11, 2022 Damn, what a boring World Cup... ...said absolutely no-one. Screw Qatar to Mars and back, but it's been one hell of a tournament so far. Gutted for Brazil on Friday against Croatia (could just tell from Marquinhos taking the deciding pen what was about to happen, the whole thing gave me the same vibes as Schweini against us at the Allianz for the 2012 UCL final; a cool, calm professional who normally isn't overwhelmed slamming the ball against the post). The Croats are penalty merchants, and frustrating as that is, I respect the hell out of them for it. Argentina against the Netherlands was something else. I've wanted Argentina to win it since before the tournament started (nothing personal against this England team, but many are young and will hit their peak in time for 2026), so seeing the Oranje pull it back so late on (LVG ditching Total Football for longball and long-legged players had me howling btw) had me screaming my apartment down when penalties rolled around and Messi and Martinez (both of 'em) pulled off what they did. Considering I've been mistaken for Argentinean before...I will now consider myself an honorary Argentine for the rest of the tournament Didn't see Morocco pulling off what they did against Portugal, but fair play to them. Shows you just how important a clear and solid system and playing style is in knockout football, great stuff for African football, would love to see them break French hearts in the semifinals (...and totally not because I think that gives Argentina a much better chance of winning the lot, no that's definitely not it). The England game last night...gah. We were by far the better team but there simply weren't enough clearcut chances created and, more importantly, taken. The French were barely in the match! But that's exactly what makes them so dangerous, they had half chances at best and they took them, and that's what differentiates them from, well, us QF bottom feeders I guess. Anyways, looking forward to seeing what else this tournament has in store for us. But still: screw Qatar. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 12, 2022 7 hours ago, Julius said: Didn't see Morocco pulling off what they did against Portugal, but fair play to them. I don't think anyone expected them to do anything in the tournament. I was talking to a friend of mine about them and we were wondering what the odds were for them getting this far? It would be glorious if they reached the final. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 13, 2022 (edited) One of the best individual performances of the tournament by Messi against Croatia tonight, turned Gvardiol inside and out for that final goal tonight. For anyone interested in stats, he's now the joint top scorer (with Mbappé on 5) and assists leader (3) at this World Cup, and in the final he'll be the player with the outright most appearances at World Cup finals (will be his 26th appearance, compared to Lothar Matthaus' 25). Oh, and with 19 G+A at World Cup finals, he's also now the all-time joint top goal contributor with Ronaldo (El Fenomeno) and Miroslav Klose. And he's the player with the most goals at World Cup finals for Argentina, too, after tonight. Really hope he can go all the way and lead them to a World Cup win on Sunday, would cap off a brilliant career and be more than deserved. For me it's never been a question about who is the best that I've watched. Also, can I just once again voice my discontent with ITV's coverage, saying if you've watched Messi the last season and a half at PSG you'll be shocked by his performances at this WC? Like...what? Last season was objectively poor by his standards, but long COVID coupled with an unplanned family upheaval and move out from Barcelona, and how many times has he hit the woodwork since joining PSG? And that's just trying to fairly talk about last season, since the start of this season with PSG he's been on fire! According to them, 24 G+A (12+14) in 19 appearances is him being completely missing? Are they serious? /rant over Anyways, looking forward to seeing how tomorrow turns out. It has to be France that comes away with the win...right? Edited December 13, 2022 by Julius 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 13, 2022 Been a bit of time since my last post... I was actually pissed to see Croatia beat Brazil. Definitely Brazil's blunder, of course, but Croatia didn't play particularly well, either. Denied us of a South American derby in the semis. At least Argentina went through today. Regarding Morocco/Portugal, I'm a bit more at peace. Sure, it sucks that we were eliminated this early, and lost our shot at meeting Argentina in the finals, but Morocco were legitimately the better team. They weren't squandering passes left and right like we were, and they also didn't blatantly dive 3 times within the same minute, fishing for a pity penalty (pitynalty?). So yeah, after a painful repeat of Alcácer-Quibir, I can now throw my full support for Morocco conquering the World Cup, one former colonizer at a time. Go ahead and prove that you should've been the first Muslim nation to host this tourney. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 Think it's obvious who I'm supporting for this one. