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14 November 2017 - 9:00am

The 2018 World Cup

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It's a soccer world cup for our American friends 😉

You think it's too early for that thread? Don't think so...one big shock is all ready a fact - Italy are going to miss the WC, who would thought of that!?

Don't remember that happened with them before, at least in my lifetime, they seem to be on every big event WC or European Championship and not only that, they are always one of the favourites of winning it, and you could imagine seeing them reaching at least the last 8 if they were qualified on this one too.

Sweden were in the same group as Bulgaria at this qualifiers so I saw they playing really good football despite we have defeated them 3-2 in Sofia, so maybe a bit of logic in that too but still it's tough to imagine the WC without the Italians.

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16 June 2018 - 8:14pm
#91

You'd probably call me mad Ed but...I'm just seeing a Croatia - Nigeria game and I wondering if a team like Croatia could in fact win the World Cup?!?

They've had some really fabulous players, experienced enough too, I like what I'm seeing at the moment from them against not a weak side like Nigeria (a lot of talent themselves) so I just wonder if it worth a try.

There's only one thing I don't like and it's Croatia's odds for winning the cup - just 29.00 at be365.

Yeah I know, there's only 5 teams who could win it...is it!?!

I don't think anyone from the usual suspect would be that dominant at this championship so could it be a time for something sensational and in fact someone else winning it.!?!..Belgium, England..would it be nice anyway.

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17 June 2018 - 12:35am
#92

Well I am very frustrated this morning by Australia's game last night. There was another prime example for me to add to my list of reasons why I hate VAR. One very dubious penalty to France and a lucky own goal that went less than an inch over the line later and Australia get nothing from a game that they deserved a point from.

VAR is supposed to be there to fix clear and obvious errors made by the referee. We know that. So how is it when he clearly sees the tackle on Griezmann that he can say no penalty, then be shown replays that don't resolve anything and he can change his mind? The replays showed that the defender got the ball before the attacker's heel gets accidentally caught beneath the defender's leg well after he has lost the ball to the keeper.

https://streamable.com/qvuha

Maybe it's a penalty, maybe not. Obviously I am biased but I think if the defender makes a genuine attempt to get the ball and does then it can't be a foul if there is accidental contact afterwards. If the same thing happens another 100 times it's probably going to come close to 50/50 on whether a penalty is awarded depending on the referee's view of the incident at the time. Even after seeing the video you can't definitely say it is or isn't a foul because while he did get the player he got the ball first. So it wasn't a clear error by the referee and the VAR hasn't resolved anything, just created more controversy.

I was also mighty sick of seeing Lucas Hernandez roll around clutching his head at every opportunity in an attempt to get the opposition booked. How about they use the VAR to give out a few retrospective cards for simulation?

As I said, I'm very frustrated!

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17 June 2018 - 12:51am
#93

I did enjoy seeing Iceland grab a draw against Argentina, that cheered me up a bit! The Iceland keeper was on fire and made about three game saving stops, including Messi's penalty.

It would be great to see a new winner. I don't know about Croatia though. They do have some excellent players but I didn't see their game as it was on way after my bed time.

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17 June 2018 - 4:51pm
#94

Yeah, you should be frustrated Ed, Australia was so close to the point.

I think in real time it was tough to ref to spot the touch on the ball and it looked like a clear pen.
After the replays I thought it's still more penalty than not although a very controversial too,one of those 50/50% calls that should of gone one way or another but will be a debate no matter of the ref's decision.
Of course Grizman make it look a lot worst.

As for the VAR - well I don't think it was so obvious mistake as you said and it's in the human nature not to confess our own mistakes so I'm not surprised by the decision.

Did the ref himself looked at the monitor? Don't remember that.

Anyway Australia have been so, so unlucky with the France winner. That ball to go in after such clearance from the def is one in 1000 times maybe but the spin makes it slip under the bar I think.
The Australians should get their portion of luck in the next games I believe to at least partly be compensated for that game.

