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FIFA Football World Cup 2018 Russia Thread


Mesme Rize

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I'm quite sad for Iran. From those two teams I would have wanted to see underdog winning. Portugal have never been one of my favorites... Iran fought hard and it was frustratingly close that they would have won that game. First suberb penalty kick and game-tying goal by Ansarifard and right after that great shot past the goal. So close, yet so far... :sunny:

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Respect to Iran and Marocco for fighting. Spain's performance is baffling, even considering the fact that they fired their coach the day before the World Cup started. Too many errors for such a skilled team. As for Portugal, I didn't expect much from them, and they will probably have a hard time against Uruguay, particularly their aged defenders against Suarez and Cavani.

One of the biggest events of the World Cup - the appearance and the saved penalty by the 45 year old El-Hadary. It was the only good thing about otherwise terrible Egypt's game.

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So, we have our first 0-0. France looks so bleak during this WC. But the "experts" say they may be saving their energy for the play-off. They'd better be, because Argentina is waiting for them.

Iceland lost to Croatia's reserve (for the most part). That's sad, but the Vikings are still heroes. Nigeria tired hard, but Messi, the referee and luck were with Argentina today. 

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35 minutes ago, Divine plywood said:

Sadly I didn't have a change to see today's matches. Is Argentina - Nigeria worth of re-watching again from tape? Was that decision from the referee really as controversal as the headlines say?

Watch the extended highlights and you'll get the big picture. Although if you want to see Maradona flipping double middle fingers on camera, you might need a separate video. And yes, the decision was really controversial, as a similar penalty have been already given during this WC.

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WOW o_o

3 minutes ago, Laurel Crown said:

The Champions' Curse strikes again as Germany ranked 4th after getting a beatdown with a 2-0 from the koreans.

That's four of the last five defending champions now that have crashed out in the group stage - France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014, and now Germany.

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I am really upset. I know it would be heavy, but this is a desaster for the german football. And it is deserved. I am really angry about the german performance. Löw, Özil, Khedira, Müller ... please left the team.

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This group was a real roller-coaster. The German team needs fresh blood and fresh ideas, and Mexicans must be really grateful to Koreans. Also, Son Heung-Min will now probably escape serving in the army, if the rumor were true.

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Boy, Germany showed their poor performance from yesterday. It's embarrassing to see the reigning champions follow Spain's suit from 2014, no offense to people from Germany. And Colombia will have to make or break when they take on Senegal, as a draw or a loss means their road to the champions will come to an early end unless they pull off a miracle.

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Senegal is the first team in this World Cup to be eliminated on Fair Play points. Kudoes to Poland for doing their best in the match that didn't mean anything to them - it seems to be a trend of the tournament with Peru, Saudi Arabia, Marocco and Costa Rica really trying after losing all chances to qualify.

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On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:42 AM, Laurel Crown said:

Fun fact: an Egyptian commentator died of heartbreak due to Al-Dossari's goal. Ouch...

As an Egyptian that bums me out soooo much I honestly thought we had a chance...

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14 hours ago, woodchunks66 said:

As an Egyptian that bums me out soooo much I honestly thought we had a chance...

Given you have Mohammed Salah as the main player, but sadly one man cannot carry an entire team.

On a different note: I never thought dying from a sport-related heart failure could be possible. Here we have a commentator who is so obsessed with AC Milan people started joking he could die like that any day.

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21 hours ago, Oleks said:

So, the group stage is over. And the grid seems kinda uneven. The lower part has way less "favorite" teams:

grid.png.e839209b5ea06f2709c4ed0461441018.png

Any predictions?

France, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Switzerland, Colombia to go to the quarter finals.

Then it's France, Brazil, Croatia (that's right), Colombia

Then it'll be like this: 1st France, 2nd Croatia, 3rd Brazil, 4th Colombia

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9 minutes ago, RiseofSpectrum said:

France, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Switzerland, Colombia to go to the quarter finals.

