Another fascinating group we have on our hands here, with a bunch of solid teams who have given great accounts of themselves over the years all meet in Group H. Poland come into the group as top seeds after a fantastic last few years. Lead by the Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and marshalled so excellently at the back by Kamil Glik they will be the ones to beat here. They do lack a bit of World Cup experience as this is their first tournament since Germany 2006 and they have not gotten out of the group stage since Mexico '86. Standing in their way here are Colombia, the South American team had an up and down qualification period in which saw them finish 4th and earn their spot in Russia. They had heroics in Brazil in 2014 getting to the quarter final stage and losing to Brazil in a very close game. In 2014 they also met Japan, who they soundly beat 4-1 on their way to top spot in their group. I see them struggling in this group though as they are not the same side as 2014 and Russia is a lot different to Brazil. Senegal are arguably the best South African representative this year and deservedly hold that title due to having a fantastic squad. They are littered with top players in multiple areas of the pitch from back to front with the likes of; Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gueye, Keita Baldé and Sadio Mané all with world class ability. They do lack World Cup experience though as this is only their second ever apperance but they do have the capabilities of upseting a few teams here if they don't get stage fright. Japan, the legendary blue samurai round out this tough group. However they are probably a well beaten fourth best here as they just aren't as good as they used to be in the past. They lack real guile that they used to have in the past, they struggle to score and will prove costly in a group where the opposition can score at will. Their hopes rest as usual on Shinji Kagawa having a good game, but with Okazaki injured in training prior to the World Cup, i do not know who he can provide any goals for! Predictions 1st - Poland 2nd - Senegal 3rd - Colombia 4th - Japan
Squads
Goalkeepers Wojciech Szczęsny - Bartosz Białkowski - Łukasz Fabiański Defenders Michał Pazdan - Artur Jędrzejczyk - Thiago Cionek - Jan Bednarek - Kamil Glik - Bartosz Bereszyński - Łukasz Piszczek Midfielders Jacek Góralski - Karol Linetty - Grzegorz Krychowiak - Kamil Grosicki - Maciej Rybus - Jakub Błaszczykowski - Sławomir Peszko - Piotr Zieliński - Rafał Kurzawa Forwards Arkadiusz Milik - Robert Lewandowski (captain) - Łukasz Teodorczyk - Dawid Kownacki
Goalkeepers David Ospina - Camilo Vargas - José Fernando Cuadrado Defenders Cristián Zapata - Óscar Murillo - Santiago Arias - Yerry Mina - Johan Mojica - Farid Díaz - Dávinson Sánchez Midfielders Wílmar Barrios - Carlos Sánchez - Abel Aguilar - James Rodríguez - Juan Cuadrado - Mateus Uribe Jefferson Lerma - Juan Fernando Quintero Forwards Carlos Bacca - Radamel Falcao (captain) - Luis Muriel - Miguel Borja - José Izquierdo
On June 18 2018 19:02 haitike wrote: I want Japan and Colombia to pass
PLEASE.
This is the best Mundial group as everyone is aware. POLAND, POLAND, POLAND, LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO IT IS TIME
Anyway, this is probably 50/50 on how Poland ends up in this group BUT we, Polish fans have high expectations from our representation. We have pretty tough opponents as both Colombia and Senegal can play a decent football and are physically demending BUT I hope.
We don't have any decent results but have really good players for almost every single position. Will see !
Edit : In all seriousness. I don't want to be in Lewy's shoes. He has a HUGE pressure on him. People are expecting AT least coming out from group. I know that team doesn't consist only of him. Zielinski (Napoli) has to prove himself as well. Glik is injured, still recovering from that retarded shoulder incident, no idea if he will play in first game - probably not. Grosicki is a great playmaker and runs fast. Blaszczykowski performed really well in last friendly against Lithuania. Milik is still Milik, he's good overall but can't shoot on goal, even when given a 100% situation. I know he carried us a bit in Euro '16 but that doesn't justify him being a troll in last months or even years.
DEF is pretty shaky without Glik, Pazdan does well and our new sub that is Bednarek performed REALLY well in last matches too.
On June 19 2018 20:49 Hider wrote: Do german TV seriously dub over non-natives speaking german because it's not fluent enough?
Hm? I didn't watch the last half hour, so if there was a concrete case I can't say, but generally this is ultra rare. And usually when they dub German speakers, those are Natives speaking awful dialects.
On June 19 2018 20:49 Hider wrote: Do german TV seriously dub over non-natives speaking german because it's not fluent enough?
I've only seen it if someone is really hard to understand, like serious swiss german or something. Why, who did they dub over?
