World Cup 2018 (All World Cup Chat Exclusively Here Please).

[Tangfastic]

Just glad that games over.... a weird scenario and, I suppose, opened things up perhaps if we get past Columbia. Now people are getting worried because Columbia are probably a better team than Japan . Just glad it’s now in the knock out stage where teams are only concerned about winning. Just practice the penalties.

[Charnwood]

With a route to the Semi Finals being;

Columbia, Sweden or Switzerland

Or

Japan, Brazil or Mexico


I don’t think it’s too difficult to work out which is the less difficult route bit that said,


There’s no point getting overly excited as we’ve seen England in the knock out stages before and the track record isn’t too good, however I know which part of the draw I’d prefer to be in and it doesn’t include Japan.

[Charnwood]

If FIFA World Rankings are anything to go buy the top half of the draw looks much more challenging with Brazil (2), Belgium (3) Portugal (4), Argentina (5) and France (7) all fighting it out, whilst in the bottom half of the draw we have only Switzerland (6) Spain (10) and Denmark =12th), with England.

Other rankings are;

Uraguay (14)
Mexico (15)
Japan (61)

Columbia (16)
Croatia (20)
Sweden (24)
Russia (70).

I think we should be much happier in the bottom half of the draw.

[rossi]

With a route to the Semi Finals being;

Columbia, Sweden or Switzerland

Or

Japan, Brazil or Mexico


I don’t think it’s too difficult to work out which is the less difficult route bit that said,


There’s no point getting overly excited as we’ve seen England in the knock out stages before and the track record isn’t too good, however I know which part of the draw I’d prefer to be in and it doesn’t include Japan.

agree that we're in a much easier half of the draw.

I do think that Southgate made a major error though - surely the best thing to do is to play your strongest team for every game to build momentum and familiarity. Really hope this will not rebound on us against Columbia.

[Charnwood]

I’m partly with you Rossi as i’d much prefer to have seen us play a strong side last night and win, however Southgate is the boss and so far he appears to have got things right. The proof of how much he got it right last night will all be revealed next week.

[Bluemike]

Switzerland are by no means mugs, in fact on performances so far are equally as good as Brazil, we should have played to win and use our strongest Eleven. Columbia will be far from easy, I would rather be playing Japan, I am not convinced Brazil will beat Mexico.

[number 9]

In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what path a team takes to progress in the WC. Rankings don’t mean sh*t...Germany for example. What the England/Belgium game does tell me, is that we don’t have the squad depth to make it to the final. Although this WC has been unpredictable, I think the final two teams may be even more surprising. I see Croatia as a major threat...perhaps Belgium are also in the mix. Of course, Brazil have the history; but I’m not sure they have enough to win the WC. Round of 16 is brilliant, and I’m anticipating a few upsets along the way.

[arana peligrosa]

Taken bits in here and there but that's the extent of it. Just doesn't feel like a World Cup for various reasons. That VAR horseshit would appear to have soured the competition extensively. If they're going to implement that crap for future tournaments then feel regret for the game. Every time there's a questionable offense seems half the personnel leave the field and you lose track of all what's occurring while they're attempting to "correct" something and play is held up.

Only reason I got any tangible interest remaining being Argentina somehow found a route into the last sixteen. How the f*ck that came to pass after some prior performances represents an enigma but realize no chance of winning the damn event. Germany going out so soon was a real surprise, and with other teams the stature of The Netherlands and Italy omitted from it all, seems there's not much of a competition remaining some would argue.

Perhaps one of the less recognized of nations can win it, real opportunity there for (such) teams to achieve something that would otherwise make any real show or impact.

[Charnwood]

Switzerland are by no means mugs, in fact on performances so far are equally as good as Brazil, we should have played to win and use our strongest Eleven. Columbia will be far from easy, I would rather be playing Japan, I am not convinced Brazil will beat Mexico.

