I was meh on this World Cup until Morocco knocked out Spain! Now I am all about Morocco!

SOBHI51 wrote:

scbriml wrote:

I
Ronaldo dropped and Portugal run riot against the Swiss. I bet he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Laughing all the way to the bank with his new contract with Alnasr FC in Saudi Arabia worth 21 million USD a year

He (Ronaldo) said at the end of last night game that that news are not true and he's not going to Al Nasr Fc.

The contract was 200 million Euros per year, not 21 million usd.

SOBHI51 wrote:

scbriml wrote:

I
Ronaldo dropped and Portugal run riot against the Swiss. I bet he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Laughing all the way to the bank with his new contract with Alnasr FC in Saudi Arabia worth 21 million USD a year

If I was Ronaldo, I would make a statement, get my revenge on the field. If you are that rich, does anyone really care for a few more million?

He has tons of children from several named and unnamed women so there is never enough money :d

Aesma wrote:

He has tons of children from several named and unnamed women so there is never enough money :d

Maybe they amend the contract to include 77 virgins before he dies...

Dutchy wrote:

SOBHI51 wrote:

scbriml wrote:

I
Ronaldo dropped and Portugal run riot against the Swiss. I bet he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Laughing all the way to the bank with his new contract with Alnasr FC in Saudi Arabia worth 21 million USD a year

If I was Ronaldo, I would make a statement, get my revenge on the field. If you are that rich, does anyone really care for a few more million?

Revenge on the field - from what I'm reading is that the pundits are praising his 'successor' (Goncalo Ramos) after he was not in the starting XI for the first time at a tournament since 2008.

seb146 wrote:

I was meh on this World Cup until Morocco knocked out Spain! Now I am all about Morocco!

Definitely a great story. I am still pulling for Croatia though.

Well...well...

Argentina saying "Gracias Croatia".

The Croatian GK is just too good lol.

And just like that, Croatia win another game in WC on penalties, while Brasil is out early again.

zakuivcustom wrote:

Well...well...

Argentina saying "Gracias Croatia".

The Croatian GK is just too good lol.

Let's see how Argentina go on tonight before they thank anyone.

zakuivcustom wrote:

Well...well...

Argentina saying "Gracias Croatia".

The Croatian GK is just too good lol.

Yes he is! No more dancing for Brazil just a flight home!!!

journeyperson wrote:

zakuivcustom wrote:

Well...well...

Argentina saying "Gracias Croatia".

The Croatian GK is just too good lol.

Let's see how Argentina go on tonight before they thank anyone.

My prediction? They'll lose .

zakuivcustom wrote:

Well...well...

Argentina saying "Gracias Croatia".

The Croatian GK is just too good lol.

Brazil sent packing by stubborn Croatia. Over two hours of football, Brazil just didn't do enough. Yes, the goal they scored was brilliant, but that was literally Neymar's only contribution to the game. Also, why didn't he take a penalty?

Not quite German beer this time but the same effect...

https://youtu.be/O-XrujTtn3w

Looks like France in the final and likely winner.with Spain, Brazil out. Who is next out in the quarters Argentina ?

The list of "Big Trophies Not Won By Neymar" remains longer than the list with "Big Trophies Won By Neymar".

It could be the same final as 4 years ago.

What a choke job by Argentina...

Extra time, here we go.

And it comes down to the wire, for once, in Penalty shootout.

Two early saves by Martinez was the difference. Enzo Fernandez, despite being good throughout, hit the post in the last second of ET then missed his penalty.

Well, Argentina also choked this one away. With Brasil gone they're somewhat clear to go to final...if they can get past pesky Croatia, that is.

Great game. I remember seeing it 2014 at a birthday Party and all germans cheered for Holland (really). I am a bit sad the Dutch lost but Overall it was deserved.

zakuivcustom wrote:

My prediction? They'll lose .

You're pretty bad at this, aren't you?

Disappointed for the Dutch.

