The 2025-2026 Football Thread

[HandsomeDanNZ]

That was quite the thrashing at home for Serbia.
England might have done enough in this game to actually silence some of the critics. Maybe

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I expect little from USA tonight. Japan are ranked higher than the South Korean team that easily defeated Poch’s boys recently, and though FIFA rankings are a bit of a farce I don’t think we’re going to have an easier time. Is it too much to ask for an improved performance? Recent history suggests yes.

That was quite the thrashing at home for Serbia.
England might have done enough in this game to actually silence some of the critics. Maybe

Unlikely. But unquestionably a good result for England.

 

[Apple fanboy]

After a good England win I fully expect the press to have us as WC elect by tomorrow. Just turn up and the trophy will be ours.

We are either the best team in the world or the worst. Nothing in between according to them.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

After a good England win I fully expect the press to have us as WC elect by tomorrow. Just turn up and the trophy will be ours.

We are either the best team in the world or the worst. Nothing in between according to them.

Yeah, not if they saw the two latest games featuring Australia and NZ.
What a display of absolute football that was.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I expect little from USA tonight.

Low expectations often lead to pleasant surprises.

 

[laptech]

The England v Serbia game is why the saying 'football is a funny ole game' rings true because Serbia is a far far better team than Andorra is and yet England put 5 past Serbia and only 2 past Andorra. Serbia is a team of seasoned full professionals, Andorra is a mixed team of amateurs and semi professional footballs (all semi pro play in non league teams apart from one). Only one of their players is in a top flight league team, Eric Vales who plays for a team in the Serbian first league (2nd league in the countries division).

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I didn't watch last night's Norway game, because I'm not really _that_ interested, but for once I kind of regret that decision:

In the most eye-catching result of the night, Erling Haaland scored five times as Norway routed Moldova 11-1 in Oslo.

The Manchester City striker was in unstoppable form, leading the way in a thoroughly one-sided contest that maintained his side’s 100% record in Group I. Haaland had his fifth international hat-trick by half-time, scored three times between the 11th and 43rd minute, and snatched another couple in the second half as he stretched his international scoring record to 48 in 45 caps.

The Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard scored four despite coming on in the 64th minute and there were goals for Felix Horn Myhre and Martin Ødegaard. Even Moldova’s consolation came from a Norwegian player, with Leo Østigard scoring an own goal.

World Cup qualifying: Armenia stun Republic of Ireland while Norway hit 11

The Republic of Ireland manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, is under pressure after the 2-1 defeat, while Erling Haaland scored five in an 11-1 rout of Moldova

www.theguardian.com

 

[laptech]

I didn't watch last night's Norway game, because I'm not really _that_ interested, but for once I kind of regret that decision:

World Cup qualifying: Armenia stun Republic of Ireland while Norway hit 11

The Republic of Ireland manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, is under pressure after the 2-1 defeat, while Erling Haaland scored five in an 11-1 rout of Moldova

www.theguardian.com

See, now that is the thing England should have done against the part timers Andorra.

Norway (FIFA rank 33) put 11 past Moldova (FIFA rank 153)
England (FIFA rank 4) put 2 past Andorra (FIFA rank 174)

It is an absolute disgrace that people think a 2-0 win against Andorra is acceptable. It is not.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

It is an absolute disgrace that people think a 2-0 win against Andorra is acceptable. It is not.

But as you said, it’s a funny ‘ol game.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

See, now that is the thing England should have done against the part timers Andorra.

Norway (FIFA rank 33) put 11 past Moldova (FIFA rank 153)
England (FIFA rank 4) put 2 past Andorra (FIFA rank 174)

So what?

It is an absolute disgrace that people think a 2-0 win against Andorra is acceptable. It is not.

Nonsense.

What matters is fact of the victory, not the score.

Far better to have secured a safe, solid, victory, than manage a spectacular victory - the sort that satisfies one's nationalist ego - which may also - to take a hypothetical example - have given rise to serious injuries to some players.

Personally, I'm not terribly exercised by this bout of international fixtures; I'd far prefer to see all of Arsenal's travelling players return safely and in a condition whereby they can resume their place in an evolving team.

 

[laptech]

So what?

Nonsense.

What matters is fact of the victory, not the score.

Far better to have secured a safe, solid, victory, than manage a spectacular victory - the sort that satisfies one's nationalist ego - which may also - to take a hypothetical example - have given rise to serious injuries to some players.

Personally, I'm not terribly exercised by this bout of international fixtures; I'd far prefer to see all of Arsenal's travelling players return safely and in a condition whereby they can resume their place in an evolving team.

I respectively and wholeheartedly disagree. When you have a national team full of multi millionaires where the majority of them supposedly play in the hardest and toughest professional league in the world playing against a national team nearly full of amateurs, I expect that team of supposedly highly skilled multi millionaires from the hardest and toughest league in the world to hammer a team of amateurs 10 to 20 goals because anything less is down right disgraceful.

When playing such a minnow team the superior team should show hunger and desire, to show the world exactly what they are capable of when put up against such a team. You don't go to win 1 or 2 nil and leave going 'job done, today was a very good day'.

