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The 2017-2018 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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Just checking in...and 4-1 
and 4-2, soon we have 5-2 (ok, they were not hungry enough)
Not that it surprised. The game between France and Belgium was the moral final.
Lower half was not as good (Sweden included) as the upper half.
Too bad, would've been more fun with Belgium - France in final. This is fun for France
and 4-2, soon we have 5-2 (ok, they were not hungry enough)Not that it surprised. The game between France and Belgium was the moral final.
Lower half was not as good (Sweden included) as the upper half.
Too bad, would've been more fun with Belgium - France in final. This is fun for France
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Well, unlike some other teams, Croatia are well able to score goals from play.
And good to see them still contesting this match vigorously.
And good to see them still contesting this match vigorously.
In the end, Croatia lost because they tried to play aggressive early and looked like they were running on fumes near the end.
France just played a better game and made full use of the chances they got. Croatia didn't.
A. Lloris had a very "Spursy" moment on that second goal.
3. In the end the best looking jersey of the two won.
[doublepost=1531676334][/doublepost]Also, i'm not gonna even bother to watch next year.
3. In the end the best looking jersey of the two won.
[doublepost=1531676334][/doublepost]Also, i'm not gonna even bother to watch next year.
Thankfully it's no WC next year
Not sure I'm gonna watch next games either, who knows? 2022 seems distant.
Congrats to France even thou i wanted croatia to win. It was a good game. i still think mbappe is overrated, im a Monaco fan and he didnt do much over there, Falcao did all the goals in Monaco...is it 2022 already? #TeamUSA&ColombiaWillBeBackStrongerThanEver
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I was disappointed France won but congratulations to Croatia for putting up and good fight and demonstrating what a small country can do on the world stage. They are my team of the tournament for sure.
I think this has been to most exciting World Cup I can remember and despite the worries about trouble I think Russia did a very good job hosting it. I’m sceptical about Qatar to be honest and the silly time of year it’ll be played but we have 4 years to worry about that!
I think this has been to most exciting World Cup I can remember and despite the worries about trouble I think Russia did a very good job hosting it. I’m sceptical about Qatar to be honest and the silly time of year it’ll be played but we have 4 years to worry about that!
you realize i was joking, right?Thankfully it's no WC next year
Not sure I'm gonna watch next games either, who knows? 2022 seems distant.
For the first goal Griezman dived, he wasn't even touched. The multiple replays proved it.
Even after Croatia equalized, mentally, it changed the game.
PS: I am still happy that France won; I wanted them to win.
Even after Croatia equalized, mentally, it changed the game.
PS: I am still happy that France won; I wanted them to win.
Too many blunders by Croatia. Ineffective passing in the 2nd half. Just a bumbling mess from the beginning with the OG that demoralized them, causing them to make mistakes such as the handball out of desperation. Absolute twits. With the piss-poor effort today they didn't deserve 2nd place.
A six-goal final!! We haven't seen this much scoring in a world cup final in over forty years...
I wasn't able to watch the final live, but I've just finished it and I don't think anyone can argue against France as champions. They faced, and defeated, three of the next four best teams in the world cup. They seemed to play a bit of a rope-a-dope at times - never really dominating a knockout match from the start (even looking to be in trouble at times), but always coming up with the goods when they needed to, and doing so in style (Lloris' howler notwithstanding). Pogba looks a different player in a France shirt - though he missed some good chances in the final. France were deserved world champions, and Mbappé has truly announced himself as a world superstar. He should be around for at least three more world cups as well!
I don't have any problem with the VAR penalty call, except the fact that it took five minutes from the moment of the handball to the penalty hitting the back of the net. Only three minutes of stoppage time were awarded.
Croatia have to be the surprise package of Russia 2018. We often talk about "dark horses", but Croatia really played that role here and have to be the toughest team in the tournament after grinding out an entire extra match's worth of extra time during the knockout stages. They were very close to scoring two or three goals today...they played good football and were unlucky to concede four in the final. (but lets not get into that luck debate again)
A couple other random thoughts:
Belgium were the second best team in the tournament, but the group stage results put them on France's side of the draw (a Croatia - Belgium semifinal would have been excellent). They may not have won, but surely this is a vindication for their "golden generation". They achieved more than England's so-called Golden Generation of the 2000s, for example.
