2018 FIFA World Cup

[jalimon]

For thursday:

Senegal 2 - Columbia 1
Japan 0 - Poland 2
England 1 - Belgium 1
Panama 2 - Tunisia 1

Cheers,

 

[Versaute]

It's unfortunate for Germany - however it should not be a surprise - that clearly they will have to adapt to a more "agile" style of play.

There are better teams other than Germany in this year's WC!

Meanwhile back on topic, I'd attribute today's flame out by defending champs Germany to a couple of things:
1) Inability to score - when you put up zeros in 2 out of 3 games in group stage, you don't deserve to move on. With all due respect sharkman, the backline for Germany played well enough.
2) Arrogance -- I think a lot of players took it for granted that they would qualify for the knockout stage because Germany has always done it. It does not help that Loew had previously guaranteed that they would make it. There's a fine line btw confidence and arrogance. If you win and back it up that's confidence. If you don't, this comes off as arrogance.

 

[DalilaD]

I am happy Germany wont get a 5th Star before Italy
Why not Belgium France Final ?
https://youtu.be/Yvclq8h5YeE

 

[The Nature Boy]

Belgium vs England--> 3-0
japan vs Poland -->2-0
Tunisia vs panama--> 1-0
senegal vs Columbia--> 2-0

 

[sharkman]

Here are my picks for tomorrow:

Columbia 2 Senegal 1
Japan 1 Poland 1
Belgium 2 England 1
Tunisia 2 Panama 0

 

[Jonathankeeves2]

Columbia - Senegal - Columbia win
Japan - Poland - Japan win
Belgium - England - England to win
Tunisia - Panama - Tunisia to win

 

[Meta not Meta]

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

 

[The Nature Boy]

Oh for F’s sake, I’m already down two points! Thank god there’s no £££ involves!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Nature Boy,

Colombia rather than Senegal advancing means a man’s life has been saved- Sanchez’s. Surely that a murder didn’t happen should provide some consolation to losing this pick.

 

[Bred Sob]

Why not Belgium France Final ?

Impossible. They can not meet later than semifinal.

 

[jalimon]

So out of today's game! Sam21 is catching on me.. despite starting one day late shit...!

Meta: 8
Jalimon: 6
Sam21: 5
Sharkman 4
The Nature Boy 3
EagerBeaver: 1

So on to the round of 16

france 0 - argentina 1 (I hate to say but France is flat... Argentina will barely surf this one)
uruguay 2 - portugal 1 (can we call it an upset?)
spain 2 - russia 0 (who will bet russia to win this one?)
croatia 1 - denmark 0 (croation will go further after this one...)
brazil 3 - mexico 0 (I so much wish mexico had a different opponent!)
belgium 3 - japan 0 (belgium will reach the final)
sweden 0 - switzerland 2 (the swiss are proud!)
columbia 0 - england 2 (ok england time to go for it!)

Cheers,

 

[DalilaD]

Impossible. They can not meet later than semifinal.

Yes not anymore because Belgium won to play Brasil and France before the final :
https://www.google.ca/search?q=fifa...&ie=UTF-8#sie=lg;/m/06qjc4;2;/m/030q7;st;fp;1

My bet : Semi Final : France-Belgium and England-Spain

 

[The Nature Boy]

Nature Boy,

Colombia rather than Senegal advancing means a man’s life has been saved- Sanchez’s. Surely that a murder didn’t happen should provide some consolation to losing this pick.

i remember that poor dude who scored the own goal back in the 90’s n got shot @ some bar!

Well, I thought some of the pics were easy, n was 50% right today, n not even close with the scoring. This shit is about to get a lot tougher with some of these teams my friends! Now the fun begins!

 

[EagerBeaver]

It looks to me like the top half of the bracket is loaded:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_knockout_stage

England and Spain cannot really complain about their bracket. No excuses. The winner of top half of bracket will win the World Cup

 

[The Nature Boy]

I too thought Germany was gonna take it. I got feeling Argentina is gonna take France n get eliminated in quarters

 

[EagerBeaver]

I would be surprised if Argentina beats France. France has way more talent on their roster. If you take Messi off Argentina, their team is garbage.

 

[The Nature Boy]

I forget how Argentina played 4 years ago past the 2nd round, n their team was better last time around...but what I do remember there a lot of games where they scraped by but still ended up in finals.....

 

[Versaute]

....Add Athletico Madrid and others and it becomes harder to argue that English teams are more competitive than Spanish ones. Spanish clubs have also won most of the Champions & Europa League trophies in the last ten years. And until Liverpool's relative success this year in reaching the CL final, English clubs have been underperforming in relation to their Spanish rivals. And I say this as a fan of the Prem. So, oddly, the money has yet to attract the very best players.

I'd say the EPL is a more competitive league than La Liga. Nowadays, 5-6 teams in the EPL have a legitimate shot to be the next league champ. It is true that Spanish clubs have won more CL and EL trophies compared to English clubs. My theory for this trend is that the style of play in the EPL has become more physical in recent years. By the time the 38-game season in the EPL is over, this has exacted a physical toll on those EPL clubs that are still around for CL late rounds. In La Liga, the style of play is more of a speed and finesse game. Relatively smaller players and fewer collisions on the field. So even though the season is just as long, the Spanish clubs are fresher and less beat up. So they have an edge as you get into May.

 

[Versaute]

I think this WC tournament is still good for quite a few more upsets...

Uruguay 3 Portugal 1
France 2 Argentina 0
Brazil 3 Mexico 1
Belgium 4 Japan 0
Spain 2 Russia 1
Croatia 2 Denmark 0
Sweden 2 Suisse 0
England 2 Colombia 1

 

[Jonathankeeves2]

France 2 Argentina 1(I hope this isn’t true and Messi turns the tie)
Uruguay 2 Portugal 1
Spain 1 Russia 2
Croatia 2 Denmark 0
Brazil 2 Mexico 1
Belgium 2 Japan 1
Sweden 2 Switzerland 0
Columbia 2 England 1

I think Brazil will eventually win this world cup. Too many players who can turn any match around(Paulinho, Neymar, Coutinho, Casemiro)