World Cup 2018

Better team defensively anyway, England aren't getting free headers at set pieces. I like the look of Cuadrado, he seems most likely to get something opening up for them to play in Falcao.

The English commentators made a lot of fuss about players asking for VAR should get a yellow...funnily no mention when Maguire was doing so.

Get in there, mon Colombia.

I think Cuadrado has been a wasted shirt myself. Quintero should not have been subbed IMO.

I couldn’t see where they were getting a goal from until Walker gave it away but Cuadrado’s shot was hopeless.

Uribe’s shot was superb & the goal came from the resultant corner.

It’s been a poor game though.

On this showing Sweden will be tough opposition.

Good ball in by Cuadrado. He hasn't been as involved since the first half though.

Bollox they win on pens.

Uribe took the only bad pen really. The rest were all on target. Brilliant save by Ospina from Henderson cause it was pretty much just inside the post. I though Pickford would save 1 & he got a very strong hand to it. Ospina probably should have saved the Dier pen but by contrast he got a weak hand to it.

They will need to play a lot better to beat Sweden IMO

Sweden wont be easy, defensively they are very solid, and they are great on the counter, but their shooting is abysmal. I just hope they manage to actually hit the target and go in front, if they do then i'd fancy them to win.
Getting worried now though, Croatia are prob the best team left in their half of the table, but kinda hoping Russia win that one now and stay in the comp till the final.

Yasss 2-0 France, should be enough now.

France and Belgium have been the best looking teams, unfortunately they'll have to play one another in the semi's if Belgium can get past Brazil. Hopefully they do and the winner of Belgium v France goes on to win the final.

I could live with that... definitely want the winner to emerge from this half of the draw but if Sweden can dispose of England I'll not mind who wins it just call me ABE

Mon the Belgies!

Well that game lived up to expectations, absolute corker.

Belgium with De Bruyne and Hazard are class, but they have big awkward guys like Fellaini giving them a bit of something different, and they'd have been out without him in the Japan game. Lukaku too gives them strength on the ball, combination of great technical ability and brute force in that team.

Brazil though were the better looking team at the end, wave after wave hitting the Belgium defence, should've had a pen but feck em, Neymar deserves getting nothing for all the cheating he does. If Brazil has got the equaliser then Belgium were done, they were knackered by the end but what an out ball they had in Hazard, just lump it up to him and he'll carry it till he's fouled and get you much needed rest for a breather, he's an absolute star.

Bit of a pisser having France and Belgium in the semi's, they'd have been an ideal pair for the final. Can't separate those two, they've been my favourite two teams in this WC. Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, with Fellaini for a bit of ruggedness v Mbappe, Griezmann & Giroud, with Pogba thrown in for the odd wonderful or crazy moment. Maybe go for Belgium, just for the LOLZ having Martinez as their manager winning the World Cup.

Oh and having Fellaini lifting the World Cup when Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar couldn't would be fantastic.

Out of the teams left in Belgium would be the team I’d prefer to win it. Would really wind up the Dutch if they did...not that I’ve anything against the Dutch but with them having lost 3 finals, Belgium winning their first ever WCF would add salt to the wound.

If Belgium beat France will Thierry Henry still be a French legend or would he become a traitor in the eyes of the fans?

I like Martínez & Henry so I’d be happy for them too.

TBH I didn’t think there was enough contact by Kompany on Gabi Jesus for a pen to be given & GJ wasn’t getting to ball regardless so IMO wasn’t impeded from doing so. I thought Brazil were going to equalise once they scored tho; it was relentless but Belgium defended well & TC made some very good saves. Coutinho’s chip for Augusto to score Brazil’s goal was exquisite & IMO he is the REAL star of that team; much more honest & much more of a team player than Neymar.

Trying to think who could be the player of the tournament & it’s difficult as I don’t think any one player has been out on his own as miles better. Probably Hazard is the leading candidate.

All together now.... Sverige!!! Sverige!!! Sverige!!!

Unfortunately, Maguire has belted in a great header on 30 mins & probably won the game because Sweden are woeful.

Maybe I'm taking this too far but on that showing even Scotland could beat Sweden.
Ah mind when you got to the quarter finals of the world cup you would see nice football played by good teams. This Sweden team are making England look like world beaters

I was actually thinking something similar about Scotland but I could be delirious from the heat.

