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  • #46
    The Croatia - Denmark game started of on a bang. Two goals in the first five minutes and no more by the end of two hours. This is mainly due to the excellent penalty save by Schmiechel. Then it goes to penalties and he saves two more. The Croat goalkeeper also saved three but Denmark goes home. The best penalty shoot i've ever seen. Both goalkeepers were the heroes here

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    • #47
      This world cup is turning out to be fantastic. Brazil - Mexico ended predictably, looks like Brazil have the goods to at least get into the semis

      Japan - Belgium had everyone on the edge of their seats. The Japanese go two up ten minutes into the second half. The foot and a half taller Belgians are stunned. Commentator mentions the last time at the world cup that a team came back and won from a two goal deficit was W.Germany vs England back in 1970 in Mexico. Things are looking bleak for Belgium. But they repeated W.Germany's feat and won 3-2. There were five goals scored in the second half compared to none in the first. Thing with the Japanese lead is it always felt fragile. The Belgians looked like they were dominating but the score line didn't reflect it. Not like Japan got lucky, they scored two excellent goals but the Belgians got there in the end in the very last minute.

      Have to feel sad for the Japanese, it looked like it would go into extra time, they gambled and threw their players up front to win but a quick break meant there weren't enough to get back in time to defend for that last all important goal. A worthy performance by Japan. Looked like they had it in the bag and it all just slipped away. The only Asian team to ever get into the quarters is Korea, both of them, North in '66 and South in '02. Japan will have to wait until next time to beat it

      What will happen tomorrow with England & Colombia ? Germany are out so now England finally has a chance to win the cup : D
      Last edited by Double Edge; 02 Jul 18,, 22:05.

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      • #48
        Brazil will win the quarters against Belgium, and probably go on to win the Trophy.
        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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        • #49
          France is a contender too. But France will meet Brazil in the semis. Presumptious but if it happens will be a killer match.

          Sweden v Switzerland was a surprise. The public poll voted for Sweden 60 to 40 but that's not what i would have gone with given Switzerland's group performance

          Now its Colombia v England........

          Not much fun this game for the American ref. Too much bad blood, turns his head somebody does something to some one else and rolls on the ground

          And England have won. The real news is England won in a penalty shoot out. Penalty kicks awarded in game they can do but penalty shootouts are not England's strong point

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          They've beaten their 1998 performance

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          Could this time be a repeat of Euro 1996 though ? win one shootout only to lose the next

          What is the history of penalty shootouts at the world cups. Used to decide a winner first since 1978

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          Argentina is the only team to win consecutive penalty shootouts within the same tournament. Spain lost their second shootout in 2002

          In the 2014 cup in Brazil there were two teams that had consecutive shoot outs only to lose on the second attempt

          Costa Rica wins the first penalty shootout against Greece in the second round only to lose the next shootout in the QF to the Netherlands

          Netherlands having won its first penalty shootout against Costa Rica in the QF loses the second shootout in the SF to Argentina

          Therefore England's chances of winning a second penalty shoot out this tournament are pretty damn slim. Better to win the game in match time
          Last edited by Double Edge; 04 Jul 18,, 13:31.

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          • #50
            How will teams progress in the later stages ?

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            Upsets are possible. Uruguay or Belgium could hold France & Brazil off. Though with Cavani injured i doubt Uruguay can progress. Otherwise those two are the favourites

            I'd be amazed if Russia could beat Croatia, so Croatia winning seems the easier prediction. Russia cannot afford to go into penalties with Croatia given their goalkeeper saved three out of five in the last shoot out. Incredible performance. Not like the Danes missed either, all were saves with the last perhaps lucky with his foot

            Sweden England is iffy. England didn't really dominate their last match so their odds of beating Sweden are even if not less. Sweden it has to be remembered are responsible for Italy & Holland not qualifying in this cup. Sweden were in the same group as Germany. Without penalties i'd give Sweden the edge. If it goes to penalties i think Sweden will win as well. If England manage to win in match time they will be in the semis for the first time since 1990 with their best chance of entering the finals since 1966
            Last edited by Double Edge; 04 Jul 18,, 13:20.

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            • #51
              This world cup has been relatively peaceful and i was wondering why

              Hooligans unlikely to run riot at Russia World Cup after Kremlin clampdown | Independent | Jun 02 2018

              A new anti-extremist centre began operating from the Interior Ministry. Few recognised it at the time, but Centre “E” would become the bane of many ultras’ lives. In the months that followed, several hundred arrests were made, and the agent base expanded. They sent a message that fighting by and between football ultras would no longer be tolerated near the major cities. As a result, the firms moved their regular training bouts – usually organised 15 on 15, 20 on 20, or 50 on 50 – deep into Russia’s forests.

              After Marseilles, and with the World Cup less than two years away, even this became too much to handle. The forest fighting moved from social media to become a top-secret affair. After flirting with nationalist fan leaders like Mr Shprygin – Vladimir Putin even referred to him using his diminutive name, Sasha – the Kremlin kicked his organisation out of the Russian Football Union. And authorities opened criminal cases against leading ultras, including an unprecedented action against Lokomotiv Moscow fans for offensive chants.

