World Cup 2018 hype, anticipation, consternation etc.

Saving 'Telstar Showponies' for the tournament itself. Anyway, there's a month to go, the squads are out, and so is Jack Wilshere. Let's do this.

This is a fingerlicking good squad:

France squad:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Adil Rami (Marseille), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)

No doubt they'll disappoint.

Presnel Kimpembe <--- excellent name

france my faves in both senses

ya i have only two senses dwi

That France squad is a bit um ow you say top heavy

Germany ftw again

rooting for a non-European win!

the thought of roberto martinez overseeing belgium win the world cup is pretty irresistible

of the other the other teams with a chance I would like to see uruguay do it, looks like their team is more exciting this year and if anyone deserves the platform of a world cup final to totally disgrace themselves it's suarez

I enjoyed this bit of absurd but ofc correct regionalism:

https://i.imgur.com/Nwm6LFE.jpg

Morocco

Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)

Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (LOSC)

Midfielders: M'barek Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke 04)

Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax).

Would really like to see Morocco do well. As well as Senegal, who've got a decent squad too.

Ludo otm tbf, I'd welcome an Argentina win.

reasonable odds on argentina not making it out of their group

What's the worst-case scenario out of all the plausible winners? I can't think of many more joyless eventualities than a grinding Portugal win.

Also what are France's fullback options like given they're picking Mendy who has barely kicked a ball all season.

england

otm

I said plausible ffs.

Also lololol just realised David Luiz isn't in the Brazil squad.

oh god not this shit again, has it really been four years

Maybe a bit soon now but that France squad + 4 more years looks spooky.

Will be supporting the teams of my foreign pals (Peru, Senegal, Belgium, Sweden and Iceland) - hopefully one can make it to the quarters/semis (prob. Belgium I guess).

Wouldn't mind seeing England make it to the semis or final as I'm fond of most of their players, but I'd hate to see them win it.

Predict Belgium will do nothing. Brazil are favourites?

Also what are France's fullback options like given they're picking Mendy who has barely kicked a ball all season

For context, Debuchy was in strong contention.

This should be a fun World Cup as all the main teams look eminently beatable.

I'd like Mexico to do well. They're not necessarily a great side but if Hirving Lozano is in form they should be interesting.

Mexico is p good. If Lozano has to be in form, ok, but we're not letting him go for anything under $100 million ffs.

my favourite thing from the last World Cup was watching Mexico batter Croatia in a bar full of Mexican students

Nothing will ever beat that Brazil v Germany semi final. Nothing.

Denmark (final 23 to be confirmed)

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Frederik Ronnow (Brondby), Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield), Jesper Hansen (FC Midtjylland).

Defenders: Simon Kjaer (Sevilla), Andreas Bjelland (Brentford), Mathias Jorgensen (Huddersfield), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford), Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jens Stryger Larsen (Udinese), Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich), Nicolai Boilesen, Peter Ankersen (both FC Copenhagen), Riza Durmisi (Real Betis).

Midfielders: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Daniel Wass (Celta Vigo), Lasse Schone (Ajax Amsterdam), Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux), Mathias Jensen (Nordsjaelland), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Deportivo La Coruna), Mike Jensen (Rosenborg), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton), Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen), William Kvist (FC Copenhagen).

Forwards: Andreas Cornelius (Atalanta), Kasper Dolberg (Ajax), Kenneth Zohore (Cardiff City), Martin Braithwaite (Bordeaux), Nicklas Bendtner (Rosenborg), Nicolai Jorgensen (Feyenoord), Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo), Robert Skov, Viktor Fischer (both FC Copenhagen), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig).

I quite honestly got nothing. Eriksen is the good one.

decent chance he won't be too tapped out, what with tottenham not figuring among the end of season prizes

we got bendtner do do do do do do

sorry im still bitter

was gonna say at least Denmark has the Lord

It was quite heartening to find out Zanka and Lossl had made the squad, until I looked at the squad :p

joking of course!

In other completely SHOCKING news, Platini admits they tinkered with the draw in the past to get their 'dream final'

This page is updating with final rosters as they are announced: https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/05/15/world-cup-rosters-every-nation-russia-2018

bummed that Payet isn't gonna play, but I watched those tears Wednesday night, RIP

Payet has been pretty bad this season but it's great to see Thauvin make the cut.

I haven't watched the Premier League for two years because of some regrettable circumstances so I'm excited to see how this England team fares, packed as it is with promising inclusions like [squints at notes] functional left-back Ashley Young

Nainggolan and Icardi both miss out

Can someone explain Nainggolan/Martinez beef to someone who hasn't been paying attention?

Beef's been going on for quite some time. They just don't click. Nainggolan admitting to being a smoker didn't help. Still a pretty foolish decision imo, they don't have another player like him, but apparently Martinez thinks he's a bad seed.

it's gonna be so sad when germany wins it again

Nainggolan got sonned in a Martinez beef

Gonna miss him being out there looking like a Streets of Rage bad guy

Oh I guess Morata didn't make it either

Neither did Fàbregas, though that's not that surprising given Spains squad.

Icardi is a weird one: he eloped with Maxi Lopez' wife, tattood Lopez' kids' names on his own arms. Lopez being a very good friend of Messi, I'm sure that had something to do with it.

just a bit of ink, let's be cool

What's wrong with the Brazil squad this time? Looks fearsome on paper but I guess they'll contrive to flake out somehow.

I can't remember which I hate most, high-maintenance prima donna players or managers with their own fragile ego problems, that can't handle their best players. But I've always thought Martinez was a poseur and a nobhead. I think Mooy likes a ciggie or two as well, but he'll be deffo in the Aussie squad!

Yeah come on though, the Aussie squad are probably doing Jagerbombs in the dressing room.

is Red Bull a banned substance y/n?

Martinez mistake has been saying he's leaving Radja out for "tactical reasons", which obv isn't true and has the nation up in arms now.

van Marwijk looks a bit austere and disciplinarian - cue some pic of him eyeballing some vodka in the dressing room with a bifta!

van Marwijk looks a bit austere and disciplinarian

This is a very kind way to describe someone who looks run down and suicidal tbh

There's a perpetual weariness in his dead eyes that I'm sure will bring the Aussies great success.

idk there is a fairly big spectrum between having a permanent smiley demeanour and the full Praljak, he seems a bit glum i suppose!

