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Soccer World Cup 2022/2026

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by Claymore95, Jun 17, 2022.

  1. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Starting this thread to cover the World Cup in Qatar in Nov/Dec this year, where USA and England are in the same group and, I believe, play each other on Black Friday. Wales and Iran (that could be tasty against USA!) complete the other teams in the same group.

    I've put 2022/2026 in the thread title as the stadiums for the 2026 World Cup in the USA/Mexico/Canada were announced today, and the Hard Rock was announced as one of the 16 stadiums to be used (11 are in the USA, 3 in Mexico, 2 in Canada).

    The 2022 World Cup is the last with 32 teams, with the number of countries participating increasing to 48 for the 2026 tournament.

    So, who are you supporting, and who do you think will win? The likes of Brazil and Germany will no doubt be there or thereabouts at the end, and Argentina have been playing very well recently too. I'm no fan of Argentina, but I'd quite like Messi to win it with them before he no doubt retires soon. One of the big shocks in qualifying is that current European champions, Italy, missed out and won't be there, but considering Germany beat them 5-1 a couple of days ago, that's maybe for the best!

    Not such a surprise is that my team, Scotland, will again not be there. Oh well, we'd probably have melted in the desert heat of Qatar anyway!
     
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  2. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    What World Cup? :shifty:
     
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  3. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    :laughy:
    Pretty sure you'll be back for the 2026 one!
     
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  4. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    Love the World Cup and all the talent and different styles of play.

    I’ve always had a rooting interest for England in the World Cup, since the ‘86 Argentina game which angered me so deeply. Apoplectic. And knowing all their players from the EPL.

    But I’ve also enjoyed watching great national teams like Germany and Spain. Just seeing them peak with their particular style of play, entirely different from one another, but so fantastic to watch; it’s been really fun. Never been a Brazil or Argentina fan even though I like some of their players. Nor Portugal (dislike Ronaldo though he is unquestionably an all timer). I also have a soft spot for Messi not being able to win a big trophy for his country. Which will knock him down in the eyes of some, even though there’s no doubt that he and Christiano Ronaldo are the greatest players of the last 20-30 years or so. Of course, Ronaldo doesn’t get quite the negativity since Portugal won a Euro, and has gone pretty far without as much overall talent as countries like Argentina or Brazil or Spain or Germany.

    I was a bit disappointed that the US and England got into the same bracket since I know their players so well and root for both. But, even though the US has a fair amount of young talent on paper, they have just not played very well and I think they will really struggle to get out of that group. And if they do get fortunate enough to advance, I see them out immediately in the next round.

    I also think England will not go very far this time around. They just don’t seem to have the continuity in their talent. Up and down. The Euro final may have been their peak for this group.

    I would probably favor France again. Not a huge fan but they always show up. Brazil, obviously, with all their talent always has great potential. Don’t always come together though.

    It will also be interesting to see if Belgium can finally make a great run with their greatest generation talent at the tail end of their opportunity. Although I hate man city with the deepest of passions, I love Kevin Debruyne. In my view, he’s the best player in the game right now, or was this past year when healthy. If I were picking a starting 11 from any country, he might be my first pick. Eden Hazard is not the same he once was though. Nor Lukaku. Thibaut Courtois could play a big role for them in goal. He was incredible in the champions league final against Liverpool. So that could go along way for them if he is fit and in form.

    Another team I will be interested in seeing is the Netherlands. They were once always a big threat but have dropped off the past several years. It will be interesting to see if they can return to their world-class form.

    Can’t wait to see it unfold.
     
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  5. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Decent start for England. Giving up two is a little frustrating. But scoring six is ok. Frankly expected more from Iran if im being unbiased.

    Watching this Holland Senegal match. Shame Sadio is out. This camera angle is a bit low ffs.
     
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  6. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Fox Sports coverage already terrible here in the US. Donovan is so boring.
     
