free all day Sunday but tough to get excited about those games

Super pumped for Mexico-Brazil on Monday though

I will be in air conditioning watching World Cup and gaming. Even though Argentina been assy, kinda expecting them and Uruguay to make it through tomorrow. But I'm no expert.

Actually hoping for Colombia to make it out of their side of the bracket over Croatia, but w/o a healthy James, it's just too much of an ask IMO

I just don't think Spain will get it together in time to make a run.


Maybe Brasil will get it together. I just don't see it.

that's teenage Brazilian Ronaldo pre-acl pace

I’m just screaming at anyone who will listen.

that was so damn lit

they don't want to give them 2???

Him down. That was in box

if the initial contact is a foul, that means the ref let him play his advantage, and the second contact becomes an entirely different play?

that seems really bang-bang to parse into separate discrete incidents if initial contact was a foul onto itself

It's a penalty so it went up var and thus they saw what I said and wasnt overturned or even required him to go look.

That's how I see it anyway. It's very clear first contact wasnt bringing him down, he fought to stay up and rojo saw it too that's why he came back again.

That said, a less brave ref would have gone the easy route and just placed at the edge of the box

I'm trying to think of an analogy...best I can come up with is the last scene of Gallipoli, when the Australian general sends all his soldiers straight into the German machine gun fire, and they're all just mowed down instantly.

They're still all going to die though.

But, he tends to get shaky in big moments

I howled for 30 seconds after that strike.

that was legit incredible

That dismissive wave to adm, better than that goalazo

Gonna be king of the world really really soon

Yeah, that last goal...

Pogba when hes on all cylinders is King GOAT potential ti me. Such a complete player. That size, that pace, the vision, and touch on that 2nd Bop goal set everything up. Then he can hold things down in the middle too...

i love pogs. But his ceiling is not mbops ceiling.

He's in his prime and still struggles too often to enforce his will on games. Love him still, but I have a hard time seeing a BdOR in his future. I can see MBOP getting more than one.

All conjecture obviously.

>i love pogs. But his ceiling is not mbops ceiling.
>
>He's in his prime and still struggles too often to enforce his
>will on games. Love him still, but I have a hard time seeing
>a BdOR in his future. I can see MBOP getting more than one.
>
>
>All conjecture obviously.

The problem is that Mbappe needs a true CF to play off. He plays well with Griesmann and honestly, it's why Giroud is great for France. He just takes up a lot of space, and is just dangerous enough to make you account for him.

Playing off of Falcao has helped his game. He knows how to make his runs. The Henry comparisons are clear to see. I wonder how his game will change once that blistering pace starts to fade.

For a long while

I'm not worried about it for at least a decade. But so much of his game is based on his pace and speed. I'm going to enjoy watching him for the next few years

Knew it was bad, but gotdamn! That's some legacy debilitating shit

But with conviction. Don't deserve anything more. And you mad as shit

so, you know, ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxJK__baeEg

you should try it.

Argentina was disjointed in this WC. He didn't help their cause much but I don't think his legacy was on the line. People are also quickly forgetting 2014, I mean you'd think he never did shit in a big game the way people are bashing him.

Backline getting cut up on basic passes (4 passes from Lloris to a 1v1 for Mbappe sums it up), the midfield outside of Mascherano, keepers doing themselves no favors...just such poor play and basic mistakes time in and time out.

nothing but wide players trying to 1v1 next to the chalk lines. It's idiotic that it'll all be a referendum on Messi when the fact is that team was poorly constructed, poorly coached, and just not that good.

It was painfully clear the false 9 setup wasn’t working and it took Sampaoli nearly 70 mins to put Aguero on

I can't believe Fazio actually proved that playing Rojo at CB was a decent choice amongst the options. they're. so. badly constructed as a team. AFA should be embarrassed. I fully expect them to miss the world cup in 2022, tbh, even with messi.

He's 31. 4 years is a long time from now.

no one coming up other than dybala that has any hope of keeping that garbage collection together. no young defenders or mids to believe in either.

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

Ugly group play, thrashed by France in 16...terrible way to go out.

