World Cup 2018

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beantownbubba
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World Cup 2018

Post by beantownbubba »

Here we go. I'm pretty certain that this will not be the year that the US wins the Cup.

To my inexpert eye, these are the most interesting matches of the first wkend;

Portugal - Spain (Fri)
Germany - Mexico (Sun)
Brazil - Switzerland (Sun)

I hope to watch a lot of matches but how that plays out in real life remains to be seen. W/out a true rooting interest to anchor a schedule it's hard to know how it will go.

Since the host team gets an automatic bid, does that mean that all of the US, Mexico & Canada are already in the 2026 tournament?
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Iowan
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by Iowan »

I respect soccer, but can't get into the World Cup when the US isn't a part of it. I have little to no emotional connection to the game (it wasn't even an option to play where/when I grew up), and have never invested much in MLS, probably because all my friends who actually do watch soccer rag on it quite a bit. I've never been able to just glob on to a European team either.

I had a damn blast watching in 2010, however.

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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

beantownbubba wrote:Here we go. I'm pretty certain that this will not be the year that the US wins the Cup.

To my inexpert eye, these are the most interesting matches of the first wkend;

Portugal - Spain (Fri)
Germany - Mexico (Sun)
Brazil - Switzerland (Sun)

I hope to watch a lot of matches but how that plays out in real life remains to be seen. W/out a true rooting interest to anchor a schedule it's hard to know how it will go.

Since the host team gets an automatic bid, does that mean that all of the US, Mexico & Canada are already in the 2026 tournament?
From what I have heard- and no one seems to have a definitive answer yet- the North Americans may only get two automatic bids, which would almost certainly mean Canada would have to do some work to earn a spot. The field will be expanded to 48 in 2026, but off the top of my headI have no idea where Canada ranks worldwide. Don't quote me on this

I expect to watch a lot and enjoy the hell out of the Cup, but ultimately I still care more about the EPL season and domestic events like Champions League. As long as neither Brazil nor Russia win I'm good with whoever wins

Here is a good little quiz to help fans with no rooting interests select a team to support

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/world-cup-quiz/

It told me I should support Tunisia

And speaking of 538, here are their predictions

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/20 ... edictions/
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blessedcurse
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by blessedcurse »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
Here is a good little quiz to help fans with no rooting interests select a team to support

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/world-cup-quiz/

It told me I should support Tunisia

And speaking of 538, here are their predictions

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/20 ... edictions/
[/quote]

That makes two of us rooting for Tunisia...South Korea apparently is my runner up. It ain't hockey (I'm still catching my breathe after the amazing Stanley Cup Playoffs this year)...but on the other hand...it ain't baseball (which for some reason, I just cannot seem to watch - though I bet a live MLB game might change my point of view ).. I'll no doubt keep one eye open
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by dogstar »

blessedcurse wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
Here is a good little quiz to help fans with no rooting interests select a team to support

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/world-cup-quiz/

It told me I should support Tunisia

And speaking of 538, here are their predictions

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/20 ... edictions/
That makes two of us rooting for Tunisia...South Korea apparently is my runner up. It ain't hockey (I'm still catching my breathe after the amazing Stanley Cup Playoffs this year)...but on the other hand...it ain't baseball (which for some reason, I just cannot seem to watch - though I bet a live MLB game might change my point of view ).. I'll no doubt keep one eye open
Tunisia are in England’s group so you better hope your rooting skills are rubbish. GRRRRRRRR
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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Hey, I said that the quiz “suggested” Tunisia. I’m ride or die with the Three Lions, even if the U.S. was playing
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LBRod
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by LBRod »

Survey says Uruguay. Look, I posted on a soccer thread!
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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

LBRod wrote:Survey says Uruguay. Look, I posted on a soccer thread!
Uruguay definitely has a better chance for a bite at the apple than Tunisia, but just by the skin of their teeth

Image

Image
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beantownbubba
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by beantownbubba »

blessedcurse wrote:
it ain't baseball (which for some reason, I just cannot seem to watch - though I bet a live MLB game might change my point of view ).. I'll no doubt keep one eye open
All u need to do is get to Boston between April and September and I'll take care of the rest.
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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

damn, Spain/Portugal did not disappoint!!!
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Swamp
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by Swamp »

Due to Mexico's victory over Germany I will now be drinking Modela Negra at my favorite Mexican establishment.
and the rest as they say is uh er uh, well somebodies history somewhere?

