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Like a tennis slice shot, very difficult to do never mind score with.
You’re getting your eyes opened today!
Cut me some slack, I’m a bolton and England fan
😆
Shocking keeping there, don't think this is finished yet, hope not anyhow!
Jings!!!
it is now!
Two absolutely world class finishes in this game. What a start to the knockout stage!
Wow fantastico......amazeballs!!
Well I'd rather Portugal won and got knocked out next time 😉 Uruguay look decent and well organised there.
Uruguay. I want you to lose.
Edit: Pepe? Not like this! Not like this!
and WOW!! I'm really looking forward to the 2 blue sides on the 1/4 finals
Bravo Uruguay.
Tiny population - brilliant footballers. Kinda like the Sparta of the football world.
Yep - they, and many other smaller nations, really show what can be achieved. We (Scotland) really have no excuses. We are utterly gash.
And Ireland too. Maybe we play too many other sports, or the weather is crap, or just not producing this type of quality.
Too much focus on boys who are big and strong rather than skilful. From the grassroots all the way up to some of the hammer throwers in the SPL.
Weather? See Iceland, Sweden, Denmark......
I think whatnobeer has it. Looks like England are beginning to produce technically better players, given the success recently of their young teams. Don't see anything similar happening up here.
And Ireland too.
Football (soccer) is what, the fourth sport now in Ireland after GAA and rugby? I remember thinking as I read that rugby had overtaken football as number 3, that Ireland would struggle to ever qualify, let alone challenge at a major tournament after the hey-days of the late 80s/90s. Euro 2012 was an embarrassment. Yeah, tough group but utterly thrashed by Croatia, Spain and Italy.
Small nations like Uruguay being successful are a combination of “the-sport-everybody-plays” and a lucky crop of players - Suarez and Cavani, say. Throw in a decent coach who can drill them to defend like lions and you can achieve a team greater than the sum of its parts in a knockout competition. If every kid in Scotland suddenly decided that there was nothing other than football, and every parent was happy to put in the tens of thousands of hours requires to be world class, then Scotland would be doing what Uruguay are doing in this tournament.
Until any of that happens, because of seeding in qualifying and subsequent seeding in the competition itself should they perform miracles and actually qualify, the smaller European nations will struggle to do anything in the Euros and the WCs. Sure, you’ll get an Iceland (who defended rather than attacked) every so often, but it’s just a fluke.
Yep agree.
And then you’ve got Neymar who’s effectively signed up to play in the French equivalent of the SPL, who just looks pissed off and angry because he took the money to play what is effectively Sunday League football every week, and now he’s surprised he can’t cut it at World Cup level, so he throws himself to the floor every 30 seconds
You made your bed....
****!
Until any of that happens, because of seeding in qualifying and subsequent seeding in the competition itself should they perform miracles and actually qualify, the smaller European nations will struggle to do anything in the Euros and the WCs.
Couldn't agree more...... the other issue is that with the different regions being given a certain number of slots the number of slots available to UEFA is 14. It's still a larger proportion of the final 32 than other region, and with 54 sides that made up the UEFA qualifying groups it proportionally is higher than most others (Sth America get 5 slots for 10 teams in the qualification, most others get around 10%). However the strength of most of those 54 UEFA sides vs let's call them developing regions means that it is quite a task to even get to the World Cup - with no NL, Italy, Wales, etc.
Don't know a solution though; we want the developing regions to stand a chance but honestly are Panama and Saudi Arabia worthier attendees at the World Cup from a playing strength perspective than Italy, or 'even' Wales or Scotland?
That said - what a WC so far. Best ever?
Those two teams you listed are shocking and losing one of them to give the European sides another qualifying group would be wholly justified imho.
With out meaning to race on 4 years are Qatar going to be worthy competitors? I'm sure the stadia will be very impressive etc but as hosts I can't see them coming close to victory.
Think there's talk of 48 teams in the finals come 2026 so there will undoubtedly be some absolutely shocking performances if that's the case.
In Scotland though I would argue football is the main sport by far. There are no competitors - aside from rugby in the borders - we've been poor for 20 years now and I can't see it changing.
Agree with the point about qualification being harder, even though more places are available, because of the strength of European sides. Would global qualifying groups just be silly?
@deadlydarcy - we beat Italy 1-0 (Robbie Brady) and progressed into the next round. So it's not all doom and gloom
In Scotland though I would argue football is the main sport by far. There are no competitors – aside from rugby in the borders – we’ve been poor for 20 years now and I can’t see it changing.
Really though? Central belt probably, but where I lived (west coast) the schools wouldn't teach it, and it was far easier to get involved with shinty, or even MTB in our village. Don't know about other countries but the whole depressing sectarian angle of Scottish football REALLY puts me off, thinks it's also why my dad was never all that keen for me to get involved. Suppose other countries maybe have an equivalent, but in wee towns when your choice of team apparently dictates your religion and apparently now politics and Brexit stance (kidding, sort of) it gets a bit stupid.
I guess as kids the lure of hillwalking etc. is less strong, I certainly didn't pick it up till I was past my prime footballing age, but still, there's a sport that Scotland takes seriously, and dare I say it, punches above its weight in the international arena? (well, mountaineering anyway).
Edit: actually, thinking about my town (Oban) I wonder how much influence the midgies had, I'm pretty sure indoor sports like basketball, badminton and squash enjoyed a lot of popularity with schoolkids had something to do with the swarming clouds of midgies waiting for us outside...
I give up, can anyone make this link work
Well this is crap so far ...
Need Spain to win!
Got Spain winning and then a a combination of Denmark /Mexico/Belgium/Croatia winning ... But in each accumulator Spain has to win!
