2022 World Cup

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by comme, Nov 18, 2022.

  1. annoyedbyneedoflogin

    Juventus Football Clube Ajax Mineiro de Deportes
    Jun 11, 2012
    I'm pretty much agreed with all the above. But to keep the discussion alive, I'll try to pick just eleven. Morata, Hernandez, Saka and Zimmermann have played less time. They are the best bench warmers. Not having Klaassen kills any possible argument for a Dutch bias..

    GK - Szczesny
    RB - Hakimi
    RCB - Castelletto
    LIB - De Jong
    LB - Sandro
    DM/CM - Rabiot
    CM - Fernandes
    RM - Zivkovic
    LM - Alba
    AM - Griezmann
    F9 - Gakpo
     
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  2. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    #27 PDG1978, Nov 30, 2022
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2022
    I think for me, albeit with the difficulties re: games being played at the same time, yesterday I'd have been moving Kane and/or Gakpo into my squad of 26 (both could be given the F9 prefix arguably). Kane hasn't been scoring but has been assisting and setting up chances, and Gakpo perhaps might have been expected to be more of a runner with the ball than he has so far I guess, but putting that aside and looking at it in terms of a comparison with others attackers/strikers based on what he's done (with scoring in every game being a major consideration) I think he's right up there in contention anyway for me too, at least.

    EDIT - Bellingham probably back in the mix too potentially. Perhaps Rashford on the fringes depending what the other wing players do in the next days, and Stones maybe slightly more of a certain pick now at CB in my XI.

    2nd EDIT - Given Rashford made more of an impact from the right side, perhaps Pulisic would be moving into consideration as left winger/forward (for the 2nd XI, not to displace Mbappe), but I think if Mitoma plays well vs Spain I could be placing him in the 2nd XI for the group stage still (or Rodrygo even if in his case he'd be just as likely or moreso to play central, and maybe he still won't start the game again, I don't know - I'd be more surprised I think if Mitoma doesn't start this time).
     
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  3. annoyedbyneedoflogin

    Juventus Football Clube Ajax Mineiro de Deportes
    Jun 11, 2012
    I personally though that citizen Kane had more of an impact from the right. But I felt odd picking such a slow player for that position. I wouldn't mind placing Rashford there if Serbia bows out.

    Comparing Mbappé and Gakpo, I find that both have scored important goals. But Gakpo has been clinical with 3 quality goals from 4 shots. Mbappé has taken 13 shots to get there. He is outside of a 26 for sure.

    There are lots of interesting matches today, with the pressure on. Let's dig in!
     
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  4. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    I have seen only 12 games this tournament I think (plus the demolition of various benelux cities by the Moroccan supporters);

    I liked Noppert, Ake, Van Dijk, De Jong and Gakpo so far (although De Jong made some big errors in the first game, he scores quite high in the algorithms and rightly so).

    I don't understand what Blind (in his current incarnation) and Klaassen are doing in this team (as said here); they are both bench players at Ajax. Some good/useful players are not selected in the squad (Botman, Danjuma, Flekken for ex. - maybe Gravenberch based on a recent 2-0 win against Inter)

    Depay not playing/out of form is a big problem. This is perhaps the main difference with the Nations League games earlier this year and the Germany game (which they should have won, but the English referee team denied it - they've also helped them out with the Japan vs Costa Rica game). Dumfries is poor too.

    All in all, they should have done quite a bit better I think.



    I look with great suspicion at the English media and sentiments (shame on Michiel Jongsma, who is eager to receive some gigs I bet). That they let write hitjob pieces by rival writers (from Munich of course, the 'haupstadt der bewegung') is not what they do with any other team - very revealing, once again (they waited for the right moment to pounce; there wouldn't be a piece of whatever sentiment by 'that writer' in case of a standard win). I already knew what their company line is, which narrative scenarios they possess, the story-rather-than-facts driven journalism.

    Most of the outside world (+ FIFA, the powers higher up, 'company men' handing out bogus penalties) will be rooting for USA and Argentina (provided they win against USA ofc) the next two games. That has now become par for course the last two decades. But there is nonetheless a good chance for reaching the semi final.

