World Cup 2018

Kell said:
I think it's been a good tournament so far - and if nothing else certainly looks like backing up the idea that there are no 'easy' draws. Big names have gone out. Poor play combined with over-confidence.

Of the teams left, only Brazil, France, Uruguay and England have won it before, so if we don't win it, I'd love to see some new blood (it's surprising how little deviation there's been over the years).

If not, England, then I'd love to see Croatia do it.
Click to expand...

I really have no preference, just want to see it won by a team playing attractive football.
The World Cup should be a festival of skill and entertainment, not dour win at all costs.

Even if your own country wins it, couldn't be pleased if it was achieved by being ultra defensive and cynical spoiling
That European Cup Final between Marseilles and Red Star always comes to mind, travesty and would rather lose than stoop that low
 
Last edited:
tijuana taxi said:
Not sure that was very genuine though
Click to expand...

Indeed, I think the ref was a little generous, I'm pretty sure the defender intended to take one for the team. Not sure if there being only a few minutes left had any bearing on his decision.
 
I don't have a preference as such. But on your point above, I'd hate to see Brazil do it again. Their performances so far have been OK - almost as if they knew they were going to get out the group and have done as little as possible to achieve it. Thye've done that classic thing of being a team of individuals rather than a team.

I've not seen a Uruguay game yet, so don't feel qualified to pass comment. France have been great, passionate, etc. But it's France...

Other than Croatia, I've not seen anyone else playing well enough for me to want them to go on and win if England don't.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I really have no preference, just want to see it won by a team playing attractive football.
The World Cup should be a festival of skill and entertainment, not dour win at all costs.

Even if your own country wins it, couldn't be pleased if it was achieved by being ultra defensive and cynical spoiling
That European Cup Final between Marseilles and Red Star always comes to mind, travesty and would rather lose than stoop that low
Click to expand...

As a defensively minded player, I enjoy seeing backs to the wall performances and good defending. I certainly would not care if we played like Russia did yesterday in the final v Brazil and win on pens. Much rather that then playing free flowing football and losing 4-2! Winning AND playing attractive football would be ideal but not essential.

The reality is that if we did end up in the final against a better team like Brazil or France we need to do whatever we do to win that match. Even the Man U and Arsenal teams in the last 20 years had games where they battled and ground out a point or 3 when they shouldn't. I also think back to when my team Cambridge Utd played Man U in the cup the other year, we were at home and we drew 0-0, not bad for our first season back in the league! We had 25% possession, 5 shots to their 16, 0 on target to their 6, but we got a reply earning a great day out and £1m. Holding Man U to a 0-0 was an amazing result we were all delighted with and talked about for years after! Ok, the gulf between us and France is not as big as that but the sentiment is the same. That game was bigger than our FA Trophy win and better than every other game in the last 20 years, possibly bar the play off win to get back in the leage which was a must win!
 
cambsno said:
As a defensively minded player, I enjoy seeing backs to the wall performances and good defending. I certainly would not care if we played like Russia did yesterday in the final v Brazil and win on pens. Much rather that then playing free flowing football and losing 4-2! Winning AND playing attractive football would be ideal but not essential.

The reality is that if we did end up in the final against a better team like Brazil or France we need to do whatever we do to win that match. Even the Man U and Arsenal teams in the last 20 years had games where they battled and ground out a point or 3 when they shouldn't. I also think back to when my team Cambridge Utd played Man U in the cup the other year, we were at home and we drew 0-0, not bad for our first season back in the league! We had 25% possession, 5 shots to their 16, 0 on target to their 6, but we got a reply earning a great day out and £1m. Holding Man U to a 0-0 was an amazing result we were all delighted with and talked about for years after! Ok, the gulf between us and France is not as big as that but the sentiment is the same. That game was bigger than our FA Trophy win and better than every other game in the last 20 years, possibly bar the play off win to get back in the leage which was a must win!
Click to expand...

Very sad to hear anyone who says they are a football fan make such a statement, so 10 behind the ball, 0-0 and win on pens would make you happy?
Sorry, but if we lost in a similar fashion as Italy in 1970 I would stand and applaud having seen such a fine display of football
 
Everyone says that until it happens to them. And certainly, from a neutral point of view, no one wants to see boring games.

But as a Newcastle fan, I wish i could say that in '95-96 we were Premiership winners and in '98 and '99 FA Cup winners instead of runners up. Everyone praised the way Newcastle played with that 'as long as we score one more than you, it doesn't matter how many we concede' attitude.

