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.
Plenty of support outside the tabloids though.
Unless the manager has a complete disaster I think the question should really be about how good the possible replacement is rather than the current manager. I haven't seen a credible name mentioned who can do better.
Beating a naïve Iran, a weak Wales and Senegal seems to have erased the memory of that shocking Nations League campaign.
England have an amazing squad to pick from right now. Southgate is what is holding them back.
The press have been circling for a while now. I'm surprised he's staying on tbh.
The first bad result and he'll be slaughtered by the tabloids.
Well that's another chance at a major competition flushed away.
All England gathered in this tournament is a new neurosis about penalties
Probably the best option.
Hilarious watching people link international jobs to top level coaches in their prime. Tuchel and Potter have both been mentioned
Can see the final going into extra time.
If we don't get a winner there, it will be France on pen's for me.
I wonder how Lionels old legs are today? Will he have the energy to go the whole way through an intense 90 or 120 mins? At his age he has to be feeling it at this stage.
I meant left Milan half way through. He was Officially a Chelsea player by the final.
Gareth staying on at the FA until after the Euros.
Suits both parties I suppose, a relative safe pair of hands for the FA from a commercial POV, and he's not going to get any tip EPL gigs instead. Euros only 18 or so months away, so no point the FA rocking the boat, but another Semi final loss incoming once they meet their first inform team.
The a..hole in me wants Messi to lose just to see the meltdown from people and also the reaction from Messi haters that will jump on it, would be pure comedy on every aspect.
Genuinely think France are a lot better, Argentina are riding a wave with Messi at the top of it so that’s obviously an X factor but if France play a very good game then they should win, I think Argentina need to play an exceptional game to win.
Totally agree. What a player, but perhaps was around at a time when so many others were just hyped and marketed better.
Reus another great player. Loved watching him play over the years.
Going to Barca ruined him and his legacy. One of the truely great players... technical skill, vision, positioning, passing, Griezmann possesses it all.
Along with Reus, will be forgotten by the mainstream as time passes, but both were arguably the most gifted of their generation
I really hope Argentina win and Messi puts in a huge performance, to truely cement his greatness alongside Maradona.
Not to compare them again but this is what it really comes down to. People can say the World Cup is no longer the benchmark in standard, there's better competitions, but that's not the point. It only comes around once every 4 years and the whole world is watching.
To have such a limited window, to produce your best stuff when it matters, is extremely hard to do, the pressure on piled on. Say what you want about Maradona, but when the occasion was the biggest, and the world watched, he came out all guns blazing, rose to the occasion and saved his best for when it mattered most. Few, if any players, can say that. When the occasion came, Maradona stood taller than the rest.
Messi has never really given that, that drive, leadership and force of will on a match for Argentina. But if he puts in a big performance, and they win in the final, that will be forgotten. He has this one last chance, which we thought would always allude him so poetic in a way, to rise to the occasion as Maradona did before him.
And deep down he knows this. Hopefully he produces the goods. This is his last chance!
Poor auld PSG nearly had all four this year too, if Brazil had been able to take care of Croatia - for a Qatari World Cup, having the Qatari-owned quad of Messi, Mbappe, Hakimi and Neymar (and Marquinhos) in the final 4 would have surely been their dream lineup.
Leonardo was in the Brazilian squad and at AC Milan in '98
To answer my own question, Atletico Madrid will be the same with Grbic, Griezmann and De Paul.
Ya he was at Milan till 01 I read that wrong earlier.
Boban captained Croatia at the 98 WC and played with Milan.
..
Pretty sure it never happened to Milan. Can't remember them having a German in 02 or 06 and we're out of the picture by 10.
They had Desailly and the forgotten Andre Cruz in 98 but both left mid tournament. They also had a Croat Smoje but he wasn't in the WC squad.
Inter have come close too but I can't find any direct hits.
Stephen Kelly was joking about that earlier, no English men from spurs getting medals, says he.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it hard for Real Madrid or Barcelona or AC Milan.
So with Perisic winning Bronze today and Lloris and Romero playing tomorrow Spurs will have a Gold,Silver and Bronze winner in their squad. Has this happened before?
They could just do a Stanley Cup and add a new band at the bottom when name plaque is full.
The winner of tomorrow’s game will be only the fourth country to win 3 tournaments, Germany and Italy have won four and Brazil five.
The rule used to be that after 3 wins you kept the trophy outright but this was changed after Brazil won the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970 and a new trophy was introduced. The winners now keep a gold plated bronze replica.
The current trophy will be changed in 2042 as the plaque at the bottom is designed for 17 winners from 1974 until 2038.
Third place play-off Result
Croatia 2 V 1 Morocco
Haaland maybe the best finisher there is around at the moment. But needs better players to provide for him. Great for City. Not as influential for Norway at the moment hence they're not qualifying for anything.
Female lineswoman not allowed shake hands with the muslim guy at the trophy ceremony, jesus.
As a few others have said, Morocco complain about everything and are sore losers.
List of all the third place play off results in WC history.
I think I would struggle to get many of them at all.
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