Football Worldcup Russia-2018

[dexter]

Sweden has to be the only underdog team that has been a suprise so far.

 

[jhungary]

COL 1 : ENG 1

Colombia level at 92 minutes...

VAMOS>>>>>>>>>

 

[HannibalBarca]

COL 1 : ENG 1

Colombia level at 92 minutes...

VAMOS>>>>>>>>>

I'm Lovin'it...

"Warm" Blooded matches are the best... Pure Entertainment.

 

[jhungary]

Sweden has to be the only underdog team that has been a suprise so far.

they didn't play very well this game, only thing is, Switzerland play even worse.....

Shaquri literally doing nothing the whole match...

I'm Lovin'it...

Stupid England, take that lol

They deserve to lose that goal, they are thinking the game is over, and let their guard down, you can see their defender and if that wasn't a superb save by the goalkeeper, Columbia wouldn't need to score from the corner.

 

[HannibalBarca]

Stupid England, take that lol

They deserve to lose that goal, they are thinking the game is over, and let their guard down, you can see their defender and if that wasn't a superb save by the goalkeeper, Columbia wouldn't need to score from the corner.

Low lvl play from England. I'm sure they could have done better...
But add to that , two egocentric ITV commentators... who make it sound English players are God on earth is even more "Mentally challenging" for viewers...

When Commentators put England on the Top of the ladder by every superlatif after a penalty shootout... you know something is wrong...

 

[Dalit]

As predicted. England made to sweat. That too without James.

Bad bad luck Colombia. What a spirit and team effort. That penalty against the crossbar cost them dearly.

England are not a quarter final team. This team will get mauled by the better teams.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Sweden has very good statistics vs England in competitions.
We lost a game in 2012, before that we did not lose in 24 years.

 

[The Eagle]

World Cup big guns primed for last-eight battles
AFP On Jul 4, 2018

MOSCOW: England became the last team to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic penalty shootout as favorites Brazil and fancied France trained their sights on their last-eight opponents.

England´s victory against Colombia takes Gareth Southgate´s team into what looks like a winnable match against Sweden, who edged out Switzerland 1-0 earlier on Tuesday.

Both teams are in the bottom half of the draw in Russia, along with the host nation and Croatia, with England the only former winners of the four teams.

The top half contains more heavyweights, with 1998 champions France taking on two-time winners Uruguay and Brazil set to face Belgium.

Eric Dier´s spot-kick gave England their first-ever win on penalties at a World Cup at the fourth attempt — ending the jinx that has dogged them for so long.

But Southgate said he was already looking forward to Saturday´s quarter-final against Sweden in Samara, with a last-four clash against either Croatia or Russia up for grabs.

“This was special but I want us to go on,” Southgate, whose penalty miss saw England lose to Germany in the Euro 96 semi-finals at Wembley, said.

“Sweden is another team we have a poor record against. We have underestimated them for years. They have created their own story and made history. I don´t want to go home yet.”

Janne Andersson´s Sweden has recovered well from a heartbreaking group-stage defeat by Germany, seeing off Mexico before edging out Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16.

RB Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg grabbed the only goal of a tight encounter midway through the second half to send his country into the quarters for the first time since the 1994 side who finished third in the United States.

Neymar in the spotlight

For all the drama around England, the winner of the tournament is more likely to come from the top half of the draw, where the teams can boast a combined eight tournament wins.

Favourites Brazil will come up against Belgium´s ´golden generation´ in Kazan on Friday while an exciting young France side spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe take on a shrewd Uruguay outfit in Nizhny Novgorod.

Much of the focus surrounding Brazil´s bid for a record-extending sixth world title has inevitably been on Neymar.

But the world´s most expensive player has hit the headlines as much for his perceived play-acting as for the on-pitch performances that have helped his side ease into the last eight without ever being seriously troubled.

Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said the stoppages caused by Neymar´s antics stalled his team during their 2-0 last-16 loss to Brazil, claiming the Paris Saint-Germain forward´s reaction to Miguel Layun stepping on his leg was a “shame for football”.

Belgium was on the brink of another major tournament failure when trailing 2-0 with 21 minutes to play, only for a magnificent breakaway goal by Nacer Chadli in the fourth minute of injury-time to cap a stunning fightback.

Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Kevin De Bruyne are likely to give Brazil´s defense the biggest test of their campaign so far, although the South Americans have only conceded once in four matches.

“This is the sort of game you dream about as a little boy and we can enjoy it from the first second,” said Belgium coach Roberto Martinez.

France never got out of first gear in easing through the group stage but turned on the style as Mbappe dazzled in a classic 4-3 victory over Argentina to set up the clash with Uruguay.

“We have been preparing for months, for weeks to play matches like that,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.

Uruguay´s success has been built on a solid defense led by Atletico Madrid pair Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, with the old-fashioned strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani doing the damage at the other end with five goals between them.

No South American side have won on European soil since a Pele-inspired Brazil 60 years ago, but in a World Cup of shocks and surprises, nothing can be taken for granted.

 

[Kambojaric]

they didn't play very well this game, only thing is, Switzerland play even worse.....

Shaquri literally doing nothing the whole match...

I think it was the managers fault as well. Why was he playing Shaqiri as a winger when he could do a lot of damage in the middle of the field just outside the Swedish box. The Swiss strategy was to use his pace down the line (like Rodriguez was on the other side) and cross it in from behind the Swedish defensive line. It clearly was not working. However at half time the Swiss made no real change to their strategy.