    The Qatar game was seen by 3.8 million viewers; this is the lowest number since Saudi Arabia in 1994 (3 million), and that was played 3:00 in the night.

    Marketeers warned for this to happen beforehand;

    [​IMG]

    “The football fan is in a split,” says senior researcher Ruurd Hielkema. “The aversion to the location and the way in which the choice was made clashes with the love for the game and the hope that the Orange will uphold the national decency and honor.”
    Interest in European and World Cups has been declining for decades. In the early 1990s, two-thirds of the population were still enthusiastic about the tournaments in Italy and the US. For the previous World Cup for which the Orange managed to qualify, that in Brazil in 2014, 47 percent showed interest. Now that has dropped to 34 percent.
    This trend has everything to do with the negative image surrounding the football world, says Hielkema. “Although Fifa and Uefa were probably no better thirty years ago, much more is now known about them, thanks in part to investigative journalists. The tournament in Qatar has now become the symbol of a rotten, money-dominated football world, which many ordinary football fans in the Netherlands no longer want to or cannot identify with.”
     
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  5. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    #30 PuckVanHeel, Dec 1, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2022
    Forgetting now a few: maybe someone as Van den Boomen as well and Brobbey instead of L. de Jong or useless Janssen (weird how he's an alumnus of what was previously an elitist school - one of the three boarding schools in the country delivering the Catholic elite in the good old days..).

    Can add a few more...

    Fourth in the algorithm:
    https://www.sofascore.com/tournament/football/france/ligue-1/34




    (Yes, it is a teamsport but it is not for a superteam etc.)

    Also dubious I'd say are Blind sr. and Davids in the staff: what do those two really add? What is their job description or remit? (Blind sr. failed as head coach, not to mention the conflict of interest with him in the oversight board at Ajax - which Ajax itself has highlighted!!!)
     
  6. annoyedbyneedoflogin

    Juventus Football Clube Ajax Mineiro de Deportes
    Jun 11, 2012
    v Gaal has a history of adding influential (ex)players onto his staff. His initial team-up with Rijkaard may have been the first hit of a drug Louis can't kick. He even turned to Kluivert..

    Blind IMHO was a solid coach for Ajax. His defense eventually became Milan-like. And this was not because of the talent of the players at hand. But the stupid board of directors kicked Blind anyway, as they did with Olsen and Adriaanse etc, other capable managers of Ajax.
    I can understand that Blind enriches the staff.

    What I also do not understand is the inclusion of Dumbfries, especially after his showcase. We have 5 substitutions now..
     
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  7. Al Gabiru

    Al Gabiru Member

    Jan 28, 2020
    Maybe there's a mistake, but I did a quick search.

    Best Player Group Stage (whoscored, fotmob, sofascore) average

    1. Bruno Fernandes (8.36, 8.99, 8.60): 8.65
    2. Szczesny (8.22, 8.14, 8.20): 8.18
    3. Theo Hernández (7.98, 8.33, 7.85): 8,05
    4. Messi (7.87, 8.17, 7.93): 7,99
    5.Casemiro (7.89, 8,07, 7,80): 7,92
    6.Griezmann (7.73, 7.86, 8.13): 7,90
    7. Alex Sandro (7.70, 8.17, 7,65): 7,84
    8. Kylian Mbappé (7.84, 8.11, 7.53): 7.82
    9. De Jong (7.75, 8,05, 7,63): 7,81
    10. Mac Allister (7.54, 8.12, 7,60): 7,75
     
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  8. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    From the traditional side of things, I'm sure there'll be many sources but this one is a good one that might have an overall group stage ratings summary perhaps soon from Italian or assorted sources - at the moment though ratings for all the games aren't quite there:
    Football Ratings (football-ratings.blogspot.com)
    Like with your sources too though any summary won't take account of games played but just average score I suppose (but later in the tournament there will probably be a requirement for a minimum number of games, as I've seen happens on Sofascore re: the old World Cups too, in terms of making the lists of top ratings etc)


    I think this is where I ended up myself, for my best impression for a group stage XI (and squad of 26) in the end:
    grpstagexiwc22.png
    Sorry, I mis-typed a capital I in Thiago Silva I see now!

