Author Topic: World Cup 2018 topic (Read 88054 times)

nav' · « **Reply #30 on:** June 15, 2018, 06:12:54 PM »

^ Here's an early one for a change. The Portugese are capable defenders, I'm expecting them to retain the lead.

Jimmy · « **Reply #31 on:** June 15, 2018, 07:17:03 PM »

Spain's turned the tables. From 1-2 straight to 3-2 just within a couple of minutes.

E: Ronaldo is nuts in this. 3 goals in a single game

nav' · « **Reply #32 on:** June 15, 2018, 08:02:33 PM »

Spain was looking like the better team, but... Ronaldo OP. With three goals already in the bag and two relatively easy games to score in, he's already a major contender for the Golden Boot. I wouldn't mind a World Cup where the best striker has more than six goals for once.

nav' · « **Reply #33 on:** June 16, 2018, 10:59:38 AM »

Day three brings us four interesting games. An entire day of fun! Fans of France however must be disappointed as their dynamic start fizzled out after mere minutes. It's rare to see a team so completely neutered as France thus far. Keep it up Australia, you're on the right track towards the first true upset of this World Cup.

Edit: meh, what a disappointing turn of events. Oh well, the day is far from over. Hopefully Iceland will dismantle Argentina now, and as for the next game, Poland's only loss in the qualifiers was a sound 0-4 thrashing by Denmark. Just one more reason to root for Peruvian underdogs.

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #34 on:** June 16, 2018, 05:34:09 PM »

Excellent result for Iceland. Hope all you Grapevine folks had yourselves a fun time watching.

https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/icelandic-tv-announcer-loses-mind-over-messi-pk-stop-1826887996

nav' · « **Reply #35 on:** June 16, 2018, 10:03:14 PM »

Just a brief summary of an eventful day:

France - Australia: ugh
Argentina - Iceland: don't mind the result. Argentina was extremely dominant in the second half, yet was unable to create good chances and failed to convert the one they did get (which is Messi's penalty).
Peru - Denmark: real shame about Peru, they're an ambitious bunch, but they have no idea what to do with the ball in the box. No cold blood at all. I'll ascribe that to pressure.
Croatia - Nigeria: Croatia was clearly the superior, well organized team. About time for this generation to achieve something great. Now whack Argentina and march on for glory.

Germany - Mexico should be a treat to watch tomorrow and we also get to see how well are Serbia and Brazil prepared for this tournament.

nav' · « **Reply #36 on:** June 17, 2018, 06:01:41 PM »

Mexico used Earthquake! It's super effective!

Helepolis · « **Reply #37 on:** June 17, 2018, 08:37:19 PM »

Brazil 1-1 with Switzerland was, weird. This whole WC is weird.

Jimmy · « **Reply #38 on:** June 17, 2018, 09:56:39 PM »

Just came back from a long day at university (yes, on a Sunday because architecture), watched Germany VS Mexico together with fellow students. Weak performance, way too many gaps, lacking offense and defense. Mexico fully deserved their victory, they acted way more coherent ~~and I'm actually a fan of their goalie Ochoa~~

If their incoherent performance keeps up, I'll probs switch to rooting for either Portugal, Spain, Iceland or Switzerland (so far). Let's see first how the remaining 10 teams will be doing.

BT · « **Reply #39 on:** June 18, 2018, 04:19:42 PM »

None of the favorites have won a game

Yoooo

nav' · « **Reply #40 on:** June 19, 2018, 06:58:31 PM »

Yesterday's games were fairly unremarkable. Well, I suppose Tunisia did better than expected and their loss was rather unlucky, but ultimately, Lukaku and Kane join Ronaldo in the goalscoring race. All three have plenty of opportunities coming up.

Today? Japan overcoming Colombia was definitely a significant surprise, but the early red card means we still haven't seen Colombia at their full strength. Which worries me. Poland - Senegal has left me greatly displeased, a terrible match decided by two ridiculous blunders. Our team was disappointing through and through. The upcoming game against Colombia will be key for both teams' survival, which is bad news as the Colombian team will be extremely dangerous when pushed against the wall. I haven't seen enough ambition and will to fight in most Polish players to expect a win against Colombia.

Watching Russia - Egypt now. A rather fast paced game, but absolutely deprived of any clear chances. Sure could use a few goals in the second half.

Edit: what is even going on

Suwako Moriya · « **Reply #41 on:** June 19, 2018, 08:21:05 PM »

Quote from: nav' on June 19, 2018, 06:58:31 PM

Sure could use a few goals in the second half.

Edit: what is even going on

*monkey's paw finger curls*

BT · « **Reply #42 on:** June 19, 2018, 09:00:50 PM »

Nooooo Egypt

I'd say there's always next time but umm

BT · « **Reply #43 on:** June 20, 2018, 07:59:08 PM »

Iran vs. Spain was a hoot. Spain played like a bunch of clowns honestly and the win comes almost undeserved, Iran played really well. Iran vs. Portugal will be tense if they play like they did today.

nav' · « **Reply #44 on:** June 20, 2018, 07:59:36 PM »

Three identical scorelines today, yet Iran - Spain was so much more fun to watch than the other two. Great game from start to finish. Iran gained my respect for their insane ambition. If only all teams fought this bravely. The losing goal was a total fluke too!

Portugal and Uruguay were a pain to watch, but they're getting the job done. Saudis and Moroccans sure were trying, but their total inefficiency in the final third doesn't really deserve a place in the knockout phase. (then again, Iran can't score to save their lives either...)

