2022 World Cup Thread

[tower912]

Crazy, but awesome.

[The Sultan]

https://twitter.com/rodger/status/1598053466722766853?s=20&t=UyBqedLyhsKIGjYGFiiyHQ

Rodger Sherman
@rodger
·
50s
the good news about choosing who advances into the Round of 16 based on who has fewer yellow cards is that everybody agrees FIFA refs do an excellent job and make smart, accurate decisions every time

[21Jumpstreet]

Incredible drama, had advancement come down to drawing straws that would have been crazy (and awful). Argentina is clinical and kept their foot on the gas, big advantage to avoid France. What a day of games

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Polish goalkeeper was terrific. That being said, Poland was manhandled by Argentina. Not sure if they were playing for a tie. An amazing lack of offensive penetration. Didn't even seem to be trying.

[Jay Bee]

Manhandled 2-0. Smh

I don't get soccer, but I did purchase FIFA 23 for PS5 on Cyber Monday.

[wadesworld]

Manhandled 2-0. Smh

I don't get soccer, but I did purchase FIFA 23 for PS5 on Cyber Monday.

NHL, Madden, 2K, Tiger Woods, and some tennis game here.  Will probably only play NHL and Tiger Woods.  If you want some free NHL wins let me know, I'm horrendous and just try to fight people.

[Jay Bee]

NHL, Madden, 2K, Tiger Woods, and some tennis game here.  Will probably only play NHL and Tiger Woods.  If you want some free NHL wins let me know, I'm horrendous and just try to fight people.

I also bought Chel on Monday but it's not arriving until this weekend. I'd play tho.

I did get PGA but have not played it yet. Madden, The Show & nba 2K in the rotation now, along with the occasional Fortnite session

[wadesworld]

I also bought Chel on Monday but it's not arriving until this weekend. I'd play tho.

I did get PGA but have not played it yet. Madden, The Show & nba 2K in the rotation now, along with the occasional Fortnite session

Sorry I don't know why I was thinking NHL when you said FIFA.  I have FIFA 22.  Don't like soccer or hockey but find them to be the most fun video games to play.

[The Sultan]

Canada has gone from being a trendy pick to get out of the group to being Qataresque. They are probably going to need a more experienced manager to be ready for 2026.

[JWags85]

Canada has gone from being a trendy pick to get out of the group to being Qataresque. They are probably going to need a more experienced manager to be ready for 2026.

Thats funny cause Donovan on the Belgium broadcast said Canada was "going home with their heads held high".  Which is amusing to me cause I think everything after the first half against Belgium was a massive disappointment.

And I agree about the manager.  Kind of crazy that a national team with a ton of young and super exciting talent goes with a manager with no male coaching experience, much less top level experience.  And its not like he's a Canadian mainstay or former player.

[21Jumpstreet]

Heartbreak for Belgium. Lukaku could have had three, world class striker in tears. Morocco are through, what a WC!

[Pakuni]

Worst Golden Generation Ever.

[JWags85]

Heartbreak for Belgium. Lukaku could have had three, world class striker in tears. Morocco are through, what a WC!

I really like Lukaku, he's from the same hometown as my Belgian reps, he went to primary school with their kids.   My god that's soul crushing.

Related, I was never a huge fan of him as a player, but I have a lot of respect for Thierry Henry's coaching journey.  He's failed at Monaco and CF Montreal, but instead of falling back on his cushy commentator gig, he went right back to the Belgian national team where he was before Monaco

[Its DJOver]

What is going on right now!

Edit: Of course Germany goes and gets an immediate equalizer.

[The Sultan]

The Telemundo calls on these goals are absolutely the best.

[MUBurrow]

Cmon Germany, be cool. You're screwed anyway.

VOICEOVER EDIT: But they would not, in fact, be cool.

[The Sultan]

Interesting scenario for Spain.

They may be incentivized to let Japan win their match and win the overall group because IMO it seems to be a much easier path to advance as a runner up in that group. You will have to play the winner of Group F in the first game, but I think between Croatia, Belgium or Morocco, you probably feel good about that. But you likely avoid Brazil in the quarterfinals and instead would play someone like Portugal, Uruguay or Switzerland.

Ahem.

[JWags85]

If not for Morocco, Japan has to be the most surprising team in the WC this year.  Wins against Spain and Germany to take the group is just impressive.  And hilarious that they lost to Costa Rica who gave up 11 goals in their other 2 matches.

Interesting too that this Japan team really doesn't have a star.  Nagatomo and Yoshida are stalwarts who have played at a high level for years, Minamino shows flashes of brilliance, but they are lacking a Kagawa or Honda or Okazaki who were major difference makes in Japan squads of the past.  But thats 3 of 4 cups that they made the knockouts, so kudos to them.

[StillAWarrior]

Ahem.

I see the ESPN headline reads, "Japan stun Spain 2-1 as both teams reach World Cup round of 16".

I think you may very well be correct that Spain probably wasn't all that stunned.

[Hards Alumni]

I see the ESPN headline reads, "Japan stun Spain 2-1 as both teams reach World Cup round of 16".

I think you may very well be correct that Spain probably wasn't all that stunned.

Strategy

[StillAWarrior]

Strategy

Absolutely. The goal is to win the tournament.

Some assorted stats from the match:

• Spain took the lead at 11'
• Spain held its lead through the first half
• Japan scored two goals 142 seconds apart at 48' and 51' and then got shut out the rest of the game
• Japan had three shots on target -- two went in
• Spain possessed the ball for 83% of the game

Yeah...Spain totally threw that match.

[Jockey]

Ahem.

If your shoulder is out of joint from patting yourself on the back, I can recommend someone.

But, when you wrote the original post, I did think it was spot on - even though that is the kind of thing that coaches say they would never do..

[jesmu84]

The US has made the knockout round more times in the last 2 world cups than Italy and Germany combined

[muwarrior69]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/football/us-women-soccer-pay-deal-qatar-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html

Now will the NBA and WNBA do the same?

https://thegruelingtruth.com/basketball/wnba-players-want-equal-pay-do-they-deserve-it/

[The Sultan]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/football/us-women-soccer-pay-deal-qatar-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html

Now will the NBA and WNBA do the same?

https://thegruelingtruth.com/basketball/wnba-players-want-equal-pay-do-they-deserve-it/

First of all, the headline is wrong. They don't want "equal pay." They want an equal cut of the leagues revenues as part of their CBA agreement.

Second, that article is trash.

"Until the NBA subsidized the WNBA twenty-five years ago every other attempt at a women's pro basketball league had failed miserably. Why has it failed? That's simply because people don't want to watch women play basketball in the summer, hell nobody wants to watch women pro basketball at any point in the year."

The last sentence is just simply wrong. The WNBA has been growing as a television product for years, their rights deal is up in 2025 and...

"The WNBA's ratings, for instance, compare favorably to those of Major League Soccer, which just signed a landmark deal with Apple TV worth about $2.5 billion over 10 years."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2022/07/12/womens-sports-tv-financial-boon-coming/7810802001/

This idea that no one watches the WNBA or women's sports in general, is an out-of-touch statement that belongs well in the past. My guess when the next WNBA CBA is negotiated, their cut will be greater.