The 2018 World Cup Superthread

Gbear

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I think Brazil should go flat back four then in front the below, There wing back get on so two holders , who can also play
   Ferinandinho  Casemiro
Willian    Cou       Neymar
             Firmino

I think that'd be a very good team, as it would be with Jesus in for Willian, Coutinho or Firmino.

They've also got cracking options at full back to provide width.
Any flat back 4 with Marcello isn't really a flat back 4.

It's as exciting a team as they've had since 2002.

Harry Palmr

So much of Brazil's selection process seems to be political (read commercial) in nature.

Mushy

England squad tomorrow, appears Hart is staying home.

Harry Palmr

as discussed in the Engerland thread.

Emre Can not going to WC nor Karius. Not a surprise, esp as Can has hardly played for three months and Germany has midfielders to burn,

pjohnson

Harry Palmr wrote: »

as discussed in the Engerland thread.

Emre Can not going to WC nor Karius. Not a surprise, esp as Can has hardly played for three months and Germany has midfielders to burn,

Götze and Schūrrle missed out aswell

yourdeadwright

Gbear wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I think Brazil should go flat back four then in front the below, There wing back get on so two holders , who can also play
   Ferinandinho  Casemiro
Willian    Cou       Neymar
             Firmino

I think that'd be a very good team, as it would be with Jesus in for Willian, Coutinho or Firmino.

They've also got cracking options at full back to provide width.
Any flat back 4 with Marcello isn't really a flat back 4.

It's as exciting a team as they've had since 2002.

Lets not forget Douglas Costa to ,They have a great squad this year

Mr.Nice Guy

France have named their 23-man World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers

Hugo Lloris
Alphonse Areola
Steve Mandanda

Defenders

Djibril Sidibe
Benjamin Pavard
Benjamin Mendy
Lucas Hernandez
Presnel Kimpembe
Samuel Umtiti
Raphael Varane
Adil Rami

Midfielders

N'Golo Kante
Paul Pogba
Corentin Tolisso
Blaise Matuidi
Steven N'Zonzi

Forwards

Antoine Griezmann
Olivier Giroud
Kylian Mbappe
Nabil Fekir
Ousmane Dembele
Thomas Lemar
Florian Thauvin

Martial, Rabiot and Lacazette miss out. Fekir, Thauvin and N'Zonzi have made it.

Feel for Payet missing out. Can't believe Rami made it as I don't think he's up to this level. I think Debuchy can consider himself unlucky as he's been very good in 2018.

Certainly enough quality there to go all the way. I'd be concerned about the form of Lloris though.

mickmackey1

If their reserve list was Irish, only Coleman would get a game :pac:

Mr.Nice Guy

They have amazing depth for sure.

For fun I thought I'd do a 23-man France squad featuring who won't be going...

Goalkeepers

Stephane Ruffier
Benoit Costil
Alban Lafont

Defenders

Layvin Kurzawa
Jordan Amavi
Mathieu Debuchy
Bouna Sarr
Aymeric Laporte
Clement Lenglet
Kurt Zouma
Mamadou Sakho

Midfielders

Adrien Rabiot
Tanguy N’Dombele
Geoffrey Kondogbia
Houssem Aouar
Abdoulaye Doucoure

Forwards

Wissam Ben Yedder
Kingsley Coman
Anthony Martial
Alexandre Lacazette
Dimitri Payet
Kevin Gameiro
Alassane Plea

That ain't too shabby. I could see the above squad going pretty far in the tournament. Also could throw Benzema in the mix since the reason he misses out is due to his conflict with Deschamps.

Guys I didn't mention above include Ferland Mendy, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Lucas Digne, Moussa Sissoko, Allan Saint-Maximin, Moussa Dembele. Probably a good few others worth a shout as well.

xtal191

https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/997192133252648960

Utopia Parkway

Harry Palmr wrote: »

as discussed in the Engerland thread.

