World Cup Day 8 Thread
Denmark v Australia @ 8am ET
France v Peru @ 11am ET
Argentina v Croatia @ 2pm ET
Denmark won in a squeaker against Peru, France was underwhelming and Argentia "lost" to Iceland. On paper the Argentina v Croatia game seems to be the the primetime show for the day, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see some fireworks in that France/Peru matchup. France v Peru will be a more interesting game than it seems on the off. Vamos!
There's been a ton of good pics/vids of attractive fans online. Beautiful people from all over the world coming together for their joy of futbol
Coming together for a free Whopper, amirite?
Yea I agree, I think the France v Peru game is going to be tight. Peru are not afraid of anyone and they play to win, which after seeing some of the foul fest games, and super defensive games, is pretty refreshing. France are so fickle and if Peru get an early goal or keep them under pressure, it could be a really good game
Very interested to see how Peru comes out against France.
Croatia can beat Argentina.
Hugh Jackman is Australian.
Australian Wolverine
These two afternoon matches are super intriguing to me. I decided to hop on the Croatian bandwagon before the tourney, hoping they can get a win and seal up their fate in the round of 16. Also would like to see Peru snag a point and keep their hopes alive.
Vamos Peru! Asked my wife how she's feeling ahead of the match "Barfy".
I expect France to perform VERY well considering the lackluster performance they gave last week.
Eh . . . France under Deschamps wins ugly most of the time.
You proved to be correct, sir. That was an ugly match. France won't get past the round of 16. If they do, it would mean vast improvements in their attacking game. Too bad Kingsley Coman is injured. He would bring a lot of much needed energy to the wing.
Holy shit. France looks like a juggernaut.
Really disappointing for Peru...should have beaten Denmark on Saturday were good enough for a draw today. A cruel game, same as Morocco found out yesterday.
Hope it's not another 36 years before Peru is back.
I thought their midfield played a strong game but the attack got too impatient and settled for low-percentage blasts outside the box. They needed a little more creativity in the final third.
Agreed--some low percentage shots (though that one went off the bar) and just missing the final touch on passes near the box. Guerrero needed to convert that chance early on. His first touch looked off today and Saturday...he hasn't played much at all since the suspension and it showed.
I thought Farfan should have started alongside him.
I think Lloris was in position to stop that shot that hit the bar, had it been on target. Agree that something was missing in the final third for Peru.
This Volkswagen ad campaign would be better if it featured more than just three countries.
Wow. Missed a wide open goal.
One of the great crimes in sports history is how Argentina managed to squander 8-12 glory years with a good roster and one of the all-time great players ever by utilizing tactics apparently designed by a local madman with his own three hands on the back of a napkin.
The standings in Group C are exactly why I think 3 team groups will work far better than 4 team groups.
There was an argument earlier about how disastrous it will be to have only three group games such that one game will be played last, but the situation still happens ALL THE TIME that two teams going into the final game know what mutually beneficial result they need and have the opportunity to collude.
Current Group C standings:
France 6pts
Denmark 4pts
Australia 1pt
Peru 0 points.
France and Denmark already know a tie gets them both to the knockout stage. If they wanted to collude, they easily could.
It doesn't matter that they don't know the result of Australia-Peru. They still know a draw moves them both forward. In fact, it's potentially WORSE that they don't know the result of the the other game because they'd be more likely to play it safe with a tie.
If the Australia-Peru game happened earlier and Peru beat Australia, Denmark wouldn't have to worry about possibly being eliminated. They'd already clinch advancement and could go for the win without worrying about losing.
Someone last week shared a reddit analysis that claimed collusion/shady incentives could only happen if a group is 4, 4, 1, 1 going into the final day but that's completely false.
I just don't like the idea that under this new format, 16 teams will get to play only two World Cup matches. It's the biggest event in the sport and their experience in it gets shortened.
Well, it's two more games than they otherwise would have played with 32 teams in it. And don't get me wrong, I am absolutely against expansion in general.
I'm merely stating that the three team group with only three games lends itself to fewer games that don't matter since a team can't clinch anything before their last game.
