Russia 2018

[Galfon]

Iceland / Croatia may just have to play out a draw in the last game to put the RG's out...won't be a re-run of the 'Disgrace of Gijon' 1982 but might not bring any surprise.
Shocking from Arg. given the talent available...too many big-time charlies perhaps.

[cashead]

Iceland / Croatia may just have to play out a draw in the last game to put the RG's out...won't be a re-run of the 'Disgrace of Gijon' 1982 but might not bring any surprise.
Shocking from Arg. given the talent available...too many big-time charlies perhaps.

Nah, really, in this case, the manager did not help at all. Consider the fact that the rest of Group D had set formations and combinations, with clear game plans and styles of play tailored for them, and the consider that Sampaoli would never stop tinkering and kept changing the formation from game to game to game to game (he used 4 or 5 different formations and combinations around the field all the way through qualifying and in the pre-tournament friendlies where they got battered) and it's clear that no amount of star players will be able to overcome that sort of handicap.

For all his talk about building a squad around Messi, when it came down to it, Sampaoli had no fucking clue what he was doing, and ended up hobbling the poor guy. You can basically put a lot of this at the AFA's feet for appointing a succession of coaches that are clearly not fit for purpose, who have wasted away another generation of talent. There really needs to be a top-to-bottom inquiry on just what the fuck is going on with the coaching.

And if, IF, this omnishambles of a team somehow undersevedly limps into the quarterfinals, they are going to go up against France (probably) or Denmark (possibly), where they'll get their shit pushed in on a Mineirazo-scale dicking. Which, quite frankly, they would deserve.

[rowan]

Iceland / Croatia may just have to play out a draw in the last game to put the RG's out...won't be a re-run of the 'Disgrace of Gijon' 1982 but might not bring any surprise.
Shocking from Arg. given the talent available...too many big-time charlies perhaps.

Only if Iceland beat Nigeria, of course. If Iceland draw with Nigeria, they will need to beat Croatia. If Nigeria wins, they should just need a draw with Argentina to get through. & Argentina could still get through if they thump Nigeria and Croatia downs Iceland - but only if Iceland does not beat Nigeria. So it's going to be an interesting finale.

Yes, the Disgrace of Gijon kept one of the great African sides out. In fact, 1982 was where they really exploded onto the scene, with Cameroon going unbeaten in a group that included the subsequent champions and 3rd-place-getters, and Algeria beating Germany and Chile but going down 0-1 to Austria, from memory, but turned out Germany and Austria only needed to play out a draw for them both to progress from the group, and that's precisely what they did - quite deliberately. That's when FIFA changed the scoring from 2-1-0 to 3-1-0 and also brought in simultaneous final round matches. I think it's also when I began to support the non-European teams (which hasn't been much fun since about 2002).

The problem I perceive in Russia is that a few of the European teams will be playing their final round matches against one another and could yet conspire against the non-Europeans. It would be better to have European teams in the same group playing each other in the first or second round of games, to avoid another disgrace. Of course, non-European teams could do the same thing, but I don't think there's any history of them doing so.

[cashead]

Then support an Asian team or a non-traditional European team like Iceland.

Nigeria beating Iceland is a big if, quite frankly, because for all the talk about Iceland's relatively small population and "part-time" nature of their players (which isn't actually as true as you'd think - Halldorsson has worked as a filmmaker and has even shot Iceland's Eurovision entry in 2012, but he's been playing fulltime pro-football for a while now), what people don't seem to want to acknowledge for whatever reason, is that they're a fucking excellent team.

[rowan]

Then support an Asian team or a non-traditional European team like Iceland.

Nigeria beating Iceland is a big if, quite frankly, because for all the talk about Iceland's relatively small population and "part-time" nature of their players (which isn't actually as true as you'd think - Halldorsson has worked as a filmmaker and has even shot Iceland's Eurovision entry in 2012, but he's been playing fulltime pro-football for a while now), what people don't seem to want to acknowledge for whatever reason, is that they're a fucking excellent team.