I agree for the most part, but I think Uruguay can beat Portugal. Also, it's hard to choose between Sweden vs Switzerland, but I feel the Swiss can win this one.

Croatia in the final? I wish this came true. But after their Euro 2016 fiasco I'm ready for the worst.

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Belgium has been my pick from the start and I'm sticking with them. I would love to see Croatia reach the final as well - with their current form and this bracket, they've got a real opportunity

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(edited)
6 hours ago, Oleks said:

I agree for the most part, but I think Uruguay can beat Portugal. Also, it's hard to choose between Sweden vs Switzerland, but I feel the Swiss can win this one.

Croatia in the final? I wish this came true. But after their Euro 2016 fiasco I'm ready for the worst.

Yes, Uruguay can indeed beat Portugal. However, looking at both teams, Portugal just seems to have a better set of players all around. Uruguay got in the easiest group of the tournament, and were very unconvincing against the more defensive-minded Saudi Arabia and Egypt (Portugal also is a very much defensive-minded team). Also, Portugal is a very difficult team to beat. One may outplay them, but they're never out of the fight. Then again, I'm portuguese, so I may be biased.

Croatia has a decent manager now, and I think they're around the 2nd or 3rd strongest team in the tournament. They already beat Spain, deservedly, two years ago, and the remaining probable adversaries, Colombia and Denmark, just aren't up to par with that team.

Currently, the teams still in the tournament are, in my opinion, as followed, from best to worst: 1-France 2-Brazil 3-Croatia 4-Spain 5-Portugal 6-Belgium 7- Mexico 8-Colombia 9-Uruguay 10-England 11-Switzerland 12-Argentina 13-Sweden 14-Denmark 15-Japan 16-Russia. If you wish for any justification regarding any country's position, I'll gladly give it you.

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5 hours ago, RiseofSpectrum said:

If you wish for any justification regarding any country's position, I'll gladly give it you.

Why did you rate France 1st? Yes, they have probably the best set of players (only Brazil, Spain and Belgium are comparable), but so far they were not impressive at all. I know many people think they were saving energy on the group stage, but they were still rather unconvincing so far.

5 hours ago, RiseofSpectrum said:

One may outplay them, but they're never out of the fight.

Exactly the same can be said about Uruguay. This is going to be an interesting game of great fighters with quality players on both sides. I also expect more than a few goals, considering that Ronaldo knows how to deal with Atletico's defence, and Uruguay's strikers can be a real problem for aging Portugese center backs.

5 hours ago, RiseofSpectrum said:

Croatia has a decent manager now

I hope with him they won't repeat their 2016 mistakes, when they were too cautious against Portugal. After the elimination of Iceland I'm rooting for Croatia in this WC.

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8 hours ago, Oleks said:

Why did you rate France 1st? Yes, they have probably the best set of players (only Brazil, Spain and Belgium are comparable), but so far they were not impressive at all. I know many people think they were saving energy on the group stage, but they were still rather unconvincing so far.

Exactly the same can be said about Uruguay. This is going to be an interesting game of great fighters with quality players on both sides. I also expect more than a few goals, considering that Ronaldo knows how to deal with Atletico's defence, and Uruguay's strikers can be a real problem for aging Portugese center backs.

I hope with him they won't repeat their 2016 mistakes, when they were too cautious against Portugal. After the elimination of Iceland I'm rooting for Croatia in this WC.

Alright, I'll talk about the teams I consider to be either S-tier or A-tier.

S-tier: France, Brazil, Croatia, Spain

France: The thing about France is... they have a really good team all-around, and their manager isn't bad. Yes, they haven't impressed so far, but really though, no team's been consistently good throughout this tournament with the exception of Belgium (though beating small fries is no impressive feat). Also, they have a fairly easy path to the semis where Brazil will be their first real challenge. Speaking of which...