Mascherano trying to break up Griezmann and Mbappe up top? How do you say "this is supposed to be an exhibition" in Spanish?

I have a hard time believing Argentina can't find *one other* midfielder they trust to possess the ball in front of the back four, and even if that guy doesn't exist somehow, then just get some mobile guys and dumb down the passing connections for them.

And then yeah, starting Higuaín over Kun Aguero in groups? In what world does that work? Anyway -- glad France got it done. I was super mad at 2-1 cuz I was thinking maybe France chokes away some chances and a bad team advances, but then we got the Mbappe show so great game in the end.

behind Masche who should play as a CB so Rojo/Fazio don't see the field but they so desperately need him even though he has negative pace.

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

played a pretty solid half

that was like a FIFA Pro Clubs goal when you're over-tuned striker is going against a bunch of helpless bots. That was so. fucking. wild.

god bless this tournament.

France/Uruguay is going to be a fierce ass game. I'm taking France but let's see what kind of goonery los charangos throw at them.

That said, France is just a better team on all levels.

* - Expect *of* them, not expect to happen

http://laurentfox.com/wp-content/gallery/animals-ng/DSC_0084-Edit-2.jpg

^^^old goat

CLASS

In knockout wc matches. Hell in all matches. Wasted a golden generation without even a sniff of finals.
I remember his old days on the flank where he couldn’t get anything cooking 😂

Cause yeah, his production in the WC is just as sorry as Messi's

Kind of fitting that their respective "signature" international achievements are equally counterfeit (Messi's thoroughly undeserved golden ball in '14; Ronaldo not even playing in Portugal's '16 Euro)

Both certainly in the GOAT convo. But you could probably fire off 10-15 upper echelon players who had better international careers with ease.

Pelé, Maradona, Zidane. Convo ends.

They will retire as two of, if not the two, most decorated and successful club players ever. That puts them in the convo. The fact that their international careers are so paltry in comparison means that neither is sitting in on the throne, ever.

I'm sorry you feel like you failed me though.

So no, they’re not in the GOAT convo. World cups make GOATs.

Not trying to really take up for either of them, certainly not getting into a whole dialogue over three words when it seems like we agree on the important stuff. Good luck against La Celeste.

The only thing we seem to disagree on is the precise meaning of being in the GOAT convo.

Thanks. La Céleste is going to be a lot harder than Argentina, but Cavani is hurt so maybe Deschamps’ legendary luck is at work...I could have gone to the game again but it would be very irresponsible. So tempting though.

Congrats on la Roma getting Pastore, I feel he’s gonna do great there. Happy for him and the club.

and theyre one of the best in the world.

thanks Fox Soccer.

Uruguay is funky, I got a cousin in Punta del Este and I went to Montevideo for a bit. Cool place politically, a little awkward socially and definitely slow. Montevideo is a capital city and there's like no people. Never any traffic, after like 9PM maybe 10PM streets are pretty much empty and everything closed. I remember the first night we were in town was a Thursday or Friday at midnight and the hottest shit we saw on a taxi tour of the town was a park with a bunch of kids hunting Pokemon.

so far two-for-two picking these. soon i imagine my percentage will disintegrate.

i mean, Portugal wouldn't even make the WC w/out him.

Portugal w/out Ronaldo is basically Greece and then maybe not quite that good.

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

too bad Bale wasn't here to bail him out this time

it was a horrible performance and after dribbling inside for like the fourth time to go absolutely nowhere I thought surely he's just being so persistent to bait the defense before the end line run, nut nope -- there he was on the cusp of stoppage time cutting to his right and punting the ball 20 yards wide of the goal when the Uruguay defense ate it up again.

It was a horrible performance and Knock-off Ronaldo was one of the worst Portuguese players on the pitch, but somehow we'll say the team is at fault. That's what I'm on about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

https://instagram.com/p/BkrU5tyHnVK/

MMMBOP, man
+ the way the god Pavard sat down this entire Argentinian crowd

unbelievable

https://www.facebook.com/lequipe.fr/photos/a.380316562065.163472.76283417065/10155681504122066/?type=3

this is a shitty fb link so you have to copy/paste the url to get to the pic
to save you the trouble: my man mmmbop scored infinity times more goals in one World Cup direct elimination game than Messi & Ronaldo entire WC careers combined

But can't just move on and skip them

From what I understand, that's the problem the Russians are having with their cutting-edge performance enhancement technology, the energy storage.

