Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

I almost hope England go 1 down in the first half, because that will force them to go on the offensive. I can just see us going 1 up then Sir Gareth trying to defend the lead for 70 minutes, only for England to leak the equalizer near the end and take it through to penalties.

Where have I heard that one before

Well now I was pretty satisfied with that game : took a long time to get firing (and I do give Senegal some credit for that - they had a decent plan , it seemed to me , to keep England out and hit them on the quick counter. Nearly got them a lead - Pickford really earned his corn today !) But once that first goal went in it all changed and it was basically England in cruise control.
I actually think Bellingham (what a future he has ! Not to mention the present ) benefits from having Henderson in there with him . Notable mutual respect between the old and new there...and nice to see the combination pay off with that important first goal.

I expect that England will stick with this line-up for the France game , even though I admit there is a case for adding a defender to counter Mbappe , with concerns about the CBs being exposed by pace as they were at times early on by Senegal. Just reckon (a) this set up is working and I'd rather not mess with it ; and (b) they aren't likely to beat France 1-0 ...so let's try to ensure the goals keep flowing.

Pleased that all the likely "active" members of the squad have had some game time ; but a pity that Sterling has had to leave after that dreadful incident at his family home. Obviously horrendous scare for him ; but also a player who (detractors aside , and admitting others have stood up here) would have been very handy to have in reserve. Injuries happen ...

Not going to estimate odds. But I do think the game should be a cracker and whichever team wins it will fancy their chances of going all the way. I think I will adopt a stance of "cautious optimism " while waiting for it

For once, I would agree with Gareth going totally negative and sitting back. Both Mbappe and Grezza are deadly if you give them space, but the later particularly isnt that good in tight spaces (and in recent games for A.Madrid, he's been an abomination since Madrid switched from counter attacking football to trying to force the initative). Cannot let those two in behind to run at your defence, we are dead if that happens.

France are weakest in the middle, so Rice/Bello and Henderson need to win that battle of the trenches. Camvinga and Tcahomeni are good defensive players, but if we press them and slow them down, they aren't great attacking wise and there is the potential to put the cork in the bottle so the flair up the field gets taken out the game.

MY main concern is Maguire, who looks a trainwreck at times, but so far is getting away with it. Mbappe could flatten him all game

I was sure I'd read somewhere that the next WC was to be 12 groups of 4 and a 104 game tournament, so I was surprised to find that atm the format is intended to be 16 groups of 3 and an 80 match tournament.

Then I found this
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... t-for-2026

World Cup organisers are increasingly open to discarding the new three-team group format for the 2026 tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. It comes after concerns that too many dead rubbers in the last round of matches could dilute the expanded, 48-team event.

Although Fifa’s official position remains unaltered, multiple sources say there have been “informal talks” and “corridor chats” in Doha about the benefits of going with 12 groups of four teams rather than 16 groups of three.

That could lead to a 104-game World Cup if the top two in each group, plus the best eight third-placed sides, go through to a 32-team knockout stage – which is 40 more than will be played at Qatar 2022.

wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA ... 32%20teams.

The proposal for expanding the World Cup was opposed by the European Club Association,[13] Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (La Liga) president Javier Tebas,[14] and German national team coach Joachim Löw.[15]

They argued that the number of games played was already at an unacceptable level,[13] and that expanding it would dilute the quality of the games played.[15][14] They also argued that the expansion decision was taken for political reasons, as Infantino had used the promise of more countries playing in the World Cup to win his election.[16] In addition, an article in the Journal of Sports Analytics argued that the use of a three-team group stage with two teams progressing increased the risk of collusion between teams, as seen in previous World Cup group matches, including the 1982 Disgrace of Gijón.[17]

In response, FIFA's chief technical officer Marco van Basten suggested that draws may be prevented during the group stage by the use of penalty shootouts:[18] while this would partially (though not entirely) mitigate the increased risk of collusion, it would introduce the possibility of a team deciding to eliminate a rival by deliberately losing a penalty shootout.[17]

Addressing the concerns related to collusion, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani commented in April 2022 that FIFA was still considering 12 groups of four, which would eliminate collusion entirely.[19]

the mirror https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... y-28639815

And to add another element to irritate traditionalists - this week it was revealed that FIFA are weighing up a sickly-sweet proposal to suit the American audience for whom ties are anathema by introducing penalty shootouts that will offer a bonus point.

It seems everything is still up in the air.

if the 104 match format is too many (and it is too many) then it can be reduced by missing out the round of 32 and going straight to a round of 16 with the top placed group teams going through along with the 4 best second place finishers

although I can well imagine many of the top teams complaining about that.

Japan need to practice their penalty taking. 3 terrible penalty kicks, all tapped gently towards the bottom corners. Croatia keeper is a hero, but he didn't have to do a lot, really

Croatia 1-1 Japan

Croatia win on penalties as the inexperienced Japanese crumbled under big match pressure.

Brazil are running rampage....this is terrifying

Korea making it easy for them though. I've had to turn the sound off because the pictures are behind the sound atm. The live pictures froze for a moment and now the commos are telling me what is about to happen in half a second's time, which is very irritating.

Is it me or was the penalty decision a bit soft? No VAR check after Richarlison went down. Struck me that he came from behind the defender and stuck his boot in the way just as the defender was in the process of thumping the ball upfield. Looked soft to me. If it was given when playing England I'd feel aggrieved

Can't argue with the Richarlison goal though. Absolutely brilliant

In a way, it's a shame that it's 4-0, because Korea have probably worked Allison harder than anyone else in this tournament. He's had to pull off a couple of stonking saves

I've just spotted Rivaldo in the crowd... I'm amazed he dare show his face after his entry in the 'What the *modded* are you doing, you big daft bollock' top 10

make that 3 cracking saves.

Korea have kind of redeemed themselves a little in the second half. Of course, all the tempo has gone out of Brazil's play with the game as dead as a dodo, but at least they can go out with their heads held high. They've given Brazil a game in this half

Durhamfootman wrote:Korea have kind of redeemed themselves a little in the second half. Of course, all the tempo has gone out of Brazil's play with the game as dead as a dodo, but at least they can go out with their heads held high. They've given Brazil a game in this half

Shocking defending though. The penalty was either soft or not one but the wild kick was dreadful.

This match has served to remind me why it is that I hate watching spanish football

Morocco have only had 25% possession, yet have managed to nearly match Spain's 5 shots all game. From what I've seen, most of the best chances have fallen to Morocco

After a goalless draw, Morocco beat Spain 3-0 on penalties to reach the final.