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The 2017-2018 Football Thread

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Fizzoid said:
So, Spain & Portugal advance, but neither of them convincingly

Belgium the team of the tournament so far?
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However, the game where they played one another was the game of the tournament so far, to my mind.

Belgium look promising, and have (on paper) an excellent team, but have yet to fully mesh.

I think we run the risk of forgetting that many of the really good club teams (RM, Barcelona, Manchester City, etc) are actually far better than most national teams nowadays (they have the resources in both money and time for one thing) and we also need to bear in mind that - unlike club teams - the national teams usually haven't been playing all that long together and that the longer they play together, the better the good (or really good) national teams will become.
 
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Indeed, after the Spain v Portugal match I said at the time, I don't think we'll see a better game all tournament

Belgium certainly have the players, but haven't really been a 'team'. Could this be their time, lets wait and see...
 
Fizzoid said:
Indeed, after the Spain v Portugal match I said at the time, I don't think we'll see a better game all tournament

Belgium certainly have the players, but haven't really been a 'team'. Could this be their time, lets wait and see...
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Well, Belgium will have to learn to be "a team", and play as a team, for this is the big challenge for the international teams; having a gifted striker is not enough.

This is where Southgate - who has known some of these players since he managed the under-21 set-up - has some sort of advantage, along with the fact that some of the very best coaches in the world are currently based in England, and a number of the players have had the benefit of their coaching.
 
Fast goal from Denmark. Large blow to confidence for Australia early on in the game.
Anxiously awaiting Argentina's match. This one defines everything.
[doublepost=1529584767][/doublepost]And after a VAR intervention, Australia scored through a penalty, achieving the tie.
 
Fizzoid said:
So, Spain & Portugal advance, but neither of them convincingly

Belgium the team of the tournament so far?
Click to expand...

Belgium's 'golden generation' (it's hard not to chuckle at that when you know it includes Fellaini - but yes, yes, Hazard, De Bruyne, Kompany...) have so much talent, but so far they have failed to come up big when it matters - their match with England will be the first real test, followed by their first knockout match. Then we'll know whether they are prepared to step up.
 
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Peru played very well in their matches, just couldn't finish off a few key moves, and the penalty miss against Denmark was brutal.

Any team qualifying out of CONMEBOL is a tough out. So many good teams in that region; even Venezuela or Bolivia can pop up and beat you on any given day.
 
Argentina looking very ordinary. Russian who are very lowly rated on the FIFA charts are looking very impressive. I am sure being the home team helps.
 
Argentina (despite Messi) looking exceedingly ordinary.

And a catastrophic error on the part of Caballero (who has long had lapses of judgment) has allowed Croatia to score.

Croatia lead by a goal to nil.

Now, let us see what Argentina can produce by way of a response.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Argentina (despite Messi) looking exceedingly ordinary.

And a catastrophic error on the part of Caballero (who has long had lapses of judgment) has allowed Croatia to score.

Croatia lead by a goal to nil.

Now, let us see what Argentina can produce by way of a response.
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What a cracking second goal! Bye bye Argentina!
 
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Seeing a footballing superpower like Argentina beaten 0-3 is quite extraordinary. Messi must be gutted as he’s recognised without doubt as one of the all time greats but has never really reaped the rewards in a World Cup. A massive upset, but one that will make other nations rub their hands with glee.
 
A topsy-turvy World Cup so far, to match the topsy-turvy world we now live in.

Argentina are one of those teams you'd typaically assume will make the knockout rounds, no matter how much they are underperforming. And yet...we could see them getting knocked out (indirectly) by Iceland. Iceland.

It's important to point out the Croatia have a really good team though, this wasn't exactly David vs Goliath. Nobody will want to have to face them in the knockout stages.

So Far Belgium and Croatia have looked like the best teams in the tournament. Still waiting for the "giants" to step up and make their marks.
 
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Apple fanboy said:
Well hopefully Iceland (my other Sweepstake team), get the win against Nigeria. Then it's all over.
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Well, yes, I have a soft spot for Iceland, I must admit.

The-Real-Deal82 said:
Seeing a footballing superpower like Argentina beaten 0-3 is quite extraordinary. Messi must be gutted as he’s recognised without doubt as one of the all time greats but has never really reaped the rewards in a World Cup. A massive upset, but one that will make other nations rub their hands with glee.
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It is not just that Argentina are underwhelming (though they are), it is also that by building their entire team around Messi but not being able to play at quite that level, they are showing a lack of flexibility and an excessive deference to a brilliance that is not manifest or obvious without a suitably robust (which is lacking) support system in place.

