OT: We may win the World Cup in 2026
- Thread starter brad1218
- Start date
It's interesting that the AI answer is that the ref could've given a red, yellow or no card in this situation, but I think you're correct here that it's either red or nothing (it's tough to find an exact official source on this). Regardless, was just looking at this discussion by a high level ref, who said the VAR guidance was misapplied in this case (showing stills and slow motion which "is not aligned with VAR protocols," making it more likely for the red to be called.
VAR review: VAR was uncomfortable with the replays that showed the Bosnian defender's right ankle buckle under contact from Balogun when both players were challenging for the ball. VAR believed Balogun was dangerous in his play and recommended the referee visit the pitchside monitor to review for a possible red card.
Verdict: Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offense. With both players challenging for ball, the contact from Balogun on Muharemovic, while it looked bad in slow motion, was purely accidental and an unfortunate result from two players challenging for possession of the ball in a normal football movement.
VAR made their recommendation to the referee based on slow-motion and still replays, which is not aligned with VAR protocols, as these should be used for only point-of-contact purposes in a red card tackle situation. Once at the screen, however, it would have been a surprise if the referee did not send off Balogun considering the pictures he was presented by VAR.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...ly-red-carded-world-cup-vs-bosnia-herzegovina
So they illegally used screenshots and still frames to make the decision. Both in the booth and on the field. Is that what I’m reading?
Not "illegal" but supposedly "not aligned" with VAR protocols, which isn't quite as bad, but probably still bad (not allowed is different from not recommended).
Yeah, don't recall the replay showing that, although there are probably 5-10 plays like this per game that aren't called, but having said that, it easily could've been called as a foul for a PK. One more reason I HATE that everything we see on the screen is from FIFA, not from Fox. There's no doubt in my mind that we're incredibly spoiled in this country with getting great/fast replays all the time and that's just not the case with FIFA.
Not just objects. Urine. They like to throw urine. My buddy who had double digit caps for the US has horror stories about playing there. Savages.
Scoring always goes down in knockout vs group stage as better matchups and less risk taking
think about it - if you have clearly inferior rodent, lock in for that 0-0 result and take your chances with PKs where it’s 50/50 who wins
Not really true
basketball is huge globally
there’s field hockey , rugby, cricket, tennis - all really big in other countries
at mejicanos behaving in an uncivilized trashy manner
Glad you clarified that they are fiends and not friends.
Apparently this ref was investigated for match fixing in Brazil in 2024 after a pattern of irregular cards. No discipline was given as a result of the investigation but multiple clubs made the allegations including one of the largest clubs in Brazil.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/02/sports/referee-in-usmnt-red-card-controversy-investigated-in-brazil/
Croatia - Portugal has been hugely entertaining so far. Nice to see the old guys Ronaldo and Mondric playing well.
This is fairly well-known. Alexi more-or-less alluded to it prior to the match at Azteca the other evening.
I am completely surprised at how well Croatia is playing. The pundits said they aged out and I thought Modric planned to retire after the last Euro.
Yeah, cause that doesn’t happen on every corner, every time. He barely constrains him.
Thought I’d merge these two thoughts.
Like I said - England gonna get the full CONCAF treatment. Outside hotel party…obsessive fans…heat…elevation…piss lol. Don’t think they will be ready - as much as I hate seeing Mexico advance.
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Imagine how good the old Yugoslavia might be if the various countries that used to make up that country were still together...
Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, several independent nations from the region have successfully qualified for the FIFA World Cup: [1, 2]
Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, several independent nations from the region have successfully qualified for the FIFA World Cup: [1, 2]
- Croatia: Qualified as an independent nation in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.
- Serbia: Competed as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1998, as Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, and as Serbia in 2010, 2018, and 2022.
- Slovenia: Qualified for the World Cup in 2002 and 2010.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Qualified for the World Cup in 2014 and advanced to the knockout stages in 2026. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
I guess it’s the letter of the law now, but I think it should be reexamined going forward.
No idea, but 10 minutes of stoppage time was added and then there were 2 subs and a goal (which took ~3 minutes) and the VAR review of the Croatia goal, which occurred at 102:30 (within the ~3 minutes of added stoppage time) and then play started again at about 1:08:10 with ~40 seconds theoretically left and it was over at 108:50. So overall that's almost a 64 minute 2nd half, but it was one of the best halves of soccer we've seen during this WC, IMO. 3 goals and 3 disallowed goals in one half - incredible play and drama. So much fun to watch.