Thread to discuss the football itself.
This is not a thread to discuss the hosting of the competition in Quatar.
You can discuss the hosting in the relevant thread.
What confused me isn't whether it's over the line or not today but I'm sure I have seen a million throw ins called as soon as the ball touches anything over the line
That one's a classic alright. Last world cup, wasn't it?
Serious dearth of good reaction gifs this time around so far!
True, anything a little over half way over is always a throw in
Just a quick test if that exactly e x a c t l y word transfer thing is still happening!
<edit> ...aaand it is.
Japan’s new flag.
Germany win the WC roughly every twenty years so they're about halfway through that cycle. It is the first time that they've had two consecutive group stage exits.
There is a lot of talent there and Musiala has shown a lot of potential in what I've seen of him but this is probably the end of Neuer and Muller. It was shocking to see Neuer's brainfarts for those goals today.
Should there be a seperate thread for the “what is your current fear level for England winning World Cup”
I actually don’t care really, it’s just you know we will never hear the end of it, it’s all a bit of fun to hate them.
But Iam currently at a 7….lol Every team is very beatable at this World Cup, England haven’t overly impressed but have a lot of experience at tournament level and will be hard to beat
Stop worrying. Southgate won't let England win it.
At this stage, 99% of people here support English clubs.
But
I have a fear. "Special Fright Rice" and "I wear kids socks" Grealish winning.
I was only chatting with somebody about this yesterday. I wouldn’t have the same dislike of England that I did when I was younger , relations and sentiment have definitely improved but playing for a country and a club are two completely different things. People don’t support players, they support clubs, that’s not hard to understand.
I didn’t support England when they had a load of United players back in the day. Why would I , it’s a completely different competition and arena.
But leaving that strawman stance aside ,there is an obvious reason that most can understand. We consume and are in the stratosphere of an awful lot of English media. They are effectively like a family member, whether we like it or not as our cultural and physically close ties are impossible to ignore.
So quite simply, it’s like when a family member is an annoying arrogant git and shoves it in everybody’s faces when something good happens to them. They don’t shut up about it and you have to listen to them drone on and on and on about it all the time. Like a family member constantly bringing up something great they did decades ago (1966), you just know if it happens again they will be unbearable. It’s the same thing here, don’t have to hate England to not want to have to listen to them smugly go on about it every time we are watching our clubs play.
I actually think Southgate is a likeable guy and he has this team very grounded. They are possibly one of the least dislikable squads they have had and none of that WAG crap. There is a part of me rooting for Southgate, he’s such a non arrogant England manager which is rare and if people remember he only got the job because the idiots in the English fa had chosen Sam Allardyce, so success would be in spite of them.
I completely forgot big Sam was a England manager at one point lol
This is the official image for the "sensors" in the ball or however it works.
So, are we to believe that the ball is 100% spherical there, or where is the contact from the boot?
I have only now woken up to the fact that the Germans twice made "silent" protests about this tournament!!!!
Unlike @Osmosis Jones I can't let this sink in!
Wow. I just looked to the right of my screen and there was an ad from Yamaha. My brain is melting !
They would very likely have to beat two significantly better teams: France in the qf and Brazil or Argentina in the final. Not impossible but lady luck would need to be really beaming on them...
Yeah I think England are very good at beating the teams below them and pretty poor when it comes to beating any of the top teams. Since Southgate has been in charge for their international tournaments they've only beaten one team that ranked Top 10 in the FIFA ranking coefficient at the time of playing, and that was a Denmark team who had just lost their best player in the most traumatic way possible.
In 2018 they beat Tunisia (FIFA coefficient at the time: 38), Panama (58), Colombia (on penalties) (17), and Sweden (21) while losing to Belgium (5) and Croatia (12). They themselves were 7th in the coefficient rankings.
In Euro 2020/1 they were 5th in the rankings and beat Croatia (14), Czech Republic (40), Germany (12), Ukraine (24), and Denmark (10), while drawing with Scotland (44) and losing to Italy (7).
Then for this year they've beaten Wales (19), Iran (20), and drawn with USA (16).
That's not to say they won't win it, but fingers crossed.
All possible outcomes for today
I wouldn't begrudge them winning it. At the end of the day, they were born and raised in England so I can understand them wanting to play for their national team, regardless of family connections.