I’m not convinced Brazil will beat Mexico either which is another excellent reason to be in the bottom half of the draw. Mexico have beaten Brazil 7 times drawn 3 and lost only 5 of their last 15 meetings since 1999, wheras England have only won 4 of their 26 fixtures since 1956.

Mexico will be fearless, whereas most likely we wouldn’t.

[Marvinbay1973]

One thing with England when they do progress in tournaments they get better. I know it's not very often but if we do beat Columbia I will feel confident for the quarter finals.
I think we will have turned a corner if we do progress to the quarters.

[Shed on tour]

Got back from Kaliningrad late last night.
Have to say it was a fantastic trip a lot better than I was expecting, locals were very friendly and credit to the Russians the organisation especially regarding shuttle transfers to the stadium and city centre was first class. The volunteers at the stadium were brilliant and it reminded me very much of London 2012 in that respect.
What I would say is judging by the England fans reaction in the stadium to the team lineup I just hope that we beat Columbia as if not I can see Southgate coming in for a tremendous amount of stick. Yes on paper we would seem to have a easier route to the final but we all know football doen’t work like that as if it did we could all make a bet and be guaranteed some sort of return.
Anyhow, hopefully we will beat Columbia and then our run continues so I have a game to go to on the 15th July.

[Bluemike]

Glad your trip went well Shed, its pleasing to hear that all the pre tournament scaremongering appears to be just that. I think it was wrong what Southgate did but time will tell and if it works out favourably then all will be forgiven.

[Charnwood]

In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what path a team takes to progress in the WC. Rankings don’t mean sh*t...Germany for example. What the England/Belgium game does tell me, is that we don’t have the squad depth to make it to the final. Although this WC has been unpredictable, I think the final two teams may be even more surprising. I see Croatia as a major threat...perhaps Belgium are also in the mix. Of course, Brazil have the history; but I’m not sure they have enough to win the WC. Round of 16 is brilliant, and I’m anticipating a few upsets along the way.

“Rankings don’t mean sh*t”... Really, ?....

With 15 of the FIFA Top 16 all present in Russia (only Chile missing).....and 13 of the 15 reaching the last 16 I’d say they’re quite accurate. 80/20 rule more than applied. Only Germany and Peru failed to make the grade and for most of us Germany was a great shock, which is just the sort of shock/surprise that keeps us all interested in football, without it the game would be boring predicatable and uninteresting.

In my opinion the FIFA rankings have worked out pretty accurately and if you can’t see it sobeit.

Hopefully there will be further upsets along the way as nobody want to see all the games running out predictably, but don’t be surprised to see the QF’s dominated by the teams ranked 1-12 with only Croatia looking realistic candidates to break their way in.

[Charnwood]

Got back from Kaliningrad late last night.
Have to say it was a fantastic trip a lot better than I was expecting, locals were very friendly and credit to the Russians the organisation especially regarding shuttle transfers to the stadium and city centre was first class. The volunteers at the stadium were brilliant and it reminded me very much of London 2012 in that respect.
What I would say is judging by the England fans reaction in the stadium to the team lineup I just hope that we beat Columbia as if not I can see Southgate coming in for a tremendous amount of stick. Yes on paper we would seem to have a easier route to the final but we all know football doen’t work like that as if it did we could all make a bet and be guaranteed some sort of return.
Anyhow, hopefully we will beat Columbia and then our run continues so I have a game to go to on the 15th July.

So pleased to hear you’ve had a great trip Shed, I think Putin has done a fantastic job keeping his hooligan element under control and hopefully it will continue thro to the end of the tournament. I guess the real test will come when/if Spain knock Russia lot of the tournament on Sunday.

As for Gareth Southgate, I think he has a plan and has so far done well, whatever the outcome next week it’s been great seeing an England team look like they’re enjoying themselves and the future looks much brighter for our National team than it did a few months ago.

