World Cup 2018 thread
 

belgium has the best group possible, 4 games in still looking perfect :D pulling for them ofc but if I had to put money on it I'd go for France. just feel like it's their year.

France have an excellent set of players. Then you see that Deschamps is their manager and realise they don't have a chance.

I'd have my money on Argentina, but I'm not sure if their defence/midfield will hold out.

i definitely think it'll be their defence that costs them.

The big one in 45 minutes lads.

The Emerald Isle vs The Land of Song

:cool:

2-0 Wales

Just checked the scores (got out shower) and thought it was 2-0 :D

haha, not quite.

anyone notice Ramsey always looks like an entirely different player on the pitch when he's playing for Wales?

yikes

https://twitter.com/emmajim1/status/845384371242762244

coleman is the best player on the squad by far imo, absolutely tragic loss if it's long term.

Won the ball.

PLAY ON REF!

at the time i thought a red card was pretty severe, but the more i watch it and the more unsure i am. clearly an accident regardless. reports are Coleman has a broken leg, not only is that crushing for country but also for club, Everton will be lost on defence without him.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7tv7lGXwAAt8OE.jpg

Could just be a sprain/niggle. Have to see what the results of the tests are I'm guessing.

No, it looks serious. Martin O'Neill and the commentary team all seem to agree he's out for the season. They also say it was dangerous, reckless play and while not intentional, still worthy of a red card.

Decent result but we should have been able to win against ten men, thirteen if you count Bale.

Second in the group now, so not too bad. Bring on Austria!

COYBIG!!! :)

I thought Meyler looks excellent in the middle for his debut, have to think he'll be utilized a lot more going forward this tournament.

I think Bale being such a world class player is almost a double sided sword for Wales. it's obviously great to have him but when you're only scoring chances come from him blasting the ball from 20-30 yards out maybe it's time to change the way you play.

You reckon? :laughing:

Devastated for Coleman. Having his best season and it is likely to pretty much end his career - at the top level at least.

i think he has certainly been among the best full backs in the Prem this year. i think he'll be back though. he might not be the same player but seeing the intensity and win at all cost attitude he always seems to have makes me think his passion for the game will push him through.

i'm probably only hoping because i wanted United to pick him up to replace Valencia :D

:d:d

1-0 Northern Ireland already :cool:

Come on lads.

Yeah. I was responding to this:

Also, I didn't mean you can see it looks serious: I was referring to the verdict given by O'Neill and the pundits after the game.

TH you know I was being sarcastic though lol.

Also do you ever check your VMs?

tfw england goes undefeated in qualifying but bombs out in the first round of knock outs :cool: calling it now.

That would be an improvement for us.

We haven't won a knockout game since Ecuador in '06. Last time we beat a top team (Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) in knockout format was '96 (technically that one doesn't count as the match goes down a draw if it goes to ET & pens) or the '66 final (ET).

I don't think we've ever beat a top team in 90 minutes in a knockout.

i just think they'll go undefeated in the qualifying because they have an incredibly easy group. i was just seeing facebook comments about how great they've been playing, but the reality is they're facing weak competition. once it hits the knockouts it'll be business as usual.

I don't get why we have been so bad. It's not like we haven't had world class players over the years.

imo it's the same thing with every single group of players that come up through the system. "we finally have the right group of prospects that will bring us to glory" blah blah blah. the players always look great at the youth level but whether it be because of media hype or personal decisions (lol ravel morrison) very few players end up living up to the hype.

i remember reading an article (cant find it atm, still looking) about the top england prospects from 2010 or so and it mentioned where they are now. i think they covered 20-25 of them and there were maybe 3 or 4 who could actually be considered great players. i think it's just a matter of fans being upset and tired of losing (rightfully so), the english press being absolutely nuts, and the players lacking the mental toughness and support to survive and live up to the potential.

of course you've all been watching football longer than i have and actually live there so you would probably know better than i.

with that being said there are a ton of great young english players at the moment that i can only help will help turn things around in the future but you just don't know.

Yeah I've seen that article, had a few Arsenal players in it at the time.

We wasted 04-06, we wouldn't have won the World Cup but that European championship should have been ours. World class players all over the pitch and we actually played good attacking football. Great squad.

im not sure how the future will look tbh because there are a lot of teams that will only get better meaning more competition and requiring a better squad to stay relevant at the national level. i think there are a lot of great African nations that will become much more competitive in the future. Egypt, Nigeria, and Cameroon to name a few. there also seems to be a lot of fairly highly regarded nations starting to struggle, Netherlands and US come to mind first.

They are strange. They are either world class or below average, doesn't seem to be an in between. But this current slump is going on for too long, they are going to struggle to make the WC now. Automatic is clearly gone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_F...3_UEFA_Group_A

Actually, no, I didn't: my sarcasm detector is in the shop.
:)

Voice Mails? :confused:

Visitor messages.

Scroll to the top of this page and click 'User CP' or just click your avatar to visit your profile. Lots of people have left you messages.

Ah yes, I realised that after I had posted. Sorry, not much sleep: been up at the hospital with sis.

Prince going up as I write. Top man, is all I can say, and I don't particularly like funk. RIP.

Looking forward to it. A few albums in particular.

france vs spain today >>>

allons-y les bleus :cool:

Joining forces: Canada, Mexico, U.S. confirm plans to bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup | Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Can confirm I will be very annoyed if they get 2026. Why the fuck should the US host two World Cups before England gets to host again? :mad:

Mexico would host three before England get a second :mad: :mad: :mad:

you're all welcome to come stay with Q-Man and catch a few games if we get it :cool:

OK I skimmed through the article and I don't get it. Are they saying they'll do it like a Japan/Korea thing, in which case teams would go from the north (Canada) right down to the south (Mexico) for games? Or are they planning to snaffle the next three World Cups? I thought the Americans didn't give a **** about soccer anyway? Sounds very unfair to me. Let countries who actually care about the game host it, rather than just fill the coffers of Trump and his two neighbours.

Oh, and how do the teams make it over the Wall, Donald? :laughing:

Seriously though, **** them. This should not be allowed.

footy ball is starting to get pretty big around these parts. having world class female teams and the rise of players like Pulisic is definitely helping out. not to mention the big name players going to the MLS to retire.

A joint bid, USA hosting the most games, Canada and Mexico getting 10 each.

I've got no issue with the US hosting in principle, or Canada getting 2026 on it's own if they had the infrastructure but it is not right that Mexico would host three and the US two when England hasn't hosted since 1966.

That is just blatantly unfair.

I've said it before but it would probably help our cause if we put a joint bid in with Scotland and Wales. Britain 2026. Scotland and Wales will never host on their own, but they could have World Cup games played in their nations, if they were willing to work together with England. It would pretty much be England + Glasgow and Cardiff/Swansea but it's better than nothing and if FIFA are set on expanding the tournament, it means Wales and Scotland may qualify as hosts.

Get it done ffs.

World Cup 2030: Uefa would 'strongly support' pan-British or English bid - BBC Sport

Man like Me has been saying this for a few years :cool:

agree. who is gonna put me up for the whole summer though?