The 2018 World Cup Superthread

sligeach

jbt123 wrote: »

The intermittent chorus of 'god save the queen' always dampens my good wishes for the 3 lions.

She's probably watching Eastenders..

It's a ridiculous anthem to say the least.

Eastenders isn't on tonight because of the match. She wouldn't watch something so common.

FourFourRED

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Does it yeah?

He is one of the weaker options in the squad. Scoring a goal tonight doesn’t change that.

CalamariFritti

davycc wrote: »

The most apt description of Eric Dier I've ever heard.
Stealing a living imho

He is. He is really really basic. The fact he is a pro is surprising. The fact he is a pro for a really good PL side is amazing. The fact he is an international I have no words for.

Fair play though. Made a lot with what he has.

CantGetNoSleep

FourFourFM wrote: »

He is one of the weaker options in the squad. Scoring a goal tonight doesn’t change that.

Is he yeah?

jbt123

sligeach wrote: »

It's a ridiculous anthem to say the least.

Eastenders isn't on tonight because of the match. She wouldn't watch something so common.

She has her servants record it on Skybox, if they fail to do so, she gets them to act a few scenes out for her while she sips on gin and plays with her corgis. Philip is in the corner with a lampshade on his head and cellotape on his eyes pretending to be a Chinaman.

She hasn't got time to watch the 3 lions.

citytillidie

Top half
last 16
Uruguay V Portugal
France V Argentina
Brazil V Mexico
Belgium V Japan

Quarter Final
Uruguay/Portugal V France/Argentina
Brazil/Mexico V Belgium/Japan

Bottom Half
Last 16
Spain V Russia
Croatia V Denmark
Sweden V Switzerland
Colombia V England

Quarter Final
Spain/Russia V Croatia/Denmark
Sweden/Switzerland V Colombia/England

Dick phelan

Group finishes as expected with Belgium top England second, If England and it's a big if, they can get past Colombia it might work out better playing Swiss or Sweden in the QF. Having said that i fancy Colombia to win if they can play to their ability.

TheCitizen

Colombia will put England out. Dunphy and his protoge Sadlier are trolling

Glebee

Christ therE talking some rot on UTV.

FourFourRED

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Is he yeah?

They were resting him in their first two games were they? He’ll start the next match you think? :rolleyes:

Adamocovic

No point reading into that game.

Two teams not fairly pushed. Colombia will be a big test for England

Adamocovic

Glebee wrote: »

Christ therE talking some rot on UTV.

Basically just cutting into Pickford

Berserker

Think we have enough in our XI to get past Columbia but they are they type of team that we have a habit of getting knocked out by. Not looking past that right now. We need to keep our XI fit and well. Not enough in the rest of our squad to progress.

delaad

TheCitizen wrote: »

Colombia will put England out. Dunphy and his protoge Sadlier are trolling

Sadlier is sadly transparent as a troll

S. Goodspeed

Just having to beat Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden / Switzerland to make a WC is really as easy a draw you could hope for. Colombia are v good but that’s the least you’d expect in a World Cup

"A remarkable nuisance"

gmisk

S. Goodspeed wrote: »

Just having to beat Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden / Switzerland to make a WC is really as easy a draw you could hope for. Colombia are v good but that’s the least you’d expect in a World Cup

Minus James Rodriguez though possibly that could make a big difference

Adamocovic

S. Goodspeed wrote: »

Just having to beat Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden / Switzerland to make a WC is really as easy a draw you could hope for. Colombia are v good but that’s the least you’d expect in a World Cup

That would take them to semi finals where they would face more than likely Spain.

But let's not jump the gun. Have to beat Colombia and I think a few more shocks are coming in this WC

Chardee MacDennis

citytillidie wrote: »

Top half
last 16
Uruguay V Portugal
France V Argentina
Brazil V Mexico
Belgium V Japan

Quarter Final
Uruguay/Portugal V France/Argentina
Brazil/Mexico V Belgium/Japan

Bottom Half
Last 16
Spain V Russia
Croatia V Denmark
Sweden V Switzerland
Colombia V England

Quarter Final
Spain/Russia V Croatia/Denmark
Sweden/Switzerland V Colombia/England

There is a lot of redundant information there...