But now everyone sees Newcastle as a club that thinks it's better than it is because we've had no silver ware since '69. People forget how you got your victory, they only remember that you won. People don't remember second place.

For England, for Croatia, for any of the teams still left in the tournament, this is the year that they really could do it. It's probably the best chance in decades for a 'smaller' side to get their name in the history books. And I'm sure they'd all happily have the World Cup even if it meant winning it on penalties.
 
Last edited:
tijuana taxi said:
Very sad to hear anyone who says they are a football fan make such a statement, so 10 behind the ball, 0-0 and win on pens would make you happy?
Sorry, but if we lost in a similar fashion as Italy in 1970 I would stand and applaud having seen such a fine display of football
Click to expand...

So would I and it be a great game but I would be sad we lost - after all, you get the trophy for winning matches, not playing well. The thrill of winning it and being world champions for 4 years would mean so much more. That's what tournaments and leagues are all about - winning it!

One game that sticks out for me in the hundreds I played in 5aside was when we only had 5 on a warm evening so no subs. We were mid 30s and up against a team of 16-20yo with subs and who were far more skilful. We basically let the guy up top goal hang and get a breather by rotating it. We battled, we used our experience to frustrate them, so much so they started arguing with each other and trying to score by dribbling round us all rather than passing. When we could we timewasted and we won! Sure there were a number of games when we played good football and battered teams with passing and skill, but that was a big achievement and I still remember it.
 
It does look ominous but I remember everyone gushing over Brazil in '82 then along came a certain Paulo Rossi.
 
Marc said:
It does look ominous but I remember everyone gushing over Brazil in '82 then along came a certain Paulo Rossi.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that they only just beat Costa Rica! No team in this World Cup has looked outstanding so far
 
Still going for France or Belgium, wasn't that impressed with Brazil, good, but certainly not unbeatable.

France looked excellent against Argentina, will be interesting tonight to see if Belgium are stepping it up.

Favourite player for me so far has been Luis Suarez, never stops working, makes and scores goals too.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Still going for France or Belgium, wasn't that impressed with Brazil, good, but certainly not unbeatable.

France looked excellent against Argentina, will be interesting tonight to see if Belgium are stepping it up.

Favourite player for me so far has been Luis Suarez, never stops working, makes and scores goals too.
Click to expand...

They did, but most team looked good against Argentina!!! Croatia did then disappointed against Denmark.

What I dont want to see is Brazil winning it flair football or not. The way Neymar rolls around is a disgrace and embarrassing.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Still going for France or Belgium, wasn't that impressed with Brazil, good, but certainly not unbeatable.
Click to expand...

Sure about that????

What a World Cup!!!! Still 40 mins to go but what is it about the big/fancied nations unable to create and score against average ones?
 
cambsno said:
Sure about that????

What a World Cup!!!! Still 40 mins to go but what is it about the big/fancied nations unable to create and score against average ones?
Click to expand...

Japan have certainly played well, think they have surprised everyone, next goal is crucial.
 
wibbly said:
Or maybe not! Poor old Japan, didn't deserve that..
Click to expand...

I posted that as Belgium equalised, great game and Brazil next up on Friday.
Credit to Japan for playing so well and keeping on trying to win.

That's the sort of football the world cup is about, one off game with both teams trying to win by attacking
 
Last edited:
wibbly said:
Or maybe not! Poor old Japan, didn't deserve that..
Click to expand...


The final goal from a technical attacking point of view was probably the best of the tournament so far. Don't get me wrong, Japan were great in the match, they did as much as they possibly could, but Belgium never gave up trying to win.
 
StewartR said:
I wasn't able to watch Portugal vs Uruguay yesterday, but I kept in touch with it on onefootball.com, and in the second half there were two absolutely glorious examples of the Commentator's Curse.

Firstly there was this:



And then less than 10 minutes later:
Click to expand...
A bit like Neville's prediction at half time, Belgium Vs England.

Belgium have decided their route in this world cup and they've no intention of winning this group. We'll see nothing from them in the 2nd half.

What a cock, I hate itvs coverage
 
Last edited:
Gutted for the Japanese
 
Gutted s I didn't put my bet on for Belgium to win when they were 2-0 down.
6-1 it was... Would have helped d recover some of the losses in previous games!

Lakaku for Golden Boot isn't looking so pretty either. Still, at least they are through to the next round.....
 
Another good aspect of last nights game was the absence of cheating, no feigning injury, trying to get opponents booked, no cynical fouls either.
Even the ref was good albeit he didn't have much to do, is it really so hard to play football with dignity and sportsmanship?