    Other players I mentioned before are probably still in the mix though (if they are still in the competition) and I think there'd be a few others who'd have been close before the final group games and/or became so after them. I'm wondering whether I could have put in De Jong rather than Bentancur, but the former is still in the World Cup and the latter not so there's potential to do that going forwards anyway. I was almost getting tempted to consider Djibril Sow as a late entry for example, but again he's still in the World Cup, which for example Tadic is not now (but Tadic as 2nd AM for group stage, for me, is not really in doubt and I was even considering if I could put him in the XI rather than Griezmann in the end). I was also in two minds probably after the 3rd games on Gavi vs Bellingham for a place as reserve CM in that squad, and Ferran Torres came to the fore a little bit again with quite a bright substitute appearance I thought, setting up a chance too, so maybe loses out due to my decision that Messi eventually squeezed into the XI and based on suitability and/or availability of a free slot, the right forward position seemed the best choice (rather than going with AM or CF). Son Heung-min seems to be one who is beginning to enhance a claim potentially, going into the knock-out stage, also.
     
  9. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    I'm thinking I'd possibly put the Chavez free-kick for Mexico in a top 5 goals at this stage now too....

    As for top 5 players, compared to what I said before, I think maybe I'd have Morata and Tadic in at the moment, for Casemiro and Gavi (but I wouldn't really have Griezmann, Mbappe and Pedri way ahead of others I don't think either anyway - what annoyedbyneedoflogin said about Mbappe certainly has merit in it I think, in terms of the efficiency re: taking chances).
     
  10. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    Maybe now is a good time to post those positional lists from 90 Minutes again, since they are in effect for the end of the group stage:

    Goalkeepers
    2022 World Cup goalkeeper power rankings: Matchday 3 (90min.com)
    1: Szczesny (same place as after game 2), 2: Courtois (re-entry), 3: Noppert (same place as after game 2), 4: Mendy (new entry), 5: Turner (up 2), 6: Mininkovic-Savic (same place as after game 2), 7: Al-Owais (new entry), 8: Ochoa (same place as after game 2), 9: Gonda (same place as after game 2), 10: Simon (down 3)

    Defenders
    2022 World Cup defender power rankings: Matchday 3 (90min.com)
    1: Gvardiol (up 2), 2: Koulibaly (new entry), 3: Souttar (new entry), 4: Saiss (same place as after game 2), 5: Hakimi (new entry), 6: Maguire (up 4), 7: Aguerd (same place as after game 2), 8: Timber (new entry), 9: Estupian (down 1), 10: Upamecano (down 4)

    Midfielders
    2022 World Cup midfielder power rankings: Matchday 3 (90min.com)
    1: Casemiro (same place as after game 2), 2: MacAllister (new entry), 3: Fernandes (down 1), 4: Adams (new entry), 5: Bellingham (up 3), 6: Pedri (same place as after game 2), 7: De Jong (re-entry), 8: Gavi (down 5), 9: Kovacic (up 1), 10: Amrabat (down 1)

    Forwards
    2022 World Cup forward power rankings: Matchday 3 (90min.com)
    1: Morata (up 3). 2: Gakpo (up 7), 3: Mbappe (down 2), 4: Messi (up 1), 5: Rashford (new entry), 6: Musiala (same place as after game 2), 7: Vlahovic (new entry), 8: Mitrovic (new entry), 9: Olmo (down 1), 10: Hwang Hee-chan (new entry)

    IIRC the assessment for Messi (that I pretty much go along with) is different there than on the Argentina-Poland match page where they just mentioned the missed penalty and gave him a low score, so clearly there is some different input there from different journalists, and the match ratings and top 10 positional rankings don't completely align. I'd probably put the penalty down more as a good save, on balance, although didn't really think it should have been a penalty (I also didn't think the Cavani incident should have been a penalty - not because I'm less inclined to call fouls as in the past I'd say I was more the other way if anything, compared to the average English guy anyway maybe, and still could be in some instances, or for some cases of potential obstruction for example....but on that one unless I looked at it wrong I was in the "game's gone if that's a penalty" camp I suppose lol, so agreeing I suppose with the ref and VAR rather than the TV pundits - it seemed very much to me Cavani ran into the defender and tried to hook his leg into him, and wasn't bothered about going for the ball, so I think if Cavani had been the defender rather than attacker then maybe I would have said it was a penalty....like I say unless I've not seen it 'properly', and misunderstood what happened!).
     
