FIFA World Cup 2018

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PlasticRam
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FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by PlasticRam »

I thought this would be a fun topic to discuss. My fav team is Germany. Although it would be nice if Messi (Argentina) got the trophy since he's the best player.
I feel like that
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Nassim »

Football/Soccer is a team sport, so I don't like squads that rely on one player only, so I don't want Argentina to win it (or only if they can start building a real team play, which should be the case given the players they have, but never managed to).

I'm rooting for, in that order :

1. France
2. Tunisia
3. Belgium
4 (tie). Iceland/Australia
6 (tie) Any African country
...
32. Portugal

I would bet on Portugal not doing well, Spain, Brazil and Germany being as solid as expected, Belgium doing one brilliant victory (potentially against Brazil given the draw) but completely losing it in the next game (French rugby team specialty), England not underperforming (still losing on the round of 8, but with honors) and Colombia and especially Uruguay being very hard to beat.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

Nassim wrote:I would bet on Portugal not doing well
Resisted the temptation to comment at half-time. Spain have looked the better side, so comeback unsurprising.

There are always over and under performers at the World Cup. I would go for Serbia to go far. Hard to pick a flop out of Germany, Spain, Brazil, Belgium and France, but I have a sense that it is Germany's time to surprise on the downside.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Nassim »

Also going to root a bit for Brazil, I'm going to be there for the semi-finals and finals and I guess the celebrations would be wild !
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bootsy
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by bootsy »

Germany goes down to Mexico :o
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Toni »

Spain has been the best team so far, and Mexico the most surprising performance! Unfortunately I couldn't watch the great Belgium team playing today, but probably they'll go far.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

I don't know who to root for. I guess I'm on the side of countries that aren't doing well, but they aren't really threats to win it. And I'm against countries with major human rights violations, but again they aren't really threats to win it. The countries that can win tend to be neither dislikable countries or countries that really need it.

I guess, go Mexico because it's the country whose people my country is currently being a major dick to? And, go England because I know the most people from there? And, go Sweden because I'm vacationing there in two months? Among the favorites. I dunno, hoping for high quality matches like Spain/Portugal. Maybe go Brazil and Argentina?
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I don't know anything about futbol, but I'll root for Mexico, because I did a load of research on Estadio Azteca for a food truck project, hahahahaha. Go burrito food truck! Hope someone out there is using that idea.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Toni »

Edit post after group stage!

Best teams:
1. Croatia
2. Belgium
3. Spain
4. Brazil
5. France
6. England
7. Uruguay
8. Portugal
9. Switzerland
10. Colombia
11. Senegal
12. Mexico
13. Peru
14. Russia
15. Argentina
16. Japan
17. Sweden
18. Germany
19. Nigeria
20. Serbia
21. Denmark
22. Iran
23. Iceland
24. Poland
25. South Korea
26. Costa Rica
27. Morocco
28. Tunisia
29. Australia
30. Egypt
31. Saudi Arabia
32. Panama

Goals:
1. Nacho (Spain vs. Portugal)
2. Kroos (Germany vs. Sweden)
3. Quaresma (Portugal vs. Iran)
4. Mertens (Belgium vs. Panama)
5. Modric (Croatia vs. Argentina)
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (1st goal on Portugal vs. Spain)
7. Lingard (England vs. Panama)
8. Philippe Coutinho (Brazil vs. Switzerland)
9. Cherishev (5th goal on Russia vs. Saudi Arabia)
10. Carrillo (Peru vs. Australia)
Last edited by Toni on Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
DaveC
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

Round of 16 predictions

France beat Argentina
Uruguay beat Portugal
Brazil beat Mexico
Belgium beat Japan
Spain beat Russia
Croatia beat Denmark
Sweden beat Switzerland
England beat Colombia

The quarterfinals will be hard to pick. Brazil v Belgium will surely be the highlight with only France looking like a probable semi-finalist from this draw.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Toni »

Edited teams and goals list after group stage ended.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Toni »

DaveC wrote:but I have a sense that it is Germany's time to surprise on the downside.
Wow, I'll pay attention to your predictions for the win!
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

I would be happy if Colombia beat England just to punish them for tanking to avoid Brazil.

Also Colombia is a good team to root for, out of concern for the players' lives. If they lose, hopefully no individual player can be blamed for it. And if they can, hopefully that player can apply for asylum.