Credit to Sweden for making Pickford make 3 saves but he’s done it easily, still had to do it though. However, Sweden’s strength was supposed to be set pieces, attacking & defending but they look less than average today. Lovely chip from Lingard (with that name he should be in yellow) for the 2nd.

They've beaten teams they'd expect to beat and the one time they came up against a decent side they were beaten...they're luck will run out soon hopefully.

They will make the final & might even win it.

The last QF has shown nothing for them to be afraid of. They are better than both Croatia & Russia on this evidence.

Oh...and as for them losing to Belgium in the group game, that match means nothing to the overall abilities of either side because they both played mainly second stringers.

They may have struck it lucky with the strength (or lack of it) in their half of the draw but they can only beat who they have in front of them & they got through both ties without playing particularly well but they are gaining momentum & that is important at this stage of the tournament.

Belgium have impressed me more than any other team but they were knackered for the last 20 minutes against Brazil & I suspect both they & France will be very tired by the end of their semi final. I’m not convinced England will have to work as hard in their semi.

If, as I expect, they get to the final...it’s anyone’s to win.

They haven't played anybody decent yet. The way things are going they will get to the final and meet whoever it is having an off day.
So then Sir Harry Kane and Sir Gareth Southgate in the New Year's honours list. Boak!

You’re right, they haven’t, but that’s not their fault & the longer they stay in the more momentum they get.

Largely Sweden were pish, they had 3 decent efforts on goal though and Pickford made 3 good saves, but they were really disappointing in their defending, maybe that was down to England being so good at set pieces right enough. Even through balls were cutting them open, and England really should've had a couple more.

Croatia v Russia was pretty bland, Croatia better play a lot better than that or England will stroll it to the final and have plenty in the tank for either Belgium or France, and I suspect the winner of that semi will have put in a lot more effort in their game getting there (although France or Belgium will have an extra day's rest over England or Croatia). For the first time i'm actually worried England will win it. Defend well and score with a set piece is all they need to do. I know Belgium and France are better teams but it all keeps going England's way.

orco wrote:They haven't played anybody decent yet. The way things are going they will get to the final and meet whoever it is having an off day.
So then Sir Harry Kane and Sir Gareth Southgate in the New Year's honours list. Boak!

As a matter of interest which teams are "decent".

All the ones I had down as contenders have now been knocked out; With France; Belgium; England and Croatia left I think its quite open.

Durnford wrote:

orco wrote:They haven't played anybody decent yet. The way things are going they will get to the final and meet whoever it is having an off day.
So then Sir Harry Kane and Sir Gareth Southgate in the New Year's honours list. Boak!

As a matter of interest which teams are "decent".

All the ones I had down as contenders have now been knocked out; With France; Belgium; England and Croatia left I think its quite open.

All the ones in the half England avoided playing in.

France and Belgium are the best 2 teams in the tournament, fortunately for England they're going to play each other and only one of them will be left.

I's like us winning the CIS cup, Hibs knocked Rangers and Celtic out then we beat them in the final, doubt we'd have won it had we played those two, esp Celtic who beat us comfortably in the semi final of the Scottish cup that season too, and didn't allow Fernandez to play against them. Nobody will care though, we certainly don't, all that matters is your name on the cup telling everyone you won it.

Liviforever wrote:Sweden had 3 decent efforts on goal and Pickford made 3 good saves, but they were really disappointing in their defending, maybe that was down to England being so good at set pieces right enough. Even through balls were cutting them open, and England really should've had a couple more.

Croatia v Russia was pretty bland, Croatia better play a lot better than that or England will stroll it to the final and have plenty in the tank for either Belgium or France, and I suspect the winner of that semi will have put in a lot more effort in their game getting there (although France or Belgium will have an extra day's rest over England or Croatia). For the first time i'm actually worried England will win it. Defend well and score with a set piece is all they need to do. I know Belgium and France are better teams but it all keeps going England's way.

Exactly the same thought processes I’ve been having...we could be living our worst nightmare.
They got all the luck going in 66 & it’s happening again.

And as you rightly say in the other post, it matters not that you played poorer teams to get there, you can only play who you are drawn against & if your opposition in the final have beaten better teams than you to get there, so what? It means nothing. All that matters is who wins on the day of the final.