The guy in studio was asked questions in german and then responded... maybe not in german at all? Not sure since it was dubbed. Just thought it was interesting to use dubbing in a live studio.
On June 19 2018 20:49 Hider wrote: Do german TV seriously dub over non-natives speaking german because it's not fluent enough?
I've only seen it if someone is really hard to understand, like serious swiss german or something. Why, who did they dub over?
The guy in studio was asked questions in german and then responded... maybe not in german at all? Not sure since it was dubbed. Just thought it was interesting to use dubbing in a live studio.
The guy on the left? he spoke Spanish and was dubbed over. + Show Spoiler +
On June 19 2018 20:49 Hider wrote: Do german TV seriously dub over non-natives speaking german because it's not fluent enough?
I've only seen it if someone is really hard to understand, like serious swiss german or something. Why, who did they dub over?
Well the guy in studio was asked questions in german and then responded... maybe not in german at all? Not sure since it was dubbed. Just thought it was interesting to use dubbing in a live studio.
I just tuned in for the game so again can't speak for this pregame, but they did the same yesterday for the Brazil game with ZeRoberto. He speaks German, but usually prefers to answer in Portuguese. So they talk to him in German and he answers mostly in Portuguese with German dubbed over him.
But that is even done when the interview partner does not speak German at all. They just have a in-ear translator in those cases.
On June 19 2018 20:49 Hider wrote: Do german TV seriously dub over non-natives speaking german because it's not fluent enough?
I've only seen it if someone is really hard to understand, like serious swiss german or something. Why, who did they dub over?
Well the guy in studio was asked questions in german and then responded... maybe not in german at all? Not sure since it was dubbed. Just thought it was interesting to use dubbing in a live studio.
I just tuned in for the game so again can't speak for this pregame, but they did the same yesterday for the Brazil game with ZeRoberto. He speaks German, but usually prefers to answer in Portuguese. So they talk to him in German and he answers mostly in Portuguese with German dubbed over him.
But that is even done when the interview partner does not speak German at all. They just have a in-ear translator in those cases.
Ah ok, probably the same thing that happened here.
Carlos Sanchez is the first Colombian player to be sent off, Colombia was the team with the most games played without a red (19), now it's... Japan with 18
I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience. Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
not talking about this particular situation because it was a deserved red but... i think the problem is that there's no middle ground, a criminal foul can be a yellow but also shout some random stuff to the ref.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
Dribbling pens (but obv not from the middle of the pitch) are in discussion. And timed suspensions as well. But certainly a such blatant hand save in the own box would be still a straight red even under the suggested rule changes.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
I remember seeing an NHL game once where a player had a free goal opportunity and was tackled from behind, and the referee just awarded them the goal because it was 99% certain. That seems to be a much more fair approach. Why can't the same concept be applied in football?
On June 19 2018 21:42 mahrgell wrote: And again the question: Why on earth are they even argueing... I guess it is just a habit...
I remember last summer during the U21 euro, I watched England vs Germany then Spain vs Italy. From classy gentlemen to a bunch of ref swarmers, whiners, divers. Though your Bayern players (Kroos included) are the same, the rest of your players are very nice on that aspect of the game.
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
I remember seeing an NHL game once where a player had a free goal opportunity and was tackled from behind, and the referee just awarded them the goal because it was 99% certain. That seems to be a much more fair approach. Why can't the same concept be applied in football?
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
I remember seeing an NHL game once where a player had a free goal opportunity and was tackled from behind, and the referee just awarded them the goal because it was 99% certain. That seems to be a much more fair approach. Why can't the same concept be applied in football?
It's not really a free goal, it's a penality shot but when it happen at a time when the oposite team sent their goaler to the bench for an extra player they don't do the penality shot which would be putting the puck in an empty net).
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
I remember seeing an NHL game once where a player had a free goal opportunity and was tackled from behind, and the referee just awarded them the goal because it was 99% certain. That seems to be a much more fair approach. Why can't the same concept be applied in football?
I'd be okay with that.
The refs can't even do VAR right and you want them to hand out free goals?
On June 19 2018 21:27 Hider wrote: I really hate how the red card punishment works in football. IMO you could make a punishment that creates a much more exciting experience.
E.g. you get a red card on the middle of the pitch, and instead of sending the player out he gets a chance of a 1v1 duel where he can run with the ball against the GK. Would be incredibly exciting as it would reward dribling skills and technique as well as finishing ability.
Instead 11 vs 10 often just ruins a football match.
