2022 World Cup

[Cash or Czech]

Catch-all for the tournament that starts on Sunday.

 

My money's on Brazil, and Germany to win their group over Spain. 

[Cash or Czech]

 

I'm sure this will go over well...

[4EverRangerFrank]

F-Qatar policies.

 

Let's see some exceptional football. 2PM games not easy to watch live but I'll do my best working from home.

 

USA - USA - USA

[siddious]

Polands odds on Caesar’s are +10000. Kevin from the office told me if anyone gives you 10000:1 odds on anything you take it.

 

 

[Albatrosss]

France to win it all again. 

[Keirik]

 

[Blue Heaven]

It will be a disappointment if the US doesnt get out of their group.....However, seems like they got a lot of youngsters on the roster.....So, are they going with these kids to get experience and groom them for the 2026 World Cup in the US?  

Edited November 15, 2022 by Blue Heaven

[Keirik]

7 minutes ago, Blue Heaven said:

It will be a disappointment if the US doesnt get out of their group.....However, seems like they got a lot of youngsters on the roster.....So, are they going with these kids to get experience and groom them for the 2026 World Cup in the US?  

I don’t think their group is all that easy. The big game is obviously the Wales one. That’s a must win regardless if they want to advance. Just the political nature of the Iran game alone is incentive for Iran to really play the US harder than usual. I think we lost last time in 98. 

[LindG1000]

9 minutes ago, Blue Heaven said:

It will be a disappointment if the US doesnt get out of their group.....However, seems like they got a lot of youngsters on the roster.....So, are they going with these kids to get experience and groom them for the 2026 World Cup in the US?  

 

Kind of. There are some youngsters who are legitimately the best American options for their roles. Dest might really be our best defender, period. Aaronson is likely one of better mids right now and he's going to be prime for 2026 - same story with Reyna and forward.

 

There's a few folks who are on the team with something of an eye on 2026, but objectively, this is a young, talented team better than most we've put on the pitch in a long time, and should be fun to watch grow.

[LindG1000]

8 minutes ago, Keirik said:

I don’t think their group is all that easy. The big game is obviously the Wales one. That’s a must win regardless if they want to advance. Just the political nature of the Iran game alone is incentive for Iran to really play the US harder than usual. I think we lost last time in 98. 

 

I'm not sure I agree with you on this one.

 

Iran isn't a competitive team, and we should beat them handily. I do think we're a more talented team than Wales, and we should also beat them - the entire game for Wales is "control a 33-year-old, oft-injured Gareth Bale" - I think our backs are up for that. 

 

England is another story. I do not think we have anyone who can keep pace with England's midfield and strikers. Might run circles around Harry Maguire if they're dumb enough to play him, but...that's a Premier League all star team and will play like one.

 

Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I think this team should finish second, move on to the knockout round...and I like their odds against ANYONE in group A in the round of 16.

[Keirik]

3 hours ago, LindG1000 said:

 

I'm not sure I agree with you on this one.

 

Iran isn't a competitive team, and we should beat them handily. I do think we're a more talented team than Wales, and we should also beat them - the entire game for Wales is "control a 33-year-old, oft-injured Gareth Bale" - I think our backs are up for that. 

 

England is another story. I do not think we have anyone who can keep pace with England's midfield and strikers. Might run circles around Harry Maguire if they're dumb enough to play him, but...that's a Premier League all star team and will play like one.

 

Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I think this team should finish second, move on to the knockout round...and I like their odds against ANYONE in group A in the round of 16.

My thought process is this. Don’t sleep on Wales. They certainly aren’t going far but Dan James, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale, Ben Davies, and Joe Allen alone are all very good quality footballers with good experience. Their issue is scoring, but it’s not defending and holding the ball. Kiefer Moore. That might be a name to remember.

   As for Iran, if that’s a game where the US can secure a place in the round of 16,  anything can happen…and Iran needs no extra motivation to try and stick it to the US

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

I will say this; Don't sleep on Iran.

