2018 Football World Cup
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@mikethesnow ok I’m not comparing tournament runs - im well aware if those and not going to devalue the euros.
Your claim was that Wales had 10 players as good as their English counterparts - not thst the team was as good.
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@majorrage said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@mikethesnow ok I’m not comparing tournament runs - im well aware if those and not going to devalue the euros.
Your claim was that Wales had 10 players as good as their English counterparts - not thst the team was as good.
Surely that's where England and other international and club sides have gone wrong in the past and not so recent past.
On paper if you compared this WC England '10' with the Euro 16 Wales '10' then the majority of English players would be ranked better, paid more and playing for better club sides than their Welsh counterparts.
But the game is played on grass not paper.
As recent results head to head have shown they're not significantly better as a team than Wales despite the above and the massive difference in talent pool from which to choose from.
I would argue that if you swapped Bale, Ramsey, Allen and Williams with their English counterparts then that revamped England side would thump Wales.
So some better, some the same, and some worse to give an overall picture of parity with either side able to beat each other on the day.
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Better post some thoughts before this is ancient history
As a lover of quizzes, this was a great final for potential quiz questions.
Scorer of a goal at both ends.
Score a goal and give away a handball penalty
VAR decision in a finalSlightly chaotic game which didn't really have a pattern. Croatia were excellent in the first half, bullied France off the ball and created most of the chances. To go in 2-1 down was a little cruel although at that point you still thought they could come back.
Pogba's goal was illuminated by his pass that set Mbappe away, it was a cracker. Mbappe's goal was a lot down to the excellent Hernandez.
Was Subasic still struggling with the injury he picked up in the quarter-final? The 3 goals that went to his right hand he didn't dive for and none of them looked beyond his reach, they weren't going into the corner.
France were deserved winners though, their combination of flair and pragmatism was just what is required to win a competition where you can't afford a bad day in the knockout stages. With most of the first team relatively young and with so much talent floating around in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams they could become a dynasty. And Deschamps deserves a lot of credit - it isn't easy to take a team with abundant talent and make them winners.
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@cyclops said in 2018 Football World Cup:
Modric winning the golden ball keeps the streak going for the eventual champions not having the best player. Six tournaments in a row now.
You sure? Didn't Cannavaro for e.g. win it in 2006. Let alone some Spaniard (probably Xavi?) in 2010, was it Ronaldinho in 2002 ?
Are you confusing golden boot with golden ball?
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@rapido said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@cyclops said in 2018 Football World Cup:
Modric winning the golden ball keeps the streak going for the eventual champions not having the best player. Six tournaments in a row now.
You sure? Didn't Cannavaro for e.g. win it in 2006. Let alone some Spaniard (probably Xavi?) in 2010, was it Ronaldinho in 2002 ?
Are you confusing golden boot with golden ball?
nah he's right, heaps of articles about it. Going backwards:
Messi-Forlan-Zidane-Kahn-Ronaldo
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@mariner4life said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@rapido said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@cyclops said in 2018 Football World Cup:
Modric winning the golden ball keeps the streak going for the eventual champions not having the best player. Six tournaments in a row now.
You sure? Didn't Cannavaro for e.g. win it in 2006. Let alone some Spaniard (probably Xavi?) in 2010, was it Ronaldinho in 2002 ?
Are you confusing golden boot with golden ball?
nah he's right, heaps of articles about it. Going backwards:
Messi-Forlan-Zidane-Kahn-Ronaldo
Wow, even Zidane in 98 didn't win it.
Although original Ronaldo was amazing in 98 until whatever the heck happened before the final.
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Its about to be made official, Heraf is not coming back from suspension
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12098283
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@virgil A lot.
I can't post it here but this guy is a crook and has no shame about it at all.
Seriously considering passing on some info to his erstwhile employers and / or press but also don't want to get dragged into the controversy that would ensue
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@dogmeat That's interesting!
I've worked with several Austrians over the years. To a man I've found them difficult. Dour, negative and extremely hierarchical. Not a good fit with Kiwi culture.
Based on my stereotyping, I thought there was a pretty high likelihood this would end in tears.
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@dogmeat do it!
In the best interests of NZ soccer obviously ... and nothing to do with salacious gossip mongering you can't tell us just a little bit?
Think of the headlines: "TSF Saves Soccer" ... or maybe "Dogmeat Dobs to save NZ Football"
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@chris-b said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@dogmeat That's interesting!
I've worked with several Austrians over the years. To a man I've found them difficult. Dour, negative and extremely hierarchical. Not a good fit with Kiwi culture.
Based on my stereotyping, I thought there was a pretty high likelihood this would end in tears.
Yeah, funny isn't it. Loads of Germans in branches of my company and everybody is loathe to have to work with them (company is full of poms and dutchies).
The efficiency which makes them so outstanding in manufacturing etc, is the same in what makes them so bloody tough to deal with. All about structure, hierarchy and following a procedure to the letter.
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@booboo said in 2018 Football World Cup:
@dogmeat do it!
In the best interests of NZ soccer obviously ... and nothing to do with salacious gossip mongering you can't tell us just a little bit?
Think of the headlines: "TSF Saves Soccer" ... or maybe "Dogmeat Dobs to save NZ Football"
Perhaps you could protect yourself by starting it "a guy I know who works with......?"