[number 9]

In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what path a team takes to progress in the WC. Rankings don’t mean sh*t...Germany for example. What the England/Belgium game does tell me, is that we don’t have the squad depth to make it to the final. Although this WC has been unpredictable, I think the final two teams may be even more surprising. I see Croatia as a major threat...perhaps Belgium are also in the mix. Of course, Brazil have the history; but I’m not sure they have enough to win the WC. Round of 16 is brilliant, and I’m anticipating a few upsets along the way.

“Rankings don’t mean sh*t”... Really, ?....

With 15 of the FIFA Top 16 all present in Russia (only Chile missing).....and 13 of the 15 reaching the last 16 I’d say they’re quite accurate. 80/20 rule more than applied. Only Germany and Peru failed to make the grade and for most of us Germany was a great shock, which is just the sort of shock/surprise that keeps us all interested in football, without it the game would be boring predicatable and uninteresting.

In my opinion the FIFA rankings have worked out pretty accurately and if you can’t see it sobeit.

Hopefully there will be further upsets along the way as nobody want to see all the games running out predictably, but don’t be surprised to see the QF’s dominated by the teams ranked 1-12 with only Croatia looking realistic candidates to break their way in.

In knockout tournaments, any team can win no matter what its history is. The FA CUP is another example of unpredictability. I get your point though. Sure, rankings are significant statistics...but I’ll say again, rankings don’t mean sh*t when it comes to winners or losers.

France(7) beat Argentina(5)
Uruguay(14) beat Portugal(4)
Russia(70) beat Spain(10)

[Tangfastic]

The FIFA rankings are a bit strange though. They get the powerhouse nations in the top ten, but then you get Switzerland at 6th place ( not a bad side... but seems 10 or 15 places too high) and Poland at 8th place ( they look poor and should be nowhere near the top 10).
Amazed that Russia are ranked 70th and South Korea are 61st placed.

I never truly trust the rankings or understand them. Would I prefer to play lower placed Spain in 10th place or Switzerland at 6th based on the FIFA rankings? No way... give me Switzerland any day.

[Bluemike]

Deli Alli.....we're not scared of anyone, we are confident whoever we play

Yeah right, is that why we threw the Belguim game to avoid potential opponents, moron.

[Tangfastic]

Another major shock in the World Cup !!!!!

Jonas Knudsen will start a game in the World Cup.

Good luck, Jonas ..... your value has increased to 1.5 million.

[Tangfastic]

Fucks sake.... we’ve been waiting for 3 years for the Knudsen long throw assist and he does it in one minute for Denmark!

[Charnwood]

Fucks sake.... we’ve been waiting for 3 years for the Knudsen long throw assist and he does it in one minute for Denmark!

I must say it looked very effective and could well be one of the reasons for his selection.

[Tangfastic]

Fucks sake.... we’ve been waiting for 3 years for the Knudsen long throw assist and he does it in one minute for Denmark!

I must say it looked very effective and could well be one of the reasons for his selection.

I think so, too. Knudsen did OK, although I thought he was partly responsible for the Croatian equaliser.

One thing I did read on TWTD was that there’s not enough space at Portman Road for him to get a run up and provide an effective throw. Possibly true.

I can’t help think that it’s a tactic which has its shelf life. It surprised Croatia early on, but they dealt with it better afterwards. But a pacy, flat, long throw is difficult to deal with. Personally, I don’t like it.... it makes the team one-dimensional and gets a bit tedious.

[Charnwood]

The FIFA rankings are a bit strange though. They get the powerhouse nations in the top ten, but then you get Switzerland at 6th place ( not a bad side... but seems 10 or 15 places too high) and Poland at 8th place ( they look poor and should be nowhere near the top 10).
Amazed that Russia are ranked 70th and South Korea are 61st placed.

I never truly trust the rankings or understand them. Would I prefer to play lower placed Spain in 10th place or Switzerland at 6th based on the FIFA rankings? No way... give me Switzerland any day.

