This guy gave me butterflies for all the wrong reasons every time the ball went near his goal - even if it was a back pass…
Probably the biggest stinker of a tournament from an established world class player in his prime of this tournament…
Germany feature heavily here as their defence was truly shocking and devoid of leadership. Serbia also get a mention here as it ultimately destroyed their campaign…
Maehle was also a strong contender for this role but Olivera came into this tournament on the back of strong form at club level…
Tielemans will never be world class. This tournament was just further evidence of that fact..
The heir to Eriksen disappointed heavily and failed to live up to the hype generated on the back of his Euro performances.
The faces that never seem to fit… Bergwijn and Torres are a proven formula that will rarely if ever exceed expectations
Was a tough one leaving Cristiano out but the man has suffered enough and he is 37 years old.. he shouldn’t have been at the World Cup in the first place. What is David’s excuse?
Agree? Disagree? What would be your XI..
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The 1948 London Olympics was India's first major international tournament, where a predominately barefooted Indian team (containing Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims) lost 2–1 to France, failing to convert two penalties.
The Indian team was greeted and appreciated by the crowd for their sporting manner. "The French had been given a run for their money – and that, too, by the barefooted Indians!", the British media expressed.
In 1978, hockey and football World Cups were held in Argentina. The hockey event was held first. Throughout the Hockey World Cup, a wonderful Pakistan team managed by Abdul Waheed Khan displayed a breathtaking attacking game which captivated crowds and connoisseurs alike.
During their victorious campaign, the Green-shirts created many records. They became the first team to land the World Cup without losing (or even drawing) a single match. Pakistan’s goal difference of 31 goals (35 for and four against) is till date a World Cup record.
Beside major decisions going against one, what type of bad refereeing display impacts a team the most? I'll elaborate in thread 1) Overly lenient on fouls 2) Fouls called when clean tackles 3) Overly cheap yellows for an aggressive team 4) No yellows for opponent v a clean team
3-IMO quickdraw Mcgraw refs dishing out yellows for next to nothing for aggressive teams = doesn't happen so often anymore but this would probs be the worst, even refs in the champs league are more lenient than before. Argentina v Netherlands was a rare 1 off but for both teams.
Personally I feel teams that don't get given fouls when they are tend to respond with more sloppy ball control and worse dribbling cos wanna over-burst past opponent with revenge+start throwing themselves on the floor to give the ref a chance to even it out/justice-rarely get it.
➡️ Croatia to dominate possession but Argentina wont mind
➡️ Litmus test for Gvardiol
➡️ How do Argentina deal with Croatia wide threat? 3-5-2 or 4-4-2?
➡️ Croatia's Aerial Threat
@Effmatch Croatia’s slow style of play may suit Argentina as the latter will look to play on the break. Croatia don’t have rapid players, so they’ll look to build up slowly to allow their players to get into dangerous positions. Argentina are likely to forgo indulging a possession battle.
@Effmatch Argentina struggled with Saudi Arabia's intensity in the opening game. A slow game would favour the Argentinians, who they themselves do not possess much pace in the side. Expect Fernandez and De Paul to hold their shape, blocking the supply lines to Kramaric.
➡️The Mbappe Plan - Worked to a degree
➡️ Jude Who... Tchouameni's goal threat was overlooked
➡️ Saka exploited French Weak Link - Theo...
➡️ #BeKind Kane's pen... shit happens
Despite being double marked, Mbappe embarked upon a run which led to the first goal, completing sucking in the English bodies throwing themselves at him and leaving space open for Tchoumeni to take advantage.
He also had a moment where he made Walker contemplate retirement...
But aside from these glimpses, England on the whole did a decent job. Deschamps needs to free up his movement to avoid him being marked out of a game as future opponents may not be as willing to go toe to toe...
I agree that after 2007/08 - the quality of United football took a nose dive in terms of attacking excellence and relied heavily on their pre existing defensive structure which still seemed to keep going.
One of the biggest factors was loss of Ronaldo and building the side around a fatter Wayne Rooney and the decline in decision making quality of the players coming into the side. Declining Scholes and no replacement, wingers were sub par.