Going to split this from the soccer thread, because the world's top sporting event deserves top billing.
FOX just released their broadcast schedule for the World Cup (http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/latest-news/2018/02/20/fox-sports-2018-fifa-world-cup-russia-presentation-features-unprecedented-38-matches-live-network-television), which includes 38 matches on the over-the-air FOX and 26 matches on FS1, plus online coverage on FOX Sports GO.
The schedule:
Date / Time (ET) / Match / Network
Thu 06/14/2018 11:00 AM Russia vs Saudi Arabia (FOX)
Fri 06/15/2018 08:00 AM Egypt vs Uruguay (FS1)
Fri 06/15/2018 11:00 AM Morocco vs Iran (FOX)
Fri 06/15/2018 02:00 PM Portugal vs Spain (FOX)
Sat 06/16/2018 06:00 AM France vs Australia (FS1)
Sat 06/16/2018 09:00 AM Argentina vs Iceland (FOX)
Sat 06/16/2018 12:00 PM Peru vs Denmark (FS1)
Sat 06/16/2018 03:00 PM Croatia vs Nigeria (FS1)
Sun 06/17/2018 08:00 AM Costa Rica vs Serbia (FOX)
Sun 06/17/2018 11:00 AM Germany vs Mexico (FS1)
Sun 06/17/2018 02:00 PM Brazil vs Switzerland (FS1)
Mon 06/18/2018 08:00 AM Sweden vs Korea Republic (FS1)
Mon 06/18/2018 11:00 AM Belgium vs Panama (FS1)
Mon 06/18/2018 02:00 PM Tunisia vs England (FS1)
Tue 06/19/2018 08:00 AM Colombia vs Japan (FS1)
Tue 06/19/2018 11:00 AM Poland vs Senegal (FOX)
Tue 06/19/2018 02:00 PM Russia vs Egypt (FOX)
Wed 06/20/2018 08:00 AM Portugal vs Morocco (FS1)
Wed 06/20/2018 11:00 AM Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia (FOX)
Wed 06/20/2018 02:00 PM Iran vs Spain (FOX)
Thu 06/21/2018 08:00 AM Denmark vs Australia (FS1)
Thu 06/21/2018 11:00 AM France vs Peru (FOX)
Thu 06/21/2018 02:00 PM Argentina vs Croatia (FOX)
Fri 06/22/2018 08:00 AM Brazil vs Costa Rica (FS1)
Fri 06/22/2018 11:00 AM Nigeria vs Iceland (FOX)
Fri 06/22/2018 02:00 PM Serbia vs Switzerland (FOX)
Sat 06/23/2018 08:00 AM Belgium vs Tunisia (FOX)
Sat 06/23/2018 11:00 AM Korea Republic vs Mexico (FOX)
Sat 06/23/2018 02:00 PM Germany vs Sweden (FOX)
Sun 06/24/2018 08:00 AM England vs Panama (FS1)
Sun 06/24/2018 11:00 AM Japan vs Senegal (FOX)
Sun 06/24/2018 02:00 PM Poland vs Colombia (FOX)
Mon 06/25/2018 10:00 AM Uruguay vs Russia (FOX)
Mon 06/25/2018 10:00 AM Saudi Arabia vs Egypt (FS1)
Mon 06/25/2018 02:00 PM Iran vs Portugal (FOX)
Mon 06/25/2018 02:00 PM Spain vs Morocco (FS1)
Tue 06/26/2018 10:00 AM Denmark vs France (FOX)
Tue 06/26/2018 10:00 AM Australia vs Peru (FS1)
Tue 06/26/2018 02:00 PM Nigeria vs Argentina (FOX)
Tue 06/26/2018 02:00 PM Iceland vs Croatia (FS1)
Wed 06/27/2018 10:00 AM Mexico vs Sweden (FOX)
Wed 06/27/2018 10:00 AM Korea Republic vs Germany (FS1)
Wed 06/27/2018 02:00 PM Serbia vs Brazil (FOX)
Wed 06/27/2018 02:00 PM Switzerland vs Costa Rica (FS1)
Thu 06/28/2018 10:00 AM Senegal vs Colombia (FOX)
Thu 06/28/2018 10:00 AM Japan vs Poland (FS1)
Thu 06/28/2018 02:00 PM England vs Belgium (FOX)
Thu 06/28/2018 02:00 PM Panama vs Tunisia (FS1)
(Matches after June 25 are subject to change, probably based on knockout round qualification scenarios)
Knockout stage:
Sat 06/30/2018 10:00 AM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Sat 06/30/2018 02:00 PM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Sun 07/01/2018 10:00 AM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Sun 07/01/2018 02:00 PM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Mon 07/02/2018 10:00 AM ROUND OF 16 (FS1)
Mon 07/02/2018 02:00 PM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Tue 07/03/2018 10:00 AM ROUND OF 16 (FS1)
Tue 07/03/2018 02:00 PM ROUND OF 16 (FOX)
Fri 07/06/2018 10:00 AM QUARTERFINAL (FS1)