Great respect for Iceland after they knocked England out of the Euros and qualified for Russia, even if they are a little too defense-oriented for my liking. But supporting the non-European teams just keeps it interesting for me, and that includes the Asian teams, of course. It's mostly about supporting the underdog and wanting to see some progress in terms of the world game - which seemed to reach its apogee in 2002 and begin a gradual downhill slide thereafter, notwithstanding Ghana's heroics in 2010 - cruelly brought to a halt by one of the worst examples of poor sportsmanship in the history of the tournament.

But I also include the South American giants because, let's face it, they're the only non-European teams who can win it, and they're also such a joy to watch when they're at their best. Brazil are still to play their second game, of course, and despite the result against Switzerland, I thought they looked fairly ominous, dominating throughout with their rhythmic passing and lightning quick breaks. But the strike force is not what it used to be, and Neymar still seems a bit of an airhead. He's no Ronaldo; that's for sure. Nonetheless, Brazil have a fairly easy group and I expect to see them in the round of 16 and beyond, even if they're unlikely to win it.

[Stom]

Iceland / Croatia may just have to play out a draw in the last game to put the RG's out...won't be a re-run of the 'Disgrace of Gijon' 1982 but might not bring any surprise.
Shocking from Arg. given the talent available...too many big-time charlies perhaps.

Nah, really, in this case, the manager did not help at all. Consider the fact that the rest of Group D had set formations and combinations, with clear game plans and styles of play tailored for them, and the consider that Sampaoli would never stop tinkering and kept changing the formation from game to game to game to game (he used 4 or 5 different formations and combinations around the field all the way through qualifying and in the pre-tournament friendlies where they got battered) and it's clear that no amount of star players will be able to overcome that sort of handicap.

For all his talk about building a squad around Messi, when it came down to it, Sampaoli had no fucking clue what he was doing, and ended up hobbling the poor guy. You can basically put a lot of this at the AFA's feet for appointing a succession of coaches that are clearly not fit for purpose, who have wasted away another generation of talent. There really needs to be a top-to-bottom inquiry on just what the fuck is going on with the coaching.

And if, IF, this omnishambles of a team somehow undersevedly limps into the quarterfinals, they are going to go up against France (probably) or Denmark (possibly), where they'll get their shit pushed in on a Mineirazo-scale dicking. Which, quite frankly, they would deserve.

I often use the internationals to highlight the difference between Messi and Ronaldo. Without Ronaldo, Portugal rarely look like scoring. He's at the heart of every attack and he just pulls a pretty mediocre team up to his level. But for Argentina, when the team just cannot perform, Messi has no way to lift them up. That's no comment on natural ability, as Messi has that in spades, probably a lot more than Ronaldo. But it is a comment on pure strength of character, of charisma and of leadership. And if you put all of those together and add in physical and technical ability, you have the perfect player.

And before you say it: forwards should be selfish bastards.

[cashead]

Iceland / Croatia may just have to play out a draw in the last game to put the RG's out...won't be a re-run of the 'Disgrace of Gijon' 1982 but might not bring any surprise.
Shocking from Arg. given the talent available...too many big-time charlies perhaps.

Nah, really, in this case, the manager did not help at all. Consider the fact that the rest of Group D had set formations and combinations, with clear game plans and styles of play tailored for them, and the consider that Sampaoli would never stop tinkering and kept changing the formation from game to game to game to game (he used 4 or 5 different formations and combinations around the field all the way through qualifying and in the pre-tournament friendlies where they got battered) and it's clear that no amount of star players will be able to overcome that sort of handicap.

For all his talk about building a squad around Messi, when it came down to it, Sampaoli had no fucking clue what he was doing, and ended up hobbling the poor guy. You can basically put a lot of this at the AFA's feet for appointing a succession of coaches that are clearly not fit for purpose, who have wasted away another generation of talent. There really needs to be a top-to-bottom inquiry on just what the fuck is going on with the coaching.

