Football (Soccer) Thread

[Josquius]

So... Japan 2022 WC champs?

Interestingly there's an anime airing this season with an eye towards this... Sort of Squid Game meets Death Note but with football.

Posits the idea that Japan has good team work but lacks a striker with the selfish instinct needed to win the world Cup.

This thesis seems invalid.

Would love to see it and they are a team used to hot weather but... No.

[FunkMonk]

Funny how football cycles go. 8 years ago German football was the best in the world, envied and copied around the world. Now it is a shadow of its recent and historical greatness. 

[Admiral Yi]

Borjan 

[Gups]

This sort of excitement won't happen in the next World Cup in a 16 groups of three tournament

They are talking about changing it to groups of 4

Haven't heard that. Hope so    I heard they didn't want to do that because too many games

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/01/world-cup-organisers-consider-ditching-three-team-group-format-for-2026

I hope so too. Three team groups with two going through is dreadful - leads to loads of dead rubbers and makes collusion almost guaranteed. There really shouldn't be 48 teams at all - any format which is not in multiples of 16 is unsatisfactory. But 12 groups of 4 with 32 going through is the lesser of two evils even though it means barely any jeopardy in the group stage. If they ditched the round of 32, that would be pretty exciting with just group winners and 4 highest second places going through.

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aIYEIOzp0DE

This young Quatari seems to have learned a wonderful lesson in the value of social capital.

[Josquius]

I'm not against expanding the world cup in principle.
Though the right way to do it would probably be like the FA Cup- early rounds that are part of the world cup proper also sort of work as the finals of qualification where its weak teams (those in the lower qualification spaces) playing each other in a straight knockout. The big teams don't enter until a more normal time.

Gives the smaller clubs a chance to actually be at the world cup, hurray for them, gives teh money more games to air, and doesn't inconvenience the typical world cup teams particularly- at worst they have a disadvantage in not having already had a competitive game to get up to speed.

[celedhring]

One of the most disappointing things so far of this World Cup is the lack of psychic animals. Most attempts I can see are rather bland and unimaginative.

[The Larch]

One of the most disappointing things so far of this World Cup is the lack of psychic animals. Most attempts I can see are rather bland and unimaginative.

No psychic animal can replace Paul the Octopus in our hearts.

[HVC]

So, all the Asian team through? Japan, Korea, and Australia (lol)

[Valmy]

So, all the Asian team through? Japan, Korea, and Australia (lol)

Not Iran!

Oh and sucks to be Uruguay.

[HVC]

So, all the Asian team through? Japan, Korea, and Australia (lol)

Not Iran!

Oh and sucks to be Uruguay.

Right, forgot about them.

[Valmy]

I don't take any joy from them not moving on for the players themselves since they seem like stand up guys but I was a little worried some big run by the Iranian national team might end up being a big asset to the Islamic State. Let's not have anything that could distract from the important events going on there.

[Zoupa]

Australia is OFC. Qatar and Iran did not qualify.

[Valmy]

Australia is OFC. Qatar and Iran did not qualify.

Right. Qatar was such a non-factor they are easy to forget about.

[Grey Fox]

Australia is OFC. Qatar and Iran did not qualify.

Australia left OFC in 2006.

KSA is from Asia too.