Fri 07/06/2018 02:00 PM QUARTERFINAL (FS1)
Sat 07/07/2018 10:00 AM QUARTERFINAL (FOX)
Sat 07/07/2018 02:00 PM QUARTERFINAL (FOX)
Tue 07/10/2018 02:00 PM SEMIFINAL (FOX)
Wed 07/11/2018 02:00 PM SEMIFINAL (FOX)
Sat 07/14/2018 10:00 AM 3rd PLACE MATCH (FOX)
Sun 07/15/2018 11:00 AM FINAL (FOX)
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
Even without the US, people are still going to watch. Either you choose the team representing your ancestral home (El Tri, the Mexican national team, has a huge following stateside) or choose an exciting underdog like Iceland to root for. And of course, you watch the final like any good sports fan.
It's a bit like the Super Bowl or Champions League final, where you're watching for the spectacle, rather than out of attachment for either finalist.
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
At least Ghana can't kick us out again.
Has Telemundo released its broadcast schedule?
Really, Soccer is better in Spanish vs English. Spanish broadcast is exciting. English broadcast is a funeral.
Quote from: formulanone on February 20, 2018, 09:12:26 PM
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
At least Ghana can't kick us out again.
Now you'll get to see how we feel, we've only been to the World Cup once, in 1986. I always used to watch the USMNT games in the World Cup, but with them gone I don't have any interest in watching at all.
Quote from: formulanone on February 20, 2018, 09:12:26 PM
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
At least Ghana can't kick us out again.
*vuvuzela intensifies*
I've been a fan of Germany since the 1990 World Cup, so winning the 2014 title was very fun. I'll watch England with some interest also.
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
I will definitely pay less attention than in past cups due the US not being there. Since the majority of my ancestry is German, I'll be rooting for Germany, but I won't watch nearly as many games as I usually do.
As always, I'll be rooting for my country (Spain). I still remember the 2010 title, our only one so far. I'll be also rooting for Iceland :sombrero:.
Quote from: formulanone on February 20, 2018, 09:12:26 PM
Quote from: MisterSG1 on February 20, 2018, 08:05:57 PM
Since the US didn't make it, I'm sure most here would rather say back to you "Who gives a shit?"
At least Ghana can't kick us out again.
I remember a headline saying
'Ghana' Ãfrica, pierde EEUU, Ghana being homophone with
gana (it wins), so it could be translated to "Africa wins, USA loses".
Well, at least you've qualified for 8 years time! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44464913 :P
Ireland and US aren't in, only Poland for me. So unless it's a Poland game, yup I really won't give a shit :spin:
Two WC's ago I sure enjoyed watching Paraguay's tremendous D and Uruguay's superb strikers. In the last one, a fine Brazilian team was dismantled by Germany, who played exceptionally well. I'll watch a bit of the action along with the College World Series since OSU is in the field as well as favored.
Then when the WC is over, another 3 weeks or so pass, then we get back to the US brand of football!
Rick
Quote from: ilpt4u on February 20, 2018, 10:01:23 PM
Has Telemundo released its broadcast schedule?
Really, Soccer is better in Spanish vs English. Spanish broadcast is exciting. English broadcast is a funeral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjp1Zrvn8VQ
There are plenty of teams to root for (or against). Find the right bar and you'll have a great time.
