World Cup - Do You Want To Talk About It?

@shindig said:

That save by Pickford before their goal... mmmm

For god sake. Rodriguez reached out and probably gave Mbappe a little dig or a nudge, but to collapse to the ground like someone getting skewered with a rapier was so ridiculous. I understand the Uruguayan team's frustration there, 2-0 down. Dumb from both players.

Not saying it wasn't funny they got a taste of their own medicine, but get on with the game.

This match hasn't felt like a QF at all to me. Without Cavani they've had less urgency and threat about them. They've tried the hardest of the two, but France have not even needed to move it up a gear. Very laid-back performance; kind of weird. Not an effortless victory, but it's looked like one.

Won't lie, hugely disappointing and flat match.

My biggest peeve in football outside of diving: when the other team picks up the ball and chucks it out of reach of the opposing team who've been awarded a free kick. Fuck off.

Why do I have a feeling Belgium vs. Japan is going to turn out to be the height of this world cup?

Every match since then has been pretty dull. Although, the brawls of ENG/COL and FRA/URU weren't too bad.

@brunothethird: As good as Uruguay is, and as hesitant as I am to put the difference on one player, with the way Cavani has played for such a teeny country, it felt like they were doomed from the start against a juggernaut like France.

He and Suarez linked up so well in the last 16. Suarez looked lost without him.

@sethmode: I know what you mean -- it's team effort that wins the matches 99% of the time -- but it clearly had a devastating impact, at least today. Their weaknesses were highlighted brighter than they otherwise would've been, arguably, but not skill-wise. I mean, they were sloppy in the second half, but I think it was their morale that was most affected by Cavani's absence. Their faces showed zero expectation that they would win, and each goal weighed on them like a guillotine's shadow.

Oh shit, the Brazil game's starting.

LETS GO BELGIUM

Belgium is fucking destroying Brazil. I did not expect this.

This is exactly what I expected to be honest, they've been improving more and more as the tournament's gone on. I thought if Belgium didn't get this far Brazil would walk it to the semis, but that was the only if.

Still, another half is left. Brazil have it in their ability to equalize, definitely.

Yeah, Brazil has stepped up their game 10 minutes into the second half. This is shaping up to become a real tussle.

Blatant penalty. When it's a possible penalty, the ref needs to check the damn replays every time. No excuse; it's meant to erase this bullshit, not inflame it further. The rules need to be tightened way more in this aspect in particular. That could've been 2-1, which we know can make Brazil ascend to another level.

Marcelo has been brilliant, by the way.

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Ooooh, beautiful goal, Brazil! That was classic football in microcosm right there.

Edit: This is amazing.

SUCK IT NEYMAR!!!!!!

Fuck yes, I can't believe Belgium won. Amazing match

All Europe left! That's.... something!

Finally another semi final for Belgium (last time 1986!!). So happy we won against Brazil, lucky but whatever! Allons-y la France!

I believe in Belgium!

We did it ! world cup here we come !

Yeah, that Uruguayan match was a let down. Muslera is taking a lot of the blame for his mistake, but to me that is an error... Everyone in the team was not on their best. They entered the match thinking that they were not going to win, because without Cavani the team was "not on their prime". It was the same thing that happened against Colombia in Brazil 2014... The match was lost before it started.

No matter what, France dominated the match, set the rhythm and didn't even had to try hard for it, Uruguay tried to resist for almost 60 minutes and woke up after the second goal, at which point it was too late.

Congratulations to France and Belgium! And good luck! The world cup is over for us...

Belgium deserve this World Cup. As an England fan obviously I want it, but we'd be very fortunate as opposed to them.

Funny that Belgium struggled more against Japan than Brazil, though Brazil were a bit more aggressive and easy to expose whereas Japan had firm control for a lot of their match.

Belgium is essentially a more talented version of Mexico in that they play up or down to the level of their opposition. Not to say that Japan was a bad team, they certainly took their chances, but they aren't on the same level as Brazil. Belgium-France should be greatly entertaining (which all but guarantees a 0-0 snoozer).

Gooooal, Englaaand. Great finish from Maguire.

Edit: 2-0, wooop. Another classic header.

England smashed it and looked great doing So!

Football's coming home boys

I need to wrangle an early finish to get home for the semi.

My hope now is for either France or Belgium to win this WC

Still rooting for Belgium vs England as the final.

Pretty good game against Sweden just now.

Amazing Russian goal; one of the top five of the tournament, easily.

Amazing play by Russia!

Oooh, the equalizer! we got ourselves a match, people.