Think it benefits England to lose tonight

Give's them that slap of reality after fapping themselves silly over beating a dreadful side in the previous match

Interesting to see how the English media flip flops this one

jbt123

I think the outcome of England and Colombia centers around two players. Kane and James R. It's quite apparent there is a problem with the fitness of James and without him performing I think this is a difficult match up. From what I've seen Colombia aren't that all creative and I think England can contain them.

Regarding the second player, well just like Spurs, England are a different team with him. He inspires confidence in the team as the players would feel that he will score. The corollary of this, is that opposition defenders fear him.

Colombias defence imho, with Ospina in goal, won't keep him at bay.

I think England will progress, and Good Luck to them. I will be cheering them on.

Hitchens

Group stage over ...... withdrawal symptoms beginning already :eek:

CantGetNoSleep

Hitchens wrote: »

Group stage over ...... withdrawal symptoms beginning already :eek:

What are we supposed to do tomorrow?

jbt123

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What are we supposed to do tomorrow?

Go to a League of Ireland game.

irishguitarlad

Colombia will beat England. They'll keep It tight for 70 mins, then score from a set play.

cj maxx

S. Goodspeed wrote: »

Just having to beat Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden / Switzerland to make a WC is really as easy a draw you could hope for. Colombia are v good but that’s the least you’d expect in a World Cup

I don’t think Columbia are VERY good .

irishguitarlad

I also think as well that we're all saying that England have it easy on this side of the draw but I think that the other teams on this side of the draw with the likes of sweden an switzerland must be thinking that they'll never get a better chance as well.

FourFourRED

cjmc wrote: »

I don’t think Columbia are VERY good .

England might not be very good either. We have to wait and see. I think it could be very evenly matched - if I was putting money on it. Columbia by 1 goal.

justshane

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What are we supposed to do tomorrow?

Dundalk v Cork City will be a cracker, one point separating the top two.

~Rebel~

cjmc wrote: »

I don’t think Columbia are VERY good .

All comes down to James Rodriguez really I think. If he's fit, it's a very tough game. If he's injured, have to fancy England. They just look a totally different team without him.

MarkY91

England in that side of the draw is a little worrying. Even getting to the semis, it will be unbearable having to see the ****e they say and do online. Still think they have little to no chance of winning it.

MarkY91

MarkY91 wrote: »

England in that side of the draw is a little worrying. Even getting to the semis, it will be unbearable having to see the ****e they say and do online. Still think they have little to no chance of winning it.

I dunno, while I don't think they'll win it (I think Brazil are the standout), there's no reason they can't make the semis.

I don't think there's too many teams that are way ahead of them.

An Ciarraioch

MarkY91 wrote: »

England in that side of the draw is a little worrying. Even getting to the semis, it will be unbearable having to see the ****e they say and do online. Still think they have little to no chance of winning it.

The UK press are already going with the "lucky losers" line:

https://mobile.twitter.com/BBCHelenaLee/status/1012449882253250560

jacool

RoboKlopp wrote: »

I dunno, while I don't think they'll win it (I think Brazil are the standout), there's no reason they can't make the semis.

I don't think there's too many teams that are way ahead of them.

I have both Colombia and Croatia ahead of England just to pick two.
Colombia will be playing through the English midfield and England's back 4, bar Maguire, would not inspire confidence.

I can see 3 penalty shoot outs in these 8 games.

MarkY91

RoboKlopp wrote: »

I dunno, while I don't think they'll win it (I think Brazil are the standout), there's no reason they can't make the semis.

I don't think there's too many teams that are way ahead of them.

I give them a far better chance than I did before the tournament started.

It feels like the year of the underdog. No "favourite" had impressed me at all so far. Croatia are most impressive. Followed by Belgium

The fear is real!!!!!

sligeach

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What are we supposed to do tomorrow?

jbt123 wrote: »

Go to a League of Ireland game.