Brazil: This is probably the best all-around team in the tournament. This isn't the absolute mediocre side from the last World Cup, but your standard very talented Brazilian team, well-covered in every position from goalkeeper to striker. So, why wouldn't I put them as winners? The reason why I hold Brazil back is the reason why Brazil is always held back: management. Brazilian coaches are pretty much tactically awful, and it is only the vast array of talent that has been hiding that deffeciency for so long. However, with football being so tactical today, I don't think the talent will be enough to deliver a World Cup, though facing a front trio composed of Neymar, Coutinho and Firmino is a very scary notion.

Croatia: The real dark horse of this tournament. Croatia is a well-compact, all-around solid team with a few stand-out names elevating this team from a decent one to a real contender. The stand out names are abviously Modric and Rakitic. But take a good look at their roles: they're midfielders. And a very good midfielder elevates a team more than a very good striker (just ask Poland). Tireless, intelligent and selfless.

Spain: Player-wise, it is comparable to Brazil, however, tactically, they're far, far superior. In normal circumstances, with Germany out, I would say Spain would immediately become the favorites to win the World Cup. The problem is they just changed manager right before the World Cup started, and that already very nearly cost them the 1st place of their group. A new manager means new ideas and thoughts, and that will always take a toll on the team.

A-tier: Portugal, Belgium, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay

Portugal: I often hear that Belgium is an underrated side, yet no team has been underrated more than the Portuguese. This is somewhat understandable, as Portugal play a Greece-style god-awfully painful to watch football. But just because it's an unlikeable style, doesn't mean they're bad at it. In fact, they play as Greece played even better than the Greeks themselves. For all the criticism Portugal was given for their poor showings, it's not like Spain was did much better in group B. Also, it is extremely wrong to assume Portugal is Ronaldo + 10 players. You face them with that mentality, and they will punish you for it. Pepe may be really old, but he's still a very good defender. Patrício may be a relative unknown, but he's been (in my mind) in the Top 10 best keepers in the world for a few years now. William Carvalho may be incredibly slow, but you wouldn't come across many midfielders who pass the ball as well as he does, and you're still forgetting the "jokers" of the team, Bernardo Silva, Quaresma and André Silva, who can out of the blue make a great performance and decide the game in Portugal's favor.

Belgium: Belgium is this generation's pre-WC winners Spain. A very good team all-around, but never really going to win it until they become a truly ground-breaking team. Yes, they have the best attack of the tournament so far, but beating up Panama isn't that much of a noteworthy achievement. Neither it is beating Tunisia and England. I'd like to see Belgium facing a Brazil, or a Spain, just so we can get a real glimpse at what their worth. I know friendlies aren't worth much, but Portugal and Belgium have faced each other in two recent friendlies. In both, Portugal outplayed them, and in no way did Belgium impress me in those matches. And that's the closest thing to a contender I've seen Belgium coming up against.

Mexico: Yet another seriously underrated team. Player-wise, they don't even compare to Belgium and Portugal, but their tactical organization is some of the best I've seen in this World Cup. I absolutely loved their counter-attacking capabilites, and some of their players stand out. Herrera is ever-present, absolutely pressing-monster that blocks out the other team's build-up play. Lozano, Corona and Chicharito work well together when launching a counter-attack. Oh, and I love Ochoa. Not a Top 10 Keeper, but very very close to it.

Colombia: It's very, very simple to explain where the quality of this team lies: James Rodriguez. This man is Colombia, as shown by the qualifiers. But even if you prevent him from taking control of the match (which is no easy feat), it doesn't necessarily prevent this team from actually outplaying you.

Uruguay: A well-compact, well-disciplined team with the likes of Suarez and Cavanni to inject some real danger to any opposing team. They're not the best team out there, but, much like Portugal, they're not down and out until you absolutely bury them.

There's quite a noticeable gap between the S-tier and A-tier teams, but within the tiers, the teams are actually pretty close.

And, by the way, I expect the exact opposite from Uruguay-Portugal, very few goals, if any at all.

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