What's the end result of all the passing supposed to be? Wait for a Russian defender to fall down?

“Cool thanks, passing it back
“Nice, let me give it back to you though”
“No I insist, you hold on to it”
“Ah actually here’s someone on your left, let me pass to him”
“Great, and what do I do with it now?”
“Hmm, maybe give it to that guy in the back, just to be safe”
“OK, done”
“Great, and I’ll get it to the keeper so we can reset the play”
“Guys I’ve got it now, I’ll boot it up, but not too far”
“Awesome I’ve got it, let’s see what options I have within 20 feet”
“Hey I’m open back here, pass it now”
“Ok here it comes”
“So does anyone remember what we’re supposed to do with this thing?”
“Not sure but don’t get too close to that white box up there, looks risky”

He ran directly at the goal and shot instead of holding the ball and initiating an insipid sequence of passing. That's a no-no.

he legit body slammed dude as the ball was coming in. *note: I have probably an elementary school understanding of the sport*

Doesn't want to die of a mysterious poisoning or fall out of a window?

.

England won’t get past Colombia even without James, but if they do they’re gonna get clowned by Croatia

Not to jump on the hype train, but they do have talent.

You're talking about the area of the world with Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania. Those are basically the "Hostel" countries.

at your comment, lol.

Also, Croatia bred the most ruthless waffen SS units during WW2. Not that that’s anything to be proud of, but soft they are not.

I'm calling a Belgium-Croatia final now

Denmark was a tough draw and they aren't handling it well. Fitness seems to be an issue. Not a good sign in a single-elimination tournament, especially now that if they escape, they will have escaped from 120+ minutes of action.

Cmon Croatia

Spain got EXACTLY what they deserved. So good.

Good pay off for 2 hours of not really fun football

it's like the perfect analogy for life or humanity at least.

The key is understanding when to take your chances and when not to. If you look at most critical plays, it's because a player or players made the wrong decision at some point in the build-up.

game. A D-League team just beat the Celtics today. It's fine with me though, makes for some hilarity.

Randomness plays a more important part than in the American sports that are all much more predicated on systematic repetition. Just as you said, it’s precisely why it’s a great source of life lessons.

Part of it is the role of team chemistry, part of it is puck luck and part of it is some shit that will torment your soul because you will never understand what happened.

They are clearly dictating play in second half.

To bad they are short on talent in final third

feels like Croatia have no plan B against an industrious Danish squad. All these “small” teams and soporific tactics are making me fear the worst for the 48-team format

Love the discipline and they are actually creating more chances than Croatia.

Owning the game honestly. Not sure what there is to complain about, except their final ball

It might be interesting to some in a nerdy way, but I really don’t see what’s admirable as a neutral about what Denmark is doing. You really think Eriksen is used to his full potential?

Of course it’s up to the favorite team to break through somehow, I’m not talking about things being unfair or undeserved, but boring is boring imho

I agree with what you're saying in terms of the expanded format but I don't see this as a cautionary example.

Croatia is probably looking for pk's at this point

saw that come up a few times in the prem this year.

Dangerous play, hack/drag downs, etc.

He made an attempt for the ball and actually won it. He just clipped dude's heel first. So penalty and yellow card.

>Dangerous play, hack/drag downs, etc.
>
>He made an attempt for the ball and actually won it. He just
>clipped dude's heel first. So penalty and yellow card.

yes it was a foul but he got a big piece of the ball, pretty nice play given the situation.

looked pretty solid in what little i saw of their qualifying, too.

they get a tomato can opponent to get some rest and right the ship. that's a huge luxury to have in a quarter final.

that pressure is real

Cats too nervy and antsy to aim higher...instead opting for the safer route on the ground and we saw the results.

>Cats too nervy and antsy to aim higher...instead opting for
>the safer route on the ground and we saw the results.

I guess I'll backtrack and say it was the most dramatic I've seen.

but overall yeah not exactly a textbook group of shots.

