The Syndicate

Neymar writhing around like a toddler pitching a tantrum isn’t going to attract Americans to soccer. Seriously- you can react angrily to being stepped on to draw the ref’s attention but grow a pair and stop being such a sissy.

Ruh-ro. Nigeria scored. Plenty of time left though.

I don't think I've ever seen 9+ minutes of stoppage time at the end of a game. Was there that much flopping and whining in the second half?!?

Goal Brazil. As lopsided as the stats are on Google, I guess this was just a matter of time.

First half stats seem pretty tame for Brazil-Costa Rica. Has it been a bland game so far? I just have Google updates, not video.

So what I think I've learned is that Portugal relies too much on Ronaldo and Argentina relies too much on Messi. Is that about right?

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:58 pm

Sloonei wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:58 pm Not to rub salt in any wounds, but Iceland is well-positioned right now.

meh, if argentina win Nigeria they can probably still go through.

Yeah, but if Iceland beats Nigeria, I'd be willing to bet that Croatia and Iceland play for a draw just to eliminate Argentina.

My goodness! These games are either boring or high drama. No middle ground to be had.

None of the assumed powerhouses are looking very high or mighty just yet.

Out of sheer curiosity, I looked up the top 32 teams per the FIFA rankings.
That's 20 from UEFA (Europe), 7 from CONMEBOL (South America), 3 from CONCACAF (North America), and 2 from CAF (Africa). That means the World Cup is being very charitable by allowing five AFC (Asia) nations to play. Even allotting five spots to CAF is generous. It wouldn't be as much of a World Cup without those guaranteed spots but I have to wonder about the quality of the 48-team structure proposed for 2026.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 11:30 am My goal is to wake up early enough to catch an 8 AM game before this tournment is over.

What time do you normally wake up?

BuckarooBanzai wrote: ↑Tue Jun 19, 2018 3:42 pm Are Russia suddenly very good or have their opponents been completely awful?

Pretty sure it's a little of both. Much has been written about how soft Group A is on paper. Russia is the lowest-ranked team in the World Cup if you go by the FIFA rankings:

Uruguay = 14th
Egypt = 40th
Saudi Arabia = 67th
Russia = 70th

You could argue that they haven't played anybody yet and that their success is a product of even mediocre European football being superior than anything but the very best coming out of CAF and better than anything coming out of the AFC. We'll see what happens when they play Uruguay next week. Regardless though, they've punched their ticket to the Round of 16, which will probably mean a date with either Portugal or Spain.

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:56 am was the red card really a red card? at 3 minutes in???

Deliberate handball in the box to block a shot that would have been a goal.

This game just made Group H a lot more interesting and harder to predict. It could be wide open for any of the four teams now.

nutella wrote: ↑Fri Jun 15, 2018 1:09 pm I didn't get to see but apparently there was an og in extra time? lol ripppp

In the fifth minute of a six-minute extra-time session! That all but guarantees Morocco will come in last in Group B. Killer stuff.