I know you will be over there but any idea on start times. I'm guessing similar to previous years with the time delay. 6pm games there=6am games there?
USA games are as follows: . Game 1: USA vs. Wales Monday Nov. 21 at 11 AM PST (yes next week around this time). Prediction: US 2-1. . Game 2: USA vs England Friday Nov. 21 at 11 AM PST. Prediction: England 3-1 . Game 3: USA vs Iran (can imagine the politics involved?) Tuesday Nov. 29 at 11 AM PST. IMHO, the winner of this game advance to the round of 16 and the loser goes home. Prediction: Tie 1-1 (and then the goal differential decides which team advances and which one goes home).
I went to South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014. Had a great time and was nice to see the US play fairly well. Jealous of those you attending in Qatar!
I know you will be over there but any idea on start times. I'm guessing similar to previous years with the time delay. 6pm games there=6am games there?
USA games are as follows: . Game 1: USA vs. Wales Monday Nov. 21 at 11 AM PST (yes next week around this time). Prediction: US 2-1. . Game 2: USA vs England Friday Nov. 21 at 11 AM PST. Prediction: England 3-1 . Game 3: USA vs Iran (can imagine the politics involved?) Tuesday Nov. 29 at 11 AM PST. IMHO, the winner of this game advance to the round of 16 and the loser goes home. Prediction: Tie 1-1 (and then the goal differential decides which team advances and which one goes home).
Go Bears! Go USA!
Fairly certain that USA-England match is followed by the Cal-FUCLA game...quite the doubleheader!
I met Pele once around the year 2000 during the grand opening of the LA Galaxy's home stadium in Carson (it was back then called Home Depot Stadium). Pele asked my name, wrote it on a Football and signed it. I still have that Football as a prized possession.
IMHO, Pele (THREE World Cup Trophies) was and still is the greatest player of all time (unfortunately, I never saw him play in person).
Messi (zero World Cup trophies , one Continental trophy and a million club trophies) is one of the greatest, but where are the World Cup trophies? I am lucky that I have seen Messi play in person twice, once in Camp Nu, Spain and another time in Belo Horizonte during the Brazil World Cup.
Ronaldo (no World Cup Trophies, one Continental trophy and a million club trophies) is one of the greatest, but, where are the World Cup trophies? I am lucky that I saw Ronaldo play in person during the Russia World Cup.
And, since we are at it, let us not forget Uzobio (Sp) of Mozambique/Portugal and Figo of Portugal who were the best during their time.
And, the greatest female player of all time is unquestionably Marta. I was lucky that I saw her play once in California.
FIFA said in a statement: "Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing the sales points of beer from Qatar's FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters."
The greatest football player of all time, without question, is Diego Maradona.
No. Did you ever see Pele play?
Maradina at his peak was a great player, but not as good as Pele. BTW, that is what I sent hours debating with the Argentinian fans in Belo Horizonte during the Brazil World Cup. I liked Maradons and that is why I have visited Boca Juniors Stadium twice and Napali Stadium once.
But, Maradona had one World Cup trophy (and that one by cheating with a handball), Pele had three World Cup trophy. Case closed.
The greatest football player of all time, without question, is Diego Maradona.
No. Did you ever see Pele play? Pele was the best player in 1958 World Cup, 1962 World Cup and 1966 World Cup. Even in 1970 World Cup he was one of the best and led Brazil in winning the World Cup even though he was passed his prime.
Maradona at his peak was one of the greatest players, but he was not as good as Pele (at his peak). BTW, that is what I spent hours debating with the Argentinian fans in Belo Horizonte during the Brazil World Cup (I am lucky that I didn't get killed by the Argentinian fans, some of the most fanatic and proud fans around the world, but then again, I was on the "safe grounds" of Brazil). I liked Maradons and that is why I have visited Boca Juniors Stadium twice and Napali Stadium once.
But, Maradona had one World Cup trophy (and that one by cheating with a handball), Pele had three World Cup trophy. Case closed.