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  7. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    The US midfield is probably their best ever. McKennie, Adams, Musah. Lacking a good striker tho. I like Weah. I like Pulisic. But Sargent up top is lacking for me. The defense is solid as well. Particularly Zimmerman. Should be a fun game v Wales. Winner probably advances. I predict the US to finish 2nd behind ENG.
     
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  8. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Btw, heres all my group predictions…

    HOL
    SEN
    ECU
    QAT

    ARG
    MEX
    POL
    RSA

    FRA
    DEN
    TUN
    AUS

    SPA group of death
    GER
    JAP
    COS

    BEL group of death lite
    CRO
    CAN
    MOR

    BRA
    SWI
    SER
    CAM

    POR
    URU
    KOR
    GHA
     
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  9. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Fantastic goal by the US to start their world cup.
     
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  10. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    England were good, but hard to say how good because, as you say, Iran were very poor. Hard to say between them and Qatar which have been by far the worst teams in the WC...after 3 1/2 games only so far to be fair :laughy:

    That opening game between Qatar and Ecuador was terrible, it was sending me to sleep.
     
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  11. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    I think this USA - WAL game will go a long way to who advances. So far so good for the US. But with Bale, Wales could score at any time. I think they will need 2 to win. (At least).
     
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  12. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Watching as a neutral, I think 1-1 was a fair result for the game. USA were by far the better team in the 1st half, but they let Wales back in and Wales were the better team in the 2nd half as they pushed further forward rather than sitting back and trying to hit on the break. It likely will come down to goal difference now who goes through from the group, as I don't see it as likely that either team will take anything off England (but you never know...), and both will have too much for Iran. USA having Iran in the last game in the group could be crucial, as they should have a good idea what they need to do to better Wales result against Iran to progress to the last 16.

    I have barely seen the USA team playing recently but, although I thought they overall had more skilful players than Wales, they seemed to lack a physical edge, where Wales had the advantage.
     
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  13. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    Given the tie I’d say huge advantage Wales based on the way the games are scheduled. Unless we tie England. Unlikely. If England go 2-0 they will almost be guaranteed to go through and it won’t matter much in their game against Wales.

    Pretty big fail by the US. There was some inconsistent officiating but still they need to do better in the scoring zone. Awful there.
     
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  14. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    I don't think they'll win any games in the World Cup, but I'll be rooting for Australia in all their games. They've got 3 of my Hearts team's players in their squad, which is unheard of for us, 3 World Cup "stars" in our team :laughy:

    Watch out for Kye Rowles if you see their games, and if he plays, a big no nonsense but decent ball playing CB. He's 24 and only has 3 caps so far, but he was the best player on the park in their qualifying win against Peru to get them to the WC. Cammy Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson are the other Hearts players in the Australia squad, and Devlin's a bit of a cult hero to Hearts fans due to being a wee niggly defensive midfielder who always gives 100% and likes a meaty tackle!
     
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  15. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Choked. And Zimmerman after i praised him…. Dreadful pen.
     
  16. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    First big shock of the WC on the cards? Saudi Arabia 2-1 up on Argentina with 20 mins to go :huh1:

    Argentina seem to have no real idea what to do to beat the Saudi's high line and pressing game. If it stays the same, the Saudi's will have deserved the win...although I still expect Argentina to figure it out and score a couple of late goals to win it.
     
  17. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    And there it is, 2nd favourites for the tournament, Argentina, beaten 2-1 by the rank outsiders, Saudi Arabia, who are ranked #53 in the world!

    Only a group game, so time for Argentina to come back into it (they reached the final after losing their opening game to Cameroon in 1990), but they looked very ordinary today.
     
