2026 WC USA (et al): Worldwide Opponents Watch [all R's]

Simulation has been a yellow card for decades. Now they're getting caught. Do it twice and you're gone. I have zero problem with that.

A lot of players are going to clean up their acts. They're going to stop covering their mouths to insult opponents in a hurry too. If you take something seriously, you issue real penalties for it.

 

For U16 boys, the real deterrent would be a yellow for simulation followed by a TikTok critique of the diver’s haircut by a panel of high school girls.

 

Can we stop with “Embolos yellows were legit therefore Argentina isn’t favored”? Both can be true. What percentage of yellow-worthy dives actually get cards? In the grand scheme of things Argentina seems to avoid yellows for yellow worthy behavior more so than other teams. Both Ilsandro and Romero have had yellow worthy collisions in this game and it wasn’t called. That’s Argentina’s charmed
Life in the last two WCs.

 

not sure if it borders on conspiracy but Argentina has the least cards per fouls this World Cup by a wide margin. I don’t have an explanation for it but it’s pretty noticeable watching the games.

 

You do you, I disagree.

 

Yeah if people want to argue that the punishment for two yellows is too harsh, I’d agree in some ways, but that problem can’t be fixed by simply ignoring yellow card infractions.

 

I will say, if Argentina win this, England will be heavily, heavliy favored.

 

This isn't in reference to Embolo, who was clearly diving, but I've always wondered with refs if they get, that there's a difference between diving, and exaggeration to make sure a foul is actually seen? I think most refs get this, but sometimes, I'm not sure, and because we all hate diving, Rivaldo's in '02 being the penultimate example, we forget that a lot of dives are actually a player simply trying to exaggerate a foul so that its actually seen by the ref. I hate diving and simulation as much as the next guy, but we have to get that at least some of it is simply meant to draw the refs attention to a foul that actually did happen, just not as severely as pretended.

 

Messi VERY close to getting the game winner

 

With his right

That would have been a crazy twist

 

I'm not sure who/what you're quoting, but that's the new normal with VAR. Let the action play out, and only afterwards call offside, just in case the AR got it wrong. You can go back to an offside call after a goal, but you can't re-create a goal if you mistakenly called offside first.

 

Nah, they won't, England has been utter ---- against Ghana, Panama, DR Congo, and Norway, and probably escaped Azteca only because El Tri applied absolutely moronic tactics to try to equalize in their match.

Argentina has sucked for much of the WC too, but it's basically a lot of the same for both of them, struggling to put away teams they are definitively better than and in Argentina's case, comically so.

They are very similar. I agree that England is clearly and emphatically better, period, but I imagine when the game, if it happens, hits the betting sites England will probably be -110 or -120 to Qualify at best, and I'm betting most sites will probably have draw as the most likely outcome in regulation.

 

… damn

 

Not quoting anyone, he's just making fun of potential takes by the more tin foil conspiracy inclined like myself.

 

I just want to quote this post so it can live on in the thoughts of more posters dreams. This is just a wondrously beautiful idea.

 

VERY nice save on a great attempt deep in injury time.

 

I think post match yellows for simulation based on video review would kill diving.

 

Good, im glad its going to ET. Argentina are going to exhaust themselves

 

Argentina has not played particularly well tonight nor at any point in the knockout stage.

 

would LOVE to see it.

 

They’ve definitely benefited from the calls. I do think it’s more likely that they’ve just been on the lucky end of some bad calls than that there’s something sinister going on though. When refs make a bad call between two average teams, it’s just a bad call, but when they make calls that benefit a media darling, it’s got to be part of some conspiracy.

 

England no doubt happy too. Theyll be happy their opponent plays 120 as well

 

Honestly who knows how these teams power scale.

Argentina could look like shit the entire KO but play a team like England and could still beat them 3-0 if England plays a style that could leave them exposed to Messi on the break.

Conversely there is a world where the English depth overwhelms the tired Argentines and run them off the pitch.

My point is boring, but... who knows.

 

I’m leaning towards England depth overwhelming Argentina and then losing to France.

 

Thats what I see too