Pretty good game

Croatia's goalkeeper is down. No subs left. Probably 4-5 minutes until extra time and an additional sub.

Fox commentators showing their ignorance of the rules by suggesting Croatia could play without a goaltender.

Edit: This is insane. Croatia's keeper is clearly not 100% and this thing is going to go to penalties. I can't fathom why they aren't bringing on the backup with the extra sub. He can move, but not explosively. Seems kind of important for penalties.

My chest is going to explode. Electrifying drama.

I agree, huge risk if he's not 100%, but maybe a not-100% main is better than the 100% backup.

Edit: I take it back, haha. Not a risk.

Not with shooting like that, for sure.

EDIT: God heavens. These shots. Cue the yakety-sax.

Damn, so close. Great playing by Russia, was hoping they would take this.

Well done to both teams, they really gave every ounce of themselves, even if some of those penalties were poor. Nothing but admiration from me.

The conspiracy theorists won't have much to say now Russia are out, at least. England V. Croatia will be quite a show. I think they're pretty evenly matched, but Croatia are clearly exhausted. Hope they rest and get back to full fitness. It would be a bit depressing if we beat them down that way.

For political reasons, I'm quite relieved that we're spared the awkwardness of Russia vs. England in Moscow in a WC semi-final. But from a football perspective, I feel bad for Russia. They really put their all into this tournament after not many people believed in them to get this far. They totally deserved to be there, and the scenes in the stadium after the extra-time equaliser were really something - the agony and the ecstasy of football on full display. On balance, though, a fair result, as Croatia did show more quality in the game. But this looks a beatable Croatia team for England; they're very good on the ball, and Modric is a definite Golden Ball contender, but they've been lacking in the final third, and they really switched off at the back on the extra-time goal. No blame to be found for Cheryshev's wonder strike, but Denmark's goal was under similar circumstances.

Well, I'm not sure England has too much to fear from Croatia if they play up to their ability. I've been pretty unimpressed by them the last couple of games.

As much as I've taken a shine to this England team, I'm still thinking the actual World Cup final is going to be France-Belgium on Tuesday. They both look world's better England or Croatia.

France have looked incredible imo, they are my bet for winning the whole thing.

I fear for Croatia against England given they looked exhausted by the end there.

I dunno, there's some colourful history when England meets Croatia. In preparation, I watched the Graham Taylor documentary, "An Impossible Job." Comparisons to This is Spinal Tap are apt. Poor Graham never stood a chance. He talked big about corners, though. The man knew.

A routine, job done performance from England and it was never really in doubt, expected a tougher game outta Sweden, whatever happens from here on out I think we've finally got a manager and a squad of young players we can be proud of as a nation.

What am I saying, IT'S COMING HOME!!

Hoping for a Belgium win tonight!

Honestly, this is the right answer if we're all being honest.. unless of course England or Croatia end up taking it :eyes

On a personal level, I want to see a Belgium-Croatia world cup final. There hasn't been a new finalist since 1998 when France got there and smashed Brazil with their 3-0 win, and two new finalists since 1954 when West Germany won over Hungary 3-2 to give them their first title, so it's about damn time.

However, as a history fan, the prospect of seeing an France-England game makes me salivate. Seeing those two countries with their shared history going head to head in the final for the world cup is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Another fun fact: The France-Belgium game is almost...Just almost... day for day on the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs. I take that as a good omen.

This match is fantastic so far

Giroud has been disappointing in every France match so far. The finishing just isn't there.

Mbappé Is an ass.

Excellent playing by France

I wanted Belgium to progress, but 'twas not to be. I originally predicted a France-Spain final with Belgium-England in the third place playoff, which weirdly isn't far off the truth as of now -- potentially 75% accurate -- but that wasn't my hope. I secretly want a new victor, so I'll back Croatia as my underdog and England as my default.

Professional, controlled, very impressive performance by France. Top marks for several players, especially Pogba, Matuidi, Kante, and the centre backs, Varane for keeping Lukaku in the pocket and Umtiti for his goal. Was disappointed by Belgium, but they weren't allowed to play their best football, and de Bruyne and Lukaku couldn't affect the game the way they wanted to.

France are obviously the favourites - they've got far too much talent across the field than Croatia or England, and Deschamps has them playing smart, tactical football while also allowing the brilliance of his individuals to shine.

Hard to remember the last time I felt so excited every time you see a player touch the ball than Mbappe. He's lightning in a bottle. He uses his brain as much as his athleticism, and that little flick outside the box to put Giroud in on goal was world-class. The most impressive teenager I can remember seeing in a long time, up there with original Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Michael Owen.