11 vs 10 doesn't really ruin this game. They're probably more evenly matched now
I rather watch how good Colombia actually is than let them play with a handicap all game long. Hence why I prefer a one-time punishment (that doesn't impact the rest of the game).
Also the double red card + penalty is way over the board in terms of fairness for non-violent fouls. In terms of the rulesets there are still a lot of ways football can be optimized to improve the viewing experience and overall game-quality.
The double red card + penalty has been nerfed. An attempt to play the ball that ends up being a foul is only a yellow card nowadays. But this wasnt a foul this was a blatant handball of a ball that was going on goal.
I remember seeing an NHL game once where a player had a free goal opportunity and was tackled from behind, and the referee just awarded them the goal because it was 99% certain. That seems to be a much more fair approach. Why can't the same concept be applied in football?
I'd be okay with that.
The refs can't even do VAR right and you want them to hand out free goals?
When a handball clears the ball of the line? absolutely
Yeah I hope free goals never become a thing sorry, prefer the red card + penalty myself. Giving refs the power to create goals after handballs is a direction we should not be taking, not with the amount of questionable decisions we already have.
Wow exactly 4 years ago this day, Japan played Greece in the WC, and in that game, a greek player got sent off in the 37th minute, but the game still ended in a 0-0 draw.
On June 19 2018 22:11 Ysellian wrote: Yeah I hope free goals never become a thing sorry, prefer the red card + penalty myself. Giving refs the power to create goals after handballs is a direction we should not be taking, not with the amount of questionable decisions we already have.
If it's only specific situations, I think it's a good idea. I'm sure Arsenal fans would have preferred a yellow and a goal in 2006 CL final. Ghana in 2010 QF vs Uruguay too :p
It's 100% of conceding a goal vs 75-80% AND a man down.
Also it's not just an American sport rule, rugby has something like that. They also have 10mn-out yellow cards which isn't a bad idea either.
On June 19 2018 22:11 Ysellian wrote: Yeah I hope free goals never become a thing sorry, prefer the red card + penalty myself. Giving refs the power to create goals after handballs is a direction we should not be taking, not with the amount of questionable decisions we already have.
He already has to make the call atm. Does the ball go in or doesn't it go in without the arm blocking it? Because if it didn't, it shouldn't have been a penalty (as I understand the rules) but just a red card?
Also note, this is extremely rare that he is forced to make this type of call. < 5% of matches so it's not something that's gonna to rapidly change anything about how the judge works. And if he can use VAR (well that's only the case for the bigger league) then this will be a very reliable method.
Refs can decide a million things, but they can't make a goal out of nothing. The idea that a ref can just go "hey guys that was going in, here is a goal for you guys" just doesn't sit well for me at all. A penalty at least gives the defending side the chance to escape an injustice.
The yellow card time penalty is something I can live with though.
On June 19 2018 22:11 Ysellian wrote: Yeah I hope free goals never become a thing sorry, prefer the red card + penalty myself. Giving refs the power to create goals after handballs is a direction we should not be taking, not with the amount of questionable decisions we already have.
He already has to make the call atm. Does the ball go in or doesn't it go in without the arm blocking it? Because if it didn't, it shouldn't have been a penalty (as I understand the rules) but just a red card?
Also note, this is extremely rare that he is forced to make this type of call. < 5% of matches so it's not something that's gonna to rapidly change anything about how the judge works. And if he can use VAR (well that's only the case for the bigger league) then this will be a very reliable method.
WHAT? There is only one deciding factor and that's "Is the hand ball in the box" for it to result in a penalty.
On June 19 2018 22:50 Ysellian wrote: Refs can decide a million things, but they can't make a goal out of nothing. The idea that a ref can just go "hey guys that was going in, here is a goal for you guys" just doesn't sit well for me at all. A penalty at least gives the defending side the chance to escape an injustice.
The yellow card time penalty is something I can live with though.
Honestly, preventing people from punching the ball off the line, red card + penalty seems good. It was just a really fucking stupid thing to do in the 3rd minute. A yellow card + penalty would just encourage players to punch certain goals off the line, which is not behaviour you'd want to encourage.
Other than that I agree with you. I don't want referees deciding to assign goals "by default". Perhaps some physics simulation model could be used by VAR or something and if it says the ball is going in with > 99.9999% certainty then a goal + yellow card could be done, but I don't think such a big change is wanted when a red card + penalty punishes players for doing really really stupid shit like this. And yes, it completely killed this game for the viewer. But hopefully nobody else will be that stupid this WC.
