Yes, but it's not like Al Jazira was expected to look good. I'm not saying I expected Al Jazira to keep their lead, but I don't think the odds should have shifted in favor of Real Madrid before they scored. El Clasico will be on December 23. Has Barcelona or Real Madrid ever had El Clasico in their first game after a CWC?
Just saw the highlights and damn that goalie made some great saves . And what a let up from Al Jazira on that second goal that got called back for off sides . Up 2 x 0 and they might have held it .
No, but in 2011/2012 season Barcelona played Madrid in their last match before playing Al-Sadd at the CWC.
Was that the worst CWC ever? All except one match finished 1-nil and no real surprises. Attendance about 50% what we normally see.
Gremio ended with 38% possession and one shot (not on goal). They were happy to lose by only one goal. That was boring as heck.
I have thought this since I was a kid and every time I see Gremio play it reaffirms my feeling. Gremio's jersey might just be the most beautiful one ever. And I'm not a Gremio fan.
I thought you preferred 1-0s over blowouts. Which is it Plus, I thought you hated surprises since you feel it's unfair to the favored team. It's time to split the UCL in 2 and have the 2 winners get the byes to the CWC semis. C'mon, Infantino, DO IT. It doesn't have to be East and West Europe, either, just keep 2 separate brackets at every draw. Although North Europe vs South Europe would help the Prem get silverware. Hmm. #SplitTheUCL. The least exciting CWC was 2013. At Miniero played like crap, so did the CONCACAF Champ, and the Final was noncompetitive. At least this Final was a mistake away from OT. The CWC is the epitome of football socialism, and even I am starting to get bothered at the unfairness towards Europe. Cut that UCL in half like a birthday cake, another UEFA team deserves a chance, but it can't be a UCL runnerup.
The Intercontinental Cup was an interesting concept to bring together the 2 teams from the 2 best football centers to see who's "the best". I'd say it was a good idea until the end of the 90s beginning of 2000s (except from the period when some teams in SA played too violently) when European teams basically started sucking all talent from everywhere in the world at younger and younger ages. The CWC expanded it to other continents to make it a true "world competition". As it stands, I think the competition doesn't make sense anymore and neither does expanding except for the obvious cash grab. Why would you possibly want 2 European teams playing in a CWC final ? For that you have the CL and Europa leagues. Right now, European teams go this competition not to win, but to not lose. While SA and the other confed teams go to try and snatch an improbable win vs these super teams by most likely trying to not get scored on and snatch a goal on the counter or a set piece. It's sad but that's the reality right now. The last Brazilian teams that have won the CWC (Corinthians, Internacional, and Sao Paulo) had their goalies as MOTM.
Yes, because nothing ever changes and teams outside of Europe will never be competitive. The same reason Hungary and the Czech Republic remain consistent contenders to win the World Cup Fyp
Things do change over time, Italian teams dominated Europe 15 years ago. Odds are good an English team will win Europe this year, and they are horrible in the CWC. RM to not won 1-0.
South America is not far behind Europe. Everybody is just far behind the seven or so clubs with a Sheikh or Russian industrialist bankrolling them (or special TV rights treatment). A regular European club like Napoli or Leicester would be even with the regular C-BOL guys.
But that's still part of the equation isn't it ? CL title wise, Russian/Sheik teams have not made an impact. The most consistent teams in CL have been RM, Barca, Juve, Bayern, Atletico Madrid and none are owned by those guys. RM and Barca do have favorable TV rights but that's been true for a long time. And in Brazil they are doing the same thing for Flamengo and Corinthians but the % is not as skewed. And my team Palmeiras has a sort of national sugar daddy (momma) right now. But talent like Gabriel Jesus will still leave as soon as they show any promise. So gegardless of those Sheiks/Russians/Asians, players from SA would still be leaving as early as they do now. They'd just be going to Milan / Inter instead of PSG / Man City for example. All it has done is drive up transfer inflation within Europe. So that's a non factor for me.
I still concur with @Suyuntuy 's main point: it's four or five clubs in Europe that are so far ahead of everyone else in Planet Football that they'll dominate the CWC for the foreseeable future. Still not a reason to abandon it IMO, as the other continental champions should have a shot at the world title, no matter how remote. You tell me the last time the CWC had two competitive semifinals - usually it's been the CONMEBOL champ struggling while the UEFA champ takes an afternoon stroll to the Final.
How about way back in 2016? Sure there was more than one goal difference in final scoreline but that was only because of late goals. And the 2016 final was much more competitive than this year.
I'm telling Colima that you wrote that, Paulie. lol. Because I felt bad for Europe. There are so many good teams that will never play a CWC because the UCL is so hard to win. So I figure cut the UCL in half to make 2 berths. North and South, East and West, or a random allocation. What, this made absolutely no sense. Are you talking about the pointless mickey mouse tin pot cup known as the uefa "supercup". If that isn't the biggest waste of time, Idk what is. It should never be included with real Cups, it is a preseason friendly akin to the ICC.
I think what he means is that it is redundant/ pointless to have a CWC with multiple UEFA teams (whether it is 2 or 12 teams). We already have the UCL which has the best teams in Europe playing head-to-head and which produces a winner every season. The point of the CWC is to have teams from different regions play each other to determine a World Champion.
Exactly...sure, a Madrid/Barça CWC final would be cool, but it runs against the whole charm of the tournament.
Back from India and as I predicted I didn't get to see a single second of the final three matches. Here are all the highlights that haven't been posted. Wydad Casablanca - Urawa Reds (5th Place) Gremio FBPA - CF Pachuca (Semis) Al Jazira - Real Madrid (Semis) Al Jazira - CF Pachuca (3rd Place) Real Madrid - Gremio FBPA (Final) Tournament Summary: M1 | 06.12.17 | Al Jazira - Auckland City 1:0 (Playoff) M2 | 09.12.17 | CF Pachuca - Wydad Casablanca 1:0 AET (Quarterfinal) M3 | 09.12.17 | Al Jazira - Urawa Reds 1:0 (Quarterfinal) M4 | 12.12.17 | Wydad Casablanca - Urawa Reds 2:3 (Match for 5th Place) M5 | 12.12.17 | Grêmio FBPA - CF Pachuca 1:0 AET (Semifinal) M6 | 13.12.17 | Al Jazira - Real Madrid 1:2 (Semifinal) M7 | 16.12.17 | Al Jazira - CF Pachuca 1:4 (Match for 3rd Place) M8 | 16.12.17 | Real Madrid - Grêmio FBPA 1:0 (Final) With an average attendance of 16,571 this has sadly been the worst attended CWC to date. To put it further into perspective, UAE 2009 and 2010 drew 19,544 and 25,031 respectively. They have to think of something next year. This is embarrassing.