He's still on the wall in the tunnel outside the Emirates on the walk from Tollington Arms. I'm not sure I knew about this tunnel when I went to visit the stadium, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. It was extremely well "curated", assuming that much thought went into it. A nice blend of past and present. I think the one of Saka and Emile Smith Rowe was my favorite.
Probably created by a bunch of ex-dookies (Duke university students for the uninitiated). Some of the students use to be spontaneously clever back in the 80s and had a decent reputation but as the school shifted to admitting more and more unimaginative dorks that were only good at convergent thinking they had to start using cheer sheets to try and be clever. I should add this is all related to dook men's basketball.
yo screw dook!! im jk. (but I dislike all eastern teams) my alma mater UCLA, won the womens basketball championship last year i know i know non WC related
Hey Fifa found a good place for Balogun's red card suspension: https://www.espn.co.uk/football/sto...ah-suspended-two-world-cup-matches-mexico-red
Just tuning in. Forgot about the whistling by Maroc fans. Have they been doing this all tournament or do they trot it out for colonist rivals France? And can they keep it up all afternoon?
Mbappe just owned Mazraoui to earn a PK. Which he then squandered after a very long delay by VAR. Still 0-0 at 29'
The long VAR delay was ridiculous when it was a clear penalty. But that doesn't completely excuse yet another awful stutter-step penalty.
The reality is that if VAR can't determine that's clearly NOT a penalty in less than 30 seconds then they should just let it go to the call on the field. It has to be clear and obvious to send to the referee and anything that needs to be reviewed that long is NOT clear and obvious. It clearly and obviously had an effect on Mbappe.
Yup. And there was no clear and obvious reason why that review would've taken so long, unless there was some sort of technical problem in the VAR booth. Meanwhile, the floodgates opened for France with 2 goals in quick succession. And wouldn't you just know it that Maroc is now playing with all sorts of urgency in France's half. Plan B is in full effect now. Good luck to them! With 20 mins left.
I still think with the exception of the auto offsides, violent play and the ball\goal line chip technology that VAR\assistance should be like the cricket and it's a captain's call and you get 2 per half. Refs calls the rest of the way. Player goes down in the box and ref waves play on. Captain can call for VAR and if it's a penalty they keep the call and if it's not then they lose it. I originally liked the idea of a timer, that if it's clear and obvious you will see the foul\error within 20 seconds but the issue is some of the officials are so incompetent I would worry they would time out genuine fouls either due to malice or stupidity. The other change I think football needs is a 3rd yellow card.
it needs a 20 min bin. It remains absurd that you can do rotational fouling and each player can make a professional foul.
The problem with the simply lash it discourse, it that when someone blooters it into row Z, or wide, which is inevitable for almost everyone except Harry Kane and maybe 5 others, they'll be blamed just the same So of course an elite tier striker like Mbappe who can decide at the last second, will of course use that advantage. The likely difference between him smashing it every time vs placing, is probably a % point or two?
It's not really smashing vs placing, it's picking a spot and hitting it with pace vs trying to outwit the keeper. Smashing it in this case also increase the chance of a rebound and second chance (not in a shootout, obviously)
I don't disagree - it's a trade off between placement and power. Here both were poor. I. am just not sure what his run up had to do with it. Seems more likely he guessed the placement wrong and bungled the execution Havertz is also suddenly being criticised, yet his goal keeper oriented technique has been elite.
Oh I think the stutter step is meant to wait for the keeper to commit to one direction so Mbappe can shoot to the opposite side. Like I don't think Mbappe knows which side he will take until right before he shoots, which is why it is so weak. Versus picking a side before the run up and hitting it hard into the corner.
Agreed - and game theory makes the argument complicated as to what is the best technique. I guess for me, people suddenly critique Havertz for mastering a high % technique after a rare miss. But he was always going to miss at some point, regardless of what way he does it. If everyone could master Kane's technique, they would do that.
I don't think it's that difficult to master especially for elite level footballers. And as Carlo said, it doesn't have to be a smash. If you put it in the side netting with even a decent amount of pace, it's very unlikely a keeper is going to save it. He'd have to guess correctly and get a really spring/push off.
My very first Arsenal match (26 Sept. 2003), I was sitting in the North Bank right behind the goal when Henry did that to Shay Given.