OT - World Cup 2018 Thread

[Ivan]

Anyone who thinks soccer is boring should have watched Spain/Portugal. Great game.

Th y would still think it’s boring, and then they would watch the Red Sox.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Pepe and Jose Fonte were ehh. That’s Portugal’s weakness middle of the defense.

Guedes didn’t have a great game. His last touch was terrible, but his movement was giving Spain backline a **** ton of trouble. Combine that with CR7 of course, and good creators like B Silva and Bruno Fernandes. Portugal attack is deep.

I’m actually somewhat disappointed with the tie. They were up 1-0 and 2-1. I wanted 3 points, but Spain are always a tough game.

They should win the next two games. How do you feel about trying to win the group? If they don’t they likely might play Uruguay in the round of 16. If they do they might win their matchup in the round of 16 but draw Argentina in the quarterfinals.

 

[AzorianPats]

I’m not a fan of his but that last goal was a thing of beauty. Costa and Nacho has great goal’s as well.

Great game overall Ivan. Lived up to the hype.

 

[AzorianPats]

They should win the next two games. How do you feel about trying to win the group? If they don’t they likely might play Uruguay in the round of 16. If they do they might win their matchup in the round of 16 but draw Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Play to win always. You never know how the draw gonna play out.

 

[Ivan]

It’s tough to root against Iceland, but I’m a Messi fan and I want him to win a cup. That saidvtheir national team has been a mess for years and Messi will have to have s phenomenal tournament to pull that off. I am glad that Messi decided to keep playing as an international, I had my doubts after 2014.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

It’s tough to root against Iceland, but I’m a Messi fan and I want him to win a cup. That saidvtheir national team has been a mess for years and Messi will have to have s phenomenal tournament to pull that off. I am glad that Messi decided to keep playing as an international, I had my doubts after 2014.

They got to a final in 2014. Each time we hear that. Had a chance to beat Germany as well in that game. I remembered Messi missing a very shot wide as well.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Very dissapointing with France today. They played ok not great.

 

[AzorianPats]

Argentina- Iceland tied at the half.

Argentina looks dangerous going forward, but I think the back and GK they look shaky. Iceland a very opportunistic team

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Argentina- Iceland tied at the half.

Argentina looks dangerous going forward, but I think the back and GK they look shaky. Iceland a very opportunistic team

They defend too much. They need to try and attack more.

 

[AzorianPats]

Messi misses a Pk

 

[AzorianPats]

They defend too much. They need to try and attack more.

That’s their game. It works well for them. The times they do attack they make it count.

 

[AzorianPats]

1-1 FT huge result for Iceland.

 

[JayNM]

Messi was atrocious today. He either doesn't care about the national team or he can't handle the pressure (more likely, it is a mix of both)

Yes, he's a genius, able to see spaces where others cannot.

But Ronaldo's life is football. The guy has that Chip on his shoulder to constantly prove he is the best. And that always pays off on the field. Remind you of anyone?

Another disappointment was Di Maria, as he was being a force with PSG. Then again, the French League is a joke

 

[Mike the Brit]

Well, as soon as I hit send, Ronaldo goes down under no contact and it's a penalty....

Thanks for reminding me why not watching the World Cup is much better for my mood.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

It’s amazing to me how people get on Ronaldo but Messi and his argentina gets a pass. That second half was ridiculous. Argentina dives a lot . They have been known for that.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Messi was atrocious today. He either doesn't care about the national team or he can't handle the pressure (more likely, it is a mix of both)

Yes, he's a genius, able to see spaces where others cannot.

But Ronaldo's life is football. The guy has that Chip on his shoulder to constantly prove he is the best. And that always pays off on the field. Remind you of anyone?

Another disappointment was Di Maria, as he was being a force with PSG. Then again, the French League is a joke

It’s obvious that penalty kicks where never his thing.

 

[BritPat]

Messi was atrocious today. He either doesn't care about the national team or he can't handle the pressure (more likely, it is a mix of both)

Yes, he's a genius, able to see spaces where others cannot.

But Ronaldo's life is football. The guy has that Chip on his shoulder to constantly prove he is the best. And that always pays off on the field. Remind you of anyone?

Another disappointment was Di Maria, as he was being a force with PSG. Then again, the French League is a joke

Messi can't handle pressure?

Lionel Messi? The footballer?

Dude, find another sport.

The difference between Portugal and Ronaldo and Argentina and Messi is that Portugal play to Ronaldo's strengths and make sure he's given chance to influence the game in the right areas. Now more than ever with his physical attributes beginning to wain slightly and him moving into a more central role. Fernando Santos is extremely practical and pragmatic and he knows how to set his team up in the right way. He's proved it with Greece and now for several years with Portugal.

Whomever is in charge of Argentina (three managers in this qualifying period alone) simply picks the biggest names and tries to shoe-horn them into the team without much thought or anything like a gameplan. Or they go the other way and make the team too defensive without any chance of being able to counter-attack effectively. The only gameplan is "pass to Messi". That's not Leo's fault, nor is the shocking lack of movement whenever he gets on the ball. The players around him today were awful, Aguero scored but managed to mark himself out of the game mostly, Di Maria was dreadful along with Meza, Biglia never in the game. It's always the same for Argentina, it's the Maradona effect. Maradona though had the fortune to play for managers that could set up the team to help him and make sure they weren't out of the game at any point. Argentina were lucky to qualify for the tournament, let's not forget, and the only reason they did is due to a certain #10. They're becoming the South American version of England. Plenty of egos and names, but little idea how to operate effectively in tournament football.

 

[BritPat]

Disappointed but not at all surprised with the French performance this morning. Scraped past a spirited but ultimately limited Australian team. Peru and Denmark have more about them and I can see the French slipping up in at least one of those games.

If I'm Deschamps I'm tempted to play with Matuidi alongside Kante in those games and play a 4-2-3-1. They need more of the ball and more effective use of the ball. And to get Pogba in more advanced positions.

 

[BritPat]

Really good game being played out between Denmark and Peru - Peru missed a penalty in the first half and are now being punished. 1-0 Denmark, lovely goal.

 

[Dingleberry]

I am giving the WC a shot this year, even though I have typically referred to watching soccer as exciting as watching grass grow. I will say that so far, I would rather watch more WC than ever watch baseball or basketball. Of course, I'd rather staple my ball bag to a windmill than watch basketball.

Now, who to root for? I don't want to root based on geo-political considerations. I'll root for Iran if there's a good reason.

Serious question for you futbol guys. Are there countries/teams that are known for diving? There is nothing that make my ass pucker more than that crap.

I want to actively root against those teams and then figure it out from there. Try to sell me on who might be worth rooting for.

I'm thinking.....

Iceland, because little island country pulling off upsets
Germany, because I love German beer, and apparently they actually could win it all!
Mexico, because we'd probably head the celebration all the way up here
And definitely England because my paternal ancestry traces back to the court of Henry VIII