Sure! World Cup women's rugby has already been won by the NZ Black Ferns - incredible game vs England.
In 200+ countries around the world, people know and talk about only one "World Cup", and that is the one that starts in Qatar next week. There are a lot of other sports who call their championship game(s) world cup, but, few countries around the world pay any attention to it.
Games evolve over time. When Pele played, he could order lunch before a defender would come to him. I suppose he was the best of his era, but I only saw him play when he was in the States and over the hill, so I don't know. The best I saw in the 80s and 90s was Maradona. In that era the game was extremely physical, so his strength was valued. He did not put up big stats, but he was great when it counted. In the last 15 years the best I have seen are Messi for shooting and passing and C Ronaldo for scoring in open space. Both are a few years past their primes. The best player of this World Cup is Mbappe.
So I don't think the best players transcend their eras, and in a game of 11 vs 11, the best players can only push their otherwise great teams over the top. Further, in low scoring games lots of upsets happen. I don't think players should be compared solely based on championships.
Games evolve over time. When Pele played, he could order lunch before a defender would come to him. I suppose he was the best of his era, but I only saw him play when he was in the States and over the hill, so I don't know. The best I saw in the 80s and 90s was Maradona. In that era the game was extremely physical, so his strength was valued. He did not put up big stats, but he was great when it counted. In the last 15 years the best I have seen are Messi for shooting and passing and C Ronaldo for scoring in open space. Both are a few years past their primes. The best player of this World Cup is Mbappe.
So I don't think the best players transcend their eras, and in a game of 11 vs 11, the best players can only push their otherwise great teams over the top. Further, in low scoring games lots of upsets happen. I don't think players should be compared solely based on championships.
Good take overall.
For Messi though, you will have a hard time finding serious Argentinian followers of the game who will think that he is a better player than Maradona, or that Maradona isn't at the very least the greatest player their country has ever produced. DM practically willed his team to their WC win in 1986, he had a squad that was relatively weak by their country's standards, hardly any stars on that team other than an aging Passarella.
Comment: "What people may not realize is, that just like the title indicates, all of that footage is from just ONE tournament (world cup 1986). This isn't a collection of footages from multiple tournaments, multiple years, clubs, etc. No, this is what he did in ONE tournament. Absolutely stunning performance. No player has ever played with that stamina, skills, speed, etc., in one tournament. "
Pel however had a constellation of talent around him in his WC winning squads, Brazil would have won without him. Half the '70 squad were total legends of Brazilian football on their own: Felix, Tostao, Jairzinho, Rivelinho, Carlos Alberto, Paulo Cesar, all these guys are absolute legends!
No one dominated a WC tournament the way Maradona dominated WC86, maybe Cryuff in `74, but then again that squad had a golden generation of talent around him, not unlike Beckenbauer`s 74 winners. DM also elevated an above avg but hardly spectacular Napoli squad to the top of Serie A, back when it was the best league in Europe.
Maradona had the best touch on the ball I`ve ever seen. He also had the full package, quickness, balance, physicality, dribbling, passing, shooting, scoring instincts as well as phenomenal vision and great intangibles and will, he elevates his teammates to great levels. Messi in comparison is a shrinking violet.
You know that the guy who blew the whistle on us had been privately paid to ref their spring intrasquad scrimmage, right?
Talk about a conflict of interest. All future referee assignments should be determined prior to signing the contract. By ALL schools.
The way I see it, Notre Dame TOTALLY had this guy in their pocket. They were playing like crap, and he decided it was his time to earn his offseason paycheck. And you know they are going to enrich him in various ways in the future as a result.
I view it as a massive scandal, actually. This is worse that getting a recruit a high paying job off campus. This actually was cheating ON the field, whereas said recruit still has to break tackles and run on his own.
The weather looks hot, but fairly manageable, with highs in the mid-80s and pleasant morning and night temps. It should taper off in the second half of the tournament down to mild midday weather.