Woo boy, that was intense.

Other than 1 penalty (the only no doubter of the bunch), everyone too antsy to take the risk of going high. Unless you blister it low, it’s a 50/50 shot...terrible odds for the taker.

Russia just dropping back and praying for a counter. Bleh.

Exciting finish here though. Croatia dug deep, they were fuckin' gassed. Modric with that superb pass but couldn't convert the penalty. Great showing in PKs though. They are fortunate to have a soft opponent next. Did not look super fit here and had to play a long, tough game.

Not a huge fan of Spain but I am a little sad that they went out like this. A lot of veteran guys who accomplished a lot including guys from that 2010 team. I feel like all that shit with sacking their manager really set them back, this is not the same team we saw leading up to the tournament. It seemed like tactically the new staff was at once very hands-off and very conservative, basically wanted to leave things as they were and leave it up to a group of veterans to sort it out. the result was excessively bland, unimaginative and inconsistent.

be dead by halftime

I hate both of these squads equally
Mexico because of their over-inflated sense of self and it's all Telemundo talks about (haven't won shit, not every American Latino is Mexican, FOH)
Brazil because they dominate South America and win everything all the time (not lately tho, and I have a feeling El Tri might just break their curse today)

Which if they do I may force myself to switch to Fox, Telemundo will be El Tri TV

>Which if they do I may force myself to switch to Fox,

The curse continues. All is well.

https://www.facebook.com/djjosephjara/videos/10156126151429667/

not sure how i feel about that

he keeps trying to come back to the middle

tiki taka is dead and buried and hopefully so is parking the bus for the rest of this WC
Mex could be up by 2 but they playing
Ney hasn't flopped, what's the world coming to?

>tiki taka is dead and buried and hopefully so is parking the
>bus for the rest of this WC

Putin may have goons on deck, so not counting Russia out
Croatia looked like they're on fumes

but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and Brazil to just dump 2-3 goals on Mexico.

Middleweight will get his shots in, but eventually, just too much power.

ball going inches by several people until it gets to Neymar, they were like a bunch of dominos falling.

but that could have easily been a red for intentionally stepping on his shinbone. Ouch.

Neymar dribbles across the face to suck in the center of Mexico's defense, back heel to Willian who then takes a great heavy touch into the wide vacated space, gets the ball across to a curling Neymar. That's the essence of soccer, pulling players out of space combined with quick-decision making and movement.

On the other end...Mexico has huge swaths of space to attack into yet continues to pull up for shots outside of the box rather than laying it off into channels. Reminiscent of how wasteful they were vs Germany.

just a thought.

my Brazilian buddy was telling me dude really had little rep there until the Cup started, but there are more and more calls for him to start

I would have assumed Brazilians were into that kind of thing.

they probably didnt even know firmino was brazilian until this year.

Tournament to date seems to mostly support my theory.

I hope HE doesn't wonder why people, even Brazilians, have mixed feelings about him.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2946e0dd313c528bf6113938a5c0d2418acd1f68/0_25_1880_1237/master/1880.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=e9e845a71defa2b5261483321e0e3ac4

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/16/granit-xhaka-neymar-switzerland-brazil-world-cup-under-17

so many poor touches that could have resulted in shots/goal scoring opportunities. Decision making had to be quicker.
And those were some really perplexing coaching decisions.

Yes they won and got the goal they needed but they were playing in acres of space and continued to waste chances because their attackers were playing head down, selfish football.

How many wide open passing lanes did they miss today, instead opting for low % shots from range. Really poor attacking football.

cmon Samurai Blue

Is Belgium about to get sliced and diced with a ginsu?

https://twitter.com/r3al__AJ/status/1013862906356781056

Why couldn't this be four years ago for Belgium?

Crazy cross by Hazard right there

just don't do it.

Odd night for Belgium - missed clear cut chances by Hazard and Lukaku and then get back into the game with a mishit headed centering ball

this game deserves a winner in regular time, no ET/PK shit today pls

I don't know about y'all, but I'm kind of hoping for a couple of 5-1 blowouts this week, just to get the rest.

