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Thread: World Cup 2022

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    World Cup 2022

    The draw for the Cup is today. Figured I would start a thread in this mostly dead forum now for the Cup that should be in the US and during the summer and not in Qatar in the winter but that is a whole other discussion.

    Anyway US in Pot 2. Hopefully avoiding any kind of group of death. We shall see. I think we can get out of the group stage if we are healthy and play the way we can play.

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    England, Iran and European playoff winner for USA. I will take that. I think they can get out of that group. I was waiting for Ghana to be in our group though. lol

    I think Mexico can come out of their group. Canada going to have a tough time. If Costa Rica gets in they will also have a tough time.

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    Main Eventer _me's Avatar
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    My god that was a long intro

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    I was watching a live blog and when they got to the actual draw I switched over and streamed it.

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    maldives
    I can dig this group.

    Stoked actually to run it back versus England. Huge challenge but that's what we're here for. Iran can bring it but that's really a must (and should) win. Euro wild card still in play, though no one there scares me. They're all clearly beatable and a point to be had at worst if we're on our game.

    This should be an excellent tune up for the boys as they grow into form to inevitably win it all at home in 2026..

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    Also this is a pretty rad simulator if you wanna take a spin at different results..

    2022 FIFA World Cup Group Stage Points Simulator

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    Nice draw for you Yanks, second spot is yours for the taking.

    We got a much tougher group but fuck it, we’re going in with house money and nothing to lose; we have speed and skill up front plus a couple of kids who are looking to build their international name brand.

    I’m super pumped about this tournament, the experience that Canada will draw from it in advance of hosting in 2026 will be immeasurable; I honestly think we will surprise people and be in the mix for advancement to the elimination round. Not going to lie, I got super emotional after the boys clinched on Sunday.
    Last edited by Tyson; April 2nd, 2022 at 8:25 PM.

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    I can see Canada getting out of their group, but it obviously will be far from easy. Belgium and Croatia, though still littered with world class talent, aren't getting any younger and this could be an opportune time to bounce one of them early. But this ain't concacaf and playing a low block and counter game will have to be surgically precise and without error. If nothing else Herdman will have them prepared and so as long as health is on their side they'll have a realistic fighting chance.

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    Yeah I don't think it is impossible for Canada to get out of their group but it won't be easy but I think they can pull it off.

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    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    As weird/arrogant as it is to say considering how completely hapless Canada Men’s soccer has been, well forever, going to Qatar to get shutout and suffer three losses just isn’t going to cut it. The boys need to be competitive, at least prove to be a very tough out in this group stage, considering our shared hosting duties in 2026. We can’t just be happy to be there, we have a legit opportunity to make some noise.

    While the nucleus of the team is still in their early-to-mid twenties themselves, I’m very hopeful that the next generation is watching and being inspired, that on-field success can become routine and expected.

    We’re going to have to back up the Brinks truck for Herdman’s next extension.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    I can dig this group.

    Stoked actually to run it back versus England. Huge challenge but that's what we're here for. Iran can bring it but that's really a must (and should) win. Euro wild card still in play, though no one there scares me. They're all clearly beatable and a point to be had at worst if we're on our game.

    This should be an excellent tune up for the boys as they grow into form to inevitably win it all at home in 2026..
    The WC is going to be horrible in the US. It is going to get completely buried. It is happening during the most important part of the college and pro football seasons. Not to mention the start of basketball season. Such a stupid idea; no one is going to be talking about it here.

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    If the argument is that it's stupid to hold the World Cup in Qatar I'd absolutely agree. But once it was decided to be there there was no way they could stage it at the usual time of year from June into July.

    And with what they paid to broadcast the event it's not like Fox isn't going to promote the shit out of it. I think it'll get it's mostly usual run of attention. Sports networks and the like are always content starved as it is.

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    Yeah the timing sucks but that is what happens with the corrupt FIFA gave Qatar the cup. It is disrupting leagues due the timing being during all the regular seasons except for MLS. Yeah in the US it falls during the end of college football and nearing the end of NFL. The game on black Friday should get some attention though. No pro games on that day and not many college games. Plus it is against England. At the end of the day popularity is still growing here in the states. Great strides have been made but still down on the totem poll when it comes to pro and international sports.