I wonder why they didn't move the tournament further down to Christmas time and early January, when most European leagues have their winter break, it would have been less disruptive, and more people would be watching, going to bars or large indoor venues to watch the games midweek, with the winter holiday vacations.
So here is the full gameday 1 lineup, and my predictions, feel free to add your own:
Qatar 0-1 Ecuador England 2-1 Iran Senegal 1-3 Netherlands USA 1-1 Wales Argentina 2-0 Saudi Arabia Denmark 1-0 Tunisia Mexico 1-1 Poland France 2-0 Australia Morocco 0-2 Croatia Germany 2-0. Japan Spain 1-0 Costa Rica Belgium 2-1 Canada Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon Uruguay 1-1 South Korea Portugal 2-0 Ghana Brazil 2-1 Serbia
The weather looks hot, but fairly manageable, with highs in the mid-80s and pleasant morning and night temps. It should taper off in the second half of the tournament down to mild midday weather.
I wonder why they didn't move the tournament further down to Christmas time and early January, when most European leagues have their winter break, it would have been less disruptive, and more people would be watching, going to bars or large indoor venues to watch the games midweek, with the winter holiday vacations.
So here is the full gameday 1 lineup, and my predictions, feel free to add your own:
Qatar 0-1 Ecuador England 2-1 Iran Senegal 1-3 Netherlands USA 1-1 Wales Argentina 2-0 Saudi Arabia Denmark 1-0 Tunisia Mexico 1-1 Poland France 2-0 Australia Morocco 0-2 Croatia Germany 2-0. Japan Spain 1-0 Costa Rica Belgium 2-1 Canada Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon Uruguay 1-1 South Korea Portugal 2-0 Ghana Brazil 2-1 Serbia
As you know I am flying out tomorrow to go the games.
Re: Weather: It is going to be up to 88F in mid-day (uncomfortable). I am packing some walking shorts for daytime, but, I am wondering if Qatar " morality cops" will mandate "no shorts, long pants only". That would suck.
Re: First Round Scores: Your picks are pretty darn good. Here is where I differ from you: Qatar 1-0 Ecuador (Qatar is pretty good and they are at home while the world is watching). . Belgium 3-1 Canada (Belgium is the #2 ranked team by the World, higher than Argentina and England, and has a lot of quality players). . Germany 4-1 Japan (Germany can score a ton of goal, but, will give up a goal here and there).
Belgium is indeed a great team with a lot of star power, but they lost 2-1 today in their tuneup game against Egypt, with what looks pretty close to their starting lineup. Egypt is a good side, they should have been in the tournament if not for a last game epic shootout choke job against Senegal.
Bottom line, the gaps between the top teams and the middle ones don't seem very big going into the tournament, so we might have a lot of surprises and upsets in this tournament.
One thing that does favor the big teams this time vs the usual world cups though is the fact that it is still so early in the season, so there is less attrition and more players coming into the world cup close to their full potential. The better players tend to be more heavily solicited with many playing in European competitions as well as domestic fixtures.
Games evolve over time. When Pele played, he could order lunch before a defender would come to him. I suppose he was the best of his era, but I only saw him play when he was in the States and over the hill, so I don't know. The best I saw in the 80s and 90s was Maradona. In that era the game was extremely physical, so his strength was valued. He did not put up big stats, but he was great when it counted. In the last 15 years the best I have seen are Messi for shooting and passing and C Ronaldo for scoring in open space. Both are a few years past their primes. The best player of this World Cup is Mbappe.
So I don't think the best players transcend their eras, and in a game of 11 vs 11, the best players can only push their otherwise great teams over the top. Further, in low scoring games lots of upsets happen. I don't think players should be compared solely based on championships.
Well said and excellent points. Maybe I am biased, but, I still think Pele is the best player ever (as a kid, I watched every minute of every game in the 1970 World Cup and although Pele was a bit older by then, he was still spectacular). I have to agree that there are 10-20 other players who also deserve consideration.