Or go to a comedy gig. Same thing really.

Although, having said, there were 1 or 2 WC group games that weren't great either.

sligeach

Colombia without James Rodriguez is like England without Harry Kane.

It's a poor English side that still seem unsure of tactics and formation.

I kinda like them, but see them as a bit behind Croatia and Spain, and hardly much better than any other team on their side of the draw. The teams of '90 or '02 or even '10 had some fine players and/or managers who had proper CVs, this has Harry Kane...it's not enough, they have done little more than expected so far.

Adamocovic

There is no point of analysing either Belgium or England on yesterdays game.

Both sets were very pally before kick-off (something unexpected at a WC) and it was both their second teams. Only point of discussion I think would be the squad depth.

I can understand some analysis of Pickford, that would be about it. First time being tested and while he made some decent stops he kept knocking it back into the danger area rather than to safety. Do that against top teams get punished.

The first rounds of knockouts will be very interesting. This WC is one of the most wide-open in recent memories for me. Wouldn't at all be surprised to see Belgium and England face off again in the final or third place playoff, but also wouldn't be overly surprised to see both getting knocked out straight away, such has been the way the tournament has gone.

Adamocovic

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a poor English side that still seem unsure of tactics and formation.

I kinda like them, but see them as a bit behind Croatia and Spain, and hardly much better than any other team on their side of the draw. The teams of '90 or '02 or even '10 had some fine players and/or managers who had proper CVs, this has Harry Kane...it's not enough, they have done little more than expected so far.

One of the problems with England is they have a long history of picking the best players rather than best team. They also have admitted openly that they kept in groups due to their club rivalries rather than a united sort of atmosphere.

To be fair to Southgate he seems like he has the stones to play the players best suited to his plan rather than based on their name, something I had doubted. He hasn't been afraid to put players in with little caps under their belts, and seems to have created a good atmosphere in the team.

That being said I believe his main aim was to have a good WC then focus on the Euros, with the young squad they have. With how it's worked out England are getting ahead of themselves and now expectations are on going all the way. With their draw people are saying how easy a run in it is, so if they fail that will multiply their disappointment and backlash with "what could have been".

I rarely agree with Slaven Bilic but I found myself doing so the other day. Discussion was about the quality players some teams have and how they are slipping up to teams deemed to have less quality. He highlighted that in World Cups passion, team spirit and willingness to leave it all on the pitch are huge factors. Pretty much the sum over the individuals.

Now we won't know how far this England squad are capable of until we see how they perform in the knockouts, it's same really with all nations at this point, but Southgate to his credit does seem to be focusing more on building a team mentality, chemistry and atmosphere as opposed to previous England squads who thought they could get by on talent alone, and then got rudely awakened.

On England relying on Kane, you could argue that Brazil rely on Neymar a lot, Argentina on Messi, Colombia on James, Portugal on Ronaldo. Most of the top teams left tend to have one incredibly influential player. The task for the teams who want to progress now is for them to play to the best of their abilities to get that talisman opportunities.

ebbsy

Sweden will not be easily beaten. Beat Italy over 2 legs , qualified from a group with Germany.

They could go far.

ThunbergsAreGo

Adamocovic wrote: »

There is no point of analysing either Belgium or England on yesterdays game.

Both sets were very pally before kick-off (something unexpected at a WC) and it was both their second teams. Only point of discussion I think would be the squad depth.

I can understand some analysis of Pickford, that would be about it. First time being tested and while he made some decent stops he kept knocking it back into the danger area rather than to safety. Do that against top teams get punished.

The first rounds of knockouts will be very interesting. This WC is one of the most wide-open in recent memories for me. Wouldn't at all be surprised to see Belgium and England face off again in the final or third place playoff, but also wouldn't be overly surprised to see both getting knocked out straight away, such has been the way the tournament has gone.

I thought ITVs coverage and analysis was very balanced after the game last night

Adamocovic

ebbsy wrote: »

Sweden will not be easily beaten. Beat Italy over 2 legs , qualified from a group with Germany.

