https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfeVoGgVdI0
I predict this is the year of sport legends sealing their legacy. Alexander Ovechkin wins the NHL Stanley Cup, LeBron James gets swept in the NBA finals again, proving that he's the all time goodest (not greatest), and finally it's time for Lionel Messi to bring home the World Cup.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/884/27914537627_c5a8903888_k.jpg)
Quote from: Bosco on Jun 13, 2018, 22:21LeBron James gets swept in the NBA finals again
LeBron James with no regard for human life!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1TWXz0fduA
Quote from: Explud on Jun 13, 2018, 22:27
LeBron James with no regard for human life!
No joke, Kevin Harlan (the person being quoted) could retire off that single comment. I can't tell you how many times I've heard it.
Quote from: Bosco on Jun 13, 2018, 22:21
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/884/27914537627_c5a8903888_k.jpg)
group a: mostly agree except that i would see russia on one and uruguay on two
gruop b: full ack
group c: france yes, but then denmark instead of peru
group d:
crotia definitely, but then its a 50-50 between australia and nigeria don't do shit when you're drunk... 1: argentina, 2: Croatia
group e: full ack
group f: germany 12 points but fifty fifty between mexico and sweden (my bet would be 51% sweden, 49% mexico)
group g: :o england on #1 and the rest on #2
group h: 1 poland, 2 colombia
the rest: later
Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 13, 2018, 23:13group a: mostly agree except that i would see russia on one and uruguay on two
What we think about our national team:
(https://sun1-5.userapi.com/c840537/v840537687/841a7/LgFYoOjkrZI.jpg)
This meme goes from this "matryoshka" series:
(https://sports.masters-bet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/arbitr-1-678x303.jpg)
^ :))
if anyone is interested in filling a bracket here is the one I used:
https://sports.cbsimg.net/images/soccer/worldcup/CBS_WC_Printable_Bracket.pdf
Just remember who ever you have as a runner up in group play, they are seeded against the winner of the opposing group in the knockout round.
It's not soccer, it's football. Real football.
Congrats to the three countries of North America for getting the 2026 World Cup. USA did a good hosting job in '94 even if most of America seemed oblivious to it. Pleased for Canada as I have some Canadian connections and I don't imagine Ireland or Holland will be hosting the WC any time soon.
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 14, 2018, 00:48
It's not soccer, it's football. Real football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sD_8prYOxo
I'm pretty confident in France's chances. I hope we get to the final at least, and winning it 20 years after 98 would be mega!
Quote from: Explud on Jun 13, 2018, 23:19What we think about our national team:
The things wouldn't be so bad if we had a normal head coach instead of that whiskered tyrant. Some players are quite good to make the result.
Good luck to all of your respective teams, peeps.
Our men's team is sitting home this year (and deserve to).
Netherlands not in there either. V disappointing (oh, and Ireland). Mind you, Morocco have five Dutch born players in their squad.
Nice easy 5-0 win for Russia just now. Wasn't it lucky that the host nation got a nice easy fixture for their first game?
https://twitter.com/Tiga/status/1007196565260394496
Tiga! What are you suggesting? Outrageous! :o
Funny to see Bosco dismissing England's chances of getting out of the group. I would suggest England 1st, Belgium 2nd. But would be amused if Bosco turned out to be right.
Looking at Pumisher's comments I'm inclined to largely agree with him. But there can always be upsets...
Bosco believes in our team more than I do ;D
Spain vs Portugal draw was really entertaining. Ronaldo is a magician. I hope Portugal goes further than I have predicted just so we can see more.
France did not look good. Australia played them really well. And although I didn't watch the Peru/Denmark match, it sounds like this might be a really tough group to get out of.
Missed the Argentina/Iceland draw, too. Disappointed about the result, but I did predict that Argentina would have a hiccup in the group. Hopefully this is it. Messi.... :-[
Croatia vs Nigeria, not the strongest game by the Croatians but they got the job done and now lead their group and hope to take advantage and avoid a potential France matchup in the knockout stage.