Argentina have absolutely no class at all.

Hopefully Croatia will send them packing.

ltbewr wrote:

Looks like France in the final and likely winner.with Spain, Brazil out. Who is next out in the quarters Argentina ?

Until this afternoon it looked like Brasil in the finals. Don't count your chickens (until they are hatched)

scbriml wrote:

zakuivcustom wrote:

My prediction? They'll lose .

You're pretty bad at this, aren't you?

Well, I guess if you are into sports betting, buying against my prediction will net you money every single time .

Argentina almost threw the game away anyway. TBH they played better in Extra Time but just can't finish.

noviorbis77 wrote:

Disappointed for the Dutch.

Argentina have absolutely no class at all.

Hopefully Croatia will send them packing.

Well, Netherlands was one of the side in Battle of Nuremberg and also that ugly 2010 final against Spain. Having them and a temperament team like Argentina together do mean lots of cards .

NPR reporting that US soccer journalist Grant Wahl is dead in Qatar

https://twitter.com/rdlewis/status/1601399736560680960

Wahl had a run in with security earlier at the world cup for wearing a shirt with a rainbow logo

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/15 ... 4746338305

journeyperson wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

Looks like France in the final and likely winner.with Spain, Brazil out. Who is next out in the quarters Argentina ?

Until this afternoon it looked like Brasil in the finals. Don't count your chickens (until they are hatched)

Never thought Brazil was a domiating team like their teams from 94-mid 2000s.

Airontario wrote:

NPR reporting that US soccer journalist Grant Wahl is dead in Qatar

https://twitter.com/rdlewis/status/1601399736560680960

Wahl had a run in with security earlier at the world cup for wearing a shirt with a rainbow logo

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/15 ... 4746338305

Wow. That’s horrible news. I’m a huge fan of Grant Wahl’s work. He was really amazing for US soccer. He wasn’t even all that old. Terrible loss.

Regarding him wearing that shirt, Wahl’s brother made a statement that he only wore that shirt in support of his brother, who is openly gay. His brother is feeling guilty about the whole ordeal because of that.

NIKV69 wrote:

journeyperson wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

Looks like France in the final and likely winner.with Spain, Brazil out. Who is next out in the quarters Argentina ?

Until this afternoon it looked like Brasil in the finals. Don't count your chickens (until they are hatched)

Never thought Brazil was a domiating team like their teams from 94-mid 2000s.

Agreed. This Brazilian team doesn’t have the depth their past teams did. Neymar is overrated, too, and he can’t lead a team to win a tournament. Even if this team made the finals, someone like France would have clobbered them.

I will also add that I’m shocked Becker didn’t save anything. He’s one of the best keepers in the world. And I didn’t expect Brazil to perform so bad in penalties.

It’s not like I thought the Brazilian team was all that good, but this Croatian team is not impressive at all, other than in penalties.

leader1 wrote:

Airontario wrote:

NPR reporting that US soccer journalist Grant Wahl is dead in Qatar

https://twitter.com/rdlewis/status/1601399736560680960

Wahl had a run in with security earlier at the world cup for wearing a shirt with a rainbow logo

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/15 ... 4746338305

Wow. That’s horrible news. I’m a huge fan of Grant Wahl’s work. He was really amazing for US soccer. He wasn’t even all that old. Terrible loss.

Regarding him wearing that shirt, Wahl’s brother made a statement that he only wore that shirt in support of his brother, who is openly gay. His brother is feeling guilty about the whole ordeal because of that.

RIP. During the early years of MLS he literally was the only mainstream journalist promoting the sport when no one else in America cared about soccer. Huge loss.

leader1 wrote:

Agreed. This Brazilian team doesn’t have the depth their past teams did. Neymar is overrated, too, and he can’t lead a team to win a tournament. Even if this team made the finals, someone like France would have clobbered them.

I will also add that I’m shocked Becker didn’t save anything. He’s one of the best keepers in the world. And I didn’t expect Brazil to perform so bad in penalties.