I'm biased because of his tired lamentatious 'can't a man just have a job anymore? It's PC gone mad'-defense when he was under fire for taking the Saudi Arabia job. I'm sure he's a cheerful chipper in Oz.

The full Praljak :)

Australia offshores refugees to let them die tho so I'm sure he'll feel right at home

White van Marwijk

Fucker should be at the Hague for the crimes of that 2010 Dutch side tbh

he was probably thinking: if I was a Brit I'd get a peerage for working with the Saudis over there ffs!

Not to mention getting to a World Cup final by playing shitty horrible football.

Groups G and F look fairly nailed on (Ger-Mex and Bel-Eng), probably B too (Esp-Prt but dear god I would love to see an upset)

E and C look fairly predictable (Brazil & France should win easily, Switzerland might fuck up, Peru are something of an unknown to me and their star striker Guerrero has a doping ban, so it might be tight). A is low on quality but it's hard to say who will qualify with Uruguay, I would guess Egypt but not seen any of them play and imagine it could be very cagey

The two juicy groups are D (a last outing for an awesome Croatian midfield, a promising young Nigeria side, an uncertain and defensively suspect Argentina w/ a deep-lying, frustrated Messi and Iceland, who will probably be the most rapturously motivated team there - I'd probably guess Arg-Hrv but stoked for this madness) and H, the group of life - (c) Tom D - in which you might favour Colombia but there's no real big boys. Senegal seem potentially exciting if perhaps vulnerable, and it really does look the most open I can ever recall a group

With that, the announced squads and recent form in mind I offer my amended and even more authoritative rankings:

Spain
Germany
Brazil
France
Uruguay
Portugal
Belgium
Argentina
England
Mexico
Croatia
Switzerland
Colombia
Egypt
Peru
Nigeria
Poland
Senegal
Morocco
Japan
South Korea
Iran
Serbia
Iceland
Denmark
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Costa Rica
Panama
Tunisia
Sweden
Australia

England are taking 6 full backs and none of them are as good as Alonso, who is apparently surplus to Spanish requirements

i'm not trolling when i say i don't think Eng are anything like nailed on, tho i expect an increased tactical competence level this year ought to be enough to get them through. can see them out with 4 points tho.

Guerrero having his ban shortened and then extended was cruel. Peru still have Jefferson Farfan though.

I think Serbia could pip Switzerland in Brazil’s group. Matic / Milinkovic Savic / Ljajic is a very solid midfield.

Round of 16 prediction (or at least what might be the most likely outcome on paper)

Uruguay v Portugal
Spain v Russia
France v Croatia
Argentina v Peru
Brazil v Sweden
Germany v Serbia
Belgium v Poland
Colombia v England

But hopefully it will be far more interesting than that (and at least one African side gets through but looks particularly tough for all of them this time imo)

I'd say Egypt has a decent chance to progress along with Uruguay. Russia's not that impressive.

And I'm hoping Morocco kicks out Portugal in the first round. I can see it happening.

gonna be willing on my boy Romain obv

I’d love Senegal to do well and I’d think they’d have at least as good a chance of progression as Egypt.

Agreed.

Aren't Morocco meant to be the strongest of the African teams in the tournament?

Lol! I was in a hospital waiting room earlier and there was a 2010 England World Cup annual on a table. On the Rooney profile it had: "The hopes of England are being carried on this young man's very strong shoulders".

I think Croatia could maybe get away with being a place or two higher on Ogmor's list but otherwise it looks pretty OTM. At least one of those bottom-half teams will end up in the QFs though.

this is doing the rounds...

I'm utterly convinced that Mesut Ozil's autobiography was ghost-written by Alan Partridge. pic.twitter.com/qf73mUfVFL

— Pip 🐝 (@pipmadeley) May 23, 2018

haha

I counted Croatia's highly fuck-upable group against them (they lost a game & came second to Iceland in qualifying remember!)

At least one of those bottom-half teams will end up in the QFs though.

this is why I love the world cup.

YES

And it's bound to be Denmark! Is Argentina any good this time?

with Lossl and Zanka at the back - anything is possible- dare to dream Fred!

Argentina are great on paper but barely scraped through qualifying.

Who are those guys? Only one of them is on the team, and he won't be the goalkeeper as long as we got a Schmeichel.

(I'm kidding, I do know who Zanka is)

“My former youth coach (Johan Lange) had seen the movie 'Cool Runnings' and we were coming back from training about 20 minutes from where I was living in Copenhagen and we had to cram a lot of people in the car,” explained Mathias 'Zanka' Jorgensen.

“I was sat in front of the passenger seat in what seemed like a bobsleigh and he looked down and said 'Sanka' (one of the films characters) and it just caught on.

“By the end of high school everyone was calling me 'Zanka' and when I signed my first contract at Copenhagen they asked me what I wanted on my shirt.

Since the USA didn't qualify I'm just looking forward to some quality CONCACAFing of various teams, especially England v Panama and Belgium v Panama. It's hard to say because who knows what kind of team will show up, but I wouldn't count Costa Rica out in Group E.

I am partial to the Belgium jersey but think I will go with Mexico as my North American replacement team.

The games are at horrible times in the states; most of them are in the morning or afternoon.

xps özil channeling his inner steve bruce imo

Peru star Paolo Guerrero will play in the World Cup after all following Swiss Supreme Court decision. A nation breathes a sigh of relief.

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) May 31, 2018

Good news, imo. Though idk how fit he will be.

somebody reminded me last night that VAR will happen and now i want to kill myself/never watch football ever again

don't know why it didn't click before but here we are, world cup fucked, football fucked, dystopian 80s comic version of the game established, don't @ me if you think this is ok you hate the game anyway

Otm. As if punditry already isn't laughably dire enough, discussion of every decision but NOW WITH ADDED VAR AND EVEN MORE ANGLES AND SHIT is stuff of nightmares.

massive queue at the Regent St Nike shop this a.m. presumably for World Cup kit

Yep, Nigeria’s excellent new shirt.

xps Keep seeing Lampard's non goal cited as a reason but surely the goal line technology would now get that correct without any need for all the extra shit that surrounds VAR

<3 VAR

Pretty sure that VAR will go the way of the Golden Goal not long after this World Cup, people will be pretty furious after the third of fourth game of pointless dicking around with iPads.

