WORLD CUP 2018

Teetonetal

Maybe, with a little luck we will get to see England A vs Belgium A in the final

EricTheWeary

guitars4you said:

after the two games today I can't see Belgium giving France to hard a time of it. Don't want to admit it but France look the best option left in the tournament 

regarding Belgium then one own goal and one great strike but otherwise very little else going forward and created little from midfield. Keeper man of the match IMO by a big margin 

...and Brazil were denied a penalty. Belgium had a bit of luck today, they also looked a bit ragged toward the end. 

lovestrat74

Just like the martinez interview after the England game...it would be nice if we meet in the final. .. Well I think that will be the the final ..Belgium v England 

axisus

EricTheWeary said:

guitars4you said:

after the two games today I can't see Belgium giving France to hard a time of it. Don't want to admit it but France look the best option left in the tournament 

regarding Belgium then one own goal and one great strike but otherwise very little else going forward and created little from midfield. Keeper man of the match IMO by a big margin 

...and Brazil were denied a penalty. Belgium had a bit of luck today, they also looked a bit ragged toward the end. 

Shearer said that they didn't get the penalty cos of Neymar's earlier diving antics, serves the cheating little twat right. 

Personally I don't see how it should be a penalty when the ball was clearly going out anyway? Not that I am fully conversant with the rules.

EricTheWeary

axisus said:

EricTheWeary said:

guitars4you said:

after the two games today I can't see Belgium giving France to hard a time of it. Don't want to admit it but France look the best option left in the tournament 

regarding Belgium then one own goal and one great strike but otherwise very little else going forward and created little from midfield. Keeper man of the match IMO by a big margin 

...and Brazil were denied a penalty. Belgium had a bit of luck today, they also looked a bit ragged toward the end. 

Shearer said that they didn't get the penalty cos of Neymar's earlier diving antics, serves the cheating little twat right. 

Personally I don't see how it should be a penalty when the ball was clearly going out anyway? Not that I am fully conversant with the rules.

I’m not 100% clear. Just read a bunch of online explanations from which I gathered that the journalists from The Sun, The Mirror, etc, are no clearer than I am. I had thought Kompany went in studs up but looking at the pictures he didn’t and that ball was going out. 
Obviously I’m waiting now to hear what Maradona has to say on the subject for the definitive version. 

BigLicks67

EricTheWeary said:

axisus said:

EricTheWeary said:

guitars4you said:

after the two games today I can't see Belgium giving France to hard a time of it. Don't want to admit it but France look the best option left in the tournament 

regarding Belgium then one own goal and one great strike but otherwise very little else going forward and created little from midfield. Keeper man of the match IMO by a big margin 

...and Brazil were denied a penalty. Belgium had a bit of luck today, they also looked a bit ragged toward the end. 

Shearer said that they didn't get the penalty cos of Neymar's earlier diving antics, serves the cheating little twat right. 

Personally I don't see how it should be a penalty when the ball was clearly going out anyway? Not that I am fully conversant with the rules.

I’m not 100% clear. Just read a bunch of online explanations from which I gathered that the journalists from The Sun, The Mirror, etc, are no clearer than I am. I had thought Kompany went in studs up but looking at the pictures he didn’t and that ball was going out. 
Obviously I’m waiting now to hear what Maradona has to say on the subject for the definitive version. 

I think Maradona has been silenced now after FIFA threatened to withdraw his 10k a game appearance fee.

RandallFlagg

England are evens to win the game on Betfair with Sweden at 4/1. I'm nervous about England. If it wasn't for that penalty against Columbia did we really have many shots on goal?

This is the best England team I have seen in 20 years we can build up the attacks nicely from defence through midfield but we just need that ruthless one touch flair and magic in the closing attack and shots on target.

Fingers crossed. 

lovestrat74

axisus said:

Personally I don't see how it should be a penalty when the ball was clearly going out anyway? Not that I am fully conversant with the rules.

Exactly This!! Why can't 4 well paid "experts" even see this. He would never have got to that ball therefore it was not within his control. Come on its bloody obvious isn't it!?!?

crunchman

lovestrat74 said:

axisus said:

Personally I don't see how it should be a penalty when the ball was clearly going out anyway? Not that I am fully conversant with the rules.

Exactly This!! Why can't 4 well paid "experts" even see this. He would never have got to that ball therefore it was not within his control. Come on its bloody obvious isn't it!?!?

I don't think the laws of the game explicitly refer to a player having control or not.  I'm not a referee though, so I don't know the correct interpretation.

The idea of VAR is that it's for overruling howlers, not ones that could be argued either way.  Having said that, it did look like a penalty to me, but given that it's Neymar, justice was probably done.

Modellista

RandallFlagg said:

England are evens to win the game on Betfair with Sweden at 4/1. I'm nervous about England. If it wasn't for that penalty against Columbia did we really have many shots on goal?

This is the best England team I have seen in 20 years we can build up the attacks nicely from defence through midfield but we just need that ruthless one touch flair and magic in the closing attack and shots on target.

Fingers crossed. 

I rewatched the mini highlights last night and there were a few decent chances in the first half that I'd forgotten about. Made me feel better about England going into today's match. Luck does come into it, obviously there weren't any that actually went in apart from the penalty, but they certainly are capable of creating chances. 

Fretwired

According to the BBC the Swedes are scared of ... (drum roll) .. badgers .... :-)

Maybe we should become the 'three badgers' for the game ... :-)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/VLNmz6sKkmMW4CJTFQPpnF/six-weird-things-you-never-knew-about-sweden?intc_type=singletheme&intc_location=radio4&intc_campaign=worldcup&intc_linkname=article_weirdthingsaboutsweden_contentcard66

p90fool

I wouldn't like to guess at England's chances today, but they have made a few chances and played some fairly entertaining football, even for a neutral. 

Not really scintillating stuff, but a lot more than the last couple of decades of boring the opposition into submission. 

vale

"The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses 10-0 dear..."

Come on Sweden!

underdog

RandallFlagg said:

England are evens to win the game on Betfair with Sweden at 4/1. I'm nervous about England. If it wasn't for that penalty against Columbia did we really have many shots on goal?

I do think that's an obvious point most seem to be missing, there was no creativity, lots of the ball against Colombia but really didn't do much with it. It could have been so very different in that game, I'm not sure the team have shown anything yet that suggests they can beat a good team.

ourmaninthenorth

England 2 Sweden 1


 Russia 1 Croatia 3


We then go on to crush Croatia in the semi's 14 - 6

And batter Hazard...whoops..I mean Belgium, 4 nowt in the Final.

Some people are on the piss, they think it's all over..it is now. 

axisus

Bellycaster

Sterling is a fucking liability!

EricTheWeary

Good to be winning although England could be more together. 

menamestom

Bellycaster said:

Sterling is a fucking liability!

No he’s not.  He’s a forwad getting in to good positions.  He has pace and causes a threat.

But he’s bottling it at the last minute.  He’s thinking when he should be instinctive.  

So he’s definitely more if a bottler than a liability.
I want to see Rashford 2nd half (well after 60 min so Sterling doesn’t get too affected be being substituted).

We need to score again, need to take more risks as Sweden are there for the taking. 

57Deluxe

the fucking smugness of the Commentary team though is arse cheek clenching...