 

They play the most boring defensive football I've ever seen I think, but they do get results. They are sneaky and find ways to win games or play 0-0.

 

In 2018 they got the "group of death" with Marocco, Spain and Portugal. They played 0-0 vs Portugal, lost only 1-0 to Spain and did beat Marocco 1-0. If Spain and Portugal didn't draw the last match (felt like some match-fixing there), Iran would've actually advanced from the group.

[Albatrosss]

On 11/15/2022 at 4:46 PM, LindG1000 said:

 

Kind of. There are some youngsters who are legitimately the best American options for their roles. Dest might really be our best defender, period. Aaronson is likely one of better mids right now and he's going to be prime for 2026 - same story with Reyna and forward.

 

There's a few folks who are on the team with something of an eye on 2026, but objectively, this is a young, talented team better than most we've put on the pitch in a long time, and should be fun to watch grow.

fucking im not that high on team USA.  they're winless in last 3 matches.  i think the worse stretch in history.  They lose to Wales on Monday, they're pretty much toast.  

Edited November 17, 2022 by CCCP

[Karan]

On 11/15/2022 at 2:19 PM, Keirik said:

 

 

My picks:

 

Group A - Netherlands & Senegal

Group B -England & USA

Group C - Argentina & Mexico

Group D - France & Denmark

Group E - Germany & Spain

Group F - Belgium & Croatia

Group G - Brazil & Switzerland

Group H - Uruguay & Portugal 

 

Round of 16 winners - Netherlands, Argentina, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay

 

Quarterfinal winners - Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain

 

Semifinal winners - Brazil, France

 

Final - Brazil

[Keirik]

7 minutes ago, Karan said:

 

My picks:

 

Group A - Netherlands & Senegal

Group B -England & USA

Group C - Argentina & Mexico

Group D - France & Denmark

Group E - Germany & Spain

Group F - Belgium & Croatia

Group G - Brazil & Switzerland

Group H - Uruguay & Portugal 

 

Round of 16 winners - Netherlands, Argentina, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay

 

Quarterfinal winners - Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain

 

Semifinal winners - Brazil, France

 

Final - Brazil

Really don’t see any wrong picks there. I’m going to try and do my picks Saturday. I’d probably swap out Senegal with Ecuador especially after Mane being ruled out. Maybe Wales instead of US?  My surprise might just be Canada though over Croatia. 

[Karan]

55 minutes ago, Keirik said:

Really don’t see any wrong picks there. I’m going to try and do my picks Saturday. I’d probably swap out Senegal with Ecuador especially after Mane being ruled out. Maybe Wales instead of US?  My surprise might just be Canada though over Croatia. 

 

Yeah I was really mulling over Wales vs. USA, it's going to be really close and probably come down to goal differential.

Isn't Mane out only for the first game?

And yeah I could definitely see a much younger Canadian squad edging out the aging Croatian team. 

[Keirik]

1 minute ago, Karan said:

 

Yeah I was really mulling over Wales vs. USA, it's going to be really close and probably come down to goal differential.

Isn't Mane out only for the first game?

And yeah I could definitely see a much younger Canadian squad edging out the aging Croatian team. 

he had surgery so he’s out for the entire WC. 
 

Quote

Senegal star Sadio Mane has been ruled out of the World Cup after undergoing surgery for his leg injury, Bayern Munich and the Senegalese football federation said Thursday.