Quote from: Bosco on Jun 16, 2018, 21:24
Spain vs Portugal draw was really entertaining.
Yes!
Quote from: Bosco on Jun 16, 2018, 21:24
Missed the Argentina/Iceland draw, too. Disappointed about the result,
Iceland's team spirit is incredible. Some of their players have day jobs!
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 14, 2018, 17:14
there can always be upsets...
Congrats Mexico, commiserations German forumites. Where was the defence?
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 17, 2018, 17:29
commiserations German forumites. Where was the defence?
jonas hector got the flu
So, how confident do you feel about Argentina now Bosco ? ;D
It's not over yet...
Quote from: sandelic on Jun 21, 2018, 19:15
It's not over yet...
I know, I know, but it is still funny :)
France is qualified but with two very weak games. I hope they will lift their game up a bit against Argentina or Iceland.
Well... :)
Ok, I think it's kinda over ;D
Edit: wow, I didn't expect this result!
OUCH!!!
Congrats Sandelic. It's amazing how bad all the supposed "top squads" have looked so far.
Just saw replay of Modric goal. DAGGER! Don't cry for me Argentina
Boys have played a good game, I would bet 1-1 today and would be very wrong. Very good for morale.
Let's see what they'll do with it.
Quote from: sandelic on Jun 21, 2018, 19:58
Very good for morale. Let's see what they'll do with it.
Quarter final? Semi final? Has the silly stuff from 2016 subsided? I hope so for the sake of the team and for football in general.
It's a shame we won't see Messi at his best in this WC. The Argentina team is clearly in disarray. They were NOT good today. Didn't play for each other.
I'd like to thank Luca Modric for his part in beating Liverpool in the Champions League final last month (I support Man Utd) and congrats to him on tonight's goal. Top player.
I didn't realise that Argentina's first choice keeper was Sergio Romero - Man Utd's 2nd choice keeper. And I also didn't realise Romero got injured with Argentina just before the WC. I now hold this injury against the Argentina team and wish them only the worst.
Quote from: Explud on Jun 13, 2018, 23:19
What we think about our national team:
(https://sun1-5.userapi.com/c840537/v840537687/841a7/LgFYoOjkrZI.jpg)
This meme goes from this "matryoshka" series:
(https://sports.masters-bet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/arbitr-1-678x303.jpg)
Now i'm feeling some shame about this now... :-[
Last game with Egypt team was not so bad.
Btw, if you want i can make some kind of Photo-Blog about how all of this is going here, if you want, squares, people, fan-zones, etc.
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 21, 2018, 21:03
Quarter final? Semi final? Has the silly stuff from 2016 subsided? I hope so for the sake of the team and for football in general.
It's a shame we won't see Messi at his best in this WC. The Argentina team is clearly in disarray. They were NOT good today. Didn't play for each other.
Silly stuff will always be there, especially since chief of Dinamo has court sentence hanging over his head and is now on the run from authorities. Luka Modrić played his part in helping him by testifying falsely for Mamić. I would not be surprised if he will be on the trial for lying before the court. Those people are corrupt beyond words. And you're right, Argentina was not playing their top game, but our team was not bad at all. We'll see how far they'll go.
We will see us again in four years (maybe). God bless you all.
If it's really quiet and the wind comes from the right direction you can hear the Dutch laughing
Quote from: Explud on Jun 21, 2018, 21:26
Btw, if you want i can make some kind of Photo-Blog about how all of this is going here, if you want, squares, people, fan-zones, etc.
Have you attended any of the games? I assume it's probably extremely expensive.
Germany, WOOF!
Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 27, 2018, 16:01If it's really quiet and the wind comes from the right direction you can hear the Dutch laughing[/size]
Surely it doesn't need to be quiet? They'll be dining out on this until Qatar 2022!
