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On June 05 2018 21:47 Liquid`Drone wrote:
As good as the Belgian squad is, I think you should totally be satisfied if you reach quarter finals. Semifinal would be better than expected.
I can tell you not a single Belgian will be satisfied if we are stranded in the QFs for the 3rd major tournament in a row with a team that is (controversial statement here) top 4 on paper 
Unfortunately we will meet Brasil/Germany there and that's pretty rough. Would've preferred the other side of the bracket.
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On June 05 2018 21:50 Acrofales wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2018 21:27 Laurens wrote:
Another shocking display by Belgium on Saturday. Everyone played pretty garbage outside of the first 10 minutes. To make matters worse Kompany got injured (again!).
I saw a stat that out of the last 27 games for the national team, Kompany was injured for 23 of them. The Portugal game on Saturday was not included in the stat, so make it 23 out of 28, it's still hilarious.
So he'll probably not be able to play the first games, Vermaelen is also still injured and has said he won't play before the actual WC, if both of them remain injured it's back to Ciman or Boyata to help us out (Y).
Flashbacks to the EC vs Wales...
At least we should have an "easy" opponent in the RO16 (Poland or Colombia I imagine) so we can reach quarters and pretend the WC wasn't a complete disappointment. I wouldn't classify Colombia as an easy opponent. Sure, they're your typical south american team, with 2 or 3 superstars and complete disorganization. But Falcao seems to be in form, James even out of form can be tricky to deal with, and Cuadrado is still good enough to glue it all together. If your defense is a bunch of B-players (which it is without Kompany or Vermaelen), then I wouldn't expect to beat Colombia...
Martinez insists on his 3-man defence (the only thing he knows) which for us is Vertonghen + Alderweireld + 1 other CB.
Then Meunier and Carrasco on the sides which sounds great on paper but they were terrible on Saturday, we'll see how that pans out.
And of course Courtois behind those defenders as well.
If that middle CB is Kompany/Vermaelen I'm not worried about Colombia tbh. If it's Ciman/Boyata that's a different story but we should still be able to beat them imo.
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Norway28669 Posts
So like I'm entering the WC with this expectation of team ability
germany brazil france = top 3. spain argentina england portugal belgium chile = 4-9 (not really in any order.) Switzerland Colombia Uruguay maybe top 12. Croatia Mexico Poland Sweden Denmark Iceland follows.
I'm totally ignorant regarding the african teams. Nigeria always has some quality players, Egypt has Salah. Senegal and Tunisia I have no idea about. Not expecting much out of the asian representatives, nor from Australia or Peru.
Russia looks very disappointing compared to how they were 6-8 years ago. Are there any teams I'm criminally over- or underrating here?
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Norway28669 Posts
On June 05 2018 21:55 Laurens wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2018 21:47 Liquid`Drone wrote:
As good as the Belgian squad is, I think you should totally be satisfied if you reach quarter finals. Semifinal would be better than expected. I can tell you not a single Belgian will be satisfied if we are stranded in the QFs for the 3rd major tournament in a row with a team that is (controversial statement here) top 4 on paper Unfortunately we will meet Brasil/Germany there and that's pretty rough. Would've preferred the other side of the bracket.
I just don't think you're top 4 on paper. To me, on paper, Germany Brazil France Spain all look stronger than Belgium. You're in the tier below that - perfect for quarter finals. Imo if Belgians will be unhappy with Belgia reaching quarter finals, that's an issue with Belgians, not with how the team is managed.
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Iceland is better than England, as we all know. Pande can confirm.
And despite being European Champions, I would not rate Portugal that highly. It's still a mystery to me how they won the tournament after starting with 3 ties in the group phase tbh.
To me, on paper, Germany Brazil France Spain all look stronger than Belgium.
Yeah that's probably fair. We would still be disappointed though. This is our best football generation in a long time/for a long time to come.
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Am I really the first person to tell Drone that there is no Chile in this WC? :p
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Norway28669 Posts
wowza, yeah. I mean I had registered that at some point earlier, but I totally didn't remember it now. :D
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On June 05 2018 21:24 Liquid`Drone wrote:
yeah the first goal should have been a red card and freekick instead of penalty and yellow. Seeing how it happened after 2 minutes, that's hardly preferable. Second is marginally offside indeed. Best case, you're arguing that you should have lost 0-1 - I think with 10 players the entire game it'd probably look worse than that.
Wow you really understand football. You think scoring at the last minute is as easy as scoring the first? I heard something about a BR player being fouled in the 3rd goal, but I didn't check. Second is very offside, before the goal, not marginally. As for 1st goal, I bet very much that if it was against Madrid then it would be a yellow and free-kick. I wouldn't even be shocked if the ref just ignored it like the ref this season ignored that Pique's foul on Chelsea's last man. Regardless, still a penalty for a foul that was OUTSIDE the area...
I wouldn't classify Colombia as an easy opponent. Sure, they're your typical south american team, with 2 or 3 superstars and complete disorganization.
Yea, then I guess South Americans (and even Costa Rica who only lost on penalties to Netherlands) dominated Europeans in 2014 WC, especially group stage, because they are disorganized but were playing at their continent... even Mexico at that time only lost to a Robben dive (only to lose 7-0 next year to Chile though lol). Only Germany really rescued them, but even so for me it was captain David Luiz's side who made it easier for them.
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Norway28669 Posts
The first offense is 100% a red card + free kick. Do you really think getting a red card + free kick against you after 2 minutes is much better than getting a yellow + penalty? You could have just said 'brazil doesn't care about third place finishes because we're a top team' and I'd be totally on board with you, but instead you start focusing on referee decisions in a game where you lost 0-3 and where imo you can really only blame 1 goal on referee mistakes. (As the 2nd minute red card you should have gotten cancels out the penalty that shouldn't have been awarded, imo.)
