The Soccer Thread

D

Dr Mantis Toboggan

Pelican
Catholic
Gold Member
budoslavic

budoslavic

Eagle
Orthodox
Gold Member
LoveBug said:
man.....
Click to expand...
Yep, you got that right. That indeed is a man.
ELN9M_HWsAApFOG
 
Last edited:
Tardynox

Tardynox

Woodpecker
Orthodox Inquirer
Thread seems dead, so let me try to revive it.

Who is gonna win the World Cup this year?

France is really solid, and have an endless squad depth (pretty much the Manchester City of country football), but given what keeps happening to those who win a world cup I wouldn't be surprised to see them go out early.

On the other hand Brazil and Argentina have been on fire of course, Brazil also have an endless squad depth but maybe not as much quality as France. Argentina doesn't have a huge selection of players like France or Brazil, but they are all hard workers and rise to the ocassion if needed.

Then we have a countries like England, Germany and Spain which have all been doing decently well, just that they haven't really shown themselves. I always find England a bit overrated because the Englishmen always tend to overhype their team a lot, but Spain has been playing really attractive football having their coach who led Barca to another CL title in 2015. Germany also have Flick who of course went on an unreal run in 2019/2020, destroying teams left right and centre (Tottenham 7-2, Barca 8-2, etc.) So who knows these may "surprise".

Then we have outsiders such as Portugal, the Netherlands (my country), Croatia and maybe Belgium, though the latter are definitely over their golden generation and returning to becoming somewhat of a mediocre footballing nation like they always were. Portugal could also come far will their coach not mess up, since they have a golden generation now. The Netherlands could maybe come far if Memphis doesn't disappear in big matches like he always does, but the team seems to be in good form now and Van Gaal is polishing it, so who knows. Croatia were the finalists of last World Cup, and they still have all the star players they had last run.

Otherwise you could maybe have a country like Senegal causing a surprise, and maybe a country like Uruguay, Serbia, Denmark or Switzerland could bring a pleasant surprise.

Anyhow let's hope it's gonna be a fun world cup and also for the fact that half of the players would be laying dead due to heart attacks.
 
fireshark

fireshark

Kingfisher
Other Christian
If the US had a quality striker, we could be a pleasant surprise this WC, but we don't, so we wont. The striker position has been a disaster for the US during qualifying. It's a shame because our midfield and wings are pretty stacked. Defense is a little shaky, but not terrible.

Denmark is looking really good. Wouldn't be surprised if they make it to the semi-finals but I think Argentina or Brazil will win it all this year and the Cup will go back to South America for the first time in a while.

Portugal has a quality team but a long history of choking. This is definitely the last time they will have Ronaldo, so I expect them to try their absolute hardest to get that man some silverware. Same could be said for Argentina and Messi.

Of the remaining outsiders (Netherlands, Croatia, Uruguay, Belgium etc.) I'd pick Croatia and Netherlands to have the deepest run.
 
EuropeanCanon

EuropeanCanon

Woodpecker
Trad Catholic
I haven't been keeping up with the football lately, I got super turned off by the empty stadiums once the so called pandemic started. Turns out the fans are super important to football - who knew??!?! The other thing that has been really annoying me in football is the damned video referee - thats been a disaster for football just like most people thought it would be. The VAR robbed Croatia at the last world cup who were the best team in Russia IMHO. England won't win because they always fall apart when the pressure is on but that is what makes them entertaining for me. The wildcard in this tournament is the host, not in footballing terms but in terms of who will adjust the best to the conditions and the atmosphere at the games. I would like to see Messi win with Argentina or Ronaldo with Portugal, just because those guys have both been so phenomenal for so long and its the one piece of silverware they have not got their hands on.
 
911

911

Peacock
Catholic
Gold Member
EuropeanCanon

EuropeanCanon

Woodpecker
Trad Catholic
911 said:
Here are the Vegas odds:
Belgium Portugal and Holland are good buys, England very overrated, Brazil somewhat overrated.
Click to expand...
England +550??? LOL good they are getting overhyped again. Get our your weeping bowls England, you're gonna need them
 
Z

Zagor

Kingfisher
Croatia is probably not going to fare well this tournament, but you never know. We always play bellow average prior to the tournament, but then rise to the occasion. This time our defence is average and we have no striker, but the midfield is still world class. It will largely depend on the form of our main players. If Modric and Perisic show up on top their game, anything is possible.
 
Tardynox

Tardynox

Woodpecker
Orthodox Inquirer
911 said:
Here are the Vegas odds:
Belgium Portugal and Holland are good buys, England very overrated, Brazil somewhat overrated.
Click to expand...
Those damned Englishmen, always so proud about their premier league too whilst it's literally all foreigners. Would be funny to see them flop early but don't see it happening perse, I'd expect them to begin faltering in the quarter finals, and maybe if they're lucky get into the semi's. No way they'd be getting any further though.
 
Tardynox

Tardynox

Woodpecker
Orthodox Inquirer
Prosciutto Crudo said:
Brazil.

I don't know anything or care about soccer but Brazil will win anyway.

The game is rigged.
Click to expand...
Brazil hasn't won the World Cup in 20 years, maybe they will this time around because the climate isn't too bad to them. But the world cup is still just a good deal of luck and maybe having the referee on your side, so we'll see.
 
Tardynox

Tardynox

Woodpecker
Orthodox Inquirer
Viktor Zeegelaar said:
Holland has a good defense and midfield, attack mediocre though, while in the past it was always upside down. But we have Lowie from Gahl as coach again so that was a good surprise in 2014 :).
Click to expand...
Memphis is especially poopy yeah, only really scored in the easy matches (unless there is a penalty). Bergwijn is solid though, even though he isn't getting time at Tottenham. Otherwise we have pinchhitters Luuk and Weghorst, but besides thats all we have. Unless they play Berghuis or Klaassen in the attack.

We also might have the best defense in the world to be honest, but midfield does lack some depth.
 
B

bubs

Woodpecker
Protestant
France in 2018…I referred to them as the “African immigrant Allstars”. Seems most of their best players were African, whether 1st or 2nd generation I don’t know but few on the squad looked like Frenchmen.
 
B

bubs

Woodpecker
Protestant
Tardynox said:
Also guys, what do you think of the Nations League?
Click to expand...
I watch USMNT vs San Salvador last night. What a mess of a field from the rain. Was painful to watch, looked like a hack High School soccer match. I think Musah has been progressing well as an attacking center midfielder. Doing well in transition into the attacking 3rd. Agree we still need a forward that can put the ball in the net on a regular basis. The missing link. Just glad they finally got Zardes out of the mix and looking at others.
 
Top