Bayern said the 30-year-old Mane had an operation in Innsbruck, Austria late on Thursday to reattach a tendon to the head of his right fibula bone, treating an injury he sustained playing for Bayern in a German league game against Werder Bremen on 8 November.

https://news.yahoo.com/sadio-mane-ruled-world-cup-222801030.html

[fletch]

Group A - Netherlands, Senegal

Group B -  England, USA

Group C -  Argentina, Mexico

Group D - France, Denmark

Group E -  Spain, Germany 

Group F -  Belgium, Morocco

Group G - Brazil, Serbia

Group H - Portugal, South Korea

 

Round of 16 winners - 

USA over Netherlands

Argentina over Denmark

Spain over Morocco

Brazil over South Korea

England over Senegal

Mexico over France

Germany over Belgium

Serbia over Portugal

 

Quarterfinal winners - 

Argentina over USA

Brazil over Spain

England over Mexico

Germany over Serbia

 

Semifinal winners - 

Argentina over Brazil

England over Germany

 

Final - 

England over Argentina

[LindG1000]

Group A - Netherlands, Ecuador

Group B -  England, USA

Group C -  Argentina, Mexico

Group D - France, Denmark

Group E -  Spain, Germany 

Group F -  Belgium, Croatia

Group G - Brazil, Switzerland

Group H - Portugal, Uruguay

 

Round of 16 winners - 

USA over Netherlands

Argentina over Denmark

Croatia over Spain

Brazil over Uruguay

England over Ecuador

France over Mexico

Germany over Belgium

Portugal over Switzerland

 

Quarterfinal winners - 

Argentina over USA

Brazil over Croatia

England over Mexico

Germany over Portugal

 

Semifinal winners - 

Argentina over Brazil

England over Germany

 

Final - 

England over Argentina

[Keirik]

 

 

 

 

https://www.foxsports.com/fantasy/world-cup-bracket-challenge

[Keirik]

Group A - Netherlands, Ecuador

Group B -  England, Wales

Group C -  Argentina, Poland

Group D - France, Denmark

Group E -  Germany, Spain

Group F -  Belgium, Canada

Group G - Brazil, Switzerland

Group H - Portugal, Uruguay

 

Round of 16 winners - 

 Netherlands over Wales

Argentina over Denmark

Canada over Germany

Brazil over Uruguay

England over Ecuador

France over Mexico

Belgium over Spain

Portugal over Switzerland

 

Quarterfinal winners - 

Argentina over Netherlands

Portugal over  Belgium

England over France

Brazil over Canada

 

Semifinal winners - 

Portugal over England

Argentina over Brazil

 

 

Final - 

Portugal over Argentina

[Pete]

Can't believe anyone would watch this considering the human rights violations of the country, and all the deaths building the venue. 

 

Disgusting. (Not the people watching, the people doing)

Edited November 19, 2022 by Pete

[Bugg]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Can't believe anyone would watch this considering the human rights violations of the country, and all the deaths building the venue. 

 

Disgusting. (Not the people watching, the people doing)

https://www.lifegate.com/qatar-6500-workers-dead-world-

 

cuphttps://nypost.com/2022/11/18/world-cup-abruptly-bans-beer-with-millions-of-budweisers-already-in-qatar/

 

 

 

And Qatar banning beer 2 days before this starts despite Budweiser being the prime sponsor. But not in the luxury boxes; if you're a master of the universe, drink up, and probably all manner of depravity readily at hand. The 5 families have nothing on FIFA. 

 

I will watch the US matches, but this is a disgrace. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Bugg

[fletch]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

Can't believe anyone would watch this considering the human rights violations of the country, and all the deaths building the venue. 

 

Disgusting. (Not the people watching, the people doing)

 

FIFA is worse than the IOC as far as corruption (which is saying something).  Sepp Blatter was terrible as leader.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/football/sepp-blatter-qatar-fifa-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html

 

'Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup hosting rights in 2010, told Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger “Qatar is a mistake,” adding that “the choice was bad.” The Qatar decision has been marred by controversy, including allegations of corruption and human rights violations, since it was first announced. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, has also been embroiled in accusations of corruption during his tenure. '

 

The Qatar situation is more egregious than most World Cups, given the deaths building the venue and the 'legitimizing of Qatar'.  But we legitimized Russia by going to Socchi and legitimized China by going to Beijing.  Authoritarian or hard-line regimes write off the financial loss from hosting (mostly due to the cost of stadium construction that are then underutilized after the event) because of the international diplomacy aspect and normalling (see, we are not at all that bad).  Japan isn't authoritarian, but faced a huge cost.