And if, IF, this omnishambles of a team somehow undersevedly limps into the quarterfinals, they are going to go up against France (probably) or Denmark (possibly), where they'll get their shit pushed in on a Mineirazo-scale dicking. Which, quite frankly, they would deserve.

I often use the internationals to highlight the difference between Messi and Ronaldo. Without Ronaldo, Portugal rarely look like scoring. He's at the heart of every attack and he just pulls a pretty mediocre team up to his level. But for Argentina, when the team just cannot perform, Messi has no way to lift them up. That's no comment on natural ability, as Messi has that in spades, probably a lot more than Ronaldo. But it is a comment on pure strength of character, of charisma and of leadership. And if you put all of those together and add in physical and technical ability, you have the perfect player.

And before you say it: forwards should be selfish bastards.

Hell, when Ronaldo got injured and limped off of the Euro 2016 final, he stayed on the sidelines and yelled at his team until they won. Can't say I can see Messi doing that.

[Stom]

Nah, really, in this case, the manager did not help at all. Consider the fact that the rest of Group D had set formations and combinations, with clear game plans and styles of play tailored for them, and the consider that Sampaoli would never stop tinkering and kept changing the formation from game to game to game to game (he used 4 or 5 different formations and combinations around the field all the way through qualifying and in the pre-tournament friendlies where they got battered) and it's clear that no amount of star players will be able to overcome that sort of handicap.

For all his talk about building a squad around Messi, when it came down to it, Sampaoli had no fucking clue what he was doing, and ended up hobbling the poor guy. You can basically put a lot of this at the AFA's feet for appointing a succession of coaches that are clearly not fit for purpose, who have wasted away another generation of talent. There really needs to be a top-to-bottom inquiry on just what the fuck is going on with the coaching.

And if, IF, this omnishambles of a team somehow undersevedly limps into the quarterfinals, they are going to go up against France (probably) or Denmark (possibly), where they'll get their shit pushed in on a Mineirazo-scale dicking. Which, quite frankly, they would deserve.

I often use the internationals to highlight the difference between Messi and Ronaldo. Without Ronaldo, Portugal rarely look like scoring. He's at the heart of every attack and he just pulls a pretty mediocre team up to his level. But for Argentina, when the team just cannot perform, Messi has no way to lift them up. That's no comment on natural ability, as Messi has that in spades, probably a lot more than Ronaldo. But it is a comment on pure strength of character, of charisma and of leadership. And if you put all of those together and add in physical and technical ability, you have the perfect player.

And before you say it: forwards should be selfish bastards.

Hell, when Ronaldo got injured and limped off of the Euro 2016 final, he stayed on the sidelines and yelled at his team until they won. Can't say I can see Messi doing that.

Yeah, for sure. I used to think he was a complete dick, but he's really grown, I feel. He's become a real leader as well as technically and physically gifted, and while he may not run as much as others, he works harder than any teammate in training, by all reports.

[Galfon]

A lifeline for Arg..Nigeria turn over the Ice men in the Volgograd heat, 2-0.
All to play for in the last round in Group D ..the VAR crew will be busy in the Arg / Nig game.

[rowan]

Nigeria's 2-0 win over Iceland was just the third for a non-European team against a European opponent from 19 such encounters at this tournament so far (there have also been 3 draws). It was also the biggest, surpassing Mexico and Senegal's single goal victories over Germany and Poland, respectively.

The bad news (for the Africans) is that one would still expect Argentina to beat Nigeria, provided they finally get their act together. Apparently the players tried to have the manager sacked on the spot after yesterday's 3-0 drubbing! But this is just the kind of game the South Americans would be likely to come out & win...

Meanwhile, Super Eagles star Ahmed Musa is from the divided city of Jos, which has seen horrendous inter-religious warfare. Here's hoping his effort as talisman of the national side has a unifying effect.

