World Cup 2022 - Team and Match Discussion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983795#Comment_119983795

And all i said was its easy to be annoyed with a ref given how the first french goal played out and the close penlaty decision soon after. That first goal is massive in a tight game, id be annoyed if it happened a team i support as would near everyone

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983210#Comment_119983210

Thats Deschamps, the guy will never learn it seems.

France started well and once they scored they just sat back and invited England on, but didnt commit many players forward when they did break.

He is a negative manager, cost them in the final in 2016 and also last year in the Euros.

Of the 4 teams left, all of them are pretty defensive sides, France have the most offensive threat though if Deschamps lets them use it.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119982905#Comment_119982905

Its a poor reflection on the quality of the World Cup overall if Griezmann is considered player of the tournament.

The guy has been atrocious at club level for over 3 years, really gone backwards as a player.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119982522#Comment_119982522

You would have to agree the game has evolved to when Maradona played so would he do so well in this cup?

Could also flip the coin and say would Messi have done so well in Maradona's time when tackles,referring, the game plan etc was way more straight forward.

Not sure if serious ?

The game has evolved in what way ?

Messi would have had the daylights kicked out of him in the 80's and 90's, the punishment Maradona took was ferocious.

In some games the opposition took turns at kicking him for 90 minutes.

Here is a brief clip of some of the abuse he was subjected to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvzAxgoVEk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E73caWunOVE

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983858#Comment_119983858

Or a poor reflection of the terrible tactics at Atleti. His transfer situation is also a joke with him banned from playing full games for ages.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983898#Comment_119983898

He was at Barcelona for 2 years and was pretty poor.

I know he was played out of position but his performances were pretty shocking.

Deub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983824#Comment_119983824

And I think it would be an excuse to avoid talking about a weakness in the English team.

MisterAnarchy

How have Argentina so much support at this World Cup ?

Their currency the Peso has halved vs the euro and dollar in the last year.

Is it mosyty just locals wearing Argentina jerseys or have huge numbers travelled to Qatar ?

theoneeyedman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983198#Comment_119983198

Um not convinced that's a foul on Saka at all. Itv showed one replay after of it, and it was six of one/half dozen of the other at best, Saka likes falling if you ask me.

My opinion of it is that the refs in the EPL have teams spoiled. Penalties are handed out very easily, and the likes of Saka and Kane have enhanced their numbers by buying frees and penalties from compliant referees.

The World Cup, and often the Champions League refs, have a higher bar for the fouls, and England didn't adapt.

Like I said last night, someone has to take the blame, this time it's the ref.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984196#Comment_119984196

England got 2 penalties and would have had a third if it was clear the first one was inside the area.

If anyone was failing to adapt to referees it would very much have been the french. Unless you think giving away penos is a good idea.

I don't know if you watched all the quarter finals but the standard of reffing in 3 of them was poor to very poor. But also what constituted a free in all those games was very varied, so how would one even adapt to that if the individual refs are so far apart.

y0ssar1an22

am i allowed post the sport relief that kane did with johnny wilkinson?

its basically about JW telling kane he won a world cup by kicking the ball over the bar, and kane takes it on board. seems apt

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984328#Comment_119984328

A poster got there before you a few pages back. And it was left there. obviously the mod has a sense of humour after all! Technically it is discussing an event, related to an event in a match.

ben.schlomo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984313#Comment_119984313

And could have had a fourth if there were any handballs. Maybe a fifth if someone was blatantly kicked. A sixth for a rugby tackle possibly. Did you see what I did there.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984741#Comment_119984741

Yes you said something incredibly stupid that had nothing to do with the game or the discussion at hand.

DJIMI TRARORE

lloris was the difference in the end

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984826#Comment_119984826

Funny when you’d think of him as error prone. I can’t remember the match now. But it was one where he went flying out of his goal- fumbled the ball - dropped it and regathered it.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119966377#Comment_119966377

Wellity Wellity Wellity ;) Turns out I was still right with the round they were going out.

Does that mean Santos got his team selection wrong?

Anyway, people have really been sleeping on Morocco this tournament since the start, I don't know if they go any further because they seem to be getting worn down with injury now in the backline particularly and they are running themselves into the ground each game but jesus they can be proud of themselves.

Super effort this world cup

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984918#Comment_119984918

There would be merit in the debate that Sa, cancelo and Leao should have started for me anywyas. What are your thoughts?

But there might be a bit of after-timing in that opinion from me.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984992#Comment_119984992

I'm not sure what Leao needed to do to get a start tbh, he should have been starting in my eyes. Cancelo I probably would have started yeah even though he hasn't exactly been on top form.

Its hard to know, I think he probably set his midfield up wrong, Bruno plays better with Ronaldo, Bruno plays better without Ronaldo aside, Bruno is kinda wasted from the right. I thought he was probably one of Portugals better players on the night in fairness to him, just feel like he would have been better if he had been central most of the game. He is far more creative through the middle.

Sa I would have gone into the tournament starting, have no mass on the keeper they did play.