England had a positive tournament overall, and should have no regrets after being knocked out by a superior Croatia squad in a close match. Southgate is the standout figure. Kane wins the golden boot, which will boost his stock further; whether you want to argue about the quality of his goals is another debate. They will struggle to go further than this in a major tournament, I think, but with Southgate at the helm they are well placed to meet their potential in the next Euros.
Argentina and Germany endured disastrous campaigns; the former probably need root-and-branch reform but Germany should, I think, be able to bounce back pretty quickly.
Brazil once again did not quite live up to their hype, and Neymar made a bit of an ass of himself (compare his world cup behavior with that of Modric, Hazard, de Bruyne, Mbappé...).
Overall, there were quite a few high quality matches and surprise twists in the tournament. It's a shame that the "new" post-Blatter FIFA is really just more of the same - a corrupt cabal rubbing shoulders with strongmen and prostituting the beautiful game for profit. In that sense, I suppose they are merely a sign of the times.
I wasn't able to watch the final live, but I've just finished it and I don't think anyone can argue against France as champions. They faced, and defeated, three of the next four best teams in the world cup. They seemed to play a bit of a rope-a-dope at times - never really dominating a knockout match from the start (even looking to be in trouble at times), but always coming up with the goods when they needed to, and doing so in style (Lloris' howler notwithstanding). Pogba looks a different player in a France shirt - though he missed some good chances in the final. France were deserved world champions, and Mbappé has truly announced himself as a world superstar. He should be around for at least three more world cups as well!
I don't have any problem with the VAR penalty call, except the fact that it took five minutes from the moment of the handball to the penalty hitting the back of the net. Only three minutes of stoppage time were awarded.
Croatia have to be the surprise package of Russia 2018. We often talk about "dark horses", but Croatia really played that role here and have to be the toughest team in the tournament after grinding out an entire extra match's worth of extra time during the knockout stages. They were very close to scoring two or three goals today...they played good football and were unlucky to concede four in the final. (but lets not get into that luck debate again
)A couple other random thoughts:
Belgium were the second best team in the tournament, but the group stage results put them on France's side of the draw (a Croatia - Belgium semifinal would have been excellent). They may not have won, but surely this is a vindication for their "golden generation". They achieved more than England's so-called Golden Generation of the 2000s, for example.
England had a positive tournament overall, and should have no regrets after being knocked out by a superior Croatia squad in a close match. Southgate is the standout figure. Kane wins the golden boot, which will boost his stock further; whether you want to argue about the quality of his goals is another debate. They will struggle to go further than this in a major tournament, I think, but with Southgate at the helm they are well placed to meet their potential in the next Euros.
Argentina and Germany endured disastrous campaigns; the former probably need root-and-branch reform but Germany should, I think, be able to bounce back pretty quickly.
Brazil once again did not quite live up to their hype, and Neymar made a bit of an ass of himself (compare his world cup behavior with that of Modric, Hazard, de Bruyne, Mbappé...).
Overall, there were quite a few high quality matches and surprise twists in the tournament. It's a shame that the "new" post-Blatter FIFA is really just more of the same - a corrupt cabal rubbing shoulders with strongmen and prostituting the beautiful game for profit. In that sense, I suppose they are merely a sign of the times.
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Congrats to France even thou i wanted croatia to win. It was a good game. i still think mbappe is overrated, im a Monaco fan and he didnt do much over there, Falcao did all the goals in Monaco...is it 2022 already? #TeamUSA&ColombiaWillBeBackStrongerThanEver
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Mbappé overrated? That’s a hot take for sure. What do you have to support that? Are there things you feel like he doesn’t have that he should based on the hype?
I guess you did see the replay? Whether it was intentional or not, I don’t know, but Griezman’s leg got clipped. There was contact if you watch the replay.
Enjoyed the Finale and glad France took it home! Best squad in the tourney after all - followed by Brazil and Belgium.
Can't really take the general criticism serious that France played too defensive etc pp - even the underdogs know nowadays how to defend their goal against AAA-attacks and play a counter attack or two. The days of a single player ruling a whole tournament are long gone already and to push through brilliant and beautiful offensive play is only possible if you have 1-2 bigblocks of players from the same club that already know to play such a system - otherwise there is just not enough prep- time to perfect such an approach. Brazil tried and lost. France played pragmatic and won. My 2c.