              Once upon a time, the ultras loved to brag. Now, under pressure from law enforcement, they talk with great reluctance. The three who spoke to The Independent did so on the condition of strict anonymity. All said they had been put under pressure by the security services, including phone calls and direct threats. One, a prominent Zenit St Petersburg representative, said he knew of “hundreds of supporters” who had been jailed in the build-up to the World Cup.

              Security agents had visited his home to warn him against causing trouble, he said: “It’s like it was with you guys and what Thatcher did, if you remember, that’s what we are facing.”

              The mention of Thatcher is not accidental, with Eighties Britain a key reference point for Russian ultras. While the British firms succumbed to the government’s anti-hooligan policies, and ultras turned away from knuckle dusters to prawn crackers, the Russians clung to this original footballing tradition. In the very early days, when local teams had no scarves of their own, Russian fans even imported British scarves to wear on the tribunes. So the Spartak fans chose Arsenal, Manchester or Liverpool; Dinamo fans chose Millwall, Chelsea or Everton; CSKA fans chose Aston Villa. Home-produced scarves of local teams only appeared at the end of 1993.

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              • #52
                I was hoping all the underdogs get through (except Russia). Would have been refreshing to see all the big names knocked out before the semis. The French destroyed that unfortunately. My hopes now rest on Belgium and Sweden.

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                • #53
                  No problems with an underdog winning at all. Belgium & Croatia have been very good. England too are underdogs when it comes to the world cup.
                  Last edited by Double Edge; 06 Jul 18,, 19:24.

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                  • #54
                    Haha! half an hour in and Brazil are two down. The red devils have got over their two down with Japan and gone two up with Brazil

                    Last time Brazil came back from two down and won was in 1938 against Sweden (!)

                    75' Brazil score and this remains the only goal they will get

                    It's over, the last of the South Americans goes home, all Euros left now.

                    France v Belgium is going to be good : )
                    Last edited by Double Edge; 06 Jul 18,, 21:30.

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                    • #55
                      So the day wasn't a total loss. Good going Belgium!

                      But seriously, this should have gone to extra time. Brazil had a clear penalty stolen from them. That doesn't excuse them for their wildly inaccurate shooting throughout the match. I mean 27 shots and only 9 on target. Coutinho's miss was unbelievable. Not something you expect from Brazil. Belgium had 9 shots in total with 3 on target.

                      Belgium had a much better balanced side vs. the one against Japan. I don't know what De Bruyne was doing way back in the midfield against Japan. And they had only 3 at the back despite their defence being their weakness. Ridiculous lineup. Much better today with 4 defenders and forward 3 of Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku. Their defence is still shaky though.

                      A comparison

                      Belgium vs Japan



                      Belgium vs Brazil

                      Last edited by Firestorm; 06 Jul 18,, 21:13.

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                      • #56
                        Will they keep 4-3-3 or change to 4-4-2 against France

                        The later stages are cagey affairs, only need one goal to win. Best action is before this point.

                        Still, this world cup has thrown up a lot of surprises, we could get more thrillers

                        Imagine how big an upset it would be if favourites at this point, France go out : D

                        First time Belgium are in the semis since 1986
                        Last edited by Double Edge; 06 Jul 18,, 22:05.

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                        • #57
                          France Vs Croatia (Final)?
                          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                          • #58
                            Let's see how England make out tomorrow. Whether they will be good enough to beat Croatia

                            I can't tell how the France game will go. Belgium are looking quite strong

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                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                              Let's see how England make out tomorrow. Whether they will be good enough to beat Croatia

                              I can't tell how the France game will go. Belgium are looking quite strong
                              Don't know, Brazil were able to create a lot of opportunities. Their own fault for not converting most of them. Like I said, Belgian defence is shaky. On the other hand, Uruguay had a great defence and the French still scored 2. They have a lot of attacking talent with the speed to go with it. I'm hoping for a France vs Argentina type game where both sides go on the attack and fail a bit at the back. :)

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                              • #60
                                Coutinho had some great goals earlier and failing to convert really is their fault. Smaller teams always struggle to convert, you'd think Brazil wouldn't have a problem. This is Brazil after all. Brazil & Argentina always get hyped because they have some big name or two playing for them. Whole team is designed around them. But how well could Messi & Neymar really deliver. They were marked so well that they never get to score many goals. Ronaldo which is also in another one man team did better. I think Uruguay did better than Argentina who nearly didn't make it out of the group stages. It's so sad that Cavani couldn't play. It would have been a much tighter game with France. Their goal keeper failing to stop that second goal just did them in. They were mentally defeated after that. Uruguay got to the semis in 2010 with Diego Forlan.

                                France should win with their attacking talent. Who to guard against. It will take some deft handling from Belgium. Fellaini did quite well defending against Brazil. Courtois made nine saves. He really is a world class goal keeper. A keeper like that could make all the difference.
                                Last edited by Double Edge; 07 Jul 18,, 00:16.

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