The problem with the rankings is that they reflect past performance over four years and not current form or in Russia’s case home advantage which shouldn’t be under estimated, you only have to look at host nations performances over the years including our own in 1966.

What it does highlight though is those nations who consistently perform and those whom you have a much better chance of winning against, and however much we want to challenge it there is a much better chance of England progressing in the bottom half of the draw than the top.

Yes of course we’ve got to win tomorrow night against Columbia and i’m pretty certain it won’t happen easily and indeed might not happen. But if it does only Sweden or Switzerland, or Russia or Croatia stand in our way of reaching the final, god forbid.

Compare this with having to get past France or Uraguay or Brazil or Mexico and I think I know which offers the best chance.

Certainly if France can replicate their performance v Argentina on Saturday they could be serious challengers to win the World Cup which in my opinion has been blown wide open.

[arana peligrosa]

Any personal interest in the competition is at an end, just want the damn thing over with and return to domestics. Only Brazil, France or the English can feasibly win it, the latter will never have a better opportunity but still time for ample rectification.

Seems a number of teams particularly those expected to do well haven't show the desire or commitment to progress and with most of the leading nations no longer participating neutrals can be forgiven for losing interest. Took a view of Spain just recent and the team of say six or eight years back were completely detached from past performance. Pity really (as) if they had shown enough belief and played to their abilities they could have gone much further and not subscribing to any belief they were intimidated by a home crowd, they're (or were) evidently a better team than the Russians but lost focus at a crucial time.

Surprise how some teams have fallen away so quickly after the last tournament and while the idea or prospect of a Mexico / Croatia final event (for example) remains evident would rather have seen the usual nations involved as the event reaches it's closing stages and two recognized heavyweights fighting out the ultimate prize. Say again just waiting for the inevitable finish and back to league action. (Are any Town club players still involved at this stage, can be forgiven for any such oversights)

[nicscreamer]

Wow SJ, you really are depressive!

Why don't you go watch some Yankie sports until the drudgery of the "Soccer" World cup is over?

I for one am finding this one, quite possibly the best I have seen for many years. Some great goals, some fantastic support, some big teams losing and the real prospect of a new nation winning the cup (or dare I say England!!) I find that exciting and wonderful for the game.!

Come on England!!!!

[Ricco]

Any personal interest in the competition is at an end, just want the damn thing over with and return to domestics. Only Brazil, France or the English can feasibly win it, the latter will never have a better opportunity but still time for ample rectification.

Good lord SJ, it's been a cracker of a world cup, where is the joy of seeing predictable results and the top teams just waltzing through? I suggest you may need to change sports if you're not enjoying it, and if anything this world cup has taught us, it's that any team can win it, to suggest only Brazil, France or England could win it is madness.

As for the big upsets, it's far easier to get to the top than it is to stay there, there are many reasons Germany and Spain have been as poor as they have and actually a large part of that is thanks to their previous success, it's no real surprise, it happens in all sports, great teams fall.

[Bluemike]

The Gas oven is on

[Charnwood]

Even tho i’ve not watched many games from start to finish most of what i’ve seen has been fabulous, none better than France v Argentina, and England v Panama exciting too from and an England fans perspective. OK in a couple of unimportant games the players have gone awol but in the main it’s been exciting and entertaining and probably the best World Cup for a while, and WOW, some of the fans especially from the Americas have been amazing. They must have better /cheaper air fares than we Brits enjoy.

Hopefully there are more surprises to come, I just hope it’s not tomorrow night.

[Bluemike]

What another Great game

[nicscreamer]

Brilliant game, and credit to Japan! They just ran out of steam at the end. I couldn't have seen England coming back from 2-0 down.

Great world cup!

[Ohiotractorboy]

I, for one, am enjoying the hell out of this Cup. I agree, watching predictable teams win over and over...might as well watch the Premier League. That Belgium v Japan match had me on my feet yelling, "ooooooohhhh" several times!