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

Except neither of the cited cases were bad calls.

 

I’m absolutely sure how it will play out.

But I’m not telling you peasants.

I mean, not for free. Send me $100 and I’ll email you my prediction.*

* Timing of prediction may vary. May not arrive until after the event predicted.

 

I'm calling it now. Switzerland is winning this on penalties.

It's taken 80 minutes for Argentina to put a second shot on goal? Yeah, that's not a recipe for a win in extra time.

 

If we're putting on tinfoil hats, it's rigged for France... their quarter somehow *two* days ahead of ARG-SUI, and their semi a day ahead of the other. The powers that be are making sure France will be well-rested.

 

Argentina really has put a lot of burn in the old man's legs........incredible testament to him. Theyve depended heavily on him

 

3 KO games, 120 minutes each equals 4 regular games...360/4=90...Argentina is superman

 

Messi is such a defensive liability, Argentina kinda is playing with 10 men too

 

FIFA needs to rig an ARG-FRA final to maximize interest till the very end so that they can rig FRA winning as a hand-off from Messi to Mbappe.

I read all about it in February’s Freemasons newsletter.

 

When I get out of my cranky box, and back into my normal guy suit, I can fully acknowledge that generally speaking, this is just NBA style reffing. It's basically the normal bias that you always see towards the powers, and the best players on the powers and against the minnows. This is generally speaking how it works in nearly all sports (baseball, the Umpires have been their own sort of bizarre species), it's particularly heavily impacted by home/away issues in stadiums w/o tracks as the research seems to say, in a WC, I just thing the big time players and teams get the calls, see Torsten Frings and Hugh Dallas and a billion other examples.

But the fact that we have refs involved in match fixing scandals, WC refs moon lighting as cocaine mules etc, gives further ammo to the more conspiracy minded. Normally I'm not so inclined, but with this ---- and the most corrupt organization to the left of the IOC, I absolutely believe things can be shady too, but yeah, 90% of the time, these things, like Argentinas lack of yellows versus fouls, are just the calls a side gets because they're a big boy.

Of course you also have to see where the refs are from confederation wise, as culturally, the refs ref differently (Conmebol and Concacrap are notorious for permissiveness with violence and fouling in general and a disinterest in issuing cards that should be issued early until way too late and a game is clearly out of control).

 

I do think this will be much more of a problem against England if they win tonight.

 

Haaland is the same...But Norway can't afford that...

 

If they were to knock out Colombia and Argentina lol on penalties, omg, that would be epic.

 

Nice tackle on Messi!!

 

Is it a dive?

 

Pretty sure there was contact there

 

15 more minutes ...Just hang in there...If Argentina survives PK shootout, they deserve another trophy

 

Man, I think of the remaining teams only Spain has a shot at beating France.

 

I would love to have seen that bear hug called a PK.

 

Yeah I definitely think more match fixing goes on than people realize. But the folks who fix a game aren’t always going to pick the favorite to win. I think a lot of people seem to vaguely imply that the fifa folks and the tv execs get refs in a room and tell them to do what they can to make the teams that draw the most viewers win. But that would be INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off. Much more difficult than a ref taking money from gamblers to help them get the result they want.

 

Are all of the people who were totally sure that Balogun deserved a red card going to insist that the Swiss player should be sent off for jumping onto Gonzalez’ ankle just now? Because that looked a lot more problematic to me.

 

Yes but the rest of the team is set up to do all the running for him with Enzo, Mac Allister, De Paul, etc.

 

Can’t imagine FIFA and the refs allow this to get to PKs.

 

C’mon, Argentina. No penalties.

 

An epic victory for boring soccer, anyway