Your post reminds me of the attitudes school teachers of today have with children that play football and that is just do enough to win because it is wrong to embarrass a team or humiliate them because you will hurt the mental health of the losers. This is why England never produce constant winners because the drive the hunger and desire to be a winner is trained out of them.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I respectively and wholeheartedly disagree. When you have a national team full of multi millionaires where the majority of them supposedly play in the hardest and toughest professional league in the world playing against a national team nearly full of amateurs, I expect that team of supposedly highly skilled multi millionaires from the hardest and toughest league in the world to hammer a team of amateurs 10 to 20 goals because anything less is down right disgraceful.

When playing such a minnow team the superior team should show hunger and desire, to show the world exactly what they are capable of when put up against such a team. You don't go to win 1 or 2 nil and leave going 'job done, today was a very good day'.

Your post reminds me of the attitudes school teachers of today have with children that play football and that is just do enough to win because it is wrong to embarrass a team or humiliate them because you will hurt the mental health of the losers. This is why England never produce constant winners because the drive the hunger and desire to be a winner is trained out of them.

What one considers disgraceful in football is subjective.

There are a number of things that I consider disgraceful in football: I consider professional fouls, players threatening, insulting and harassing referees and match officials, and racist and abusive behaviour by fans, all to be disgraceful.

Likewise, I consider both nation state club ownership models, as well as owners who treat long established clubs as assets to be loaded with debt, assets to be sweated, stripped and used as a bottomless source of extractive wealth, to be disgraceful.

Other things in football I consider disgraceful are awarding the hosting of international competitions to countries with questionable human rights records, often also places with scorching - and profoundly unhealthy - summer temperatures.

However, I do not think that securing a safe and tidy victory in an almost meaningless game - without incurring additional costs, such as injuries to key players, (from what I have read, Omar Marmoush has been injured while playing for Egypt against Burkina Faso, an absence that will most certainly hurt Manchester City if this injury keeps him out for a sustained period) is something disgraceful. Rather, I think it prudent.

Let us agree to differ.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I respectively and wholeheartedly disagree. When you have a national team full of multi millionaires where the majority of them supposedly play in the hardest and toughest professional league in the world playing against a national team nearly full of amateurs, I expect that team of supposedly highly skilled multi millionaires from the hardest and toughest league in the world to hammer a team of amateurs 10 to 20 goals because anything less is down right disgraceful.

I think we all expect a mismatch to end in a heavy defeat for the weaker team. But in labeling a 2-0 win 'disgraceful,' consider the following (some of which @Scepticalscribe has already alluded to):

If 2-0 is disgraceful, what goal difference is acceptable? 3, 5, 10? Does it need to be just a big goal difference, or is conceding any goals to such an opponent also disgraceful, even if you score ten times in response? I would argue that such thresholds are totally subjective. I don't think we can set a metric that makes rational sense. You think 3-0 is a minimum, I say 5-0 is a minimum. Who's to say?

Footballers are not machines. It's a well established fact that players continuously react to the game state rather than just mindlessly toiling. Players take their foot off the gas sometimes. Other times they go 110%.

Why does that matter here? Well, players know seasons are long. They know that this isn't the most important match of the year. They may be under pressure to perform for the international squad and manager, but they also wish to avoid injuries or fatigue. They are managing their strength and health. They're not going to take big risks to score extra goals in a rout. What if Haaland pulled his hammy scoring his fifth goal against Moldova? I'm sure there would be a chorus of criticism over that.

Competitively, beating Andorra 2-0 or 10-0 makes very little difference. Sure, goal difference might come into play but in this bloated format individual results are less important than ever before. England would have to play SO badly going forward for their Andorra goal difference to be needed to advance... England won, they avoided major injuries, they got some playing time together, job done.

I confess I am biased because I usually find lopsided victories boring no matter when or where or with whom they happen. I am a fan who wants to see competition first and foremost. Not domination or dynasties (which, admittedly, many fans prefer it seems). One exception would be Germany's 7-1 mauling of Brazil in 2014. In that case, it was a really important game between closely matched (at least on paper) opponents, on Brazil's home turf - and it was entirely unexpected. But England stomping Andorra? That's not very interesting.

Anyway, this is all a matter of opinion, so, as @Scepticalscribe mentioned, we don't all have to agree about it. If England gets eliminated from WC qualification on goal difference, we can come back to this. 🤣

 

[Apple fanboy]

What one considers disgraceful in football is subjective.

There are a number of things that I consider disgraceful in football: I consider professional fouls, threatening, insulting and harassing referees and match officials, racist and abusive behaviour by fans to be disgraceful.

Likewise, I consider both nation state club ownership models, as well as owners who treat long established clubs as assets to be loaded with debt, assets to be sweated, stripped and used as a bottomless source of extractive wealth to be disgraceful.

Other things in football I consider disgraceful are awarding the hosting of international competitions to countries with questionable human rights records, often also places with scorching - and profoundly unhealthy - summer temperatures.