[cashead]

Group A
Russia - already going through
Uruguay - already going through
Egypt - done
Saudi Arabia - done

The Russia v. Uruguay fixture determines who goes through first, and the Egypt v. Saudi game determines who gets the spoon.


Group B
Spain - Likely
Portugal - Likely
Iran - must beat Portugal to sneak through
Morocco - done

Spain or Portugal are definitely going through, and on current form, Spain are unlikely to lose to Morocco.
If Iran beat Portugal, the Iberians go home early.


Group C
France - already going through
Denmark - likely
Australia - Must beat Peru by a large enough margin to overcome a -1 GD (naturally) and compensate for any goals scored by the Danes
Peru - done

France and Denmark will play to determine who goes through at no.1, but if France win, and Australia beats Peru by 4-0 or whatever, the Aussies will get into the KO rounds. If the France v. Denmark game is a draw, the Aussies are done.


Group D
Croatia - already going through
Nigeria - Possible
Iceland - Possible
Argentina - Possible, surprisingly enough

Iceland MUST beat Croatia to get through, and their only hope is to catch a complacent Croat team on the hop, with a big enough goal difference to wipe out -2GD.
Argentina needs Iceland to lose, and to beat Nigeria, a team that beat them the last time they played. GD doesn't matter.


Group E
Brazil - Likely
Switzerland - Possible
Serbia - possible
Costa Rica - done

Brazil just need to win or draw against the Serbs, and they're through.
If Serbia draw, and the darlings of 2014 beat the Swiss, Serbia sneak through. If Serbia v. Brazil and Switzerland v. Costa Rica are both draws, Brazil and Switzerland get through,


Group F through H have 2 game days left, so it's too early to have any idea who's getting through.

[rowan]

I was going to do that at the conclusion of the second round of games Anyway, looks about right. Of course, if Brazil lose to Serbia, they'll almost certainly miss the cut (unless Costa Rica thrashes the Swiss).

Belgium and Mexico should clinch their spots when they face Tunisia & SKorea tomorrow, while Germany ought to get their campaign back on track with a victory against the Swedes.

Sunday will almost certainly see England qualify when they play minnows Panama, but the other two match-ups are going to be very interesting, with Senegal and Japan both coming off impressive wins, and Colombia and Poland disappointing losses. Winner of the former will advance, loser of the latter will drop out, but there'll probably be a draw or two which would see it all come down to the final round of games.

[Galfon]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

[rowan]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

Sweden didn't play smart football at the end. They just had to waste time and not give away silly freekicks, but did the opposite. Mexico are also big losers here. They were seconds away from a berth in the second round. Now they'll have to avoid defeat to Sweden. Germany will almost certainly qualify, with a win over Skorea likely to be enough. Fudge!

[WaspInWales]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

Sweden didn't play smart football at the end. They just had to waste time and not give away silly freekicks, but did the opposite. Mexico are also big losers here. They were seconds away from a berth in the second round. Now they'll have to avoid defeat to Sweden. Germany will almost certainly qualify, with a win over Skorea likely to be enough. Fudge!

They didn't have the ball!

Germany strangled the life out of them. Even with 10 men, Germany were a threat.

I'll be the first to admit that had Sweden managed to hold out for a draw, it would've been a truly outstanding result, but the Germans got due reward for their dominance.

Kroos' finish was sublime. Some blame is with the Swedish keeper and his positioning, but what a finish!

Sensational stuff.

The group F 3 team standoff makes for pleasant viewing imo.

[WaspInWales]

Interestingly Martinez has said he will rest players for the England match.

Can't argue with that logic. Even if England beat Panama by a couple of goals, they will still need quite a few more against Belgium to top the group, and by 'resting', Martinez will still have the luxury of bringing the likes of Lukaku and Hazard on from the bench if need be.

The pressure is well and truly on England.

