Hongbit Posted July 13 Posted July 13 13 hours ago, buddha said: fifa already talking about going to 64 teams by 2030. why even have a qualifying tournament? every country gets in. ridiculously watering down the tournament. As carlos querioz said earlier, its the vulgarization of the tournament. It’s the same that we’ve seen with the NCAA. We’ve gotten to the point that it’s not even hidden that making money along with their TV partners is more important than the actual sporting event. Only when revenue stops increasing will it ever revert back. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 13 Posted July 13 Argentina is such the paradox. They have the most exciting player to maybe ever play the game. Yet, they play such a slow, boring style reminiscent of why soccer never really took off in America. The game has changed the past 2 decades. It’s gotten much more vertical and the build ups quicker and more direct than the old kick the ball back and control possession and slow it down. Watching Argentina is like going back in time and it’s not a good thing. They are trying to slow the tempo down as that suits Messi now. They do try to counter but that seems to be the only transition they really attempt. It’s a night and day style from the other top teams. Spain play a possession style but it’s so very different and they are still looking to attack. The Switzerland game is one where maybe you’d expect the Swiss to play slower and more deliberate but they were much more the aggressor on pushing tempo than the Argies. Quote
lordstanley Posted July 13 Posted July 13 (edited) Give me this on Wednesday. The Argentina-England friendly from 2005. Back in the good old days when leading international friendlies were available to me for free on Canadian TV. As was the Champions League. And FA Cup rounds. And World Cup and Euros qualifiers. And half a dozen live Premier League games every Saturday. Long before DAZN, futbol, beIN, etc. became a thing, none of which I'm willing to pay for. Outside of the World Cup, I watch 20% of the soccer I did 20 years ago. Edited July 13 by lordstanley Quote
buddha Posted July 13 Posted July 13 such a talented england team that won **** all. tried to shoehorn lampard and gerrard into the same midfield and totally ignored the best playmaking midfielder the country ever produced: paul scholes. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 14 Posted July 14 France concedes early on an unintentional high kick in the box. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 14 Posted July 14 (edited) 62 minutes in and France has 0 shots on goal and 0 scoring chances. Edited July 14 by Hongbit Quote
Hongbit Posted July 14 Posted July 14 The French fought harder to protect Paris in 1940 than they did today. Quote
buddha Posted July 14 Posted July 14 they dont have the team to beat spain. they need a target man and a better midfield. spain choked off the passing lanes and controlled midfield, the same as they did in the nations league. there was no one there to alleviate the pressure and hold up the ball. they needed giroux. dechampes brought a team to beat morocco, argentina, or england. not spain. Quote
buddha Posted July 14 Posted July 14 argentina will struggle against spain. england have the kind of team that can beat them with harry kane at the top, bellingham in behind, and gordon running the wing. england's defense is weak, but spain dont have a number 9 to take advantage like mexico did. or norway for that matter. it will be an interesting match if its england. i thinm spain will overwhelm argentina as long as the refs dont make it a lifetime achivement award for messi. Quote
DTroppens Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I was busy yesterday, so I didn't watch the game until a later night rebroadcast of the game. I'm amazed how easy it was to not see any results until I watched it, so it was basically "live" to me. Hard to get terribly excited about the game for me, someone with no dog in the fight. Spain dominated and you just had a sense France wasn't going to get back into that game ever. But at 1-0, you hang on to watch for certain drama to unfold. Instead, we see a second goal and it was just one of those generic 2-0 games that Spain completely deserved and you felt like you just watched a ho-humm group stage game. I may have been better off, just seeing the result so I wouldn't have felt so compelled to pour into the entire game. Obviously, either team winning wasn't going to shock me. But Spain is going to be mighty tough to beat if they keep this form in the finals. They gave up nothing. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Brutal. There’s no other way to describe what England must be feeling. Spain played perfect yesterday but it just feels like Argentina are destined to hoist the cup again. Messi was unbelievable down the stretch yet again. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) Sometimes you park the bus without seeing the tow away zone sign. It didn’t work but tactically I don’t think it was a horrible call. It worked in Azteca against Mexico in a similar situation albeit down to 10 men and the same in extra time with Norway. Obviously, neither of those teams had Messi. Edited July 15 by Hongbit Quote
lordstanley Posted July 16 Posted July 16 3 hours ago, Hongbit said: On second thought.. The entire reason Tuchel was brought on to be the England manager was to get over the line where Gareth Southgate couldn't. 2018 WC semi-final, England leads Croatia 1-0 at halftime, sits back, loses 2-1 in extra time. 2021 Euro final, England leads Italy 1-0 at halftime, sits back, loses on penalties. 2024 Euro final, England ties it 1-1, lets foot after gas, Spain scores 2-1 winner in 87th minute. England didn't need a 2nd goal necessarily today but you can't sit back against Messi et al for half an hour, without any outlet for cleared balls. They needed fresh legs of a couple of forward substitutes like Rashford and/or Saka, gallop down the side now and then would have killed some minutes, not go with 6 defenders at the hydration break. 1 Quote
DTroppens Posted July 16 Posted July 16 20 hours ago, Hongbit said: Brutal. There’s no other way to describe what England must be feeling. Spain played perfect yesterday but it just feels like Argentina are destined to hoist the cup again. Messi was unbelievable down the stretch yet again. At 39, this is probably Messi's best World Cup ever. He's been incredible the entire tournament. That cross pass on the second goal - perfection. 1 Quote
buddha Posted July 16 Posted July 16 messi was a big tournament choke artist until the last wc. Quote
romad1 Posted July 18 Posted July 18 I realize this is the consolation game but France has **** the bed. Quote
buddha Posted July 18 Posted July 18 2 minutes ago, romad1 said: I realize this is the consolation game but France has **** the bed. slap in the face to deschamps to play like that in his last game. their weakness in midfield comes back to haunt them. not that anyone really cares, its a bs game. Quote
romad1 Posted July 18 Posted July 18 23 minutes ago, romad1 said: I realize this is the consolation game but France has **** the bed. Now England is ****ting the bed. Quote
buddha Posted July 18 Posted July 18 2 minutes ago, romad1 said: Now England is ****ting the bed. neither team is really trying. Quote
Hongbit Posted July 18 Posted July 18 7 minutes ago, buddha said: neither team is really trying. Why are Bellingham and Anderson about to come on for England? Quote
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