2016 - 2017 Football Thread - Page 210

On April 11 2017 07:37 nayumi wrote:

well Palace did whoop Chelski's butt on Stamford Bridge no so long ago

as an United fan I couldn't be happier when Arsenal dropped the ball this time

On April 11 2017 09:46 mAKiTO wrote:
How do you guys feel about James Zidane situation? In Colombia everyone hates Zidane and we feel cheated. But obviously big biased

Do you guys feel James isn't good enough to be starting every game? Or is Zidane is not taking advantage of him and is depreciating him?

It affects. Colombia big time not having a James with continuety and fit for the WC classifier games

On April 11 2017 09:56 DucK- wrote:


We didn't get whooped though. We could leave the game knowing we tried, could deserve a point, but palace defending was outstanding that day. No shame in our performance.

On Monday afternoon, 102 stories above lower Manhattan, North American soccer authorities will reach for the stars.

In a long-anticipated announcement, the presidents of the U.S., Mexican and Canadian federations will gather atop One World Trade Center to declare their intention to submit a joint bid to stage the 2026 World Cup.

Only once have multiple countries shared the quadrennial festival, and Japan and South Korea did so in 2002 under an 11th-hour agreement approved by FIFA, the sport’s international governing body.

The three neighboring nations seeking the ’26 tournament — let’s call it the NAFTA World Cup — will pursue the event in the spirit of cooperation and regional brotherhood in a time of tightening borders and frayed diplomacy.

If successful, the most popular sporting event on the planet would return to the United States for the first time since record-setting crowds witnessed the competition in 1994. It would mark the return to Mexico after 40 years and the first plunge into Canada, which successfully ran the 2015 Women’s World Cup and an under-20 men’s World Cup.

The United States sought the 2022 World Cup by itself, but amid FIFA’s corruption scandal, lost out to Qatar, the tiny-but-wealthy Middle Eastern bidder.

FIFA will not select the 2026 site — or, perhaps in this case, sites — until May 2020, but the North American tri-bid will enter the race as the clear favorite.

Europe and Asia are prohibited from hosting because they will have staged the previous two tournaments (Russia 2018, Qatar 2022), a restriction removing potential formidable bids from England and China, among others, from the mix.

South America held the World Cup in 2014 (Brazil), and no African countries have indicated plans to bid.

With an abundance of venues and a history of hosting large-scale sporting events, the United States could pull it off on its own — even one that will expand to 48 teams (from 32) in 2026 and require 80 matches instead of 64 over four to five weeks.

U.S. officials have suggested strengthening the bid by locking arms with Mexico and Canada. Such an effort would also head off any potential showdown with a solo Mexican bid. (Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and ’86.)

The European Championship, second to the World Cup in popularity, has had multiple hosts three times, albeit in small, neighboring countries: Belgium-Netherlands in 2000, Austria-Switzerland in ’08 and Ukraine-Poland in 2012. The 2020 tournament will span the continent, using 13 cities in 13 countries.

The joint 2002 World Cup created logistical headaches, prompting FIFA to question whether to consider multiple hosts again.

While on the surface, the three-nation World Cup bid would meet FIFA’s facility and infrastructure needs, organizers will have to address many issues.

Would the countries agree to divide the locations of premier matches? Perhaps a U.S.-Mexico tug of war over the final at Los Angeles’s new NFL stadium or Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, which has hosted two World Cup title games?

Would the United States carry a larger share of the budgetary burden proportioned to the presumed greater number of games?

Would FIFA be willing to award three automatic berths, including one to Canada, which in all likelihood, will not have qualified for the tournament since 1986? That would leave only half of the six proposed automatic slots for CONCACAF (which incorporates North and Central America and the Caribbean) available to the others.

Canada has desirable cities, but only one major location (Toronto’s MLS stadium) sports natural grass. Use of artificial turf for all Women’s World Cup matches there two years ago did not sit well with the players. Such turf has never been used in a men’s World Cup.

On April 11 2017 19:16 Pandemona wrote:
The world cup in Canada Mexico and USA is kinda weird for me, that is like a huge ass area and can be fucked for teams playing in no if you have a game in Mexico then one in Canada, that's like a 6 hour flight? xD

Zidane x James situation is a weird one, James looked a bit over rated since his Brazil world cup days, maybe that is a bit harsh though due to he hasn't really played much right? Interesting one, he has to leave this summer though and prove to the world he is still as good as that world cup in Brazil!

Lol arsenal :D