Beautiful passing by everyone there

That was awesome. Japan wasn’t urgent enough getting back

Honda's free kick right before the corner was pretty ridiculous too, and will end up forgotten. Joe Hart would've let that in lol! That deserved another half-hour of them both still looking for goals.

>Honda's free kick right before the corner was pretty
>ridiculous too, and will end up forgotten.

and then Belgium just comes at them.

What a perfect counter. The dummy by Lukaku: A++++

3 goals in 20 minutes!!! shoutout to Japan, they played great. too much firepower from Belguim though.

really unfortunate the keeper got stupid on that Vertonghen header, if they'd held on a few more minutes Belgium may have opened up even more and created chances for a back-breaking third.

But well played to the red devils, and highly looking forward to what they do against Brazil. This top of the half is the legit half so far

and not this defensive nonsense.

No bus parking and no flopping
just 2 squads going at each other's throat for 90 min.
The beautiful game!

didn't play like bitches. no flopping dramatics. and not one punchable face on the roster.

plus japan is an amazing place with amazingly kind people.

fuck i'm sad.

not going to say it was bitchmade, because we need to curve the misogyny in the two oh tens, but it was ugly

so they got what they deserved yesterday

What a play

(no offense, my guy)

the ballsier play would have been to heel flick that ball. That’s what Zlatan would have done, and all the other big baller ego driven strikers like him. Then maybe you get a fake ass raised hand apology when they miss like, sorry fam I swear I didn’t see you (riiiiiiiight).

but Romelu the Great Thinker operates on a higher plane and was planning that shit from the moment Courtois started the play, all the while reviewing his entire life story and thinking “Don’t worry mama, I’m not letting dumb shit shatter our dreams, fuck that!’

(‘Yeah mom, I know, language, but shit’s a little hot out here, you know? wait...here you go, Nacer, come through fam’)

so yeah, VISION is what it was

Had Chadli not been there or not been ready for the dummy, Lukaku would be getting raked for ducking the shot. It takes a set to take that gamble.

It wasn’t a gamble, it was a superb premeditated play. That they may have practiced

smh.

What a turnaround after yesterday's snoozers!
Was really hoping Japan could've gotten that third one. Honda's freekick would have been such a beautiful way to seal it, but Courtois' ass saw it coming. Man, props to both teams for that one.

The start to the Brasil-Mexico game was hot and then the finish to Belgium-Japan was incredible. What a rally and what a finale! Was that the most fear-inspiring moment in the HISTORY of Belgium? Gotta be.

Chadli and Fellaini changed the game off the bench. Belgium had clear cut chances all game but once Vertonghen's mishit went in, the lid came off.

He’s washed (and was overrated in the first place)

>(and was overrated in the first place)

when healthy, he was a beast.

HOT TAKES, I GOT HOT TAKES!!!

Hats of Belgium for capitalizing.

Seems like, you might have wanted to start Sideshow Bob against the Lilliputian-like Japanese. he probably could have had a hat-trick of headers.

Lukaku deserves a medal for dummying that.

GOODBYE

Face the 6th and last remaining African team

I didn't shed a tear for Mexico but the way they started the match was exciting.

honest question, I'm genuinely curious about your thought process

Ones in their 60's, 50's, now 40's is a Brazil fan. Regardless of country of origin. (Maybe that's changed in recent years/different for some francophones, but that whole thing has always been really weird to me.). Goes back to when the contingent got1 or 2 teams. Plus Pele black as shit. So to have a team in knockouts you had to align with someone not from the contingent. Brazil was no brainer.

That doesn't really change. Columbia? There no hard connection or history.
And lol at given that districting to a colonial power FOH. You know I've been a France fan for a long time, always been my favorite euro, but I'd never say that.


This is fairly established, George weah used to take about it when he played, Nigerian teams, Cameron in their heyday, etc.

to quote the Telemundo announcer, I need a cup of Cuban coffee to stay awake

To think one of them will be in quarterfinals over Mex, Peru, Senegal, and Japan is a travesty

no one wants to be the hero

but just no finishing whatsoever. Not even close.

Sweden guy just had the ball at the top of the 18 with 7 yards of space in every direction and he some how managed to lose the ball, to himself.

could be no other way

deflected into goal.