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    Fortunately they hooked us up in the states with the latest possible kickoff times for our group stage matches..

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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    If the argument is that it's stupid to hold the World Cup in Qatar I'd absolutely agree. But once it was decided to be there there was no way they could stage it at the usual time of year from June into July.

    And with what they paid to broadcast the event it's not like Fox isn't going to promote the shit out of it. I think it'll get it's mostly usual run of attention. Sports networks and the like are always content starved as it is.
    I don't care it is in Qatar as much as I care it is in the middle of the season. It is going to ruin the second halves of so many seasons when the players are exhausted.

    The US is not starved for content in November. People don't even want to hear about the World Series anymore. All football, all the time from August to February.

    I don't want to be the arrogant American who thinks the world need to plan shit around us; but it also sucks for the rest of the world too. I am just saying as a fan of "soccer" in America, the tournament will be ignored by every station except FOX and that sucks. The World Cup final is on the same day as NFL games, Sunday 12/18 which means they will barely even show the game because Cowboys vs Giants is always going to be more important.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    Fortunately they hooked us up in the states with the latest possible kickoff times for our group stage matches..
    America's first knockout game is either going to get scheduled against the Conference Championship games for college football or Week 13 of the NFL. That is a death sentence.

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    I just meant from the standpoint of those looking forward to watching will be able to do so at a reasonable time..

    I honestly couldn't give a shit if anyone else chooses to watch other stuff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    I just meant from the standpoint of those looking forward to watching will be able to do so at a reasonable time..

    I honestly couldn't give a shit if anyone else chooses to watch other stuff.
    As long as you have access to FS2…

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    Quote Originally Posted by _me View Post
    As long as you have access to FS2…
    What does fs2 have to do with anything?

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    That is where the games are going to get shown.

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    Quote Originally Posted by _me View Post
    That is where the games are going to get shown.
    Well I assume you're just guessing here because you're flat out wrong.

    They'll all be shown on fox and fs1, with the majority - including all but 2 of the knockout games - on fox.

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    One step closer to finding out our final group opponent with Scotland v. Ukraine this afternoon..

    Winner to take on Wales this Sunday in the qualifying playoff final.

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    Well done to Ukraine. Totally deserved it and played us off the park.

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    Is this the final qualifier match in general as well?

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    edit -

    Wales/Ukraine was one of the last 3 remaining qualifiers for the final tournament in November. Wales advances.

    There's still Costa Rica v. New Zealand and Peru v. the winner of Australia/United Arab Emirates left to sort out in the next couple weeks.
    Last edited by Percussion; June 5th, 2022 at 3:03 PM.

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    Although it was pretty lucky as that free kick was going nowhere, well done Wales. Sorry Ukraine.

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    Congrats to the Socceroos..

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    Last qualifier today. Costa Rica vs New Zealand

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    What time?

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    It would seem it already happened earlier. Costa Rica won.

    US plays tonight at 9 CST on FS1

    Nations League game against El Salvador

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    Houston was picked as a host city..

    I'm effin going to the effin world cup..

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    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    Same for me, here in Vancouver.

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    I see Gillette got a location secured.


    First Army/Navy, now this. Love it

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    KC is a host but no way I can afford to go to a game.

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    Come on down. We'll con some drunk motherfucker

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    I will keep that in mind when the time comes.

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    Please do.

    If you haven't robbed a person of a World Cup ticket......can you even say you've ever really robbed someone?

  38. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    I will keep that in mind when the time comes.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mazer View Post
    Please do.

    If you haven't robbed a person of a World Cup ticket......can you even say you've ever really robbed someone?
    And if all else fails you can always drown your sorrows in BBQ. Honestly, probably more fun to watch on TV with the ticket money spent on more dead cows and pigs anyway.

