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The 2022-2023 Football Thread

And I am delighted, by the way, to see a female referee officiating at a World Cup match, the vastly experienced Stéphanie Frappert, from France, in what is an historic first. (She had already served as one of the assistant referees, during the earlier Mexico v Poland match).

In fact, the entire refereeing team for this match was female, also a first, and something I am delighted to see.
 
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^
I was watching the CR vs Ger match for that reason.

On another note, massive congrats to Japan. Controversy aside, they deserve it. Hard work with moments of quality.

Spain became toothless and boring once Morata was taken off. Frankly Spain deserve to be out because they haven't done much besides the 7-0 win.

Germany hadn't really done enough apart from today's game.

People will say winter world cup is causing the upsets but i think we are just seeing a gap closure between europe and the rest of the world.

I still think Brazil will win it. Still not convinced by France or Netherlands
 
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Spain didn't really care too much about this game. They were happy to come in second in the group and face Morocco in the next round instead of Croatia.

We definitely see a few European nations coming off their generational peaks (Belgium, Croatia, Denmark) and ones that are still in the midst of rebuilding (Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain). Arguably England, France, and Portugal are still at or near their peak. Plenty of opportunity for the improving African and Asian nations to join the knockout party, and they've taken it.
 
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daneoni said:
People will say winter world cup is causing the upset but i think we are just seeing a gap closure between europe and the rest of the world.
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Is it possible that the value of some players is overestimated?

What I mean is that we're so used to seeing many players playing for their clubs but, in their respective clubs, apart from being used to playing in that particular system, they can play alongside players from other countries, players that complete and sometimes enhance the value and skills of other players.

Maybe, players are not used to playing together in their national teams, or in those national teams they don't have teammates as good as those in their clubs, thus exposing their shortcomings more clearly, shortcomings that, when playing for their clubs, are usually being covered up by their teammates from other countries.

I'm not saying that European national teams have poor players, but perhaps they're not as good as we (as the worldwide football fans community) thought they were.
 
fanboy-ish said:
Is it possible that the value of some players is overestimated?

What I mean is that we're so used to seeing many players playing for their clubs but, in their respective clubs, apart from being used to playing in that particular system, they can play alongside players from other countries, players that complete and sometimes enhance the value and skills of other players.

Maybe, players are not used to playing together in their national teams, or in those national teams they don't have teammates as good as those in their clubs, thus exposing their shortcomings more clearly, shortcomings that, when playing for their clubs, are usually being covered up by their teammates from other countries.

I'm not saying that European national teams have poor players, but perhaps they're not as good as we (as the worldwide football fans community) thought they were.
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There's that element too where some players are better at club systems and some at international level. For example Maguire is currently doing a decent job for England but he won't be first choice when he returns to Utd. De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku have never really delivered for Belgium.

Also as Silencio said, some teams are undergoing or starting a generational transition and have been exposed, whilst others are emerging as dark horses that are finding their identity.

Whatever the reason(s) its intriguing to watch
 
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Oh, Ghana....

Why do players insist on stutter-stepping these penalties? At the risk of sounding like a 'proper football man', just run up and smash it hard into the corner...

Uruguay look just too wily and too skillful for the Ghanaians, and Ghana look set for another heartbreak.
 
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Ghana was cooked after that penalty take. But they did get a modicum of revenge against Uruguay by holding the scoreline to 2-0 while South Korea dramatically beat Portugal's b-team.
 
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Probably the worst penalty i've seen in a long while.

Mixed feelings; On one hand Uruguay were robbed. On the other hand, i never shed a tear when Suarez loses.

Good on South Korea for again putting the work in and not giving up. Batman with the assist too.
 
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Silencio said:
Ghana was cooked after that penalty take. But they did get a modicum of revenge against Uruguay by holding the scoreline to 2-0 while South Korea dramatically beat Portugal's b-team.
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Their shoulders sagged and you just knew they were done mentally. Eliminating Uruguay is pretty good revenge though. Now we just need someone to knock Portugal out.

daneoni said:
Probably the worst penalty i've seen in a long while.

Mixed feelings; On one hand Uruguay were robbed. On the other hand, i never shed a tear when Suarez loses.

Good on South Korea for again putting the work in and not giving up. Batman with the assist too.
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It wasn't Zaza-at-Euro-2016 levels of bad, but it was a very poor PK. You feel for the player though, he was under absolutely immense pressure. But that stutter-step thing...ugh. Unless you can do that and still hammer a shot hard without the run-up, you're just adding risk.