Sweden from a neutral pov are hardly the most exciting team in the tournament. However we have a decent track record against England.(https://www.11v11.com/teams/england/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Sweden/). If theres any one of the two teams from the England v Colombia game yesterday that I wanted to win, it was England. It is the more recognisable foe.

 

[The Eagle]

Nigeria's captain got a ransom demand for his kidnapped father hours before a World Cup game
By Pius Ayinor, for CNN



Updated 0843 GMT (1643 HKT) July 4, 2018



Pa Michael Obi, father of footballer John Mikel Obi, after he was freed from kidnappers in 2011.
Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)Nigeria football captain John Obi Mikel has expressed his gratitude to the Nigeria Police Force following the rescue of his father from kidnappers on Monday.

The Super Eagles midfielder posted a statement Tuesday on his social media platforms.
He wrote: "I would like to thank the police authorities involved in ensuring the safe return of my father after the ordeal this week. I will also like to thank everyone for their kind words of support.
"He is now recuperating with family. My family and I are grateful."

Nigeria's John Mikel Obi celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
Mikel father's Pa Michael Obi, and his driver were traveling from Nigeria's central region to the southeast of the country for a funeral when the kidnappers struck.
Obi received a call demanding a ransom a few hours before Nigeria faced Argentina in a crucial World Cup match in St. Petersburg, Russia, police said in a statement.
He said kidnappers demanded 10 million naira (around $30,000) to release his father.
Obi, a former Chelsea player, told KweseESPN that he did not tell anyone in the team or his coach Gernot Rohr about the kidnapping.

Nigeria Super Eagles striker Ighalo speaks out against alleged death threats
"I was confused. I did not know what to do, but in the end I knew that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down," Mikel said.
Pa Michael Obi also expressed his thanks to the police "for a job well done" moments after he was rescued from his abductors on Monday in a "gun duel," police said.
It is the second time Pa Obi has been kidnapped and rescued. The first incident was in 2011 when he was abducted from his home in Jos in Nigeria's central region. He was rescued days after.
Police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu announced the rescue and details of the abduction in a statement Tuesday.

 

[Gomig-21]

Everybody and their mother roots for Brazil -- or Argentina! I hope Mexico wins. I'm rooting for them.

I'm with you on that. I can't stand Brazil and I especially can't stand that clown Neymar. I hope they get X'd out of this tournament in their next match.

This was the most pathetic display of un-sportsmaship I have EVER seen in my life. Absolutely disgusting.

And unfortunately for the rest of the Brazilian players, it falls on them as well and it's too bad, especially for guys like Fermino, but it's on them just the same since they've done nothing with that clown to put him in his place and get him to stop all that despicable faking and acting and theatrics.

Not Sweden's best game but hey a wins a win
And the Swiss were really bad. They had a few chances as well.

Good luck to Sweden, I am certainly rooting for them as a dark horse.

Warming Up for Saturday!

Just because they are the geezers of the teams in the tournament and they play with respect and hustle all the time, I'd like to see them (among a few other teams) take it.

Low lvl play from England.

Despite the fact that I always hate seeing such an important game being decided by penalty shots, nonetheless, that series was fantastic and super exciting. So wasn't the Russia/Spain penalty kicks. Russian goalie was out of this world with that last save, so was England's goalie.

 

[Hasan89]

Well done England. Hope England meets Brazil in the final

 

[Cell_DbZ]

so was England's goalie.

I don't know, Bacca had a very poor penalty, I remember him doing way better than that in his time in Belgium.

 

[HannibalBarca]

Despite the fact that I always hate seeing such an important game being decided by penalty shots, nonetheless, that series was fantastic and super exciting. So wasn't the Russia/Spain penalty kicks. Russian goalie was out of this world with that last save, so was England's goalie.

If you compare their play with previous matches in WC, this one was way lower than expected. A huge lack of "Commitment"... This is a opinion if you take only the analysis on the English team...
As for the Whole match... it's was pure entertainment..., Like I said previously... Warm-Blooded matchs like that are interesting/Exciting to watch. It's among the best in WC so far. (Not in Play quality, but entertainment...That's an important part for such competition... that many seems to forget in this WC... )

 

[jhungary]

I think it was the managers fault as well. Why was he playing Shaqiri as a winger when he could do a lot of damage in the middle of the field just outside the Swedish box. The Swiss strategy was to use his pace down the line (like Rodriguez was on the other side) and cross it in from behind the Swedish defensive line. It clearly was not working. However at half time the Swiss made no real change to their strategy.

Sweden from a neutral pov are hardly the most exciting team in the tournament. However we have a decent track record against England.(https://www.11v11.com/teams/england/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Sweden/). If theres any one of the two teams from the England v Colombia game yesterday that I wanted to win, it was England. It is the more recognisable foe.

Well, look at it this way, Swede is a lot bigger than Shaqiri, which mean playing him as Center MF or Center FW, he will go up against the giant Swede in the box, which do him no good.

And in that match, Swiss did 3 times as much cross than Sweden. But since the swiss play 4-5-1, this is very much expected.

They should have use the MF speed and do a few short pass into Sweden box, which work well against Morocco (?? don't really remember) and Even Brazil. But for some reason, they switch to 4-5-1...