World Cup viewing

[rlock]

Sad to say, Canada ended up losing to Croatia and won't be advancing. We got a goal against Croatia, but that is all we got. The Canadian defense was not not able to stop Croatia from finding those scoring opportunities, and score they did. (Surprised that the game against Belgium was the one we had a better chance to win.) The last game will be played for pride alone, just to get a win at all.

Other than that group, I have been watching the others when I can, but a lot of the major powers I otherwise might root for have looked wobbly.

 

[grusse]

I suppose you have to look at the nationality of the bar.... Check the schedule of games and don't go when the bars team is playing....

The Pint in Gastown

 

[golferjohn]

USA - 1, Iran - 0
Let the beheading begin

 

[SexualHealing]

Don't know too much about soccer but I bet Brazil and Argentina to win, just to make it interesting.

 

[rlock]

Canada lost its 3 games, but the takeaway from it is that they were capable of winning, but still have quite a way to go in terms of developing elite players at positions where they showed some definite weaknesses this time.
Their best game was against Belgium, which they actually might have won with a couple changes in fortune. Belgium is gone anyway, and Croatia was tops in their group.



Damn - Belgium is done, and Germany is out too. And if Costa Rica had held their lead, Spain would have been gone too, LOL. What a crazy day !
These are some of the "wobbly" powers I mentioned before. Congrats to Japan though, they have exceeded expectations.

Expect some fireworks when Morocco meets Spain next round. I predict bad blood & political controversy too.

Don't know too much about soccer but I bet Brazil and Argentina to win, just to make it interesting.

That will be interesting if they end up on opposite brackets and go deep. We shall see tomorrow what pans out.

I'd be happy to see Argentina meet France at the end, but I do not predict it.

 

[Bridge]

I've seen more upsets this time around.
Is it that the players are playing in various European leagues and so know the tactics and the strengths and weaknesses of the other players.
Is it because it is being played in December not June/July(?) and is right in the middle of the season so players aren't going full bore
Is it because it is filthy hot in Qatar?
Is it an A.N. Other reason

 

[DrunkWhenSober]

Not sure why people go crazy for Japan and think they are doing something special this world cup. They've always been a strong team but to act as though they're a weak team rising up against other powerhouse is dumb. Must not watch soccer much

 

[rlock]

Not sure why people go crazy for Japan and think they are doing something special this world cup. They've always been a strong team but to act as though they're a weak team rising up against other powerhouse is dumb. Must not watch soccer much

They beat Germany and Spain. Granted they dropped a game against Costa Rica, but normally it should be the other way around.

 

[papillion]

Not sure why people go crazy for Japan and think they are doing something special this world cup. They've always been a strong team but to act as though they're a weak team rising up against other powerhouse is dumb. Must not watch soccer much

Japan was ranked 24th in the world, so for them to beat 7th ranked spain and 11th ranked germany is a major surprise.
Im going to cheer for them as my Cinderella team

 

[Bootyholic]

Soccer is horse shit.

 

[PuntMeister]

Use a vpn so sites can’t see your location and block you.
Eurosports is the best sports broadcaster but blocks North American viewers.

If you have Shaw, the Bluecurve app works well anywhere in Canada, but it somehow detects VPN’s and gives you an error if out of country. I get all my home channels when on the road, and watched many NFL / World Cup games on my ipad, or chromecast to a TV screen.

If I am out of country, I go to the nearest Irish Pub. Most reliable source for sports and good beer.

 

[Bridge]

For all those riddled with angst about the World Cup here is MONTY PYTHON!!

 

[beaveraddict]

Japan was ranked 24th in the world, so for them to beat 7th ranked spain and 11th ranked germany is a major surprise.
Im going to cheer for them as my Cinderella team

I was rooting for them too, and South Korea. Upsetting the European powers is a good thing (and I was born in Europe) as worldwide parity will help to grow the game.
Morocco is the true Cinderella team now, the only one in the quarterfinals who's never made it that far before.

 

[rlock]

The Morocco/Spain game was a good one. Morocco were indeed the plucky underdog, but it's not like they were hanging on by the fingernails the whole time. They had multiple opportunities to get a game winning goal as well. I hope they defeat Portugal next (mainly because: fuck Ronaldo).

