World Cup 2018

crispybug2

OK, it's two weeks to the tournament kicks off so probably time to start a thread for predictions, reviews etc

So, first the groups:-

Group A

Egypt
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Uruguay

Group B

Iran
Morocco
Portugal
Spain


Group C

Australia
Denmark
France
Peru

Group D

Argentina
Croatia
Iceland
Nigeria

Group E

Brazil
Costa Rica
Serbia
Switzerland

Group F

Germany
Mexico
South Korea
Sweden

Group G

Belgium
England
Panama
Tunisia

Group H

Colombia
Japan
Poland
Senegal

Matthewfalle

MF has just put a fiver on Harry Kane to win it.

crumbschief

Oh those Russians.

crispybug2

So I think the group qualifiers will be:-

Egypt* Uruguay
Portugal Spain
France Peru
Argentina Iceland
Brazil Costa Rica
Germany Mexico
Belgium England
Colombia Poland


Winner:- France
Runner up:- Spain

3/4 place:- Germany Brazil

Top scorer:- Antoine Greizmann or Thomas Muller



* Only if Mo Salah plays otherwise possibly Russia

crispybug2

Matthewfalle wrote:

MF has just put a fiver on Harry Kane to win it.

No you didn't!!!

robert88

Iran Vs Saudi Arabia. One to watch.

Otherwise I scarcely know my Bale from my Ronaldo.

rick_chasey

Group stages are gonna be an absolute snooze aren't they?

No real group of death. Best we'll have is an early Spain - Portugal.

crispybug2

Rick Chasey wrote:

Group stages are gonna be an absolute snooze aren't they?

No real group of death. Best we'll have is an early Spain - Portugal.

This is where you notice the absence of Italy, Holland etc

Stevo_666

crispybug2 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Group stages are gonna be an absolute snooze aren't they?

No real group of death. Best we'll have is an early Spain - Portugal.

This is where you notice the absence of Italy, Holland etc

Only if you're Italian or Dutch.

secretsam

OK, enough of the yob conversation, this was supposed to be a discussion about the tournament, not how to deal with sub-humans.

Oh, and the use of the words "moron" and "'tard (short for retard)" are really offensive, particularly for anyone with Learning Disabled relatives. Have a report, both.

my_grandadʹs_bike

SecretSam wrote:

OK, enough of the yob conversation, this was supposed to be a discussion about the tournament, not how to deal with sub-humans.

Oh, and the use of the words "moron" and "'tard (short for retard)" are really offensive, particularly for anyone with Learning Disabled relatives. Have a report, both.

Instant bans for using those words on the FOOTBALL forum I frequent - probably deserve a good shoeing mind :roll:

robert88

It's all par for the course.

Ben6899

Robert88 wrote:

It's all par for the course.

You're thinking of golf.

my_grandadʹs_bike

Ben6899 wrote:

Robert88 wrote:

It's all par for the course.

You're thinking of golf.

That's him stymied then

robert88

I'm not that green.

verylonglegs

England to make the quarter finals and then go out with one of those usual tournament performances of complete meekness we have come to expect against a Portugal or Argentina. A 1-0 or 2-0 loss which doesn't look so bad on paper but having watched it it will be evident we were never in the game with the players ending exhausted having chased the ball for the whole game like a spaniel chasing its own shadow on the beach. All because they just don't know how to keep the f****** ball but it will inevitably lead to the usual questions about fitness and hot air from the FA...need of a winter break, rebuild the game from the grassroots up blah blah. So, are we all looking forward to it?

pblakeney

Looking forward to it? No.
I think you have why England go out wrong. It will be down to cheating, diving dirty foreigners and referees*.

*Some will say.

Matthewfalle

TBH, I and I think that they will get 2nd in the group then get knocked out next game. MF thinks they don't even deserve to be there but they got through so that's that.

Belgium are a tad handy.

Not sure who to win - Germany, Brazil, France are the only people sticking out.

Belgium to make up the above three for the semi finals.

pblakeney

Germany to win. Boring and predictably, Germany.
For an entertaining tournament hopefully Belgium, and the there is the dream...

finchy

SecretSam wrote:

OK, enough of the yob conversation, this was supposed to be a discussion about the tournament, not how to deal with sub-humans.

Oh, and the use of the words "moron" and "'tard (short for retard)" are really offensive, particularly for anyone with Learning Disabled relatives. Have a report, both.