However, I do not think that securing a safe and tidy victory in an almost meaningless game - without incurring additional costs, such as injuries to key players, (from what I have read, Omar Marmoush has been injured while playing for Egypt against Burkina faso, an absence that will most certainly hurt Manchester City if this injury keeps him out for a sustained period) is something disgraceful. Rather, I think it prudent.

Let us agree to differ.

Couldn't agree more. It was a pretty meaningless qualification game that we won. What was disgraceful? England got three points and Andorra did themselves proud in their performance. Much worse things going on in our beloved game.

 

[Madonepro]

It is an absolute disgrace that people think a 2-0 win against Andorra is acceptable. It is not.

It's this managers first chance with this team, they have never worked with him, and so some adaption to the way he wants the team to play etc, takes time. They won, end of...

Personally, I'm not terribly exercised by this bout of international fixtures; I'd far prefer to see all of Arsenal's travelling players return safely and in a condition whereby they can resume their place in an evolving team.

It astounds me, that 2 weeks into the season, we have an international break. It should be at least 6 weeks in, allowing players to get up to speed with there domestic teams.

 

[laptech]

Word to the wise for those living and working in the UK. In a job interview, do not make it known what team you support because it could prevent you from getting a job. I kid you not.

Denying someone a job over football allegiances is ‘perfectly lawful’

Football fans can be legally denied jobs if current staff support a rival team, a judge has ruled.

uk.yahoo.com

The article is about a person not getting a job because she did not give the 'vibe' that she would fit it. The judge dismissed her claim but gave an example a 'vibe' that would allow an employer not to hire someone based on the football team they support.

quoted from the article:

Judge Wright dismissed her claims and said employers had the right to consider whether a prospective employee would get on well with existing staff.

He said: “There may be times when it is perfectly lawful for an employer to decide that somebody just will not be a fit with the team and that therefore it would be difficult to work together.

“An example of this could be a small company where everybody who works in the office is an ardent supporter of Arsenal Football Club, and they decide to pick an Arsenal fan at interview over a similarly qualified Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder because they do not want to damage the harmony of the office.

“The decision there would be lawful, albeit taking the example to the extreme, would not necessarily be good for business.”

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Word to the wise for those living and working in the UK. In a job interview, do not make it known what team you support because it could prevent you from getting a job. I kid you not.

Would you want a Real Madrid fan in your office? 🤣

I read the judge's comment as pointing out that sporting rivalries are very tribal and can lead to a toxic work environment when people take them too seriously, which is a valid point. If I was interviewing a candidate for a position and they displayed excessive sports tribalism, I would consider that a detriment from a professional standpoint.

 

[Apple fanboy]

To be honest the judge is very out of touch. Most offices these days (well mine at least), I have no idea what team most of the staff support. Days of coming in on a Monday morning and discussing the football are long gone.

95% of communication is done via Teams and is work related in my office. Even if two people are sat next to each other.

 

[laptech]

The FA have charged Chelsea with 74 breaches of it's code on payments to agents/third parties. Reports are saying that because Chelsea were the ones that reported themselves and thus have been fully cooperating with the FA only a fine is expected but there seems to be a difference of opinion when it comes to the premier league because it is being rumored that the premier league is carry out it's own investigation into this but that has not been confirmed yet. This difference of opinion is in relation to those in the football know is to do with other teams wanting the players that Chelsea were able to sign because they broke the rules on payments to agents. One of the names that keeps on getting used is Eden Hazard. When he became available a number of clubs wanted to sign him, Man United, Man City and Liverpool to name a few but he went to Chelsea instead. Now it is being questioned did the clubs that failed to sign him do so because they were not prepared to pay the agents asking fee because Hazard was very influential for Chelsea becoming successful and if they broke the rules on payments to agents to get him to sign to Chelsea then it could be argued that Chelsea were given an unfair advantage due to breaking the rules.

The problem for Chelsea is that they would need other clubs in the premier league to not speak out against them because if all those premier league clubs that missed out on players that Chelsea signed can prove it was the payment to the agent that put them off signing the player it would then put Chelsea in a very weak position with the premier league.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I see the Chelsea situation very differently to the City one. Chelsea’s new owners basically reported the breaches that were discovered during their own audit of the previous owners.

Therefore a fine only seems appropriate.

What could have happened is just speculation. I don’t think there is anything other clubs can really say or do.

However the FA should stipulate that the fine only is because of the change of ownership and reporting their own transgressions to deter future incursions.

 

[Sal09]

Oh Footie is back

I hope we beat Forest and that look on Edu's face will be worth watching unless its other way round lol.

 

[Apple fanboy]

We have Spurs. Got a horrible feeling Kudos will come back to haunt us.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Oh Footie is back

I hope we beat Forest and that look on Edu's face will be worth watching unless its other way round lol.

For my part, I'm just massively relieved that - given our peculiar predilection for amassing improbable injuries to key players on an almost industrial scale - that none of our players on international duty have returned with a proverbial "tweak", or some sort of "strain", or, even a "pull", or a "twist", let alone something ugly, such as a nasty break, or a horrible tear to a key muscle, joint, or tendon.