Yep, Nigeria’s excellent new shirt.

Feeling Croatia's biggest ever check squares here.

Pretty sure that VAR will go the way of the Golden Goal not long after this World Cup

praying for this because the alternative is the literal death of football, and if we tolerate this then 20 minute quarters and a timer that stops every time the the ball goes dead will be next

The Brazilians have been trying to change the rules to make football more like basketball for as long as I can remember, so much for the beautiful game.

tbf the sport has struggled for popularity over the last 150 years, it clearly needs to be fucked right up

Are they doing the one team takes two penalties then the other thing? Hope so.

I look forward to the WC finals when they start picking random national anthems out of a tombola and doing pisstake parodies of it with farting noises.

is there a Russian vuvuzela?

VAR does give TV the option of slipping in a quick advert - obviously one of the most infuriating aspects football, from a money making perspective, is having two continuous halves of 45 minutes.

is there a Russian vuvuzela?

― StanM, Friday, 1 June 2018 11:30 (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

one in every thousand has a strychnine-coated mouthpiece

*novichuk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQaVMov5LEw

Sterling's "decision making" still so shit

Belgium is playing a friendly against Portugal and guess who got injured? Kompany.

Was at Field Day yesterday and there were people in Nigeria shirts everywhere. Can't remember such a successful kit launch.

gonna be a grey Utd kit style disaster at the tournament, mark my words...

Think they will be wearing the away strip (also v nice) against Croatia anyway.

Mark my words, the success of this nigeria kit launch portends dire things for football shirt design.

Oh man I'm looking forward to some wacky arrows and diamonds Palace shirts.

I'm liking Colombia, Germany and Croatia's this time around. England, Switzerland and Tunisia probably the worst.

gonna divide these up by group because there are a few i'd like to see do well

group a
uruguay

group b
spain

group c
france
peru

group d
argentina
iceland

group e
switzerland

group f
korea

group h
colombia
japan

wouldn't mind if nigeria and/or senegal make it to the quarterfinals, though

no sané for germany :/

Wow... That's simply disgraceful. I had him down as one of the possible revelations of the tournament. Mario Gómez and Julian Brandt over Sané?! Gtfo

I want my bicycle back iirc

apparently he always plays poorly for the national team

well he's not gonna get better at it not playing at all. Löw out.

I don't follow closely enough to know: why no Mario Göetze?

Götze had a pretty bad year (which may or may not have something to do with his metabolic disorder)

he's had a bit of a faltering career since last WC. stint at bayern was patchy, didn't play great on return to dortmund then missed 5 or 6 months last year with his illness, then didn't play great the season past on return from illness.

No Karius either

consternation, indeed https://www.theringer.com/2018/6/5/17428184/2018-world-cup-us-soccer-inside-story-jurgen-klinsmann-sunil-gulati-bruce-arena

A loss to Trinidad and Tobago sealed their fate, but according to players, coaches, commentators, and executives across American soccer, the disaster doesn’t come down to just one unfortunate result. No, it was the culmination of nearly a decade of mismanagement that broke the team’s spirit and condemned them to failure.

Nah it really was just cos of losing that one final game.

xxxxpost but describing Nainggolan as a Streets of Rage baddie is perfect.

Worse than not taking Nainggolan, he is taking Boyata. I can only assume he's never seen him play.

Pretty sure that VAR will go the way of the Golden Goal not long after this World Cup

praying for this because the alternative is the literal death of football, and if we tolerate this then 20 minute quarters and a timer that stops every time the the ball goes dead will be next

― Karius whisper (Noodle Vague), Friday, June 1, 2018 11:49 AM (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Really hoping for this.

What I think will happen is that the group stage will be an absolute shit-show of misuses and infernal standing around for five minutes at a time while refs who have never used the technology struggle with its logical inconsistencies and moronic implementation, then they'll barely use it in the knockout because public opinion towards it will be complete poisonous.

Yeah but Lank Frampard’s wonder goal and the injustice.

as a civil servant im now inured to the frustration of a good idea being implemented from the top down in the worst possible manifestation purely as a fuck-you to nobody in particular, so yeah sure lets enjoy the shitshow

https://football-technology.fifa.com/media/171743/var_japan.jpg

It's real simple: if you want VAR you hate football and fuck ypu

Yeah but Lank Frampard’s wonder goal and the injustice.

Best thing about this one is that the 'old' goal-line technology would have solved that one just fine.

I am really looking forward to how confused and angry VAR is going to make Jonathan Pearce. That's about the only positive.

There have been predictably abysmal VAR fuckups in MLS this season thus far, mostly involving inconsistent application of what gets reviewed and what does not. It's shit.

England manager Gareth Southgate says the "idealistic" response from players who are racially abused at the World Cup would be to walk off the pitch - but he does not think they would.

World Cup 2018: England have 'plan in place' if players are racially abused

Been watching this cowardice shitshow for a while now. Can't exactly say the title reflects what's being said in the article. There is no plan in place because Southgate thinks the players won't walk off? You're in charge. If there's racist abuse just call your players in. It's not complicated.

Or does he want the abuse VAR'ed first?

Man this is going to be one lame world cup isn't it?

I'm looking forward to it but it doesn't seem like too many other people are.

enjoying other ppls dissatisfaction is essential to having fun in a tournament which barely anyone's preferred scenarios play out

the gripe I'm most looking fwd to is ppl complaining that international football is slow and irrelevant

Even the commercial build-up seems notably muted so far, like I've barely seen any big superstar adverts from Nike or Adidas or anything. Maybe that's because it's Russia, maybe it's the declining real-time TV audience. Or it might be the fact that Italy, Holland and the US aren't in it, which is three sizeable markets out of the window from the start. And no one expects England to do anything.

anyone seen any of those pesky england flags yet?

Doesn't feel like there are enough juicy ties in the group stage compared to four years ago which doesn't help. Looking forward to seeing how Groups D, F and H play out, the rest not so much.

i'm enormously enthusiastic, tbh. There are no obvious winners, lots of teams in interesting stages of transition, a bunch like Egypt and Peru that haven't qualified in ages, etc.

not being excited abt the world cup is a moral failing

taken a few days off work. already excited about getting up at 6am on the weekend. bring it on imo

I took voluntary redundancy solely so I could watch the World Cup uninterrupted, I fucking love it

If you think this group stage is looking like a grind wait until they have 48 teams involved.