Well now we know the last sixteen. Pretty imbalanced, with France, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil and Belgium on one side, and only Spain, England and Croatia on the other side... I predict a Belgium - Croatia final
Agree Ben, but don't forget Uruguay is also a heavyweight in the tilted bracket. Even though their 3 victories didn't exactly look dominant in the group stage, I could easily see them back in the semifinal much like their run in 2010.
I'm sticking with Argentina despite how poorly they've looked. No offense to France (who could turn out to be the sleeping giant of the remaining teams), but the Argentine roller-coaster is way too entertaining to leave the tournament so soon.
I honestly think Spain is set to run the board on the opposite side of the brackets. Or it could be Croatia, Columbia, or yes, England, playing the spoiler.
Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 28, 2018, 20:02
only Spain
Anyone who follows football outside of world cups will recognise so many players in the Spanish squad. As a presenter said on UK's ITV, the team sheet is like looking at your favourite album with all those recognisable names/titles. I guess they were lucky to top their group with 5 points, but if they get their shit together, Spain could really do something.
3 - 2 for France. I can't breathe. This game makes me forget the 3 mediocre ones we did. And what a goal by Pavard !
Haha, Congrats Ben. Happy to see France show some dominance finally and not be rattled by the lucky 2nd Argentine goal.
Good game, congratz France!
All we needed was to turn on Mbappé!
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 28, 2018, 23:57
Anyone who follows football outside of world cups will recognise so many players in the Spanish squad. As a presenter said on UK's ITV, the team sheet is like looking at your favourite album with all those recognisable names/titles. I guess they were lucky to top their group with 5 points, but if they get their shit together, Spain could really do something.
Hmm, never mind...
ААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААА
Yeah, no more predictions from me. Hoping for a new Champion at this point.
Congrats Russia!
Edit: Croatia through too! Big day for the Slavic nations!
How boring were those two games though. The only interesting thing were the first 4 minutes of Croatia Denmark and the incredible penalty session with Subasic and Schmeichel.
My prediction for the final is Belgium Croatia (although I secretly hope for France Croatia)
Agreed, games were boring, and winning game on penalties always seemed like cheating to me
I too hope for France - Croatia, if only to get even for that semi-final game 20 years ago in World cup ;D
Holy shit! Caught the 2nd half of Belgium vs Japan on my phone, what a fuckin Match!
I now have no battery. But that was worth it!
France in semi final !!!
Quote from: Ben_j on Jul 06, 2018, 16:06
France in semi final !!!
Against Belgium it seems
Quote from: Ben_j on Jul 06, 2018, 16:06
France in semi final !!!
Congrats. I like Griezmann. He needs to come to Man Utd where he can continue his working relationship with Pogba. And as for Mbappe, he's 19 years old. Is it just a coincidence that this song is also 19 years old?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHozn0YXAeE
(Actually...this song is 21 years old!)
Pleased for Belgium. Spain and Belgium were my two adopted teams for this world cup. Good to see one of them doing the business. Na na na na na
na na na na na na na.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DL62o_bb3c
Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 06, 2018, 18:36
Against Belgium it seems
Yes and it will be very tough, they seem like the strongest team so far.
I didn't see all of the Belgium Brazil game, but saw enough to see Neymar faking again. What a disgrace, he's such a good player but he's wasting his talent with this kind of behaviour.
Go just been played at the break of RUS - CRO on Fisht Staduim.
Yep, and the Russians really WENT there! :D
This was nerve-wracking!
Fucking Smolov :(
Commiserations Russian forumites, it was close!
Congratulations Sandelic, it was close!
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 21, 2018, 21:03
[Croatia will get to the] Quarter final? Semi final? Has the silly stuff from 2016 subsided?
Semi-Final it is. I have no idea who will win but I suspect Croatia v England will be a more open game than last night's fixture.
France v Belgium is potentially juicy too. Looks like Croatia are the only team to reach the Semi's who don't have any Man Utd players.
Quote from: UltimatePelmeni on Jul 07, 2018, 20:26
Go just been played at the break of RUS - CRO on Fisht Staduim.