Quote:

How about they use the VAR to give out a few retrospective cards for simulation?

I'm not sure it's part of the rules but I think the ref could book or sent off players after the final/ht whistle using the VAR so it's possible that your proposal is included in the rules too.
The problem I think is that the final decision have to be by the match ref and if there's 5/6 of those he would have to watch the replays for minutes and keep all the player to the field long time after full/half time is over.
So that would make it a bit complicated and long of a procedure but if you ask me they should give the power to those 5/6 people in the VAR room to investigate during and after the games and enforce sanctions for simulations or whatever, just like in the local leagues.

CL-Ed

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17 June 2018 - 5:01pm
#95

So Germany just lost, the biggest upset so far in the tournament.

They don't look in form for me, but if they would be able to enter the knock out stage they could beat anybody of course.
I'm not a fan of any of the big teams that you've mentioned as a realistic contenders but if I have to choose one to cheer for it would be Germany ..so too bad they've lost but well done to the Mexicans who's being brave I think and played really well.
I think the Germans got too many young and inexperienced players, but some up front are really useless like Draxler and...yeah-Ozil.
Anyway, their strength has always been the team play so I believe they could improve in shape as the tournament progresses, it's long enough I think.

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18 June 2018 - 12:18am
#96
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Did the ref himself looked at the monitor? Don't remember that.

Yes he did. That is another problem with the process. The screen was half covered in sunlight which would have made it harder to see clearly (see below). I can't understand how you can have a room full of guys, dressed in referee uniforms no less, watching video in perfect conditions and then they have to refer it back down to the referee to make a call while he tries to see what has happened on a sunlight obscured screen with 40,000 people waiting on him. Its probably even more pressure to get that done quickly than just making a call in the first place without the video.

Argentina were robbed of a penalty against Iceland. There was a clear foul on Pavon and apparently the VAR people check every incident like that and advise the referee. No penalty. Do they need glasses? Were they drunk?

Switzerland were very lucky against Brazil. Their goal came after a clear bit of holding and a push in the back that left the scorer with a free header. Again no foul apparently, even though these VAR guys have every angle at their disposal.

Lucky we have VAR to remove all the controversy! 👎

var-australia-france-1.jpg
var-australia-france-2.jpg

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18 June 2018 - 12:21am
#97

Germany v Mexico was a very entertaining game and a great result for us neutrals! 😉 Germany had about 7 attackers on at the end and really Mexico could have scored a couple more on the break with a bit better finishing. Was Ozil playing? I thought Germany were playing 10 against 11. Just kidding of course, but he was almost anonymous.

Mexico always have a competitive team and they are one that I always enjoy watching so I'm hoping they can get through their group and into the knockout phase.

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18 June 2018 - 9:38am
#98
Quote:

How about they use the VAR to give out a few retrospective cards for simulation?

Now I know one more rule about VAR, the commentator mentioned it at the Brazil's game yesterday, they could only review situations where it's about second yellow or direct red card, not in a situations for 'just a yellow card'

Yes, I agree it's a big pressure for the ref who should take that decisions quickly in front of these waiting fans and in a tough conditions too, they could of at least supply him with a sunglasses or maybe 3D and popcorns 😀
Wait...just an idea...could the refs get one of these virtual reality glasses? That would it be hilarious 😀

Anyway I kind feel sorry for the refs who are loaded with the responsibility to take all the decisions while the guys in the situation room obviously..being paid for watching a football games...maybe the popcorns should it be there.

CL-Ed

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18 June 2018 - 10:04am
#99

Look Ed, for me you can find 5-10 debatable situations(with or without VAR) in every game and depending of the point of view you could always claim (or not) that some of these were deciding for the end result.

For me the truth is;
Argentina did not deserved the victory because they didn't score their chances, and Iceland deserved it because of the way they played.
If Messy has scored that penalty then nobody would of talk too much of another penalty and so on..