  39. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vegas82 View Post
    And if all else fails you can always drown your sorrows in BBQ. Honestly, probably more fun to watch on TV with the ticket money spent on more dead cows and pigs anyway.
    I think for a majority of sorts events I'd agree that watching from the comforts of home on tv is often a better option nowadays - advances in tv tech, broadcasting, and exorbitant ticket prices and all that. But, at least just speaking for myself, the world cup is kind of a different beast. The 4 year wait and rotating continent schedule make it such a rarity to get to experience live, plus the abundance of games (80! in 2026) means there'll still be plenty to catch from the comfy home setup while still getting to take in a likely once in a lifetime sportsfan opportunity.

    I'm certainly going out of my way to try and get myself in stadium for one of these badboys.

  40. #40
    The Fresh Maker Mazer's Avatar
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    Yeah, I wanna catch one in person. Kind of a once in a lifetime for me.

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    Yeah. I will be watching ticket prices and such. I really want to catch a game no matter who is playing.

  42. #42
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    Not going to lie, news of Alphonso Davies’ injury a mere three weeks away from Qatar was an absolute gut punch.

    Bayern’s medical staff says it’s “only” a strain, but we needed that dude at 100%.


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    Roster reveal tomorrow at 4pm cst on espn2.

    Looks like not too many surprises on the horizon other than the rumor just in that Zack Steffen is out at GK and Turner, Horvath, and Sean Johnson are in. Assuming Malik Tillman is in as is considered most probable we're really looking at only one spot up for grabs between Paul Arriola, Jordan Morris, and Christian Roldan.

    The roster's been 90+% built towards for months now barring any late arriving injuries so it should be mostly anti-climactic, which I'm good with as all that's left now is to finish off the league schedule this weekend in good health and train and focus on Qatar. 8 long years is down now to less than two weeks and it can't get here soon enough.


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    Sepp Blatter admitting giving the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake.

    Noooo you don’t say Sepp!!!

  45. #45
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    It's weird still to me that this is taking place mid-season and in winter, but got a week off to start the tournament, so still excited for it to start.

    Players are going to be knackered going in and the games come thick and fast, so can see the squads being needed more than ever.

    Have a feeling England don't get any further than the round of 16, though to be honest, I have no idea how the groups match up and the draw opens up.

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    US roster revealed. Some questionable decisions were made. Not sure how I feel about this roster.

  47. #47
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    4 legit surprises by my count. 1 big one, 1 mild one, and 2 moderate ones.

    Haji Wright over Pepi or Pefok is the big one. I can see wanting a target forward if we're chasing a goal late but if that's the need then I'd have preferred Pefok. He killed it in the Swiss league last year and has done the job for a top Bundesliga side the first half of this season.

    Christian Roldan and Shaq Moore over Malik Tillman and Reggie Cannon are less shocking but head scratchers nonetheless. Glad there's not a bit of quid pro quo going on with Tillman as I'd rather we not operate that way with dual nationals. That said Roldan has offered the square root of absolutely nothing with the national team. I just don't get it. And I thought Gregg would have preferred the versatility Cannon could provide as a FB or CB in a pinch.

    And Jordan Morris over Paul Arriola is the least shocking. Really not surprised at all to see Morris on the plane as much as I am to see Arriola not get his ticket punched. Arriola's been a darling of Gregg's all qualifying and he's honestly worked his tail off every time he's had an opportunity. He doesn't offer a ton in the attack but he's a dog up and down the flank and I could see him used if we ever had a late lead just to terrorize the opponents possessions. And really I don't see all that much the Jordan offers that Paul doesn't, but here we are.

    Frankly I'm not too too bothered with any of them as their genuinely the last four selections of the squad. Wright is really the only one I see getting many minutes that matter I we situationally/tactically choose to do so. The other 3 should only see the field of there's much in the way of injury or card accumulation. In Roldan's case I believe we'd need to be up 8 or so or have had a kidnapping of a third of the team.

    We knew the big contributors would be there so the real question marks were the handful of backups who have a real chance of seeing the field when it matters through rotations or injuries. Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tim Ream, Luca de la Torre, and Josh Sargent (though he may actually start) are the guys I had my fingers crossed for and they made it so I'm happy there.

    Only names I would've chosen otherwise would've been Mark McKenzie for Aaron Long (but Long was always going) and Djordje Mihailovoc for Roldan, but alas they didn't ask me.

