World Cup - who are you pulling for?

mfpark said:

It is unfortunate that if Argentina wins it will be tainted by the fact that Messi got away with murder simply because he is Messi.

I think that will be an issue for a tiny, tiny segment of the world fandom.  There is no "simply" to his being the best player of this generation.


Both teams were winners.  What a game.  The net is so damn big I don't know how a goalie ever stops a penalty shot.  


Amazing final.  Extraordinary.


I didn't watch much of the World Cup, but happened to see the Finals. The announcers were a little over-the-top with the hyperbole, but it was quite exciting, dramatic, and an incredible show of athleticism and teamwork.


sprout said:

I didn't watch much of the World Cup, but happened to see the Finals. The announcers were a little over-the-top with the hyperbole, but it was quite exciting, dramatic, and an incredible show of athleticism and teamwork.

That was possibly the best match WC I've ever seen.


That said, the Fox announcers absolutlely suck.


Messi, better footballer than maradona. I’m happy he finally gets the cup. France is a young team and there will be more world cups to play. But for now I am happy.


Wonderful match. Shame it went to penalties. I hate having penalties decide it. Agreed on the FOX announcers. Don't know why they didn't have the British announcer. I don't know his last name. First name is Ian. He's excellent.


jfinnegan said:

 Agreed on the FOX announcers. Don't know why they didn't have the British announcer. I don't know his last name. First name is Ian. He's excellent.

Do you mean Ian Darke?  A gentleman who is always consummately prepared:

From July 2022

"As he looks forward to his World Cup assignment with Fox Sports later this year in Qatar, Ian Darke stresses that he knows full well John Strong will be doing the biggest games of the tournament.

“I don’t want to go in there sort of treading on anybody’s toes or anything like that, or be an interloper,” said Darke. “You want to be a good colleague to everybody. Go in and do the job. I understand totally that John Strong is a highly respected No. 1 commentator. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be doing the biggest games — and that’s exactly how it should be.”"


That was an amazingly wonderful game to watch!  Argentina shredded a really good French middle defense the entire first half with great passing.  France had only 10 saves all tournament up to this finals, with six coming in the Britain match--that is how good their defense and fore-checking was.  Argentina ran wild on it in the first half.  Messi was his usual exceptional ball handler creating openings.

Perhaps the second half Argentina was tired out?  They did have a history in this tournament of fading in the second half in other games.  Meanwhile, Mbeppe took over and almost personally willed the French back into it.  His ball-handling is other-worldly, and his speed is something to behold.  Where Messi looks to create room for a pass as well as a shot if it is there, Mbeppe works to get off a shot himself first, and to create rebound opportunities second.  No matter, he scored, and scored, and scored.  Astonishing.

The commentators were saying from the start that if it came down to a shootout the Argentines would be at an advantage because that is where Martinez excels, whereas Lloris is not as solid on penalty shots.  It turned out that way.  In addition, Martinez made a great kick save near the end of overtime that saved the day for Argentina.


jfinnegan said:

Wonderful match. Shame it went to penalties. I hate having penalties decide it. 

Some friends got into a huge debate on this topic.  Given the rule that subs cannot check back in, and the rigors of full-out sprinting for 120+ minutes, would the players have anything left at all to play another OT period?  Those supporting penalty kicks raised this issue.

Personally, I prefer the old rule where the first score in OT wins--game over.


mfpark said:

Do you mean Ian Darke?  A gentleman who is always consummately prepared:

From July 2022

"As he looks forward to his World Cup assignment with Fox Sports later this year in Qatar, Ian Darke stresses that he knows full well John Strong will be doing the biggest games of the tournament.

“I don’t want to go in there sort of treading on anybody’s toes or anything like that, or be an interloper,” said Darke. “You want to be a good colleague to everybody. Go in and do the job. I understand totally that John Strong is a highly respected No. 1 commentator. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be doing the biggest games — and that’s exactly how it should be.”"

Yes! Him! I was watching the game on Saturday and said that there is no way I will hear,"They are playing with vigor." on Sunday in the championship game or on the NFL games. He used obstinate at one point earlier in the tournament. I like his sense of humor as well.  


mfpark said:

Some friends got into a huge debate on this topic.  Given the rule that subs cannot check back in, and the rigors of full-out sprinting for 120+ minutes, would the players have anything left at all to play another OT period?  Those supporting penalty kicks raised this issue.

Personally, I prefer the old rule where the first score in OT wins--game over.

I would like to see each team play with a man advantage for 15 minutes after the 90 minutes. 


jfinnegan said:

mfpark said:

Do you mean Ian Darke?

Yes! Him!