I'm incredibly biased about Suarez so I won't pontificate here. But he's the player you love to have on your team, and everyone else hates. Bad behavior aside, he is a fantastically skilled striker and a classic South American street footballer.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Their shoulders sagged and you just knew they were done mentally. Eliminating Uruguay is pretty good revenge though. Now we just need someone to knock Portugal out.



It wasn't Zaza-at-Euro-2016 levels of bad, but it was a very poor PK. You feel for the player though, he was under absolutely immense pressure. But that stutter-step thing...ugh. Unless you can do that and still hammer a shot hard without the run-up, you're just adding risk.

I'm incredibly biased about Suarez so I won't pontificate here. But he's the player you love to have on your team, and everyone else hates. Bad behavior aside, he is a fantastically skilled striker and a classic South American street footballer.
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Agreed. No reservations about his footballing skills, same with Diego Costa. But i find both annoying in terms of...everything else.
 
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daneoni said:
Agreed. No reservations about his footballing skills, same with Diego Costa. But i find both annoying in terms of...everything else.
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I'd be a hypocrite if I defended Suarez's more stupid antics. And I won't. By all accounts he's a good fella off the pitch, but when I look at how much I loathe Diego Costa and <spits> Dirty Sergio Ramos, I am happy to admit that Suarez might be in the same category for me if he wasn't a former Red.

The 2010 Ghana handball though - if we forgive Maradona his Hand of God, how could we condemn Suarez, who was always completely honest about what he did? It's part of the myth-making process in the game. Suarez saw it as a fair exchange, and I think that is great illustration of how certain cultures see football itself.

The English's cultural concept of 'fair play' is only one way of looking at it.*

*And anyway it's a double standard because Harry Kane is a dirty player but not seen by English fans that way.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
I'd be a hypocrite if I defended Suarez's more stupid antics. And I won't. By all accounts he's a good fella off the pitch, but when I look at how much I loathe Diego Costa and <spits> Dirty Sergio Ramos, I am happy to admit that Suarez might be in the same category for me if he wasn't a former Red.

The 2010 Ghana handball though - if we forgive Maradona his Hand of God, how could we condemn Suarez, who was always completely honest about what he did? It's part of the myth-making process in the game. Suarez saw it as a fair exchange, and I think that is great illustration of how certain cultures see football itself.

The English's cultural concept of 'fair play' is only one way of looking at it.*

*And anyway it's a double standard because Harry Kane is a dirty player but not seen by English fans that way.
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Honestly, Suarez had not other option.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Delighted to see Uruguay eliminated.
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I have no beef with Uruguay (rather a soft spot, they win the first World Cup after all - beat the Brazilians in Brazil to do it!), but they were in what I thought was a fairly evenly matched group and my gut instinct was that they were going to fall short.

I’d rather see Uruguay qualify than Portugal. Uruguay are more fun to watch.
 
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Tonight and last couple of games have reminded me why Modric and Messi are two of my favourites. Unassuming moments of magic to break the dreary deadlock on the big stage without petulance or any sense of entitlement. Even in their latter stages they just put their head down and get on with it. Nary a wrong decision on the ball.

Credit to Oz though, they pretty much overachieved and can go home proud.
 
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USA fall short but there is no shame losing to the Dutch, who are a superior side in terms of talent, depth, and experience.

Some of the post-mortem punditry is being harsh on the team and on Berhalter IMO. Yes, they are not as good as the best teams and coaches. But does that mean we need to see this campaign as a failure? By that metric every national team on the planet, bar the one that actually wins the WC, is a failed project.

USA do need to look at their attack and try to improve it going forward - either by digging up a quality No. 9, by tactical adjustments, or both. But we don't have a Messi or a Haaland hiding somewhere who we can magically produce before the next tournament. You've got the players you've got. That is the nature of international football...why else would Germany be playing Niclas Füllkrug? So I suspect we'll continue to have to work around the fact that we don't really have a star striker and our midfield is going to have to produce much of the team's goals. Pulisic can thrive in the freer role he has in the national team, he will remain a key player, and there is always the chance we will see players like Weah and Reyna step it up a notch.

Australia did very well to keep the game close against Argentina, given how they squeaked into the tournament in the first place it's a good outing for them.
 
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