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  11. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    #36 PuckVanHeel, Dec 3, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2022


    Shameful and disgraceful article this (of course happily tweeted around by Honigstein and pals). Very insinuating and negative.

    The truth is this team has only one player born (and somewhat raised) abroad (in Switzerland).

    This is less than - and not for the first time, to be sure - teams like France, USA, Germany, Spain, Croatia and Portugal.

    Typically we don't naturalize players either (there are two exceptions in history; De Guzman and Douglas, the latter never earned a cap).

    They don't write stuff about Poland "responsible" for the all-time topscorer (Klose), Ghana responsible for Desailly or Senegal for Vieira. You know, people who were actually born abroad and had part of their (early football) upbringing abroad.

    There is a desire by the powers that be to slander us and weaken us. Framing us as the fortunate and lazy profiteers. The racists, the colonizers, the lucky ones.

    Then there is this:
    "Krishnadath says: “We are aware that for a lot of these players, it’s more important to play in the Dutch national team than for a Surinamese team. All these players, don’t forget that they are businessmen. The added value when you are playing for the Dutch team is much more. We grasp that. If you have better prospects in playing for the Dutch team, then you should do that from a pure commercial perspective. That’s real life. (Football) is 11 businessmen running on the field.”

    This is true but the commercial pull is not comparable to the major nations and markets. Making it easier for a Ziyech (entirely born, raised and educated here) to become a Maghreb God. Furthermore, they mention Dest in the article; this logic is not applied to him anywhere in their pieces (his choice for USA, rather than Suriname or 'Holland').

    What a disgraceful example of journalism, once again.

    Which is precisely the irony: sport journalism itself is decided by commercial interests, informing the company line. The weak commercial pull and demographics is why this article appears.

    (There is much more to be said about this article; there are three other major points to make)

    They must be annoyed we are still not entirely down:

     
  12. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    One half of the draw has six European teams (of eight in total). The other six non-European teams.

    Bit concerned about the nervous Brazilian referee assigned for our USA game (with Brazil in our half too)... normally they should easily win though (Argentina meanwhile has been vetoing officials and has the clout to do so).

    Semifinal is possible, but Brazil seems to me as of a different class.
     
  13. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    I guess VAR should make sure the big calls go correctly in the end, in theory.

    Yeah, Spain ended up in the England/France half of the draw now: I guess it wasn't a deliberate ploy though lol (preferring a potential route that comprises England's group stage opponents from 1986 - not that I expect Poland to make the semi-finals - as opposed to an early-ish match with Brazil - I'm not sure England/France, still before the Final, is necessarily an easier game than Brazil for Spain though anyway....or at least I'm not sure France is!), especially as Costa Rica could still put them out. Maybe just an inspired comeback from Japan: if there is a ploy maybe they are the ones with it (being bringing the best players on as subs! - on the other hand I feel like Dragan Stojkovic's plus side is probably the influence he had on the style of play of the Serbia team and their creativity going forwards, but maybe his negative points seem to have been taking his best players off, with a fair amount of the 2nd half still to play, if anything...for whatever reasons!).
     
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  14. Sexy Beast

    Sexy Beast Member+

    Dinamo Zagreb
    Croatia
    Aug 11, 2016
    Zagreb
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Croatia
    Joško Gvardiol

     
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  15. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Apparently the fans want to see them go home, or don't care a lot (it is not unusual to see people going home after the group stage, with a dip in the round of 16, but this is unpredecented; only 1000 tickets and no fanzones etc.):

    Historic small legion in Qatar prepares for match against US, fan walk will continue

    Two-thirds of the already small Orange Legion in Doha have now gone home, but an Orange March will still be coming to the Khalifa International stadium ahead of the round of 16 against the United States. About a thousand tickets were sold for that match, a historically low number.
    [...]
    A KNVB assembly point in the central FIFA fan zone was already canceled after the first match due to a lack of interest. Many fans were also unpleasantly surprised that there is nowhere to get beer during the day.

