World Soccer Fans
- Thread starter IamHeisenberg
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Outside of that one gorgeous pass Mbappe (I'm sure that's not how you spell it) made where he tapped it from his right foot to his left, then thru to the penalty area all in one seamless motion (the other Frenchman had his shot blocked) that game had very little to remember.
Hence the word, "underwhelming". Really disappointing. 1-0 score is one thing, but there were such few chances and so few executed or sustained charges.
I am not a big soccer fan by any means, pretty much just a guy who watches the World Cup every 4 years, but this has been a pretty meh tournament for the most part IMO. There were a few very very good games like Belgium-Japan and France-Argentina, but I remember a lot more games like this one.
Belgium simply don't have an answer for teams that are willing to kick Hazard out of the game. Everything they do revolves around him. His supporting cast are well above average club players, but they have so little heart and Martinez's tactics are a mess. Giroud's appalling first touch was the only thing preventing the game from being 3-0, although that wouldn't have improved the entertainment value much.
Courtois had a strong performance against Brazil, but Hazard has been by far their best player all tournament and arguably the best player in the entirety of the World Cup.
https://www.whoscored.com/Regions/247/Tournaments/36/International-FIFA-World-Cup
An 8.5 rating from 5 matches is insane form.
I'm very surprised some of you didn't enjoy FRA-BEL. I thought it was great. Watching Hazard/De Bruyne vs. Kante/Pogba was a lot of fun for me. I thought both teams played well and France came out on top.
The ~80' and on was less entertaining and sloppier, but I really enjoyed the first 80'.
The ~80' and on was less entertaining and sloppier, but I really enjoyed the first 80'.
Hey, it's only been 25 or so years since they fought a war with each other, so it's easy to see how you could get them confused.
My god, if you think about it, what kind of power would the former country of Yugoslavia be in soccer and basketball?
Yugoslavia begat Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo. Serbia and Croatia are pretty much regulars at the World Cup. Slovenia and Bosnia have also both made it (Slovenia was in a group with the US in 2010, when the US came from 2-0 down to get a 2-2 tie). There would be a lot of talent on that team if you could combine them all together. But the locker room might not have been the best atmosphere for a team sport.
They were the #2 or #3 basketball country back then and probably would be today.
As for soccer, they'd be better but not much. Those countries dont produce a large amount of star players so while they'd be better and deeper, I don't think that in general, a combined Yugoslavia would place much higher than what Croatia does in these tournaments.
Well also think of what they were in Basketball. That 30 for 30 show with Vlade Divac and Dragen Petrovic being teammates and best friends one moment then enemy combatants the next put it all in perspective.
I can't figure today's match out. On the surface I would think France could just roll over Croatia but that really isn't how they play. Belgium dominated England yesterday and in retrospect I think England just was not nearly as good as their draw allowed them to be. They may face some major disappointment in years to come with the skyrocketed expectations that the English fans and media will place on them. So, then while I admire Croatia's win over them, I now kind of wonder whether it was that big of a surprise. Which leads me to think they will struggle with France.
But all of that being said soccer is a peculiar game and Croatia could just take the buildup of where they have made it to and sneak a win out of this.
But all of that being said soccer is a peculiar game and Croatia could just take the buildup of where they have made it to and sneak a win out of this.
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Better it happen now. Croatia is easily the better team and I can see them pulling this out.
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England desperately needs an attack minded central midfielder that they can run their offense through. They don't have one of those now. They do have a couple of younger guys who may fit the bill going forward, but they were too young to be playing in this tournament. And of course those guys may never pan out the way that England needs them to for them to become a real, consistent world challenger.
It appears that they found some old time stewardess uniforms in a closet somewhere to outfit all those women who are, for some reason, standing on the podium while they are giving out the medals.
