World Cup Tournament 2018

**OwlsFan** · 04/07/2018, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by seanfhear

They liked better when they gave it a go . Rodriquez would have made a big difference if he was fit and protected by the ref . 4 Years ago the Brazilians thought he was dangerous enough to kick him throughout the game and got away with it .

Brazil are somewhat better this time but not miles better .

Would that be the Rodriquez who the director had a fixation with ? Ridiculous the number of times the camera went on to him sitting, looking at the game.

**OwlsFan** · 05/07/2018, 10:38 AM

Interesting FIFA judging Panels including Peter Schmeichel in the BEST FIFA GOALKEEPER AWARD JUDGING PANEL :O https://www.fifa.com/the-best-fifa-f...judging-panels

**NeverFeltBetter** · 05/07/2018, 11:18 AM

They way they kept cutting to him for every save Kasper made during the Croatia game was a bit much, but I guess the idea of a father and son both being well-regarded international goalkeepers was too much to ignore.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 06/07/2018, 3:30 PM

At the risk of more famous last words, France appear to be heading to the last four without a large amount of fuss, with Uruguay huffing and puffing to have any kind of initiative in the game. Another goalie howler appears to have settled it.

Time to start talking about how likely the remaining teams are to win. France look better than I thought they would, scoring lots and dominating the pace of games. A worse team might have panicked and faded away after going behind in the Last 16 but they passed that test. Conceding three against Argentina raised some question marks about the defence, but they look a lot stronger in the 1/4s.

**osarusan** · 06/07/2018, 4:53 PM

Yeah, Uruguay couldn't even lay a glove on them. France look very composed and also look they have more gears left in them.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 06/07/2018, 6:10 PM

Huge faith shown in Fellaini by starting him, after he helped save the day against Japan. Five minutes in, elbows Neymar in the back of the head.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 06/07/2018, 7:56 PM

That was a fascinating game in terms of Belgium's set-up, keeping Hazard, Lukaku and De Bryne up-front, even while Brazil were laying siege at the other end. At times in the second half it seemed like they were just one decent pass away from killing the game dead, but it was so risky given Brazil's pace and ability to cut through the flanks. Hazard was immense, Lukaku was rubbish. Presumably people will view the France/Belgium winner as the favourite.

Neymar was an embarrassment, diving to try and win a penalty and then in a rush to get the game re-started when he realised the ref was about to go to VAR and catch him out, then claiming he was elbowed in the back near the end. And limping around whenever it suited him, until he has the chance to suddenly race with the ball at his feet. Brazil generally were poor, inept when they weren't cutting through down the left and struggling to deal with the counter-attacks. They've come along from the disaster of four years ago, but this squad isn't winning a World Cup.

Four European semi-finalists. Happened in '34, '66, '82 and '06.

**osarusan** · 06/07/2018, 8:33 PM

Thought Coutinho wasn't great, gave the ball away so much in the second half.

Belgium were better for most of the game, and should probably have finished it on the break but never made the right pass.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/07/2018, 3:50 PM

Very routine win for the English. Sweden did make a few good chances in the second half that shows the England back four is vulnerable, but Pickford is looking very reliable if all else fails.

The Swedes just weren't in enough of the game. Very poor defending for both goals, and the forwards didn't perform. It's obvious to say, but they could have used a Zlatan type.

**osarusan** · 07/07/2018, 3:53 PM

England made that look very easy indeed, made Sweden look so limited. They are very good at smothering the opposition midfield.

Interesting to see how they will fare against Modric and Rakitic if Croatia beat Russia.

They make games kind of dour, and you end up thinking that the teams they beat weren't actually that good after all...but I think England make them look that way.

**pineapple stu** · 07/07/2018, 3:54 PM

Not sure what to make of them tbh. They weren't great in either knock-out game, but their opponents were actively poor in both instances. Did England win, or did Sweden/Croatia lose?

