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2018 FIFA World Cup Thread

vapid

cyber warlord
What a game that was! Russia played by their hearts out and had the home advantage of course, but Croatia deserved to edge it. Loved that first Russian goal, though, and that crowd must have been terrifying for Croatia.

I think Croatia will beat England; they've got a fervour that England don't, and unless England can build up a decisive lead early on then I'd certainly worry for England in extra time. It wouldn't at all surprise me if Croatia won on penalties - they seem to have had a good run there.

I'll be rooting for England, but I think Croatia will be very, very tough to beat, and when their backs are against the wall they seem to perform very well. The issue is whether Croatia can perform better than they did against Russia (who aren't as good as England), because even before extra time they seemed tired and coordination was lacking.

I've seen a number of commentators say that England should win, and indeed they might, but they've got to really. really want it, and I'm not sure they do. I hope I'm proven wrong!
 

TheGabStandard

The anticipation is killing me
What a game that was! Russia played by their hearts out and had the home advantage of course, but Croatia deserved to edge it. Loved that first Russian goal, though, and that crowd must have been terrifying for Croatia.

I think Croatia will beat England; they've got a fervour that England don't, and unless England can build up a decisive lead early on then I'd certainly worry for England in extra time. It wouldn't at all surprise me if Croatia won on penalties - they seem to have had a good run there.

I'll be rooting for England, but I think Croatia will be very, very tough to beat, and when their backs are against the wall they seem to perform very well. The issue is whether Croatia can perform better than they did against Russia (who aren't as good as England), because even before extra time they seemed tired and coordination was lacking.

I've seen a number of commentators say that England should win, and indeed they might, but they've got to really. really want it, and I'm not sure they do. I hope I'm proven wrong!
Pretty much agree with this. The scary thing is Croatia seem to perform better against more talented teams (on paper) and kind of stutter against teams that aren't as much. Either way it should be an entertaining semi final phase
 

vapid

cyber warlord
Pretty much agree with this. The scary thing is Croatia seem to perform better against more talented teams (on paper) and kind of stutter against teams that aren't as much. Either way it should be an entertaining semi final phase
Yes, I've seen this said of Croatia, and it may be true, although they haven't performed at their best so far, and I'm wondering whether the fact they struggled so much against Russia (despite the circumstances) is a sign that they're going to find England problematic. I'm not sure, and it really could go either way. I suspect we'll find out quite early on the first half which way it's going to go.

I presume Belgium will beat France if they play anything like they did against Brazil. They're going to be the clear favourite in the final, regardless of who they play.

But my God... if it did come home... that would truly be something. Absolutely historic.
 

Nephrite

#Fujin4MK12BaseRoster
I live in Croatia and have been following the media. The main point of talk about this Cup and this generation is the harmony between the players and the coach which we haven't had in quite a while, pretty much since Slaven Bilić was the coach. And even then, I don't think it was as good. I think it's giving players the mental strength we've been lacking in recent Cups.

We'll see. I hope we can recover physically, that's my main worry at the moment. Most of the team had a little extra rest when the 'B team' took on Iceland, so hopefully they still have enough fuel left to keep on going.

I don't know, I kinda see France winning it. They won the World Cup before and they got the players and the game to do it again. All others also have a chance, but I just have a feeling France is going to take it.

I would love a Belgium vs Croatia final, it'd be so intense to watch that match where both sides would be in an unknown territory.

Hopefully every team delivers their best, stay free of injuries and then may the best one win! Looking forward to semi-finals! :)
 

vapid

cyber warlord
I am in apnea since the first goal of Japan... I've never been so nervous in my life, this is ridiculous. I hope we'll beat France.
If you play like you did against Brazil then I think you will. France are very good overall but I don't think they've been quite as impressive as Belgium this WC, and although Mbappe is impressive he's just one player; Belgium have three or four players who can do as much damage when working together, which they have been in recent games.

Come on, England-Belgium final. Brexit with a ball. :D
 

Nephrite

#Fujin4MK12BaseRoster
That was a fun watch, the comments section on YT was ever more fun. ;)

Btw, it's pretty much the same thing over here. Everybody's like 'We're the better team, we have nothing to fear. We're going to win this game'. lol

Can't wait!
 

vapid

cyber warlord
That was a fun watch, the comments section on YT was ever more fun. ;)

Btw, it's pretty much the same thing over here. Everybody's like 'We're the better team, we have nothing to fear. We're going to win this game'. lol

Can't wait!
Ah, a Croat. Want some Slaven Bilic? :)


 

M2Dave

Zoning Master
The British think England will win. As Nephrite said, the Croatians think Croatia will win. Shocking! LOL.

In reality, no one knows who will win. The World Cup is unlike the NBA finals in which two teams play a seven game series and the better one always wins. At the World Cup, two (usually) evenly-matched teams only play one game and the team who played better on that day wins. Some luck is involved too. So all these predictions are insignificant. Would anyone honestly be surprised if either Belgium, Croatia, England, or France won the World Cup? I would not.
 

Braindead

I want Kronika to step on my face
If you play like you did against Brazil then I think you will. France are very good overall but I don't think they've been quite as impressive as Belgium this WC, and although Mbappe is impressive he's just one player; Belgium have three or four players who can do as much damage when working together, which they have been in recent games.

Come on, England-Belgium final. Brexit with a ball. :D
Yup. As long as Martinez doesn't stick De Bruyne back in the midfield again Belgium will be fine.
 

vapid

cyber warlord
DONT LET ME DOWN TODAY BELGIUM PLS
:D

Should be a good one! Fingers crossed for Belgium because France are the favourites and they've already won a WC. Hopefully some of the lesser-known players score, because I want Kane to win the Golden Boot. :D

Good luck! In terms of spectacle and skill I think this will be the best game of the tournament.
 

TheGabStandard

The anticipation is killing me
Looking forward to this match, should be a fun watch. In other news how about the Ronaldo sale? A lot of dominoes are gonna fall regarding transfers after this is completed.
 

Braindead

I want Kronika to step on my face
Ronaldo confirmed to Juve btw.

I think Real Madrid are done for the next couple of years until they rebuild a decent squad again.