    In the Khalifa International stadium they will probably lose out to the Americans today.
    [...]
    On the street in Doha, it is mainly the Brazilian, Argentinian and now also Moroccan fans who are most visible. Orange is barely perceptible in the street scene. So far, the orange fever has not really started in the Netherlands either. Last Tuesday's match against Qatar was watched by 3.8 million people, the lowest number in this century for an Orange match at a major tournament.

    https://www.ad.nl/wk-voetbal/histor...rijd-tegen-vs-fanwalk-gaat-wel-door~a786c8a1/
     
  16. annoyedbyneedoflogin

    Juventus Football Clube Ajax Mineiro de Deportes
    Jun 11, 2012
    upload_2022-12-3_13-50-31.jpeg
    Here's something to help this orange fever:
    [​IMG]
    DUMFRIES, THE NEW THURAM!
     
  17. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Because of the nature of Qatar winning the hosting rights, Qatar should be excluded from my analysis. They were simply out of depth. Actually, this was not an analysis, but random thoughts just came into my head.

    The AFC featured three team in the round of sixteen. Portugal, Argentina, Spain and Germany were beaten by an Asian team in the Finals. Qatar being the host might or might not contribute to their successes. I meant how would the Japanese, the Koreans and the Aussies benefitted from a World Cup held in the Middle East. By distance, they are further away than the UEFA teams. However, both North and South American teams were playing poorly in Qatar. By distance, they might be the furthest away. Canada (and Qatar) was the only team that earned zero point in the group stage, but they were not the worst team in the tournament. They performed well in the WC Finals, but were unlucky. Costa Rica earned 3 points in the Group stage, but they were beaten badly twice in this Finals. Mexico had their worst WC performance since 1978, but it probably had nothing to do with an AFC host. Of course, Brazil and Argentina were exceptional.... alway the exceptional. Nevertheless, both were beaten in the first round. When have they ever happened?
     
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  18. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    I did watch the majority of that game, although funnily enough I see I must've been checking on the other game or something when a couple of his best moments occured, with the ball, such as the Redondo-esque play to set up a chance in the 2nd half. I knew I was planning to finalise my squad of course, so I did have him in mind as a possibility to enter it during that game (if anything I saw less of him and concentrated less on him perhaps in the previous games, moreso the 1st one though) - there were a couple of moments where I was feeling perhaps he got a bit lucky so maybe that counted against him (along with me being unsure how highly I really rated his earlier performances, and Akanji not really harming his claims even if perhaps not enhancing them massively either in his final group game, and I suppose missing a couple of those best Gvardiol contributions) - the 'back pass' moment perhaps significant in that respect (because I didn't initially see it as a deliberate act - if it actually was I suppose it should really have been a free kick pretty much on the Croatia goal-line though!). For sure I feel like he is good at making timely interventions (and maybe he made one just when Lukaku might have been about to score that time, even though perhaps nervous after the other misses?) and his composure and capability to deceive opponents when in possession is promising. Maybe I feel like a couple of times Belgian players might have controlled the ball better and tested him more.

    But yeah, overall, many people/sources do seem to have him right in the mix at this point, I know.
     
  19. peterhrt

    peterhrt Member+

    Oct 21, 2015
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Qatar are reigning Asian champions. They beat Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan in the process.

    The next World Cup in 2026 will see Europe/South America combined with fewer than half the participants.
     
  20. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid

    I was looking at travel distance and World Cup performance. I did not even think about the 2026 World Cup Finals.

    If you take a look at the 2014 World Cup, half of the last 16 came from North and South America. But when I looked at the teams, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay happened to feature one of their best ever. sides. They would probably do well if the 2014 World Cup Finals were held outside South America.

    I know that Qatar was the reigning Asian champion, but did they look good to you? It was a fluke victory. Qatar should be considered a "sampling error". I also should take away Argentina or Brazil out of the samples because they should perform well regardless of where they played the WC Finals.
     