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  18. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I'm behind on my watching, not looking in this thread for spoilers... but I have seen the KSA v ARG match and then the TUN vs DEN match. first of all HOLY ****! I had a feeling Argentina would be off... playing Messi and Di Maria in the same XI is not good for them. But hats off to KSA, wow! The energy... they just fed off it... reminded me of Hungary last year. But that's a massive upset. The biggest one I've seen at any World Cup since Argentina lost to Cameroon in 1990. And you think of what that win did for the continent of Africa. Can't help but think of what this will do for soccer in the middle East. And that's got to make FIFA's nipples hard. That's exactly what they wanted when they picked Qatar as the home of the 22 World Cup.

    The World Cup of 2022 officially started today! And then there was Tunisia pushing Denmark to a scoreless draw. Much more exciting than the scoreline indicates. Full credit to them and their fans. I haven't seen the Mexico game yet, I would be surprised if it was something other than a draw. Their fans are manic too, travelling all the way to Qatar, supposedly 80k of them. Not even sure how that's physically possible. Also curious to see how France play without their #9. Australia will give them a good match I suspect.
     
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  19. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I think they made that day a national holiday in SA. That second goal was a banger.

    Love the hypocrisy of this WC though. Ecuador was just fined by FIFA because their fans were singing a homophobic chant. Meanwhile if players wearing rainbow arm bands they'll be carded and ejected. People with rainbow shirts/apparel are not being allowed into stadiums.

    My brother told me Ecuador should make a global, public statement, saying something to the effect that to prove Ecuador is against homophobia and don't condone the chants of their fans they'll be wearing a rainbow arm band for the rest of the tournament to show support. What would FIFA do in that scenario? I wonder.

    England taking a knee, well done. Belgium putting LOVE on their jerseys only to be told the word LOVE is not allowed (lol), well done. Germany posing with hands covering mouths, well done. Danish prime minister wearing a rainbow dress, well done.

    This WC is a fraud and I hope it continues to get uglier, so long as there's no loss of life of course.
     
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  20. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Can be a little selfish at times, but a career I am following for sure. I am a fan of this kid.

     
  21. Tin Indian

    Tin Indian Rockin' The Bottom End Club Member

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    I am not a big soccer fan, I never watch the stuff except when the World cup is going on. World Cup Soccer is a great watch.
    That said I haven't seen any of this one and I don't know that I will. I understand Qatar's stand on things like drinking and the homophobia since it is a theocracy. I just don't agree with any of it, but it is their country and therefore their right. I'm just going to exercise my right not to watch. And that really is a bummer because I really do look forward to it.
     
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  22. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    I've watched just about every World Cup I can, but I'm finding this one really difficult to get any enthusiasm for. There's the obvious off field controversy, but it's also weird to have a winter WC and, although some games have had enthusiastic crowds, many are unusually quiet and with quite a few empty seats.

    I will keep watching as it is a WC, but I'm also kind of glad Scotland didn't qualify.
     
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  23. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Another shock result today, with Japan beating Germany. I thought Germany might be a dark horse in the tournament, but on the basis of this result it looks like they're still down on the Germany that used to turn up and do well every time.

    Spain have just finished a 7-0 training run out against Costa Rica, who looked like they were just saving energy for other games as they were hardly even trying. Didn't get close to the Spanish all game, no pressing, no tackles, just gave them the ball to play with for 90 minutes. I'd be ashamed of that "performance" if I was Costa Rican.

    Germany probably need to get something off Spain in their next game, or they're likely booking early flights home.
     
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  24. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Not really surprised Germany lost to be honest. Good on Japan. Love their energy and fan enthusiasm. The Germans dont seem to have developed any stars for several years now. Unlike England, France and Spain. Those three teams have been the best by far as well. Belguim didnt look impressive at all. Was really rooting for Canada to at least tie it. They looked a bit scared to score and maybe Courtois got in their heads. Still, a solid performance and they have a shot at advancing if they can beat Morocco and Croatia (wasnt impressed with them either).

    Curious to see what tomorrow brings. How strong are Brazil? South Korea? Uruguay? Serbia? Portugal?

    it is strange holding the WC during the Holidays. During the leagues season.
     
