• The KillerFrogs

2023-2024 European Football Thread

Purp

Active Member
sure no one will notice or care in the fatherland.....

qquestion, how big an impact for a country like germany is their bigger clubs spending time and resources on finding young players from other countries and not focusing primarily on german talent
I think German clubs mostly develop German talent. Bayern has started recruiting from FCD a bit and Dortmund has always been good about finding young prospects from other countries to play 1st team minutes, but that's not really new. It's their way of competing with Bayern bc they can't afford to buy top players so they buy low and sell high.

As I said before, I don't think the issue in Germany is talent related. They are loaded with talent. There seems to be a bit of conflict in style and organization, which is very atypical for Germany.
 

Chongo94

Active Member
O.M.G. who is that mocha-skinned British beauty on the FS1 evening wrapup show??
Kate Abdo…she also does boxing commentating and speaks like 4-5 different languages. Top class.
images
 

dawg

Active Member
Also, Thomas Muller had 10 World Cup goals when he left Brazil in 2014. Five in 2010 and another five in 2014. I thought for sure he'd break the all-time record of 16, but nope. He went scoreless in '18 and this year.
 

FROG2597

Active Member
You know the commentators won't say it, but Spain might have been OK with conceding the game-winning goal to Japan (which should have been reversed on review--but wasn't--as the cross came from out of bounds). Spain knew they would go through on goal differential as long as Costa Rica didn't beat Germany, and losing to Japan means they get Morocco instead of Croatia in the round of 16. Plus, the Germans go out. All good for España--but Los Ticos made them nervous for a bit.

Too much tin foil?
I actually said this exact same thing yesterday when Japan took the lead. This likely works out better for Spain, so why would they care about losing the game.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Quite the drama in Group G. South Korea scores in extra time to beat Portugal and knock out Uruguay who beat Ghana but loses out on total goals (both teams 1-1-1 with same goal differential) :




Was interesting to watch, as Portugal, which was assured of winning the group but looking for a perfect group record, put almost everyone forward on a corner kick, and Son was able to go almost the length of the pitch before delivering a perfectly timed pass through 3 defenders.

Two days in a row where having your fate rest on the outcome of another match is an invitation to disaster.

As a casual fan used to staggered NCAA tournament starts, having to choose a game to watch (or use two screens) is frustrating...but I've picked up on which game to watch and when to switch.
 

dawg

Active Member
Man, these past few days have been awesome; qualification riding on and shifting during both matches, LLLa Tri heading home, football bloody hell... just awesome

More drama should follow, summation provided by The Guardian:

"Brazil have already qualified for the knockouts, though there is some jeopardy for them tonight. If they lose against Cameroon, they could be denied top spot in Group G should Switzerland beat Serbia in the other game. In that scenario, top spot would be decided by goal difference.

Cameroon meanwhile need a win to progress, and only then if Switzerland fail to beat Serbia in the other game. A draw between Serbia and Switzerland would leave second place decided by goal difference between Cameroon and the Swiss; a Serbia win would leave second place decided by goal difference between Cameroon and the Serbs.

It could potentially get more complicated, should goal difference not decide everything. But let’s not go down the route of goals scored, disciplinary points, or the drawing of lots. Not yet. Not while we don’t have to."
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
At least these final group-stage games give American sports fans what they want: clear winners and losers--though it's weird when everybody in a stadium (Uruguay-Ghana) leaves disappointed.

But the idea of a two-legged home-away tie decided by cumulative goals still doesn't compute. Sounds like that format isn't used in the U.S. at all in any sport, though I was surprised to read that the NCAA hockey tournament used it from 1981-'88.
 

LVH

Active Member
Do soccer analysts/talking heads have bias toward the "blue bloods" of international soccer? Because there was one the other day saying that Germany not advancing was bad for the sport.
 
You know the commentators won't say it, but Spain might have been OK with conceding the game-winning goal to Japan (which should have been reversed on review--but wasn't--as the cross came from out of bounds). Spain knew they would go through on goal differential as long as Costa Rica didn't beat Germany, and losing to Japan means they get Morocco instead of Croatia in the round of 16. Plus, the Germans go out. All good for España--but Los Ticos made them nervous for a bit.

Too much tin foil?
I don't think it was out. The ball has to be completely over the line. I think about a centimeter was still over the line. So, the goal was good, IMHO.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
I don't think it was out. The ball has to be completely over the line. I think about a centimeter was still over the line. So, the goal was good, IMHO.
OK, clarify the rule for this novice. What I saw was an overhead shot where a portion of the side of the ball was above the line, and a side shot in which green was clearly visible between the bottom of the ball and the line. If that's considered in based on verticality, then fair enough.

Also, if the ball hasn't hit the ground, it can be played from space beyond the line, yes?
 

Chongo94

Active Member
OK, clarify the rule for this novice. What I saw was an overhead shot where a portion of the side of the ball was above the line, and a side shot in which green was clearly visible between the bottom of the ball and the line. If that's considered in based on verticality, then fair enough.

Also, if the ball hasn't hit the ground, it can be played from space beyond the line, yes?
Well that’s the rub, depends on what angle you saw and they went by. For me, given the one pic I saw, it was clearly out and shouldn’t have been a goal but again, no idea how VAR uses video angles and defines things.

No, once the ball is over the line, play stops….unless things have changed these days which very well could be given how officials have consistently confused me the past few years with certain calls.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Serbia seems like the Tech of the soccer world. Clinical on offense, uninterested in defense. (Edit: And half their team with yellow cards.) I know they have to press, but they concede so easily. Makes for an entertaining match, though.

Also, temporary Stadium 974 where SRB-SWI is being played is an interesting concept. Constructed from shipping containers, it apparently will be fully dismantled after the World Cup and shipped to somewhere in the developing world. Curious if anyone here who works in design/construction has a take on it.
 
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