Since I watch the EPL, I'm rooting for England. I know all the players. I support Chelsea and Real Madrid ( so many players and coaches have worked for both clubs...I look at them as cousins) on the club level.
Rooting for: England
My dark horses: Belgium/ Portugal...don't sleep on Senegal!
Likely to win it all: Brasil/France
Ronaldo doing Ronaldo things, he already has 2 goals against Spain.
I hope this thread stays strong throughout the cup.
It's tough for me to get excited about an event organized by a corrupt sports organization and hosted by an autocratic, corrupt country. But mindless sports entertainment is mindless sports entertainment. I can't resist.
England will bonk out, as always, and the British press will act like it's a crisis, although England never was a footballing powerhouse.
I like Germany again this time around. France just put up a stinker against the USA and they seem to be playing like a bunch of showmen rather than an organized team. I don't think Spain has the firepower. Portugal squeaked through Euros but weird things always happen at Euros. Brazil will collapse under heavy expectations again. Argentina has nothing outside of their attack. And Belgium always disappoints.
But what do I know. Go Iceland!
Make it 3 for Ronaldo.
What a game.
Portugal Spain was terrific from start to finish. One of the best games in WC history.
vivalarepublica wrote:
I hope this thread stays strong throughout the cup.
It's tough for me to get excited about an event organized by a corrupt sports organization and hosted by an autocratic, corrupt country. But mindless sports entertainment is mindless sports entertainment. I can't resist.
England will bonk out, as always, and the British press will act like it's a crisis, although England never was a footballing powerhouse.
I like Germany again this time around. France just put up a stinker against the USA and they seem to be playing like a bunch of showmen rather than an organized team. I don't think Spain has the firepower. Portugal squeaked through Euros but weird things always happen at Euros. Brazil will collapse under heavy expectations again. Argentina has nothing outside of their attack. And Belgium always disappoints.
But what do I know. Go Iceland!
Yeah, the country is ruled by Oligarchs, and women have no power, and are basically used as objects.
Yep, the British media are notorious, and there is more attention given to stating negative, disparaging commentary toward the English team than there is with providing encouragement. And they really despise Raheem Sterling.
The entire country of Iceland is at the World Cup! ..lol
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Make it 3 for Ronaldo.
What a game.
He is the GOAT .....That free kick was insane. He is the reason why Portugal will always find a way. They always go deep in whatever tournament they are in.
great way to celebrate the result earlier today
Women have no power in Iceland? Isn't their prime minister a woman?
asdada wrote:
Women have no power in Iceland? Isn't their prime minister a woman?
what?
read that sentence again, clearly I was talking about Russia.
Coach of Egypt is getting a lot of flack for not bringing his star Salah off the bench today v. Uruguay, but honestly the negatives to playing him outweighed the positives, to me.
1. He's coming off an injury....
2. It was a 0-0 game until VERY late
3. This is probably the toughest game they'll have in the group stage (Russia and Saudi Arabia are, by far, inferior teams)
4. Uruguay is pretty stout defensively so who knows if he would have made that much of an impact.
Now, of course, they go on to lose the game, which puts them in a very, very dangerous spot with only 2 games left in the stage..Basically, there is no room for error. Anything less than 2 wins in those 2 games probably won't get you thru (thanks to Russia destroying the Saudi's, the huge goal differential may be the deciding factor).
Head coach played for the 0-0 tie and it cost him.
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Coach of Egypt is getting a lot of flack for not bringing his star Salah off the bench today v. Uruguay, but honestly the negatives to playing him outweighed the positives, to me.
1. He's coming off an injury....
2. It was a 0-0 game until VERY late
3. This is probably the toughest game they'll have in the group stage (Russia and Saudi Arabia are, by far, inferior teams)
4. Uruguay is pretty stout defensively so who knows if he would have made that much of an impact.
Now, of course, they go on to lose the game, which puts them in a very, very dangerous spot with only 2 games left in the stage..Basically, there is no room for error. Anything less than 2 wins in those 2 games probably won't get you thru (thanks to Russia destroying the Saudi's, the huge goal differential may be the deciding factor).
Head coach played for the 0-0 tie and it cost him.
The strategy worked until the 89th minute against a team with vastly superior talent. It was a good strategy until then. I think Salah's injury is more serious than what is being revealed. If the defense is holding stout and the game was still tied, why not bring on Salah for some late game heroics? Because he is too hurt, that's why.
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Coach of Egypt is getting a lot of flack for not bringing his star Salah off the bench today v. Uruguay, but honestly the negatives to playing him outweighed the positives, to me.