Okay, I've set my World Cup mock-up. I've replaced all national teams with the 32 teams that made it to the Second Round in the March Madness (thus doing it the other way, as in the March Madness I replaced basketball teams with association football ones), and matched the highest FIFA ranking team to the highest overall seed, the second highest FIFA ranking team to the second highest overall seed and so on. Normally Germany would have become Virginia, but as we know Virginia got the largest owned in the history of the March Madness, and thus Germany becomes Villanova instead, while Russia becomes Maryland-Baltimore County. This doesn't mean Germany is going to win the World Cup, though :sombrero:.
The opening game of the World Cup was the 2nd biggest win for a host in their opener, behind Italy's 7-1 defeat of the United States way back in 1934.
The fourth goal was especially nice.
Ha ha ha - your biggest rivals beat our biggest rivals. :bigass:
Fun fact: Every group has exactly one Spanish-speaking team :sombrero:. Even the only group that is devoid of teams from the Americas has one (Spain, obviously). This has happened thanks to the USA failing to qualify.
Quote from: Bruce on June 14, 2018, 02:28:58 PM
The opening game of the World Cup was the 2nd biggest win for a host in their opener, behind Italy's 7-1 defeat of the United States way back in 1934.
The fourth goal was especially nice.
Mussolini knew how to make trains on time and soccer players score...LOL!
Rick
A driver hit a hydro pole in my neighbourhood around midnight and knocked out power to 1600 homes. It made me miss the England vs Panama game this morning, but at least England won 6-1 :thumbsup:.
I watched the last 15 minutes of the Germany vs Sweden game yesterday and saw Kroos' goal at 90'+5'. Talk about a last minute victory!
Quote from: nexus73 on June 23, 2018, 06:32:34 PM
Quote from: Bruce on June 14, 2018, 02:28:58 PM
The opening game of the World Cup was the 2nd biggest win for a host in their opener, behind Italy's 7-1 defeat of the United States way back in 1934.
The fourth goal was especially nice.
Mussolini knew how to make trains on time and soccer players score...LOL!
Rick
Jokes aside, it's suspected that Mussolini had a hand in giving the Italian team enough advantages to win the 1934 and 1938 cups.
Quote from: Bruce on June 24, 2018, 06:34:43 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 23, 2018, 06:32:34 PM
Quote from: Bruce on June 14, 2018, 02:28:58 PM
The opening game of the World Cup was the 2nd biggest win for a host in their opener, behind Italy's 7-1 defeat of the United States way back in 1934.
The fourth goal was especially nice.
Mussolini knew how to make trains on time and soccer players score...LOL!
Rick
Jokes aside, it's suspected that Mussolini had a hand in giving the Italian team enough advantages to win the 1934 and 1938 cups.
That quality would have made Mussolini a great NASCAR guy back in their days when the operative phrase was "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'!".
Then again how much advantage does a team need to beat the USA men in soccer? LOL!
Rick
Quote from: nexus73 on June 24, 2018, 06:52:37 PM
Quote from: Bruce on June 24, 2018, 06:34:43 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 23, 2018, 06:32:34 PM
Quote from: Bruce on June 14, 2018, 02:28:58 PM
The opening game of the World Cup was the 2nd biggest win for a host in their opener, behind Italy's 7-1 defeat of the United States way back in 1934.
The fourth goal was especially nice.
Mussolini knew how to make trains on time and soccer players score...LOL!
Rick
Jokes aside, it's suspected that Mussolini had a hand in giving the Italian team enough advantages to win the 1934 and 1938 cups.
That quality would have made Mussolini a great NASCAR guy back in their days when the operative phrase was "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'!".
Then again how much advantage does a team need to beat the USA men in soccer? LOL!
Rick
Back in the 1920s-30s, the United States were actually well on their way to becoming a very big soccer power. They had a big league that was poaching European stars, had attendances of 40,000 for league matches (often outpacing baseball teams in the same market), and of course made it to the semifinals of the first World Cup in 1930 (partially because most European teams didn't bother to travel).
