Subject: 2018 World Cup (at FT forums)
Posted by: Lpez
Date: May 19 18
Hello everyone! The most important tournament in international association football is coming soon, and it is very exciting! As we did four years ago, we will be having recaps and discussions at the FunTrivia Forums. I hope you will join us!
Posted by: Lpez
Date: May 19 18
Hello everyone! The most important tournament in international association football is coming soon, and it is very exciting! As we did four years ago, we will be having recaps and discussions at the FunTrivia Forums. I hope you will join us!
781 replies. On page 36 of 40 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
joecali 
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* Croatia its the 13th team in reach the final in the history of World Cup, the 12th was France(1998). * Every 20 years crown a new champion, Croatia can be continue? 1958 Brazil first championship 1978 Argentina first championship 1998 France first championship 2018 ???? Reply #701. Jul 11 18, 2:54 PM |
Mixamatosis
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I agree about Sterling. He's a brilliant player but he can't seem to score. He makes all the effort to get chances in front of goal but then seems to lose self belief when he has a chance to score. He lacks that final killer instinct. Reply #702. Jul 11 18, 2:54 PM |
sectant
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An interesting set of statistics there Joe. Similar to Italy playing in the final every 12 years from 1970 onwards. This year could have seen that trend continue if they had done the right thing by qualifying for the tournament in the first place! So can England beat Belgium for 3rd place? Reply #703. Jul 11 18, 3:05 PM |
| joecali
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´Croatia play 3 extra time and England finished with 10....it's so amazing the physical stamina of the Croatia players. Reply #704. Jul 11 18, 3:06 PM |
C30
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Quite how Croatia did not win by a considerably greater margin is beyond me.........well at least the best team won. England were much like the England we fans all know, still they were not expected to get THIS far, but this evening's show explains WHY we had no great expectations (leastways I didn't). Well done Croatia, IMO you were streets better than England. Reply #705. Jul 11 18, 3:09 PM |
Gil_Galad
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Croatia were better in the second half and the extra time. They deserve their place in the final. Reply #706. Jul 11 18, 3:19 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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I think your judgement is a bit harsh C30. It wasn't a walkover. England were dominant in the first half and the Croatian defence seemed easily overcome by England and seemed to have no answer to them. It looked as though England could have scored more, but the fact is they didn't and they lost their dominance as soon as Croatia equalised. Given that England's team is young and largely inexperienced in international games and they weren't expected to get beyond the Group stage they did well enough. Reply #707. Jul 11 18, 3:39 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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Sectant. That play off match for third place is a deadly game usually. Having failed to get through to the final, no team ever cares whether they come third or fourth, and no one ever remembers who came third anyway, but they are forced to play this match, often when their heart is not in it. Reply #708. Jul 11 18, 3:44 PM |
| sectant
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Yes, you're probably right. It's just an extra game for extra fans paying extra money to watch it, to satisfy FIFA. Reply #709. Jul 11 18, 3:56 PM |
terraorca
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Each team had second half and extra time chances that they could have capitalized on, but didn't. I agree that England seemed to lose their edge when Croatia scored their equalizer. But still, a valid point is raised that England shouldn't hang their head about what might have been and celebrate what was. Reply #710. Jul 11 18, 5:04 PM |
Lpez
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Apologies for the delay. This is a recap of the round of 16. The Games France 4-3 Argentina One of the best World Cup matches by far. This really showed how round of 16 raises the bar as both teams performed well (Argentina did much better than I thought they would.) France showed dominance though, and a great understanding between Griezmann and Mbappe (what a player!) I predict France will be in the final and even win, most likely. Glad Argentina is out, as they really had nothing to compete for the championship. Uruguay 2-1 Portugal Although kind of surprising, it makes sense that Cristiano Ronaldo could not always carry the weight of the whole team. Portugal, collectively was not a particularly strong team and Uruguay took advantage of that. Unfortunately for them, their star Edinson Cavani left the match injured and that seriously affects Uruguay's chances against France. Spain 1 (3)-(4) 1 Russia In a shocking turn of events, the hosts Russia, who are the worst ranked team in the competition, eliminated one of the favorites to win: Spain. Even though Spain passed the ball countless times, it wasn't enough to finish the match, and in penalties, Russia did the unthinkable. It was about time, as Spain took a hard hit with the firing of coach Julen Lopetegui a day before the World Cup began. A World Cup of surprises! Croatia 1 (3)-(2) 1 Denmark The first 10 minutes of the match were perhaps one of the most exciting ones in the tournament, with two goals within six minutes. Sadly, the rest