If tomorrow was the World Cup final with Germany involved and all players were available, no injuries etc. Then the only player from this Confed Cup who would be 100% guaranteed to start for Germany would be Hector. Kimmich would be very likely to start although not certain as Löw played with Höwedes in this position in a few games during the Euros. Draxler most likely wouldn't start as Reus would be favoured. The rest of the players in this Confed Cup squad are a mixture of B team players (Can, Rüdiger etc.), and C or even D team players (Plattenhardt, Demirbay, Younes etc.). I can see some of them making the World Cup squad such as Süle or one of the two strikers (mainly due to a lock of real options in that position)
You would, wouldn't you? Unfortunately football doesn't work that way, which is why I brought it as an example. Would you be surprised if Mexico beat Germany's "C" team for example? I wouldn't if it went either way. As far as I can tell there is no transitive property in this sport. You have to take each match as it comes. Still, I won't lie, I'd be very disappointed if we lose. I'm still a fan after all. To be honest they could probably do that and win the Euro's as well with a good draw like Portugal had, so not sure what your point is. Luckily for us smaller nations they can only field 11 players and sub 3 of them. I recon Spain, France and maybe Argentina and Italy are the only other teams that could do that. I'm still not sure about Brazil. Their starting lineup looks solid under Tite, but it remains to be seen what happens if they lose Neymar and Thiago Silva to injury for example.
Portugal-Chile is 50-50 to me. Germany did not win euro since 96 so you are wrong. They struggled against Poland with their main team just as Portugal did.
The accusation of racism is a severe one and I for one wish you would resort less to this particular retort. Not every post critical of African football is rooted in racism. Not every referee decision has underlying racist motives. Can examples of both be found? Of course. Should we discuss it when racism clearly played a role in a match or particular play? Absolutely. Does beating the racism drum in a general sense contribute to a level-headed discussion? No, it doesn't. You are a regular here and I expect you to know better. Unless you have some hard evidence to present I suggest you lay off these conspiracy theories as they only serve to derail any intriguing exchange. And that is what we strive for on here. A high quality discussion and debate. Back to football.
Did I say they would win it? I just said they would have as decent a chance as Portugal did with the bracket they had. It absolutely does not surprise me that a Germany "C" team would be competitive... would you be surprised if their "C" team got the best of Portugal "A" team in a final? I would not rule them out.
As I alluded to before, I could see Portugal winning if they play all out defense and anti-futbol, get some set pieces and physically bash Chile into oblivion. Chile can win this game if they keep possession and methodically find the weaknesses in the back without losing their cool. It should be a fantastic match and it could go either way. (I just barely favor Chile.)
I think Chile is done. They're older, and have had far too many summer campaigns in a row for their age. They only had enough gas for the first game, after that they're running on fumes. Mexico is a younger team, so I feel they have a better chance to make the final. Playing a secondary team in tournaments like this is wise: those players are hungry, want to prove themselves and get promoted to the first team. The main players, who in the case of Germany have already won enough, wouldn't have such a motivation.
I won't comment on the rest as I said I wouldn't. However a post that generalizes / stereotypizes an entire continent along negative attributes unfortunately is textbook racism. Its the type of delicate racism that does not stem from bad intentions, bad will, so I don't get mad about it. It also very prevalent (Africans are physical, Africans are naive, etc.). Thats why I respectfully asked someone to think about what he just wrote. Ultimately however it is however racist, it offends me personally and I am fully justified to point it out and nicely ask that someone thinks the next time he posts something similar. I'm sorry, but on this one I am 100% right (I may not be right on the other issue, but on this I am). It very mildly racist, but nonetheless it is. Its like a small building block that negatively impacts the subconscious attributions towards an entire continent. And the fact that even you failed to recognize it as such does show how unaware people are in general of what they just wrote. I'm not being obstinate about this, but really try to put yourself in the shoes of an African who hears constantly how naive, physical (as in not mental strength), mindless, etc. he is as a football player. Now juxtapose that with the media image of Africa, the type of news that is relayed, how people speak about Africa, etc. You get my drift? Over and out!
I think labeling it as racism is incorrect. Maybe having preconceived notions and prejudices is a more accurate way of describing it. We all have those and we all are humans who have biases in our world coming from different world views.