I just think it's hilarious that this game finally got a goal, and of course it came off a really tame shot.

"Be blissfully alone"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDBixj9xOkQ

We get some other feed here in Canada on TSN, all the English dudes solo commentating, but when that feed messes up we get the Fox feed for a bit and it just feels so wrong.

I dunno.

a lot of standing around and sitting deep

And not 10 + Ali.

so there's that.

so there's that.

Heh.

Neymar would be proud!

Colombia playing like they have no interest in futbol, fuck em

this shit gonna last all evening with 18 minutes of stoppage time at this rate.

WTF is Colombia doing?

letting all kinds of sneak shit fly the 1st half
and now trying to compensate in the 2nd
I get it's win or go home and they should be allowed to play
but all the shirt pulling, grabbing, underhand slick kick shit is gonna get out of hand
fists gonna fly soon if ref doesn't regulate this shit

No message

Wasn't high-quality football, but it had a good flow to it.

So ultimately I am ok with this development

Not getting off that easy, gotta put in that OT

Seriously, they could cancel the rest of the tournament and it would be my personal GOAT WC - with a bullet.

(Don't care about jinxing Colombia, for the record. As you mentioned, it's not like they deserve a W here)

asking for my cafeteros

worst officiating
worst fouls
worst Cuadrado performance ever
.just awful

but he also totally shanked a chance to tie it and overall he has been mediocre (and this guy is my favorite player). HIs stats look good and at times he managed to force the issue, but he hasn't been on his game for the bulk of the tournament. Quintero has been invisible, too, so who the fuck will serve Falcao? Carlos Sanchez had a tough job today but he didn't play very well, obviously an error cost of his cost them huge against Japan, too. Mina and Davison Sanchez were their best players in this tourney. Today their subs came on and breathed life into them, too. In the end they were a day late and a dollar short. With their whole side fit I think they can hang with anyone but that's probably true of several teams in the tournament.

This one hurt, bad, but I am not going to sit here and pretend like Colombia was robbed. The penalty was 50/50 to me but they gave England soooooo fucking many setpieces that sooner or later it was going to bite them. It's a sad day for me but I tip my cap to England ... and now I hope they get eaten alive.

But yeah, Colombia didn’t deserve to win. I’m very disappointed in Pekermann and Cuadrado (who’s a fave for me too).

But the offense and the initiator usually get overlooked. I have seen worse plays not get called in this same tournament for sure but Sanchez ended up at the mercy of the official there. Overall Colombia defended setpieces really well and executed on the one they finally got. But that says they were shitty in the final third (not great in the midfield either) AGAIN. I think Pekerman had a pretty good feel for things here, I hope he continues with the program. This was an execution issue primarily. I wish Colombia had one more big guy up front with some skill, that would really put them over the top. Four years ago I was worried about their back end and it was the strength of their team this time around. Too bad they didn't have their main offensive guys all fit and playing decent.

Or at least things started looking better.

I think they definitely win this one with James, but oh well. Still a pretty unflattering exit for a team that was extremely likable in '14.

direct quotes from every Colombian I know

but let's see if they actually get tested before the final. Croatia could be tough but they didn't quite convince on Sunday

Either they are the team we saw impress in group play and that was just a bad game that they got out of the way, or they got exposed as maybe not being well-conditioned enough to hang over the course of the tourney.

Drawing Russia helps them in either case. Other teams are going to be gassing themselves, they should be able to play about 80% and win.

definitely easy town until the final, guess I'll root for whoever they face there, whether that's France or not

Uribe's PK missed by a fucking inches, Ospina got a hand on that last strike, obviously the collision between Sanchez and Mina there in extra time. England had chances, too. In the end too many fouls, too many setpieces against. They had a chance to end it in the first 15 minutes of extra time and then Ospina gave them life. Overall too many negative emotions for Colombia. Too much nervousness and anger in their game today. Also let's face it their offensive game has been outright poor. Next to no service to Falcao. If not for setpieces from Cuadrado to Mina, they would have had practically no offense, not just scoring but offense period.

Falcao needed help.