. England (ranked #5) is clearly better than the other three and will advance to the round of 16. . US, Wales and Iran (ranked from #14 to #20) all have a shot to be the other team that advances from Group B. IMHO, luck and bounce of ball will play a big role. . I am guessing at least two out of those three teams will end up with 4 points and goal differentials will decide who advances and who goes home.
Egypt is a good side, they should have been in the tournament if not for a last game epic shootout choke job against Senegal.
Plus Mane now out for Senegal.
Qatar is lucky. They are the host and of course they get an automatic (undeserved) one seed. Then, they get a weak Ecuador in their group. And, now by far and away the best player in the Senegal side is out. Now Qatar has a good chance of advancing from Group stage (along with the only "good" team in that group: Netherland).
Games evolve over time. When Pele played, he could order lunch before a defender would come to him. I suppose he was the best of his era, but I only saw him play when he was in the States and over the hill, so I don't know. The best I saw in the 80s and 90s was Maradona. In that era the game was extremely physical, so his strength was valued. He did not put up big stats, but he was great when it counted. In the last 15 years the best I have seen are Messi for shooting and passing and C Ronaldo for scoring in open space. Both are a few years past their primes. The best player of this World Cup is Mbappe.
So I don't think the best players transcend their eras, and in a game of 11 vs 11, the best players can only push their otherwise great teams over the top. Further, in low scoring games lots of upsets happen. I don't think players should be compared solely based on championships.
Good take overall.
For Messi though, you will have a hard time finding serious Argentinian followers of the game who will think that he is a better player than Maradona, or that Maradona isn't at the very least the greatest player their country has ever produced. DM practically willed his team to their WC win in 1986, he had a squad that was relatively weak by their country's standards, hardly any stars on that team other than an aging Passarella.
Comment: "What people may not realize is, that just like the title indicates, all of that footage is from just ONE tournament (world cup 1986). This isn't a collection of footages from multiple tournaments, multiple years, clubs, etc. No, this is what he did in ONE tournament. Absolutely stunning performance. No player has ever played with that stamina, skills, speed, etc., in one tournament. "
Pel however had a constellation of talent around him in his WC winning squads, Brazil would have won without him. Half the '70 squad were total legends of Brazilian football on their own: Felix, Tostao, Jairzinho, Rivelinho, Carlos Alberto, Paulo Cesar, all these guys are absolute legends!
No one dominated a WC tournament the way Maradona dominated WC86, maybe Cryuff in `74, but then again that squad had a golden generation of talent around him, not unlike Beckenbauer`s 74 winners. DM also elevated an above avg but hardly spectacular Napoli squad to the top of Serie A, back when it was the best league in Europe.
Maradona had the best touch on the ball I`ve ever seen. He also had the full package, quickness, balance, physicality, dribbling, passing, shooting, scoring instincts as well as phenomenal vision and great intangibles and will, he elevates his teammates to great levels. Messi in comparison is a shrinking violet.
Johan Cruyff, one of the best. He had soccer moves no else has ever had. The other guys mentioned have / had speed and great technical kicking skills but not the moves. I saw him play at Ajax when he returned in his later years and he still had it. Holland got robbed in 1974 as West Germany was given a pk based on a flop of a German player. In1978 Holland was there again in the finals against Argentina when as the game was tied Rensenbrink hit the post right before the end of regular time. The Dutch lost in overtime. I am rooting for USA and Holland. Go Bears!
You know that the guy who blew the whistle on us had been privately paid to ref their spring intrasquad scrimmage, right?
Talk about a conflict of interest. All future referee assignments should be determined prior to signing the contract. By ALL schools.
The way I see it, Notre Dame TOTALLY had this guy in their pocket. They were playing like crap, and he decided it was his time to earn his offseason paycheck. And you know they are going to enrich him in various ways in the future as a result.
I view it as a massive scandal, actually. This is worse that getting a recruit a high paying job off campus. This actually was cheating ON the field, whereas said recruit still has to break tackles and run on his own.
Lol, you didn't read the follow up that Roxy misidentified the ref, so none of that was actually true?
