World Cup 2018 thread

[Dimmu]

6 minutes ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said:

My 3/1 was before the game too, I've been robbed!

I made a typo. Should've been 4/1. You were still robbed, but not that bad.

[SaintRam]

4 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

When you’ve got the best player on the planet, you have to find a way to best utilise his ability.

Argentina were so slow, they couldn’t get the ball to Messi and when they did he was swarmed straight away. Portugal found a way to get the ball to Ronaldo in dangerous areas, I could probably count the number of times where Messi received the ball in the final third in space on one hand.

For him to have a good game, and make a mark, he would have had to have done everything himself. Croatia aren’t mugs, they’re a decent side who set up well to block space.

Argentina’s tactics were awful. Too defensive in midfield with two slow holding players, no pace outside.

It was basically a 5-2———-1—2 formation. Messi was just surrounded all the time, and basically had to try and do the midfield’s job for them by dropping so deep for the ball.

The Ronaldo vs Messi debate is easy to comprehend. Messi is simply a better football, while both need a team to help get the best out of them. In that Argentina team, if Ronaldo was Argentine, how would he have made an impact. Both Aguero and Higuain also barely touched the ball. You can’t make an impact in the final 3rd if you don’t get the ball there in space.

Ronaldo has far more off-the-ball mobility than Messi. He would have found space in that game.

Just saying. I have no stake in the Ronaldo/Messi debate, I think anyone who involves themselves in such a debate are fools, but Ronaldo's playstyle is better suited to being the only good player on a team than Messi's. 

[Andicis]

Luka Modric is some player. Comfortably the best CM in the world in my opinion.

[LittleEatonRam]

The best thing for Argentina and Messi would be if he just retired from International football. It doesn't work for either of them.

I'm not sure if it's because

a) he's not as good as we all think.

b) his teammates aren't good enough.

c) International standard managers know how to set their teams up to stop him 

d) there is too much pressure on him and, as a result, the whole team

Or maybe it's some combination of all the above. Whatever it is I suspect Argentina will look better once both parties have moved on.

 

 

[Jourdan]

1 minute ago, Bris Vegas said:

Without trying to downplay Croatia, they also did very little until they were gifted a goal. Then they were allowed to play counterattacking football, and looked decent.

They, like Mexico, will look a top team when they’re winning and counterattacking. But if they go 1-0 down, they will then start to look pretty average as they lack that top technical ability of a Spain or France to really break down a team who knows how to defend and control games.

I'm not saying Croatia looked good. I have watched both of their games and they really haven't sparkled. Far from it.

I'm saying what makes them dangerous is that there is more to come from this team.

How do they lack technical ability? Modric? Rakitic? Perisic? Mandzukic?

They have the quality and the balance, for sure. But one thing they do seem to lack, which I will agree with you on, is the belief and mentality of a top team.

[Bris Vegas]

17 minutes ago, LittleEatonRam said:

The best thing for Argentina and Messi would be if he just retired from International football. It doesn't work for either of them.

I'm not sure if it's because

a) he's not as good as we all think.

b) his teammates aren't good enough.

c) International standard managers know how to set their teams up to stop him 

d) there is too much pressure on him and, as a result, the whole team

Or maybe it's some combination of all the above. Whatever it is I suspect Argentina will look better once both parties have moved on.

 

 

Argentina in the qualifying campaign without Messi won 1 in 8.

With Messi they won 6, drew 3 and lost 1 in 10 games.

Argentina certainly aren’t better without Messi. Only two months ago they lost 6-1 to Spain. They’re crap.

His quality is obvious. He has been Barcelona’s best player by some distance in an era which has seen the likes of Neymar, Xavi and iniesta play for the club.

In clasico games against Real Madrid, he almost always looks the best player on the park - a park which includes a host of world class players including Ronnie.

But it doesn’t matter how good you are, if your teammates are rubbish and you don’t have a system which helps you, then what can you do?

 

[Bris Vegas]

40 minutes ago, SaintRam said:

Ronaldo has far more off-the-ball mobility than Messi. He would have found space in that game.

Just saying. I have no stake in the Ronaldo/Messi debate, I think anyone who involves themselves in such a debate are fools, but Ronaldo's playstyle is better suited to being the only good player on a team than Messi's. 

Ronaldo is a centre-forward who drifts from left to right along the frontline. How would he have created space in that game? Argentina couldn’t break the lines. Messi spent most of the game coming short to pick the ball off Mascherano.

