The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018

Chetan_Rao · 22nd June 2018, 18:19

My hopes of seeing a none-of-the-usual-suspects WC winner grow everyday

That said, France esp. have been pretty poor so far despite two wins, given how strong the squad looks on paper. There's still time to improve of course, but Pogba in particular could end up with a severely knocked reputation if he doesn't step up in the remainder of the tournament.

Croatia and Belgium are the dark horses, at least I hope so. Lovren looks a different player on international duty, though he did have a couple of dodgy moments yesterday.

roby_dk · 22nd June 2018, 19:40

Another wonderful match between Costa rica and Brazil. At one point of time brasil almost lost the hope but Coutinho came to rescue and final nail in coffin from Neymar.

srishiva · 22nd June 2018, 20:05

Brazil's players hitting every time to the goal keeper reminded me of technically good cricket players hitting awesome cover drives straight to fielders ! They did possess the ball a lot in second half but were poor in converting.

Hope they come up with creative play making and convert the chances with the fillip from this win.

joe1980 · 22nd June 2018, 22:14

Look like the chance for Argentina to get to the next round is very very slim! Nigeria won against Iceland today, so for Argentina to proceed to the next round, they have to win against Nigeria with a huge goal difference which is highly unlikely, provided Iceland has to loose against Croatia which is not a guarantee! Iceland will give a tough fight against Croatia as this is their last chance to qualify. So Argentina can pack their bags already!

Axe77 · 22nd June 2018, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe1980

Look like the chance for Argentina to get to the next round is very very slim! Nigeria won against Iceland today, so for Argentina to proceed to the next round, they have to win against Nigeria with a huge goal difference which is highly unlikely, provided Iceland has to loose against Croatia which is not a guarantee! Iceland will give a tough fight against Croatia as this is their last chance to qualify. So Argentina can pack their bags already!

Dude. On the contrary. Now they only have to beat Nigeria to go through. The only scenario in which they need to beat Nigeria with goal difference to proceed also playing a part is the unlikely event of Iceland beating Croatia. Then goal difference becomes relevant.

If today's match had drawn then an unlikely victory by Iceland over Croatia would have meant Arg CANNOT go through, regardless of their score against
Nigeria. In this scenario, they at least have control over their progression.

joslicx · 22nd June 2018, 22:41

Yes, as Axe77 mentions, it's probably the best case scenario for Argentina now. They "just" need to beat Nigeria and should progress.
Iceland would need to beat Croatia to make things interesting. It is unlikely as Iceland does not score and you need to score goals to win games in football.

Axe77 · 22nd June 2018, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx

Yes, as Axe77 mentions, it's probably the best case scenario for Argentina now. They "just" need to beat Nigeria and should progress.
Iceland would need to beat Croatia to make things interesting. It is unlikely as Iceland does not score and you need to score goals to win games in football.

Yes exactly. And if Iceland had won today, even if Iceland drew Croatia they would progress over Argentina. So this is actually the best outcome for Argentina. [ Well technically a 3-0 win for Nigeria would have been even better but that's just asking too much. :-)]

joe1980 · 23rd June 2018, 00:13

Oh yeah! I kind of mis calculated it. So the equation for Argentina is a mist win against Nigeria, provided Iceland gets a draw at the maximum with Croatia.

thoma · 23rd June 2018, 07:57

But the twist is, do you really think this Argentina can beat Nigeria? Nigeria just need a draw to get through!

vamsi.kona · 23rd June 2018, 12:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma

But the twist is, do you really think this Argentina can beat Nigeria? Nigeria just need a draw to get through!

Given how Nigeria played yesterday and how Argentina have in the last two games, a win against Nigeria would be a big task for the Argentines

NPV · 23rd June 2018, 18:21

Belgium-Tunisia match has been engrossing so far with Belgium leading 3-1 at half time.

nairrk · 23rd June 2018, 19:51

Belgium beat Tunisia 5-2

joe1980 · 23rd June 2018, 22:25

Looks like Belgium might also be a candidate to win in the finals. They have been awesome so far!

NPV · 24th June 2018, 00:05

Sweden leading 1-0 against Germany after 30+ minutes into first half. Is Germany on the brink of an early exit ?

Latheesh · 24th June 2018, 00:29

Sweden's appeal for penalty was turned down. Towards the end of first half Germany escaped from another goal. Second half is going to be really interesting.