I'm glad (somewhat) I live in Spain and don't get as much of the English media noise but I do dread that they could win it.
As ever, it depends where you are and what media you consume. Ireland's obsession with English football and media means we get a lot of the English narrative (which is prepared for an English audience).
That said, the Spanish media are quite obnoxious as well. I'm sure Marca were furiously typing up rabid rants about being robbed (a constant Spanish excuse) if Japan's second goal had knocked them out.
They'll not reflect properly on what's not working (an obsession with passing the ball around that goes far beyond the national set up, play a kickabout with Spaniards and they are loathe to attempt any kind of risky pass, they always go for the safe and patient approach). Instead, they'll lament that other teams stand up to them and refuse to be played through. It wouldn't surprise me if Luis Enrique leaves after the WC and Roberto Martinez is hired because he plays the Spanish way.
As countries, Spain and England are similar in that they are both at the heart of former empires and don't seem to accept that their glory days are behind them. This seeps through into a lot of things about both societies (both have hints of exceptionalism) and, inevitably, is also reflected in the support of their national teams. Humility is a quality that can be lacking at times and there is often too much focus on how good they perceive themselves to be as opposed to considering the strengths of others.
Another interesting wrinkle for this World Cup, if Argentina makes the final then Messi will be the most capped player in World Cup history. He currently has 22 appearances so 4 more including the final would put him on 26, ahead of current record holder Lothar Matthaus with 25.
Jayus what was the distance to the line?
The only undefeated England manager Big Sam is. John Giles can’t stand him and his attitude one of the few fellas he gets really annoyed about. And that is saying something as Giles is normally considered in his views.
It doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t say ‘we’ for an English PL team. I find the people who are most worried about England winning either support a PL team - without hint of irony.
Or secondly their main expression of ‘Irishness’ is hating the English.
Personally I found it gas that many on boards were in cold sweat of worry during the euros 2020
Bur I do understand how annoying the English media can get - very jingoistic when their ‘notions’ look like coming home.
If I had a choice I would like a first time winner of the WC a real underdog. Like Greece in Euro 2004 that was magic. No fuss style as well. A well run outfit.
I agree with that and, if they win, I hope the goals are scored by Saka, Sterling and Rashford. That would stick in the craw of quite a few english "fans".
I think most people's issue with England winning would be the media reaction more than anything else and having to listen to that one then for the next 150 years.
No issue with Grealish, I'd be happy to see him lift the trophy, same goes for Saka, Rashford, Shaw, Maguire.....that's probably about it tbf I wouldn't give a **** about the rest of them either way.
They won't win it though, so there's no need for anyone to worry.
Sometimes it's just about fun too.
There doesn't have to be some deep political or psychological explanation for getting a laugh off seeing a rival lose.
Yeah I think any football fan who doesn't understand the very basic idea of rivalries in this context is being a little obtuse.
In 2016 there was a section of Irish people trying to outdo each other in supporting the English to show off how much more evolved than the rest of us they were and how they "left the the war of independence behind"
I remember one particularly vomit inducing"supporting our neighbours" article in the Times from someone who had probably never before written about sport.
This is it. I don't want England to win, I'm completely unapologetic about it and I don't need to explain myself. It's football - hating your rival is as much a part of it as loving your own team.
I'd only cheer on England if they were playing Mayo
England vs Mayo is a contradiction in reality that would rip a hole in time and space.
Two teams that can't win playing an endless loop of trying to find ways to lose to the other 🤣
But it is a question of WHY you get a laugh off it I think. If you are just laughing at how the English can be arrogant and lose the run of themselves that is fairly harmless. But if it is other reasons it is a bit odd IMO.
If there was something similar to McClaren making an eejit of himself when commenting on Iceland v England in 2016 - that would be funny. If they do start loosing the run of themselves and get 'notions' too early.
That clip is still funny even now, the boasting, overconfident talk then - bang, Bubble bursts.
Bruno "goal-stealing" Fernandes dropped to the bench for Portugal, yet Ronaldo selected.
In fact, only one goal scorer has been selected today! Hmm.....
Portugal goal scorers @World Cup 2022
Bruno Fernandes 2
Ronaldo 1
João Félix 1
Leão 1