Brazil did not deserved the win because they played too conservative at 1-0 (tried to be pragmatic?!) and there was always a feeling Switzerland could score despite there wasn't many chances.
As for the Swiss goal you could always argue how much of a push in fact that was, for me the Brazilian defender didn't make enough effort to even jump (or at least to get the attention of the ref raising his hands or failing on the field) so the ref didn't spotted it in real time and they obviously didn't tell him it's an clear and obvious mistake because he didn't even looked that at the monitor.
So I'm not saying it wasn't foul but...it wasn't a 100% clear and obvious one...

Let's face it Ed, they won't abolish the VAR after year or so in use...I don't think it's just some kind of experiment, it would be a part of the game from now on, so we just have to accept it...I've done that, but one thing is for sure it's far away from being perfect(if that's possible at all because it would always depends from a human's decisions)

For me the most useful part of VAR is that the offsides would be monitoring a lot more precisely, but that has a bad side of it too...some really spectacular goals would be disallowed because of the millimetres offsides...just like happened in hockey.

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18 June 2018 - 10:39am
#100

And just one more thing that I think of just now Ed, call me lunatic if you will...(you'll be right I guess 😉 )

I don't know if you believe in any destiny, chance, luck, or...even a god or any other form of a power that we the humans can't explain but in the games I've saw after implementing of the VAR, many times after a goal have been disallowed debatefuly a team which goal have been disallowed later on scores in quite similar fashion(most of the times) and fairly quickly after the previous situation too so I was many times amazed to see that...and I think I'm quite pragmatic in this regards person.
So I dare to claim Switzerland would of score an equalizer if their goal was disallowed..I can't explain why and how but that's just my conviction.

Yeah, you can start with the jokes now 😉

CL-Ed

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19 June 2018 - 10:35am
#101

I'm expecting some draws today, let's see any of those would happen cause I'm willing to stake all three as draws, probably that's a sign I have no idea what would going to happen, it usually is.

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19 June 2018 - 1:30pm
#102

Germany Vs Mexico was a very interesting game.

Korean team is also in F group.
Korean team was defeated by a suspicious penalty kick in a game with Sweden (Sweden 1 : Korea 0).

It is getting more interesting in F group 🙂

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20 June 2018 - 11:16am
#103

Good luck to yor team coolsongss although they didn't play very well in the first game, maybe they will improve as the tournament progresses.
In fact I think Sweden penalty was an obvious one and in fact it's strange that the ref not spotted that in real time but ruled the penalty only after the VAR consultation.

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20 June 2018 - 12:00pm
#104

I was nowhere near the right guess for yesterday, today we have 3 really strong favourites in Portugal, Spain and Uruguay but I hope at least one of those would be an upset, for me the most likely for that looking the Portugal - Morocco game but too be honest don't seem very probable to have any surprises at all.
Still hope to see some exiting games though.

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21 June 2018 - 2:49am
#105

If you are a player of Betfair, there are many good promotions combining casinos and sports. The bonus money and wagering requirement both are not big, but it is worth trying, if you like guessing the game results and scores, check it out 🙂

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21 June 2018 - 5:19am
#106

Yes I watched Sweden play South Korea. To be honest its probably the worst game I have seen in the tournament so far. Neither team was much good which was disappointing because I know South Korea are a very good team and I was hoping they would do well. I'm supporting the Asian teams whenever possible because they are a lot better than people give them credit for and we need to preserve the number of spots for qualification in future!

I enjoyed Japan vs Colombia. Japan were deserving winners but Colombia made them work hard for it and were probably the better team in the first half even with only 10 men. The second half you could see they tired visibly though which is understandable. Though Colombia's goal came from a terrible decision to give them a free kick after Falcao bashed into a Japanese defender and fouled him, but somehow the ref decided to give it to Colombia. It was a lovely free kick rolled under the jumping wall though.

