TandemBear said:

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sluggo said:

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Cal88 said:

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sluggo said:

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Cal88 said:

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Morocco got a huge boost from playing in front of their crowd, and it showed. Also, like many of the top African sides, most of their players start in Europe, mostly in France, Spain, Belgium and England, and the level of organization in their teamwork reflects that.

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Playing 11 behind the ball and hoping to win on penalties makes me want to give up on the sport. I was looking forward to Spain being run off the field by France. Disappointing.

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Can't blame Morocco for having a defensive posture, it's a good strategy for them going into the Spanish game. Portugal has better finishers and a less fragile psyche than Spain, Morocco is going to have a hard time keeping a blank sheet for 120min against them.

Holland-Argentina is almost a tossup, could go into overtime, where Argentina's talent up front could beat a tired defense. 2-1 ARG in extra time.

Croatia is going to upset Brazil, they're the kind of team that will give Brazil a lot of trouble, with great organization and teamwork, excellent technical skills and strong morale, they will go into this game expecting to advance. 2-1 Croatia.

France is going to have no problem vs England, 3-1 or 4-1.

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Soccer needs something like illegal defense. Don't know how it would work, but Morocco's team is mediocre and they don't belong in the quarters. Portugal made a statement today. I hope they score early, bring Morocco out of their shell, and pound them 5-0. A pissed off Ronaldo as a super sub makes them a threat to win the whole thing.

England vs France 3-2, probably France wins, but I believe in England's depth and Harry Kane. England has two excellent outside backs to deal with the French wingers, and they can score off set pieces. This will be the game of the tournament.

Holland-Argentina is the game between two teams that had a lucky path. One has to win. I bet on Holland's 6'8'' keeper.

Brazil runs Croatia off the field. Croatia barely hung on against Japan, and now they face the best team in the tournament. 4-1 Brazil.

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"Don't belong in the quarters?" How on earth can you possibly say this? The game was played fair and square and won fair and square. It's not like Morocco had a player like the deplorable Suarez who committed a flagrant hand ball in the goal to force a penalty kick that was missed. It would be one thing if Morocco played dirty, injured some Spanish players and got by with hack playing. They didn't do that. Morocco EARNED their berth into the quarterfinals and deserve all the kudos for a job well done.

Teams that dominate are regularly beaten by teams that play the game "worse" than their opponent. If anything, Spain failed to capitalize on Morocco's shortcomings. THAT is on Spain. Perhaps they're relying on their "laudable reputation" more than they should! No one gets in because of their history - wins must be earned and achieved. Dominating possession doesn't win games. More shots on goal doesn't win games. Having a super star doesn't win games. The final score wins games.

Morocco's goalkeeper is a national hero. Was he lucky? Sure was. But still, he stopped those balls. Spain 0 for 3 in penalty shots? OMG, I never!

If anything, hand balls in the goal that stop a sure goal should be penalized with TWO goals against the offending team and a red card to the offending player. THAT would remove ANY and ALL reason to commit a flagrant hand ball to cheat to win. You should eliminate any incentive whatsoever to cheat like the disgusting Suarez. He's a cancer on all sport.

And the flopping? I feel strongly that soccer really needs to address this. VAR should be used to toss players who are flagrant floppers. It's so disgusting. These guys are top athletes and endure a lot of pain. But the flopping makes me sick. Let's address THESE issues, not some crazy idea that sitting back on defense and defending is somehow wrong. It isn't.

I played soccer for eight years and never flopped. Never saw it on the field when I played. It's shameful how it continues unabated.

Also, Morocco had some counter attacks, one of which SHOULD have resulted in at least a shot on goal. That could have won the game for them late in the second extra period.

Edit: I'm here to say how happy I am for Morocco. Wow, they fought hard and pulled it out. Wow. They handled the pressure of the game, then the extra time, and then, most importantly, the penalty shoot-out. I can't even imagine the stress. THAT is what makes World Cup Soccer so exciting.

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Re Suarez. Two goals is a little crazy, but an automatic goal instead of a PK makes sense. However, I think the hate lobbed at him for that play is totally misplaced. He played the game, knowing the rules and the consequences. He did the smart thing for his team to win, within the rules. If you don't like it, change the rules.