  48. #48
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    No Pepi or Pefok is a bit surprising and the other big surprise for me was Steffan. I know that there was not a clear cut top keeper but he had been leaning to Steffan in bigger games and Steffan was loaned out to get playing time on a club level. Not sure what was going on there.

    We shall see how it goes.

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    Eh, Steffen was doing literally nothing with City, and when he did get the rarest of chances to glove up with them he flubbed the shit out of it. Meanwhile his move to Middlesbrough has been as lukewarm as could be. It's sad on a personal level after everything he did this past cycle to help us get to Qatar, but professionally speaking he's really regressed to the point that I don't see any real dropoff from him to Horvath or even Johnson for that matter.

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    So earlier this week it was said that Qatar wanted to move where beer sales were in the stadium and now they said no beer sales at all at the stadiums. What the fuck. AB is like a huge sponsor of these games. As soon as it was confirmed that Qatar bribed their way to hosting and they got rid of some of the douche bags behind that FIFA should have taken it away from Qatar and gave it to the US who could easily host with shorter notice and honestly should have won that bid anyway and then just redo the 2026 voting. This has been a disaster from the get go.

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    The 'me' in 'team' Dreyski's Avatar
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    I drew Australia and Senegal in our office sweepstake so I suspect my main enjoyment will be seeing how many teams/players turn up in rainbow gear, and seeing how Saudi (diplomatic conflict) and Iran ('wrong' branch of Islam) fans get treated in Qatar.


  52. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    So earlier this week it was said that Qatar wanted to move where beer sales were in the stadium and now they said no beer sales at all at the stadiums. What the fuck. AB is like a huge sponsor of these games. As soon as it was confirmed that Qatar bribed their way to hosting and they got rid of some of the douche bags behind that FIFA should have taken it away from Qatar and gave it to the US who could easily host with shorter notice and honestly should have won that bid anyway and then just redo the 2026 voting. This has been a disaster from the get go.
    Fuck Qatar, and further that fuck FIFA..

    ..but to be a bit honest I'm glad there wasn't a last minute switch to us hosting. Sure we could've pulled it off in a pinch, and absolutely Qatar have no business putting on a celebrated spectacle the likes of the World Cup. BUT, I'd rather us have another four years to get our boys that much more seasoned and have one more cycle to see who can climb the ranks from the youth pool. 2026 feels almost too perfect with this core group of youngsters plus whomever be coming through the developmental pipeline.

    Also it'll be interesting to watch the squirming that'll take place for the next month as the bad press continues to pour in and FIFA and the Qatari Federation have to eat the shit sandwich they themselves made.

    For instance there are groups of fans who've been paid by a Qatari group to attend the tournament, all expenses everything including a per diem, on the condition they do so while positively promoting the event both live and through social media. Those 'fans' have all of a sudden had their daily funding cut off out of nowhere due to the bad press they've been receiving. How many other ways will Qatari authorities go back on their words?

    Fans paid to attend World Cup by Qatar have daily allowance cancelled

  53. #53
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    Fuck Qatar, and further that fuck FIFA..
    Egg on both parties’ faces, I’m all for it…

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    A lot of us are still gonna watch, which means majority of the outrage will mean absolute dick for this edition of the WC

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    Speaking of….. a fine Rajahite set up this World Cup bracket on ESPN for ppl to sign up for.


    https://fantasy.espn.com/games/qatar...c&joining=true

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    The 'me' in 'team' Dreyski's Avatar
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    Qatar have been garbage, even with the brown envelope being dropped off at VAR headquarters…Netherlands will be on them like the new guys in prison

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    Sums it up really.

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    maldives
    Color me effin' nervous..

    73 teams have won their first group stage match since the current format started in 1998..

    61 have gone on to qualify for the knockout rounds. 12 have not.

    So an 83.6% chance of advancing having won your opening match.

    Conversely of those opening stage matches 73 have also lost.

    8 have gone on to qualify and continue, while 65 have not.

    You do that math. It's pretty bleak.

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    Probably should have set my dvr to record the game this afternoon. I will watch what I can while at work.

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    that's what I'm doing. Watching from my phone at work.