Emre Can not going to WC nor Karius. Not a surprise, esp as Can has hardly played for three months and Germany has midfielders to burn,

He can concentrate on his house hunting in Turin.

Mr.Nice Guy

Portugal's final squad has been announced today as well.

Goalkeepers

Rui Patricio
Beto
Anthony Lopes

Defenders

Cedric
Ricardo Pereira
Pepe
Jose Fonte
Bruno Alves
Ruben Dias
Raphael Guerreiro
Mario Rui

Midfielders

Joao Moutinho
William Carvalho
Joao Mario
Manuel Fernandes
Adrien Silva
Bruno Fernandes

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo
Andre Silva
Gelson Martins
Ricardo Quaresma
Goncalo Guedes
Bernardo Silva

No room for Andre Gomes, Nelsen Semedo, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Rony Lopes, Bruma or Nani.

I think that's a pretty decent side. Not sure their central defence will be up to the task in the latter stages, however. I also think not taking Rony Lopes is a shocking oversight. He's been great for Monaco and I would say has been their player of the season.

mickmackey1

I keep forgetting they're European Champions.

Cake Man

All of those second string 23 for the likes of Germany, Brazil, France etc. would be better than nearly 75% of the teams at the WC! An embarrassment of riches.


Anyone know when they will announce squad numbers? Might pick up a jersey or two and want to get names and numbers on the back. I remember for the 2006 WC, I got Pablo Aimar 10 on the back of an Argentina jersey but Riquelme wore 10 at the WC.

RayCon

Liam O wrote: »

This one on the FIFA website is pretty fun. I wound up with Germany beating Belgium in the final, just have a feeling it's going to click for the Belgians but the Germans are going to get the job done.

https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/take-the-fifa-world-cup-bracket-challenge

I ended up with France V Germany final

Ol' Donie

Have the TV schedules been announced yet?

Will there be a thread for the words of wisdom from the various commentators etc?

citytillidie

UK Time and Channels with RTE doing coverage for Ireland

Thursday 14th June 2018
Russia v Saudi Arabia 16:00 ITV

Friday 15th June 2018
Egypt v Uruguay 13:00 BBC One
Morocco v Iran 16:00 ITV
Portugal v Spain 19:00 BBC One

Saturday 16th June 2018
France v Australia 11:00 BBC One
Argentina v Iceland 14:00 ITV
Peru v Denmark 17:00 BBC One
Croatia v Nigeria 20:00 ITV

Sunday 17th June 2018
Costa Rica v Serbia 13:00 ITV
Germany v Mexico 16:00 BBC One
Brazil v Switzerland 19:00 ITV

Monday 18th June 2018
Sweden v South Korea 13:00 ITV
Belgium v Panama 16:00 BBC One
Tunisia v England 19:00 BBC One

Tuesday 19th June 2018
Colombia v Japan 13:00 BBC One
Poland v Senegal 16:00 ITV
Russia v Egypt 19:00 BBC One

Wednesday 20th June 2018
Portugal v Morocco 13:00 BBC One
Uruguay v Saudi Arabia 16:00 BBC One
Iran v Spain 19:00 ITV

Thursday 21st June 2018
Denmark v Australia 13:00 ITV
France v Peru 16:00 ITV
Argentina v Croatia 19:00 BBC One

Friday 22nd June 2018
Brazil v Costa Rica 13:00 ITV
Nigeria v Iceland 16:00 BBC One
Serbia v Switzerland 19:00 BBC One

Saturday 23rd June 2018
Belgium v Tunisia 13:00 BBC One
South Korea v Mexico 16:00 ITV
Germany v Sweden 19:00 ITV

Sunday 24th June 2018
England v Panama 13:00 BBC One
Japan v Senegal 16:00 BBC One
Poland v Colombia 19:00 ITV

Monday 25th June 2018
Uruguay v Russia 15:00 ITV
Saudi Arabia v Egypt 15:00 ITV4
Iran v Portugal 19:00 BBC TBC
Spain v Morocco 19:00 BBC TBC