 

https://nypost.com/2021/07/30/tokyo-olympics-expected-to-lose-30-billion-huge-disaster/

 

'Smith College economics Andrew Zimbalist and author of “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup,” told The Post he predicts the Organizing Committee spent $35 billion on the Summer Games — a far cry from the $7.3 billion of its initial budget.'

 

The Qatar decision forced the event (summer heat) to be moved to November, instead of the traditional summer slot.  Many domestic soccer leagues had to alter their schedule in order to accommodate the World Cup.  I would think injuries would be a heightened risk during/right after the event, due to the altered routine.

 

So as a viewer, is it more important than I am aware of the corruption of FIFA/IOC, the problems of the host nation, or protest by not watching and effect Nielson ratings?  I would argue that whether Americans watch or not could potential effect the amount of revenue generated by sponsors/TV contracts in future World Cup cycles.   But I think it would take 2 or 3 events of declining interest in order for these international conglomerates to take notice and consider changing their operating procedure.

 

In summary, I am the aware of the implicit support of FIFA/Qatar conveyed by me watching these games.  If I check out Internet photos of women, I am implicitly supporting the objectification of women.  It's futbol, it happens every 4 years, so I give myself a pass to enjoy watching sports.  With everything else going on in the world, I give myself a pass to just relax and enjoy.

[Pete]

8 minutes ago, fletch said:

 

FIFA is worse than the IOC as far as corruption (which is saying something).  Sepp Blatter was terrible as leader.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/football/sepp-blatter-qatar-fifa-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html

 

'Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup hosting rights in 2010, told Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger “Qatar is a mistake,” adding that “the choice was bad.” The Qatar decision has been marred by controversy, including allegations of corruption and human rights violations, since it was first announced. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, has also been embroiled in accusations of corruption during his tenure. '

 

The Qatar situation is more egregious than most World Cups, given the deaths building the venue and the 'legitimizing of Qatar'.  But we legitimized Russia by going to Socchi and legitimized China by going to Beijing.  Authoritarian or hard-line regimes write off the financial loss from hosting (mostly due to the cost of stadium construction that are then underutilized after the event) because of the international diplomacy aspect and normalling (see, we are not at all that bad).  Japan isn't authoritarian, but faced a huge cost.

 

https://nypost.com/2021/07/30/tokyo-olympics-expected-to-lose-30-billion-huge-disaster/

 

'Smith College economics Andrew Zimbalist and author of “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup,” told The Post he predicts the Organizing Committee spent $35 billion on the Summer Games — a far cry from the $7.3 billion of its initial budget.'

 

The Qatar decision forced the event (summer heat) to be moved to November, instead of the traditional summer slot.  Many domestic soccer leagues had to alter their schedule in order to accommodate the World Cup.  I would think injuries would be a heightened risk during/right after the event, due to the altered routine.

 

So as a viewer, is it more important than I am aware of the corruption of FIFA/IOC, the problems of the host nation, or protest by not watching and effect Nielson ratings?  I would argue that whether Americans watch or not could potential effect the amount of revenue generated by sponsors/TV contracts in future World Cup cycles.   But I think it would take 2 or 3 events of declining interest in order for these international conglomerates to take notice and consider changing their operating procedure.

 

In summary, I am the aware of the implicit support of FIFA/Qatar conveyed by me watching these games.  If I check out Internet photos of women, I am implicitly supporting the objectification of women.  It's futbol, it happens every 4 years, so I give myself a pass to enjoy watching sports.  With everything else going on in the world, I give myself a pass to just relax and enjoy.

I mean to each their own, however I completely disagree with the rationalization.