The line between preconceived notions / prejudices and racism is very thin, if it exists at all. I'm honestly not mad at the guy. I'm just pointing out that what he wrote offends me personally and I would kindly like to ask him to avoid such generalisations in the future. Unfortunately the 'racism' word is so loaded, but there really are varying degrees of racism. There is the type of racism that has a jury get the murderer of Philando Castile off scott free, there is the type of racism where one person unwittingly offends another and then there is the overt stadium racism. All very different, all a problem, not all stemming from bad intentions. Sorry, seems too offtopic now. Last word from me. I will respond in private to any other posts.
If the line is so thin then everyone on earth is a racist. And if we were all blind we would find something else to complain about. But alas, let's stick too futbol.
Portugal had to face good teams to win the euro in the ko stages. They did not face big names but they faced some of the best teams of the tournament last year. Croatia finished ahead of Spain in group stage beating their main players with a mixed team. Poland tied Germany main team before take Portugal to penaltys in 1/4. Even with their main players Germany struggle against Croatia and Poland regularly so i don't see them at all beating croatia poland and france with the squad i see in this confederations cup...no way! 1 game maybe...but 4 in a row. No.
I think people get caught up with the "big names" aspect of the teams and the history and prestige built up over decades. We saw it earlier in the thread when people were talking about teams getting seeds based on history but not on current form. But in essence you are right. Portugal's path to the final was not as easy as many people thought it was. The teams they beat were good and proved their worth within the Euro tournament which is the way we should judge teams.
Do yellows get erased after the group stage? Ex. Player A got one yellow on the second match. Will he still have it on the semis?
Those were both a 2nd game in group stage. San Marino could get a draw in a 2nd group game against Löw's Germany
I don't think it's as clear cut as you make it out to be. For example, ascribing "tactical naivete" to a CAF team is not racist in my book. Quality coaching remains a problem in many regions and is certainly not limited to Africa. Now if the players play or have been developed in a reputed league system then that is a different matter. I also agree that the "athletic stereotype" is a tired one but would probably call it that - a lazy stereotype. Perhaps fueled more by ignorance that malice. It depends of course. You yourself admit that racism as a term is loaded and when you use it (i.e. implying someone is a racist) it will generally provoke a negative response. Not a friendly way to point someone in the right direction. Happy to discuss more via PM's. Right, Confed Cup semis coming up...
Nicola kakav Can hahaha panj od igrača Pa on u ovom timu ne treba biti prvotimac A naredne godine se ne treba naći ni na spisku Kroos,Khedira , Weigl, Gundogan, Goretkza far better
I'm white and I agree with Zahzah. I think there are preconceived notions, the worst being that if you're a big guy, you're the one committing the foul. I also think African players are, on average, judged a bit harsher than other players. And guys with lots of tattoos get no love from some referees, who will punish them over the slightest push but fail to protect them at all from harsh tackles. Referees are just human and open to cultural influences. It'll be good once machines do it all.
They were good teams yes, but so is Germany "C". That is my point. What has Spain got to do with it? Portugal didn't draw them so it's irrelevant to the discussion. Sometimes you are in good form and the other team isn't, which is why Germany "C" would have a chance as well. Which is also the reason we also beat Spain in Brazil 2014, despite Spain having a deeper squad and better talent in almost every position (and coincidentally Croatia lost 1-3 to Mexico). They would have less of a chance for sure, but that doesn't mean their odds would be bad either. I submit to you that the quality drop between an "A" team and a "C" team in countries like Germany and France is not proportional to the quality drop between an "A" and "C" team in countries like Croatia and Chile, you are simply wrong if you are expecting a proportional drop in quality and all you have to do is compare the players and where they play. Maybe it's true that in Chile and Croatia's case our "C" teams are 10 times worse than our "A" teams. Mostly local league players I would imagine correct? Playing for clubs you have never heard about. but in Germany's case they are fielding starters from Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Münich in their starting 11 (to name but a few). Simply put, the drop in quality is exponentially bigger the smaller the talent pool available. Luckily for us they can only field 11 players, plus 3 substitutes. The rule of allowing only 3 substitutes has marginally improved the chances of smaller nations like ours to compete for this very reason.
I think so as well... but this is a short cup and I recon they will give it a good go before they call it quits. Provided Vidal and Alexis are not suspended, I still fancy our chances for one last hurrah!
I don't know who you were referring to, but just to cover my ass, I said your side of the bracket was easier than the other side, not that your rivals were crap. You are the holding Euro champs and no one can take that away from you.
False. France didn't send the A squad in 2001 or 2003, same for Brazil in 2005, and it still cursed them
sure they didn't send their 100% A team but they weren't that far off from being the complete A-team. I don't believe in any curse, those teams played bad the following WC because they were bad.