[Soccer] World Cup 2018

It's not coming home. :(

I wanna meet the person who had France-Croatia in their brackets.

EDIT: Oh, and it seems that one-nil is the most dangerous lead in soccer.
 
EDIT: Oh, and it seems that one-nil is the most dangerous lead in soccer.
That makes sense, as it is the smallest a lead could possibly be, and by virtue of it requiring the fewest goals possible for there to be a lead, it generally allows for the most time for the team that is losing to make up the deficit.

--Blotsfan
 

Dave

Staff member
It's not coming home. :(

I wanna meet the person who had France-Croatia in their brackets.

EDIT: Oh, and it seems that one-nil is the most dangerous lead in soccer.
I had France-Brazil, which got ruined when they ended up on the same side of the bracket.
 
Ok, now, despite my disappointment, on the whole I'm still proud of what England accomplished this tournament. They sent a very young team, with several notable absences due to injury (like Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain), but nonetheless still managed to get to the last four of the World Cup. They played as a cohesive team, with everyone knowing their role in the overall game plan, and generally speaking they did well in the games they played. Several players will leave this World Cup with boosted reputations and transfer fees, such as Maguire and Pickford. Hell, they even managed to win a penalty shootout.

Sure, this result is disappointing, because I'd say this was probably the most "winnable" World Cup in recent memory. But still, well played to the lads, now let's get ready for Euro 2020.

Also I hope the third place match against Belgium will be a proper game, with first-choice teams for both sides. Harry Kane's still chasing the Golden Boot so I hope Southgate sends out a full strength side.
 
Football is still coming home.
Germany didn't win the cup in 2006 with a young team, and then again didn't win in 2010. By 2014 the team was ready. England just gotta play the long game.
 
Whelp, well played to Belgium. It wasn't the best of matches, but both sides took the game seriously and there was some good football on display at times. I think this match was a good example of one of England's biggest problems this tournament: an inability to finish. England had chances, quite a few of them too, but either they were off target, or too weak to really trouble the keeper, etc. Or, in at least one case, there was a Belgian defender coming in to clear the shot off the line. Dunno how this can be fixed, but if England learn to put their chances away, then hopefully there's a bright future ahead.
 
I'd just like to say that I successfully picked the winner for every match from the knockout stage onwards. I slightly regret not betting any money this tournament.
 
Yeah was France that big of a surprise? I know they weren't the favorites but I thought they were in the "second tier" of contenders pre-tournament.
 
France were among the pre-tournament favorites. They had ridiculous levels of depth. They could've sent another two or three teams to the World Cup, and would still have been competitive.
 
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