FIFA World Cup 2026 Results & Discussion Thread [R]

Yeah, look what England did from the restart after Argentina made it 1-1:
Bellingham pass from the center circle to ... Pickford (!!) who punts it long. Minutes go by before they possess the ball again.

That's pub league tactics. Didn't even have a lead to protect at that point.

 

In some ways, I'd criticize Deschamps more than Tuchel. Him choosing a 2 man midfield, and the those two MFers being Rabiot and Tchouameni, and then asking those two to out-possess Spain was moronic. (No offense to you guys, and Tchouameni is good at a lot of things, but he's never gonna control the tempo and direction of a game with his passing game.)

That is, instead of parking the bus, and turning the game into a track meet between Spain's backline and France's speed merchants up top.

IMO, for just as big a mismatch in possession for France v Spain in that midfield, it was equally a yawning difference in the athleticism of France's Frontline to Spain's backline.

 

The competition was in the US though so I'm sure he had clearance

 

Correct. He was a none factor in the first half and up until we scored. Spence had him pocketed on that left side

 

If FIFA were serious and had anything about them, they would. They gladly changed the rules when President Trump called the boss man

EDIT: Rodri and Morata said "Gibraltar is Spanish," they got suspended for one match.

 

And I fully get that England are never going to be Barça with Xavi/Iniesta/Busquets, and fashion tidy triangles all over the pitch.

But when your team punts it long all the time, you're basically telling everyone that you think you have a better chance, giving the ball to Argentina/Messi, than you do with your own team in possession. Instead of, I dunno, forcing Argentina (with a 39 year old in its lineup) to press you and dispossess you.

FFS, couldn't they have, I dunno, even TRIED a pass or two to a FB, BEFORE punting it to Emi Martinez? (Dumbasses.)

 

I'm kinda looking forward to the third place match more than the final if I'm honest

But that being said, let's go Spain

 

This is the kind of idiocy I was referring to earlier.

Explain this then, Mr. Tinfoil Hat. Regardless whether you agree with the call, you can't possibly argue a bribed VAR team and referee couldn't have overturned that penalty.

 

They should go the Argentine route -- identify the most talented kid and load him up with HGH.

 

¿Qué?

Ball hit the upper arm, which is in a natural position. I agree that I dont like the law for the penalty, in that the defender couldn't have known that the attacking player was there.

But with respect to the rest of that:

¿Qué?

 

Just more coin for FIFA which is all they care about. Screw everything else.

As if Mbappe and Bellingham can be arsed staying around to see who finishes 3rd or 4th.

Give the guys who have accumulated the most minutes an early holiday and play the reserve / backups.

 

Agreed that FIFA are all about grabbing that sweet, sweet cash. But:


Goals in the 3rd place game count towards the Golden Boot, don't they?

I'm guessing Mbappe will be HIGHLY MOTIVATED to bring home that individual honor.

 

Kylian Mbappe disagrees and there's no way the World Cup goal scoring record holder can be wrong about anything.

Lose the league and champions league titles again next season, no problem ***holds up fingers to show the amount of world cup goals scored to obtain record****



And surely Jude and Kiki will have a battle for the ages with each one out to prove who the more selfish, shameless stat padding inidividual award chasing mercenary is.

 

You don't think a hypotheitcal corrupt VAR team could have called that back for hitting the arm below the armpit? Particularly given that he intentionally ran and turned into it to create a goalscoring opportunity? ¿Qué?

 

All I see is Lucas Digne set to unleash a brutally violent karate kick on that poor teenage kid from Spain they call Yamal.


There's not enough to call a penalty off of that single, still frame piece of evidence but if I allow myself to infer a bit about what probably happened next (a violent kick to a player in the box) then I might also infer a penalty could have been awarded.

 

Yes, of course a penalty could have been awarded, but you're not arguing that. You're arguing that FIFA had bribed everyone they could, but they couldn't get that penalty called back? After all the other calls that I presume you have an issue with the ref and VAR team making?

 

Mad how this World Cup had Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann teams all blaze out while the final is between two teams managed by guys whose professional club management experience *combined* is 11 games at Alaves 15 years ago.

— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) July 16, 2026

 

I genuinely don't think he cares at this point. The tournament is over given what he said and how he spoke to the press after the game. Who am I to speak for him though

 

Unless I missed one, this is the first spanish-speaking final since the inaugural tournament, no?