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OT: Official 2018 World Cup Thread

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RuSnp

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rutger80 said:
Argentina is in deep trouble. Down 2-0 with 8 minutes to go
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As I said after the Iceland match Argentina is overrated. I actually don't think Croatia is anything special either but kudos to them.

What this does though if Spain ends as group winner they look to have a nice potential path to the finals (likely Russia - Croatia - England).

Contrast that with Brazil that might have to go Germany - Belgium - France.
 
M

mildone_rivals

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Argentina looked awful in that match. Just awful. Poor coaching, poor playing, poor sportsmanship at the end.

Messi's work rate was totally non-existent. There was very little movement off the ball on offense, and very lazy passing, which made Croatia's defensive pressure succeed too easily.

Oh, and Lalas is an idiot.
 
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R

rutgersguy1_rivals

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RuSnp said:
As I said after the Iceland match Argentina is overrated. I actually don't think Croatia is anything special either but kudos to them.

What this does though if Spain ends as group winner they look to have a nice potential path to the finals (likely Russia - Croatia - England).

Contrast that with Brazil that might have to go Germany - Belgium - France.
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Good call on Argentina.

So who's crying for them? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I don't watch a lot of soccer but feel like Croatia usually has a capable team.
 
R

RU848789

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Jul 27, 2001
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rutger80 said:
Argentina is in deep trouble. Down 2-0 with 8 minutes to go
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Imagine if Yugoslavia still existed - at a minimum you'd get the best of both Serbia and Croatia, two pretty strong teams. Just watched the replay of the Croatia-Argentina match - just horrible, especially that inexcusable first goal.
 
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R

RU1977

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I guess the Argentinians are going to be paying attention to the Iceland-Nigeria game today?
 
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R

RU848789

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Brazil dominating play, especially at the start of the 2nd half, but still 0-0 (Jesus just hit the crossbar), as Navas is playing well in goal. Costa Rica playing very conservatively although they could've easily had a goal early on on a counter (shot wide).
 
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RuSnp

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RU848789 said:
Brazil dominating play, especially at the start of the 2nd half, but still 0-0 (Jesus just hit the crossbar), as Navas is playing well in goal. Costa Rica playing very conservatively although they could've easily had a goal early on on a counter (shot wide).
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Tough start for the South American sides. Only Uruguay with a win so far?
 
R

RU848789

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And a 2nd goal in stoppage time, this one for Neymar. Nice to see him get a goal given how hard he's been hounded and fouled, so far.
 
R

RU848789

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Is anyone, other than people from Nigeria, not rooting for Iceland, the smallest country, by population (340,000 people), in the history of the World Cup? Great fun to watch and their fans are just nuts. Thunderclap!!
 
e5fdny

e5fdny

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RU848789 said:
Is anyone, other than people from Nigeria, not rooting for Iceland, the smallest country, by population (340,000 people), in the history of the World Cup? Great fun to watch and their fans are just nuts. Thunderclap!!
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It was reported 99.6% of the population was watching the Argentina game on TV.

The other .4%? Either playing in it or sitting in the stands.
 
R

RU848789

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Missed PK and a missed point blank shot from the wing in the last 10 minutes. Could've made the endgame more interesting if at least one of those is a goal.
 
R

RU848789

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Really thought Serbia would win after that first goal, but Switzerland really stormed back in the 2nd half and Shaqiri's goal in the 90th minute to win it was one of the best of the tournament so far. Two gorgeous passes from the Swiss end of the field to Shaqiri breaking behind the defense just beyond midfield and then him motoring 50+ yards with a defender on his back and putting the ball into the net.

 
W

wcfan10

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Argentina had a horrible friendly game record and also struggled mightily tp qualify to the WC, So why would you think they would impress at WC?
 
R

RuSnp

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RU848789 said:
Really thought Serbia would win after that first goal, but Switzerland really stormed back in the 2nd half and Shaqiri's goal in the 90th minute to win it was one of the best of the tournament so far. Two gorgeous passes from the Swiss end of the field to Shaqiri breaking behind the defense just beyond midfield and then him motoring 50+ yards with a defender on his back and putting the ball into the net.

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Tunisia is really impressing me. They could have rolled over down 2-0 but they are competing. Probably wont matter in this match ultimately (and since they need points it might get ugly) but you put this team in Group A or H and some others they advance IMO.
 
MadRU

MadRU

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RuSnp said:
Tunisia is really impressing me. They could have rolled over down 2-0 but they are competing. Probably wont matter in this match ultimately (and since they need points it might get ugly) but you put this team in Group A or H and some others they advance IMO.
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Good going forward but not defending. England had many early opportunities that they failed to finish. Hazard also had another opportunity that he should have finished.
 
R

RuSnp

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wcfan10 said:
Argentina had a horrible friendly game record and also struggled mightily tp qualify to the WC, So why would you think they would impress at WC?
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MadRU said:
Good going forward but not defending. England had many early opportunities that they failed to finish. Hazard also had another opportunity that he should have finished.
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I missed the England match but could definitely see that. No doubt drawing England and Belgium to start is about as bad as it gets.
 
R

RU848789

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Shows you how good Belgium really is, because Tunisia has some talent and skill. The speed with which Belgium can strike is astounding, especially with guys like Hazard and Lukaku being fed by De Bruyne and others. 4-1 now. Could see Belgium winning the whole thing - have always loved watching Hazard and De Bruyne, but seeing them together now is cool - they're my "dark horse" to win and the team I'm mildly rooting for.
 
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rutgersguy1_rivals

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RU848789 said:
Shows you how good Belgium really is, because Tunisia has some talent and skill. The speed with which Belgium can strike is astounding, especially with guys like Hazard and Lukaku being fed by De Bruyne and others. 4-1 now. Could see Belgium winning this one - have always loved watching Hazard and De Bruyne, but seeing them together now is cool - they're my "dark horse" to win and the team I'm mildly rooting for.
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They've looked very good and I think can win it all too. Some of their strikes just come boom almost off a dime. Defensively, I don't know if they're all that strong though.
 
MadRU

MadRU

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This generation of Belgium players has been called the golden generation. They have underperformed as a team so far. Will be interesting to see how they advance. Not really a dark horse as they have a lot of talent. Seems like Henry has their respect, not super impressed with Martinez as coach.

Been watching them closely for years since they have several Spurs players.
 
R

RU848789

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MadRU said:
This generation of Belgium players has been called the golden generation. They have underperformed as a team so far. Will be interesting to see how they advance. Not really a dark horse as they have a lot of talent. Seems like Henry has their respect, not super impressed with Martinez as coach.

Been watching them closely for years since they have several Spurs players.
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That's why I had dark horse in quotes. Hard to be a true dark horse when you're a top 5 ranked team, but given how poorly they've usually done in the World Cup (best finish the semis in '84 and have rarely made it out of the group stage), I feel like they're still not that well respected.

By the way, this Mexico-South Korea match has been quite entertaining with Mexico up 1-0 on a PK (clear handball), but SK making some nice runs and counterattacks. Great end to end action.
 
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