It’s not like I thought the Brazilian team was all that good, but this Croatian team is not impressive at all, other than in penalties.

Brazil is at a disadvantage if the game goes to PKs. In fact Brazil needs to have the game in hand early or they fold. They used to sit back and let their attack carry them and score many goals so by the 60th minute the game is over. If you hang with them and play them physically you retake the advantage. They are limited in the air and I don't think they have ever had a great goalie. Tafarel was a joke.

leader1 wrote:

Airontario wrote:

NPR reporting that US soccer journalist Grant Wahl is dead in Qatar

https://twitter.com/rdlewis/status/1601399736560680960

Wahl had a run in with security earlier at the world cup for wearing a shirt with a rainbow logo

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/15 ... 4746338305

Wow. That’s horrible news. I’m a huge fan of Grant Wahl’s work. He was really amazing for US soccer. He wasn’t even all that old. Terrible loss.

Regarding him wearing that shirt, Wahl’s brother made a statement that he only wore that shirt in support of his brother, who is openly gay. His brother is feeling guilty about the whole ordeal because of that.

I know he thought he was making a statement but you are a stranger in a strange land. You have to think of this. I hope it's not what caused his death.

marcelh wrote:

Mbappe is going to teach Messi in the final how to win a World Cup.

From the dugout whilst Argentina play England?

Fred


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marcelh wrote:

noviorbis77 wrote:

Disappointed for the Dutch.

Argentina have absolutely no class at all.

Hopefully Croatia will send them packing.

“We” (the Dutch) weren’t just good enough,

I will conseed to that in a week or so.

marcelh wrote:

only after the 0-2 the match lighted. The equalizer in the last seconds was a miracle, but miracles don’t last very long.

But seriously, what were we looking at? Fighting on the field, 3 yellow cards for players on the bench (never knew it was even possible). Messi was protected by the referee. Fauls all around. A very dubious penalty. Defensive play. Boring game till the 80th minute. Bizar.


Vive les bleus!

flipdewaf wrote:

marcelh wrote:

Mbappe is going to teach Messi in the final how to win a World Cup.

From the dugout whilst Argentina play England?

Fred


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some of us are keeping our fingers crossed, our powder dry and making a note of post numbers

Stats from the BBC's website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63923927

Brazil haven't beaten a European team in a WC knockout match since they beat Germany in the 2002 final.

That 2002 final was the last time a non-European team won the WC.

Brazil became the first team in WC history to lose a knockout game after scoring the first goal in extra time.

The last team ranked #1 to get to a WC semi-final was Brazil in 1998!

leader1 wrote:

It’s not like I thought the Brazilian team was all that good, but this Croatian team is not impressive at all, other than in penalties.

Croatia is not that good? Finalists in 2018 and now at least semi-finalists in 2022. They may not be the prettiest team to watch, but what they lack in flair they more and make up for in sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. In Modric they have a played who, IMHO, ranks only just below Messi despite being in the twilight of his career. It would appear that many teams have underestimated them.

Frankly, for me, Brazil were a huge disappointment.

The death at age 48 of US sports journalist Grant Wahl at a WC match is a shock to the sports world. He was very well respected for his work, especially as to soccer/football in the USA for Sports Illustrated and more recently on Substack. There are reports that he had not been feeling well, having symptoms of and treated for a cold for days before his death. I hope that his body can be returned to the USA quickly, a post-mortum examination done to determine the cause of his death to tamp down any rumors. He might have had underlying known or unknown health conditions. He apparently died in the journalist's section at the Netherlands - Argentina match during extra time. His fellow sportswriters must be in shock and grief finding him passed away. EMT's were quickly at the scene, but it was apparently too late.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/football ... index.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-spo ... 022-12-10/
As to the cup itself, Morocco vs. Portugal and England vs. France. Saturday with Argentina vs. Croatia on Tuesday. Seems France has the best chance to win it all.

scbriml wrote:

Croatia is not that good? Finalists in 2018 and now at least semi-finalists in 2022. They may not be the prettiest team to watch, but what they lack in flair they more and make up for in sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. In Modric they have a played who, IMHO, ranks only just below Messi despite being in the twilight of his career. It would appear that many teams have underestimated them.