Recent tournaments it's the group stages that have been the most fun

100%

If you think this group stage is looking like a grind wait until they have 48 teams involved.

This is potentially better in having groups of three so no more dead rubbers which are a much bigger problem than VAR imo. Ideally every team would still play at least three matches though - going home after just two not quite right either.

Agree that the 2014 group stage was mostly good.

i'm sorry but nothing is a bigger problem than VAR and dead rubbers are fun

here's the adidas ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqaUF2JNY_U

rubbish tbh

egypt vs uruguay in siberia is what poets used to call life's relish, the barely perceptible soft bleed of colour at the very fringes of the brutalist monochromacy of existence

Caught an itv world cup advert which explicitly alluded to Italy and Holland's non-qualification, but also featured Iceland- cos everyone likes Iceland, right? And then I can't remember any more, I presume they must have mentioned england but lol i think even itv are struggling a bit with that

Xp- otm re soft bleed of colour

my irish-italian-american barber was telling me he is all in on colombia

Nothing like the supremely bored look on a World Cup ref's face when overseeing the final minutes of a game where both teams only need a draw to qualify.

Is there an Iceland backlash yet? Cos I want in if so

Not until after the Argentina match imo

idk i still haven't gotten sick of seeing some of the world's most talented teams losing to the likes of guys named Hordur Magnússon or Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson

Reckon I'll get sick of them at the exact time when they grind out a 1-0 win against Croatia, ending their World Cup and most of their international careers.

i had the option of takimg a month unpaid leave this year and used it for october and now im kicking myself*

*wasnt picked up on VAR obv

lolz

Is there an Iceland backlash yet? Cos I want in if so

― Number None, Thursday, June 7, 2018 3:30 PM (fourteen minutes ago)

yeah fuck these indie wankers

They’ve not been playing particularly well recently.

Suspect there might be a migration of hipster support to Nigeria when the two face off.

the usage of hipster as pejorative is at its most baffling and indefensible in a footballing context

and yet...

focuses lens

focuses lens

squints

focuses lens

yes...
there's something there alright

all enemies of the Proper Football Man authentocracy are to be disparaged

It’s not even particularly pejorative in this context.

my irish-italian-american barber was telling me he is all in on colombia

― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 7 June 2018 14:58 (fifty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

love unsubtle drug dealer text message code terms

all enemies of the Proper Football Man authentocracy are to be disparaged

hipster football man now just a subcategory of the pfm imo

different rules and codes but a catholic institution in its own latté way

i love VAR

hipster football man is the imaginary enemy which PFM codify themselves to oppose so ofc its similarly rubbish

football centrist dads unite

The only people who use hipster in the pejorative in footballing terms are bovine Chelsea fans and antediluvian Brian Clough stans.

This England line-up is decidedly second-string but Rashford looks like he should be in the starting XI against Tunisia. Although this is the first time I've watched an England match in maybe two years and I'm already hoping they intercept the brass band at the border and invite them to spend the duration of the tournament in a gulag.

idk yall it might be different with the younger set these days, but in USA simply having an interest in p much any non-trad american sport (soccer, cycling, cricket, w/e) gets you labeled a hipster p quickly

high correlation ime of usa soccer fans supporting iceland since usa didn't qualify

(not me, concacaf 4 lyfe, vamos canaleros y ticos)

the non-pejorative hipster is the real baffler, like a non-pejorative cultural marxist, a neutral way of referring to pretentious degenerates

trying to work out if jones and stones make up for each other's shortcomings but it's hard to tell against costa rica. this isn't vardy's sort of game at all

If I were a weird twitter guy I'd try and start some shit by claiming Iceland are the team of the alt-right

I'm a total stan for old days football when blah blah poor kids would kick a severed head around the council estate and you would get free admission at 3/4 time etc.. but am aware it is probably not an interesting pov, and in a similar manner Meades showed the other week - being grumpy dad about modern football is a pretty dull and useless act at best! But i won't ever apologise for wishing death upon Franchise!

high correlation ime of usa soccer fans supporting iceland since usa didn't qualify

Not here, Peru's my team. (My Deeply Correct Bias is in no way the result of my girlfriend's dad being Peruvian. Or is it.)

this american will be in portugal next week, so it will be hard not to root for the fightin' ronaldos, at least against spain.

Keep wondering who this rampaging guy bursting through the field is, just realised it's The Other (Non-Zaha) Reason Palace Stayed Up

trying to work out if jones and stones make up for each other's shortcomings but it's hard to tell against costa rica.

Or as I call them, Brian and Rolling.

Gamboa? Is he still at Celtic?

... yes!

For real if we couldn't progress with a back four including Ferdinand, Terry and Ashley Cole we aren't doing shit with this lot.

For a guy who was clearly the last name on the squad sheet, Danny Welbeck's international scoring record is kind of ridiculous.

Is it better than Peter Crouch's though?

lol @ Leeds fans booing Man U players. Never seen a more one-sided delusion of trans-Pennine rivalry since Stalybridge drew some fucking N prem club that had never heard of them before, in the league cup.

high correlation ime of usa soccer fans supporting iceland since usa didn't qualify

Do you have many non-Latinx Americans rooting for Mexico or is the rivalry too great?

i am not latinx but here in new mex i'd have to imagine most latinx folks are gonna be cheering for mexico unless they're seriously into being norteno

my own policy is cheer for the usa when they play mexico, cheer for mexico when they play p much anyone else

lotsa non-latinx fans around here would love to see mexico run deep. or any central/so. american team. stick it to europe.

myself included. but i like belgium i think, also.

*i don't know what the rivalry situation is between mexico and its central american neighbors, so if someone's like, from guatemala, they might not cheer for mexico?

that's p much how i feel, andrew, also w the exception of belgium

i like all those players that aren't fellaini

Costa Rica's Ian Smith is my new favourite player.

Is there an Iceland backlash yet? Cos I want in if so

sorry i'm late but YES YES YES fuck this football realness booshit

I'm not rooting for Mexico, but I don't wish them any particular harm.