They're expected to beat Panama with the same ease Belgium did, and a draw against Belgium will likely see them finish group runner up, unless they have a scoring frenzy against Panama.

But, this is England and we will no doubt struggle to score a single goal against Panama, let alone more than 1!

[rowan]

Yes, I see England battling to a one or two-goal win over Panama, who have been unfairly written off after their first-up hiding from the talented Belgians. We have seen that Tunisia lost by the same margin yesterday. But this group was always likely to be an easy one for the Europeans and I don't know who the England manager thought he was trying to kid when he claimed it was one of the toughest.

Don't disagree with your comments about the Germany - Sweden match either, except that the Swedes did have a little time on the ball and seemed to be more interested in getting a second goal than winding down the clock against the defending world champions. Maybe that's to their credit, but it's the reason they lost the game five minutes into injury time - and it could well cost them a place in the knock-out rounds.

Mind you, the way this tournament is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Sweden beats Mexico and goes through behind Germany. The Central Americans will now be ruing the injury time goal from Korea! The only real bright spot for the non-Europeans so far has been the West Africans, but it's still early days and neither had clinched their spot in the playoffs yet.

[Galfon]

But, this is England and we will no doubt struggle to score a single goal against Panama, let alone more than 1!

This would be the norm. in the past..hopefully not so with this lot.The pacy fluid style should generate lots of chances, and despite regular chokes by the younger players where the ball appears to be covered in soap, they ought to bag at least a brace.
I was hoping Southgate would do what RM said and put out his 2nd string for the Belg. game if qualified...there is hardly anything in it on selection and may help prep. for next round and good for team morale.
Eng. should back themselves against any from Group H, so the venue may be the only waiving factor.
Belgium have so much talent they left Benteke behind..'kinell.

..anyhow, with the tournament hotting up like the weather, this latest 'chant' will be resonating ad nauseam,( as well as the new 'WillGriggsonFire' ..reworked to 'Vardysonfire')

'1, 2, 3, 4
Woaah, England are in Russia !
Woaah, drinking all the vodka !*
Woaah, England’s going all the waaaay !!'

(* alt..'we've got [who-ever] !
...'he never gives the ball away !!'...)

to the tune of Earth Wind & Fire's 'September', courtesy I think to the Hammers fans who used it this year for 1 of their own.

[rowan]

Very few teams have really stood out so far - Russia, Belgium, Croatia. I guess we could say the Swiss now. Mexico? Not sure they'll go very far after the Korean game. If there is a winner between Senegal and Japan we should probably add them to the list, to be fair. But, as we know, the group stages are rarely any indicator of what is to come later in the knock-out rounds, and I still wouldn't be surprised to see Germany go on and win this; or Argentina beat Nigeria by a few goals and wind up in the final or something! That's the World Cup. The nice thing about the group stages, meanwhile, is having games on a daily basis. That creates a real festival atmosphere. Rugby could do something similar if it expanded to 24 and returned to four team pools. Nothing sucks more than an empty day during group stages. The knock-out rounds are almost like a separate competition, where every game sees one team continue and the other drop out and all the emphasis is on single results, rather than the group standings and who requires what in order to progress...

[Galfon]

Well 2 after 21 mins ok in the stifling heat...
the messing about by Panama is ridiculous..the ref. needs to stamp down on this.
Great pen. by HK.

[Galfon]

3 - 0 after 36.min..great finish by lively Lingard
should be enough to see them off & get Eng. through.

[Galfon]

Another set-piece gem..goal Stones
4 - 0 after 40.

[Galfon]

Hilarious..what rules are they following ?
5 - 0 Kane, pen. 45 min.
Torres has lost it.

[WaspInWales]

Loving it!

Two perfect penalties from Kane. Just unstoppable!

[WaspInWales]

Panama won't be finishing with 11 players, that's for shewer! Gobby bastard.

England well and truly good value for the lead. Creative set pieces, disciplined and clinical.

Best England performance for a long time, even accounting for opposition.