I have learning disabled relatives - one cousin with Downs Syndrome, a nephew who we suspect is autistic, but his parents won't have him tested because of the stigma in his country and my Granddad suffered severe dementia, so at the end of his life he was completely incapable of looking after himself. And if I see somebody who is wishing severe bodily harm on others, I'll call that person a moron. If you find that offensive, I suggest you look at your own language, because a quick look through your posting history shows that you have used insulting words such as "idiot" and "stupid" (an idiot was considered to be even more mentally disabled than a moron, in the days when these 2 words were used by psychologists - moron designated someone with an IQ of 51-70, idiot was 0-25). You have also used the word "moron" yourself on several occasions. You'll be reporting yourself now, won't you?

Back to the football - Brazil to storm back from their 2012 disappointment, Neymar to score the winning goal in a 2-1 win. I'm not sure who the opponents will be. Group stages to be mainly dull, 2nd round and quarters really exciting, semis onwards to be tedious as the top teams tire.

BelgianBeerGeek

Can see this thread being shut off quickly. My tuppenceworth: idiot and moron seems ok, other terms less so. Whatever.

I predict Poland will go a long way in this, due to the lack of good teams entering. Belgium to win.

finchy

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

I predict Poland will go a long way in this, due to the lack of good teams entering. Belgium to win.

Is it really a lack of good teams, or is it just that no team stands out quite as much due to the raising of standards in some of the smaller countries? I noticed at the last WC that the big teams had to really work hard in the earlier stages - Germany vs Algeria, for example, was a really hard-fought victory - and were tired in the later games.

robert88

Smaller countries? I see you can get 2000/1 on Panama.

ayjaycee

Have some posts been deleted from this topic?

mrfpb

ayjaycee wrote:

Have some posts been deleted from this topic?

It looks tht way.

I've managed to blank out football this last year. I didn't reigister who was in the FA cup final until the day before this year, my brain has just had football on ignore, it seems. However if my son is around much in his Summer hols. we'll probably watch. I have no predictions apart from England continuing to disappoint after the group stage.


I have said before and will again here, it is the most drawn-out, over-milked elite sporting event in the calendar. There's no reason it shouldn't be over in a fortnight.

mfin

Looking forward to it. Not looking forward to watching Raheem Sterling fail to do anything good for 90 minutes every game though, so can only hope he gets injured in the final friendly. He is sh1t for England, sh1t.

Would have liked to see Wales there for another home team to watch too.

rick_chasey

Why does sterling get so much stick?

About the only player England has with any pace.

TheBigBean

Rick Chasey wrote:

Why does sterling get so much stick?

About the only player England has with any pace.

Do you watch football? You need more than pace. To answer your question he has no composure in front of goal so frequently misses unless inside the 6 yard box. Apparently he has been better this season, but not when I have seen him play.

DeVlaeminck

Rick Chasey wrote:

Why does sterling get so much stick?

About the only player England has with any pace.

Vardy, Welbeck, Rashford and Walker are all known for their pace - there are probably others - I imagine some of the wing backs are quick - but it's not a squad short on pace.

rick_chasey

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Why does sterling get so much stick?

About the only player England has with any pace.

Vardy, Welbeck, Rashford and Walker are all known for their pace - there are probably others - I imagine some of the wing backs are quick - but it's not a squad short on pace.

Fair.

BB - I watch a bit yeah. He can dribble, he finds space, he understands how to draw players away and under Guardiola his finishing has improved; he’s scored something like 22 this season, and he’s picked up quite a few man of the matches in a pretty stellar squad.

Guardiola rates him highly, and to me that makes sense.

He’s not world class but pretty much no one (perhaps Kane) is in the squad.

I can’t really imagine anyone in the England squad making the world’s best squad.

verylonglegs

Rick Chasey wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Why does sterling get so much stick?

About the only player England has with any pace.

Vardy, Welbeck, Rashford and Walker are all known for their pace - there are probably others - I imagine some of the wing backs are quick - but it's not a squad short on pace.

Fair.

BB - I watch a bit yeah. He can dribble, he finds space, he understands how to draw players away and under Guardiola his finishing has improved; he’s scored something like 22 this season, and he’s picked up quite a few man of the matches in a pretty stellar squad.

Guardiola rates him highly, and to me that makes sense.

He’s not world class but pretty much no one (perhaps Kane) is in the squad.

I can’t really imagine anyone in the England squad making the world’s best squad.

Sterling was one of the biggest underperformers in the last tournament from what I remember, guilty of some poor finishing and being anonymous during periods of play, I think he started one of the later games on the bench as a result of how bad he was. I'd like to see him produce his club stats in an England shirt, I wouldn't leave him out. I think a lot of the grief he gets is in the eyes of those with club allegiances because he left Liverpool after one very good season for the Man City money train and then had two very average seasons. I couldn't care less myself but that is the impression I get. As for the tabloid interest in him...welll we all know what they are like by now.