Paid Members Carbomb Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 Japan have really come along in the past 20 years or so. They had a lot of guts and put in a lot of effort in '98, but it was clear they didn't have the quality. Yesterday's game, they were showing a lot of discipline and skill, with flashes of nifty footwork that was great to watch - a good tactic too, as they were never going to be able to outmuscle most of Senegal's team. I was impressed with Colombia yesterday, and seeing Valderrama and Higuita in the stands was a great moment. I want Senegal and Japan to go through (would like to see more non-European/South American teams do well), but I wouldn't mind if Colombia went through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 It's funny with Japan, in 2014 they had perhaps the best squad they've ever had- Honda, Uchida and Nagatomo were all at the peak of their careers, Kagawa was their key player (despite not having the most successful spell at United), Okazaki had become a clinical striker for them and they still had the old heads of Endo and Hasebe. Yet, they had a pretty shit tournament. Their more-established players today are probably playing their last world cup, so they're very much a team in transition yet faring much better. 2022 might not be a great tournament for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doog Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Yeah there was a lot of talk during the Japan Colombia game that this is the last World Cup most likely for most of their decent players and there's a lot of concern in Japan that they don't really have a lot of players coming through. Could start to see Japan regress to a similar level to China if they don't end up being able to bring players up and through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 The third round of group matches is the part of the WC that I hate the most. I can't get over the fact that we're forced to miss half the matches as they kick off the same time. Blame these miserable bastards... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/13/1982-world-cup-algeria  (I'm trying not to think about Friday when there are no games at all...)  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Doog said: Could start to see Japan regress to a similar level to China if they don't end up being able to bring players up and through. China should be joining the ranks of Japan and South Korea in the not-too-distant future you would imagine. The state is heavily behind the team progressing to become a major force at international level and they have improved quite a lot in recent years. In Wu Lei they actually have a player that is capable of scoring regularly in the Chinese Super League, which is a feat only managed by the foreign imports. Their players playing with/against the decent imports regularly should help improve their standards. 2022 might be feasible if they get a kind draw in qualifying, but I'd put good money on them making the 2026 World Cup- especially with the extra couple of spots for Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted June 25, 2018 Awards Moderator Share Posted June 25, 2018 How does the allocation of World Cup places work for each continent? Are there countries that aren’t part of FIFA so don’t get to qualify? I’m right in thinking Europe gets more teams than other continents, aren’t I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Where’s the Spain/Morocco game? I’d have thought that BBC would have one and ITV would have the other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 @WyattSheepMask BBC Four Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 46 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said: How does the allocation of World Cup places work for each continent? Are there countries that aren’t part of FIFA so don’t get to qualify? I’m right in thinking Europe gets more teams than other continents, aren’t I? At the moment, it's: Europe: 13 South America: 4.5 North America: 3.5 Africa: 5 Asia: 4.5 Oceana (Australia, but exc Australia, as they're part of Asia when it comes to football): 0.5 The 0.5 places are settled via intercontinental playoffs, which brings the allocation above to 31. Add the hosts and you have 32 teams. From 2026 (perhaps even 2022) there will be 48 teams. The plan was to up the number of Asian teams to 8, Africa to 9, Oceana to 1, North and South America to 6 each and 16 to Europe (with the hosts rounding it up to 48). As for countries that aren't part of FIFA, we're talking about a very small number of official states- tiny ones at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 30 minutes ago, PunkStep said: As for countries that aren't part of FIFA, we're talking about a very small number of official states- tiny ones at that. It’s quality. Ralf Little represented Sealand in that World Cup I think? Butch is a fan of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briefcase Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 How will the 48 teams work out with the groups? Guessing more groups and an extra knock out round? Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 Yep- 16 (!) groups of three with the top two going through to a round of 32, one European team per group I think. That way, the finalists (and semi finalists, when you count the pointless third place loser match) will have played the same amount of games as the current format. @Keith Houchenis that the WILD Cup? You get the likes of Northern Cyprus, Greenland and Guadeloupe in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Lawro on absolute top form tonight Commentator (apologies, I'll so unsure who it was) Just a reminder that you can watch this in UHD Lawro: Thought you were talking about milk there for a minute (he's definitely repeated this gag 54 times) And then this:  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted June 25, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted June 25, 2018 The Portugal v Iran game descended into absolute farce. That isn't a penalty for Iran, how he gives that I don't know.  Portugal v Uruguay will be tasty. Ronaldo v Suarez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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