Made for a much better game, just embarrassing watching that preening idiot roll about in the afternoon match, think he might not be wired right
 
tijuana taxi said:
Another good aspect of last nights game was the absence of cheating, no feigning injury, trying to get opponents booked, no cynical fouls either.
Even the ref was good albeit he didn't have much to do, is it really so hard to play football with dignity and sportsmanship?

Made for a much better game, just embarrassing watching that preening idiot roll about in the afternoon match, think he might not be wired right
Click to expand...

Ref made a big mistake near the end, giving Belgium a FK when Kompany was not fouled in his box. Could have been a great opportunity, but that is being picky, generally it was good refereeing.

Seeing as Neymar has such a pain intolerance, how come he has so many tattoos???
 
andy700 said:
The final goal from a technical attacking point of view was probably the best of the tournament so far. Don't get me wrong, Japan were great in the match, they did as much as they possibly could, but Belgium never gave up trying to win.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Amazing break, just a bit gutted for the Japanese who fought so hard.
 
cambsno said:
Ref made a big mistake near the end, giving Belgium a FK when Kompany was not fouled in his box. Could have been a great opportunity, but that is being picky, generally it was good refereeing.

Seeing as Neymar has such a pain intolerance, how come he has so many tattoos???
Click to expand...
To be fair to the ref, it was the assistant ref who flagged that as a foul.
 
wibbly said:
Totally agree. Amazing break, just a bit gutted for the Japanese who fought so hard.
Click to expand...

Maybe a bit of naivety? Should they have played for extra time? Should they have kept a few players back? Maybe they knew Belgium were the better side and would probably batter them in ET?

Their keeper was poor. Punching everything as was to blame for at least one of the goals.
 
looks like that miss by Rashford against Belgium has left the door open for Stirling, had he scored I'm sure he would be in the starting lineup
 
I'll just say this, I'd rather lose 3-0 than go out on penalties!
 
Marc said:
I'll just say this, I'd rather lose 3-0 than go out on penalties!
Click to expand...
Well I can’t agree with that. Though I can’t see this going to penalties anyway. We are likely to get caught in the break the way it’s looking.
 
rick448 said:
Well I can’t agree with that. Though I can’t see this going to penalties anyway. We are likely to get caught in the break the way it’s looking.
Click to expand...

Exactly what my missus just said, do all the hard graft and lose 0-1
 
Have to say I was wrong. Let’s cancel Brexit and join the Euro.

The sooner we ditch Sterling the better!!!!
 
cambsno said:
Have to say I was wrong. Let’s cancel Brexit and join the Euro.

The sooner we ditch Sterling the better!!!!
Click to expand...
Yep. Rubbish, no control at all, get Vardy on!
 
Not a football fan but watched 30 minutes(+injury) of the England game, what a load of fish, yes the Columbian player lifts his headband contacts the chin, but for the England player to drop holding his forehead, nonsense, if rugby players behaved liked their football counterparts they'd all be off the park, when the whistle goes retreat 10 yards and restart, there's no grabbing the referee, no histrionics, begging for whatever, 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
Going to watch paint dry now.
 
Also get Alli off and Loftus Cheek on.
 
mj4456 said:
Not a football fan but watched 30 minutes(+injury) of the England game, what a load of fish, yes the Columbian player lifts his headband contacts the chin, but for the England player to drop holding his forehead, nonsense, if rugby players behaved liked their football counterparts they'd all be off the park, when the whistle goes retreat 10 yards and restart, there's no grabbing the referee, no histrionics, begging for whatever, 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
Going to watch paint dry now.
Click to expand...

But had he done a neymar the guy would have been deservedly sent off!!!
 
mj4456 said:
Not a football fan but watched 30 minutes(+injury) of the England game, what a load of fish, yes the Columbian player lifts his headband contacts the chin, but for the England player to drop holding his forehead, nonsense, if rugby players behaved liked their football counterparts they'd all be off the park, when the whistle goes retreat 10 yards and restart, there's no grabbing the referee, no histrionics, begging for whatever, 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
Going to watch paint dry now.
Click to expand...
I’m never sure why footballers are allowed to get away with such behaviour. It can’t be difficult to introduce the same refereeing powers from rugby into football. I’d also say rugby is much harder to referee due to the nature of the game. That nonsense with Neymar yesterday should have seen him sent off. That’s the only way it’ll stop.
 
What a disgusting cheating bunch of t***s these columbians are. Ref should have booked half of them for the pen.
 
How can you protest your innocence when you've just tried to mount Kane FFS!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top