2018 FIFA World Cup thread

That, for me, is the key point.

Whether you win a game or not is another matter. But at least make it look like you can play the game relatively competently.

The only bit where we didn't look like that was the 12 min after the colombian goal where we looked shell-shocked. I can remember almost entire GAMES like that on occasion.

 

Your future actually looks very bright with the talent you have coming up in hughes, winks , roberts, grealish, loftus cheek, madison , lewis cook, mount , foden , odoi. ampuada, trent arnold , barkley , abraham . rashford. tunzabe, sancho , willock , nelson , sancho and foden etc.

I don't know are you aware of this but we have stolen one of your best players Declan Rice .

 

Yes we've got good players coming through. So there was hope for the future but that didn't mean we would necessarily get through to a semi-final when they come through. We've not exactly been blessed with luck until now.

Not the first time you've "stolen" one of "our players". At least Declan is an Irish name so I doubt it took much rummaging around to find the link.

 

Ha, I was going to add that in also but then realised it was also written by an Englishman so really I guess that’s our fault

 

Tbf I actually quite like The Irish Rover especially whilst getting drunk and drinking Guinness as it’s one of my favourite alcoholic beverages and off course all this in a decent Irish bar though.

 

The first evidence of the Song the Wild Rover was documented in...................scotland

 

The Irish Rover is a different song.

 

Oh boy! We can have a lot of joy against Corluka down the right side and can also press him as he's not comfortable on the ball.

 

Hmmm... not sure about that.

 

I dont. At its best our system is designed to squeeze up high suffocating the opposition. The game vs sweden was a great example of executing this. There were many times sweden cleared a cross etc and it was immediatly picked up by stones or mcguire stepping in who were already in the sweden half. Swedens plan was to play deep and hit on the break but all they did was allow us to squeeze up and control the possesion.

 

A bit bored of all of this "easy route to the semi finals" malarkey that's going on, so have compared the Elo ratings (at the start of the tournament) for the opponents of all semi final teams since it went to the 32 team format.
The penultimate figure is the average ranking of the teams faced in the first two knock out matches.
The last figure is the average of the opponents in all three knock out matches prior to the final.

Code:

1998

Brazil 1   Chile 22   Denmark 12   17   14
Netherlands 8   Yugoslavia 6   Argentina 10   8   6
France 4   Paraguay 29   Italy 6       18   17
Croatia   15   Romania   13   Germany 2   8   6

2002

Germany   12   Paraguay 36   USA 23       30   31
South Korea 33   Italy 4       Spain 6       5   7
Brazil 13   Belgium   17   England 7   12   17
Turkey 28   Japan 15   Senegal 40   28   23

2006

Germany   10   Sweden 12   Argentina 8   10   9
Italy 7       Australia 23   Ukraine 26   25   20
Portugal 9   Netherlands 2   England 3   3   3
France 4   Spain 6       Brazil 1   4   5

2010

Uruguay   14   South Korea 24   Ghana 41   33   23
Netherlands 3   Slovakia 47   Brazil 2   25   21
Germany   5   England   4   Argentina 7   6   4
Spain 1       Portugal 11   Paraguay 25   18   14

2014

Brazil 1   Chile 9       Colombia 8   9   7
Germany   3   Algeria   54   France 11   33   22
Netherlands 5   Mexico 21   Costa Rica 33   27   19
Argentina 4   Switzerland 14   Belgium 15   15   11

2018

France 7   Argentina 5   Uruguay 12   9   8
Belgium   8   Japan 43   Brazil 1   22   17
Croatia   17   Denmark   16   Russia 45   31   23
England   7   Colombia 9   Sweden 20   15   15

By my reckoning, the following teams had an easier route to the semis (I haven't counted where a team plays one minnow and one top team):

Brazil 1998
France 1998 (home team & winners)
Germany 2002
Turkey 2002
Italy 2006 (winners)
Uruguay 2010
Spain 2010 (winners)
Germany 2014 (winners)
Netherlands 2014
Croatia 2018

You could also claim that our potential route to the final is on a par with France 1998 and harder than Germany 2002, Brazil 2002 & Italy 2006.

Other than 2002 and Croatia this year, you don't really read much about how these other teams had it easy.

As an asside, Portugal's potential route to the final in 2006 couldn't have been more challenging. They faced the 2nd ranked, 3rd ranked and 4th ranked teams in successive rounds.

 

Too add to the post, it feels like when one of the favourites gets an easy ride it's not news. When an outsider gets an easy ride it's called out as exactly that.

 

The team Southgate has set out since the friendlies before the world cup has only ever played a midifeld that competed in the last 15 minutes against Colombia and the second half against Nigeria. We were second best in those situations. We never had the ball well enough to release Sterling or Lingard. We play virtually 3 - 1 - 6 against teams that sit back. And it is the right thing to do against those teams as has been shown during the world cup and the friendlies before it.

I also reckon Dalic will go defensive against us, so it may the right thing to do against Croatia. France/Belgium if Southgate doesn't change it we may get unstuck.

 

Reckon we'll win on Wednesday. Teams good, moods good, we're in a good place.

Hard to really see where we'll get hurt... But, yeah, even so I can't put my finger on it but it just feels like we'll be in the final.

 

Any team that features Lovren at CB can be got at.

 

I reckon how you perform when you meet a big team is what lasts in the memory. Turkey 2002 were no match for Brazil so I always had them as lucky to get there. France 1998 had a match against Italy that went to penalties, and my abiding memory was it being a struggle to watch. But it meant I thought they had earnt it in a way. Also the paraguay game was tense as well.

 

For a little while from 2012-2014 he kinda done over English teams, but since then he has a good track record.

 

I just seem to have a vague memory of him handing out cards and fouls against us.

But, y'know... my memory, eh?!

 

I remember him screwing us against Ukraine in the 2014 WC qualifyer at home. Took away a goal by Defoe and booked him after buying a fake hand to the face dive from a Ukrainian.

 

I mean, I don't think England's been bad but neither have they really been great imo. I'm glad England's finally succeeding in a major tournament for once, but right now I want France, Belgium or Croatia to win rather than England.

Group relatively easy. Their hardest opponent was Belgium, but they'd already qualified at that point. Colombia without James and a penalty win for once where it'd been probably GO when colombian player hit the bar. Then Sweden. Croatia's next

It's not to sound condescending but I'd hate if England wins this tournament

 

big loss for them..
I think we can exploit their defence on set pieces..

 

cheers for the "input" .
lol

Comes into the forum and is a prick for no reason.
classic bigsoccer and why I never bother reading other forums.