In other, more familiar financial terms "Past performance is no guarantee of future results"
Stated in true e-r.org fashion!
World Cup Football/Soccer 2018
- Thread starter candrew
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Stated in true e-r.org fashion!
We can't beat Sweden most likely
We watched yesterday's England/Colombia match with a group of Brits. To a person, all of them nodded in resignation at Colombia's tying goal. Certain were they all to the very end that England would find a way to f*ck it up and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
NameRedacted
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I think this has been the most enjoyable World Cup I've ever seen. Lots of drama, last minute goals and unexpected results. I can only remember 3-4 games that were dull.
I thought I'd put together my (albeit very biased) list of the 10 best incidents/moments so far. In no particular order:
1. England winning the penalty shootout against Colombia.
This had a high probability of being the worst moment for me too. Also, from the same match, honorable mention to Colombia's equalizer in injury time and Pickford's amazing save that generated the corner the goal was scored from in the first place.
2. Harry Kane's winning goal against Tunisia in injury time.
England would have been reduced to qualifying on goal difference. Also, Tunisia may have tried harder against Belgium - setting up England-Belgium as a must win game for England.
3. Kroos' last minute winner against Sweden.
Much as I dislike Germany - this was just amazing drama. Practically last kick of the game and down to 10 men.
4. Ronaldo's last minute equalizer against Spain.
Don't like Ronaldo much but that was just brilliant.
5. Son's goal against Germany.
With the added benefit of Neuer looking like a complete idiot. Turned Germany's victory against Sweden bitter-sweet and made Mexico's day.
6. Russia eliminating Spain on penalties.
This after Spain bored everyone to death for 2 hours trying to pass the ball into the back of the net. Tika-taka is a means to an end not the end itself.
7. Belgium's comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Japan.
Especially like the part Lukaku played in that last goal. Really unselfish for a striker.
8. Mbappe's performance against Argentina.
Amazing to think Argentina only lost 4-3.
9. Portugal 1-1 Iran.
Two incidents here. The Iranian goalkeeper saving Ronaldo's penalty and Quaresma's beautiful goal.
10. Neymar getting carried off unconscious on a stretcher after a collision with Fellaini against Belgium.
Ok I may just have dreamt that last one
There have been lots of other memorable moments, way too may to fit on the fingers of two hands.
I thought I'd put together my (albeit very biased) list of the 10 best incidents/moments so far. In no particular order:
1. England winning the penalty shootout against Colombia.
This had a high probability of being the worst moment for me too. Also, from the same match, honorable mention to Colombia's equalizer in injury time and Pickford's amazing save that generated the corner the goal was scored from in the first place.
2. Harry Kane's winning goal against Tunisia in injury time.
England would have been reduced to qualifying on goal difference. Also, Tunisia may have tried harder against Belgium - setting up England-Belgium as a must win game for England.
3. Kroos' last minute winner against Sweden.
Much as I dislike Germany - this was just amazing drama. Practically last kick of the game and down to 10 men.
4. Ronaldo's last minute equalizer against Spain.
Don't like Ronaldo much but that was just brilliant.
5. Son's goal against Germany.
With the added benefit of Neuer looking like a complete idiot. Turned Germany's victory against Sweden bitter-sweet and made Mexico's day.
6. Russia eliminating Spain on penalties.
This after Spain bored everyone to death for 2 hours trying to pass the ball into the back of the net. Tika-taka is a means to an end not the end itself.
7. Belgium's comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Japan.
Especially like the part Lukaku played in that last goal. Really unselfish for a striker.
8. Mbappe's performance against Argentina.
Amazing to think Argentina only lost 4-3.
9. Portugal 1-1 Iran.
Two incidents here. The Iranian goalkeeper saving Ronaldo's penalty and Quaresma's beautiful goal.
10. Neymar getting carried off unconscious on a stretcher after a collision with Fellaini against Belgium.
Ok I may just have dreamt that last one
There have been lots of other memorable moments, way too may to fit on the fingers of two hands.
Yup. People at work doubted me when I predicted right after we scored that Colombia would equalize in stoppage time
How we won on penalties, I will never know !
NameRedacted
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I've never liked deciding a match on penalties. Football's bad enough in that a fortuitous bounce or deflection can win or lose a match but penalties seem almost random.
However, back in 1996 Southgate, the current England manager, missed a penalty against Germany and England were eliminated. I can imagine he's thought about that moment every day since then. Replaying it over and over and thinking about what he could have done differently.