On June 19 2018 22:50 Ysellian wrote: Refs can decide a million things, but they can't make a goal out of nothing. The idea that a ref can just go "hey guys that was going in, here is a goal for you guys" just doesn't sit well for me at all. A penalty at least gives the defending side the chance to escape an injustice.
The yellow card time penalty is something I can live with though.
Honestly, preventing people from punching the ball off the line, red card + penalty seems good. It was just a really fucking stupid thing to do in the 3rd minute. A yellow card + penalty would just encourage players to punch certain goals off the line, which is not behaviour you'd want to encourage.
Other than that I agree with you. I don't want referees deciding to assign goals "by default". Perhaps some physics simulation model could be used by VAR or something and if it says the ball is going in with > 99.9999% certainty then a goal + yellow card could be done, but I don't think such a big change is wanted when a red card + penalty punishes players for doing really really stupid shit like this. And yes, it completely killed this game for the viewer. But hopefully nobody else will be that stupid this WC.
Yeah doing this in the 3rd minute is stupid enough to deserve a red card haha.
That's why you'd do it only when it's unfair for the attacking team. Give them the goal 'in the spirit of the game'. Tell me Suarez stopping a goal in stoppage time was not an injustice for Ghana.
On June 20 2018 00:05 Pandemona wrote: Ok Poland can you sieze control of Group H....or will Senegal throw another spanner into this crazy World Cup opening round!
It's all on Senegal to be this year's African surprise. The rest looked really bad. So gooooo Senegal!
Yeah lucky goal for sure. Nice break though, seem Senegal are planning for counters and with Mane they have bundles of pace, however the two strikers don't have much and they have Balde on the bench!!!!
This is what I was most afraid of. Cionek is a clown sometimes, I hope he will get sub'd in 2nd half. Lewandowski is a great sniper but he can't carry the team in crucial situations like World Cup. Despite me loving him overall as a great player, he can't live up to his name like Ronaldo does with Portugal :<
Hope 2nd half will be more exciting from Poland. I hope to see more from Krychowiak, sometimes we really rely on his long passess.
Fun fact, Senegal's coach Aliou Cisse was Senegal's captain at their previous world cup appearance when they played their heart out and reached the quarters.
On June 20 2018 01:43 Dan HH wrote: Fun fact, Senegal's coach Aliou Cisse was Senegal's captain at their previous world cup appearance when they played their heart out and reached the quarters.
that was an abhorrent performance by poland. there was a 20 minute period where they were down 0-2 and they just seemed to not care, at all. people were walking instead of sprinting. super weird and pretty shocking.
On June 20 2018 02:08 739 wrote: Don't know. That 2nd goal from Senegal seems a bit fishy. I thought that you're not allowed to get on the field like this?
I think nobody noticed that until it was too late to complain about it
He was waved on by the ref a few seconds before the back pass, Krychowiak didn't notice and gave that abhorrent back pass, Bednarek didn't pay attention, Szczesny was way off the line long before the pass and should have at least yelled at Bednarke to belt it in the stands. That goal was 100% on Poland.
the more I watch the less I understand that weird backpass from Krychowiak. It's like he just randomly dropkicked it backwards without looking. He wasn't even under pressure from anyone and could've very easily controlled it and played forward. Really strange.
On June 20 2018 02:12 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote: He got sent in when the ball was in Polish possession and they were well on Senegal's half of the field.
Then 2 seconds later the ball is near Polands goal due their own doing
Unofficial sources says that Blaszczykowski, Grosicki and Milik will be benched.
We should see Piszczek, Pazdan and Bednarek (Cionek out) Krychowiak, Goralski Rybus, Bereszynski Lewandowski, Zielinski, Kownacki Szczesny as goalkeeper.
Pretty ballsy move to be honest, hope it works out.
On June 24 2018 23:21 nojok wrote: Go Sénégal! I hope you'll crush those arrogant Japanese who benefitted of the biggest brainfart of the competition to steal a win.
On June 24 2018 23:21 nojok wrote: Go Sénégal! I hope you'll crush those arrogant Japanese who benefitted of the biggest brainfart of the competition to steal a win.
why are we arrogant?
Calling themselves more technical than the Senegalese.
On June 24 2018 23:21 nojok wrote: Go Sénégal! I hope you'll crush those arrogant Japanese who benefitted of the biggest brainfart of the competition to steal a win.
why are we arrogant?
Calling themselves more technical than the Senegalese.
We are more technical than Africans. But that isn't difficult to be :p
On June 24 2018 23:21 nojok wrote: Go Sénégal! I hope you'll crush those arrogant Japanese who benefitted of the biggest brainfart of the competition to steal a win.
why are we arrogant?