But then infighting between the league and FIFA, plus the Depression, put an end to that. The NASL came and went, and now we're stuck with MLS (which is a helluva lot better, but has a ways to go).
Quote from: 7/8 on June 24, 2018, 11:04:18 AMA driver hit a hydro pole in my neighbourhood around midnight and knocked out power to 1600 homes. It made me miss the England vs Panama game this morning, but at least England won 6-1 :thumbsup:.
I managed to listen to the second half of the first half on the train I was on (I then watched the second half). It seemed like whenever England would get the ball between Panama time-wasting, they'd score!
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/f4a4877c32cebaa99cd9afb9cec27708/tenor.gif?itemid=11998865)
How did the US not qualify past Panama? OK, the US exposed Panama's lack of quality, but Mexico not running riot past their sloppy defence? Madness.
QuoteI watched the last 15 minutes of the Germany vs Sweden game yesterday and saw Kroos' goal at 90'+5'. Talk about a last minute victory!
Sweden were robbed a stonewall penalty - as someone said it was 'peak Germany': a lashing of luck and just enough to get all the points. That seems a bit harsh - Germany sometimes win massive. Portugal, for years, look as if they'll just scrape games, but still go far (they won Euro 2016 only beating Wales within the 90 minutes) - and it's the same here. They were just meh against Morocco.
However, if Sweden go out, they have a legit gripe about the VAR and Ref not giving them that penalty (and a red card for Boateng an hour before he was sent off) as being what ended their World Cup. I'd have loved it if they had won and knocked out Germany as well as Italy and the Netherlands.
---
And Russia were given a lesson that non-Arab teams might be a bit tougher. I'd be surprised if they get through the round of 16. 8-goals made them look decent, but really its about the lacklustre nature of their opponents in those games.
Quote from: english si on June 25, 2018, 12:18:46 PM
How did the US not qualify past Panama? OK, the US exposed Panama's lack of quality, but Mexico not running riot past their sloppy defence? Madness.
Lost at home to both Mexico and Costa Rica and lost away to T&T. All the US needed was a draw out of any of those 3 losses and they get in instead of Panama (who would have been pushed down to the playoff with Australia and presumably lost it).
Still, if you assume that the US would have gotten drawn into the same spot as Panama, I'm not sure the US manages any points against Belgium or England either, though the US probably does manage quite a bit better than -8 goal differential.
Imagine all that time-wasting, for the entire match, being called in favor of the time-wasters by the referees (who have an anti-American slant). And now imagine a hostile crowd that wakes up opposing teams with fireworks at 4 am the days before the match. The field might be more mud than grass, the facilities decrepit, and perhaps purposefully so. (e.g. Costa Rica purposely uses their crappy old national stadium for CONCACAF instead of their fancy new stadium built by the Chinese government).
That's CONCACAF. The United States would likely have a better time qualifying through UEFA, against harder competition but without the agony of CONCACAF away days.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on June 14, 2018, 08:14:13 AM
Okay, I've set my World Cup mock-up. I've replaced all national teams with the 32 teams that made it to the Second Round in the March Madness (thus doing it the other way, as in the March Madness I replaced basketball teams with association football ones), and matched the highest FIFA ranking team to the highest overall seed, the second highest FIFA ranking team to the second highest overall seed and so on. Normally Germany would have become Virginia, but as we know Virginia got the largest owned in the history of the March Madness, and thus Germany becomes Villanova instead, while Russia becomes Maryland-Baltimore County. This doesn't mean Germany is going to win the World Cup, though :sombrero:.
And in fact Germany is now out :bigass:. They have never been out this early before.
South Korea bailed out Mexico big time, something that they don't really deserve.
That assumes that Germany would have poached a late undeserved last minute goal if they weren't trying to score two...
...OK, it's Germany, and they do that so often. Carry on.
---
Belgium aim to deliberately tank today. Look at the draw and you'll see that Japan/Senegal/Colombia in the last 16 (both sides of the draw) should be passable for them and England. Next round is Brazil/Mexico for the group winner and Switzerland/Sweden for the runner up. Semi-final also easier for the second place: Spain/Russia/Croatia/Denmark vs Uruguay/Portgual/France/Argentina for the group winners.