Frankly, for me, Brazil were a huge disappointment.

I think Croatia world's ranking is a joke. They play much like the 2006 Italian team which includes probably the best defense in the tournament. They are a great team.

Morocco breaks through with a great goal! Wow I want them to hold on the best story in sports as of late.

NIKV69 wrote:

scbriml wrote:

Croatia is not that good? Finalists in 2018 and now at least semi-finalists in 2022. They may not be the prettiest team to watch, but what they lack in flair they more and make up for in sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. In Modric they have a played who, IMHO, ranks only just below Messi despite being in the twilight of his career. It would appear that many teams have underestimated them.

Frankly, for me, Brazil were a huge disappointment.

I think Croatia world's ranking is a joke. They play much like the 2006 Italian team which includes probably the best defense in the tournament. They are a great team.

Morocco breaks through with a great goal! Wow I want them to hold on the best story in sports as of late.

As all stats the world ranking is not a joke, it just have inherent bias. One of which the "delay", it's a trend, based on actual result therefore not a guarantee on future performance.

Take the current one, date oct 06, have Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany and Danmark are in the top 12. And, maybe except Italy which is more a qualification anomaly, they all are end of cycle team past thet time of best performance : only one reached the WC 1/8s, two didn't even make it to the WC. Past performance based stats cannot predict that.

But then it's not that bad either for a trend once you remove those 5 ! 7 out of 8 quarter finalist are in the top 12 of the ranking. The only outlier is Morocco (rank 22).

All in all Croatia #12 may seem very low now they're in semi but in all honnestly even now I wouldn't put them much higher once taking in account the above. #9 would be fairer ?
https://www.fifa.com/fr/fifa-world-ranking/men?dateId=id13792

Morocco!!!!


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Morocco!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, what a great run they are on. That second yellow was a bad call but they are still a very dangerous team and headed to the semis.

Morocco!

Bono is just insanely good again. And if not for Moroccan finishing to be so awful it could be more than 1-0.

The 2022 WC continues to be the graveyard of the favorites. I haven't watched Morocco much in the cup, but they just have great teamwork, good coaching, a great man in goal. This is historic as will be the first team from Africa to ever get this far in the WC.They will face the winner of later today's England-France match.

zakuivcustom wrote:

Morocco!

Bono is just insanely good again. And if not for Moroccan finishing to be so awful it could be more than 1-0.

Yep that breakaway with 3 minutes left in injury time has to be Buried. England or France are offensive finishers so to get to the finals they have to be better.

Wow Morocco!

What a performance. They could and should have scored more. They made Portugal look a bit ordinary.

Another shock in a WC of shocks.

scbriml wrote:

Another shock in a WC of shocks.

Long may they continue

Well Canada's disappointing performance looks a bit better after seeing 2 of their group opponents in the semis. Canada is still the only team to score (kind of) against Morocco this tournament.

NIKV69 wrote:

zakuivcustom wrote:

Morocco!

Bono is just insanely good again. And if not for Moroccan finishing to be so awful it could be more than 1-0.

Yep that breakaway with 3 minutes left in injury time has to be Buried. England or France are offensive finishers so to get to the finals they have to be better.

Exactly...there were like 2 or 3 breakaways (since Portugal was obviously trying to score a goal) that could have put the nail in the coffin right there...alas, Morocco did not even came close in any of them.

Morocco, much like Croatia (as mentioned above) is playing a lot like the Italian teams of the past. It's great to see them advance to the semifinals.

Deserved one for Morocco, they put one in (and a beautiful one), Portugal couldn't...

A bit worried for France-Morocco once we're past England...