Calling themselves more technical than the Senegalese.
We are more technical than Africans. But that isn't difficult to be :p
"Africans" Really? Fucking prick... Go fuck yourself.
Haha yeah, Senegal are such a stereotypical African team. Granted I think their technical ability is actually a lot better than people give credit for.
On June 25 2018 00:24 warding wrote: Are we sure these two teams belong in the same age group?
Haha, I had the same thought.
Anyway, yeah, Senegal looked like they were outclassing Japan pretty hard that first 15 minutes or so, then (predictably) ran out of steam pretty hard.
They definitely could be up 2-1 though, with a couple chances they've had. That goal by Japan was smoooooooth af though.
On June 25 2018 01:35 BigFan wrote: hmm maybe so but Senegal hasn't been impressing me offensively once I tuned in. They've let Japan take the initiative and sat back.
Yea everytime they went ahead they sat back and then let Japan back in.
On June 25 2018 01:35 BigFan wrote: hmm maybe so but Senegal hasn't been impressing me offensively once I tuned in. They've let Japan take the initiative and sat back.
Yea everytime they went ahead they sat back and then let Japan back in.
On June 25 2018 01:40 Ysellian wrote: If he scored in the last than you're right. I know he scored that great freekick in 2010.
Ohh yeahhhhhh the first one to crack the jabulani code. Cuz free kicks were flying to all parts of Africa before that free kick.
I think he scored against Ivory Coast in the last WC.
Haha yeah, Beautiful knuckle bar in the top corner. Impressive to score in all three world cups, I'm actually not sure we have anyone that did that. Sneijder, Robben maybe?
On June 25 2018 02:21 739 wrote: Anyway I have that strange feeling that Poland will destroy Colombia tonight. We have a way better starting 11 than against Senegal.
But unlike vs Japan Columbia will actually have an 11.
On June 25 2018 02:21 739 wrote: Anyway I have that strange feeling that Poland will destroy Colombia tonight. We have a way better starting 11 than against Senegal.
But unlike vs Japan Columbia will actually have an 11.
So I dont expect much here. A draw will keep either team alive, and even if you win you still have to win again in the last game, same as after a draw (well, you might not have to win the last game by 2 goals though). So you dont gain that much by winning, but you lose everything by losing.
No idea what's wrong with Poland, they run around like headless chickens. We have a pretty decent squad comparing to others, we did pretty fine in qualifiers... They lack possession, they keep trying long passess instead of keeping the ball and trying to play it smart. Panic-mode all the time, meh.
On June 25 2018 03:44 739 wrote: No idea what's wrong with Poland, they run around like headless chickens. We have a pretty decent squad comparing to others, we did pretty fine in qualifiers... They lack possession, they keep trying long passess instead of keeping the ball and trying to play it smart. Panic-mode all the time, meh.
On June 25 2018 03:49 sharkie wrote: How has Poland managed to get into pot1?
Iirc by not playing any friendlies. The way the FIFA world rankings work, friendlies basically can only drag your ranking down, unless you only play big nations and win all of them.
The whole path Poland had this tournament reminded me of Germany. Close loss to nominally worse opponent in first game which creates tons of pressure and insecurity. Easiest opponent unfortunately in last game. Going behind 0-1 in second game.
Only (big) difference is the Colombians now make their goals in the counter attacks in contrast to the Swedes because they are better and faster.
On June 25 2018 04:35 Redox wrote: The whole path Poland had this tournament reminded me of Germany. Close loss to nominally worse opponent in first game which creates tons of pressure and insecurity. Easiest opponent unfortunately in last game. Going behind 0-1 in second game.
Only (big) difference is the Colombians now make their goals in the counter attacks in contrast to the Swedes because they are better an faster.
Senegal is weaker than Japan... Poland had the easiest opponent in the first game
Man I really like Colombia. Shame for either Japan or Senegal, but I really hope they make it out of the groups. I'd really like to see them face up against either Belgium or England.
before the last 2 days, there had only been 58 goals scored in Russia putting it at about 2.23 goals per game. This would have made the scoring rate about equal with South Africa as the 2nd lowest goals per game world cup.
Thanks to the last 2 days, we're now up to 85 goals scored for a 2.65 per game average which is about normal since 1962
All the Cups before 62 averaged > 3.6 goals per game
Hahaha, Poland lost, I knew they would after that game with Senegal. And yes I am allowed to laugh because I'm Polish myself :D Anything that has to do with Russia is a curse for us Poles.