England fans were joking that we need to park the bus at both ends to make it a draw, then sub on a sacrifice to get a red card to come lower than the Belgians on discipline.
Quote from: Bruce on June 28, 2018, 12:11:28 AM
South Korea bailed out Mexico big time, something that they don't really deserve.
I'm not a fan of Mexico, and was hoping to see them get booted, but they got 6 points and no team with 6 points has ever failed to advance so it's hard to say they didn't deserve it. They were the second best team in the group.
Quote from: english si on June 28, 2018, 03:20:53 AM
That assumes that Germany would have poached a late undeserved last minute goal if they weren't trying to score two...
...OK, it's Germany, and they do that so often. Carry on.
---
Belgium aim to deliberately tank today. Look at the draw and you'll see that Japan/Senegal/Colombia in the last 16 (both sides of the draw) should be passable for them and England. Next round is Brazil/Mexico for the group winner and Switzerland/Sweden for the runner up. Semi-final also easier for the second place: Spain/Russia/Croatia/Denmark vs Uruguay/Portgual/France/Argentina for the group winners.
England fans were joking that we need to park the bus at both ends to make it a draw, then sub on a sacrifice to get a red card to come lower than the Belgians on discipline.
England should get a yellow in the first minute, then both teams should sit down and have a picnic for 90 minutes, then let a random draw decide their positions.
Japan advanced past Senegal on the fair play rule (fewer yellow cards) after exhausting the other tie-breakers (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/tie-breakers-for-russia-2018-groups) (points, goal differential, goals scored, and head-to-head result). If they had tied on yellow cards, then qualification for the knockout round would have gone to drawing lots.
Messi and Ronaldo both eliminated on the first day of the knockout phase.
The ending of the Uruguay-Portugal game was quite chaotic.
Quote from: Buck87 on June 30, 2018, 04:45:09 PM
Messi and Ronaldo both eliminated on the first day of the knockout phase.
The ending of the Uruguay-Portugal game was quite chaotic.
Ronaldo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo_(Brazilian_footballer))
You mean Cristiano Ronaldo. Annoys me when media does that. There will always be only one.
Quote from: Buck87 on June 30, 2018, 04:45:09 PM
Messi and Cristiano both eliminated on the first day of the knockout phase.
FTFY :sombrero:.
Quote from: Buck87 on June 30, 2018, 04:45:09 PM
Messi and Ronaldo both eliminated on the first day of the knockout phase.
The ending of the Uruguay-Portugal game was quite chaotic.
That was a rough game but the ref decided to let 'em play. If he had been a Pac-12 official, there would have been 100 fouls called and everyone would have wound up ejected...LOL! At least it was entertaining. Uruguay has been my rooting favorite since seeing them in the 2010 WC when Suarez and Forlon were their pair of stars.
Rick
Quote from: Bruce on June 29, 2018, 12:06:02 AM
Japan advanced past Senegal on the fair play rule (fewer yellow cards) after exhausting the other tie-breakers (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/tie-breakers-for-russia-2018-groups) (points, goal differential, goals scored, and head-to-head result). If they had tied on yellow cards, then qualification for the knockout round would have gone to drawing lots.
I thought that number of corner kicks was also used as a tie breaker. I guess that it isn't.
Gutted for Japan, who played well and even had a 2-0 lead.
Mexico deserves to be knocked out, but my hate for Neymar and his antics made me feel sympathetic for them.
There only remaining teams are all from Europe and South America...depending on how tomorrow's matches go, South America may be down to only two representatives.
England was very happy for a few minutes while Japan were leading. Still are, given how well they played - dodged a bullet there (double if you count Brazil), though have probably walked into another one with Colombia.
Plus there's the curse - in the UK, the World Cup broadcasts are split somewhat evenly between BBC and ITV. They have some convoluted system of picking what games they show to try and make it fair. In the last 20 years, England have only won 1 WC match aired by ITV out of 11 (vs Trinidad and Tobago), whereas they've won 9 out of 13 on the BBC.