Portugal - Morocco was a very frustrating game to watch. Morocco were by far the more attacking and skilful team. They played with high energy for the whole game. Their right winger Amrabat was destroying Portugal's left back over and over again. But they had the worst problem you can probably have in football, they couldn't hit the target with their chances. Headers, volleys, shots from inside the box, almost everything they did went wide or over the bar. Portugal just sat back and defended for almost the entire match after getting an early goal from a corner. Morocco also had a good shout for a penalty ruled out in the first half which looked to me (and Martin Tyler on the tv) to be a clear foul, but once again no VAR intervention. By the end of the game I felt so sorry for them.

There seems to be a really high proportion of goals in this world cup coming from set pieces, either free kicks, penalties or corners. Not so many in open play. I wonder if it is the effect of the VAR - i.e. more penalties, less grabbing and holding on corners and free kicks, or its just a coincidence.

Denmark vs Australia is the first game on today so I'm getting excited again. Australia did well against France but they will need to be more attacking against Denmark to get the 3 points they really need now. I'm not sure they have the firepower up front though.

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21 June 2018 - 11:51am
#107

Iran was very good against Spain too if you've seen that one Ed, they've lost from a very unlucky goal too, another one being disallowed and a few chances missed,probably they could have a chance of beating Portugal if they play like this.

Hope Australia would do fine today, the headline game should be between Argentina and Croatia of course, Argentines will be desperate for a win but will see about that, the Croatians were very impressive in their first game.

So many sloppy goals at this championship so far, I'm not sure I've seen so many at once, yesterday two of the three were ridiculous and very lucky for the teams who scored.
We could already make a top 10 of most sloppiest goals at this event.

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21 June 2018 - 11:54am
#108
coolsongss wrote:

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I've placed a few bets there yesterday, not too fancy about promotions though, still bet365 is the better option for me. That's the only two leading top bookies available here, at least legally anyway 😉

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21 June 2018 - 12:55pm
#109
Quote:

I'm supporting the Asian teams whenever possible because they are a lot better than people give them credit for and we need to preserve the number of spots for qualification in future!

I don't have anything personal against the Asian sides(or any other) Ed, obviously FIFA wants to enlarge the geography of football and that's fine (if you believe they doing that because they care of development of football in those particular regions and not because of just financial interest) but you also want to see the best teams at the WC - isn't that the whole point?!

For example South Korea playing at their 9th!! consecutive world cup, think only the world leading teams has such records and SK are not one of them- obviously!

Here's how the spots will be raised for the 2026' WC by a continent.

Spots 2018 - 2026

Africa 5 - 9
Asia 5 - 8
Oceania 0,5 - 1 - Australia not playing through Asia?
Europe 13 - 16
N America 3,5 - 6 🤷?
S America 4,5 - 6 -out of 10 countries continent so 60% WC finalists- well done.
Play - off tournament?? - 2

So Africa, Asia and Concacaf will get a huge increase in numbers of participants of which I only think Africa's is reasonable(but not as a number)
Europe +3 despite that because of the political chances in the last 20-30 years the number of countries here increased almost double and qualifications are by far the toughest compared to the other parts of the world.
FIFA obviously looking for a new huge markets, hopefully China will be there too, good luck.

And just one remark, I'm not writing that because I'm worried Bulgaria wouldn't be there too - I don't care for that,just believe the spots should reflect the quality of football played on any particular continent and the relative number of decent sides there are and there's many other ways of developing football...not just awarding teams a WC participation.
But anyway 48 teams are way too many and the event will loose it's magic overloaded with games I think, but FIFA will caught the attention of the viewers in at least 48 countries I guess.

Ha-ha, it getting even more ridiculous

Quote:

Playoff tournament

A playoff tournament involving six teams will be held to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths,[18] consisting of one team per confederation (except for UEFA) and one additional team from the confederation of the host country

If a team like Italy this time missing the WC would you be willing to give them a second chance through such tournament? Obviously FIFA don't...any big team outside Europe will got their insurance though 😉 The system is completely "fair"!!!

coolsongss

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21 June 2018 - 2:05pm
#110

So..well done to Australia Ed, I didn't saw the whole game length but I've seen they've had some good chances in the end.
VAR awarded Australia the penalty, maybe you don't hate it as much as before? 😉

Ericsen goal was great has to be said and maybe the pen was bit of harsh for Denmark although defender's hand shouldn't be where it was I believe, but overall Australia deserved their point from what I saw from this game.
What would be considered a good result for Ausralia in the other game, if France and Denmark has 4 point each before the last game, is Australia would still have a chance to qualify with a win?