He realized that while there is still a lot of luck involved, there are things that you can do to improve your chances. He had the players practice penalties at the end of heavy training sessions when their legs are tired, having them start in the center circle and make the long walk to the penalty spot. He even had them tell the goalkeeper in advance which way they were going to shoot to make it more difficult. He had them decide ahead of time, before the match, where they were going to shoot and stick to that so they didn't have to think about it in the heat of the moment. He had them slow down and stay composed, pause for a while before shooting - against Germany his own experience was that he just wanted to get it over with as fast as possible and rushed it. He had the team psychologist talk to the players, teaching them ways to stay composed under pressure. He had the sequence of penalty takers worked out before the match started so there would be no last minute surprises. In the past the manager or captain would ask for volunteers after extra time ended. He had Jordan Pickford get the ball and hand it directly to the players so they wouldn't have to break their routine, incidentally preventing the Colombia goalkeeper from doing that.
All of this increased England's chances of winning ever so slightly.
Of course, penalties still have luck involved and my biggest concern is that England won't fear penalties any more and won't press as hard to win the game in normal time.
Some of that randomness in the taking of penalties is not for a lack of attempts by players to increase one's odds for success as you have pointed out. The same can be said for goalkeepers.
The Laws of the Game were modified years ago requiring goalkeepers to remain on the goal line with both feet until the ball was touched by the player taking the shot along with permitting keepers to move laterally on the goal line prior to the shot being taken. Goalkeepers advancing off their line ahead of the ball being struck became a point of emphasis for referees and we were instructed to strictly interpret the Law and sanction accordingly.
Several years after that change, the Law regarding the taking of a penalty was further modified permitting the player taking the penalty to stutter step in a feinting manner in the run-up to the ball. However, feinting to kick the ball once the kicker has completed the run-up” is an offence. A complaint that was made by Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel at the taking of Kramaric's penalty (Kramaric in fact only feinted "during" his run-up to the ball).
There have been several instances of goalkeepers "cheating" on penalties in this WC by coming off their lines in advance of the ball being struck. Perhaps the most egregious example was at the taking of a penalty by Ronaldo when the Iranian keeper, who stood a half-foot behind his goal line, advanced forward ahead of the shot to cut down the angle and ultimately made the save.
Some will argue that goalkeepers are already at a great disadvantage and that skilled players taking a penalty should easily score despite the goalkeeper advancing. Kjaer, for Denmark, scored his penalty in the shootout, despite the advances of the Croatian keeper, Subasic. OTH, Schöne's penalty attempt was denied by Subasic who was well off his line.
VAR is not used during kicks from the mark and there is no provision in the VAR process employed at the World Cup for a review of the goalkeeper’s position. Thus, the onus for deciding fair or foul on kicks from the mark falls entirely on the shoulders of the referees on the field.
The Laws of the Game require referees to caution goalkeepers for coming off their line as well as players taking penalties for stopping, then restarting their approach to the ball. I suspect this may be part of the reason there is a reluctance on the part of referees to sanction goalkeepers as YC accumulation could result in match suspension.
Should kicks from the mark be necessary to decide any matches in the quarterfinals and beyond, it will be interesting to see how referees manage any sort of "cheating" on the part of keepers and if this becomes a point of emphasis on the part of FIFA tournament officials and referee administrators. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for the FIFA referee briefings that take place ahead of the next round of matches.
Agreed. We actually looked pretty good taking the penalties compared to previous attempts
Hilarious! Yet at the same time, not so much.
Neymar's "yoga" routine in the 2nd half vs Mexico consumed a full 4 minutes disrupting the entire tempo of the match. I'm pretty sure he went through every pose depicted in the above photo.
Neymar's "yoga" routine in the 2nd half vs Mexico consumed a full 4 minutes disrupting the entire tempo of the match. I'm pretty sure he went through every pose depicted in the above photo.
Texas Proud
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I read that some TV station has determined that he has spent over 14 minutes rolling around on the ground... plus whatever extra time is needed to get everybody back and ready to play the game...
Just watched France have a well deserved win.
Felt Uruguay got dangerously physical when it turned against them. Felt the same way in the Colombia-England match as well.
That scrum around the referee after the Mbappe incident was a farce. Should have been a lot of yellows handed out there, on both sides.
Felt Uruguay got dangerously physical when it turned against them. Felt the same way in the Colombia-England match as well.
