Mark Impact Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 58 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said: Well that was a turn up for the books. I had an earphone in and radio coverage on at the supermarket and when they Hungarian goal went in I nearly gave Mrs Jazzy a heart attack celebrating. When that French goal went in I was concerned that its be the first of several like against Portugal and stopped listening. If Germany can somehow beat Portugal tonight I guess we have to channel the spirit of '54 in the final group game. By which I mean the group stages, not the final... Spoiler In '54 teams only played twice in the groups and the seeding was messed up, and Germany realised if they lost to Hungary, they'd have a play off with turkey and have an easier route to the final. They fielded a second string against Hungary and lost 8-3, smashed turkey 7-2 in the playoff and then in the miracle of Berne beat beat team in the world Hungary 3-2 in the final after being two goals down. The format of the World Cup has been in question many a time over the years and I remember reading in World Soccer that the format then used for the Euros (4 groups of 4 teams, top two into knockouts etc) promoted a better quality of football. The current Euro format is actually one FIFA dropped and can lead to many a strange situation. 24 teams is unwieldy and throws up some scenarios that hinder the quality of the thing. To get 24 teams into 16 for the knockouts, granting 3rd placed teams a chance to advance is so screwed up that in the past under this formula (World Cups 1986-1994 and Euro 2016) teams have advanced to the knockouts having not won a game (Portugal 2016) or with very poor records from the three games (Uruguay 1986, two draws, and a GD of -5!). Of course Portugal won in 2016 and only won one match (if you consider extra time and /or penalties as tie breakers, which I do). The European Champions could only "beat" Wales inside of 90 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 47 minutes ago, tiger_rick said: Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Weezenal Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 Thought the Germany/Portugal game was the 8pm kick-off FFS. Gonna have to watch Spain pass a million times and not score instead now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 That Germany Portugal game was a real slobber knocker. You can't rule Germany out of going all the way on that form, which doesn't bode well for Hungary on Wednesday night. That France Portugal game should be fiery as well. It really wouldn't surprise me if one of those three won, as I've been suspecting since the start. Presumably this one's got 0-0 written all over it. Spain will tiki taka around the midfield while Poland have 10 behind the ball and just take the point and hope they can get something from Sweden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 50 minutes ago, Weezenal said: Gonna have to watch Spain pass a million times and not score instead now. That's what I'm hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 2 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said: You can't rule Germany out of going all the way on that form You can, Italy are winning it. I know the first couple of games rarely gives away the eventual winner but…. yeah, Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted June 19, 2021 Moderators Share Posted June 19, 2021 I just hope they don't smash us too badly tomorrow, however a loss or draw is probably better for us than a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpiritOfTheForest Posted June 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 4:07 PM, SpiritOfTheForest said: As second sides go, I'd like to see Spain do well and after living out there I feel I can justifiably claim them as a respectably good second team to have a soft spot for. Even though I technically live in Italy now, it's Sardinia so I have no sense of attachment to the Azzurri so not too fussed what they do.  After watching the first 2 games of each team in this tournament, I'm going to shamelessly reverse this statement and do the classic Italian thing of changing my allegiance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 12 hours ago, PowerButchi said: I just hope they don't smash us too badly tomorrow, however a loss or draw is probably better for us than a win. I can't help but wonder whether there'll be a lot of changes to the Italian squad since they're already through and Wales will get a nice draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 15 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: That's what I'm hoping for. And it's what happened! Disappointed Poland didn't win considering the chance we had in the first half but with the penalty miss and Spain being hilariously shit in front of goal, can't complain too much. I wish Klich would fuck off back to Leeds though, what a liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 God bless Lewandowski’s ageing legs. Can’t be easy starting your runs from your own half at his age. Still manages to get himself in to good positions too. I reckon him and Kieffer could teach that donkey Kane a thing or two about leading the line at a big international tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 15 hours ago, PowerButchi said: I just hope they don't smash us too badly tomorrow, however a loss or draw is probably better for us than a win. No chance. A game in Wembley if we win the group. I won’t be able to live with myself if I’m not able to attend a single Wales game in this tournament having not missed a single qualifier, home or away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bettencourt Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 On 6/19/2021 at 7:59 AM, StrongStyle said: "Hello...touched a nerve? Something's afoot. Let's see if I can winkle it out with my winkle-pickers."  The state of you. What a joyless post. Ach! What’s football without the needle?  I still haven’t forgiven the leek munchers for beating us 4-0 in 04 and 3-0 in 09 and that was a couple of friendlies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted June 20, 2021 Moderators Share Posted June 20, 2021 Amsterdam could be a goer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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