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 I dislike both teams but France are the lesser of two evils. Plus, I don't want Messi winning anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 2 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Plus, I don't want Messi winning anything. Ah, I see how it is. *adds to ignore list* 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 3 minutes ago, Julius said: *adds to ignore list* Put me on it, as well. The less titles Messi wins, the better 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 2 minutes ago, drahkon said: Put me on it, as well. The less titles Messi wins, the better Bunch of CR7 stans... Anyways, really edgy first 10 minutes. It's early but France look shaky and Argentina look like they want it a bit too much. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 1 minute ago, Julius said: Bunch of CR7 stans... Urgh, no way. Rather Messi than CR7, but the best right now would be: they retire 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 Just now, drahkon said: Urgh, no way. Rather Messi than CR7, but the best right now would be: they retire In which case: Messi's still incredible, plus he's two years younger than Ronaldo, so I don't think he needs to retire just yet. Enjoy it while it lasts I say! Ronaldo after showing his true colours this last month or so though? Yeah, maybe do think he's staining his career a bit with how he's been going about things lately Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Great pen. (please score a few more because I don't want a Netherlands repeat please and thank you) So obvious Di Maria was looking for a pen when he started darting into the box instead of crossing it, Dembele didn't know any better. Lack of big game maturity from him. 4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Not a pen! I agree that it's super soft to give and harsh to receive, but the ref giving it and VAR needing something clear and obvious to go against it always made it one they'd need to stick with. Let's just say it's recompense for the mess that was the refereeing/VAR in that 2018 final EDIT: also, Messi first player to score in R16, QF, SF and Final at a World Cup is a nuts statistic. Edited December 18, 2022 by Julius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 Well deserved goal. France just haven't been in it at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) What a beautiful team counterattack. France are just not at it today, they've had none of their big players on the ball, Dembele has been woeful, Griezmann and Tchouameni have barely touched the ball, Mbappé has been quiet other than that attempt of his to run into the box and getting blocked out. That virus going around the camp is going to get a hell of a lot of coverage after this game, that's for sure. Mbappé looked pale as a ghost when the teams broke off after the anthems. Incredible stuff. Up until now it's been all Argentina, can't remember an opening 35 minutes of a WC final that I've watched being so one-sided. Argentina need another to kill this game off I think and then they can start to slow things down. Edited December 18, 2022 by Julius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 I thought this started at 7pm! Missed the first half! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 France have looked better since the subs, like they're actually playing with 11 players, but it being Giroud and Dembele coming off - and without much complaint? - does suggest to me it's injury or virus related. Interesting. Wouldn't want to be in that French dressing room right now, where I'm sure they're getting a dressing down from Deschamps. They need to come out and go for it, they haven't matched Argentina in any way so far, whether it be intensity, chance creation, or just about anything else, really. Just need Argentina to score again and kill this game off. Keep this intensity going and they'll win it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 France have looked better since the subs, like they're actually playing with 11 players, but it being Giroud and Dembele coming off - and without much complaint? - does suggest to me it's injury or virus related. Interesting. Wouldn't want to be in that French dressing room right now, where I'm sure they're getting a dressing down from Deschamps. They need to come out and go for it, they haven't matched Argentina in any way so far, whether it be intensity, chance creation, or just about anything else, really. Just need Argentina to score again and kill this game off. Keep this intensity going and they'll win it. I thought it was very suspect that they said several players were sick a couple of days ago, and then suddenly they were all ok. Wonder what was going on behind the scenes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) Clumsy by Otamendi to give away that pen, but he's always been prone to clumsiness. Unlucky for Martinez to not reach that. Argentina had been well on top until about 10 minutes ago, when France started warming up. There's still 10+stoppages to go, just got to play smart and keep things intense. Well before I could finish typing this they've equalised. Crap. Great finish from Mbappé. Argentina could and should have killed this game off – they now need to go again. Edited December 18, 2022 by Julius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 18, 2022 Going to be end-to-end stuff now. This is going to be a fun but frightening watch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
