2018 FIFA World Cup Megathread

[Yaana Noore]

Oh yeah, fuck me for reacting to someone that has done fucking nothing but consistently be an fucking obnoxious prick and bring my fucking mood down for their own fucking amusement simply because I want other countries to do well against Eternal Anglo FC. Fuck me for (allegedly?) "anti-supporting" England. Absolute fucking thought crime, amirite? Piss off with that.

of-fucking-course I was going to hope that England failed at every fucking opportunity. If you are going to attempt to be a condescending cunt about the whole fucking thing, at least think before you attempt to spew out bullshit. Giving that I live in fucking England, and have supported fucking England in other tournaments, and given their generally fucking dismal record at the Euro's and World Cup, I have every fucking right to call the Three Lions shitty. That's my fucking opinion, and if you can't deal with that its not my fucking problem if you wan't to be a bitch about it. The only one being fucking bitter is you, because you cant comprehend or cope with the fact that not everyone in this thread supports or likes Eternal Anglo FC. Hijo de puta.

I'm fairly sure the Eternal Anglo wouldn't be happy if the three lions got beat by Panama, so whats your point? All you've done so far in this thread is draw me out for supporting my country above others (a logical thing to do, is it not?) and supporting some underdogs against bigger teams and I'm getting fucking sick of it.

Panama qualifying in their first ever WC appearance is a better headline then the shitty Three Lions going through and crashing out in the Round of 16 (per usual).

Belgium needs to sealclub the eternal anglo

England always disappoints in the end through one colossal fuck up or another, whether its in the group stage or Round of 16... England's shit performance - assuming they do the same thing in their next matches - is why I think they don't deserve to go through compared to others. After all, its not like England beat Tunisia, Harry Kane did.

Yeah well, England has missed about 5 good opportunities to score, and now its 1-1. The eternal anglo can get salty all they want.

Nope, not angry at all. No hatred for Shitty Three Lions Eternal Anglo England here, evidenced by your inability to even talk about them without trying to denigrate them.

Never mind three lions on the shirt, you've got three of them stuck in your head. Obsessed.

[The Archregimancy]

So, let's see, looking back at those page 1 predictions...

I was likely wrong about Colombia.

I was likely wrong about Poland.

And I was apparently very, very wrong about Russia.



That said, I'm absolutely delighted for Senegal.

[Tobiasia]

So, let's see, looking back at those page 1 predictions...

I was likely wrong about Colombia.

I was likely wrong about Poland.

And I was apparently very, very wrong about Russia.



That said, I'm absolutely delighted for Senegal.

I thought Senegal was all about Mané and not much past that but they do have a strong team. Great if they can get the last 16 as the other African nations aren’t doing too well (that being said I’m happy Tunisia lost no offence to them).

[San Regada]

Oh yeah, fuck me for reacting to someone that has done fucking nothing but consistently be an fucking obnoxious prick and bring my fucking mood down for their own fucking amusement simply because I want other countries to do well against Eternal Anglo FC. Fuck me for (allegedly?) "anti-supporting" England. Absolute fucking thought crime, amirite? Piss off with that.

of-fucking-course I was going to hope that England failed at every fucking opportunity. If you are going to attempt to be a condescending cunt about the whole fucking thing, at least think before you attempt to spew out bullshit. Giving that I live in fucking England, and have supported fucking England in other tournaments, and given their generally fucking dismal record at the Euro's and World Cup, I have every fucking right to call the Three Lions shitty. That's my fucking opinion, and if you can't deal with that its not my fucking problem if you wan't to be a bitch about it. The only one being fucking bitter is you, because you cant comprehend or cope with the fact that not everyone in this thread supports or likes Eternal Anglo FC. Hijo de puta.

I'm fairly sure the Eternal Anglo wouldn't be happy if the three lions got beat by Panama, so whats your point? All you've done so far in this thread is draw me out for supporting my country above others (a logical thing to do, is it not?) and supporting some underdogs against bigger teams and I'm getting fucking sick of it.

Panama qualifying in their first ever WC appearance is a better headline then the shitty Three Lions going through and crashing out in the Round of 16 (per usual).

Belgium needs to sealclub the eternal anglo

England always disappoints in the end through one colossal fuck up or another, whether its in the group stage or Round of 16... England's shit performance - assuming they do the same thing in their next matches - is why I think they don't deserve to go through compared to others. After all, its not like England beat Tunisia, Harry Kane did.

Yeah well, England has missed about 5 good opportunities to score, and now its 1-1. The eternal anglo can get salty all they want.

Nope, not angry at all. No hatred for Shitty Three Lions Eternal Anglo England here, evidenced by your inability to even talk about them without trying to denigrate them.

Never mind three lions on the shirt, you've got three of them stuck in your head. Obsessed.

