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

Messi vs Suarez though.

Much better.

with the close disappointment with portugal yday and arg today, serbia beating brazil is our best shot at the tournament being saved

unruined is the best we can hope for

do you guys just root for the best players to not play on the biggest stage? why?

top nations going out in the 1st round is the peak world cup experience. you will never understand

Assuming South Korea beating Germany is out of the question?

Of the pre-tournament favourites, only Belgium look really convincing right now.

do you guys just root for the best players to not play on the biggest stage? why?

The joy of football is in its sheer unpredictability. It's also funny to watch complacent teams get punished for it.

what about SKorea holding Germany to a nil-nil and Mexico-Swe finishing 6-6, doesn't that do the job?

plus also messi has played in like 20 to 30 world cups and has never done it

kor getting a point is unlikely but possible, whereas i can only see mexico giving sweden a preseason friendly drubbing

do you guys just root for the best players to not play on the biggest stage? why?

It's fun. Fuck a star player.

Apart from Messi.

with the close disappointment with portugal yday and arg today, serbia beating brazil is our best shot at the tournament being saved

― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 26 June 2018 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Nigeria and Iran had their chances.

I root for the most noble teams

The camera on Messi tending his forehead looking utterly miserable while the anthem played before the Croatia game still haunts me so glad he scored but would still prefer France to step up for that one.

plus also messi has played in like 20 to 30 world cups and has never done it

He was really unlucky to be injured in 1978.

Bit weirded out that we're past the halfway mark and the four best teams so far are probably Mexico, Belgium, Croatia and England. Might begrudgingly give you Uruguay as well, joyless as they are. Can see none of them making it past the QFs.

Tax evasion bound to win regardless of guise.

everyone's inability to really take opposition into account when assessing performances is a sweet mixture of frustrating and amusing

Of that lot only Belgium and England haven't yet played anyone especially decent.

guys i think the teams who have played against deep, compact defenses are frauds and the teams that have been able to play on the counter against more expansive & aggressive teams are much better

Yes, England and Belgium having an easier time of it than anyone else except Uruguay. Big chance of neither making the QF as a result.

rooting for columbia

xxp so weird when ppl are oversimplistic in their analysis right?

anyway, let's dream a little, whomst does not salivate at the thought of croatia vs whoever loses out of belgium and england in a WC semi?

we saw this proved when the insipid, uncreative uruguay were crushed by russia's scintillating, incomparable attacking play

Liked the way Argentina came through this really tough evening. I think if Colombia goes through, and with Uruguay in and Brazil bound to be in South Americans looking good, and hopefully one of them can make the final. xps

Uruguay are way ahead of Iceland imo.

brazil-germany looks set to be the choice last 16 game

for funnies, yes

do you guys just root for the best players to not play on the biggest stage? why?

i root for them to baggio

The piece from Valdano on Argentina and Messi is spot on. They have no composure. Half of the defense seems to care more about going hard on the man than winning the ball. The AFA is lightyears behind all other great football nations.

That goal from Messi is definitely my favorite of the tournament so far. Not that he can treat the ball like that running at full speed, no. The real genius that epitomizes how he's one step ahead of everyone else, is how he loses the defender with the second touch and give himself just enough space to finish.

I enjoyed listening to Tim Vickery on Neymar about 10 mins ago. World Cup discussion panels need more Tim Vickery and less fucking Neville Brothers, unless they are Aaron + Cyril.

Brazil still look really good despite profligacy and slow starting. I can't see Germany and Spain continuing to bungle like they have done up to now, but neither team looks as good as they have in the past. England have beaten a reasonably well organised defensive team in Tunisia (albeit without any real ideas when it got difficult). Uruguay have got the results but laboured against Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Argentina hugely improved today but they were completely at sea when faced with a really top class midfielder and had no idea how to deal with him. I've so far managed not to see a minute of France. The sides who have been doing well (except maybe Belgium) have enough cracks that a proper team would undo them easily.

It is wide open right now which is what makes the whole thing so exciting.

ATENCIÓN | Cuentan desde Rusia que Diego Maradona fue trasladado a un hospital. pic.twitter.com/2Ewqx5vLhy

— Clubes Mundiales (@ClubesPortenos) June 26, 2018

Some bloke had to hold him by the waist as he was stood up at the game earlier. Looked like he'd passed out briefly at another point.

Thread

I like Lawro

— Peter Stringbender (@sweetlittlehifi) June 27, 2018

Time to name and shame, that's what I say.

Really liked Tim Vickery at the last wc. Sounded like a man who made notes and checked them now and then. Which is nothing less than revolutionary these days.

I like his suits and his love of quintero

Tim Vickery is great. Marcela Mora y Araujo has been my favourite voice so far though, I think.

My kids were asking me, whenever they cut to Maradona, 'is that fat man blind?' What a fucking shambles.

Tim V was always the highlight of the World Football Show, he literally lives and breathes S American football and there aren't many players in that region that he hasn't watched and has well considered opinions on. Sometimes I think he seems to be used sparingly at World Cups because BBC producers are worried he makes most of their other "talent" look completely clueless and full of shit.

bingo

plus i think the vast majority of the viewing public don't want knowledgeable considered opinions about football and who are we to say they're wrong about that?

plus i think they think etc i meant

https://www.theonion.com/its-not-nice-to-be-smarter-than-other-people-1819584000

If Mexico go out, would they be the first team ever to be eliminated with 6 points?

think we've had a few groups end 6,6,6,0

if that happens then they should replace whichever team qualifies with the lowest points total imo