2022 World Cup.

[GreiginFife]

Me neither. One that springs to mind is when the Argentine player smashed ball into Netherlands dugout. Had he smashed the ball like that into the Netherlands fans (i.e. with intent, rather than just randomly hoofing it away), I assume it would be a red?

Parades. Should have gone for scything down Ake (yellow) and then booting the ball in to the dugout (definite second yellow). Ref bottled it after the melee that followed, and there could have been a couple of reds in that alone.

 

[sunshine]

Some thoughts on the global sports washing project World Cup now it's over, focusing on the tournament and not the build up (migrant workers, persecuted minorities, corruption etc)

Positives:
- An epic final
- A fairly open tournament, show-casing high skill levels from many teams, and the cream rose to the top
- A few upsets to keep us entertained (Saudi v Arg ), but generally the dross got what they deserved
- Lack of hooliganism
- Good progression from the England squad, even though on paper QF appears a step backwards

Negatives:
- Nothing is being done about play acting
- Inconsistency of VAR. I expect individual referees to interpret incidents differently on the pitch but no excuse for VAR
- The lack of atmosphere at many matches. Some countries like Morocco had a good set of fans, but most countries brought far fewer fans than usual. England v France was dead. TV companies played some tricks to improve the sound, but I can tell the difference between 5,000 cheering and 50,000.
- The general lack of world cup fever. No festival of football where the host country becomes a massive football party. No passion and no soul. At home there wasn't the usual level of excitement either, I watched all the big games at home instead of going out.
- The manipulation of the tournament to benefit the interests of the hosts. The endless publicity stunts e.g. Messi being forced to wear a robe to raise the trophy
- Sycophantic comments from paid ambassadors and officials like Infantino telling us how great everything is when it blatantly isn't

 

[Swango1980]

Well, we had one of the best ever World Cup finals on Sunday, and tonight we get back to even greater things, the Caraboa Cup.

I wonder if Alexis Mac Allister will make the trip away to Charlton tomorrow night?

 

[clubchamp98]

Some thoughts on the global sports washing project World Cup now it's over, focusing on the tournament and not the build up (migrant workers, persecuted minorities, corruption etc)

Positives:
- An epic final
- A fairly open tournament, show-casing high skill levels from many teams, and the cream rose to the top
- A few upsets to keep us entertained (Saudi v Arg ), but generally the dross got what they deserved
- Lack of hooliganism
- Good progression from the England squad, even though on paper QF appears a step backwards

Negatives:
- Nothing is being done about play acting
- Inconsistency of VAR. I expect individual referees to interpret incidents differently on the pitch but no excuse for VAR
- The lack of atmosphere at many matches. Some countries like Morocco had a good set of fans, but most countries brought far fewer fans than usual. England v France was dead. TV companies played some tricks to improve the sound, but I can tell the difference between 5,000 cheering and 50,000.
- The general lack of world cup fever. No festival of football where the host country becomes a massive football party. No passion and no soul. At home there wasn't the usual level of excitement either, I watched all the big games at home instead of going out.
- The manipulation of the tournament to benefit the interests of the hosts. The endless publicity stunts e.g. Messi being forced to wear a robe to raise the trophy
- Sycophantic comments from paid ambassadors and officials like Infantino telling us how great everything is when it blatantly isn't

Yes agree.
The biggest thing that struck me was the lack of interest back home.
I never saw any England flags out of cars , windows etc.
Even the shops didn’t display much stuff.
Maybe they didn’t want to show they were supporting the Qutaries.
Very flat.

 

[Swango1980]

Yes agree.
The biggest thing that struck me was the lack of interest back home.
I never saw any England flags out of cars , windows etc.
Even the shops didn’t display much stuff.
Maybe they didn’t want to show they were supporting the Qutaries.
Very flat.

Maybe that was a reason for some. But not overly important I don't think.. People who put flags up on cars are usually big football fans, and patriotic. I imagine most of them would still have been right behind England, watching every game, regardless of where the football was held.

I think the bigger reason for that is simply the time of year. We went straight from Premier League football into a World Cup, at a time of year the weather is rubbish. People may not be really feeling the enthusiasm they normally do. Every other major championship, there have been a few weeks to kill between club football and the major national championship. People have been starved of football for a bit, and there has been time to build up peoples enthusiasm. And, the weather is usually lovely, so fans are organising BBQs, beer gardens and night outs to watch the big games. Lots more positivity, and more people getting out and about, displaying those flags wherever they go.

Ohh, and the whole cost of living crisis, and striking workers, has probably put a dampener on people's moods.

 

[HeftyHacker]

Problem there is if you get a girl whose 6’2” in the future it’s like a five a side goal to her.



Some of My daughters friends are tall so the girls are out there.



They just don’t play footy.



Scouts will be out for sure as it would stop a lot of very average goals as you say.

Why don't they just scout high level basketball and netball players? Got the height and reach as well as good hand eye.

 

[clubchamp98]

Why don't they just scout high level basketball and netball players? Got the height and reach as well as good hand eye.

Not sure the other sports would be happy .

 

[sunshine]

Why don't they just scout high level basketball and netball players? Got the height and reach as well as good hand eye.

I'm sure this will happen eventually. We've seen similar with lots of sports. Ultimately, can a woman earn more playing football, basketball or netball?

 

[srixon 1]

Well, we had one of the best ever World Cup finals on Sunday, and tonight we get back to even greater things, the Caraboa Cup.

I wonder if Alexis Mac Allister will make the trip away to Charlton tomorrow night?

He’ll still be mullered in a bar somewhere in Argentina I would imagine.