2018 World Cup

[Moxley]

So, the biggest event in sport, the football world cup, kicks off next week.

What are your thoughts? 

A strange one this year with a few big sides absent. I don't think England will win, the event is in Russia, and I think that's enough to rule us out.  It would be nice to see England make it to maybe the semis though, beating a couple of decent on the way. 

There are still very countries that won this tournament, so a new winner would be interesting. Belgium for me would be the most likely first time winner, given they have 2 of the worlds best players (Hazard, De Bruyne) in their team who can unlock matches. 

Should be exciting. 

[Shorty]

Don't hold your breath for responses, Moxley. A lot of our U.S. friends don't even know that the World Cup is bigger than the Olympics. They also call one of their their domestic* competitions the "World Series".  And they call players who play sports that no-one else plays "world champions".

 

Australia to win.

 

Edited June 8, 2018 by Shorty

[mcanadiens]

1 hour ago, Shorty said:

A lot of our U.S. friends don't even know that the World Cup is bigger than the Olympics.

Common. Most of us are a bit more cultured than all that. 

No doubt our side having failed to make it is going to hurt interest in the World Cup. Then you also have the fact that most of those games are going to kick off about the time we generally show up for work.

To the degree I have a rooting interest it will be for England. My mom and sister will actually be in London for the first half of the Cup, so they may as well have happier Englishmen there for them. I'll probably also root for any team playing against El Tri. 

[dennyjones]

22 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

I'll probably also root for any team playing against El Tri. 

Really?  Why?

I'm a soccer fan.   I enjoy good soccer at almost any level.   I expect Brazil, Germany, Spain and France to play well and win.   Since the US isn't playing I won't be as biased and will even hope to see Mexico, Columbia and England win.

[mcanadiens]

17 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Really?  Why?

Mexico? ... Are you serious?

If you really don't know, the history is readily available. On top of that, I'd suggest that the Mexican side has been among the dirtier national teams I've ever seen

[nevets88]

One of the reasons for recently upgrading the tv. Can't wait to watch.

Here's the schedule for US tv:

https://deadline.com/2018/02/world-cup-2018-tv-schedule-fox-fox-sports-1-russia-1202296827/

Will need to repoint the antenna to get better Fox reception. PSA: OTA picture is sharper than your set top box. Typically. Unless you have 4K.

[Groucho Valentine]

If you're not Germany or France, you're probably just playing for fun.  One of those two teams are going to win. Maybe Brazil if Neymar is healthy and focused. Spain is basically playing off past performance at this point. They're strong and athletic at the back and in goal, but i dont like their midfield and forwards anymore. I don't consider them a threat to Germany or France.

As CONCACAF's only competitive representative in the Cup, I'm probably going to be rooting for Mexico. But they're in a group of death and might not even advance to the knockout. There are some other interesting teams. England and Columbia come to mind. 

[dennyjones]

On 6/8/2018 at 9:18 AM, mcanadiens said:

If you really don't know, the history is readily available. On top of that, I'd suggest that the Mexican side has been among the dirtier national teams I've ever seen

Can't argue with that.   

[Moxley]

On 6/8/2018 at 11:27 AM, Shorty said:

Don't hold your breath for responses, Moxley. A lot of our U.S. friends don't even know that the World Cup is bigger than the Olympics. They also call one of their their domestic* competitions the "World Series".  And they call players who play sports that no-one else plays "world champions".

 

Australia to win.

 

 

😃 too true. Australia to win would be fun - to date my favourite ever world cup match was Australia - Croatia from 2006.

[dennyjones]

I just read that Italy and Netherlands didn't make the world cup.   WTH?    Since the US didn't qualify I wasn't following others that I just thought would make the tournament.   In my memory, it seems like just a few years ago that Italy was in the final (1994) and the Dutch were one of the best in the world..   I'm still eager to watch some good soccer.

[Moxley]

3 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I just read that Italy and Netherlands didn't make the world cup.   WTH?    Since the US didn't qualify I wasn't following others that I just thought would make the tournament.   In my memory, it seems like just a few years ago that Italy was in the final (1994) and the Dutch were one of the best in the world..   I'm still eager to watch some good soccer.

 

I follow the Netherlands closely, and they've not been a good side for probably a decade now. They made the 2010 final, but I think they were fortunate to get that far. Unless some good young talents emerge, I don't think they'll feature for a while. 

Italy is more of a shock , they've had a lot of players who looked to have good potential over the past decade, but few of them actually making the grade. I don't think it helps that so many of them play in the domestic league, which hasn't been very competitive for a while now.



 

[Groucho Valentine]

Many of Italys first choices were just old. They were still rocking freakin Buffon in goal. That dude was there when moses brought bring down the tablets from Mt Sinai. Sweeden just outran them in their playoff. 

[Vinsk]

Big futbol fan here. I’ve always liked Brazil..just so much flare and they play the game in an exciting manner. Germany is stout though, gonna be a tough one to beat. Belgium definitely a dark horse. I played more soccer than anything growing up as far as real competition. I’ve always been disappointed with the USA when it comes to soccer. Awful philosophy of all defense and minimal effort for offense. Seems like USA thinks losing by the fewest goals possible is their train of thought. Ya gotta score goals. Period. Strike from the 18 if you’re uncontested, never, never short pass a corner kick. It’s one of the reasons USA has never really been a force in soccer. I see it even in youth soccer...coaches pushing defense so hard only to lose by a goal and think they accomplished their mission. Strike the ball! Tighten yer boots! Have one!!!

Edited June 12, 2018 by Vinsk

[p1n9183]

Despite we have the best player in the world (Argentina/Messi), we almost failed to make it into to the cup so i don´t think we could won it, maybe a top 8 finish. What do you think?

I think the top 4 teams are Brazil, Germany, Spain and France.    

[Vinsk]

38 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

I think the top 4 teams are Brazil, Germany, Spain and France.    

Statistically yes probably. But I’m taking Belgium over Spain for top 4.

[mcanadiens]

Shocker about the Spanish manager. I was about to say that some here were short-selling Spain, but who knows after this. Some important players were very strong backers of him.

If this turns out badly for the Spaniards, who gets the heaviest blame: Lopetegui, Rubiales (the Fed. president) or Real Madrid itself?

Why time it like this?

 

[Zeph]

I expect the usual suspects to deliver, maybe with an upset. Spain, France, Germany, Brazil. Portugal and Belgium are also looking good. I hope one of the Nordic countries will make it to the knockout phase. Norway is as usual missing, but Sweden, Denmark and Iceland can all make some headway. Argentina can make something happen, but they need to be on top to have a chance for the finals. I don't think Messi will get another shot at the final, 2014 was the opportunity. England is England and while you can never rule them out, I don't expect them to get much further than Ro16. Should make it out of the group stage with Panama and Tunisia in their group.

[Moxley]

Unreal what has happened with Spain. I personally think they have handled it badly, as angry as they may be, they could have saved their rebuke until after the tournament. It's very hard to see how this is the best decision for the team.