Just a tweet I saw, I guess France Ligue 1 is the 5th top league. % of Starting XI coming from big 5 leagues in this World Cup:100%: 🇧🇷 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇩🇪 🏴 91% 🇨🇭88% 🇦🇷 🇩🇰 82% 🇺🇸 🇲🇦 🇸🇳 🇵🇹 🏴79% 🇵🇱 73% 🇧🇪 68% 🇷🇸 🇬🇭 67% 🇭🇷 64% 🇺🇾 52% 🇳🇱 50% 🇨🇲 🇯🇵45% 🇪🇨 33% 🇹🇳 27% 🇰🇷 15% 🇨🇦 12% 🇲🇽 9% 🇨🇷 6% 🇮🇷 0% 🇦🇺 🇸🇦 🇶🇦— Tutul Rahman (@tutulismyname) December 1, 2022
Still cant believe Belgium (#1 or #2 in the world according to FIFA), Germany (Germany!!), and Denmark ("dark horses" of this WC) are out in the first round
Add Uruguay to that list and actually Mexico's streak of getting knocked out in the 4th game also came to an end. Germany didn't control their own destiny and in the end Spain did them in. Despite the loss Denmark gave France a good game but 1 point from the games v. Tunisia and Australia simply won't cut it. Belgium had dressing room problems and players performed below their level while the manager had decided before the World Cup he'd resign and go down with the old guard; only reached an acceptable level in the final game and had quite a few big chances but let Croatia off the hook (Croatia's player of the match turned out to be Lukakic).
Comparing adjacent group winners by common opponents... Netherlands vs. Senegal & USA: 6 points, 5-1 GD England vs. Senegal & USA: 4 points, 3-0 GD France vs. Poland & Australia: 6 points, 7-2 GD Argentina vs. Poland & Australia: 6 points, 4-1 GD
Is there gonna be any upset tomorrow?? Or are all the 8 favourites gonna go through quarters? What do u guys think? Only 2 matches to know...
Wales at 82%? Are they including English Championship League teams? Also Holland at 52% is a bit misleading, as 4 or 5 of their players are at Ajax, which is a better side than most of the Premier League teams.
Messi first has to get passed the Dutch clockwork coached by Van Gaal. Argentina are the betting favourites but I see them having a tough time against the Netherlands.
But that might actually work against them. They might enter the semi-finals with "false confidence" and not getting tested yet. It will be tough to reach 100% given they barely had to play anywhere close to that level in this tournament before. It's tough to shift into the highest gear if you played most of the time in second gear.
We won't face an opponent that played us like S. Korea anymore in the tournament. It made us look real good, but it's a bit unrealistic. That's not to say I don't like our chances.
If you saw how composed and careful we played against the Swiss and Serbia, you'd know this team won't be overconfident.
I think there is a difference between being falsely confident and overconfident. While of course they will respect the opposition, there is a risk of being less aware of what more challenging opposition can do.
Quick reminder for you. I picked Portugal to reach the World Cup final and finish one place higher than Brazil. I don't needed this perofrmance in order to believe in Portugal making strides at this World Cup.
The way I see it only 4 of the remaining teams are likely to win. Brazil, England, France, Portugal. Sorry Argentina. Brazil also has the much easier side of the bracket. I'm thinking it will be a Portugese speaking final.
Who will win the World Cup? (Updated betting odds after the Round of 16) Brazil__________________2.75 France_________________5.00 Argentina_______________7.00 Portugal________________7.00 England________________7.50 Netherlands____________17.00 Morocco________________35.00 Croatia_________________40.00
Havng paid attention to Portugal I knew that they play actually better without Ronaldo. I kind of hoped that Santos would drop him as the tournament progresses.
Cristiano Ronaldo heads straight down the tunnel while his Portugal teammates celebrate their win on the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo heads straight down the tunnel while his Portugal teammates celebrate their win on the pitch. 🎥 @adriandelmonte pic.twitter.com/CPIkT84O2I— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) December 6, 2022
When Portugal is clicking, and they click best (obviously now but pretty clearly even before) without Ronaldo, they can be as impressive as anyone else. A Brazil-Portugal final would IMO be very nice and fitting, although the winner of France/ England and Argentina/Holland might have different ideas. Croatia and Morocco may not be done, but IMO getting to the quarterfinals is sufficient reward for their merit; anything more for them will be at the expense of teams that can dazzle and put the stamp on this World Cup being the best ever.