And to add insult to injury, ITV's top commentary team is the worst in the business, and everyone complains how boring and unhelpful at providing something more than stating the obvious or obviously wrong they are. BBC have some duff talent, but unlike ITV you don't get two of them put in a box together for 45 minutes of their 'wit and wisdom' - it's much easier to avoid the really annoying ones on the BBC, or at least have them much-diluted by better talent. There's a very good reason why BBC always gets about 4 times the viewership for the final (which they both air), and it's not the lack of adverts - it's the better commentary talent.
The Sweden-Switzerland game was a funny one for those who like me has Spanish as his first language, as the names of both countries are similar (Suecia and Suiza respectively). I'd like to see an Austria-Australia match :sombrero:.
Quote from: english si on July 03, 2018, 08:07:32 AMPlus there's the curse - in the UK, the World Cup broadcasts are split somewhat evenly between BBC and ITV. They have some convoluted system of picking what games they show to try and make it fair. In the last 20 years, England have only won 1 WC match aired by ITV out of 11 (vs Trinidad and Tobago), whereas they've won 9 out of 13 on the BBC.
The curse is lifted. As is the penalties one (at the fourth attempt)!
- argentIna knocked ouT
- Spain lost to the hosts
- france COncede d three
- gerMany have been elimINated
- portuGal on tHe plane back to lisbOn
- coloMbia dealt with on pEns
This World Cup just keeps bringing on the surprises.
England are through to their first semi-finals appearance since 1990.
Quote from: Bruce on July 07, 2018, 11:56:17 AMThis World Cup just keeps bringing on the surprises.
Given the alternatives in that quarter were Switzerland, Sweden or Colombia, how is that a surprise? Not that the one of those teams would be that surprising either.
Oh oh oh. England are in Russia. Oh oh oh. Drinking all the Vodka. England's going all the way...
There's been two England semi-finals in my lifetime and we lost both to Germany on penalties, aber die deutsche Mannschaft ist nach Hause gegangen, so that won't happen this time.
Messi - 0 goals in World Cup knockout stages
Ronaldo - 0 goals in World Cup knockout stages
Macguire - 1 goal in World Cup knockout stages :clap:
England are supposed to get knocked out of the World Cup before this stage because of some sort of blunder.
Luckily Croatia righted the ship by defeating Russia. An entertainingly sloppy shootout.
Quote from: Bruce on July 07, 2018, 05:10:26 PM
England are supposed to get knocked out of the World Cup before this stage because of some sort of blunder.
Luckily Croatia righted the ship by defeating Russia. An entertainingly sloppy shootout.
Even if the Russians are usually seen as the "enemy" and "bad guys", I was rooting for them since they were such huge underdogs. Being ranked in the 60's by FIFA but having host country status would have made them have something underdogs usually don't get, which is home field advantage and crowd. Maybe they beat the English, maybe they don't but it would have been a whale of a match with the finals on the line.
Oh well, Belgium or France are going to win the whole shebang most likely. Now watch their hopes get scuttled in an upset like so many teams have had happen in this WC! It has sure been an exciting tournament.
Rick
This is the farthest England has made it in my lifetime. It feels good after dealing with Italian fans' win in 2006 during my elementary school years (lots of Italians at my school) and then German fans in 2010/2014 (lots of them in Kitchener). I feel nervous going into Wednesday's game (which I'll sadly miss since it's during work hours :-(), but no matter what happens, a top 4 finish is something to be proud of!
Still, I can hold out hope for a WC win :)
The remaining storylines:
* Battle for European francophone supremacy (FRA-BEL)
* Finally the A-level game we were hoping to see in the prelims (ENG-BEL)
* The all-time classic in terms of history (ENG-FRA)
Otherwise, just East vs. West if Croatia wins.
Quote from: Alps on July 07, 2018, 09:04:17 PM* The all-time classic in terms of history (ENG-FRA)
Err, what history? The fixture, if it wasn't an important one, would be met with a Gallic-shrug by England supporters. And French supporters care as little about it as they do a nice English ale. If we were talking Rugby, then there's an element of rivalry there, but not football.
Sure, the French are the natural and traditional enemy of the English, but, if anything, that's muted the relationship's friendly competitive rivalry (cf Anglo-Australian sporting rivalries and Anglo-Argentine sporting rivalries for what never being enemies and being enemies recently does to the banter stakes) after over 200 years of peace and (mostly) friendliness.