I had a feeling it wasn’t Toby Charles.


jfinnegan said:

I would like to see each team play with a man advantage for 15 minutes after the 90 minutes. 

You mean like starting the 10th inning with a runner on 2nd base?  Yuck.


I've been watching the world cup through VPN connection to ITV and BBC, whose commentary is always excellent, so I can't comment on the Fox commentators, but that was one heck of a final and by the end I was actually pulling for France.

There's a minor controversy regarding Messi's second goal in OT: Apparently 2 Argentinian subs were on the pitch before the shot was taken, which technically should have resulted in a disallowed goal and a free kick for France, but the result is the result, and it was an absolute nail biter of an ending.


I'm old enough to have seen a few sudden death/golden goal overtimes, and PKs are better.  There just isn't a good way to end a drawn match when it's a knock out or final, but there are bad ways to do so.


max_weisenfeld said:

I'm old enough to have seen a few sudden death/golden goal overtimes, and PKs are better.  There just isn't a good way to end a drawn match when it's a knock out or final, but there are bad ways to do so.

Why are pk"s better?  Not arguing, just askimg.


mfpark said:

You mean like starting the 10th inning with a runner on 2nd base?  Yuck.

They still have to get it in the goal. Not like they can bunt and hit a flyball. 


mfpark said:

max_weisenfeld said:

I'm old enough to have seen a few sudden death/golden goal overtimes, and PKs are better.  There just isn't a good way to end a drawn match when it's a knock out or final, but there are bad ways to do so.

Why are pk"s better?  Not arguing, just askimg.

Soccer is by nature a low-scoring sport, where flow and advantage shift back and forth in waves.  With overtime, the better team has time to get the result.  Golden goal encourages defensive football, where teams become more concerned about conceding than scoring.  That makes for ugly boring play, especially when both sides are playing that way.  With penalties, even if a team goes behind, they know there is a chance to equalize, and play stays interesting.  

The penalty shoot-out itself is also dramatic.


Multiple overtimes results in too much exhaustion. If you know (approximately) how long the one overtime will be, and when it is going to end, you can put more energy out on the field, making for more exciting play. If there is an unknown amount of overtimes, then more energy needs to be reserved.


Soccer is not for wusses. Ever notice how soccer players are chiseled and possess a lot of stamina. So is rugby. 
The beautiful game. And Messi is greater than maradona. 


Professional soccer players are some of the most fit athletes in the world. The substitution rules don't allow for anything but peak fitness.



max_weisenfeld said:

mfpark said:

max_weisenfeld said:

I'm old enough to have seen a few sudden death/golden goal overtimes, and PKs are better.  There just isn't a good way to end a drawn match when it's a knock out or final, but there are bad ways to do so.

Why are pk"s better?  Not arguing, just askimg.

Soccer is by nature a low-scoring sport, where flow and advantage shift back and forth in waves.  With overtime, the better team has time to get the result.  Golden goal encourages defensive football, where teams become more concerned about conceding than scoring.  That makes for ugly boring play, especially when both sides are playing that way.  With penalties, even if a team goes behind, they know there is a chance to equalize, and play stays interesting.  

The penalty shoot-out itself is also dramatic.

I should add: this is my opinion and is far from a settled debate in the media and twItterverse 


yahooyahoo said:

Professional soccer players are some of the most fit athletes in the world. The substitution rules don't allow for anything but peak fitness.

When England and USA were playing I saw a lot of US Twitter saying that football players like Derrick Henry would play better. I had to chuckle a little. Derrick Henry is an amazing athlete designed to do a specific thing for around 11 minutes of game time, and that’s if he played every play on offense and defense. I honestly doubt he would make it through 90 minutes of professional level soccer.


I would like to see an MLB or NFL ump go out and ref a soccer match. 95% of them wouldn't make it through the first five minutes. The ref in the championship match looked more fit than a lot of baseball players. 

Looking forward to World Cup 2026! Better start saving now for tix.


ridski said:

yahooyahoo said:

Professional soccer players are some of the most fit athletes in the world. The substitution rules don't allow for anything but peak fitness.

When England and USA were playing I saw a lot of US Twitter saying that football players like Derrick Henry would play better. I had to chuckle a little. Derrick Henry is an amazing athlete designed to do a specific thing for around 11 minutes of game time, and that’s if he played every play on offense and defense. I honestly doubt he would make it through 90 minutes of professional level soccer.

I agree.  Derrick is amazing but he doesn't train to be able to run around for 90 minutes.  He also carries too much weight to be effective over a full match.  The heaviest player in the 2018 World Cup was 218 lbs. and the average weight was 170 lbs.


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