Not sure who to root for, I guess same reasons apply to Mexico for adjacency and anger over my country's treatment of their citizens trying to escape violence and poverty. Other than that, guess I'm rooting for exciting games more than any team. And for England to be punished for tanking. And no Colombian players to be murdered.

And I guess I want Russia to lose for human rights and bribery reasons.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

Quarterfinal predictions
I feel less confident about these than the round of 16..

France beat Uruguay
Will Cavani be fully fit? Will he play even if he's not? France look too strong to me.

Belgium beat Brazil
Half the folks who pick a winner here will be right. I just like the attitude and all round positive approach of the Belgium team.

Croatia beat Russia
Spain let me down in the last round, but they were unlucky too. The home team factor has been huge in WC history, so I could be wrong again, but Croatia look like the better team.

England beat Sweden
To their credit, England want to play like Belgium but so far the quality hasn't been there. Never-the-less I think they have just enough to get past Sweden.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

I wonder how much French language trash talking will happen in the France/Belgium semifinal.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by nicolas »

Jirin wrote:I wonder how much French language trash talking will happen in the France/Belgium semifinal.
:D Hahaha ! France vs Belgium is a great game between two teams that really look alike (youth, speed, technical skills, poor defense, great goalkeepers). France looks more solid to me but the Belgians can do anything with the players they have (Lukaku, De Bruyne, Hazard especially).

To me it's the final because they are the two best teams. And they are cousins ! We've made the biggest part of South America cry just to meet our neighbors in the semis !

England vs Croatia won't be bad either, if the Croats are not too tired after two 120-minute games in a row.

So my bet for the final (more a wish than a bet) : a great France - England !
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

Well I'm 11 from 12 so I can't stop now, but I feel that these games are hard to pick so my prediction success rate is at risk.

Belgium beat France
Sorry Nicolas. It will be close. My hope is that neither Eden Hazard's diving skills nor Kylian Mbappé's extremely low pain threshold and miraculous powers of recovery will play any part in the game. Why two of the best players in the world feel the need to cheat is a mystery particularly as it distracts them from playing to the fullness of their ability at times. Kudos to the majority of players in both these teams who play the game properly.

England beat Croatia
I never though I would be predicting England making the final, but Croatia have had a tough couple of games and I feel that England have the players to neutralise Luka Modrić.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

France and Belgium are the two best teams left but anything can happen in a single elimination match.

If England makes the final I'm seriously tempted to fly to England just to watch the final in a British pub. People watching BEAST MODE.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I need to borrow DaveC's crystal ball for the stock market.

I'm thinking Belgium and Croatia in the finals. In any case, I hope the games will be on-the-edge-of-your-seat nail-biters.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

prosecutorgodot wrote:I need to borrow DaveC's crystal ball for the stock market.
It doesn't work so well there :cry:
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nicolas
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by nicolas »

To all American AMers : what sort of media exposure does the World Cup have in the US given that the national team is not part of it ? Is it easy to watch games ? I'm wondering
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by DaveC »

Well played France
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nicolas
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by nicolas »

Yeeeeeeeeah! What a relief though. Happy you lost your 14th bet :)
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Listyguy »

nicolas wrote:To all American AMers : what sort of media exposure does the World Cup have in the US given that the national team is not part of it ? Is it easy to watch games ? I'm wondering
Honestly I haven't noticed much of a coverage difference from this World Cup to the World Cups that the US team was actually in. Professional soccer (football) isn't that popular here, compared to other sports (specifically basketball, American football, and baseball). All the games are on television though.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Toni »

Great match. I was rooting for Belgium since the begining of the tournament, and it was a pity Brazil had to face them. Anyway, I'm glad they've made it to the semi-finals. France has been the best team of the whole cup and totally deserve to win it all!
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I'm still rooting for the underdog, but I think it's going to be: France 2 - Croatia 1 final score

And for fun, here's my prediction for the third-place match: Belgium 4 - England 3 final score
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

Every game in America has been televised on a major network.

Games have run during the work day in the US, so there's no conflict with higher rated shows that would motivate them not to.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by nicolas »

It's gonna be a tough game; Croatia knows how to play football. I think we can win, because of that great organization we have, but you never know. Great fighting spirit on both sides, so probably a very intense game on Sunday.
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by Jirin »

Congrats to France.

Now it is exactly 47 months until I next get interested in football. :)
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Re: FIFA World Cup 2018

Post by georgetown »

Viva Argentina! Messi fan since the day i know him. A great man, indeed.
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