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    I missed first 20 minutes shelving books but working at my desk for the time being and have it on a tab on my browser.

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    I got out of a meeting about 5 minutes before the goal. decent timing

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    Shit

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    Dumb penalty to give up. Kudos to our keeper for getting a hand on it but yeah too powerful of a shot to really deflect out of there. Both teams really need a win here. England is probably going to win the group and I would think both of these teams can beat Iran so going to come down to these two teams for the second team to go through.

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    Tired of both teams having players flop around.

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    US needs to at least draw with England now, and hopefully England beats the Welsh

  67. #67
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    maldives
    They don't really need to draw with England.

    4 points could still well get us out of the group.

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    A draw would be nice but not needed as long as win the last game against Iran.

  69. #69
    Main Eventer _me's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    A draw would be nice but not needed as long as win the last game against Iran.
    Most likely scenario is Wales and USA both beat Iran and both lose to England. That means tied at 4 points and down to goal differential to see who goes through.

  70. #70
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    Argentina.

    Not the best start to Messi’s last World Cup!

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    I have been shelving so not checking on games. Fuck that is something else for them to lose to Saudi Arabia. That second goal for SA was fantastic by the way. Just watched the highlight.

    Argentina can still get through though but shit that was a shocker.

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    Agree with the thought that we'll draw with the US and beat the Welsh. After that I wouldn't like to predict.

    Saudis do pop up with amazing goals every now and again. Check out 1994 vs Belgium. Argentina vs Mexico is now massive, shame it's in the middle of a desert.

    France were due an implosion (see 2002 & 2010), especially with injuries, but an impressive start nonetheless.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dreyski View Post
    Agree with the thought that we'll draw with the US and beat the Welsh. After that I wouldn't like to predict.
    As an English fan how do you think the team would approach the Wales game if y'all were to beat us and therefore be assured a spot in the knockout rounds?

    Rest your regular starters in all likelihood, but do you think they'd ease up sort of mentally knowing it's not a must to get a result or go all out regardless because you just want to stick it to the Welsh?

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    Another upset! Japan we’re magnificent in that second half whereas Germany were bloody dogshit

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    I didn't watch but saw the score. Two upsets early on in group play.

  76. #76
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    The consensus for England was to win the group to avoid an Argentina-Brazil path to the final, but who knows. I think if Wales and Iran draw and England beat USA they'll be resting players against Wales (not that means they lose - second string is still stronger on paper than Wales), as it wouldn't make sense not to with the games coming thick and fast. 9 days off for players at an early stage would be a godsend coming off a busy domestic fixture list. Chickens, hatched, of course.

    The Wales result against Iran will change the strategy for the States I think. If it's a draw or an Iran win they'll be conservative and be content with a draw and chance their hands at beating Iran and making sure England need a result against Wales. I'd favour Wales based on them playing England last, honestly. But I don't think Iran are done either.

    I think Germany go out. They need a Costa Rica result here honestly, to bring Spain out against them on Sunday. Spain content not to push will frustrate Germany and I don't think 4 points will do. What a huge game that is.

    Saturday's line up is the one for me though - France vs. Denmark and Argentina vs. Mexico - Denmark are a great side who could trouble France, and Argentina will be out with a loss. Results so far favour a tense game 3 which isn't always the case.

  77. #77
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    If Canada had a decent finisher here they'd be out of sight.

  78. #78
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    Quote Originally Posted by Percussion View Post
    As an English fan how do you think the team would approach the Wales game if y'all were to beat us and therefore be assured a spot in the knockout rounds?

    Rest your regular starters in all likelihood, but do you think they'd ease up sort of mentally knowing it's not a must to get a result or go all out regardless because you just want to stick it to the Welsh?
    To be honest it depends on what team we'd see against the US. If he picks the same XI as against Iran, I'd hope we see some changes against Wales. Hopefully Phillips, Alexander-Arnold and Foden get a start. Pickford and Kane seem untouchable.

    And I'd hope we don't ease up becuase everyone's playing for a place, but I'm also prone to worrying that our opponents (club and country) care about the game more than we do.