My French teacher from school made us sing a French song about how they won the WC in 1998 - that's the only reason I have for having for rejoicing in the loss of the French (rather than the triumph of the English). Belgiums, again, meh in terms of rivalries - I guess there's some transfer of dislike of Brussels (ie the EU) onto Brussels (the capital of Belgium).
I guess we'll hear a little about Agincourt*, Trafalgar**, Waterloo, etc if it was an England-France final. But we're digging up grudges 203-803 years old to try and make something of it, rather than seeing recent ones. The Sweden match banter was about IKEA, with very little about vikings.
England-Croatia has potential to be a rivalry - they have one with the French IIRC (semis in '98), but England will play 3 competitive games out of their remaining 6 this year vs them (Croatia 11 Jul, France/Belgium 14/15 Jul, Spain 8 Sep, Croatia 12 Oct, Spain 15 Oct, Croatia 18 Dec) so there's scope there for some grudges etc.
*And we were surely bound to get the "Once more into the breech (https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/henry-v-act-iii-scene-i-once-more-unto-breach-dear-friends)" speech from Henry V anyway with a captain called Harry. In fact it's odd we haven't yet!
**We were also likely to see Nelson's famous flag speech (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_expects_that_every_man_will_do_his_duty) should we play France - though little will be said about it being Nelson who made it.
Quote from: Alps on July 07, 2018, 09:04:17 PM
The remaining storylines:
* Battle for European francophone supremacy (FRA-BEL)
* Finally the A-level game we were hoping to see in the prelims (ENG-BEL)
* The all-time classic in terms of history (ENG-FRA) - by which I did mean wars and diplomacy
Otherwise, just East vs. West if Croatia wins.
Should note that CRO-BEL would guarantee a first time Cup winner as neither have even been to the final before.
Quote from: english si on July 08, 2018, 12:09:17 PM*And we were surely bound to get the "Once more into the breech (https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/henry-v-act-iii-scene-i-once-more-unto-breach-dear-friends)" speech from Henry V anyway with a captain called Harry. In fact it's odd we haven't yet!
Here's it from 2010 for when England played Germany*. Odd, given 'Fabio' (Capello - the manager then) is not 'Harry', nor does Jerry go 'ribbit'.
*don't mention the VAR! (https://makeameme.org/meme/dont-mention-the-5b33e3) Obviously we can't have broadcasters condoning anti-Nazi sentiment when we play Germany. And the FA gets incredibly touchy - throwing out bans and all - for fans who sing WW2 songs when England play Germany (the favourite being 'Ten German Bombers' about how the 'RAF from England shot them down' in the Battle of Britain).
I don't watch soccer often so this may be the norm, but the way France kept wasting time at the end of the game today seemed very disrespectful.
Quote from: HazMatt on July 10, 2018, 07:01:59 PM
I don't watch soccer often so this may be the norm, but the way France kept wasting time at the end of the game today seemed very disrespectful.
It was beyond the usual in terms of time-wasting antics. Usually it's only a few small things like having the ball slowly roll over before a restart, rather than deliberately kicking it away (which warrants a yellow card, like Mbappe's).
I'm really hoping that Croatia goes through so I don't have to cheer for England. Anyone but the French, but the sheer amount of smugness from the English press and fans will be unbearable for the next four (or more) years.
Quote from: HazMatt on July 10, 2018, 07:01:59 PM
I don't watch soccer often so this may be the norm, but the way France kept wasting time at the end of the game today seemed very disrespectful.
Agreed....though it was certainly effective, as very little time was added beyond the original 6 minutes they tacked on
Bullet dodged. It's not coming home!
Croatia's run has been a cap for a crazy time in Croatian sport. Back at Euro 2016, fans threw flares on the pitch to protest corruption, the judicial system started rooting out people involved in money transfers and the like (even putting a high-level administrator on trial...and having Modric testify and prejury himself). Now the president, who has been seen attending and even in the dressing room, is trying to piggyback off this World Cup run for next year's election.