They could go far.

Sweden would fancy their chances against England I reckon more so than Colombia.

It's always close between England and Sweden. Pretty sure in last 10 meetings.

Sweden: 3
England: 2
Draw: 5

But they haven't played each other now in nearly 6 years. However for Sweden, Switzerland will not be push overs. They are a good team and will be hard bet.

Adamocovic

naughtb4 wrote: »

I thought ITVs coverage and analysis was very balanced after the game last night

Wasn't referring to ITV in my post, meant the fans who are over-analysing what was a glorified friendly at the end.

ITV were ok. Hated the accusations by Neville that Belgium didn't want to win the game, made it even funnier when they scored. Overall they were quite pragmatic, in regards that they need to focus on Colombia.

I know it can be hard for them, as former internationals and supporting their country. I did agree with their concerns around Pickford. Very good keeper but get the ball to safety after making the save was very poor yesterday, can see Colombia pouncing on that, shoot from long range and then float about looking for James to stab it in.

Zico !

I think Sweden would beat England well hopefully anyway

GavRedKing

I think the Swiss will beat Sweden, remember the group stages, they finished on 27 points, it was a poor enough group but they still managed to beat Portugal.

I dont think England will have it all their own way.

On ITV last night you had Gary Neville, whos usually a bit more clued in, saying it was a case of "just" beating Colombia and Swizz or Sweden and you're in a semi final.

Well no s**t, Gary and I applaud their optimism but in the Euros it was a case of just beating Iceland too and that didnt exactly go to plan.

The media make it very hard to cheer or wish England well IMO, they've a more humble attitude than in previous years but now the mask is slipping and theyre nearly painting themselves as WC semi finalists without kicking a ball.

ThunbergsAreGo

Adamocovic wrote: »

Wasn't referring to ITV in my post, meant the fans who are over-analysing what was a glorified friendly at the end.

ITV were ok. Hated the accusations by Neville that Belgium didn't want to win the game, made it even funnier when they scored. Overall they were quite pragmatic, in regards that they need to focus on Colombia.

I know it can be hard for them, as former internationals and supporting their country. I did agree with their concerns around Pickford. Very good keeper but get the ball to safety after making the save was very poor yesterday, can see Colombia pouncing on that, shoot from long range and then float about looking for James to stab it in.

Oh i know, I was just surprised at it.

I think that people are quick to jump on the "British Media" narrative whereas ours if we had any chance would do the same thing. Wait for the Rugby World Cup as an example, a team that have never won a knock out game will be feted as actual winners :D:D:D

In reality the tabloids will go over the top as this is what they exist to do, so far most of the analysis by people that know what they are talking about has been balanced and reasoned.

The Pickford point is a good one, its a clear weakness in his game. Likely from having tiny arms

GavRedKing

I dont rate Pickford at all, although England arent exactly blessed with a pool of good GKs.

I think his height is his biggest weakness, I dont think hes got the stature to be a top class GK and he made some questionable decisions last night about parrying shots back into dangerous areas.

I reckon a bigger GK, with a better reach saves Januzaj shot.

ThunbergsAreGo

GavRedKing wrote: »

I dont rate Pickford at all, although England arent exactly blessed with a pool of good GKs.

I think his height is his biggest weakness, I dont think hes got the stature to be a top class GK and he made some questionable decisions last night about parrying shots back into dangerous areas.

I reckon a bigger GK, with a better reach saves Januzaj shot.

I tend to agree, hes a good, but not top class goalkeeper.

At this stage though they really need to stick with him for the rest of the tournament

elefant

GavRedKing wrote: »

I dont rate Pickford at all, although England arent exactly blessed with a pool of good GKs.

I think his height is his biggest weakness, I dont think hes got the stature to be a top class GK and he made some questionable decisions last night about parrying shots back into dangerous areas.

I reckon a bigger GK, with a better reach saves Januzaj shot.

Courtois would have controlled it on his chest.