So lets see:

>Pointing out that I am angry about something that has nothing to do with England winning
>Pointing out that I dislike England because of their historically rubbish track record
>Pointing out that if Panama beat England, English fans would not be happy either
>Pointing out that Belgium needs to beat England in order for Panama to have a chance
>Pointing out that England always ends up fucking up and disappointing in the end
>Pointing out that England played trash against Tunisia, Harry Kane basically saved the day
>Pointing out that England fans cant complain about the scoreline, they've missed a lot

Yeah, its not that I dislike England and want Panama and Tunisia to go through, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

It's not that you've tried to take the piss out of me in the last few pages before I snapped, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

Clearly.

[Fartsniffage]

Nope, not angry at all. No hatred for Shitty Three Lions Eternal Anglo England here, evidenced by your inability to even talk about them without trying to denigrate them.

Never mind three lions on the shirt, you've got three of them stuck in your head. Obsessed.

So lets see:

>Pointing out that I am angry about something that has nothing to do with England winning
>Pointing out that I dislike England because of their historically rubbish track record
>Pointing out that if Panama beat England, English fans would not be happy either
>Pointing out that Belgium needs to beat England in order for Panama to have a chance
>Pointing out that England always ends up fucking up and disappointing in the end
>Pointing out that England played trash against Tunisia, Harry Kane basically saved the day
>Pointing out that England fans cant complain about the scoreline, they've missed a lot

Yeah, its not that I dislike England and want Panama and Tunisia to go through, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

It's not that you've tried to take the piss out of me in the last few pages before I snapped, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

Clearly.

Dude, this is a football thread. Chill out a bit.

[San Regada]

So lets see:

>Pointing out that I am angry about something that has nothing to do with England winning
>Pointing out that I dislike England because of their historically rubbish track record
>Pointing out that if Panama beat England, English fans would not be happy either
>Pointing out that Belgium needs to beat England in order for Panama to have a chance
>Pointing out that England always ends up fucking up and disappointing in the end
>Pointing out that England played trash against Tunisia, Harry Kane basically saved the day
>Pointing out that England fans cant complain about the scoreline, they've missed a lot

Yeah, its not that I dislike England and want Panama and Tunisia to go through, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

It's not that you've tried to take the piss out of me in the last few pages before I snapped, its that I'm angry about them beating Tunisia and that I hate England.

Clearly.

Dude, this is a football thread. Chill out a bit.

You see for the past page or so I've been trying to but every time I clear my mind and focus on the game and post about it, someone has to bring up crap (not to mention its highly falsified) and piss me right the hell off again. I have literally done nothing minus support my country and support some underdog countries, yet people like Yaana Noore are content on pissing me the hell off.

[Risottia]

So, let's see, looking back at those page 1 predictions...

I was likely wrong about Colombia.

I was likely wrong about Poland.

And I was apparently very, very wrong about Russia.



That said, I'm absolutely delighted for Senegal.

I'm so happy Senegal won, too.
I think I'll toast to them with another round of Talisker, which I'm drinking right now just in front of the Skye Bridge.

Cheers.

[The Archregimancy]

San Regada has been reported to Moderation for flaming and flamebaiting.

I obviously can't touch the report, but - appreciating that this isn't a moderation order - I'd recommend simply not replying further to his posts until another member of the moderation team can decide whether any action is necessary. It will only exacerbate an already unfortunate situation.

[Cryptomypt]

penalty every game, own goal every other game, what's football come to?

[San Regada]

penalty every game, own goal every other game, what's football come to?

To be honest, all the teams that have conceded OG's have been playing 'lesser' teams. I think there may be an element of not taking the opposition seriously enough and thus being prone to make more silly mistakes. Defence against the 'lesser' teams has been absolutely lacklustre. German-Mexico, Poland-Senegal, the list can go on for ages. As for penalties, poor tackles, simple as.

There has been a lot, and I mean a lot of physical aggression in the box too, especially from set pieces.

[Yaana Noore]

San Regada has been reported to Moderation for flaming and flamebaiting.

I obviously can't touch the report, but - appreciating that this isn't a moderation order - I'd recommend simply not replying further to his posts until another member of the moderation team can decide whether any action is necessary. It will only exacerbate an already unfortunate situation.

Noted.

And like you I was very wrong about Colombia and Russia. I was really shitting on Russia but they know their weaknesses and play to their strengths, fair play. They'll get Spain or Portugal in the next round though and you would expect either of those would rip that terrible defence to ribbons.