But I do agree that Ronnie probably has more lateral movement off the ball these days. Messi suffered a bad hamstring injury back in 2013, since then he seems to only play in bursts, which is fine if you can get people pressing around him and passing sharply to create space for him.

Messi drops much deeper though. At times he’s deeper than central midfielders, receiving the ball in his own half.

[eddie]

1 hour ago, Bris Vegas said:

Without trying to downplay Croatia, they also did very little until they were gifted a goal. Then they were allowed to play counterattacking football, and looked decent.

They, like Mexico, will look a top team when they’re winning and counterattacking. But if they go 1-0 down, they will then start to look pretty average as they lack that top technical ability of a Spain or France to really break down a team who knows how to defend and control games.

If Argentina had scored that absolute sitter in the first half, it might have changed the entire complexion of the game. We'll never know.

[rynny]

4 hours ago, Alpha said:

What is there to like about France? 

Giroud ?

[ViewsFromTheMiddle]

5 minutes ago, eddie said:

If Argentina had scored that absolute sitter in the first half, it might have changed the entire complexion of the game. We'll never know.

Not to mention Croatia should've been down to ten men before they scored. Ironically it was the same player that gave them the lead.

Argentina got everything they deserved though, nada.

[Bris Vegas]

10 minutes ago, eddie said:

If Argentina had scored that absolute sitter in the first half, it might have changed the entire complexion of the game. We'll never know.

I was teaching, so only managed to grab the 2nd half. Don’t know anything about that or about a potential red card ?‍♂️

[eddie]

5 hours ago, Alpha said:

What is there to like about France? 

Absinthe

[eddie]

9 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

I was teaching, so only managed to grab the 2nd half. Don’t know anything about that or about a potential red card ?‍♂️

Don't know who it was, but there was a nasty OTT challenge. It was one of those where the player stepped over the ball - straight onto the opponent's ankle.

[TigerTedd]

1 hour ago, Bris Vegas said:

Without trying to downplay Croatia, they also did very little until they were gifted a goal. Then they were allowed to play counterattacking football, and looked decent.

They, like Mexico, will look a top team when they’re winning and counterattacking. But if they go 1-0 down, they will then start to look pretty average as they lack that top technical ability of a Spain or France to really break down a team who knows how to defend and control games.

France? Really?

[Bris Vegas]

3 hours ago, Jourdan said:

I'm not saying Croatia looked good. I have watched both of their games and they really haven't sparkled. Far from it.

I'm saying what makes them dangerous is that there is more to come from this team.

How do they lack technical ability? Modric? Rakitic? Perisic? Mandzukic?

They have the quality and the balance, for sure. But one thing they do seem to lack, which I will agree with you on, is the belief and mentality of a top team.

Rakitic, Mandzukic and Perisic aren’t technical players. They have huge qualities, but they’re more workmanlike than technical. Modric is a quality player, but he can’t unlock teams on his own.

I’d back Mexico to comfortably beat Croatia again like they did in 2014. They’re far more energetic.

Croatia have potential, but they’ll get stopped by the first energetic team they come up against.

[ViewsFromTheMiddle]

9 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

Rakitic, Mandzukic and Perisic aren’t technical players. They have huge qualities, but they’re more workmanlike than technical. Modric is a quality player, but he can’t unlock teams on his own.

I’d back Mexico to comfortably beat Croatia again like they did in 2014. They’re far more energetic.

Croatia have potential, but they’ll get stopped by the first energetic team they come up against.

Rakitic isn't technical?! That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

[Bris Vegas]

1 hour ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said:

Rakitic isn't technical?! That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

Have you even seen Barcelona? The reason why he complimented the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets and Messi so well is because he’s a runner. He presses well, he tackles well, he puts himself about.

Of course he’s an excellent player on the ball. But he isn’t ‘technical’ in that he’s a playmaker. He isn’t Barca’s go-to guy to unlock a defence with through balls or taking three players out the game with instant control or dribble.

He isn’t Croatia’s guy to do that either. Like I say, he’s a quality player but he’s workmanlike. Always has been, even at Sevilla.

That’s not to say a workmanlike player can’t provide assists or play decent passes, but that’s not his game.

[Day]

Today’s predictions 

Nigeria 1-2 Iceland

Brazil 4-0 Costa Rica

Serbia 1-1 Switzerland 

[ViewsFromTheMiddle]

Nigeria 1-1 Iceland

Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica

Serbia 0-1 Switzerland 

[JoetheRam]

Neymar's not actually very good is he?

Not surprised he's always injured because he takes 4 minutes to get his head up to find a pass to a team mate, whilst attracting opponents to foul him.