2018 FIFA World Cup

[jalimon]

I respect your opinion Jalimon. Messi is a great player and has set many records with Barcelona (50 goals, etc, etc). But when the eyes of a nation are pointed at you and all the pressure is on you...you have to come through...show leadership...make your teammates better by elevating their game!

But he did back in 2014. He came very close. Just 1 game...

And many unfortunately compares maradonna to messi. Men they are so different. Maradonna was well like because he spoke the same language as the working classes. And he was not polite (he was and still his quite an ass haha). He was truly gifted and yes his grits and most fantastic play was at the world cup. Messi is a kid prodigy sent to Spain at a very early age. He grew with the team in Barcelona. Good leader or not in Barcelona or for Argentina does not matter much as for the media he is the team! Even Zlatan "self proclaimed god" Ibrahimovic (who played with Messi) said there might not be another Messi in many years. The way he can dribbled the ball will not be seen in a long time. This year the first 2 games of Argentina Messi had 3-4 players on him as soon as he was near the ball. The team did not adjust. That is unfortunate...

Back to topic, Just saw Belgium and they are now my favorite team (but my heart is with Mexico!).

Cheers,

p.s. speaker of Zlatan... Another great one that never made it big for his national team...

 

[sharkman]

In any event, it ain't quite over for Messi and Argentina...they can still rise from the dead!

A win against Nigeria combined with a win by Croatia against Iceland...and Argentina is in the round of 16 most likely to face France.

I have seen weirder things happen in WC competition.

 

[jalimon]

I have seen weirder things happen in WC competition.

Or Korea eliminating Italy in 2002 world cup

Or for that matter Italy not being at world cup 2018 haha!!

 

[DalilaD]

Sweden is an amazing country. A small country can be World Champion in hockey AND in Soccer. I wish Italy or Canada can win in both sports one day
BTW I know Sweden eliminated Italia and I don't support them

 

[EagerBeaver]

Germans have tied the match.

Meanwhile Belgium peppered the Tunisian goal with 23 shots, 15 SOG, and 5 goals. Beware the offensive power. They have a good goalie too.

 

[jalimon]

Germans have tied the match.

Meanwhile Belgium peppered the Tunisian goal with 23 shots, 15 SOG

15 sog in 90 minutes!!! flyingby even you cannot achieve that?

 

[EagerBeaver]

Germany is mounting a good offensive pressure on Sweden but I am impressed with Sweden's defensive formations which are consistently deflecting crossing passes. If this keeps up though I expect Germany to score soon

 

[Flyingby]

15 sog in 90 minutes!!! flyingby even you cannot achieve that?

Hahahhahahaahahha. That would be glorious! Challenge accepted. I will try and surpass the belgians. Olivierdudu watch out!
I’ll have to buy condoms from costco

 

[EagerBeaver]

Boateng sent off with a Second Yellow Card!!! Germany must play a man down remainder of the match!!! Germany in a panic!

 

[EagerBeaver]

What a save by the Swedish goalie on a header that was going in high! Brilliant job!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Big time free kick by Kroos! He bent it like Beckham!

 

[jalimon]

Wow Germany actually dominated the game even at 10 players. Now this will put them back in contention. They can still go all the way. Too bad for Sweden they should have win that game. They should be prepared for an early exit. They did not impressed me at all.

Cheers,

 

[Versaute]

Fantastic come-from-behind win by Germany playing short-handed with 10 men. Big time kick by Kroos indeed! He's one of my favorite players. He's known for precise passes from midfield into the box and for powerful SOG from the top of the box. Very low key and humble player too. You don't hear too much about him, mostly because he plays alongside Ronaldo, Ramos, Bale and other well-known players. But he's won WC, Bundelisga (with Bayern), and Champions League (Bayern, Real) titles.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Germany did seem to dominate the match even after Boateng went off and they were down to 10 men. I think Sweden only had 1 SOG in the second half. They looked pretty impotent offensively. Sweden could have lost this game by more than 2-1, but their defense had good formations for a lot of the game that frustrated Germany.

Kroos goal was BIG TIME!

BTW my buddy who is a soccer guru and expert is picking Belgium to win it all!

 

[Versaute]

To date...

Most impressive team: Belgium. It's pretty much the same loaded team from the last WC but with more experience and a different attitude. They are like a well-oiled machine now with Lukaku and Hazard upfront. They're my dark horse pick to win it all this time around.

Most surprising team: Switzerland. They showed they can hang with a much more talented Brazilian team. Also, the way they outlasted and beat Serbia in the last match was impressive. Xhaqiri is an animal. Built like a fire hydrant and so quick upfront.

 

[sharkman]

Or Korea eliminating Italy in 2002 world cup

Or for that matter Italy not being at world cup 2018 haha!!

And deservedly so!...Italy had no business being in the 2018 WC...the team has been in complete shambles for a couple of years with no clear direction...from top to bottom!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Tomorrow’s Matches

Poland vs. Colombia - Football Match Preview - June 24, 2018 - ESPN http://www.espn.com/soccer/preview?gameId=498171

Looks like Carlos Sanchez could literally be playing for his life tomorrow. If Colombia gets beat, Sanchez may want to consider defecting to Russia or seeking political asylum rather than face death in Colombia, much like Escobar paid for the own goal with his life in 1994. It’s a literal do or die situation which raises the stakes of this match for Sanchez and Colombia’s team.

Equally interesting will be Japan-Senegal. Which of these teams is the real deal?????

 

[Meta not Meta]

Never write-off the Germans, lol ....

England 3 Panama 0
Japan 1 Senegal 2
Poland 1 Colombia 2

 

[EagerBeaver]

Swedes Accuse Germans of "Rubbing It In", Bad Sportsmanship

http://www.espn.com/soccer/sweden/s...rsson-accuses-germany-bench-of-rubbing-in-win

 

[Meta not Meta]

The Belgians have the talent to win it all but Saturday's game was maybe a bit of an outlier: the Tunisians went for it from the start, even dominating possession for a time in the first half and created several chances throughout.

This is admirable, in a way, and made for an exciting game, but proved in the end to be suicidal because it left them wide open to devastating counter-attacks led by some of the best in the business [Hazard, Lukaku, De Brunye ...just to name the PL players I've seen a lot of]. The score might have been 10 - 2 had Batshuayi made his chances when he came on ...

When we get to the knock-out rounds serious teams are unlikely to leave themselves so wide open. Also, Belgium is so attack-heavy that much depends on their Spurs centerbacks, one of whom saw little club time all year, and a manager, Roberto Marrinez, who, PL watchers will know, has never convinced on the defensive side of the game.

Were there even more than four natural defenders in the starting line-up against Tunisia? And will this change against a more impressive side, perhaps in their next game against England?