Futbol Talk

[BM1090]

Went to the qualifier vs. Costa Rica in Columbus a few years back. Agree with Wags and Brew. It's an incredible experience.

[jesmu84]

Leave pepi at home

[brewcity77]

Leave pepi at home

That's how I felt about Balogun for 40 minutes of the first half, but a striker can make up for 40 minutes of mediocre play with one well-placed strike and he did just that.  If Pepi's shots are 2-3 feet to the right or left last night, he would've had a hat trick. The margin wasn't ideal, but they dominated a lesser team. I wanted it to be 4 or 5, but it never felt in doubt from the opening kick and even though they didn't find the finishes, Bolivia never came close to threatening. This group should really come down to the USA/Uruguay result, those two are the clear class of the group. One of those nights where the scoreline didn't reflect the difference in levels of play. I actually feel better coming out than I did going in despite the less than dominant score.

[lawdog77]

wow

[jutaw22mu]

That was awesome.


The benefits of working from home. 

[The Sultan]

So with Austria leaping both France and the Netherlands, that means the top half of the Euro knock out stage will include Spain, Germany, France and Portugal.

If you really want to go more "team chaos," if Slovenia beats England today, England could be in that half as well.

[JWags85]

So with Austria leaping both France and the Netherlands, that means the top half of the Euro knock out stage will include Spain, Germany, France and Portugal.

If you really want to go more "team chaos," if Slovenia beats England today, England could be in that half as well.

Through 3 matches, France has ZERO goals from open play.  An own goal against Austria, blanked by the Dutch, and now a PK.  VERY uninspiring 5+ years from Les Bleus since that 2018 WC.  Gotta wonder if Deschamps has run his course barring an unexpected run to the final.

[Pakuni]

 
Through 3 matches, France has ZERO goals from open play.  An own goal against Austria, blanked by the Dutch, and now a PK.  VERY uninspiring 5+ years from Les Bleus since that 2018 WC.  Gotta wonder if Deschamps has run his course barring an unexpected run to the final.

A little harsh, given they won the Euro in 2020 and made the WC Final in 2022, when they lost what's widely considered one of the best finals ever because Messi went God mode.

[The Sultan]

A little harsh, given they won the Euro in 2020 and made the WC Final in 2022, when they lost what's widely considered one of the best finals ever because Messi went God mode.

Italy won Euro 2020

[JWags85]

Italy won Euro 2020

Yep, and France was offensively meek there as well. Only 4 total goals in group play, 2 goals in open play in the group with an OG against Germany and another penalty.Then lost to Switzerland in the knockout by giving up 2 goals in the last 10 min.

The WC Final was incredible but they lost to Tunisia and snuck by England cause Kane choked.  Win and advance of course, but they weren't exactly in fine form that tournament.  A lot of sitting back and watching Mbappe.

[Pakuni]

Italy won Euro 2020

Yes, my bad

[Pakuni]

Yep, and France was offensively meek there as well. Only 4 total goals in group play, 2 goals in open play in the group with an OG against Germany and another penalty.Then lost to Switzerland in the knockout by giving up 2 goals in the last 10 min.

The WC Final was incredible but they lost to Tunisia and snuck by England cause Kane choked.  Win and advance of course, but they weren't exactly in fine form that tournament.  A lot of sitting back and watching Mbappe.

They outscored their opponents 13-5 leading up to the final and lost to Tunisia with Lloris, Mbappe, Grietzman, Dembele, Rabiot, Giroud and Hernandez all sitting or coming off the bench in a match that meant nothing for them. Not sure it's fair to judge their tournament off that game.
No matter how you spin it, saying that a team that made the WC final less than two years ago has been "VERY uninspiring" seems harsh.

[Pakuni]

Speaking of uninspiring, how about them Three Lions?

[The Sultan]

If Serbia could have knocked one in against England, there would have been nothing but draws in the group - all with 2 goals scored. It would have come down to disciplinary points...which would have ironically kept the standings the same as they are now.

[Its DJOver]

The Denmark Slovenia tiebreakers are crazy.

Points: tied.

Head to head: tied.

Goal Difference: tied.

Goals Scored: tied.

Disciplinary points: tied.

So it then goes to qualifying standings.

Points in qualifying: tied.

Head to head in qualifying: Denmark won once, they tied once.  End result, Denmark finished second in the group.

If they had been playing each other in the final game, it actually would have gone to a shoot-out before they brought in the qualifying results, which as far as I know has never happened in a group stage before.

[The Sultan]

The Denmark Slovenia tiebreakers are crazy.

Points: tied.

Head to head: tied.

Goal Difference: tied.

Goals Scored: tied.

Disciplinary points: tied.

So it then goes to qualifying standings.

Points in qualifying: tied.

Head to head in qualifying: Denmark won once, they tied once.  End result, Denmark finished second in the group.

If they had been playing each other in the final game, it actually would have gone to a shoot-out before they brought in the qualifying results, which as far as I know has never happened in a group stage before.

And for winning that tie-break, Denmark gets to play Germany in the round of 16.

[jesmu84]

Ha!

[tower912]

UMBC taking down Virginia.

[The Sultan]

Is Portugal playing their A-team since they already clinched the group?

[lawdog77]

Is Portugal playing their A-team since they already clinched the group?

Except for CR7's incessant complaining, Portugal mailed it in before the match even started

[BM1090]

Mexico-Ecuador with advancement on the line could be fun.

[jesmu84]

Weah you idiot

[tower912]

What a f'd up start.

[jesmu84]

Balogun best player for the US this half.

Man. Ref missed a few.

[tower912]

Dink around without clearing, bad things happen.