In the case of Uruguay Can't say I agree with this. If Serbia was leading the Swiss 3-2 they would have needed one more goal. Meaning they still would have had their fate in their own hands. They were actually leading 2-1 so that had control of their fate. Same with Uruguay who only needed one more goal. This is something they should have known beforehand. Before kickoff, they should have made the assumption that Korea would beat Portugal 1-0. Likewise with Serbia. go into the Swiss game with the mindset that Cameroon will beat Brazil. This will help them in knowing what how many goals they may need to win by. With Uruguay, I believe they did just that because after scoring their second they continued pushing for a third goal and came close on a few occasions. In the end, that old adage comes into play. Take care of business early (in your first two games) and don't let the result from the other game on matchday 3 dictate your fate. When Spain battered Costa Rica I kinda felt bad for Los Ticos and a part of me felt Spain should have stopped at 5-0. As it turned out, 7 gave them all the more cushion on Matchday 3. "Just in case"
You're missing the point. Cameroon got a far easier game against Brazil than Serbia (and Switzerland) did. That's where the unfairness lies.
I understand that point. Hence my final paragraph of the old adage. Serbia would have improved their positioning going into today if they had defeated Cameroon. That's also why they call it 'the luck of the draw'. I went through this with Spain in 1998. Nigeria rested their starters and basically tanked their final group match against Paraguay who needed a win to advance. Spain beat Bulgaria 6-1 but it meant nothing. I didn't place any blame on Nigeria or suggest how lucky Paraguay were. I put all blame on Spain for allowing that scenario to play out by not getting results from their first two games. And on Zubizarreta for allowing that third Nigerian goal for the win.
Well sure any team could have played better and overcame the odds. But "luck of the draw" isn't good enough. There should be attempts to remedy this. At the end it didn't cost any teams I root for but it still annoys me. I bet Uruguayan fans are pissed and rightfully so.
They should be pissed at their own team for not beating Korea or Portugal. Or scoring a third goal against Ghana. But I think they're most angry at the referee. Maybe change the first tiebreak from goal difference to head-to-head result (?) But even that can't assure collusion would be avoided. (Euro 2004 Sweden v Denmark)
Korea also didn't beat Uruguay and lost to Ghana but then unbelievably beat Portugal because half of Portugal's regulars didn't play. Uruguay played a full strength Portugal team. Let's agree to disagree. For me there's no way to justify it and call the outcome fair. I think the tiebreakers are fine as they are.
I have no problem with them either. That 'Fair Play' thing is a new one for me, but like the away goals rule in the UEFA competitions my mantra is always, "anything except penalties". Or at least push penalties as far down the tiebreaking list as possible. Same with a coin toss/drawing of lots.
So this is the first time in 32 teams World Cup history, no team manage to win all 3 games in group stage. Here are some of my rating in group stage: Best team To be fair, this is very hard cause some favourite don't play full strength in all 3 games. I will go with France and Brazil Most impressive team Japan, beating both Germany and Spain and top the group of death should speak enough. Most improved team Argentina. They lost first game but then came back quickly enough. Let's wait for KO round Worst team Wales Most disappointing team Belgium. No need to explain. Some may say Germany. But i think they didn't play bad at all. Best player Griezmann Best midfielder No one really stand out much so far but i go with Enzo of Argentina Best defender Gvardiol Best Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda Best young player Not counting Enzo and Gvardiol, Musiala is my pick Best goal Richarlison vs Serbia Best kit Japan
I hate to say it but we (Brazil) I think are in trouble. Neymar probably only comes back in the QF if not the SF. And now we have 3 FBs in the injury list with Dani Alves being the only healthy one. Militão can fill in but having Alves out there is a huge liability. And one would have to play as LB. Hopefully we get Alex Sandro or/and Danilo back because this is a real issue for us right now. I am also concerned by our lack of goal scoring. Someone is gonna need to step up.
What Cavani thinks about VAR ... pic.twitter.com/Y4l4xNXUKV— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) December 2, 2022
I'll give this a go. Strictly my opinions. Best team France, Brazil. In that order. Most impressive team Uruguay when they take off the defensive chains that hold them back. Most improved team Costa Rica. Ripped to shreds in their first game yet for one brief momentagainst Germany they were in the Round of 16. Worst team Qatar Most disappointing team Denmark. I probably thought too highly of them but I really expected more. Best player Mbappe Best midfielder I'll go with Bruno, but I wish we had seen more of de Arrascaeta. Best defender Gvardiol Best Goalkeeper Szczesny Best young player Gapko... Kudus... Tim Weah is well known in the US but I think others are now discovering him. Best goal Individul brilliance: Chavez's free kick from distance v Saudis But I'm a team guy, and the 27-pass sequence that Julian Alvarez finshed off against Poland was shades of one of my all-time favs: The 24-pass gem that Cambiasso finished off against Serbia-Montenegro in 2006. Best kit Blue is my color and I LOVE the shade of blue of the US second kits. But they blew with the black patches splashed all over it. Argentina's alternates are also nice but the purple trim ruins it. So I'm going with Spain's light blue/blue altenates that they'll be wearing against Morocco.
There is a prediction contest for the knockout stage. Whoever is interested feel free to join and predict the Round of 16 fixtures by naming the eight winners with (N) => in normal time (E) => in extra time (P) => on penalties Post# 3218 https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/m...redictions-what-do-you-think.2120305/page-129
Didn't watch many games but here it goes. Best team France. Most impressive team Japan Most improved team Could be Australia who started bad vs France and qualified. Worst team Qatar ... just awful Most disappointing team Denmark based on pre-WC expectation. But on real surprise ... Germany .. they didn't play bad persay. Best player Mbappe Best midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Defensive mid has been Casemiro for me. Best defender Haven't seen Gvardiol as you guys voted. Don't really have one to be honest. Best Goalkeeper Szczesny Best young player Musiala Best goal Richarlison vs Serbia Best kit France's main kit. Dark blue with gold accent.
It’s like I predicted after the first couple of games .. the refs are letting too much go . The cynical players know they can whack a few even injure them ( Neymar now Jesus ) without even getting a warning !! Two of the world’s best forwards are now effectively out of the WC . Also Messi and Mitrovic , Foden , Kane plus tigers are all carrying ankle / foot injuries.
Yeah, i notice that referee is quite soft this World Cup. Feel like they don't want red cars to ruin the game