PhillippaT

*Wakes up* A GOAL! WOW!  

You see, Netherlands, this is how you do Orange  

18 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

"And here come the Irish team...."

EDIT: I'm getting buzzed to fsck aren't I?  

5 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

Just for the record, the hydration break had totally come from FIFA and isn’t a request of the home nations or their broadcasting companies..

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!  

1 minute ago, CrispinLA in Texas said:

Cracking *half-a-game.... because of 2 equal sides and Japanese gung ho spirit 

Just now, JonnyZeroFox said:

Excellent finish there 

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...

Just now, Raj said:

****ing boring this is...

But... But... QUALITY TEAMS  

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

16 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

It does have its fair share of bad and boring matches. Expanding it gives more and it wasnt expanded for any other reason than more games = more tickets = more pockets lined. 

 

This isnt an expansion for anything other than money. Claiming its gatekeeping is ludicrous. Meant to be the best teams in the world and have 10th vs 82nd. A team worse than Syria, who are currently in the middle of massive i stability and civil war, have no place at a tournament to find the best team in the world. 

 

All for an underdog, but this is filling the groups with fodder to add more games. You aint going to see Uzbekistan make a run to the quarters. 

 

Golden boot will be won by the group stage as some one will just ping 4 past a team who are made up of part timers losing money because FIFA want to make more money. 

 

This isnt gatekeeping, its folks gaslit into thinking this helps football. It doesnt. It hurts football and dilutes what is meant to be the biggest tournament in the world. 

 

That said, buzzing for Iran(20) V NZ(85) in 2 days. I am sure this will help both teams and isnt just to sell a couple more powerades. 

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

Just now, CrispinLA in Texas said:

Same here.... only ever heard it as a cocktail. Never new it was a island ....why 🤷🏽

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

26 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

 

You will be waiting a while on that. Africa is in dissaray and giving trophies in court rooms, south America will be the same for the rest of time, the USA and Canada will drop off now they have hosted and the qualifiers will suit the middle east teams so they can give the tournament them as many times as they can. Covered 3 regions for the next cup to be able to get it back to the middle east in 8 years, expect nothing else. 

 

This isnt evolution. This is ridiculous and just fleecing fans and harming nations who are paying out wedge to get walked over. 

 

Its the size it was because it was right. This is proving there arent 48 good teams in the world. There wasnt even 32, but the quality was so much better than watching drubbings

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..

7 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

If they expand this to 64 teams for the next one, 30% of all FIFA member countries will qualify and it will run 8-10 week. 

 

The claim 32 made it too closed off is because its meant to be closed off. Its meant to be the best 32 teams in the world. Having countries smaller than the isle of man qualify or ones in the hundreds on the national rankings because their path was easier than others helps no one. This isnt the FA cup where playing the match will earn the club money. This will be costing them thousands in logistics for a start and someone has to pay it. 

 

64 teams over 3 continents in 4 years would be insane. This isnt about being big headed or closing off, these arent the best teams in the world and shouldn't be on this stage. These arent your cupset teams, this is feeding to the lions.

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.

2 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

Terribly sorry. 

 

San marino vs Kosovo then.... 🫠

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

3 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

2 months long at that point and San Marino V Gibraltar in the 2nd round. Cant wait. 

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.

Booo...

Ooh. Close.