Helepolis · « **Reply #45 on:** June 21, 2018, 09:10:01 AM »

Things will spice up once the group phases are over. So far for me the only interesting game was Spain vs Portugal.

Jimmy · « **Reply #46 on:** June 21, 2018, 07:44:41 PM »

RIP Argentina

E: Now it's 3, holy cow. GG Croatia, can't actually believe how easily it went in.

nav' · « **Reply #47 on:** June 21, 2018, 08:06:38 PM »

I honestly preferred the 2010 Argentina managed by Maradona, who at least produced a few spectacular games before brutally crashing into Germany. This is just embarrassing. And what's up with Messi? Completely invisible today. Yet they can still go through if they beat Nigeria and Iceland plays poorly. We'll see. Meanwhile I wish Croatia the best in the knockout stage, they have an excellent team.

BT · « **Reply #48 on:** June 21, 2018, 08:35:48 PM »

Croatia played real damn tooty.

Argentina, meanwhile, didn't play.

Helepolis · « **Reply #49 on:** June 21, 2018, 08:41:23 PM »

Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD_1Z8iUDho

Messi was massive salt right after the game. Not surprised, because last WC their performance was bad. But not as bad as this.

Also if Iceland wins vs Nigeria tomorrow then Iceland vs Croatia can be a lulz game. Crotia might even just let Iceland win/tie and then they both clear the group.

Edible · « **Reply #50 on:** June 21, 2018, 09:05:40 PM »

I really need to find a way to watch games at work. Stupid timezones.

Sect · « **Reply #51 on:** June 22, 2018, 02:57:09 AM »

Don't mind me. I'm just here for the memes.

Helepolis · « **Reply #52 on:** June 22, 2018, 08:31:00 AM »

Quote from: Edible on June 21, 2018, 09:05:40 PM

I really need to find a way to watch games at work. Stupid timezones.

Fifa enforces broadcoast only through national television channels. So just tune in into one of them.

Jimmy · « **Reply #53 on:** June 22, 2018, 04:36:23 PM »

Iceland getting whooped by Nigeria...

This is not looking good for Argentina :V

Helepolis · « **Reply #54 on:** June 22, 2018, 06:48:51 PM »

Iceland is in big trouble. They only had to tie or win vs Nigeria to advance somewhat safely. Now it has become a nightmare.

In order for Iceland to advance,
- They have to win vs Croatia. Preferred with many goals as possible.
- Nigeria must lose or tie vs Argentina.
- If Nigeria ties, then Iceland can only advance by sufficient number of goals.

Argentina on the other hand will play as if their lives depend on it, because they have a chance of advancing as well by number of goals if Iceland even wins vs Croatia.

Group D has become now the most interesting one so far.

BT · « **Reply #55 on:** June 22, 2018, 08:22:53 PM »

Great game by Serbia and the swiss today. Both teams seemed kinda tuckered out towards the end but they both played gud.

Quote from: Helepolis on June 22, 2018, 06:48:51 PM

Iceland is in big trouble. They only had to tie or win vs Nigeria to advance somewhat safely. Now it has become a nightmare.

In order for Iceland to advance,
- They have to win vs Croatia. Preferred with many goals as possible.
- Nigeria must lose or tie vs Argentina.
- If Nigeria ties, then Iceland can only advance by sufficient number of goals.

Argentina on the other hand will play as if their lives depend on it, because they have a chance of advancing as well by number of goals if Iceland even wins vs Croatia.

Group D has become now the most interesting one so far.

Correct me if I'm wrong, if Nigeria ties and Iceland wins, don't they both have 4 points and then Nigeria advances?

Helepolis · « **Reply #56 on:** June 22, 2018, 09:23:53 PM »

Quote from: BT on June 22, 2018, 08:22:53 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, if Nigeria ties and Iceland wins, don't they both have 4 points and then Nigeria advances?

This depends on number of goals Nigeria or Iceland scores or gets scored against.

BT · « **Reply #57 on:** June 22, 2018, 09:28:27 PM »

Quote from: Helepolis on June 22, 2018, 09:23:53 PM

This depends on number of goals Nigeria or Iceland scores or gets scored against.

Oh I thought there's also some rule that says if one team beat the other in a direct match then they qualify, and if they didn't, then you look at goal counts. Did I make that one up? :ohdear:

Helepolis · « **Reply #58 on:** June 23, 2018, 08:26:29 AM »

Quote from: BT on June 22, 2018, 09:28:27 PM

Oh I thought there's also some rule that says if one team beat the other in a direct match then they qualify, and if they didn't, then you look at goal counts. Did I make that one up? :ohdear:

No you didn't. The order is mixed up. What you describe is done after the number of goals scored total and the number of goals they got against.

Did a quick research to back up my own knowledge, because I started to doubt it:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/world-cup-group-stage-tie-breakers-rules-what-happens-when-teams-/olh39ph3hunh1w1zdmhp3osft

BT · « **Reply #59 on:** June 23, 2018, 11:03:26 AM »

Quote from: Helepolis on June 23, 2018, 08:26:29 AM

No you didn't. The order is mixed up. What you describe is done after the number of goals scored total and the number of goals they got against.

Did a quick research to back up my own knowledge, because I started to doubt it:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/world-cup-group-stage-tie-breakers-rules-what-happens-when-teams-/olh39ph3hunh1w1zdmhp3osft

Oh wow that's awesome! I knew they draw lots at the end but I didn't know about the fair play clause.