My prediction: Croatia after extra time :bigass:.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 12, 2018, 08:40:46 AM
My prediction: Croatia after extra time :bigass:.
Right about now that looks to be the best prediction one could make...LOL!
Rick
If there was to be an animal of the Final, it would definitely be the French-Croatian squid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_10_Mythical_Creatures#Fa_Ke_You) :sombrero:. I use this as profanity since its original Chinese name, 法克鱿 Fa Ke You, sounds like "fuck you". It's not the only creative "bad word" I use, though.
Vive la France.
https://twitter.com/IndyFootball/status/1018538294446120960
Here's to the Anti-Football World Cup champions!
And their man of the match, Néstor Pitana - he may have played in a different kit (yellow), but without his weak will, France wouldn't have had either of their first half goals. He gave into Griezeman's dive which France then scored from (or rather Croatia screwed up) the resulting free kick, and let himself be bullied by the VAR referees into giving that incredibly dodgy penalty (France's only shot in the first half).
OK, France did play some football - and excellent football too - but they played it for about 5 minutes, and mucked about for the other 85. Whether they could pull off another minute in the additional half-an-hour that should have been played is a question answered only in a parallel, fairer, universe...
France earned it. They had the tougher bracket by far and got to the final via that route. I tip my chapeau.
Look for reseeding the knockout round to become the next FIFA question.
Quote from: Road Hog on July 15, 2018, 05:00:16 PM
France earned it. They had the tougher bracket by far and got to the final via that route. I tip my chapeau.
Look for reseeding the knockout round to become the next FIFA question.
Not going to happen. They need advance ticket sales so team fans need to know where their team might be playing knockout round games. Yes, I know it differs depending on whether you finish first or second in your group but fans still buy a lot of advance tickets based on likely locations.
Quote from: Road Hog on July 15, 2018, 05:00:16 PMFrance earned it. They had the tougher bracket by far and got to the final via that route. I tip my chapeau.
They beat in the knock-out rounds
- an Argentine team that Pele reckons his 1970 WC-winning team would beat. Though only 1-0 as they are in their 70s now. They let in 3 against a team that only scored three vs Iceland and Nigeria (and their goals in the Nigeria game were jammy).
- a Uruguay team with their key play-maker suspended and looked iffy against Egypt (the first team to go out) with the guy
- a Belgium team missing an important player suspended by playing uber-negative football
As Japan and Russia showed - there weren't really easy games in the knock out phases, nor easy routes. The bracket was tougher on paper, but world rankings were exposed as meaning next-to-nothing...
France are the best team in the same way that Kane was the best goal scorer - true, but only on a technicality. A couple of lucky breaks, and a lot of doing the bare minimum.
VIVE LE FRANCE! (my father's home country, I live in the USA). They won the final match vs Croatia. And Belgium defeats England in the third place (I'm sure many have posted already on the results). I expected the French or Belgians to be third place or something. It's a shame the USA never goes far in the world cup, nor Mexico who has a problem reaching "the fifth game".
Grand final is purely a rugby/Aussie thing, rather than soccer.
The main reason that the U.S. struggles to advance past the Round of 16 boils down to player development. The training facilities for players (without giant fees), ability to play hard international opposition or even advance to professional clubs at an early age, and the access to good coaching controlled by the national football association are all factors.
How can I explain this mishap? Nearing 18 minutes, Croatia accidentally gives France it's first goal of the final match (thanx for clearing it up, Bruce).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWekFiufuq0
Own goals are common, especially deflections on set pieces. Nothing to explain here.
But Griezmann's dive to earn that free kick is worth explaining, along with Lloris's gaffe at the end.
Quote from: Bruce on July 19, 2018, 08:16:55 PM
Grand final is purely a rugby/Aussie thing, rather than soccer.
The main reason that the U.S. struggles to advance past the Round of 16 boils down to player development. The training facilities for players (without giant fees), ability to play hard international opposition or even advance to professional clubs at an early age, and the access to good coaching controlled by the national football association are all factors.
All of those are factors, along with the massive amounts of money that can be made playing football/basketball/baseball that isn't available in other countries. Most European and South American countries get all of their best athletes playing soccer. In the US soccer has to compete with other sports.