FIFA World Cup 2022

[METALMAN]

My Brazilian flatmate is not taking this well. Her general argument seems to be that Croatia playing defensively is basically cheating and shouldn’t be allowed.

[Colly]

 

3 minutes ago, Adam said:

Yeah of course, but a lot of players approach it as "I pick a side, hopefully the goalie picks the other" and as we saw in the previous two shoot-outs in this tournament so far, that can be disastrous.

I've seen it a lot in the EFL too. Strikers taking penalties just cos they're strikers, but they always try to just roll it one side. It isn't fortune, more should approach it as a mentality challenge than seem to in football at the moment.

Oh without question, the worst penalty is the one that goes low and halfway between post and keeper, but even then you've got a 50/50 chance of scoring. There are shit penalties, but even if both teams have practiced til the cows come home (I'm sure there've been quite a few recent English cup games going to 20 or more pens) eventually someone's going to scuff one. Might as well toss a coin.

[gunnar hendershow]

2 minutes ago, METALMAN said:

My Brazilian flatmate is not taking this well. Her general argument seems to be that Croatia playing defensively is basically cheating and shouldn’t be allowed.

That argument has been honed after years of people losing to Italy. Nice to see it move on across the Adriatic.

[METALMAN]

Now she is saying that the "European football is boring as fuck" and that Europeans don't understand what football is about and that the South American sides should just play with themselves.

This is much more entertaining than the actual game. Wish I knew her back in 2014 when Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in her home city

[stokeriño]

26 minutes ago, METALMAN said:

My Brazilian flatmate is not taking this well. Her general argument seems to be that Croatia playing defensively is basically cheating and shouldn’t be allowed.

Getting flashbacks to how peak-tikitaka Barcelona would behave when any other team dared to deny them.

[Chris2K]

15 minutes ago, METALMAN said:

Now she is saying that the "European football is boring as fuck" and that Europeans don't understand what football is about and that the South American sides should just play with themselves.

Well to be fair, for the next four years that's what they'll be doing...

Defensive football and winning on penalties is a strategy I can get behind.

[Bobfoc]

How dare a team not just let Brazil win?

[Szumi]

What a pass by Messi 

[Baddar]

What a fucking ball that is.

[Chris2K]

Stop it Messi, that's simply not fair.

[Baddar]

Tite has left Brazil btw.

[gunnar hendershow]

I've seen so much incredible stuff by Messi and yet I'm still left stunned when he makes a pass like that 

[Szumi]

That first touch and composure by Molina was really, really great too. It would've been so easy to not control that pass like that. Just amazing all around 

[Baddar]

I know Lahoz gets a lot of shit for making things about him (he's basically the La Liga version of Mike Dean), for Keown to suggest he should just ignore the nonsense hurled at him from the benches is just silly. 

[Chris2K]

This ref loves a yellow card, players, coaches, backroom staff. He's going to start booking fans soon.

[The Lusophone]

1 minute ago, Baddar said:

I know Lahoz gets a lot of shit for making things about him (he's basically the La Liga version of Mike Dean), for Keown to suggest he should just ignore the nonsense hurled at him from the benches is just silly. 

The ref should maybe have saved that yellow card for the yanking back of the Dutch player that's been cynically fouled there.

Argentina's antics are pretty ridiculous and this ref should clamp down on them.

[Szumi]

20 minutes ago, Baddar said:

Tite has left Brazil btw.

Wasn't it already announced before the tournament he was going to leave after the World Cup?

[gunnar hendershow]

I thought Acuna slipped at first, but that was just poor by Dumfries. Shame he's been great through most of this tournament.

[Bobfoc]

It's a long way back from here.

[Szumi]

Netherlands have never gotten into this game. Argentina have been a class above the whole time. It's a penalty. It just sucks because it's in one of that spots where you hate you see it happen because it's not in a dangerous position at all