Tuesday 26th June 2018
Denmark v France 15:00 ITV
Australia v Peru 15:00 ITV4
Nigeria v Argentina 19:00 BBC TBC
Iceland v Croatia 19:00 BBC TBC

Wednesday 27th June 2018
South Korea v Germany 15:00 BBC TBC
Mexico v Sweden 15:00 BBC TBC
Serbia v Brazil 19:00 ITV
Switzerland v Costa Rica 19:00 ITV4

Thursday 28th June 2018
Japan v Poland 15:00 BBC TBC
Senegal v Colombia 15:00 BBC TBC
England v Belgium 19:00 ITV
Panama v Tunisia 19:00 ITV4

ERG89

mickmackey1 wrote: »

I keep forgetting they're European Champions.

Can't believe they brought Bruna Alves & Jose Fonte.

dfx-

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Definetly have a great chance. Some exciting players in the squad aswell. Makes a mockery of what a lot of posters on here were claiming after the last WC that Brazilian football was finished and they couldn't produce technical players anymore. The sheer size and population of Brazil and the country's love of football will always ensure they are at the top table. The last WC they were just at an unfortunate cycle of not having many attacking players and a negative manager in charge. The only fear would be will neymar actually be fully fit.

Dunga and Scolari butchered that squad a long way before that tournament aside from the whole "winning the World Cup is our destiny" thing. He didn't pick Fred and Jo upfront as an unavoidable consequence of injury etc. He led into the tournament with them and was always going to pick them.

That they reappointed Dunga showed the Brazilian FA up as facilitating that sort of selection...

the whole year inn

RayCon wrote: »

I ended up with France V Germany final

Germany v Brazil for me

pjohnson

ERG89 wrote: »

Can't believe they brought Bruna Alves & Jose Fonte.

I always forget Quaresma exists until Portugal submit a squad for Euro's/World Cup.

Sin City

the whole year inn wrote: »

Germany v Brazil for me

I got the same

titan18

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

I think that's a pretty decent side. Not sure their central defence will be up to the task in the latter stages, however. I also think not taking Rony Lopes is a shocking oversight. He's been great for Monaco and I would say has been their player of the season.

Same situation as Argentina really. Terrible defences but their attack is so good that they could potentially just outscore you. Not sure how Portugal will line up but a front 3 of Silva, Guedes and Ronaldo is scary.

fyfe79

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but Platini has admitted they fixed it in 1998 so that France and Brazil were deliberately kept on opposite sides of the draw. Shenanigans. 20 years on and everything has become even more money-driven - I dread to think what's been going on with Russia & Qatar (beyond what we already know).

http://www.punditarena.com/football/sokeefe/platini-world-cup-1998-draw-fixed/

Sin City

fyfe79 wrote: »

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but Platini has admitted they fixed it in 1998 so that France and Brazil were deliberately kept on opposite sides of the draw. Shenanigans. 20 years on and everything has become even more money-driven - I dread to think what's been going on with Russia & Qatar (beyond what we already know).

http://www.punditarena.com/football/sokeefe/platini-world-cup-1998-draw-fixed/

So your saying theres a chance FIFA and Uefa are corrupt?

fyfe79

Sin City wrote: »

So your saying theres a chance FIFA and Uefa are corrupt?

A smidgen.

Though when corruption becomes so widespread and institutionalised to the point that nobody even denies it anymore, and it becomes publicly accepted, it's scary.

titan18

Senegal have 2 N'Diayes, N'Doye and a Ndiaye in their squad. 1 goalkeeper and 3 CMs. That's going to be confusing as hell.

dr.kenneth noisewater

All the latest squads

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/44083365?__twitter_impression=true

pjohnson

Spain announce theres @ 11am tomorow, Belgium announcing theres tomorrow aswell. Think Serbia have theres later today.

pjohnson

Supposedly Morata is dropped. Rodrigo (once of Bolton) and Iago Aspas (once of Liverpool) picked ahead of him.