I'd be happy for my Mexican-American friends if they did well.

didn't realise what a hefty knot I had started to disentangle with this hipsters biz, currently at:

PFM believe in realness qua grit & aggression but distrust expertise & foreigners
hipsters love expertise & foreigners and feel the pull of anti-franchiseball realness but distrust the superstitions of PFM
ilx loves distrusting PFM, hipsters & franchiseball

thought it was just about beards tbh

fyi I am the only person who does football supporting correctly, hmu for pointers if u want to become a better person

There are definitely some foreign players who are acceptable to PFM - Kompany, Yaya Toure, Big Voices In The Dressing Room.

Oh God yes, Kompany is catnip to PFMers.

His English is flawless too, which probably helps.

what are PFMers? Google has failed me.

Proper Football Men https://www.football365.com/news/the-anatomy-not-literal-of-a-proper-football-man

Football hipsterism hmmm.. one wave must be linked to Dukla Prague away shirts, another related to the DJ-ing of Pat Nevin, and another more recent wave was Dortmund and St Pauli tops..shrug.

Big temporal gaps.. in the 00's what was cool to these so called football hipsters?

Putting that Sean Dyche quote in there is a bit unfair given some of the fuckery that's alongside it but then again Dyche has always been the thinking man's PFM.

good grief, PFM deffo sounds like something that should be brutally entombed in an airtight chamber with Sherwood forever.

Any excuse to post this again:

This is quality 👍😎
Are you listening Martinez @Everton pic.twitter.com/4F4JdAJXRF

— 🍬 toffeeboy 🍬 (@ianspeny) January 9, 2016

woah at that phil brown quote

dyche has the paternal air of someone empathetic trying to be stern with you for your own good, a very familiar and distinctly northern blend of assumed gruffness that never really masks the vulnerability beneath, only a monster cld hate him

lanzini out :(

Football hipsterism hmmm.. one wave must be linked to Dukla Prague away shirts, another related to the DJ-ing of Pat Nevin, and another more recent wave was Dortmund and St Pauli tops..shrug.

I've got a Bohemians Prague t-shirt, beat that hipsters.

brb, gonna find where that little shit lives and knock the fuck out of him

future tories of the world

The closer we get, the more annoyed i am i didn't apply for any tickets. It would have been great to go.

Croatia and Senegal are playing a warm-up in five minutes, which might be fun if you can find a stream.

The first WC in my lifetime I wasn't at all looking forward to but I've just read most of the thread and feeling a bit better.

Reading about VAR there is bound to be (as ppl are saying) inconsistencies in its use, which - given that the thing is taking place in corrupt bad Russia - will prompt all sorts of conspiracy theories. Almost certain there will be an incident or two.

There will be further stresses on political lines as England fans are bound to get into major shit with no backup as diplomatic staff have been severely cut due to post-Skirpal fallout.

I read this piece on the Morocco team a few days ago its good:

https://www.ft.com/content/ec684d80-6399-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56

Someone I know is getting married on June 23rd and her dad asked if they could tastefully include tvs at the wedding. She moved the wedding to 6pm instead.

There will be further stresses on political lines as England fans are bound to get into major shit with no backup as diplomatic staff have been severely cut due to post-Skirpal fallout.

I don’t think this will be as bad as a lot of people assume. The fan visa process should hopefully reduce the number of hools able to get hold of tickets and the generally higher security involved in travelling to Russia (vs France or Poland) might weed out those who are barred from matches but go over for the ‘atmosphere’. The Russian police have apparently been quite active in monitoring and disrupting potential hooligan activity on their side too. Fingers crossed, at least, the majority of stuff will just be people getting drunk / disorderly and locked up overnight / deported.

xp otm all concerned

Post-wedding day brunch however is actually Poland-Columbia at a beer hall.

i'm just hyped because i am finishing my medical training at the end of june (after ten fucking years) and taking 6wks off and am just going to inject soccer and the tour directly into my veins

grats

WTF did Phil Brown actually mean? Has he mixed up xenophobia with homophobia? What a prick

the time difference for me this world cup is fucking hellish and i don't have cable at home

I'm going to catch so little of this WC, it's upsetting me

I'm dreading the VAR shenanigans as well tbh.

There seems to be a dearth of good World Cup songs this year but Peru has stepped up to the plate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WitSzHzciOs

This is on the Brazil 'red' kit: http://www.brasilwire.com/the-shirt-off-our-backs/

xp Denmark is up against Peru but after seeing this video I can live with defeat

please excuse my ignorance but is that article on the brazilian jersey suggesting that Lula was unjustly convicted, and if so is that a controversial point of view?

well its not controversial to say Lula was unjustly - but there is a silence in Western media about what is going on in Brazil as oposed to Venezuela, say, as Maduro is seen to be coming from the left.

alright, thx

that peruvian world cup offering is magnificent

How much drugs were they on when they made that peru video

There was not silence about the coup in Brazil, though yeah, as Venezuela creeps further towards civil war, it has been more in the news. Don't ever trust what xyzzzz says, lol.

you are a weird and tiresome dude

danelol

lol, good one

Who rates Switzerland?

I do but only because i took a look into their recent results since I got them in the work sweepstake. Not sure if I’m just putting a positive spin in things

Thinking xyzzzz knows a bit more about Brazil than Fred tbh.

xyzzzz don't know anything about anything

notbmutually exclusive statements

The reason for the season:

#WorldCup2018 Almanac is here!! https://t.co/JsaP3NcHOU

— Ryan Maxwell (@TheeRFS) June 9, 2018

h/t rtc (iirc) for originally digging this guy up

PLAYERS WITH BIRTHDAYS
DURING WORLD CUP 2018

sell lloris imo

his England literary canon is delightful haha

oh maybe it's just based on goodreads

claiming Lolita and Pale Fire for Russia is controversial tbh

omg I just reached the recipes

jesus sell lloris now before full time

i require both polish recipes rn

deems you should get on this

no

the aspies will inherit the goddamn earth

Brazilians opposed to the coup now refuse to wear its famous yellow football jersey. As a result a mini Industry has sprung up for alternative attire, which football federation the CBF is trying to outlaw. #Russia #Russia2018 #WorldCup #WorldCup2018 https://t.co/yiVgQbBSr4 pic.twitter.com/llU5SKKSWH

— Brasil Wire (@BrasilWire) June 7, 2018

Just stuck a fiver on Imago Aspies to be top scorer, given his recent form for Celta Vigo.