My main issue with Suarez revolves around his biting of other players. Three times over a span of about eight years. His "third strike" was addressed by FIFA, but with a paltry four month suspension. And he does it while on Ultra HD camera! What does the guy do when he's NOT on camera? Don't know why he's still allowed on the pitch. Add to that the flagrant cheating in front of goal? FIFA shoulda booted him from the game for much longer, arguably permanently.

calbear80 said:

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I just came back home from Qatar 10 hours ago. It was great (better than what I expected, not as good as Brazil or Russia World Cups). I was in Qatar 16 days and saw eight matches, including three US matches.

Originally, my trip was scheduled for 13 days, but when US advanced to the round of 16, I extended my trip so that I could see US play Holland. . I am glad that I attended despite all the issues.

I would be glad to answer any questions about the World Cup from the point of view of my first hand experience.
Go Bears!

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Lack of beer. Discuss the impact to the experience.

Also, I'd generally be interested in your experiences in the 3 very different countries.

Cal88 said:

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sluggo said:

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Cal88 said:

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Morocco got a huge boost from playing in front of their crowd, and it showed. Also, like many of the top African sides, most of their players start in Europe, mostly in France, Spain, Belgium and England, and the level of organization in their teamwork reflects that.

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Playing 11 behind the ball and hoping to win on penalties makes me want to give up on the sport. I was looking forward to Spain being run off the field by France. Disappointing.

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Can't blame Morocco for having a defensive posture, it's a good strategy for them going into the Spanish game. Portugal has better finishers and a less fragile psyche than Spain, Morocco is going to have a hard time keeping a blank sheet for 120min against them.

Holland-Argentina is almost a tossup, could go into overtime, where Argentina's talent up front could beat a tired defense. 2-1 ARG in extra time.

Croatia is going to upset Brazil, they're the kind of team that will give Brazil a lot of trouble, with great organization and teamwork, excellent technical skills and strong morale, they will go into this game expecting to advance. 2-1 Croatia.

France is going to have no problem vs England, 3-1 or 4-1.

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I'm way more of a lay person when it comes to soccer but to my naked eye Brazil just looked like they were at a different level than everyone else. There was almost an artistry to their spacing, movement, ball handling and passing.

Agree with Tandem.

tequila4kapp said:

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Cal88 said:

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sluggo said:

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Cal88 said:

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Morocco got a huge boost from playing in front of their crowd, and it showed. Also, like many of the top African sides, most of their players start in Europe, mostly in France, Spain, Belgium and England, and the level of organization in their teamwork reflects that.

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Playing 11 behind the ball and hoping to win on penalties makes me want to give up on the sport. I was looking forward to Spain being run off the field by France. Disappointing.

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Can't blame Morocco for having a defensive posture, it's a good strategy for them going into the Spanish game. Portugal has better finishers and a less fragile psyche than Spain, Morocco is going to have a hard time keeping a blank sheet for 120min against them.

Holland-Argentina is almost a tossup, could go into overtime, where Argentina's talent up front could beat a tired defense. 2-1 ARG in extra time.

Croatia is going to upset Brazil, they're the kind of team that will give Brazil a lot of trouble, with great organization and teamwork, excellent technical skills and strong morale, they will go into this game expecting to advance. 2-1 Croatia.

France is going to have no problem vs England, 3-1 or 4-1.

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I'm way more of a lay person when it comes to soccer but to my naked eye Brazil just looked like they were at a different level than everyone else. There was almost an artistry to their spacing, movement, ball handling and passing.

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I agree that there is some jazz to Brazil's play. Among the top team their players probably have the least amount of structure before they become professionals, and I think that is good for creativity. I think that, like Brazil, France can also play at breakneck speed but with technical precision. Portugal is also highly skilled but it is unclear if they can run with the other two.

Brazil hasn't yet played a team that can simultaneously close them out and match them technically, they tend to struggle with that. I think Croatia will give them a lot of trouble, and then some.

Interesting article on the English staff, apparently they've been focused on beating France in the WC for the last 2 years:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/06/englands-plan-to-combat-france-in-world-cup-has-been-two-years-in-making

Quote:

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England have spent two years preparing a blueprint to beat France at the World Cup and are confident they will be physically and tactically ready when they face the world champions on Saturday evening.