  21. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    #46 PuckVanHeel, Dec 4, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2022
    Don't say this too often and too loud; because - among other things - it doesn't fit in the pre-designed Anglosaxon narrative of Holland - just as in euro 2020 - only playing against pub teams.

    More importantly, it questions the sporting merit of Qatar being a legitimate team to play in the tournament. Adding to the debate about their legitimacy to host.


    Genuinely thought he was one of the weakest players of his team before this match (I have far from seen all games and teams). But yes, he caught the eye here. The more Rotterdam players perform okay, the better :thumbsup:

    Another one who gets dragged into the Suriname bracket I see;



    Some of the replies said this well:
    "Nah. This is really weak reporting. With the exception of Seedorf, EVERY SINGLE ONE of these players [the author mentions] was born and raised in the Netherlands. Even Seedorf moved there at 2 years old and was raised there his entire life. Just a truly awful attempt at getting a knee-jerk reaction." [He's indeed the only one to have been born there after the 1975 independence, which was btw done against the wish of 80% of the population]
    "They were born in the Netherlands, grew up in the Netherlands, and made the decision to represent the country they feel most connected to. There seems to be this narrative in the media questioning non-white players that play for historically "white" countries."

    Of course I can also see and understand the ambiguity and permeable nature of national teams and the concept of a nation in general; nationality as defined by blood ties or as location etc. But now compare this to other countries in terms of naturalization and born abroad. As usual and generally the case, they have fewer players born abroad in the squad as USA (20% of the squad born abroad), Germany, Spain, France, Croatia, Portugal and a whole load of others.

    Furthermore, Italy their euro 2020 winners - for instance - already had more naturalized players in their roster as Netherlands in their *entire history*. While we don't see takes like "Meet Brazil, the country enabling Italy their victory" popping up. All the Suriname players he mentions, except Seedorf, were born on de jure Dutch soil and automatically gained a Dutch passport (without restrictions, free to move around in the post-war kingdom). What about Klose, John Barnes et al.? The England players eligible for Ireland?

    The next denigrating take is already up, two days later:
    https://theathletic.com/3965348/2022/12/03/netherlands-van-gaal-blind-depay/
     
  22. annoyedbyneedoflogin

    Juventus Football Clube Ajax Mineiro de Deportes
    Jun 11, 2012
    I personally think that poltics are annoying and inefficient. But I recall that back in the day the Suriprofs had their annual getogether and it was always a fun event. There was no need for politics etc.

    On the naturalization side of things, I think the Netherlands is leaving opportunities on the table. I'm not sure if the former East Indies yield any talent but South Africa should be able to provide something. Radebe was a solid back, for example. Imagine playing him instead of a Mathijsen.
    In contrast, according to an Algerian friend, France has several Algerian players, technically, including Mbappé. They are smarter about it and look like the team to beat at the moment.
    People need to think big.
     
  23. Sorry, but NO THANKS.
    The Orange Squad has to represent DUTCH football culture and that only comes from players that climbed the unique Dutch football pyramid from amateur to pro club..
    The Orange Squad to me is the SHOWCASE of Dutch football and heritage.
    Putting in mercenaries flies in the face of being proud of your roots and pedigree as a football nation that stands out from the rest.
    So no thanks.
    I even would go as far as excluding young players who moved abroad as young kids, as these then are nurtured in a non-Dutch football environment. The one exception I'm prepared to make is for those coming from the Barcelona academy, as that is thoroughly founded on Dutch football philosophy.
     
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  24. peterhrt

    peterhrt Member+

    Oct 21, 2015
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    #49 peterhrt, Dec 4, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2022
    When they won the Asian Cup in 2019, Qatar won all seven matches, scoring nineteen goals and conceding just one. It doesn't sound like a fluke.

    This year they have beaten Bulgaria and Ghana in friendlies, and drawn with Slovenia and Chile.

    Ahmed Hashim, editor of Qatar Football Live, accepted that the team disappointed in the World Cup and thought it may have been past its peak. I didn't think they played that badly.
     
  25. peterhrt

    peterhrt Member+

    Oct 21, 2015
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Canada may have been a bit unlucky this time, but they are co-hosts in 2026 having never picked up a point at the World Cup - same as Qatar now.
     

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