Well I can see this being an extra time of mistakes rather than quality based on the last 10 mins
just a case of can russian legs hold out for penalties
Spain are so dull. It's like the Simpsons parody of football.
They used to be patient and precise, but at least eventually tried to penetrate the defence or wear it down by being a bit more urgent with the ball.
would footballers be allowed to play with a caffeine gel stuffed in their socks ? seems to me that the number of bad decisions/choices made late in games by players might be reduced with something to wake up the brain as well as the legs.
This is absolutely bloody awful!
I'm watching this in a small bar in Italy. I'm sat next to a touring Belgium football team. There are about five different nationalities here.
We are united in our boredom.
Yep it's been on and I'm only still watching as at least a shoot out will be interesting. ON the basis of this Spain don't deserve to go forwards, unable to adapt to play a team who wants to sit back.
and on the VAR do the FSB have an intercept on the feed??
I think the ref bottled that one.
Maybe he didn’t fancy palonium in his tea?
First advantage to Russia
I think some Vodka may be consumed this evening....
Football...... bloody hell!!! 😳
Maybe he didn’t fancy palonium in his tea?
Maybe, like the rest of us, he just doesn't like Sergio Ramos very much.
Half of england just put themselves in the final now! 😆 I wouldn't count on anything in this WC!
he just doesn’t like Sergio Ramos very much.
Or his mate Costa too
with those "box melees" anything from either player be push, pull, arm up, arm around, leaning in, being and all round pussy and going to ground early it will be deemed 50:50 regardless of what the other player does... Harry Kanes was given for the defender hitting Kane.
BYE BYE RAMOS!
Man that felt good, notice he couldn't even manage the duration of a penalty shootout without doing something unsportsmanlike...
What, his little chat with the next penalty taker? Didn't go unnoticed by me, either.
could have been "good luck and all the best" 😉
Even before that, he was either shouting some vehement words of encouragement to De Gea, or was haranguing the Russian goalie...
Didn’t like that Spanish/Russian game much, and certainly not down to penalties.
Looking forward to Cro-Den though.
Our Spanish neighbour is in the garden ,drunk & quietly cursing in her mother tongue. Ha.
My dollar is on Croatia for this one.
Croatia 5/2 to reach the final at the moment, same as England
Well that is going to make things interesting
game on then! 😆
and all square!! What the hell is in the water out there, round of smirnof all round before kick off?
The perfect antidote to the Spanish bore-fest! 😃
So by reckoning other than England none of the other teams in their half of the draw have ever made the final.
I think that result massively ramps up the pressure on England. They will struggle to ever get an easier route to the final.. I don't think they'll get there as they will bottle it, but if these were opponents in friendlies I'd expect them to be strong favourites in each, even Croatia
It looks increasingly like the semi in the other half of the draw will decide the winner. I reckon it'll be France, who I fully expect to destroy England's dodgy defense if they meet, based on yesterday's showing
hmm, start penalties the now, after a promising first 5 mins, this has been dull!
I quite rate this ref, but WTF is he doing with his socks over his knees!
last throw of the dice here!!
The Croatia that absolutely battered Argentina seem to have gone AWOL
This is a bit of a bore, I'm only watching for reasons of continuity.
Denmark deserve this now. Like Russia,Croatia are only after penalties. Dull as dishwater.
So who did I offend or upset? Stuck on a train with bad signal and no wifi for France vs Argentina and I've watched these 2 snoozefests here
Croatia don't want to lose this one, Denmark look to be playing like everything past this is a bonus
I quite rate this ref, but WTF is he doing with his socks over his knees!
WTF do any players have socks over their knees for? wouldnt have happened back in the day of norman hunter, tommy smith, jumpers for goalposts etc etc.....
Penalty it is then, somebody was going to bring him down, should have pulled him down way back there though if your being cynical
Well I never cheered his Dad saving a penalty!!
Protecting knees from hard ground / grass burns (I know.....)
Hence WTF does the ref need them - unless he's going to celebrate a penalty call with a big knee slide over towards the 4th official?
That was a rubbish penalty!
How was that not a red card?
(has that changed?)
dunno, wondering the same tbh.
He was last man so he should be off
and into the lottery we go, given how Croatia were being called best in the bottom half of the draw this is mixing it all up.
Vlad is having a hell of an impact on this tournament 😉
last man, and a deliberate cynical tackle, stopping a clear goal, from behind. Shirley a red all day long?
because it was a genuine attempt to play the ball, the penalty (and should be goal, let's be frank) is considered enough punishment
It is no longer an automatic red card if a player or goalkeeper brings down an opponent while acting as the last line of defence; where a genuine attempt has been made to play the ball, officials will be allowed to give a penalty and only book the offender.
But deliberate fouls - including holding, pulling or pushing, not playing the ball, serious foul play, violent conduct or deliberate handball in order to deny a goalscoring opportunity - will still result in dismissal.
hmm still no convinced.
They’re just explaining that now on TV. Fairy nuff.
(He still should be off the pitch IMO, he came through the attackers legs but accept if that’s been the rule-change.)
Nope, but I am qualified ref (although no longer active) and I find i can enjoy the game more by actually knowing the laws - so i read the LOAF and IBD's every year to see what's changed.
Well Kasper looks the more relaxed, his Dad doesn't though
that was a bit grey though - but refs are instructed I think to only issue red cards in these situations where it is a clear an obvious professional foul. Clean through on goal, you don't want to remove the last ditch tackle completely, because sometimes it is a magnificent thing, and if it goes wrong to be sent off for attempting it would be bad.