But obviously at this stage, they could well go the whole way. I'm still thinking the France-Belgium semi will provide the winner

**pineapple stu** · 07/07/2018, 7:30 PM

"The last time I saw a team playin in all black was my favourite team, the College of Technology, in the Colleges League"

Glorious

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/07/2018, 7:43 PM

I thought Croatia were the second best team coming out of the group stages, after Belgium, but I'm no longer as impressed. Against Denmark and now Russia they've dominated possession, put together some good passing moves, but they seem either incapable of pulling the trigger when required or finding goal when they do. Even their equaliser was a bit of a fortunate break. If they do win, perhaps they'd have more luck against a less defensively-minded team like England, but as it stands they don't seem like Champions in the making.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/07/2018, 9:00 PM

Croatia it is, but they looked battered by the end of the 120. Will they have the legs for England?

Modric was incredible.

**osarusan** · 07/07/2018, 9:52 PM

Modric was superb, really.

Pleased that Croatia went through, but Russia's honest endeavour was quite endearing by the end though.

**Stuttgart88** · 08/07/2018, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter

Croatia it is, but they looked battered by the end of the 120. Will they have the legs for England?

Modric was incredible.

Hopefully Putin, gracious in defeat, will arrange for a quick visit to the lab in Sochi they used during the Winter Olympics!

**tricky_colour** · 09/07/2018, 12:14 AM

Well the France Belgium game looks like the final, I can see them beating each other into the ground and the losing in the final to England.

I fancied Belgium pre-tournament, that have certainly got the players. They are unbeaten, have came back from 2-0 down
and also hung on v Brazil. So they have every chance of winning it, or maybe Irishman Harry Kane will lift the cup????

**samhaydenjr** · 09/07/2018, 3:33 AM

A little food for thought about the Croatian team and how it relates to Irish football - 21 of Croatia's 23-man squad got their start in the Croatian Leagues, and not just a few games as teenage sensations before being picked up by clubs abroad - multiple seasons, scores of games for most of them. Of the other two, Perisic was a youth player at Hajduk Split while Rakitic was born and raised in Switzerland where he started his senior career. So is the Croatian League a massive league, relative to the LOI, that can afford to hang on to star players for longer? Well... while there are a couple of big clubs and games between these teams attract large attendances, the average attendance for the league as a whole is generally under 3000, only a matter of hundreds more than current LOI Premier averages.

So while the LOI is starting to become a viable option for young Irish players to start their careers before moving to bigger things, it would only take an average increase in attendance of about 1000 to make it a really professional league with the resources to hang on to young talent for longer, which would allow teams to go further in European competition, which would give more resources to hang on to young talent... While Cork City's figures are good, they should be aiming for 4500 as their smallest crowd. In Dublin, a city of over a million people, surely Rovers and Bohs should be able to attract average crowds of at least 4-5000, with the expanded Tallaght filled for Dublin Derbies and title challenge games while Pats should be close to capacity of Inchicore. Limerick should be aiming for 2500, while Sligo are capable of 2500-3000 averages, as they have done before. Once the Brandywell expansion is completed, Derry should aim to come close to capacity for every game. Waterford should also be close to capacity, on average, as they're challenging for a European spot. If this could be achieved and combined with the national youth leagues, then we'd have a proper system for nurturing talent.

**pineapple stu** · 09/07/2018, 6:38 AM

I think that's a little simplistic. An increase of 1,000 per game in the Premier, while it would help of course, wouldn't come near to turning us into the Croatian league, which is exceptional for player development. Gate income is only a small part of clubs' income streams, and they all need to increase, and they're presumably all lower than in Croatia - corporate sponsorship, TV income, European income and, most importantly, transfer income.

Even then, Croatia will have an advantage because it's a low-cost economy, so a European win bonus or a decent transfer fee will go further.

**seanfhear** · 09/07/2018, 8:57 AM

One thing the Croatians have is that bar Modric they are fine Physical Specimens .

Paddy is generally physically smaller than he thinks he is ( except after a few Pints )

This doesn’t seem to hold as much for the Uruguayans but they are football mad and will resort to anything to win for their Country .

You should have seen them 20 / 30 years ago before there was cameras everywhere . Actually they have done well to reign themselves in in these cameras everywhere days .
I suppose having Brazil and Argentina as local competition forces them to raise their game and use all available methods .

They are two fantastic footballing countries and we should learn all that we can from them .