  79. #79
    Furry, Filthy and Fun Badger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dreyski View Post
    To be honest it depends on what team we'd see against the US. If he picks the same XI as against Iran, I'd hope we see some changes against Wales. Hopefully Phillips, Alexander-Arnold and Foden get a start. Pickford and Kane seem untouchable.

    And I'd hope we don't ease up becuase everyone's playing for a place, but I'm also prone to worrying that our opponents (club and country) care about the game more than we do.
    I’d be surprised if they eased up against Wales. Even if they already qualified nobody would let them forget it if they lost lol.

    Gareth Bale is always the danger man too.
    Last edited by Badger; November 23rd, 2022 at 10:41 PM.

  80. #80
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    TLDR: #WeCAN.

    I somehow managed to keep it together while watching via the TSN app on my iPhone while in the office this morning. When I gpt home yesterday evening to watch the PVR’d preshow and opening 20 minutes, I could not. Numerous times, I cried tears of joy while watching something I (in my early forties) never dreamed possible, particularly while mired in the depths of darkness that has been Canada Soccer my whole life. Before the John Herdman era, there has been nothing but pain and embarrassment; now, it feels like the world is at our fingertips.

    As I’m a little removed from yesterday’s events, I offer my thoughts. Does the loss sting? A little. Did I expect us to control, dare-I-say even dominate, our opener against one of the premier countries in the world? Hell no. While I thought we’d lose, I entered this morning with the tempered expectation of hoping to be competitive. “Keep it within a goal or two, just don’t get your doors blown off”. We exceeded that, immensely. Ultimately, it came down to a world power capitalizing on one of their rare opportunities and showing us what it takes to win at this level.

    I have absolutely no issue with Davies taking that penalty. He’s the face of the franchise, we go only as far as he takes us. While it can be armchair quarterbacked that there were others with better statistical odds/success, Alphonso being the one to bag the country’s first ever World Cup goal would have done wonders for his (and the team’s) confidence. For the whiners that say the miss cost us the match, I say pound sand; it happened in the 10th minute, we had a full game after that where we could (should?) have won.

    A massive game against Croatia on Sunday, a must-win if we have hopes of reaching the knockout round. Based on how we showed up against the world #2, I feel extremely confident. I also feel that if we can get an early first goal against on Sunday, the next ones will come in bunches; we have too much skill and speed up front to get shutout in group play.

    My only hope is that John Herdman stays with us through the end of his contract in 2026. If this team continues its upward trend through the next World Cup (which we host), dude will be able to call his shot anywhere in the world. If Canada backs up the Brinks truck and makes him the uncontested shotcaller with an open chequebook and free reign to do as he sees fit, sign me the fuck up. That said, there are way more prestigious opportunities out there, I wouldn’t fault him one bit if he decides to cash-in and strike while the iron is redhot.

    Last edited by Tyson; November 24th, 2022 at 8:38 AM.

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    Oh shit. Just woke up and caught last 15 minutes or so of the Ecuador/Netherlands game. Was checking scores and saw that Wales lost to Iran. Didn't see that coming.

    And Qatar is first team eliminated.

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    England did not play a good game and we did. Hate we couldn't finish but I will take the draw. But we have to beat Iran to advance. That is doable but we shall see how it goes.

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    Good result for you guys I think and the group is quite permeable. Wales have next to no chance unless they beat England by a chunkable margin which I somehow doubt. Think you guys have a shot against Iran you can catch them as not taking anything away from them but Wales fucked themselves that second half especially Hennessey being sent off which really shouldn’t have needed a VAR. Great goals from Iran to be fair to them and they deserve it but if you guys can hold it together unlike Wales did and get in one or two, think you have a real shot here qualifying with England.

  84. #84
    Isaiah 40:30-31 Hero!'s Avatar
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    Wow, the English are so bad at footie it’s kind of amazing.

    Good thing Portugal are in this tournament to show how proper European football is played.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hero! View Post
    Good thing Portugal are in this tournament to show how proper European football is played.

  87. #87
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    Boo, Fifa.

    Yeah, England were dogshit, but you can see the result as a sign of progress vs USA:
    1950 - Humiliation
    2010 - Drew
    2022 - Kept a clean sheet
    Next time, surely?