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21 June 2018 - 11:28pm
#111

Hmm. Interestingly the Danish coach has stated that he agrees it was a penalty but he doesn't like the process. I think Denmark were unlucky with the call and I still don't like it. The worst part was the ref gave the defender a yellow card which rules him out for the next match, which I thought was very harsh.

That said aside from the first 20 minutes Australia played well and were the better team. But as I said yesterday they don't have enough in attack to score the goals needed to win those games. If they had a Suarez, Falcao, Giroud, or even a 10 years younger Tim Cahill they might be qualified from this group already.

As it stands they need to beat Peru first up which is far from a given. If so that gets them to four points. Then they need to hope that France beats Denmark so the Danes stay on four points and that Australia finishes with a better goal difference or more goals scored. So its not impossible but when you consider that France are already qualified and can afford to rest players, and that a draw between France and Denmark will qualify both teams, I'm not optimistic that it won't be a game played at half pace with neither team too concerned with winning.

Looks like your call on Croatia might not be far off! Something is very wrong in that Argentina squad.

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21 June 2018 - 11:34pm
#112

On the world cup qualification I disagree a bit. I don't think the world cup has ever been about having the best 32 teams, it has been about having the best teams from the different regions. There will always be some team that miss out that are better than those that qualify. Thats just the way it is, it adds to the drama and makes qualification special. I don't want to see a world cup with 20 teams from Europe and 10 from South America, plus 2 more.

I agree 48 teams is way too many and reducing it to 3 team groups where every team only plays twice is pretty lame. 32 teams with 8 groups of 4 is just about the perfect format. And considering there are 3 host countries I assume that means they will all qualify automatically. But don't be fooled that this is in any way about the good of the game, its all about the new corrupt FIFA boss getting votes from all the countries that don't normally qualify. He just gave them a much bigger chance of getting a piece of the pie and they will reward him accordingly.

Australia won't go back to Oceania. It will almost make certain that New Zealand gets to play in every world cup from then on, as it is just between them and a bunch of small pacific island nations. The whole confederation should just be merged into Asia.

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22 June 2018 - 4:39pm
#113

Yeah too slim chances for Australia Ed, but anyway they should still believing and at least try to win the last game against Peru even if that is not for a qualification.
Yes, the yellow card is a bit too much for the Danish defender especially if we've see what tackles have not been sanctioned by the refs at this world cup, for example in the first half of Croatia - Argentina there's could of been like 4 yellow and a sent off.
I think the refs have been advised or instructed no tot be too strict with the cards which is a good thing generally but sometimes it's necessary for the ref to keep control over a potentially explosive game.

CL-Ed wrote:

Looks like your call on Croatia might not be far off! Something is very wrong in that Argentina squad.

I hope so Ed, think they playing great till now.

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22 June 2018 - 4:50pm
#114

Nigeria leading 2-0 to Iceland right now close to the end and despite all their misery the Argentines are still in the tournament, if they somehow survive and managed to qualify (which is quite likely I think) they would be really back in the game, I think they thought they're out after that Croatia defeat and from psychological point of view they would nothing to loose so will be a very dangerous team ..if they manage to beat Nigeria of course.
And after we could see them even winning the tournament..!?!

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22 June 2018 - 6:47pm
#115
CL-Ed wrote:

On the world cup qualification I disagree a bit. I don't think the world cup has ever been about having the best 32 teams, it has been about having the best teams from the different regions. There will always be some team that miss out that are better than those that qualify. Thats just the way it is, it adds to the drama and makes qualification special.

