**The World Cup 2018 Official Thread**

[StretfordRed]

Why are these English people trying to front like they exceeded expectations?
Got an easy as shyt group. Lost Belgium match on purpose to have an easy bracket with only Spain being the only real threat in the semis .
You were supposed to have an easy run to the final like Liverpool. Stop that "well done lads" noise

If you anything about football you’d know the answer

But I’ll give you a quick one: this is the least experienced England team and some of them literally were playing 2/3rd tier football a few years back

So miss all that BS

 

[Liu Kang]

Belgian players salty as shyt. At least KDB real with it. I always how frank and objective he is about football. If Belgium wants too see anti-football, they should just watch the tapes of their second half against Brazil

Jordan Henderson.

They should have took Shelvey.

That was bad

Probably coach orders but the execution is not good at all. Above all, Croatia wasn't playing a high line like that so Sterling could really go behind their defense often.

Think Southgate played with a back 3 to compensate for the lack of a decent CM, one of the defenders like Stones can step in and distribute but the compilation had like 1 successful pass. Read that the tactic was to release early balls over the top but those passes were just looping over the midfield and gave no chance to the forwards.

I think Southgrate got it right in the first part of the game. But when Croatia started bossing the midfield up, he should made a formation switch. The issue is that that 3 man defense was a flat back 5 in defensive phase with a 3 man midfield. Croatia was playing a 433 though both wingers were fairly low. So by default both midfields were even. But with a 433, , when the Croatian wingers pushed and the FB followed, the English midfield was outnumbered. They had to slide to cover the whole pitch and nobody in the back 5 was really helping.

A back 3 against a sole forward (Mandzu) is usually overkill. In defensive phase, a back 4 (instead a of back 5) against the Croatian O line should have been enough. And this would have help solidify the midfield and ease up their workload with one more man. If Southgate had switched to a basic 442 (letting Kane and Sterling upfront with no defensive responsibility as they were already), they would have not necessarily lost control of the game so easily.

 

[DStyles]

How old were you in 2002 when Korea/Japan happened?

I was 12 and wasn’t into soccer


Not

Young smooth sabo

 

[hashmander]

52 players in this world cup were born and raised in france.

Most World Cup talent are born in France (data analysis)

they got the best development system.

 

[Sukairain]

Belgian players salty as shyt. At least KDB real with it. I always how frank and objective he is about football. If Belgium wants too see anti-football, they should just watch the tapes of their second half against Brazil


That was bad

Probably coach orders but the execution is not good at all. Above all, Croatia wasn't playing a high line like that so Sterling could really go behind their defense often.


I think Southgrate got it right in the first part of the game. But when Croatia started bossing the midfield up, he should made a formation switch. The issue is that that 3 man defense was a flat back 5 in defensive phase with a 3 man midfield. Croatia was playing a 433 though both wingers were fairly low. So by default both midfields were even. But with a 433, , when the Croatian wingers pushed and the FB followed, the English midfield was outnumbered. They had to slide to cover the whole pitch and nobody in the back 5 was really helping.

A back 3 against a sole forward (Mandzu) is usually overkill. In defensive phase, a back 4 (instead a of back 5) against the Croatian O line should have been enough. And this would have help solidify the midfield and ease up their workload with one more man. If Southgate had switched to a basic 442 (letting Kane and Sterling upfront with no defensive responsibility as they were already), they would have not necessarily lost control of the game so easily.

First half was really well done, they crowded the centre and played so narrowly that Modric and especially Rakitic struggled to have any impact. The Croatians were sloppy and mishyt simple passes as a result of not having time and space.

 

[---]

Going to spread the blame around a bit. Even though thos long balls were just horrible, it's the managers fault for as well for letting it go on for the whole game until Raheem came off which was also a dumb substitution.

Should of sent directions to Henderson to cut that shyt out! Square up the ball and stop trying to release raheem with the long ball. If I going to burn Henderson got to burn the manager as well. Even though to me he is a good manager he was way off on tactics that night!

 

[beejus]

That's a sick avy

Wanna trade?

You wear those colors so proudly. I wouldn't want to take away all your national pride.

 

[TTT]

it does seem like we may have the best resume in the past 20 years with Brazil Didn't expect that tbh. I do think Germany's consistency sets them on the same level as us and Brazil though. They have less finals but more semis, from 2006 to 2016, they reached semis in every competition.
- 2002 : WC final lost
- 2006, 2010 : WC semis
- 2014 : Wc final won
- 2008 : Euro final
- 2012, 2016 : Euro semis


That generation is definitely burned out because there resume since their 06 WC is crazy. I didn't expect this to be so blatant and I mistakenly thought they were favorites


I kinda liked them from a footy perspective i
The talent it takes to play the way they played was outstanding. If I take a step back and look at their 08-10, they were monstrous and the ability to take the ball hostage while 10 opposite players chase it and can't get it is undervalued. Their negative tiki taka from 2012 will always overshadows this though. But I blame Del Bosque's doble pivote and Fabregas as a false 9.

Germany getting to the last 4 from 06-16 was crazy. They did this while going through the different generations. In 06 it was the emergence of Podolski/Schweinsteiger plus Ballack was still there and they continued to 2008. In 2010 it was the Khedira,Ozil,Boateng,Muller, by 2012 they were integrating Kroos into the team and in 2014 the 2010 generation was mature enough to win plus they had some of the Dortmund players like Hummels getting into the team. Remember the teams they beat in that run like Argentina thrice in knockouts, Portugal and England got a 4 piece, Brazil 7 and the only big team they failed to beat was Italy who knocked them out twice. To do it for 6 straight tournaments is crazy, much easier to let off a bit and then come back hungrier. With Spain you could feel the difference by 2014 when teams like Bayern , Dortmund and even Real had already started to show how direct , quick transition football can wreck patient possession style game. Winning 3 in a row is unprecedented and will be hard to replicate.

 

[Formerly known as...]

2022 World cup in Qatar...November 21st to December 18th

 

[thatrapsfan]

2022 World cup in Qatar...November 21st to December 18th

Im old enough to remember when everyone was convinced Russia 2018 would be a disaster filled with corruption and racism. Turned out into one of the best World Cups ever. I'm withholding my judgement on future World Cups till the games get played.

 

[Formerly known as...]

Im old enough to remember when everyone was convinced Russia 2018 would be a disaster filled with corruption and racism. Turned out into one of the best World Cups ever. I'm withholding my judgement on future World Cups till the games get played.

Domestic leagues on hold for those months I guess....Either the leagues start earlier or end later.

 

[LiveFromLondon]

The basic level of football iq displayed in thr last couple of pages

 

[Roid Jones]

2022 World cup in Qatar...November 21st to December 18th

Nobody wants to see players from the heat

It's going to be a great Christmas for one nation

It's going to be a terrible Christmas for one nation

 

[Dame Dash's Motor Oil]

Man fukk Croatia



Trash ass Eastern European racist pieces of shyt, hope every goal in the final is scored by a black French player

 

[Montez]

Im old enough to remember when everyone was convinced Russia 2018 would be a disaster filled with corruption and racism. Turned out into one of the best World Cups ever. I'm withholding my judgement on future World Cups till the games get played.

1994, 2010, 2014 too. Europeans drum up this fear.