The BBC has a round-up of some of the young players to look out for:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44369212

fuck it, sign em all up poch

to Fred for doing his antagonising schtick on a World Cup thread: "you're just a small kingdom near Germany" "shit ground no fans..." etc

history, thats where youre a viking

Dane Hodges

xxxp the Guardian's young prospect tip for the Costa Rica team is called... Ian Smith

pity hes not a basketballer

Dane Hodges

― the Messi inside (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 10 June 2018 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Come to London NV, I need to buy you a pint for this.

Just stuck a fiver on Imago Aspies to be top scorer, given his recent form for Celta Vigo.

I wonder how Fred will do.

There was not silence about the coup in Brazil, though yeah, as Venezuela creeps further towards civil war, it has been more in the news. Don't ever trust what xyzzzz says, lol.

― Frederik B, Saturday, 9 June 2018 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sorry to break it to you (I keep doing this but it always sounds like you need my help) but Venezuela get far more negative reporting and opinion thrust upon it than Brazil or Argentina (who have just agreed a deal with the IMF). The Economist types are salivating over the 'structural reforms', i.e. endless austerity, and these ppl despair over any challenges (the last Argentinian government refusing to pay its loans).

dear god if i wasn't stoked enough about the wc already the reappearance of the almanac has pushed me into a football frenzy. the wc is the prism through which the whole of humankind can and indeed must be understood

also had a solid lol at imago aspies of celta vigo

No joke, I had to tutor a kid on Nigerian human geography today having unwittingly revised the subject this very morning

anyone up for the FIFA/McDonalds fantasy football this year?

Have there been decent write-ups of the teams etc., that are available online?

beyond the glorious almanac, you mean?

michael cox's write ups for a betting site are fairly brief but the best overview i've seen of what might happen with reference to actual tactics:

https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180601-russia-2018-group-a-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-b-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-c-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-d-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-e-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-f-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180602-russia-2018-group-g-betting-tips
https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/football/world-cup-2018/20180608-russia-2018-group-h-betting-tips

This is good on a player-by-player basis:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2018/jun/05/world-cup-2018-complete-guide-players-ratings-goals-caps

Forgot to buy a Sunday paper with a guide/wallchart >:(

I like that player guide, thanks SV.

yeah that's a cool guide!

Thanks SV and ogmor!

ultra.zone always has neat predictor/result logs for the groups https://ultra.zone/2018-FIFA-World-Cup-Group-Stage

never mind the kit

https://guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Dfaj2hhWAAICf4i-1-797x598.jpg

that is dope

so good

is that their team bus!?

the cricket umpires convention is thisaway...

if cricket umpires looked like that, batsmen would positively enjoy being given lbw

If football nations were rappers, Uruguay would be Pusha T. Veterans, perennial contenders, they know their formula, they always deliver by means fair or foul, and no-one *ever* wants beef with them. pic.twitter.com/qfpr6g2UFR

— Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) June 11, 2018

(^^ thread. won't spoil which rapper England is)

Germany clearly Kendrick not Drake.

i think drake is just right, kendrick isn't lame enough

Wow at the Hungary one, lol. Great thread.

I assume England is Roland Rat.

lol, maybe Derek B!

Who would be your rap pick for Denmark, Fred?

I think everything he says about Warren G could be used on Denmark instead of Greece, perhaps? But it's probably Vanilla Ice, lol. Or some kind of backpacker who isn't really that good, but his fans are convinced that they are the most true to the ethos of the game. Aesop Rock? Macklemore? Or our very own Malk de Koijn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGkSGblQ_T4

wild horses could not drag me to click on a danish rap video

It's worse than I remembered.

i'd've gone for Eminem for England: shit for infinitely longer than they've been any good

clueless twats still into them

Argentina shd've been ODB obv

eminem is white ofc completely white

Roland Rat is grey IIRC.

if ever a Rat pushed me towards a pro-vivisectionist/pro-animal experiments position, it was that annoying twat!

Eeeehhhhhhhh

guys the world cup is in two days

I'm just glad I wake up fairly early.

ned u watching peru denmakr saturday at 9

Not only am I doing that, I'm doing so at my girlfriend's sister's place with her extended family across three generations. It will be, how you say, exuberant.

(Also I just realized I needed to get streaming coverage sorted today, and I have. Bring it all on.)

attaboy

don't forget the anticuchos, chicha morada and papa a la huancaina

i would have put money on Peru to qualify from their group but 2/1 isn't great odds

On holiday as of today and for the first time ever I get to watch *every* game, If I get anymore giddily excited I'm in serious danger of pissing off the non-fans among my friends

Gaf tho really, 2 days!!!!

don't forget the anticuchos, chicha morada and papa a la huancaina

My girlfriend's brother in law is the cook -- and he's pretty good so whatever will happen happens. (Running joke is that he's more Peruvian than they are!)

i would have put money on Peru to qualify from their group but 2/1 isn't great odds

Quite right.

Robbie Williams performing at the opening ceremony. Luckily I will be in a job interview until RUSSKSA kicks off.

Robbie Williams performing at the opening ceremony

Yeah, what's that all about? Is he still popular somewhere on planet Earth?

He did a weird song about Russians recently.

Aida Garifullina, Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez are all involved though.

weird thing is it's robbie with ronaldo... like the brazilian player

???

is ronaldo gonna sing??

oh and w/r/t to peru, i was listening to this american life saturday and they interviewed daniel 4l4rc0n about his dad, who did imaginary soccer commentary, which put a smile on my face. i found it so endearing

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/648/unteachable-moment

it's act three, this who can't play, starts at 50:45ish

Collina says assistant refs have been told NOT to flag for offside when it’s tight... obv incorrectly given offside can’t be called back

— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 12, 2018

This is literally one of the harbingers of the Apocalypse.

I heard the Robbie Williams thing yday and thought I must be mistaken. Another human rights abuse from Putin

Jimenez deal to Wolves has gone thru, come on Mexico

Jimenez might have been worried they were plotting to flog him on to a third party next week :p

that is a brutal bit of business, true, but i guess FFP and i'm sure Benik will have had his slice

oops I thought I'd read it had fallen thru for some reason!

nah, already twats on the Express and Star page complaining he's no Andy Carroll

we signed a team-mate of Mo Salah!