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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by chuckrh »


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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

I generally find sports coverage from Fox to be awful- anything with Joe Buck, their U.S. Open golf coverage, et al.- but damn, the GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! dude calling Japan/Colombia today was a cut above in his sucking :roll: :roll: :roll: Total caricature overall, and had some references such as "bonzai" and "samurai" that were, to say the least, lazy
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whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

beantownbubba
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by beantownbubba »

I am always hesitant to comment too deeply on futbol since I know I don't understand it anywhere near the intuitive level I do American-based major sports. So recognizing that I could be way off base, I was really surprised at the way Martinez managed the match for Belgium.

After their initial flurry somewhere around the 10 minute mark, the Belgian offense was seriously gummed up. It seemed to me that Fellaini and Chadli were out of sorts entirely (Fellaini couldn't get near the ball and Chadli was pretty much a black hole whenever he came into possession) and it seemed like Fellaini kept getting in Hazard's way. De Bruyne wasn't quite at that level but he often seemed a step slow. As the announcers eventually pointed out, Belgium was packing the middle of the field where there was no room and not spreading the field. I would have taken Fellaini and Chadli out well before Martinez did. I'm not sure what I would have done w/ De Bruyne but perhaps fresher legs spreading the field would have given him more space to be himself. The Mertens for Dembele (sad to say that Dembele did not represent well for Spurs) change seemed to have a positive impact; I wonder if making the other changes earlier might have made a difference. Everyone's saying that's the last chance for Belgium as this group of stars ages out; nothing wrong w/ making it to the semi-finals but just that little bit further would have been awesome.
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chuckrh
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by chuckrh »

Go England!

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roland
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by roland »

chuckrh wrote:Go England!
Oi!

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sactochris
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by sactochris »

beantownbubba wrote:I am always hesitant to comment too deeply on futbol since I know I don't understand it anywhere near the intuitive level I do American-based major sports. So recognizing that I could be way off base, I was really surprised at the way Martinez managed the match for Belgium.

After their initial flurry somewhere around the 10 minute mark, the Belgian offense was seriously gummed up. It seemed to me that Fellaini and Chadli were out of sorts entirely (Fellaini couldn't get near the ball and Chadli was pretty much a black hole whenever he came into possession) and it seemed like Fellaini kept getting in Hazard's way. De Bruyne wasn't quite at that level but he often seemed a step slow. As the announcers eventually pointed out, Belgium was packing the middle of the field where there was no room and not spreading the field. I would have taken Fellaini and Chadli out well before Martinez did. I'm not sure what I would have done w/ De Bruyne but perhaps fresher legs spreading the field would have given him more space to be himself. The Mertens for Dembele (sad to say that Dembele did not represent well for Spurs) change seemed to have a positive impact; I wonder if making the other changes earlier might have made a difference. Everyone's saying that's the last chance for Belgium as this group of stars ages out; nothing wrong w/ making it to the semi-finals but just that little bit further would have been awesome.

Belgium seemed flat the entire match. it was a very lackluster performance by the team that I thought was going to win it all this time.
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beantownbubba
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by beantownbubba »

Somebody forgot to tell England that there are 2 halves of extra time. Don't know where they were in the 2nd half but it wasn't on the pitch. And now, worse than missing the final is that they have to play the 3rd place game, lol.

I thought I'd be rooting for Croatia as the little guy but I found myself rooting for England, from familiarity, I guess, plus they had a very good story too. But I can't feel too bad that it's Croatia moving on; that is a great story.

I was thinking that England-France would have been like a throwback to the 19th century.
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by LBRod »

Do our sports cliches work for soccer?
Looked to me like the Croats just wanted it more.
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by Clams »

Jeez, isn't this tournament over yet? Real football is about to start up again.
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beantownbubba
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by beantownbubba »

Clams wrote:Jeez, isn't this tournament over yet? Real football is about to start up again.
Actually, as one of the announcers pointed out, real futbol is starting up again, too, w/ preseason "friendlies."
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Clams
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by Clams »

beantownbubba wrote:
Clams wrote:Jeez, isn't this tournament over yet? Real football is about to start up again.
Actually, as one of the announcers pointed out, real futbol is starting up again, too, w/ preseason "friendlies."
Bubba, what's futbol?
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Zip City
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by Zip City »

It's the game where they actual use their foot to manipulate the ball
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Re: World Cup 2018

Post by njMark »

Clams wrote:Jeez, isn't this tournament over yet? Real football is about to start up again.
You must be referring to American hand egg

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