Paully D

No Nainggolan for Belgium.

Rekop dog

Paully D wrote: »

No Nainggolan for Belgium.

Seems to be a lot of bad blood between him and Martinez. Be crazy if the likes of Chadli or Witzel get picked ahead if him.

Martinez in way over his head there. Didn't De Bruyne publicly criticise his tactics not so long ago?

Can see more Belgium underperformances this world cup. They've never shown me they're much more than a disjointed unit.

CantGetNoSleep

Rekop dog wrote: »

Seems to be a lot of bad blood between him and Martinez. Be crazy if the likes of Chadli or Witzel get picked ahead if him.

Martinez in way over his head there. Didn't De Bruyne publicly criticise his tactics not so long ago?

Can see more Belgium underperformances this world cup. They've never shown me they're much more than a disjointed unit.

He just had his contract extended in recent weeks too which is an FAI-esque move. Not bringing Naingolan is crazy no matter how many fags a day he smokes.

pjohnson

Tielemans and Dendoncker made it instead I assume? T. Hazard aswell?

Johner

No Bellerin, Alonso, Fabregas, Sergi Roberto, Morata, Mata, Pedro in the Spain squad.

ERG89

Johner wrote:

No Bellerin, Alonso, Fabregas, Sergi Roberto, Morata, Mata, Pedro in the Spain squad.

None of them had great seasons though. I'm sure there wives will post bitchy social media messages about the manager now. Such is life.
Only real surprise to me is Nacho.

irishguitarlad

No bartra for Spain which is crazy, he was absolutely immense for us, I can't overstate how awesome he was.

pjohnson

I'd have brought Alonso over Monreal

Skylinehead

That midfield should be illegal.

pjohnson wrote: »

I'd have brought Alonso over Monreal

Monreal would be far more suited to a back 4, which Spain play.

CantGetNoSleep

Naingolan retired from international football now it seems. Belgians going mad, will dominate every news conference.

If I was him I'd have waited for Martinez to show how terrible a manager he can be when Belgium get knocked out to some mickey mouse sh1thole in the last 16

Rekop dog

I can see Iniesta having a swansong similar to Zidane in 06(probably minus the headbutt mind).

For me he's been the best player on the international scene in the last decade.

Quazzie

Could Iniesta be the only player to win a world cup, while retired?

Skylinehead

Rekop dog wrote: »

I can see Iniesta having a swansong similar to Zidane in 06(probably minus the headbutt mind).

For me he's been the best player on the international scene in the last decade.

The greatest big-game player in history for me.

Rekop dog

Nixonbot wrote: »

The greatest big-game player in history for me.

Best since the aforementioned Zizu on a big international occasion anyway.

yourdeadwright

Quazzie wrote: »

Could Iniesta be the only player to win a world cup, while retired?

He's not retired
I think he is extremely good player,  but also overated by some, I don't think he's as good as Xavi was for example

Mr.Nice Guy

Luis Alberto is the omission I find most unfortunate. He's been superb for Lazio this season

Nainggolan's omission doesn't make much sense as far as footballing reasons go. And Tielemans is very lucky to be involved. He's had a poor season.

MD1990

Spain are favourites. Incredible midfield. Teams will tire badly against Sapin because of how much possession they will have.

They have a better coach now as well.

Jim Bob Scratcher

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Luis Alberto is the omission I find most unfortunate. He's been superb for Lazio this season

Nainggolan's omission doesn't make much sense as far as footballing reasons go. And Tielemans is very lucky to be involved. He's had a poor season.

It's pretty obvious that Martinez dislikes him for some reason.

Officer999

I thought Batshiayi was injured? Yet his named in the squad

Johner

No Icardi for Argentina, although looking at the 4 strikers it's not hard to see why he wasn't included.