    In other news, France are through, and Argentina keep their hopes alive. I expect them to go through becuase they should be beating Poland. Denmark are looking precarious and will have to beat Australia to progress.
    Double boo to Fifa for making Saudi vs Iran & Serbia vs Croatia very unlikely to happen. That said, Serbia vs Switzerland might be a bit tasty, with the Kosovan heritage Shaquiri and Xhaka, and Ghana vs Uruguay, in a rematch from 2010 with the Suarez handball and all that.

  88. #88
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    All in all, a positive experience in Qatar for the Canadian side.

    First appearance at the World Cup in multiple decades? Check.
    First ever goal at the World Cup? Check.
    Taken to the learning tree by two of the top football nations in the world? Unfortunately, yes.
    Eliminated after the group stage? Unfortunately, yes.
    Now we get to play spoiler against Morocco, put that first ever win on the board.

    This next cycle will be very interesting, given they are no longer an unknown entity on the world stage. Expectations will be much higher as one of the co-hosts, they need to get to the knockout stage in 2026.

    #WeCAN
    Last edited by Tyson; November 27th, 2022 at 2:21 PM.

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    Hell of a game against Belgium. I was rooting for your side. Hate that they are out now. Should be fun to watch in 4 years.

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    9 days off work, back today and the World Cup comes alive within hours of me being back at my desk.

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    I have to try to watch the match while in an in-person meeting with 7 other people tomorrow.

    This might be my Lou Brown in Major League 2 moment.

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    Good luck with that.

    I am doing billing so that means at my desk all day but I am in a cubicle where people will walk by. I will probably have it on in the corner of one of my monitors so I can keep tabs on it and listen to it. I wear headphones while doing billing all the time listening to music on my computer so no big deal there. I should be able to cover it up easy enough if there is a lot of people walking through my area.

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    I might have to pretend I'm excited about a proposal I hate as a cover-up at some point.

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    So heading into matchday 3 for each group now with 3 teams (France, Brazil, Portugal) having already advanced, 2 teams (Qatar, Canada) having been eliminated, leaving a remaining 27 teams still vying for 13 spots to begin the knockout phase of the tournament..

    .. with14 teams to be eliminated in the next 4 days.

    It's a mad dash now.

  95. #95
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    Another win for the good guys.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Great first half and a lead for the US. I think it should be 2-0 and that the technology was off on that last offiside call.

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    And we survived and made it. Nice to get out of group even if that means we have to play the Netherlands.

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    World Champion lotjx's Avatar
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    America!

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    Well that was a little too intense, ya? But so goes elimination soccer..

    Hats off to the boys for going out in the first half and essentially demanding the go ahead goal from Iran, and obviously to Pulisic in particular for sacrificing his rocks for the cause. Should've come away with a second frankly - and well could have if not or the current shit definition of offside - with the amount of pressure we were exerting on them and the kinds of touches around the box and crosses we were delivering.

    But alas we had to defend a one goal lead against a desperate team fighting against it's chances fading, and this is where I would criticize some of the decision making, once again. Love the Zimmerman sub, and love seeing Aaronson on for Pulisic early, but Haji Wright was as useless as Anne Frank's drumset. Wright did literally nothing of any value whatsoever. And for as good as Brenden did at times keeping the ball moving forward against their attack all the defensive subs gave him no one to play off of to retain and hold possession. This would've been an incisive time to see Gio Reyna come in and perform his wizardry on the ball to wind the game down, and perhaps even get a match killing 2nd goal. Beyond headscratching what's kept him off the field thus far this tourney.

    All in all though the initial goal was always to get out of the group - especially after the 2018 debacle - and throw our best haymakers at whatever would come next, and here we are so congrats all around.

    Now, fuck the Dutch. This is one of the weaker sides they've fielded in many iterations, and some would argue there significant matchups we win on paper. But they're the odds on favorite which is totally reasonable. That said I like our chances to make their Saturday hell and then some. Can't effin wait.


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    Yeah I have been surprised at the lack of Reyna playing time.

    We need to throw everything we have at the Dutch on Saturday.

    This is such a young team. Looking forward to how things look in 4 years at the next Cup.

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