Can't really take the general criticism serious that France played too defensive etc pp - even the underdogs know nowadays how to defend their goal against AAA-attacks and play a counter attack or two. The days of a single player ruling a whole tournament are long gone already and to push through brilliant and beautiful offensive play is only possible if you have 1-2 bigblocks of players from the same club that already know to play such a system - otherwise there is just not enough prep- time to perfect such an approach. Brazil tried and lost. France played pragmatic and won. My 2c.
A six-goal final!! We haven't seen this much scoring in a world cup final in over forty years...
I wasn't able to watch the final live, but I've just finished it and I don't think anyone can argue against France as champions. They faced, and defeated, three of the next four best teams in the world cup. They seemed to play a bit of a rope-a-dope at times - never really dominating a knockout match from the start (even looking to be in trouble at times), but always coming up with the goods when they needed to, and doing so in style (Lloris' howler notwithstanding). Pogba looks a different player in a France shirt - though he missed some good chances in the final. France were deserved world champions, and Mbappé has truly announced himself as a world superstar. He should be around for at least three more world cups as well!
I don't have any problem with the VAR penalty call, except the fact that it took five minutes from the moment of the handball to the penalty hitting the back of the net. Only three minutes of stoppage time were awarded.
Croatia have to be the surprise package of Russia 2018. We often talk about "dark horses", but Croatia really played that role here and have to be the toughest team in the tournament after grinding out an entire extra match's worth of extra time during the knockout stages. They were very close to scoring two or three goals today...they played good football and were unlucky to concede four in the final. (but lets not get into that luck debate again
A couple other random thoughts:
Belgium were the second best team in the tournament, but the group stage results put them on France's side of the draw (a Croatia - Belgium semifinal would have been excellent). They may not have won, but surely this is a vindication for their "golden generation". They achieved more than England's so-called Golden Generation of the 2000s, for example.
England had a positive tournament overall, and should have no regrets after being knocked out by a superior Croatia squad in a close match. Southgate is the standout figure. Kane wins the golden boot, which will boost his stock further; whether you want to argue about the quality of his goals is another debate. They will struggle to go further than this in a major tournament, I think, but with Southgate at the helm they are well placed to meet their potential in the next Euros.
Argentina and Germany endured disastrous campaigns; the former probably need root-and-branch reform but Germany should, I think, be able to bounce back pretty quickly.
Brazil once again did not quite live up to their hype, and Neymar made a bit of an ass of himself (compare his world cup behavior with that of Modric, Hazard, de Bruyne, Mbappé...).
Overall, there were quite a few high quality matches and surprise twists in the tournament. It's a shame that the "new" post-Blatter FIFA is really just more of the same - a corrupt cabal rubbing shoulders with strongmen and prostituting the beautiful game for profit. In that sense, I suppose they are merely a sign of the times.
Excellent and thoughtful post, and I agree that while France were deserving champions, Belgium were excellent, and were easily the second best team of the tournament.
A France Belgium final would have been better to my mind, but the draw didn't allow for that.
However, Croatia were excellent and played with pride, skill and passion.
Agreed, too, that Pogba was a revelation in a French shirt, which - hopefully may raise questions about why some great players are diminished when they don a red shirt while playing at Old Trafford.
I was pleased that the prima donna antics of the divas were not rewarded and that those team all experienced an early enough exit; the teams that progressed and did well and improved as the tournament were the teams that played together as teams, focussing on the collective, not the individual, or one star.
Am very impressed by Southgate, the man and also impressed by the team he crafted and by their conduct on and off the pitch. The fact that they scored so many goals from set pieces is a demonstration of how Southgate was able to find strengths in areas hitherto unexplored, especially when there appeared to be a clear difficulty in scoring goals from open play. Well, you seek to minimise weakness and build on strengths, or discover strengths you never knew you had.
While I'm happy enough to see France win - they were the better team - I would have loved to have see Belgium take home the trophy.
France finally get a victory in Moscow - didn’t quite go their way last time they were there
Probably wanted Croatia to win on balance, but glad Lovren lost, nobody likes Lovren
The thing is, Moscow wasn't the capital of the country in 1812, St Petersburg was.
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