These situations are rare, though. Rarer than potentially troubling situations in smaller groups, IMO. Not nearly enough of an issue to outweigh the inevitable cries of injustice that will come when teams get dropped due to the increased need for relatively arbitrary tie-breakers.
Yeah, it's not hard to see the potential for all three teams in a group to finish with 3 points. Fewer matches means less chance for separation.
What happens if the three teams are tied both in points and goal difference?
The current tie-breaker rules are available here:
Goal difference is and would be the first tie-breaker, followed by total goals scored (ie a team that has a 3-3 draw is ranked ahead of a team with a 1-1 draw). But, assuming that there all three teams are 1-0 by matching 1-0 scores (not at all improbable) it would then go to: fair play points, then drawing of lots.
Fair play points are determined giving teams negative scores for each yellow and red cards. The advantage here is that it penalizes teams for being dirty and is much less likely to involve tied. The disadvantage is that it's a pretty narrow criteria, and a team could easily lose by a cheap (and somewhat random) yellow card or two that is based entirely on the subjective level of intensity of the referee.
If things are still even after that, they draw lots. Seriously. I can't wait for the first team to get eliminated by drawing lots.
"Fewer matches means less chance for separation."
And that's exactly why three team groups leads to better soccer. You can't separate in your first two games and then coast (thus potentially screwing the teams that were unlucky enough to draw you in the first two games when another team got to play you last when you were sitting your stars).
We don't want separation! We want every game to matter and with just three games, they'll all matter.
Even if a team loses the first two games and is eliminated, the teams playing the final game will be able to play for the top seed without worry of losing.
I haven't run through all the permutations in my head but I think it'll make for higher quality play.
It may lead to better soccer but I just don't like to see teams get eliminated by tiebreakers.
No, these are pretty common. Multiple groups per Cup are generally in a situation in which the third game for one or both teams doesn't really matter and competitive integrity could be compromised (even if it's just resting top players by a team that has clinched).
If Iceland beats Nigeria tomorrow, Group D will be in the exact situation.
In Group E: If Serbia beats Switzerland and Brazil beats Costa Rica, that group will be in the same situation.
No collusion!
Watching the replay of the French goal, Giroud really scored - his shot was clearly heading in when Mbappé poached it.
Can't blame Mbappe there, the ball isn't in the net, you don't hold back just to give another guy a stat. You make sure.
And note that Mbappe's celebration was personally muted, he wasn't acting like it was all him there. I think he was looking for Giroud and Pogba to credit them.
Sure, it's a totally natural reaction from him. It's just funny to watch the replay - I completely missed this watching it live. I thought Giroud had just plain missed.
OS-GOOOOOOD
Wow. Argentina now under the gun after a Karius-level goaltending mistake.
On the upside they'll really have to press now. Man, I'd like to see Messi actually get a chance to do something.
Wow. Argentina really on the ropes now.
The door opens for Iceland!
No red card for purposely kicking a player who is on the ground during a dead ball!? Soccer is ridiculous.
BTW, Freakonomics had a great podcast a few days ago on the World Cup that hits home-field advantage, ref bias, bribery - all the good soccer topics.
Holy WOW!!!! 3-0 Croatia!!
Messi, in my opinion, has been really ill-served by his team. No way an elimination here isn't a big data point in the Messi-Ronaldo comparison, though. What a melt-down.
Paul Pogba looked really good today, though.
I am not sure why some people are surprised with France so far. They got 6 points and this how I expected them to get them (1 goal wins) with their coaching style. Good to see the 19 year old Mbappe score today
Their defense is bad and MF is non-existent.
I think they’ve been OK defensively but their midfield has definitely been underwhelming. Their passing has been very sloppy for a team loaded with expensive stars.
I picked Croatia to make it to the knockout stage they have the best midfield in the tournament and can control the pace of play really well. I wouldn't be shocked if they made it all the way to atleast the semi finals. Their play has impressed me the most out of any team so far
Yeah, the Croatian midfield controlled that game! I agree it's the best midfield in the World Cup so far. It's a treat watching Rakitic and Modric playing on the same side!
I wonder what formation/line up changes Sampoli makes for this last game. Will he decide to go back to a 4 man back line after the disaster today?
Whatever that was today was not a good showing from the MF. I would think about starting guys like Banega and Di Maria.