PhillippaT

ARGH

If they lose we now know who to blame (you)

I'm only kinda watching it in the background tbh.

*Wakes up* A GOAL! WOW!

You see, Netherlands, this is how you do Orange

"And here come the Irish team...." EDIT: I'm getting buzzed to fsck aren't I?

They used the Club World Cup last year as a testbed for this years World Cup, so that's where it comes from.

Yellow card for the ref!

YESSSSS!

I know. Shame

Boo

Yay A game of football finally broke out then?

*wakes up* Wow - someone scored? It was the Netherlands? Oh. Boo.

Ooh...

But... But... QUALITY TEAMS

Two good teams an a 0-0 scoreline must mean it's a BRILLIANT match, so far, right?

The Football World Cup ethos centres on global unity, cross-cultural celebration, and athletic excellence, uniting nations through a shared passion for the sport. It is designed to transcend political, cultural, and socioeconomic boundaries, promoting core values of solidarity, fair play, and community. Core Pillars of the World Cup Global Unity: The tournament brings together people from diverse backgrounds who normally would have no reason to interact, turning the host nation into a massive congregation of global culture. Sporting Merit: Rooted in the Corinthian spirit, it provides an equal playing field where smaller or less-resourced nations can compete against global powerhouses. National Pride: Players representing their national flags, emblems, and anthems act as cultural ambassadors, reinforcing identity and brotherhood. The philosophy you TRULY WANT - is intentionally found in the OLYMPIC football tournament, not the World Cup.

The Netherlands strip is doing my eyes in

Go Japan

I see some people have never played pirate games set in the Caribbean

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... Again, the 'quality' of teams has had no real bearing on the quality of the matches being played. The World Cup has had its fair share of bad and boring matches even between 'good' teams before they expanded it. This isn't about 'quality' at all - just gatekeeping. Note: If ALL you care about it quality, you would NEVER bother with international football EVER, AT ALL - because club football will alwawys be better in 'quality'. (Being able to pick your own players will always have a benefit.) And that's without mentioning that quality of teams != quality of refereeing etc..

STFU. The changes of the World Cup over time ALREADY show that this IS NOT TRUE - it's only looked like being a closed shop because the number of good professional teams at the time were limited. 32 teams is now too limited for the scope of world football, just like 16, then 24 etc. were before. Is 64 too much, too soon? Yes - that I will agree with. 48 teams right now feels about right to me given the teams that aren't making it, so I'd keep this format for now, until non-European confederations can show they've got enough depth to make it worthwhile increasing.

The top 32 European teams in the Euros 2024: Spain England France Netherlands Germany Portugal Switzerland Turkey Austria Belgium Denmark Italy Romania Slovakia Slovenia Albania Croatia Czechia Hungary Poland Scotland Serbia Ukraine Greece Iceland Wales Bosnia Estonia Finland Luxembourg Sweden Norway

Don't be stupid. If 32 teams come from Europe, it'd make sense to alter the qualifying to reflect that, which would make it similar to the Euros in lineup.