No Irish, No Yanks, No Clogs - FIFA World Cup 2018

Should have booked ten men on both sides for time wasting tbh.

Shocker, Poland can't even beat Japan properly. How's that prediction of Pele's that an African nation will win the World Cup before the year 2000 looking?

well that's a pisser

Yeah!

Japan on fair play points?

yep

unfortunately one of my better predictions - 36 years since this last happened

no idea what's best for England now so they might as well go for a morale boosting win

For real if Senegal had scored after however many minutes of Japan just walking it around it would have been an all-time clown car moment.

wait that's the tiebreaker?

Prediction - Tunisia v Panama will be the least-watched game of the entire tournament.

seems like a banker. p miserable end to the first round with these last 2 games. have either southgate or martinez issued convincing denials about punting this game?

I suppose its not quite West Germany-Austria, as Japan can say they were taking a huge risk. But fuck em, if that's football then i'm a dutchman.

Southgate has ridiculed the idea of punting the game, noting that as england haven't won a knockout game since 2006, it is odd to be sketching out likely semi final opponents already

it's brazil/mexico/colombia vs sweden/switzerland/japan for the next 2 games, it's got nothing to do with the semis

which is not to claim any of the latter would be easy wins, or wins at all, but there is an evident difference in the potential strength of schedule

Brazil/Mexico/Japan

Or

Sweden/Switzerland/Colombia

Nobody's going to punt the ggame tonight

Gggranivill

oh right. but that's not necessarily any better even still.

poor mexico, trying to get past the round of 16 for 30 years and they run into Brazil

Guy at work today trying to persuade me he'd rather play Brazil or Colombia than Sweden or Switzerland.

Only a matter of time before a team from Africa win the wc.

kane will remain faithful. he will not look at other games.

Eight changes for England apparently? Pickford, Stones and Lingard still in. Guess there's a similar turnover for Belgium as well.

Excited for Everton v Leicester tonight.

Belgium or England surely have to go for it, right? Do managers look two rounds ahead? The prize is to play Japan. XP lol

worst thing about tonight's game is having to watch fellaini again knowing that he'll probably be back at man u next season

honestly can't see Belgium or England giving a fuck about 1st or 2nd on a strategic level. Play the second 11, they're more likely to wanna perform anyway.

poor mexico, trying to get past the round of 16 for 30 years and they run into Brazil

Isn't their record against Brazil relatively decent though? Maybe being thought of as underdog more than usual helps them this time. Brazil more likely to lose to them than anyone else in their path.

I think if they can manage to lose 3-0 to Sweden they should be concerned about playing Brazil tbh.

Losing heavily and still going through = mark of champions

Get the sense ever since the draw that Mexico were just laser focussed on that first germany game, determined to win it in order to win the group and avoid brazil in the last 16. It was going to be the game that defined their world cup, charting a clear path to the fifth game, and maybe more. They really fucked up against Sweden.

Sweden is winning it all

are you ready for some football

prediction: 2-2 draw. through 90 minutes it's 1-1, rashford scores one early, baby hazard to equalize within 5 minutes, boring game until 92nd minute where each team scores on a free kick

FREE LINES ON A SHUR

xxp After getting Flash Player installed on my laptop running Ubuntu so that I can watch ITV, yes.

are you ready for some football

Two reserve teams playing each other? Not really.

januzaj to fellaini, a move born of moyesy

Being edgy and watching Panama-Tunisia lads

This is truly the beautiful game

Best for last.

Lol this game is in Saransk. Based on something my old russian teacher once said, I understand Saransk is considered in Russia to be proverbially hicksville/arse end of nowhere.

(The lessons didn't take)

i understand it's the capital of the Republic of Mordovia which sounds like a fictional Eastern Bloc country in an old film

Peru's first game was there and I gather the fans were making a hell of a trek.

Has this game started yet?

390 miles east of Moscow, which as distances in Russia go isn't far.

this game is absolute minsk

If this game is going to be decided on yellow cards then Belgium are going to lose.

Ooh panama leading, rodriguez