I think he missed a trick in the second half by not bringing on Willy Carvalho to sit and use 2 up top with Ronaldo and Ramos, Bruno in behind them and Bernardo Silva and Neves in midfield. Plenty of creativity there and a partnership to play off each other, looking to use Ronaldo as the target man.

They were more than likely going to be playing attach v defence so leaving Carvalho watching the back gate would have made more sense to me.

The biggest changes I'd have made to the starting line up (assuming Sa would have been in goal, as he should have been from the start) is Leao over Felix, or maybe even Otavio and play Felix off the right, Leao from the left and have Bruno central behind Ramos.

I would have been tempted then I guess to start with the added protection of Carvalho over Neves as Neves isn't starting over Bernardo.

10000maniacs

I have got to say England's strategy was a continuation of what they were doing in the Euros last year.

A striker would go bombing hell for leather into the box, Sterling a year ago in the Euro's, Kane and Saka this time around, begging to get brought down. Like an elephant in a china shop.

More often than not it worked. Penalties under dodgy pretences.

France deserved it on the day because they scored two straight honest to goodness goals.

breezy1985

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/11/gareth-southgate-england-world-cup-qatar

Fair amount of gaslighting here. So anyone who questions Southgate is just bitter or "playing to the gallery" for retweets and likes and actually jokingly compared to anti-vaxxers.

Also France now have the best player in the world (he might be but wait till that narrative changes fast when Man City play). It seems to be the fault of the booers and naysayers that England lost.

Articles like this should really not be written so soon after a loss when the journalist is clearly just being childish and sour.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985066#Comment_119985066

I think I agree with that about 100%

Deffo agree with Bruno, I think for me they got impatient even when they went behind it was too much long or direct balls bit if they were going to do that then why not leao.

Silva, neves and Bruno, with some support from cancelo would deffo been able to play through the lines better.

I will say though I thought after Spain grinding them for 120 mins they would have been ripe for the picking but they really didn't even look all that tired come the end of the game.

Really hope they beat France I do actually think the games are getting easier for Morocco but I did really fancy Spain to win it all.

thebaz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983611#Comment_119983611

For 70% of the match I watched they bossed the midfield - Saka and Rice in particular

NIMAN

Never happier that England are out, but France were very lucky.

Not sure what type of game they were playing. The best player in the world wasn't in the game. Their defence was incredibly rash. Could have cost them more than it did. Their manager is far too Conservative too. After the 1st, they stopped playing. Only starting up again when it went to 1 1.

I think if England had got to 2 2 , I know where my money would have gone.

They should probably be hot favs after the semi lineup was decided, but watching them yesterday I wouldn't be so sure.

ben.schlomo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984820#Comment_119984820

Ifs, buts and maybes.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985966#Comment_119985966

You are a high level straw man well done.

Maybe go back and read the discussion you are dumping this nonsense on.

You arent being clever or smart.

Its hilarious that if you aren't being hyper negative about england it sends people's heads spinning.

There is nothing wrong with being objective and even saying this the conversation you were strawmanning was about players adapting to referees, not even about there performance.

So maybe if you reply again you might muster up something to add to the conversation

breezy1985

So FIFA just launched the official semi & final match ball 🤮

SlickRic

This narrative emerging that England are in wonderful shape, Saturday proved that Southgate is doing a good job, that it maybe should be up to him if he leaves, and that the loss was heroic is mind boggling.

They lost to a team they should have beaten.  Let’s get this absolutely straight.

France were missing a host of players.

Mbappe being quiet is apparently a victory to some over there.  England basically sat 2, and sometimes 3 people on him at any one time, sacrificing space to Griezmann, who is essentially the main reason France won.  It was naive management.  He rolled the dice that a world class player (Griezmann) wasn’t as much of a threat as Mbappe, and he got killed.

England created little of actual note.  France has the 3 best chances, scored one of them, and Tchouameni had the class to finish his half chance.

I’ve read that Lloris was one of France’s men of the match.  I honestly don’t remember him doing much at all.  He caught balls coming into the box.  He saved a volley he should have from Bellingham. 

Southgate essentially ignored Rashford, who had been England’s best attacker bar Saka during this World Cup.  He ignored Maddison completely, despite him being arguably the Premier League’s form player.  He didn’t play Grealish for even 90 minutes over the tournament.

The management of the team was, as ever with Southgate, extremely questionable.  

Maguire looked good because he’s a perfect CB for a conservative coach.  If you protect him with midfielders and tuck in your full backs, he looks great.  Ask him to do a thing on his own - balls fly over his head, and he can’t keep pace with attackers, or track runs.

Every question that was there about Southgate and the team before that tournament was magnified in the one game they had against an elite nation, as usual.  Sure, they were crap against the US.  The benefit of the doubt he gets because he’s a nice lad is one of the great mysteries of the football era we’re living in.

But sure, it’ll be funny to see him take them to the Euros, and they fail in their first big test again.

Esse85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986929#Comment_119986929

Could you be anymore negative if you tried?

SlickRic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986939#Comment_119986939

They played fine, but this notion that the match represented an heroic loss, or that Southgate proved his doubters wrong, irritates me.