What a dissapoinment play by Poland, they have nobody to make a play in the midfield, when you see Lewandowski taking the ball nearer to the middle than the goal line of the adversary you know that everything goes wrong. Good play by Colombia taking advantage of the several weaknesses of Poland, Cuadrado and Quintero by far the best.
Japan only need a draw to advance, I can see that game ending in a draw. Doesn't really matter that much whether you play England or Belgium (you'll win against either ;P). I hope Colombia will manage to beat Senegal, I kind of started to like them during the past 2 games.
It's interesting the way things are because if Colombia wins, they advance for sure. Same with Japan winning. If Colombia draws or loses, they are out. If Japan loses but Colombia wins, then there's a chance that both Senegal and Colombia advance considering it'll go to GD (not sure if Japan has better than Senegal but seeing Senegal on top atm means otherwise). So, the next 2 matches will determine things quite a bit.
IMO, Poland should work hard and beat Japan to at least save some face for their faces and personally, I think they can do it.
On June 25 2018 11:48 Shellshock wrote: Colombia is through with a draw if Poland beats Japan
Probably depends on goal difference if I'm not mistaken then but ya, my mistake.
Colombia is +2 to Japan's +1. There's no way Colombia can fall behind them with a tie and Japan loss.
If Colombia wins, they are 4 points like Japan's loss in which case it comes to GD. If Japan loses 4-3 for example, they can still advance, no? Obviously, it depends on how much Colombia scores in their goal. Just to clarify, you're saying Colombia is up by 1 goal in GD, right? I'm misunderstanding something here T.T
On June 25 2018 11:48 Shellshock wrote: Colombia is through with a draw if Poland beats Japan
Probably depends on goal difference if I'm not mistaken then but ya, my mistake.
Colombia is +2 to Japan's +1. There's no way Colombia can fall behind them with a tie and Japan loss.
If Colombia wins, they are 4 points like Japan's loss in which case it comes to GD. If Japan loses 4-3 for example, they can still advance, no? Obviously, it depends on how much Colombia scores in their goal. Just to clarify, you're saying Colombia is up by 1 goal in GD, right? I'm misunderstanding something here T.T
If Colombia draws, they will be on 4 points with +2 GD. If Japan loses by any score they could never have better than 0 GD so they are out with any score loss in the event of a Colombia tie.
On June 25 2018 15:33 739 wrote: I hope Poland loses to Japan and Colombia doesn't win their game, so at least we take Colombia with us :D:D
Poland has a tendency to suck in the first 2 games of the WC, but then once they're eliminated, win the 3rd game. They did that in 2002 and 2006. In 2002, they lost 0-2 and 0-4 in the first 2 games, but came out of nowhere to beat a pretty good USA team 3-1. You can never underestimate the teams who are already out. They are out to play spoilers
On June 25 2018 15:33 739 wrote: I hope Poland loses to Japan and Colombia doesn't win their game, so at least we take Colombia with us :D:D
Poland has a tendency to suck in the first 2 games of the WC, but then once they're eliminated, win the 3rd game. They did that in 2002 and 2006. In 2002, they lost 0-2 and 0-4 in the first 2 games, but came out of nowhere to beat a pretty good USA team 3-1. You can never underestimate the teams who are already out. They are out to play spoilers
Yeah I am quite worried that they play without pressure now. But maybe they just field all the younglings!
Final playday outlook: The same scenario as we had in groups B and E. Poland is going home, but the other 3 teams still have everything to play for. There is no great historic facts here, because all those teams are mediocre WC regulars!
Possible Scenarios:
Japan 1st: - they win, Senegal does not win - they win, Senegal wins, Japan wins tiebreakers* - they draw, Senegal draws, Japan wins tiebreakers* Japan 2nd: - they win, Senegal wins, Japan loses tiebreakers * - they draw, Senegal does not draw - they draw, Senegal draws, Japan loses tiebreakers * - they lose, Senegal wins Japan eliminated: - they lose, Senegal does not win
Senegal 1st: - they win, Japan does not win - they win, Japan wins, Senegal wins tiebreakers* - they draw, Japan loses - they draw, Japan draws, Senegal wins tiebreakers* Senegal 2nd: - they win, Japan wins, Senegal loses tiebreakers * - they draw, Japan wins - they draw, Japan draws, Senegal loses tiebreakers* - they lose, Japan loses, Senegal wins tiebreakers Senegal eliminated: - they lose, Japan does not lose - they lose, Japan loses, Senegal loses tiebreakers*
Columbia 1st: - they win, Japan does not win Columbia 2nd: - they win, Japan wins - they draw, Japan loses Columbia eliminated: - they lose - they draw, Japan does not lose
* = Japan Senegal tiebreaker Japan has the better tiebreaker if - Japan achieves a better goal margin than Senegal - same goal margin, but Japan scores more goals - same results, Japan wins on FFPR or wins the lottery, currently Japan has the advantage in FFPR by 2 (=2 yellow cards)
On June 28 2018 23:19 Acrofales wrote: The English pundits are crazy. That's a clear penalty. He went through the player to get the ball...
