World Cup 2026

[MuggsyB]

I tbink 🇪🇸 has too much for 🇦🇷.  I hope I'm wrong.  What Cape Verde did in this tournament shouldn't be forgotten.  Incredible effort. 

[JWags85]

I was speaking with a colleague (England fan) just as England scored and I told him I only watch Argentina for the last 10 minutes or so because they score all they need in that time period... and I switched on the TV at the 85th minute and sure enough, Argentina did Argentina!

Very pleased that the most insufferable potential winners (England and France) are now out of it.

I'll chalk it up to your European geographical bias, but Argentina is plenty insufferable, I'd argue far more so than England.

[Hards Alumni]

And certainly more insufferable than France.

If they didn't have Messi they'd be pariahs.

[MU82]

That's a photo of the then-20-year-old Messi bathing a baby for a 2007 calendar shoot.

The baby was Lamine Yamal, who is now a star for the Spain team that Messi & Co. will face Sunday.

[Jockey]

lol

I probably needed to explain what those are to a bitter argumentative old man.

[Hards Alumni]

the irony

[Shaka Shart]

I tbink 🇪🇸 has too much for 🇦🇷.  I hope I'm wrong.  What Cape Verde did in this tournament shouldn't be forgotten.  Incredible effort. 

I'm colorblind and your use of flags instead of words is ableist

[panda]

I probably needed to explain what those are to a bitter argumentative old man.

Shut up clown

[Jockey]

Shut up clown

You and Sultan are best buddies? Who woulda figured? 

[brewcity77]

That third place match was a blast. No defense, just a cocaine fueled runaway freight train of a game.

[JWags85]

That third place match was a blast. No defense, just a cocaine fueled runaway freight train of a game.

It was honestly the PERFECT third place match and just what was needed for both teams/fans.  Yes everyone is disappointed and crushed to lose in the semis, especially someone like England or France.  But for England to come off back to back to back defensive grinds (first the frantic scramble against Mexico, then the Norwegian tense and frankly lucky escape, and then the Argentina bus parking disaster) and France, the best offensive juggernaut in the tournament coming off being stymied by Spain's defensive brilliance...to just go out and play glorified playground offense soccer was a delight.

Saka was largely a non factor all WC, but he was brilliant.  Same with Eze...though they are Gunners so f' them    

And Mbappe got to go out on a goal scoring high like he'd been on all tournament.

And even better, you KNOW there were a bunch of boomer aged "old school football" English fans who were already disgusted with the team (as they always are when it doesn't come home) who probably found this game to be a DISGRACE    Which is always funny to me.

Briefly, I told the story here before, but I went to Liverpool-Palace at Selhurst Park back in 2018 (mostly how I got scolded by stewards for being an open Liverpool supporter in the home stand ).  It was a couple years into Klopp's tenure. They would make the CL final 2 months later a bit unexpectedly before they won the CL the next season.  Had finished in 4th back to back years.  They were good, but not the "Mentality Monster" Klopp world beaters they would become in the next few years.  Palace wasn't as good as they've been under Glasner recently, but they were solidly mid table for awhile, not relegation fodder.

That is relevant because Palace took the lead in the first 20 min.  Liverpool was pretty off their game throughout the first half.  Then Mane scored quickly into the second half and the second half was electric back and forth until Salah had the game winner inside of the final 10 min.  It was a blast and wholly entertaining/satisfying.  The undercover Liverpool fans behind me were very pleased, but as everyone is exiting Selhurst and walking through the neighborhood to pubs/the train station, my wife and I found ourselves walking next to 3-4 50 something Liverpool supporters (who were pretty blank faced, should have been a clue). 

I'm buzzing and it was my wife's first professional match so she was feeding off of my energy. So she turns to them and says something like "Up the Reds, that was some match!"...clearly expecting the sort of enthusiasm and camrederie with other fans like you'd get walking out of Fiserv after MU came from behind to beat Seton Hall or something.  One of the guys literally goes "pfft, hardly".  And one of the others immediately chimes in "should never be coming from behind to knock off bloody Palace, absolute disgrace that".  They were actually decent guys and we chatted a bit more to the train, but they were such the archetype of the battered bitter old English football fan that I think of any time the English team even remotely falls short of expectations or disappoints.

People always joke or meme about Nick Saban always being unhappy, bitter, or unsatisfied after blowout wins cause its a bit abnormal...but I think that's probably a realistic depiction of the attitude of 80% of English football fans over the age of 50.

[The Sultan]

England's second best World Cup showing. I know they effed up the semis but really not bad all things considered.

[brewcity77]

I'm in a group chat with fellow Reading fans. I asked them if I said a month ago they'd finish third, what would be the perspective of their second best ever WC finish. They said they hired Tuchel to get them over in the big games and the only big game they played was Argentina and lost, so this is basically the same failure as always.

They definitely enjoyed the madness of that match, but I was a little surprised how much they just dismissed their knockout wins as meaningless and seemed to consider just being in that match a failure.

[The Sultan]

I'm not one to usually hate on the national anthem, but holy crap was that awful.

[MuggsyB]

Question.....why Tom Cruise?  Why?  Didn't get that at all. 

[lawdog77]

Question.....why Tom Cruise?  Why?  Didn't get that at all. 

Warner Bros paid a ton of money for that spot.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Back to boring soccer today.  Spain had a couple of good chances, but that's it.  I really thought Cucurella had one when he beat the keeper from range, but missed wide.

Argentina should feel fortunate to be tied.  In the 2nd half, I expect Messi to move around into a wider variety of spaces to get more chances to create.

[MuggsyB]

The halftime show is abysmal.   

[Uncle Rico]

Halftime is woke as hell

[MuggsyB]

Halftime is woke as hell

It was just bad.  Really bad.  Madonna lip syncing at 100 years old? 

[Uncle Rico]

It was just bad.  Really bad.  Madonna lip syncing at 100 years old? 

I didn't see one American flag during the show.  Commie stuff

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

FIFA is too broke to afford Bad Bunny.

[Pakuni]

It was just bad.  Really bad.  Madonna lip syncing at 100 years old? 

At least it featured Americans like Justin Bieber performing in English, unlike that other halftime show.

[The Sultan]

Soccer can be fun. Soccer can also be...this.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I just saw the leaked FIFA script.  Argentina scores in the 90th minute to win 1-0.  Messi goal or assist.