As for Colombia... Carlos Sanchez is an idiot and the team showed fight but they only scored from a FK which wasn't a FK in the end. Japan deserved their win and it's a good upset. I thought Japan would do poorly too, but it would be nice to see them and Senegal do well in that group. I don't think Senegal beating Poland was that much of an upset. Despite the rankings Colombia should be considered favourites for that group and Senegal and Poland are probably about level and the latter just had a bad game, Lewandowski and Piszczek had real stinkers.

penalty every game, own goal every other game, what's football come to?

There just aren't that many good defenders out there, it's quite a low standard. VAR allows refs to be a bit more decisive in giving penalties and it means lax defenses are punished. As VAR becomes more prominent I would expect you will see defenders adapt to it but right now they're just not used to it and give stupid penalties away such as Nigeria against Croatia.

[Frisbeeteria]

San Regada has been reported to Moderation for flaming and flamebaiting.

Addressed.

[Ndaku]

Russia is not playing any games this time!!

[Bombadil]

You're kind of asking me to prove a negative, which is fair enough.. for the Korea incident I can work out it's Hwang who was fouled but not the Swedish player - I will have to check on Naver tomorrow - but all those not given, from the constant tackling on on Neymar, the two equal transgressions you note yourself with England and many others.. fouls waved away despite the awards given being fair in and of themselves - the simple discrepancy that this Cup has seen a third of goals coming from set pieces from fouls awarded when a great number have been waved off..

I'm saying there's a lot of aggression out there being allowed, with the random fair call for free kicks or penalties around the box being allowed.. but I accept I need to prove statistics.. I'll do tomorrow when I awake with fresh endeavour.

I'm asking you to name actual incidents where the referees got it wrong. If they are so obviously poor you should be able to name them. From 2014 I can remember some:
Brazil 3-1 Croatia: Referee misses Neymar's elbow on Modric and he escapes a red card. Brazil get a ridiculous penalty after Fred dives to give them the lead.
Mexico 1-0 Cameroon: Giovanni Dos Santos has two legitimate goals disallowed.
Spain 1-5 Netherlands: Diego Costa escapes red for a headbutt on Martins Indi.
Croatia 4-0 Cameroon: Ref misses Assou-Ekotto headbutting his own teammate Moukandjo.
Italy 0-1 Uruguay: A bite by Luis Suarez on Chellini is missed and Uruguay go on to score soon after, knocking Italy out at their expense.
Nigeria 1-0 Bosnia: Edin Dzeko has a goal wrongly disallowed for offside. Odemwingie's winner for Nigeria has a foul in the buildup.

Those are all from the group stage and off the top of my head. I bet I can find more if I look into it. Right now I can name three controversial moments from this World Cup really. France v Australia penalty which was really hard to call but probably was a penalty. Two fouls on Harry Kane in the penalty area missed in England v Tunisia. And Falcao diving to win a FK which Colombia scored from against Japan.

I've read the Guardian, Telegraph and NY Times reports on the match and none of them mention a foul on Hwang. If you can find proof of it happening I'll believe you. What do you expect the Swiss to do against Neymar, not tackle him and allow him to run past them? Keep in mind this is a player who goes down easily and is prone to theatrics. The Swiss tackled went in hard but were mostly fair, and when Behrami committed a bad enough foul he got a yellow card.

The statistic that 1/3 goals is meaningless unless you can show me that the penalties were wrongly given. And by the look of it, literally none of them were. The only incident you can name is the one I already told you about (fouls missed on Kane). IMO you're just saying the refereeing is bad for the sake of it.

You miss my point.. it's not that penalties are wrongly given but that fouls are not being called.. better made here..

Video review isn’t just changing the way this sport is refereed. It’s changing officials’ decision-making.

Referees at this World Cup are swallowing their whistles and waiting to see if VAR helpers will advise them to review something.

The issue with that, of course, is VARs won’t page referees to review a decision unless a “clear and obvious” mistake is identified.

That’s an extremely high threshold to overturn an initial decision, meaning likely (but not “clear”) penalties are being denied teams that probably deserve them.

We’ve seen England, Brazil and Argentina denied penalties at this tournament because referees are deferring to video assistants to make decisions for them.

“It’s an interesting point and something we thought might happen,” ex-World Cup referee Howard Webb told the Toronto Sun last week.

“We were very keen to tell officials from the start that this is an additional tool that exists to assist them to avoid making clear errors.

“(We said), ‘Don’t think about the existence of the VAR. Referee the game normal. Make your call.’ You have to make a call. The job of the VAR is to decide if that call is a clear and obvious error.”

Through less than one full round of Matchday 1 fixtures, World Cup officials have utilized the video review process to award three penalties.

That tells me referees are hesitant to award them in the first place.

“You don’t want referees to change the way the game is officiated,” Webb added. “You want them to do the same job … We keep pushing that message on all the time.”