of the match turned out to be very uneventful and quite boring. In the end, Croatia took it to extra time and then penalties to defeat Denmark despite a spectacular performance by Danish keeper Schmeichel. Brazil 2-0 Mexico No surprises here. Mexico has yet to overcome this hurdle of the "fifth match"/quinto partido and make it through the round of 16. Mexico simply does not have the quality to compete with the world's best 8. It is yet another disappointment that is no longer sad to me, because it's always the same (play my quiz Everything Looks Bad If You Remember It -http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Sports/Everything-Looks-Bad-if-You-Remember-It-369490.html) for more details. I don't even think Brazil was as good as everyone says, but Mexico has nothing to compete with. Sad. But normal. Belgium 3-2 Japan What a great match this was! The Japanese team surprised everyone with two goals at the beginning of the second half and were about to eliminate Belgium. Japan, a nation which qualified through the fair play criteria since it had less yellow cards than Senegal. Amazingly, Belgium came back from behind and scored three goals, including one at 94', that put a great team in quarter finals. Sweden 1-0 Switzerland A pretty "meh" match, little emotions and a lot of defensive play. The result was expected though, and Sweden went through the next round. I keep wondering how different it could've been for Mexico had it passed as first place of the group instead of second... Ahhhh... Colombia 1 (3)-(4) 1 England In perhaps the dirtiest match of the competition, Colombia and England fought hard for the last spot in the quarter finals. Colombia had to play without their injured star James Rodriguez, which most certainly affected their chances negatively. Colombia plays very differently with and without James. It was a good effort, but England was the better team. At the end, they had to break the penalty shootout curse and successfully passed to quarter finals. The Refs Iranian Alireza Faghani did a good job in FRA v ARG, he is one of the best in the World Cup, but it's very likely that a UEFA referee will get the final. Maybe he'll get the third place match. Mexican Cesar Ramos actually did a fantastic job in URU v POR, and he is a strong candidate for the third place match. People say he will be in the final, but I am almost certain it will be Bjorn Kuipers from the Netherlands, who did yet another great job in Spain v Russia. I am almost certain he will get the final. Another horrible performance by Argentine Nestor Pitana, who I don't understand why FIFA keeps designating him, this time in CRO v DEN. Italian Gianluca Rocchi and Senegalese Malang Diedhiou were fine in BRAvMEX and BELvJAP. Slovenian Damir Skomina, also one of the best refs of the competition, was good in SWEvsSWI, and to conclude, an atrocious performance by USA ref Mark Geiger. Perhaps the worst refereeing job in the entire World Cup. Geiger missed some clear yellow (and red) cards, especially for deserving Colombian players, through the penalty call was correct. It is important to understand that VAR and the ref are always communicating, even if it doesn't appear obvious. I watched an hour and a half press conference by Pierluigi Collina, I know what I'm talking about! Geiger lost control of the match and then started booking for undeserving fouls. He is always very controversial in international competitions, I don't know if he gets nervous or something. Who can forget that Mexico vs Panama semifinal in the Gold Cup that he officiated? Don't know what I'm talking about? Look it up, you will have fun. Thanks! Reply #711. Jul 11 18, 11:21 PM |
| Lpez
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Apologies for the delay. This is a recap of the quarter-finals. The Games Uruguay 0-2 France Mbappe has shown that he has potential to become the world's next top player... and he's only 19! A great game by France, a team that continues to prove that it may be the next champion. Uruguay really suffered from not having Cavani in the field, and also missed many clear chances. Brazil 1-2 Belgium Another match that will go down as one of the best of Russia 2018. Brazil and Belgium fought hard, but surprisingly, it was Belgium who played better and won the match. An early own goal by Brazil paved the way for Belgium, which played a spectacular first half. Even though Brazil created chances in the second half, even scoring, it was not enough to defeat a hopeful and brave Belgium. Way to go for them. Sweden 0-2 England Even though Sweden had asserted themselves as a powerful team by beating South Korea, Mexico, and Switzerland (and almost tying with Germany,) they did nothing in this match. The English squad was far superior and obtained a well-deserved win that gave the people of England hope (as many of you can attest to!) This generation of young English players has great things awaiting them. Russia 2 (3)-(4) 2 Croatia What seemed to be the most boring quarter-final on paper turned out to be one of the most exciting ones. Russia and Croatia both gave it their all, and took it yet again to extra time and penalties (both had done it in their previous matches.) Cheryshev opened with an amazing goal, again. Can't help but wonder what would've happened if Dzagoev had never injured himself in the opener against Saudi Arabia. Cheryshev would not have come in as a substitute and we would have missed all his magic! He turned out to be Russia's star, and wasn't even considered to start! At extra time, Croatia scored a goal that seemed to end the match, but Fernandes gave Russia more hope minutes before the end, taking it to penalties. In the end, it was Croatia who took the victory and earned a place in the semi-finals. The Refs Sometimes I don't understand FIFA's way of behaving. Even though