Edit: score 1-1 now

View Poll Results: Who do you think will win the world cup ?
Russia	5	2.65%
Germany	46	24.34%
Argentina	18	9.52%
Australia	0	0%
Belgium	21	11.11%
Brazil	30	15.87%
Colombia	0	0%
Costa Rica	1	0.53%
Croatia	8	4.23%
Denmark	0	0%
Egypt	0	0%
England	9	4.76%
France	29	15.34%
Iceland	0	0%
Iran	0	0%
Japan	0	0%
Mexico	2	1.06%
Morocco	0	0%
Nigeria	0	0%
Panama	0	0%
Peru	1	0.53%
Poland	1	0.53%
Portugal	7	3.70%
Saudi Arabia	1	0.53%
Senegal	0	0%
Serbia	0	0%
South Korea	0	0%
Spain	7	3.70%
Sweden	0	0%
Switzerland	0	0%
Tunisia	0	0%
Uruguay	3	1.59%
Voters: 189. You may not vote on this poll

22nd June 2018, 18:19	#121
Chetan_Rao Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,889 Thanked: 24,062 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 My hopes of seeing a none-of-the-usual-suspects WC winner grow everyday That said, France esp. have been pretty poor so far despite two wins, given how strong the squad looks on paper. There's still time to improve of course, but Pogba in particular could end up with a severely knocked reputation if he doesn't step up in the remainder of the tournament. Croatia and Belgium are the dark horses, at least I hope so. Lovren looks a different player on international duty, though he did have a couple of dodgy moments yesterday.
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22nd June 2018, 19:40	#122
roby_dk BHPian Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: New Delhi Posts: 753 Thanked: 2,155 Times View My Garage	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Another wonderful match between Costa rica and Brazil. At one point of time brasil almost lost the hope but Coutinho came to rescue and final nail in coffin from Neymar.
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22nd June 2018, 20:05	#123
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Brazil's players hitting every time to the goal keeper reminded me of technically good cricket players hitting awesome cover drives straight to fielders ! They did possess the ball a lot in second half but were poor in converting. Hope they come up with creative play making and convert the chances with the fillip from this win.
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22nd June 2018, 22:14	#124
joe1980 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Andromeda Posts: 336 Thanked: 155 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Look like the chance for Argentina to get to the next round is very very slim! Nigeria won against Iceland today, so for Argentina to proceed to the next round, they have to win against Nigeria with a huge goal difference which is highly unlikely, provided Iceland has to loose against Croatia which is not a guarantee! Iceland will give a tough fight against Croatia as this is their last chance to qualify. So Argentina can pack their bags already! Last edited by joe1980 : 22nd June 2018 at 22:17.
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22nd June 2018, 22:41	#126
joslicx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,286 Thanked: 1,011 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Yes, as Axe77 mentions, it's probably the best case scenario for Argentina now. They "just" need to beat Nigeria and should progress. Iceland would need to beat Croatia to make things interesting. It is unlikely as Iceland does not score and you need to score goals to win games in football.
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23rd June 2018, 00:13	#128
joe1980 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Andromeda Posts: 336 Thanked: 155 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Oh yeah! I kind of mis calculated it. So the equation for Argentina is a mist win against Nigeria, provided Iceland gets a draw at the maximum with Croatia.
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23rd June 2018, 07:57	#129
thoma Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Kerala Posts: 1,980 Thanked: 1,447 Times View My Garage	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 But the twist is, do you really think this Argentina can beat Nigeria? Nigeria just need a draw to get through!
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23rd June 2018, 18:21	#131
NPV Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Namma Bengaluru Posts: 7,219 Thanked: 10,258 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Belgium-Tunisia match has been engrossing so far with Belgium leading 3-1 at half time.
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23rd June 2018, 19:51	#132
nairrk Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kannur Posts: 2,441 Thanked: 674 Times View My Garage	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Belgium beat Tunisia 5-2
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23rd June 2018, 22:25	#133
joe1980 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Andromeda Posts: 336 Thanked: 155 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Looks like Belgium might also be a candidate to win in the finals. They have been awesome so far!
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24th June 2018, 00:05	#134
NPV Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Namma Bengaluru Posts: 7,219 Thanked: 10,258 Times	Re: The Football World Cup Thread - Russia, 2018 Sweden leading 1-0 against Germany after 30+ minutes into first half. Is Germany on the brink of an early exit ?
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24th June 2018, 00:29	#135
Latheesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CNN/BLR Posts: 4,243 Thanked: 10,081 Times	Sweden's appeal for penalty was turned down. Towards the end of first half Germany escaped from another goal. Second half is going to be really interesting. Edit: score 1-1 now Last edited by Latheesh : 24th June 2018 at 00:37.
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