There was little time for rest after they swept into the quarter-finals by beating Senegal 3-0 on Sunday. Gareth Southgate and his staff returned to the team hotel in the early hours on Monday morning and then absorbed a detailed analysis of France from Tim Dittmer, the Football Association's head of coaching.

"We got back at 3am, we went to bed, we were up at 9," Steve Holland, Southgate's No 2, said. "We had a presentation to us from a member of the FA, one of the national coaches who's been tracking France all the way throughout this tournament and for the last two years.

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This is a good time to pull out that Mike Tyson quote on everyone having a plan until...

calbear80 said:

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I just came back home from Qatar 10 hours ago. It was great (better than what I expected, not as good as Brazil or Russia World Cups). I was in Qatar 16 days and saw eight matches, including three US matches.

Originally, my trip was scheduled for 13 days, but when US advanced to the round of 16, I extended my trip so that I could see US play Holland. . I am glad that I attended despite all the issues.

I would be glad to answer any questions about the World Cup from the point of view of my first hand experience.

Go Bears!

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One great feature was that all the stadiums were relatively close together so you could go to so many matches. It will be much harder to do in the US/Canada/Mexico World Cup in 2026. I can't wait.

Congrats to Olivier Giroud for being the all-time goal leader for Les Bleus. That first goal v. Poland was clinical. I especially enjoyed his play for Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. The US does not have quite a #9 like that (like another Arsenal great Henry who Giroud passed), that will finish on most halfway good chances.

KoreAmBear said:

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Congrats to Olivier Giroud for being the all-time goal leader for Les Bleus. That first goal v. Poland was clinical. I especially enjoyed his play for Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. The US does not have quite a #9 like that (like another Arsenal great Henry who Giroud passed), that will finish on most halfway good chances.

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Yeah Giroud is the classic poacher, complements very well Mbape, Griezmann and Dembele feeding him. Was also a fan of Wenger-era Arsenal in the EPL. Henry was on the coaching staff of Belgium, he must be pretty disappointed with their performance, biggest underachievers so far (better players on paper than Germany). Giroud`s record has been obscured by Mbappe`s killer performance and stupendous double goals. It`s almost unreal where he is given his age, ahead of Pele`s WC scoring record, his father being a former player and coach is the reason for this. His mother, who is of Algerian descent, was a star forward on France`s team handball squad, so he has been well prepared for his role, and it shows.

So I caught parts of the Brazil-Croatia game w/o the sound on the other screen while in a zoom mtg, as predicted this is a tight game, with a high chance of upset. Look for Brazil to get more nervous if they can`t open the score early in the 2nd half...

I would pull Modric out now and put 24yo Majer, who`s been having a superb season in Ligue 1 with Rennes, Croats need an infusion of energy.

Neymar: Still got it.

Anyone who says Neymar is a flopper should watch that goal. He could have gone down and likely would have drawn the penalty. Finished it instead.

He is a flopper, but savvy enough to know when to stay on his feet. Great finish in any case!

Dalic should have made his subs in the 70th-80th min, not at 115', his players looked very tired in OT closing in on BRazilian attacks. In a tight game like this the smallest details will make the difference. Good on him to put in Majer though, the guy is a baller, they have depth on their bench.

Going into the PKs, you have to believe that Croatia has the better set of nerves and GK...

TWENTY-ONE YEAR OLD to take your FIRST penalty, seriously Tite????

You called it Cal88. Good job on that one.

Croatia's first and fourth PK takes were a thing of beauty. They were unsavable.

Way to go Croatia! Huge failure for Brazil.

Brazil is a good side, but not nearly good enough to go into this game as big favorites, it was always going to be a close game. The Croats might be the best team in the whole tournament in terms of mental strength and experience, with plenty of quality players that always give it their all for the red-checkered jerseys.

The most likely final at this point looks like a rematch of '18...

Croatia's tying goal was a bit lucky, getting that deflection in the box right into the goal. But they certainly played it well enough to benefit from a break like that. And yeah, it did feel like they'd have the advantage in the shootout with their keeper vs. Brazil's.

Cal88 said:

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Brazil is a good side, but not nearly good enough to go into this game as big favorites, it was always going to be a close game. The Croats might be the best team in the whole tournament in terms of mental strength and experience, with plenty of quality players that always give it their all for the red-checkered jerseys.

The most likely final at this point looks like a rematch of '18...