  25. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Iran beat Wales, which is probably a great result for the USA's chances of going through. The result against England might not matter too much (as long as it's not a heavy defeat), as it should come down to the Iran game for who goes through. If the USA beat Iran, I think the odds are good that they would go through with 4 points.
     
  26. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Forza England! I chose them on the Call of Duty pick 'em challenge. :)
     
  27. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Iran played extremely well. I was only able to catch the highlights but they should've scored several goals on many well created chances.
     
  28. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    That sequence where they hit both goalposts was nuts. Wales were old and disappointing.
     
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  29. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    They've been relying on Bale and, to a lesser extent, Ramsay for years. Ramsay has been past it at this level for a while, and Bale seems also to have reached that stage.

    The problem for Wales is without those two dragging the rest of the team up, they're a very ordinary side. They might not see another WC or even Euros for a while after this.
     
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  30. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Dutch diappointing. Fortunate with a draw.
     
  31. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    ENG v USA should be decent. Expect England to win but it wont be easy. Hard for me to root for the three lions but i have to.
     
  32. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    God save the king…?
     
  33. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    I didn't see the anthems (I only switch on for the game as can't stand the commentators/analysts!) but it's been noticeable that many people are struggling to get used to the change in lyrics :laughy:. Kind of understandable after 70 years of it being "queen".
     
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  34. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    USA have been the better team in the first half. Hopefully they can keep it up in the 2nd half, and not fade like they did against Wales.
     
  35. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    USA playing better than England. Still no goals scored. Anyones game. Why Foden isnt playing is nuts. He is their best player. U could see the US have the England midfield outnumbered. Their three vs two. So theres no buildup and if theres a turnover the US are on the front foot. England have had chances on the right. Seems that is where the goal would come from. Sterling has been trash. Bring Foden on for Sterling.
     
  36. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    ENG playing like they are up by three goals lol. Maybe they dont want to win the group and face France in the quarters?
     
  37. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Apart from a couple of games, this World Cup has been dire so far. My attention has drifted away from games (or I've fallen asleep!) several times. I've probably missed more games this WC than ever before, just out of not having any interest in them, when in previous WC's I'd try to watch just about every game. Maybe it will pick up in the knockout stages but I have my doubts...
     
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  38. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    There aren't any powerhouse scary teams this tourney. My guess is France wins another one.
     
  39. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Sounding like a couple of fans that missed out on the WC :wink2:

    yesterday's games were madness, hope you guys watched them. Lots of goals and crazy occurrences. Cameron v Serbia and South Korea v Ghana. 11 goals scored in total. Madness...

    Today is going to be interesting here at this Group B start. Group A went exactly the way I'd predicted. HOL/SEN/ECU/QAT in that order exactly. The US need a win vs Iran. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. I'd imagine they'll need Aaronson and Reyna in sooner than later to get the goal. I have my doubts with Sargent as the striker, though Pulisic and Weah are solid. Iran will be tough to break down, they'll try for the goal less draw. All kinds of shenanigans with the home crowd rooting for them en mass. Then there's Wales v England. if England come out overly defensive, they'll lose and then it'll come down to goal difference which they currently have a massive advantage in. Glad to see Hendo starting and Foden as well, that should help them immensely.
     
  40. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Haha, possibly. Although, as Scotland haven't been to the Finals since '98, probably not!

    I'm pretty sure it's because it's not a summer WC. Normally there's not much else to grab my attention, but this one is right in the middle of the NFL season, and it's also our rugby season here so games in that every week as well. Too much other stuff keeping me from being into the WC.

    I missed the two high scoring games yesterday, so switched on the Brazil game hoping that would continue a good day of football....and it was another pretty, boring game!

    I'm watching the USA game at the moment, that seems like it could be the more exciting one as the winner will go through. I would have given the edge to USA, but Iran's win over Wales was impressive.
     
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