there is no official rule stating that refs should not be from a confederation of a participating team, it is an unwritten rule. Nestor Pitana, who has not done a good job in my opinion, was appointed for Uruguay v France when there is a clear conflict because he is Argentinian (not only are Argentina and Uruguay football rivals, but France just eliminated Argentina days before!) Should this impact his work? Probably not. But why leave room for misinterpretations if there are so many other referees to choose from? Pitana didn't do that bad here, but I really hope they don't give him the final. He does not deserve it. Serbian Milorad Mazic was good at BRA vs BEL. Bjorn Kuipers from Netherlands, the best referee in Europe, probably the world, and of this tournament, led Sweden vs England very well. He is my candidate for the final. Brazilian Sandro Ricci also did a good job in RUS vs CRO in what was probably his last match in Russia. Thanks! Reply #712. Jul 12 18, 1:01 AM |
| joecali
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Pitana after the Uruguay vs France or Ricci deserve the final. Mark Geiger it's a mess. I dont know how the FIFA select the referi but he fail in a technical play and this must be disqualify to continue, the score of Vaccawas annulated for have two balls in game, but the second ball no come to the field was stopped by the assistant. Only two yellow cards for England in a very frightening game for both teams. Barrios make a heatbut in the chest and deserved a red card. Morrocco put a question over the referi about he ask for the shirt of Cristiano Ronaldo in the game Portugal vs Morrocco. It's a shame this referi, he don't deserve more international games. Reply #713. Jul 12 18, 1:47 AM |
| Lpez
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Nestor Pitana from Argentina will officiate the final between France and Croatia. A shame, I don't think he deserved it. Bjorn Kuipers was much more deserving. Iranian Alireza Faghani will officiate the third place match between Belgium and England. Reply #714. Jul 12 18, 12:07 PM |
| Lpez
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This is a recap of the semi-finals. I will be offline for the third place and final match, so I will post those recaps on Monday. Thank you all for following these threads and commenting your opinions. At times we disagreed, and that made the discussion even better. I really enjoy doing this and I hope you did as well. Hopefully, we will see each other again in four years! I will write an extensive number of quizzes about this World Cup, so please feel free to check those out as they are published. Thank you again! The Games and Their Refs France 1-0 Belgium One of the best matches of the tournament, as expected. Belgium played a good game, but France was superior and earned its spot in the final. Players of the quality of Griezmann, Mbappe and Pogba really shined. Lloris also gave a great performance. I predict France will win the World Cup, and well-deservedly so. A very good performance by Belgium though, that is a generation of players that can achieve even better things. Andres Cunha from Uruguay did an OK job. Croatia 2-1 England AET With the early English goal by Trippier (an excellent one), it seemed that we would watch an amazing final: France vs England. However, Croatia fought back and after the first goal, the young English players panicked and didn't know how to react. The consequence? At extra time, the Croatians caught the defense off-guard and scored a goal that sealed their first pass to a WC final in history. Good for them. As for England, just like Belgium, it is a generation with great potential and I'm sure they will come back with an even better game. Turkish Cuneyt Cakir did a good job as well. What's Next THIRD PLACE MATCH Belgium vs England - July 14, 2018 at 8am FST -- Referee is Alireza Faghani (IRA) FINAL France vs Croatia - July 15, 2018 at 9am FST -- Referee is Nestor Pitana (ARG) Thanks! Reply #715. Jul 12 18, 12:50 PM |
| joecali
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When I see Pitana in the game Uruguay vs France, i see as a test, if Pitana do right he will be selected as the final referi, and they selected to the Argentina's referi. After the meltdown of South America in the quarterfinals I put a referi as Pitana or Ricci in the finals. Reply #716. Jul 12 18, 3:50 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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I wouldn't normally comment on someone's English because it's so amazing that you can keep up a commentary like this in a second language, but what do you mean by 'annulated' Joe? I didn't understand that. I think you've used the word more than once. Reply #717. Jul 12 18, 6:02 PM |
| Lpez
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Mix, as a native Spanish speaker myself, I think Joe meant “disallowed”, the Spanish word is “anulado”. Reply #718. Jul 12 18, 11:23 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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Thanks Lpez. Reply #719. Jul 13 18, 12:49 AM |
| Mixamatosis
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I said the playoff for 3rd place (today) is usually not a game that arouses excitement, but there is the Golden Boot to consider. Harry Kane is in line for that with 6 goals so far and Lukaku of Belgium is next in line with 4 goals, so I guess there's an incentive for them to compete for that, and if England comes 3rd that will be their highest ranking for over 2 decades. It will be interesting to see if they go all out to win on a 'nothing to lose' basis or whether they largely play B teams. Reply #720. Jul 13 18, 11:13 PM |
781 replies. On page 36 of 40 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
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