I don't think some of the Tommy Robinson crew on our message board will now want to convert to Islam tho!

Jimenez to Wolves is some next level Football Manager fantasy. I'm willing to bet you didn't aim as high with the likes your lot brought in the last 12 months NV.

didn't aim as high *playing FM* etc

I got Ibra on a free playing FM2014 one time.

But yeah Fosun are outgunning me

I hate to break it to you all, but Peru isn't going to make it past the group stage.

Ibra on a free? What year was that, 2084?

I hate to break it to you all, but Peru isn't going to make it past the group stage.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, June 12, 2018 8:41 PM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Peru will cruise into the QF's, mark my words.

How?

I mean, Argentina is waiting for second place in group C.

Peru finish second in their group behind France;
They meet number one, Argentina, in the first knock-out stage;
They win from Argentina.

It's not complicated. Sure, Argentina has Messi, but Messi is no Jefferson 'Foquita' Farfan.

group c will be

france
denmark
peru
australia

imo

(second from C plays first from D)

tbf, Argentina failed to beat Peru home or away in qualifying.

is what I'm saying. Peru is a huge underdog and it fits them like a glove.

My only prediction is that a team with a prodigiously talented 26-year-old attacking midfielder called Christian will go through with France.

Peru finish second in their group behind France;
They meet number one, Argentina, in the first knock-out stage;
They win from Argentina.

It's not complicated. Sure, Argentina has Messi, but Messi is no Jefferson 'Foquita' Farfan.

― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, June 12, 2018 11:54 AM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

very otm lbi

tho i actually don't mind if argentina beat peru, but a peru win would be very nice for such a team

neds streaming comment reminds me

anyone not on acestream and reddit/streams needs to get on it. no finer combo

Good lookin out dmacadaddy

Wait waht are UK viewers not served the plentitude of all matches live on a free channel? Fucking Brexit mang.

very otm lbi

tho i actually don't mind if argentina beat peru, but a peru win would be very nice for such a team

― F# A# (∞), Tuesday, June 12, 2018 9:01 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah I'm fine with both too actually!

It took a while but finally I have to admit that I, too, am stoked for the madness.

sorry m8

which viewers

hahaha

no no let him answer let him answet

UK viewers are still, amazingly in the year of our lord 2018, able to watch all games on free to air channels

But you might want a stream in case robbie savage turns up as colour man

Also lol argentina aren't gonna win their group

go arge or go home

Can see peru blowing outrageously hot and cold, beating france then losing to australia kind of thing

one and a half weeks off work starting thursday!
also 14 June is my birthday so may miss some games on Friday haha

Recuperating from an operation, asked my gp to sign me off till maybe the end of next week, the #absolutebloodylegend only went and signed me off till july 1st lol

😘

amazing, hope the op went ok!

Yep, get well soon, etc.

I have the first week off but am lumbered with a work trip to Italy in early July so if anyone knows a good bar to catch a game in Naples lmk.

fuckin hell thats what you call a good outcome

i'm making an overdue visit to my mom's for a few days but she enjoys a bit of football so we should be fine. am travelling back next Monday evening lol

Low blow, Deems, low blow.

I will most likely not see a lot of matches due to being tied in/on a bed having sex with my new gf (not a humble brag: this is how it will actually pan out, and it feels great tho actually not that great, it's the world cup y'know, the best time-wasting excuse of a summer there is: it is why we are alive. and will die, in solitude, alone, etc.).

Peru or Senegal will win this fucking farce of a WC, and nothing matters, and that is fine, and it will be the best WC ever, like every WC is.

<3

chub on

I think Peru will go through and get, perhaps even beat, Argentina also. That said you can get odds of 40-1 on a rematch of the 2014 final which is surely worth a bet.

<3

Still kind of hope Argentina will nick this. Argentina or France would be sweet: if they can reach their potential they'd easily be the best. But they can't, as ever, so it will prob be boring Germany or Spain. xp

Starting to learn more songs here

Contigo Perú en Moscú. #WorldCup #Incondicionales pic.twitter.com/DouRDDntqd

— Janice Llamoca (@JaniceLlamoca) June 12, 2018

Tonite at the gym, a man told me he thought Italy could win the 2018 World Cup. I told him they had the same chances as the USA. He told me I was crazy & knew nothing about world football. I said “you mean soccer?” He walked away. #WorldCup2018

— Bobby Boswell (@bobbyboswell) June 12, 2018

lol it's a magical event

I think Argentina's significant flop potential is balanced by Croatia's

xxxps thx for good wishes guys. It was a microdiscectomy, so I feel like I've been stabbed in the back, ho ho

I've been carefully accruing time owed and now I get to finish early every day next week to catch the 4pm kick offs, fkn stoked mate

On a point of order, are we starting a new thread tomorrow or running with this one, possibly with a retitle?

oh new thread definitely, the only question is what title

haha whaaat Lopetegui is expected to be fired from Spain job as of... right now (due to him going to RM)

NO. WAY.

ahh Marca now reporting he will stay on? A presser is about to start now.

That would be insane and hilarious spite if they did

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marca.com%2Ffutbol%2Fmundial%2F2018%2F06%2F12%2F5b1ffa15ca47414b168b45ef.html&edit-text=

Yeah! Marca reporting ten minutes ago everything pointed to him being fired, the FA boss being livid with the (timing of) the RM appointment. But players seem keen to keep him on.

for some reason

11:27 hours Less than five minutes to start the press conference of Lopetegui and Rubiales and everything is still in the air. Radio MARCA tells you right now that the players are doing everything possible for Lopetegui to continue.

11: 20 hours Radio MARCA is counting that, at this moment, the costumes of the Spanish team are being decisive in the decision about the future of Lopetegui.

11:18 hours We remind you that, just over ten minutes before Rubiales and Lopetegui appear at a press conference, everything indicates that the Spanish coach will be dismissed.

11:13 hours We are telling you on Radio MARCA that Rubiales knew the negotiations between Lopetegui and Real Madrid. What the president of the Federation does not understand is the moment to announce the signing . A lot of tension in Spanish concentration at this time.