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Very impressed you called this one. Brazil was the better side, but not by as much as I thought they would be. Croatia slowed down the game so much through possession that they were able to hang in. Modric at 37 is ridiculously good. Surprised that Brazil did not do more to protect the lead at the end.

sluggo said:

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Cal88 said:

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Brazil is a good side, but not nearly good enough to go into this game as big favorites, it was always going to be a close game. The Croats might be the best team in the whole tournament in terms of mental strength and experience, with plenty of quality players that always give it their all for the red-checkered jerseys.

The most likely final at this point looks like a rematch of '18...

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Very impressed you called this one. Brazil was the better side, but not by as much as I thought they would be. Croatia slowed down the game so much through possession that they were able to hang in. Modric at 37 is ridiculously good. Surprised that Brazil did not do more to protect the lead at the end.

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Brazil often has that somewhat sloppy aspect and lack of organization that very good European teams expose in world cups, especially with their defense and ball control. The Croats are seasoned winners, I think they get through to the final.

One thing to ponder, had Yugoslavia not split up in the 90s, they would have won at least one world cup by now... They have a very strong soccer and sports national culture, dominating water polo and always in the mix in basketball and volleyball, even skiing.

Gut check time!

To you soccer guys: Croatia's goal towards the end of extra time, was that largely a massive screw up by Brazil? I just had the gut sense that all of Brazil -- players, fans, everybody -- was thinking they had it won... a bit too early.

Yep, bad D, guy was wide open.

Today's games were just phenomenal.

Very nifty set play goal to tie it by Holland, nice comeback!

Croatia still the class of that bracket.

The Dutch really know how to work that final third. They make the most of their chances. Hope the USA can learn that.

But Argentina prevails on PKs anyway. Pretty chippy match by the end there.

tequila4kapp said:

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Today's games were just phenomenal.

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Yes they were. The Nederlands/Argentina match was an all timer.

Tomorrow's games aren't likely to be as dramatic, I think we will have two clear winners with France and Portugal advancing 3-1/2-0, setting up a great and classic semifinal.

Croatia will likely handle Argentina in the other semifinal, unless Di Maria is fit to play. He has a quad injury, so not very easy to fully recover.

Croatia-Brazil was a good example of why I really wish there was a Golden Goal.

I understand that because there is such a "play not to lose" mentality in football that the Golden Goal rule might have made Extra Time play, ON AVERAGE, be more conservative, but some squads were more aggressive with a Golden Goal.

And I don't get the whole, "The team that gives up the first goal deserves a fair opportunity to come back." Why? It almost never results in the team that gives up the first goal winning in Extra Time, far more often it results in the team that gives up the first goal getting to send the game to PK's, which seems less fair a method to decide a match than letting the team that is first to score an actual goal in Extra Time win.

I don't have great passion in rooting for anybody in the World Cup, so if a match goes to Extra Time and a team scores a goal, I'm mostly rooting for that team to hold on to win, so we don't get it decided on PK's. If the equalizer gets scored, then I'm back to either not caring or rooting for whoever I wanted to win in the first place. But above all, I prefer a match that is not decided on PK's, especially if it could have been decided by a Golden Goal. I didn't really care between Brazil and Croatia, I just didn't want a PK ending, nobody deserves to go out that way.

BTW, I did think the Silver Goal was stupid, but so did virtually everybody, so that isn't really a debate.

As a Dutch man myself I rooted for the US. They have a good future but got schooled by the Dutch experience. So now the Dutch get to play Argentina again. I am still miffed that in 1978 they were tied and the right forward of Holland (Rensenbrink) hit the post just before the end of the final.Argentina went on to win.

So here again against Argentinian. The Dutch looked slow and lackadaisical. So they get behind 2-0. The Dutch coach is a super smart guy and changed how they played Argentine. The Dutch scored and it was 2-1 Argentina. Then the free kick. That has the coach Van Gaal written all over it. A very clever well thought out free kick and it went in. I think Van Gaal deserves coach of the WC. He is that good. The Dutch did not deserve the win and Argentina was the deserved winner.

Go Bears!

RIP Grant Wahl. Unbelievable.

NPR can confirm the death of longtime soccer sportswriter Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl). He died today in Doha, Qatar while covering the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup quarterfinal. Story to come.

— Russell Lewis (@rdlewis) December 10, 2022