OT: The 2026 World Cup Thread

mosi's man · Jul 4, 2026

Agreed; not a good game today. Kinda like the average Sunday in the NFL (Before last year, how exciting was it to watch the Patriots for the prior couple years? I watched every game and they were generally awful viewing). There have been great games in this World Cup nearly daily. Regarding the idea of watching replays, what would you estimate as the percentage of NFL fans who only watch the Red Zone? I'm not trying to convince you to watch something that you clearly don't appreciate, but in comparison to lots of other sports, I don't think soccer is worse than lots of alternatives, never mind if you're watching a three and a half hour baseball game from the point of view of "action". In fact, given continuous play, there is much more action in soccer than most professional sports by any objective assessment. Ultimately, different strokes for different folks. By the way, there has never been more talent in basketball than in today's NBA. You might want to give it a second chance.

bormio · Jul 4, 2026

Adios, Canada. Now everyone can return to not caring about what Jesse Marsh has to say.

Guts · Jul 4, 2026

Thelonious said:
I have no idea which game I watched, I believe I remember a lot of red, perhaps some yellow stripes. Most of the players on both teams were black, if that helps.

you probably watched a Belgium game or Egypt lol which have been boring

Tunescribe · Jul 4, 2026

If they could just start penalizing all the flopping and faux writhing in agony, the watchability factor would improve.

Also, too much moving backward to move forward. (Yes, I understand that's all about "strategy," but still ... )

Triumph · Jul 4, 2026

France has no shots on goal.

Hell of a coaching job by Paraguay.

Triumph · Jul 4, 2026

FIFA should make it easier to identify each team by jersey.

Some teams are self expandatory, but other are not.

Triumph · Jul 4, 2026

bormio said:
Adios, Canada. Now everyone can return to not caring about what Jesse Marsh has to say.

He said that he would rather be Canada going home than Morocco moving on.

1960Pats · Jul 4, 2026

TommyD4207 said:
They dont slam Mahomes into the ground either. You can't even look at Mahomes with menacing intent without drawing a flag.

He gets hit plenty of times, which is way ahead of the zero times it happens to soccer players. Not knocking soccer, but it's clearly easier to have a longer career in soccer than football.

BobDigital · Jul 4, 2026

I don't dislike that Paraquay played with a more conservative style. That is fine. My issue is they kind of just played scared. They didn't try to gain control on the French side traditionally once. They kind of just waited to lose hoping against hope they could get to penalties kicks. That was not going to happen. They need to at some point get a real offensive push going. Did they threaten France 1 time? If so i forget.

Tunescribe · Jul 4, 2026

Triumph said:
Some teams are self expandatory, but other are not.

Not true. World Cup teams have strict roster limits. For the current tournament, FIFA mandates that every national squad must have a minimum of 23 players and a maximum of 26 players, with at least three of those players being goalkeepers

Triumph · Jul 5, 2026

BobDigital said:
I don't dislike that Paraquay played with a more conservative style. That is fine. My issue is they kind of just played scared. They didn't try to gain control on the French side traditionally once. They kind of just waited to lose hoping against hope they could get to penalties kicks. That was not going to happen. They need to at some point get a real offensive push going. Did they threaten France 1 time? If so i forget.

No, Paraguays first shot on goal was way late in the game.

IIRC, It may have been in OT.

Triumph · Jul 5, 2026

1960Pats said:
He gets hit plenty of times, which is way ahead of the zero times it happens to soccer players. Not knocking soccer, but it's clearly easier to have a longer career in soccer than football.

I notice that Mahomes is getting hit a whole lot more since all the accusations of preferential treatment from the Refs. The hit that did him last season was vintage Mahomes running to the sidelines like he is going out of bounds while the defense backs off and then Mahomes turns it up field for another 5 yards. This time the defense wasnt afraid to hit Mahomes for fear of drawing a flag.

I sort of have the suspicion that the NFL will be going back to protecting Mahomes in 2026.

Thelonious · Jul 5, 2026

Triumph said:
France has no shots on goal.

Hell of a coaching job by Paraguay.

By this logic, if neither team had accomplished anything, it would have a been a perfect, a "beautiful" soccer game. The final step, then, if soccer perfection is really the goal, would be to cancel all soccer games entirely, ensuring that absolutely nothing could happen in any of them - the goal of the exercise apparently - which is what I would recommend.

Triumph · Jul 5, 2026

Thelonious said:
By this logic, if neither team had accomplished anything, it would have a been a perfect, a "beautiful" soccer game. The final step, then, if soccer perfection is really the goal, would be to cancel all soccer games entirely, ensuring that absolutely nothing could happen in any of them - the goal of the exercise apparently - which is what I would recommend.

No, that wasnt my point.

France riddled their previous opponent (Sweden) with 13 shots on goal. Paraguay only allowed France 5 shots on goal in 101 minutes. They had to frustrate and slow down France to have a chance which they did. No different than Muhamad Ali using the "Rope or Dope" defense vs Joe Frazier and winning that fight in later rounds because Frazier was worn down.

borg · Jul 5, 2026

bormio said:
Adios, Canada. Now everyone can return to not caring about what Jesse Marsh has to say.

What was worse (for me) was the announcers' incessant tongue-bathing of Marsh.
The guys a retread coach, as are many of the World's national team coaches.

bormio · Jul 5, 2026

borg said:
What was worse (for me) was the announcers' incessant tongue-bathing of Marsh.
The guys a retread coach, as are many of the World's national team coaches.

They need to talk to Leeds fans

DoubleDeluxe · Jul 5, 2026

bormio said:
Adios, Canada. Now everyone can return to not caring about what Jesse Marsh has to say.

Why would care what he has to say?
I’m Canadian and I find him hard to take.
It was a great ride while it lasted.
Canada was very good in the first half, the much better side but couldn’t capitalize.
I have watched most of the US games, they are a quality side and Belgium has not looked great to me.
You have a good chance for sure.
Best of luck to you guys, happy belated 4th!

OldEngland · Jul 5, 2026

upstater1 said:
I'm a Lukaku doubter. He will wither as the tourney continues. He just cannot keep the pace. And he bumbles the ball a lot these days with bad first touches. I would play off him. He succeeds when people send multiple defenders at him as he is still very good at holding and also a very underrated passer. Left to his own however, he is a far far cry from what he used to be.

He barely played this season at Napoli due to injuries and other reasons. I wonder if that has affected his touch as well as his match fitness. With strikers there is often a confidence thing as well that is only solved with a goal or two.

If he gets some match fitness and continues to get his eye in, he is very dangerous with the right match up. Not a player I would want to see coming off the bench with 30mins to go in a tight game against my team.

upstater1 · Jul 5, 2026

OldEngland said:
He barely played this season at Napoli due to injuries and other reasons. I wonder if that has affected his touch as well as his match fitness. With strikers there is often a confidence thing as well that is only solved with a goal or two.

If he gets some match fitness and continues to get his eye in, he is very dangerous with the right match up. Not a player I would want to see coming off the bench with 30mins to go in a tight game against my team.

I'm going back a few years, not just this year. His skills have deteriorated, especially when it comes to shooting. He tops the ball a lot; it's very weird. He can't get his leg around the way he used to. (Napoli is my favorite team, I watch all their games).

h0c2000 · Jul 5, 2026

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