If only they had costumes like Nigeria iirc

It was a microdiscectomy

They've just reformed and played a reunion gig at the Barbican btw.

Thx to these civilized kick off times I'm going to miss most of this World Cup.

It isn't a proper World Cup without an 11th hour implosion in a camp.

Otm. This is proper stuff.

Great stuff: France press officer says only questions in French to avoid Spanish media asking Griezmann about transfers. Spanish journalist uses google translate app to ask question, French press officer loses it.... https://t.co/3Ftj7li3ph

— Ed Malyon (@eaamalyon) June 12, 2018

Looool this is shaping up nicely

lopetegui gone

brilliant

Now he is sacked apparently

OMG.

SHAT ON LINEKER, LOP OUT

Send for el gran Sam.

YAAAASSSSSS

rapid odds recalculation on teams in Spain's group

Morocco for the upset?

tony adams is in, and theyre gonna win the thing

wait - spain's first game is portugal in two days time!?!?

Unless there's something else going on we don't know about, this is one of the most stupidly self-defeating decisions I can remember.

no I think that's about it

Announcing yourself as the new Real Manager when your squad is heavily comprised of Barca and Atletico players is probably not enormously conducive to dressing room harmony but still.

I think the dressing room was fine tbh. It's the FA boss who wasn't amused to have heard about Lop's move to RM five minutes before RM sent out a press release about it.

Announcing yourself as the new Real Manager when your squad is heavily comprised of Barca and Atletico players is probably not enormously conducive to dressing room harmony but still.

also the new manager of the upcoming opponents' star player

mb animosity will drive the spanish to the brink of success a la the netherlands

I get that this is big news but is it really so big as to excuse the fact that LBI hasn’t been mercilessly clowned/threadbanned for that absolute shocker last night? Or is he getting a pass because he’s ‘not that kind of poster’?

fp away, my man!

WC 2026 to USA/Can/Mex

ugh, awful. who gets automatically top seeded?

Good question!

I feel bad for Morocco, but with not nearly enough billions promised they didn't stand a chance.

If I was in another CONCACAF nation I'd be pretty fucked off right now, that's three qualifying spots pretty much gone, right?

48 country World Cup, though?

let's not dwell on the future

mexico would be cool but making ppl travel thousands of miles to endure US & canadian sports culture is so low. boycott movement starts here

I'd forgotten about the 48-team thing. Great news for Turks & Caicos Islanders.

Forgot about that, too. Maybe Netherlands could finally qualify again, before, say, Tuvalu.

Mexico's 3rd World Cup?

Okay this is all nuts to wake up to.

Yup Mexico's third!

And the USA's second. LOL Home of Football.

86 they stepped in as colombia couldnt afford it anymore

haha lopetegui signed a contract extension on may 22

Oof. He's got a good record though, unbeaten in 20 matches w/ Spain.

Spain appoint Albert Celades (manager of Spain U21) as new head coach.

Big Sam will be devastated.

another cruelly overlooked young English manager

Can/US/Mexico is so much better than Russia or Qatar.

Russia - no
Qatar - the moon would be better, everybody knows this

otm and otm

US has had it too recently, Canada barely counts as a footballing nation, Mexico would be great but logistics and security mean they're only planning to do a limited number of games there iirc.

Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad, i could get behind.

horrible government aside Russia's football history more than justifies them having the World Cup, i assume you were just on a centrist troll trip Fred

No games in Vladivostok is some BS

Rostov-on-Don tho

Not having to get up at 3am to watch them play in Vladivostok is good, however.

The fact that there are 15,000 Peruvians getting on buses to go to the Republic of Mordovia fills me with great joy.

hierro in!

15,000?! That's immense. How many England fans are expected to travel over?

10,000 iirc, though a further 1250 have been banned from doing so.

Supposedly Uruguay/Argentina joint bid is a tap in for the centenary in 2030 too. Hard to resist but pretty shit on CAF nations if so.

So happy waking up to this news! The World Cup is coming home 🇺🇸 #United2026 https://t.co/qaq0eAoxif

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) June 13, 2018

lol

It's not a 'centrist troll trip' to not want Russia to get another big sports event six years after freaking Sochi, lol. And them getting the one UEFA slot in 12 years is bullshit :( And corrupt as fuck.

as opposed to the US which so rarely hosts big sporting events?

don't think of the Winter Olympics as a big sports event btw :)

You're not from the North ;)

Just kidding, Denmark is famously rubbish at the Winter Games and our Nordic Neighbors won't shut up about it. Fuck the Winter Olympics.

In our own way we're all from the North Fred

was gonna say

anyway of all the European big dogs Russia was probably due

Brazil corrupt as it gets, no opposing bid for 2014 it was so sewn up, WC and Olympics 2 years apart. BAU. France got Euro 16 because Platini.

2018 thread yanks

New thread only required if an excellent new thread name justifies it IMO - hype, anticipation, consternation continue throughout the tournament.

...and consternation, like class, is permanent.

we'll need a new thread for the knockout stage as well

We could use a quote from the Spanish federation guy. "Above everything is acting in the right way."

no irish, no yanks, no clogs

love it

thread title should clearly be 'судья и мыло' - 'turn the referee into soap'

VAR? DA TSAR (shit, this is hard)

liking spirallis

Yes, that's a winner imo

another vote for Spiralli's

It's perfect.

Someone start the thread already because

https://platform-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/HawkEye/photo/2016/05/20/47ec47ab-d86f-42fd-b100-1e0b4cc5050e/160519LP5726.jpg

HE'S READY

A video assistant referee, yesterday

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/styles/full/public/image/man-who-fell-to-earth-the-1976-006-bowie-seated-in-front-of-bank-of-televisions-00m-ezc.jpg?itok=5fUll2ht

The Man Who Fell to Earth Clutching His Face When the Ball Hit Him in the Midriff.

People will say Lopetegui's not that type of manager but he's done the Spanish FA there and they have every right to retaliate

Yep. It costs the FA € 2 million too, it seems, which was the release clause RM now won't have to pay anymore since he's free.

why is video ref zooming in on their behinds?

Start the thread on ILE by the way, this is a terrestrial tournament.

ya

also spirallis name tick

No Irish, No Yanks, No Clogs - FIFA World Cup 2018