World Cup 2018

Was reading up about Luka Modric's childhood including members of his family getting executed by Serbs and the house getting burned to the ground. Playing football in those days will all the UXB's around must have also been a challenge.

Still think France will do it but kind of hope Croatia can do it for the underdogs.

Aye there has been wee bits about different players and how tough their childhood was, brought up in squalor and having to go on a 12 hour bus journey to get to the club's ground for training etc, then went to the English pundits in the studio asking about their tough upbringing.

Durnford wrote:Was reading up about Luka Modric's childhood including members of his family getting executed by Serbs and the house getting burned to the ground. Playing football in those days will all the UXB's around must have also been a challenge.

Still think France will do it but kind of hope Croatia can do it for the underdogs.

Must have helped with the nifty footwork & close control though.

Clearly no one is too bothered by the losing semi finalists play off which was comfortably won 2-0 by Belgium who took it more seriously by playing a pretty much first choice team.

Pundits pretty scathing of England's first half efforts - far cry from the "its coming home" nonsense they were spouting at half time on Wednesday night.

Just watched the highlights there, obv was at a more important game today seeing the mighty Livi;s first game of the season.

Yep good performance by Belgium put England in their place, giving them a bit of a reality check on where they are in the world placings, a bit above average but nowhere near as good as they thought they were to get near the top teams. Martin Keown spot on saying Belgium should be playing France in the final and would've done had they not scored against England in the group stage game.

That is very hypothetical though... because that would have put England against Japan, which they may have won, then Brazil, which they probably wouldn’t have won... Brazil would then have faced France in the semi. Which conceivably could have seen the French lose.

It’s also conceivable that Croatia could still have made it, as they finished games a lot stronger than Belgium did.

It’s all supposition & guess work.

So was the goal keeper situation last season but it didn't stop you and Orco having your hypothetical opinions.

Anyway, point was Belgium were the better team and would've had a great chance making the final had they not won against England and at least Keown recognised this, and that England had the luck of the draw . For me France and Belgium have been the best 2 teams, just a pity they met one another before the final.

Not complaining about the hypothetical, just saying that you can’t just say that Belgium would be playing France today if they hadn’t scored against England in the group match.

Can’t recall the goalkeeping hypothetical you are referring to... but as I say I’m not complaining about the hypothetical nature of the discussion, just pointing out that you can’t just assume one change of result will produce a specific outcome... that’s exactly the mistake the English pundits made prior to that group game... they decided England would be better off losing to ensure an easier path to the final...they got the easier path & still didn’t make it.

Suppose so, like saying if Airdrie beat Annan then we would be certainties to beat Annan because we beat the team that beat them.

I don't bet but if I did then i'd def have went for Belgium making the final through the other half of the draw though, and that England wouldn't have made it to the semi's.

On that we agree...

My prediction for the final is France 2 Croatia 0

I hope it’s 4-3 though with Mbappe getting all 4 to nick the golden boot from Lucky Kane (3 pens, a lucky deflection he knew nothing about & 2 tap ins.... a hat trick against the worst team in the competition) & replace Lucky Hurst (Final hat trick where only 1 goal should have stood as 1 didn’t cross the line & the other was when some people were on the pitch)

Mbappe is player of the tournament, and France are an exciting team to watch, but they can also grind out a win, can't see past them for the winners.

Croatia are battlers though, and if they win then you couldn't help but be pleased for them, a small population and the underdogs.

Croatia the better team here, lots of possession and a few balls fired into France's box, as well as some corners. Excellent start from Croatia.

And France score from a set piece. In front after doing very little in the game, that's a real punch in the guts for Croatia.

Deserved equaliser, Croatia like going a goal behind, could they do to France what they did to England?

Griezmann needs another 2 goals now to tie with Kane for the golden boot.

Some game, cracking final.

Croatia can feel hard done by for the first 2 goals but can't argue with the next 2, absolute crackers.

Yeah, much better game than I was expecting. Gutted for Croatia at the minute as they don’t deserve to be losing & if you take away the first 2 goals that weren’t a free kick or a pen then it’s level... albeit my own argument is usually that the game would not have panned out the same way if the correct decisions had been made.

Just canny see Theresa May up there hugging the players and looking tearful and genuinely happy and proud of her players being presented with their runners up medals, like the Croatia President is. It would be awkward as feck looking.

I said almost exactly the same thing to the family as we watched... my youngest replied... “I can’t see any of the players wanting to be hugged by Theresa May anyway!”

She's just no cuddly.