[Relikai]

While my predictions for the early games were spot on, I can say that my actual betting wallet has gone down the drain ( Thanks Doucheland for losing me $500 )

However since this is a World Cup thread, let's see the next day's matches and make some fun predictions

Predictions for next Game Day of the World Kappa -

Portugal - Morocco : Portuiano Ronaldo to continue with his scoring record, unless Morocco decides to mark him out of the game like Liverpool did, causing players like Joao Moutinho to step up in the midfield. Draw likely unless Morocco commits fouls near the box, allowing Ronaldo to threaten with free kicks.

A must-win game for Portugal to secure the 4-point mark, especially when they could be accompanied by Spain or left behind by Iran in the later game.

Uruguay - Saudi Arabia : Suarez finally gets his game back on as he bares his fangs at Saudi Arabia after a piss poor first game in order to get their 6 points before facing Russia on Hax.

Iran - Spain : No longer against the best player in the world, Spain's attacking ruthlessness works better against an Iran which would be focused on a disciplined defence, aiming to hit the minimum of 4 points for qualification into the Last 16.

[Bombadil]

Another question is who will win the Golden Boot?

Ronaldo has the strongest chance, especially with Iran in their group.. and their 4th round opponents are likely to be somewhat easy. I'd give a potential nod to Sir Harry of Kaneshire and then depending how much he's played perhaps Diego Costa of Spain.

I suspect Neymar will have a poor cup, he's hobbling already.. over 50% of Switzerland fouls were on him alone.. and I don't see Messi getting too many with such poor support.

[Relikai]

Another question is who will win the Golden Boot?

Ronaldo has the strongest chance, especially with Iran in their group.. and their 4th round opponents are likely to be somewhat easy. I'd give a potential nod to Sir Harry of Kaneshire and then depending how much he's played perhaps Diego Costa of Spain.

I suspect Neymar will have a poor cup, he's hobbling already.. over 50% of Switzerland fouls were on him alone.. and I don't see Messi getting too many with such poor support.

I'd say the end of the group stages would often set the stage for the Golden Boot.

If Higuain nor Dybala starts for Argentina the next few matches in a more compact front 3, Argentina might be waving goodbye as well.

Meanwhile Harry Kane has taken credit for all the goals scored so far.

[Forsher]

10 pages since I last had internet? Mad.

Anyone know if there's a site recording expected goals for world cup matches?

Yes.

But it's in Dutch.

https://www.vi.nl/dossier/wk

I could, possibly because I can't read Dutch, only find details for the most recently played match, which I must say is considerably more details on xG than I found anywhere during a Google search myself. Am I missing something? (I am particularly interested in Belgium's first match; for a team that won 3-0 they committed a lot of fouls.)

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

If you watch the Tom and Jerry cartoon Neapolitan Mouse, you can see where Neymar got the inspiration for his hairstyle.

[Lillorainen]

Since I happen to live in Germany, it's clear which team I'm cheering for - that being said, that match on Mexico was disappointing for me, and I seriously hope they're gonna improve from now on. (Though, it appears to be some particularity that Germany never manages a good play after they became World Champion - someone has already posted according stats in this thread).

Since I also happen to be of Serbian origin, I'm also cheering for them. Of course I'm realistic, so I don't think they're gonna make it very far. Though, the game against Costa Rica was a nice watch - so was the Croatian match (Ex YU need to stick together in any international competition ).

And of course, I can't deny I also support the host nation to some degree - I generally like Russia (the country - we're not talking about the government, that's another story), and they've been a nice watch so far, too.

In case my favorites are out after the group stage, I'm gonna look for some underdog I'll support then (accepting suggestions ^^).

[Nazis in Space]

No one wants Belgium to win. Just so you know...

I spent a substantial chunk of my childhood in Belgium; I'd be perfectly happy to see Belgium win.

Observe: An alien trying to fit into human society.

On a side note, I think I have thus far guessed the correct outcome of exactly... one match.

And I don't mean the exact result, just win/loss/draw.

Of course, since I guessed that France wins the cup, this actually makes me hopeful that I'll keep being wrong :v

[Idzequitch]

Well, Japan and Senegal are sitting atop Group H, just like everyone expected, eh? Really though, that was about as clear-cut as red cards come. Somewhat reminiscent of the Suarez/Ghana incident in 2010.

Also, Egypt continues to disappoint. The Russians will most likely get walloped in the round of 16, though.

[Bombadil]

Took Ronaldo scoring to make me realise Portugal were actually playing in white.. in my defense I'm watching it in Cantonese..

[Bombadil]

Morocco play nice football.. how the hell did they lose to Iran?

[The Archregimancy]

Morocco play nice football.. how the hell did they lose to Iran?

Everybody who's seen the Morocco / Iran match has asked the same thing.

They're certainly playing Portugal off the park right now, Ronaldo's early goal notwithstanding.