OK Ed, I'm agree with you for the most part but can you imagine Argentina or Brazil missing the world cup...then we would hear for the next four years how Messi or Neymar(who is a joke of a player by the way)have missed the world cup, Italy is not less significant team historically at this event...but wait it's in fact almost impossible for those two to miss the tournament not after 2022 WC surely, but even now.

CL-Ed wrote:

don't want to see a world cup with 20 teams from Europe and 10 from South America, plus 2 more..

Me either Ed, me either...I think 18 European sides would be quite logical number... for the 2026 WC I mean.
For me not only FIFA but UEFA too has a big part in that because no one cares for the European sides any more despite that players all over the world desperately trying to arrange themselves a transfer to the European club sides when they've been trained better and in fact raising the level of their national sides as a consequence.

Of course I want to see all good Asian, African and so on teams, I just don't like the way Europe as a region has been threaded by FIFA(it happens in other sports too) in the last 10-15 years, quite arrogant and publicly too and other regions have been brutally favourized.

CL-Ed wrote:

I agree 48 teams is way too many and reducing it to 3 team groups where every team only plays twice is pretty lame. 32 teams with 8 groups of 4 is just about the perfect format. And considering there are 3 host countries I assume that means they will all qualify automatically.

Yeah, ridiculous format, if I'm still alive then I won't be bothered watching even half of those...if any.

CL-Ed wrote:

But don't be fooled that this is in any way about the good of the game, its all about the new corrupt FIFA boss getting votes from all the countries that don't normally qualify. He just gave them a much bigger chance of getting a piece of the pie and they will reward him accordingly.

Your version sounds quite logical to me Ed, it's always about money or power...or both.
That's why I hate the politicians, and the FIFA functionaries (like any other institution) are just that.

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23 June 2018 - 5:20am
#116
sharpe wrote:

For example South Korea playing at their 9th!! consecutive world cup, think only the world leading teams has such records and SK are not one of them- obviously!

Please, accept my apologies, if this fact makes you pissed off 🙂

sharpe wrote:

And just one remark, I'm not writing that because I'm worried Bulgaria wouldn't be there too - I don't care for that,just believe the spots should reflect the quality of football played on any particular continent and the relative number of decent sides there are and there's many other ways of developing football...not just awarding teams a WC participation.

Truly, I hope that your country Bulgaria would play in the World Cup Finals again 👍

sharpe

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23 June 2018 - 12:07pm
#117

Nothing to apologize for man,
I'm not desperate to see Bulgaria at the WC, except if they have a good enough squad which I don't expect to see in the years to come.
I just gave an example for the level of competition in qualifications in the different regions, and of course it's not a South Koreans fault that there isn't much of a race there, from 2026 there will be 8 Asian sites at the WC finals compared to 5 now, so that almost certainly guarantees your national side a participation in the next 9 too, that's just the facts. Good luck to your team.

coolsongss

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24 June 2018 - 10:54am
#118

Belgium scoring for fun right now but we would like to see them against a really good side, this is when they could prove they are a real deal.

The Germans got really lucky with that late winner but I guess nothing good is ahead of them if they continue playing like this, but it could be a pressure releaser that late goal too and we shouldn't write them off just yet even for the title despite I think they have too many young players in this squad and some of the experienced ones are not on their usual level too, but really the team performance hasn't been good so far, very vulnerable against counters too.

I think Loeb has some thinking to do.

Are you tempted to see a Brazil - Germany match at the the last 16 phase Ed?

CL-Ed

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24 June 2018 - 7:22pm
#119

Here's part of my betslip from yesterday(only the winning stakes of course), it's not everything a World Cup you know 🙂

screenshot_from_2018-06-24_21-44-26.png

CL-Ed

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25 June 2018 - 5:20pm
#120

Uruguay were very impressive against Russia but do the Russians gave everything they've got in this one, I'm not sure.
But do Spain and Portugal now should start worrying and make their calculations to avoid the South American side?
I still believe the Russians will be better in their next game no matter who they face and supposedly a better than Uruguay opponent.

CL-Ed