That scrum around the referee after the Mbappe incident was a farce. Should have been a lot of yellows handed out there, on both sides.
Question on yellow cards
I thought yellow cards reset after this round, so no players miss a semifinal or final for accumulating 2 cards. The Fox announcer said multiple times there was a risk of players missing the semifinal for yellow card. Is this so?
I thought yellow cards reset after this round, so no players miss a semifinal or final for accumulating 2 cards. The Fox announcer said multiple times there was a risk of players missing the semifinal for yellow card. Is this so?
A few observations from a referee's standpoint on today's match. Let me start by offering an opinion that Argentine referee Nestor Pitana did not look consistently strong today.
- In the 9th and 10th minutes were two fouls that IMO required the referee to YC. The first was committed against Hernandez of France, the second against Suarez of Uruguay. Both fouls were reckless, contact from behind and below the waist. To Pitana's credit, he became very animated after the foul on Suarez. His body language sent a message to players, "enough of this sh*t". However, his failure to issue cautions for both came back later to bite him.
I am wondering if Pitana's decision not to caution in those instances was influenced by FIFA match commissioners and referee administrators having communicated expectations to referees that YC & RC sanctions be sparing. I believe there have only been 4 send-offs in this WC. We saw clearly in the England/Colombia match a head butt in the penalty area prior to a restart that should have been communicated by VAR to the referee and resulted in a send-off for VC.
- Re: the mass confrontation of players. I thought that Pitana could have handled it much better and may have settled matters down more immediately by issuing YC's to Pogba and Godín who basically followed Pitana all the time he's trying to restore order, even after they received multiple gestures to stay away. The confrontation took place on AR1's touchline, directly in front of him. He should have been on the field assisting Pitana with restoring order.
This erosion of respect for refereeing and lack of acceptance for decisions made on the field is continuing. I believe it is FIFA’s lenient approach in an effort to please “industrial” soccer that is causing it. IOW, Mr. Referee, best that you make sure all 22 players remain on the pitch - or else.
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Correct. YC accumulation will result in suspension for the semi for those players whose teams advance. YC accumulation resets after the quarters so that no player will miss out on the final as a result.
Yes. Not having Cavani for their relatively thin squad hurt their chances.
Here's how I'd like to see it play out...
Belgium beat Brazil
England beat Sweden
Russia beat Croatia
France beats Belgium
England beats Russia
France vs England final
Here's how I'd like to see it play out...
Belgium beat Brazil
England beat Sweden
Russia beat Croatia
France beats Belgium
England beats Russia
France vs England final
I'd rather see a Belgium v England final, but that's because Belgium is my dark horse pick to win this WC. But at the same time, I'm good with France as long as Brazil gets knocked out. Your pick for Russia beating Croatia is a gutsy call, BTW.
Glad to see that the Belgian is through to the semis. Neymar should have been cautioned for simulation in the 1st half that would have resulted in his suspension for the next match had Brazil gone through.
As it is, the Belgium side took care of administering that bit of futbol justice.
As it is, the Belgium side took care of administering that bit of futbol justice.
Corporateburnout
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Another WC favorite is out. Courtois is the main reason why Brazil is out. Fantastic saves with last one in extra time the best. It sure has been an exciting tournament....
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I chose Russia since I would rather have England face them than Croatia..
Still, I got the first one right !So that was also a good game this afternoon. The last of the giants is out of the tournament (I no longer consider France a giant of the game and England... well..
)You may not be far off with putting your coins on the Belgians. They looked strong again and seem to have luck on their side too. Defense seemed hard pushed but that was down to a strong, attacking Brasilian style and maybe poor coaching decisions ? I felt it was not a great tactic to get defensive even with a 2 point advantage considering the strength of Brazils forwards (and their ability to theatrically create advantages for themselves)
I like Fellaini as well and also Hazard.
+1
There's an old saying in ice hockey and there's some truth to it in futbol as well - there is nothing so precarious as a 2 goal lead!
In spite of Belgium's more defensive posture late in the match, Brazil was still able to create several dangerous scoring chances. A couple of them lacked for a quality finish and that final save by Courtois was a beauty.
I too like Fellaini's hair. In an earlier post, Nameredacted said that Fellaini needs to be careful that he doesn't allow his 'fro to put him in an offside position!
And yeah - all of that hard work on Hazard's part of winning almost every 50/50 ball while also winning physical battles, holding up possession and drawing fouls won't find their way into any stat sheet, but every one of those helped contribute to Belgium's win today.
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