Brazil and Argentina will not have an easy time in their next games; no time to look ahead to each other yet. Complacency kills.

England/France is gonna be the battle of hype & cliches. Brexit issues? LOL, fuck that - I want to see some call-backs to the 100 Years War.

I was rooting for them too, and South Korea. Upsetting the European powers is a good thing (and I was born in Europe) as worldwide parity will help to grow the game.
Morocco is the true Cinderella team now, the only one in the quarterfinals who's never made it that far before.

Morocco proved to be the most dangerous African team. They have a very energetic style, but they're not all run-and-gun. They defend well, as they had to prove holding off Spain's very organized attacking.

Look at it this way:

The two "least ranked" teams Canada lost their group matches to (Croatia and Morocco) have both made it to the final 8. Just shows the kind of quality seen in that group, which our team had to contend against.
They took a step up to being in contention for the top of CONCACAF, but as some of the player/analysts on TSN said, now they need to develop even more until they can compete against the dangerous teams from other continents.

 

[beaveraddict]

The Morocco/Spain game was a good one. Morocco were indeed the plucky underdog, but it's not like they were hanging on by the fingernails the whole time. They had multiple opportunities to get a game winning goal as well. I hope they defeat Portugal next (mainly because: fuck Ronaldo).

Brazil and Argentina will not have an easy time in their next games; no time to look ahead to each other yet. Complacency kills.

England/France is gonna be the battle of hype & cliches. Brexit issues? LOL, fuck that - I want to see some call-backs to the 100 Years War.




Morocco proved to be the most dangerous African team. They have a very energetic style, but they're not all run-and-gun. They defend well, as they had to prove holding off Spain's very organized attacking.

Look at it this way:

The two "least ranked" teams Canada lost their group matches to (Croatia and Morocco) have both made it to the final 8. Just shows the kind of quality seen in that group, which our team had to contend against.
They took a step up to being in contention for the top of CONCACAF, but as some of the player/analysts on TSN said, now they need to develop even more until they can compete against the dangerous teams from other continents.

I agree with everything you said ("fuck Ronaldo" LOL... did you see him pout when Ramos scored his hat-trick?). As for your analysis of Team Canada... no shame there, they could easily have tied Belgium or Morocco had a couple of balls bounced differently. Their only real black-eye in 3 matches was the loss to Croatia. Onwards & upwards.

All there quater-final match-ups and interesting and no clear favourites ⚽

 

[PuntMeister]

I could do without the incessant whistling every game that a muslim team is playing and doesn’t have the ball. Like a middle-east vesrion of vuvuzelas without the cheezy plastic, but equally annoying. Bad mannered fans imho. Just appreciate the game and cheer for your team and great football whenever it comes.

 

[masterpoonhunter]

I've never understood many of the Euro, Middle East, African etc players' celebrations, hand motions, gestures etc. Similar to a lot of what and when the fans over there do their thing cheering, chanting and so on. I always though, get a major a kick out of the overly dramatic 'injuries'. I mean my god, put these whiners in a hockey game and see how long they last.

Anyway, kudos to Morocco. That game vs Spain was pretty fun. Their keeper is from Montreal

 

[papillion]

I was rooting for them too, and South Korea. Upsetting the European powers is a good thing (and I was born in Europe) as worldwide parity will help to grow the game.
Morocco is the true Cinderella team now, the only one in the quarterfinals who's never made it that far before.

Yep, Croatia and Morocco are now my teams, both are underdogs in the next match's. Brazil Has looked strong but they are beatable, im picking a Croatian upset

 

[rlock]

Well, looks like you picked correctly !

After that, I was looking forward to a nice game of cheering Argentina over Netherlands (sorry to certain SW's). The game turned into a cluster-fuck and then a near-death experience for Argentina.
The Neds usually play rough, especially when they fall behind, but Argentina sure got mad took the bait - including Messi ! Total breakdown of discipline, allowing the Neds to tie the score. 3 near-brawls and yellow cards handed out like free candy canes from a mall santa. They are lucky there were not some reds, with guys coming off the sidelines to mix it up. WTF ! In the end the goalie saved Argentina's ass in the shootout. (A shootout which never should have been necessary.)



Looking forward to England / France in a few hours. Absolute hype-fest for both nations, I'm sure.

 

[masterpoonhunter]

Go Morocco!!