Or not, apparently.
The last replay angle did show him get the shin before the ball, that is ridiculously close. But from the angles they showed the referee it had to be overturned. Controversy tho
On June 28 2018 23:42 GTR wrote: mark lawrenson is one angry commentator
I love him for it though haha, he always, always finds the worst of the game and brings it to life and brings every reference back to when he was a player XD
On June 29 2018 00:39 TheNewEra wrote: Japan currently going through nice
Huh how?
Tiebreak with Senegal. Same points, same amout of goals shot and conceded. head to head was a draw. next tiebreak is about fairplay. And Japan does only have a single yellow so far
On June 29 2018 00:39 TheNewEra wrote: Japan currently going through nice
Huh how?
Tiebreak with Senegal. Same points, same amout of goals shot and conceded. head to head was a draw. next tiebreak is about fairplay. And Japan does only have a single yellow so far
On June 29 2018 00:45 Fighter wrote: Japan's eliminated unless they score, right? They look like they're running out the clock here lol.
As it stands no, Japan is through on FFPR, which is a pretty dumb tie breaker, but given that all else is equal, it's still better than flipping a coin, I guess.
Risky strat from the Japanese to hedge all their bets on Senegal not scoring, and passing by on fair play points. Looks like the gamble is paying off so far.
A bit lame the Japanese "win" in this fashion, but oh well. Just play around with the ball for the last few minutes to save their skins.
On June 29 2018 00:58 Fighter wrote: So now what's the deal with the Belgium/England game? It's a race to lose, so basically just play for a little fun but don't try to win, right?
Unless.... Belgium sits back and lets Kane kick for a new record.
literally the worst game of football I've ever seen. Absolutely disgraceful, can't wait for Japan to be sent home.
Poland was arguably even more embarrassing (why on earth would they not put ANY pressure on at all in a game that is 100% meaningless for them?), but at least they're already eliminated.
On June 29 2018 00:58 Fighter wrote: So now what's the deal with the Belgium/England game? It's a race to lose, so basically just play for a little fun but don't try to win, right?
Unless.... Belgium sits back and lets Kane kick for a new record.
"Here Kane, here's 3 PKs for you. Please let us finish second"
Come on guys, it's Japan, not Brazil. They don't pass the groups that often. Like it mentioned before, Senegal was wasting time just the same with 0-0, to then whine to the ref when Colombia started doing it after their goal. The stakes are too high.
And it's not like Japan is supposed to be that superior to Poland that they'll automatically score a goal if they tried... They gambled on the safest play (or rather no play), it's not the most elegant thing, but it's not the end of the world either.
On June 29 2018 01:01 WillyWanker wrote: Come on guys, it's Japan, not Brazil. They don't pass the groups that often. Like it mentioned before, Senegal was wasting time just the same with 0-0, to then whine to the ref when Colombia started doing it after their goal. The stakes are too high.
And it's not like Japan is supposed to be that superior to Poland that they'll automatically score a goal if they tried... They took a gamble, it's not the most elegant thing, but it's not the end of the world either.
We could have easily scored against this Polands team
On June 29 2018 01:01 WillyWanker wrote: Come on guys, it's Japan, not Brazil. They don't pass the groups that often. Like it mentioned before, Senegal was wasting time just the same with 0-0, to then whine to the ref when Colombia started doing it after their goal. The stakes are too high.
Yeah I don't get it as well, before the World Cup started people would never have guessed Japan would make it out of the group. Now they have a chance and choose to take the risk
If it was one of the top teams I would understand the frustration but I totally understand why the Japan coach would want to take the risk.
Senegal was controlling the game in the first half, and then their coach changed the strategy and just blew the classification, Colombia has to improve a lot for at the next round, because so far from this group I see every team eliminated in the 16th round.
I remember Norway did pretty much exactly this in EC 2000. We were in group with Spain, FR Yugoslavia and Slovenia. Beat Spain 1-0 first game, lost 0-1 vs Yugoslavia second game, final game we saw that Yugoslavia was beating Spain 3-2 after 75 minutes, meaning a draw was sufficient - Spain had to win to overtake us. We made no attempts whatsoever at attacking, just defensively passing, no action whatsoever.