1. He's coming off an injury....
2. It was a 0-0 game until VERY late
3. This is probably the toughest game they'll have in the group stage (Russia and Saudi Arabia are, by far, inferior teams)
4. Uruguay is pretty stout defensively so who knows if he would have made that much of an impact.
Now, of course, they go on to lose the game, which puts them in a very, very dangerous spot with only 2 games left in the stage..Basically, there is no room for error. Anything less than 2 wins in those 2 games probably won't get you thru (thanks to Russia destroying the Saudi's, the huge goal differential may be the deciding factor).
Head coach played for the 0-0 tie and it cost him.
I also agree with not bringing Salah in. They'll need him in the next two matches, though. Have to get two wins given Russia's goal differential.
Scorpion_runner wrote:
Likely to win it all: Brasil/France
This shows how corrupt soccer is. The USA defeated the world champions France in a soccer match a few days ago but the corrupt match officials disallowed one of the USA team's goals which meant that the match ended in a draw. The USA has the ability to win but because there is European corruption in soccer they are not even allowed to play in the World Cup which is ridiculous. A USA vs Russia final would be an awesome spectacle so it is a loss for soccer in the long term.
yooh ess ay wrote:
Scorpion_runner wrote:
Likely to win it all: Brasil/France
This shows how corrupt soccer is. The USA defeated the world champions France in a soccer match a few days ago but the corrupt match officials disallowed one of the USA team's goals which meant that the match ended in a draw. The USA has the ability to win but because there is European corruption in soccer they are not even allowed to play in the World Cup which is ridiculous. A USA vs Russia final would be an awesome spectacle so it is a loss for soccer in the long term.
0/10.
Salah is clearly still struggling with his shoulder. He may have structural damage that hasn't healed properly, so any physical contact, let alone a hard bump or fall to the ground could easily result in more severe damage and him having to come off the field. I don't know if an extra few days is going to make that much difference for his recovery, and at best he'll be playing with a tightly strapped shoulder and 1-2 painkilling injections.
Egypt do not have many attacking options other than Salah, and have relied on defending deep and keeping things tight in qualification. They almost held on today, but almost is not enough at the WC. Russia are not a particularly good team, but Egypt will need Salah to beat them.
Spain vs Portugal was superb. The quality was not there, but it sure was fun to watch. Without the USA, ITA and NED, I am rooting for Iceland and Belgium.
Reality is real wrote:
Salah is clearly still struggling with his shoulder. He may have structural damage that hasn't healed properly, so any physical contact, let alone a hard bump or fall to the ground could easily result in more severe damage and him having to come off the field. I don't know if an extra few days is going to make that much difference for his recovery, and at best he'll be playing with a tightly strapped shoulder and 1-2 painkilling injections.
Egypt do not have many attacking options other than Salah, and have relied on defending deep and keeping things tight in qualification. They almost held on today, but almost is not enough at the WC. Russia are not a particularly good team, but Egypt will need Salah to beat them.
It’s crazy that Salah is the best striker in the world right now, and he should win the ballon dor.
Chelsea acquired him some years back under mourinho,and he appeared to be too soft for the premier league. However, mourinho has a way of stifling the ability of players because he only cares about victories. But Salah just seemed weak, but then he goes to Serie A and turns into a good player, which was expected because Serie A is not a physical league. ....He then gets acquired by Liverpool, returning to the Premier League, and dude turned into a vicious, STRONG striker.
I don’t know what it is about Liverpool, but when strikers go there they turn into insane scorers:
Fernando Torres
Daniel Sturridge
Luis Suarez
Salah...
It’s crazy.
SB runner. wrote:
Spain vs Portugal was superb. The quality was not there, but it sure was fun to watch. Without the USA, ITA and NED, I am rooting for Iceland and Belgium.
What do you mean the quality wasn’t there? Spain was an attacking machine and played great soccer, and Portugal did what they always do: find a way to get a draw or a victory.
Jordi Alba’s shot was insane.
Diego Costa was brilliant. His stand up play and strength on the ball during his first goal was pure class.
And Ronaldo played like a god.
It was the best game of the tournament so far, and far exceeded the hype.
I wish I got into soccer in high school instead of T&F.
Woe. Woe. Oh terrible woe!
Renaldo dives everytime someone gets near him. Both fouls were crap calls. It is the reason I've hated soccer for the last 10 years. The diving has just gotten worse and worse and now it's making its way into the NBA.
Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?
Am I living in the twilight zone? The Boston Marathon weather was terrible!
How rare is it to run a sub 5 minute mile AND bench press 225?
Move over Mark Coogan, Rojo and John Kellogg share their 3 favorite mile workouts
Mark Coogan says that if you could only do 3 workouts as a 1500m runner you should do these
Red Bull (who sponsors Mondo) calls Mondo the pole vaulting Usain Bolt. Is that a fair comparison?