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First off Thiago Silva was going to be sent off, David Luiz was already butthurt after being hammered (and exposed) without the captain. Even against Netherlands he was going forward irresponsibly even more than usual. Perhaps with 10 man the team spirit would be better, it would at least give them an excuse. Others were also lacking motivation because a lot of people said Brazil were 7-1 destroyed also because Silva wasn't there.
I'm not an hypocrite, the bronze medal would at least have restored a bit of dignity, like, hey we were humiliated but at least we came this far? Top 4 isn't as materialized symbolized as 3rd place. There's a reason Netherlands despite having never won the WC is considered a very good national team.
And yes, I focus on + Show Spoiler +disgusting trash scum of the world 
Only 1 goal on referee mistake? Jesus Christ... you can suppose what would have happened against 10 man (that might have not even be the case against europeans or perhaps against Argentina because their boy Messi plays for them, or something), I will stay with the fact that 99% of the game was decided by outside area penalty and then 2nd goal offside.
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On June 05 2018 22:00 Liquid`Drone wrote:
So like I'm entering the WC with this expectation of team ability
germany brazil france = top 3. spain argentina england portugal belgium chile = 4-9 (not really in any order.) Switzerland Colombia Uruguay maybe top 12. Croatia Mexico Poland Sweden Denmark Iceland follows.
I'm totally ignorant regarding the african teams. Nigeria always has some quality players, Egypt has Salah. Senegal and Tunisia I have no idea about. Not expecting much out of the asian representatives, nor from Australia or Peru.
Russia looks very disappointing compared to how they were 6-8 years ago. Are there any teams I'm criminally over- or underrating here?
Saudi Arabia could win-draw against Russia/Uruguay.. and qualify, you heard it here first.. Petrodollars will flow...
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Trinidad & Tobago held Sweden to a 0-0 draw in 2006.
Hopefully South Korea can do the same in 2018.
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On June 05 2018 22:08 Laurens wrote:Iceland is better than England, as we all know. Pande can confirm. And despite being European Champions, I would not rate Portugal that highly. It's still a mystery to me how they won the tournament after starting with 3 ties in the group phase tbh. Show nested quote +To me, on paper, Germany Brazil France Spain all look stronger than Belgium. Yeah that's probably fair. We would still be disappointed though. This is our best football generation in a long time/for a long time to come.
On paper the Belgian starting XI could go all the way and win it. Martinez is indeed garbage and he makes it look like you don't have a chance.
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On June 05 2018 23:33 Pandemona wrote:https://www.winamax.fr/en/the-bracket-wc2018Check out this simple predictor! As you can see the bracket sides should be fairly equal this time around. Some mouth watering ties possible in the quarter finals as well. Spain and Brazil looking top dogs on either side though. However we all know England just cruise through them all and win
I dunno. I have a Germany-Spain semi, and I think Germany wins that. Especially as their route there is also easier (on paper). Brazil doesn't seem to encounter much resistance in the top bracket until the semis, if all the favorites do what they must, and then they meet France, which I find impossible to predict.
(and yes, I did just count England as "not much resistance" for Brazil )
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My prediction:
Germany wins in typical German style, being questioned the whole way but winning regardless.
They go on to win EURO 2020 the same exact way and cement their spot as one of the best national teams ever, dogged by constant doubters and Low skeptics.
Current generation then retires from international football and the Germans dip back down to consistent semifinal exits until the next generation truly matures.
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Norway28669 Posts
On June 05 2018 23:33 Pandemona wrote:https://www.winamax.fr/en/the-bracket-wc2018Check out this simple predictor! As you can see the bracket sides should be fairly equal this time around. Some mouth watering ties possible in the quarter finals as well. Spain and Brazil looking top dogs on either side though. However we all know England just cruise through them all and win
I get France - Brazil and Spain - Germany into Germany- Brazil into Germany win. :p
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On June 05 2018 22:08 Laurens wrote:Iceland is better than England, as we all know. Pande can confirm. And despite being European Champions, I would not rate Portugal that highly. It's still a mystery to me how they won the tournament after starting with 3 ties in the group phase tbh. Show nested quote +To me, on paper, Germany Brazil France Spain all look stronger than Belgium. Yeah that's probably fair. We would still be disappointed though. This is our best football generation in a long time/for a long time to come.
I'm hopeful for Belgium too.
Rooted for them in 2014. They were really grinding out every game with last-minute winners. Efficient, but lacking elegance of a team with such talent. Then they were undone by a moment of Messi magic (the pass to Higuan's goal). 1-0 down, they just ran out of ideas and fizzled out. Such a pity. I would chalk their defeat due to poor coaching.
Euro 2016 - Wales just went YOLO smash 'n grab all over them. Super frustrating.
This time, the key is really how Martinez sets the team up. I haven't seen their qualifier matches. I do hope he has brought in new ideas and tactics. Seems like an offensive-minded lineup. Such a golden generation don't come often, so maybe it's best to play a little more YOLO and less compact.
Semi-finals should be their target. I can see them beating Germany and Brazil (both are rather tactical and compact). It's the YOLO teams like England and Colombia which Belgium may struggle with (to which they need to perhaps buckle down a bit, slow down the game, stay patient and focused, and not be sucker-punched same way as Wales did). Point is, they need to be prepared to switch up their game-plans. Hope Martinez is up to it!
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51485 Posts
World Cup Sub Forum is up, the home for the World Cup!
Power Rank coming soon™
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wow I have France vs Argentina in Ro8
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EPT