Bottom line is no James, Cuadrado playing OK but not great and Quintero and in and out really sucks the life out of their attack in the final third. Odd that coming out of 2014 their goal-scoring prowess gave them buzz going forward (Cuadrado's service, James' finishing, Falcao's return) but this time it was their center backs that anchored the team.

Last cup, we saw the Porto iteration of Jackson...that is what I am saying they needed this time around to compliment Falcao and James.

Asking sincerely, not rhetorically - haven't seen one of Sweden's games since they sent the Azzurri home in qualifying. But it seems like they've taken down some legit-ish squads en route to where they are.

- thank God both Ronaldo and Messi are gone. Portugal and Argentina each had one exciting match, but as an ugly American who doesn't watch club soccer I'm glad their cult-like followings can focus on something else. Ronaldo seems so stiff and boring, like one of those Playstation FIFA create-a-players maxed out to 99, and Messi looks like that little punk kid who is somehow better than everyone but shouldn't be.

- a shame France, Brazil and Belgium are all in the same side of the bracket. the other side has been boring to me, with the one high point being Sweden's counter attack making all those Mexico fans cry for about a half hour.

- Neymar is self-parody but he can be pretty fun to watch when he plays team soccer. Brasil's first goal against Mexico, when he drew four defenders at the top of the box and let everybody else make runs was a good example. and Willian? like I said, I don't watch any club soccer so I don't know how he did at Chelsea, but to be that fast at 29 is seriously impressive.

- mentioned above, but the sentiment that USA should root for El Tri? helllllll no. I was over it after the Germany game, when Mexico fans were bragging they would win the whole damn World Cup.

- I like VAR. I think it's refinement would cut down on the major bullshit component that goes on during soccer.

- Harry Kane has the most punchable face in Russia, until Trump shows up for the finals. Colombia is a fun WC team for neutrals, weird to see via Wiki-search that James didn't do much at Real Madrid after his 2014 run.

- not really rooting for anyone in particular, but it's been a heck of WC for entertainment.

He just didn't really fit the formation they wanted to play, so he didn't start that often.

Also, the Swedish coach

For his game/impact then your opinions on football are null and void to me.

My issue/not so hot take for Brasil is starting Jesus. He's not the right choice, I think firmino and even a false nine to squeeze in Douglas Costa would be preferable. As an aside, Diego Costa would be so prime on this team, what a traitorous choice.

Also, really concerned with casameiro having to sit out against Portugal.

they're gonna have me root for fuckin Sweden at this rate

I don't get the criticism from Colombia fans that the ref was biased.

The ref could have ignored the penalty on Kane but it was hardly a bad call.

And Colombia spent the first 60+ minutes fouling the shit out of England at every opportunity.

Arguably he didn't start giving cards on Colombia soon enough.

Colombia didn't start playing actual soccer until they accumulated yellow cards and made a few substitutions.

The ref lost control there for a while, but he got it back eventually. He's certainly not why Colombia lost.

feels like Pekerman really blew it if that was his gameplan. James is good but they had more than needed on the pitch to make it happen.

On the positive side that was a fantastic game from Sanchez btw, him and Mina had quite a WC

>they had more than needed on the pitch to
>make it happen.
>
>On the positive side that was a fantastic game from Sanchez
>btw, him and Mina had quite a WC

yup

to be expected, but come on.

https://news.sky.com/story/monumental-robbery-maradona-lashes-out-after-england-v-colombia-game-11426216

Both R16 and quarters in 1 post?

I kid, but we'll need a new post for Friday

and that kinda was my first though too when I initially saw the post title

Let's just make a new one tomorrow to get some pre-game talk going

i figured if each group stage matchday post could handle 16 games, this one could handle 12.

clearly i miscalculated there.

What a defense. Edmilson too.

Oliver Kuhn was GOD....until he wasn't.

Ronaldinho is the Barry Sanders of soccer. 5 yard losses against 35 yards through three quarters and then an 85 yard touchdown (or in the case of Ronaldinho...perfect setups. Straight madmaking. Rivaldo and Kleberson made this thing go and Ronaldo knew what to do with it.

and yeah, I was just thinking about Roberto Carlos the other day.