Yeah I noticed that too - during half-time of
extra time. I also noticed Darude's Sandstorm during normal half-time.
Rememeber when Ready To Go by Republica used to pop up at all sorts of sporting events? I feel like the Chems "Go" is kinda catching up with that.
Quote from: UltimatePelmeni on Jul 07, 2018, 20:26
Go just been played at the break of RUS - CRO on Fisht Staduim.
As well as Noel Gallagher and Fatboy Slim, pretty nice taste from whoever chose the music in the stadium!
The game was interesting to follow despite the lack of action. Russia was really defending like their lives were at stake (which might be the case ???)
Didn't see England - Sweden but I saw the different saves Pickford did, quite impressive!
Congrats sandelic. We paid the debt for Euro 2008 quals :)
Quite the semi-final bracket for this forum. Congrats all!
So the world cup is more likely the euros.
here's my bet for the next 4 games:
france - belgium 5:6 (after penalty)
croatia - england 1:2
france - croatia 3:1
belgium - england 5:4 (after penalty, 0:0 after regular time)
Quote from: UltimatePelmeni on Jul 08, 2018, 12:28
Congrats sandelic. We paid the debt for Euro 2008 quals :)
I'll say it again, somehow it's not a real win if you win on penalties, that's just luck
I was not happy with our team play, they are not running much on the field and if they think they can play like that against England day after tomorrow, they can already start packing home
I predict 2:1 for England, gawds let me be wrong :-\
Holy fucking shit they did it !!
Ooh BenJ v Sandelic in the final.
Congrats Sandelic. Mandzukic was good!
I don't think we've had any English people comment on this thread. They were entertaining enough in this tournament, I thought. Looking forward to the final though. My heart will root for the underdog, but my head says France.
What a match!
Thank you Croatia for putting a stop to "it's coming home" nonsense
England had ample opportunity in the first half to put this game away. Croatia's grit (and some friendly reffing), ultimately came through.
Rooting for the underdog now. Sorry Ben!
England went in semi final after beating Panama, Tunisia, Colombia without James Rodriguez, Sweden, and losing to Belgium's B Team. I could not imagine them beating the first good team they came across.
Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 11, 2018, 20:43
I don't think we've had any English people comment on this thread. They were entertaining enough in this tournament, I thought.
I stopped investing time and emotion to support our football team a long time ago. I used to get really, really down after the inevitable losses in these big tournaments and it just didn't feel like a good use of time.
I still support teams (and losing ones at that coughCloud9cough) but the patriotic attachments to the England team just got too much.
And for the most part, we suck.
Having said that. I will raise the gosh dang roof for every cycling event at the Olympics that Great Britain is involved in. That shit is so enjoyable to watch.
It was a good game, it seemed England lost a lot of steam in second half, which was surprising, they got younger players, I was expecting opposite. Btw it's madness here :)
Looking forward to Sunday, I honestly can't predict how it'll go!
Good luck in the final. And to Ivica Olic especially.
Good game so far! Not boring 😁
Allez les bleus
Congratz France for winning World Cup!
Our team did do many mistakes its a wonder they didn't lost by a larger margin!
I hope you all enjoyed World cup in Russia. And congratulations to french forum members!
The Croatian president seems very friendly.
The first France goal was fortunate insofar as it came from a free kick that probably shouldn't have been given. I also wonder what the ref will think about the penalty he awarded when he watches the game back at normal speed. I think the slow mo made the "handball" look more intentional than it was in real time.
So the officials' decisions were not with Croatia.
Having said that, France were very good and probably would have won anyway.
Congrats France, commiserations Croatia.
And hasn't it been great to see most of the play acting die out in the semis's and the final?
I'm just back from the Champs Elysées, the ambiance here is undescribable, unbelievable. There is people in the streets everywhere, literally, chanting, cheering, waving flags.
I was a bit scared after the first half, Croatia really had the upper hand, but in the second half Pogba and Mbappé scored two great goals, and here we are, champions!