When the Norway game ended, it was still 3-2 for Yugoslavia. Spain scored two goals in 90+4 and 90+5. I remember cheering when it happened.
I understand why Japan did this though. I can't support a team that plays like this, but I get it. However, I don't understand why Poland would do this at all. Then again I guess they were just walking around not trying in the first two games as well.
On June 29 2018 01:09 WillyWanker wrote: Go tell about the Japanese class to the Chinese :D
Well we do, quite often fall to the "draw to advance" curse. We even miscalculated goal difference once in a game that is essentially matchfixed for us to get as many as possible...
On June 29 2018 01:09 WillyWanker wrote: Go tell about the Japanese class to the Chinese :D
Well we do, quite often fall to the "draw to advance" curse. We even miscalculated goal difference once in a game that is essentially matchfixed for us to get as many as possible...
I was referring to the war haha. It's just that sharkie acting like he's all about fairness and class is funny when he spends his time trolling and hating.
On June 29 2018 01:09 WillyWanker wrote: Go tell about the Japanese class to the Chinese :D
Well we do, quite often fall to the "draw to advance" curse. We even miscalculated goal difference once in a game that is essentially matchfixed for us to get as many as possible...
I was referring to the war haha. It's just that sharkie acting like he's all about fairness and class is funny when he spends his time trolling and hating.
Look up definition of trolling. Because i never do it, its my honest opinion
On June 29 2018 01:07 sharkie wrote: You guys dont understand. We arent just any country, we are the land of the samurai and should never try to win this way.
Well, few hundred here in Dotonbori seem to be just fine winning this way. Lol
On June 29 2018 01:07 sharkie wrote: You guys dont understand. We arent just any country, we are the land of the samurai and should never try to win this way.
Well, couple hundred here in Dotonbori seem to be just fine winning this way. Lol
Yeah well young Japanese dont grow up with that anymore
People are complaining that Japan was just passing the ball around, but imagine the coach having to explain to his country not doing exactly that if his team lost because they got countered off a failed attack.
On June 29 2018 01:24 GettingIt wrote: People are complaining that Japan was just passing the ball around, but imagine the coach having to explain to his country not doing exactly that if his team lost because they got countered off a failed attack.
"We didn't want to take the risk of Senegal scoring a late goal" Done
On June 29 2018 01:24 GettingIt wrote: People are complaining that Japan was just passing the ball around, but imagine the coach having to explain to his country not doing exactly that if his team lost because they got countered off a failed attack.
"We didn't want to take the risk of Senegal scoring a late goal" Done
On June 29 2018 01:18 WillyWanker wrote: Spitting hate (honest opinion or not) just to make other people angry is trolling.
Ignorant people dont do things on purpose. Ignorance always results in a mess of contradictions regardless of the honest of the intent. That is why we should try to educate them out of their ignorance. Feel sorry for them, dont be mad.
On June 29 2018 01:09 WillyWanker wrote: Go tell about the Japanese class to the Chinese :D
Well we do, quite often fall to the "draw to advance" curse. We even miscalculated goal difference once in a game that is essentially matchfixed for us to get as many as possible...
I was referring to the war haha. It's just that sharkie acting like he's all about fairness and class is funny when he spends his time trolling and hating.
LOL, Japanese and Chinese culture went in opposite directions after the war. Some of us overseas Chinese actually like to see Japan do well.
On June 29 2018 01:09 WillyWanker wrote: Go tell about the Japanese class to the Chinese :D
Well we do, quite often fall to the "draw to advance" curse. We even miscalculated goal difference once in a game that is essentially matchfixed for us to get as many as possible...
I was referring to the war haha. It's just that sharkie acting like he's all about fairness and class is funny when he spends his time trolling and hating.
LOL, Japanese and Chinese culture went in opposite directions after the war. Some of us overseas Chinese actually like to see Japan do well.
I wouldn't call it "culture" as much as different material conditions, or more specifically the way human beings will tend to act under those socioeconomic conditions (poverty, rapid imbalanced growth, state control etc). Sorry for continuing this derailment, but it's just that it irks me whenever people refer to these kinds of sociological phenomena as "culture", which I think of more as the collectively recognized ideas transmitted from one generation to the next, (e.g., confucianism, folk beliefs, socialism etc).
I guess you could say the football culture of these two countries went in opposite directions, as Chinese football is atrocious . Looking forward to seeing the Chinese national team get rekt in the coming expanded World Cups.