FIFA World Cup 2026

[Lord Blackadder]

I'm so bored of corruption, real and imagined, in the sport. It sours everything. Egypt are not known for losing graciously, so I take their claims with a grain of salt even if I agree with them that FIFA are corrupt in a general sense.

 

[zephonic]

For me, this sort of emotional investment tends to take two directions: This means that while there are teams that you want to see succeed, to do well, teams that you cheer and are thrilled by their success, (especiaoly if they are an appealing underdog), there are also teams that you (passionately) want to see not just defeated, but absolutely and totally and utterly destroyed.

Yes, Argentina must never, ever win the world cup again! Underhanded scumbags, the lot of them! 😀

 

[pachyderm]

I think Norway is the team to look out for...

 

[Lioness~]

On YT in a voting it says:

Norway will win - 63%
England will win -31%
To closeto call: 7%

We'll see ?

 

[Lioness~]

Andreas Schjelderup 🇳🇴 1 - 0 - 36'

 

[Lioness~]

Jude Bellingham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1 - 1 45'+2

 

[zephonic]

Norway #7 is ego tripping

 

[pachyderm]

On YT in a voting it says:

Norway will win - 63%
England will win -31%
To closeto call: 7%

We'll see ?

bah! that disallowed 2nd goal was BS

 

[Apple fanboy]

And relax…..

Well done England. Bellingham was the difference. Not our greatest performance but we got there in the end.

 

[daneoni]

Bellingham has been England's best player by a country mile....even ahead of Kane.

Almost singlehandedly dragging Eng over the line each time. 6 goals at the quarters stage is crazy work.

Also looks like its between Mbappe and Messi for the Golden Boot now unless Kane/Bellingham intervene.

 

[Bodhitree]

Probably the best result for the tournament, I see England as more capable of stopping Argentina… of course France is still going to win because they are a cut above everyone else.

 

[zephonic]

Norway's second goal should not have been disallowed, another VAR travesty.

But Bellingham made the difference on a day when both Kane and Haaland decided to phone it in.

 

[scubachap]

Well, after the excitement of the Mexico game normal service resumes… 🙄

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I expected Bellingham to be a major contributor for England but he’s been the star by a mile.

 

[Silencio]

Hats off to Norway — what an incredible run they had. They're much more than just the Haaland show. Antonio Nusa has a bright, bright future ahead of him.

Hope Switzerland can neutralize (ha ha) Argentina next.

 

[zephonic]

Let’s go Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra!

 

[zephonic]

Oh FFS…

 

[dblissmn]

France still the team to beat. Aside from squad depth they've barely had to travel. Until Dallas, every single match has been within less than a four hour train ride or a 45 minute flight of the next one.....and that's allowing for the lazy, archaic train dispatching practices through the New York area for trains to and from Boston that needlessly add an hour to the trip.

 

[zephonic]

FIFA = Foul In Favor of Argentina

 

[Skwoodge]

Norway's second goal should not have been disallowed, another VAR travesty.

But Bellingham made the difference on a day when both Kane and Haaland decided to phone it in.

Yeah ... the calls being made in these games lately is really putting me off the game.

 

[zephonic]

I know. VAR needs clearly stated rules as to when and how it can be applied. This opaque and random nonsense has to go.

 

[Bodhitree]

I expected Bellingham to be a major contributor for England but he’s been the star by a mile.

He has been good, but England have a strong team spirit, and people like Gordon have been important too. Semifinal against Argentina is waiting…

 

[Apple fanboy]

I know. VAR needs clearly stated rules as to when and how it can be applied. This opaque and random nonsense has to go.

Just make VAR go. Thats the fix.

 

[zkap]

VAR has been making good decisions and correcting errors. The vast majority of VAR's impact is positive and there are no two ways about it, it's not a matter of interpretation. It gives referees an extra chance to review incidents and most of the time it works well. Saying VAR needs to go is like saying that the appeals process in court cases needs to be done away with because it prolongs the resolution and sometimes the appeal court makes the wrong decision.

I never understood the sentiment that enjoying something in the heat of the moment, like a player scoring a goal and then celebrating furiously, should not be marred by pesky double-checking and reviews, because that spoils the fun. I thought it spoils the fun more if the outcome is unfair.

 

[scubachap]

Hats off to Norway — what an incredible run they had. They're much more than just the Haaland show. Antonio Nusa has a bright, bright future ahead of him.

Hope Switzerland can neutralize (ha ha) Argentina next.

I agree, Norway have been great value... The general muted feeling here (Eng) after yesterday is quite a contrast to the aftermath of the Mexico game.