In other words, Messi - while brilliant - also looks good when he has players of similar calibre supporting him, which is possible in elite club football, but is no longer the case at international level.

Candidly, at this stage, I don't see Argentina qualifying for the knock-out stages; results are no longer in their hands.
 
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Argentina build their team around Messi, and yet he barely touches the ball in the second half? The only memorable moment from him in the last 45 minutes was when he prodded the ball straight at the Croatian keeper from point blank range.

Otamendi is a pathetic joke. He's lucky he plays his club football at a place where he doesn't have to actually do any defending. Even more pathetic than his play was his kick-out at Rakitic, which should have been a straight red. I was really rooting for Rakitic to bury the resultant free kick, and he was sooooo close to doing so.

Cabellero... Hooo boy. I figured he had a blunder in him this WC, but that was a real screamer.

Thought this would be a more even game, but happy with the result.
 
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Silencio said:
Argentina build their team around Messi, and yet he barely touches the ball in the second half? The only memorable moment from him in the last 45 minutes was when he prodded the ball straight at the Croatian keeper from point blank range.

Otamendi is a pathetic joke. He's lucky he plays his club football at a place where he doesn't have to actually do any defending. Even more pathetic than his play was his kick-out at Rakitic, which should have been a straight red. I was really rooting for Rakitic to bury the resultant free kick, and he was sooooo close to doing so.

Cabellero... Hooo boy. I figured he had a blunder in him this WC, but that was a real screamer.

Thought this would be a more even game, but happy with the result.
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I agree that building the team around Messi is counter-productive - not least because he only shines when those supporting him are almost as good as he is, which is no longer the case in international football - but also, because, as Croatia demonstrated - to do well at the World Cup you need to play as a team, and not simply perform as a vehicle to service a gifted front man.

For Portugal, a version of this strategy worked because their players can actually play, as well as going support to Ronaldo, who was able to read things well enough to be exactly where he was needed when he was needed to produce something.

Argentina used to be able to produce an assembly line of great and very good players; this no longer seems to be the case.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
I agree that building the team around Messi is counter-productive - not least because he only shines when those supporting him are almost as good as he is, which is no longer the case in international football - but also, because, as Croatia demonstrated - to do well at the World Cup you need to play as a team, and not simply perform as a vehicle to service a gifted front man.

For Portugal, a version of this strategy worked because their players can actually play, as well as going support to Ronaldo, who was able to read things well enough to be exactly where he was needed when he was needed to produce something.

Argentina used to be able to produce an assembly line of great and very good players; this no longer seems to be the case.
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All countries have their golden periods. But agree they have one world class player.

Croatia on the other hand looked like a team who played well together. Yes they have some key players, but they seem to play for each other.
 
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Apple fanboy said:
All countries have their golden periods. But agree they have one world class player.

Croatia on the other hand looked like a team who played well together. Yes they have some key players, but they seem to play for each other.
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And, I think that to progress and achieve some sort of success in the World Cup, you have to play as a team.

That is a major challenge for some of these teams at international level - they don't necessarily know one another's quirks and foibles, they may not 'get' or click with one another the way the best club partnerships - born out of personality and skill and deep knowledge & understanding based on playing together over a long period of time - have done.

Moreover, while the very best players may well play with elite clubs, (with all of the resources that implies) when playing internationally, they have to learn how to work with compatriots, some of whom they must learn to connect with and click with - individuals who may not be even anywhere near their own level as professional footballers.

So, patriotism and passion matter - yes - at international level, but so, too, does learning to play together as a team, which was something Croatia managed, and Argentina - manifestly - did not. One gifted player is not enough to see you through to the knock-out rounds.
 
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That was an incredible match on the account of Argentina scrambling the entire match, Messi et al. reactions, and just how defeated they looked at the second goal from Croatia and the fan reaction to that walloping they got with that third goal from Croatia. The last 20-25 minutes discounting the OT left me wondering if the two teams would brawl over fouls. Glad the ref sorted it out and the cooler-headed players on both teams eased the tensions. Would have been 0-4 if that free kick landed a bit lower in the corner.

Looking forward to Brazil losing or tying their next match. Neymar is due to start, supposedly. Fun times around. I would love to see the status quo in football get destroyed for the sake of the sport.


Note to self: Buy a Croatian import beer and celebrate.
 
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