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World Cup 2026 Thread

So … France looks good, eh? They just obliterated Sweden yesterday and made it look so, so easy. Meanwhile Norway crashed into the 16s and Mexico choked out Ecuador at the Azteca. Honestly, the way the Mexican team is playing I’d call them a favorite to make the Finals if they could play out their schedule at home. They only get one more round on home soil, so I expect their bubble to burst eventually.

The US and England are in the mix today. Should be fun … ish
 
Oh, and Koeman is out in the Netherlands. Shocking no one. You’ve got two options as the Dutch national team coach. Either play Dutch football, or do something innovative and different. You do NOT have the option to play like a lower Division English club team trying to survive against a Premiership side in the FA Cup. Good bye Ronald.
 
jeffbear said:
Oh, and Koeman is out in the Netherlands. Shocking no one. You’ve got two options as the Dutch national team coach. Either play Dutch football, or do something innovative and different. You do NOT have the option to play like a lower Division English club team trying to survive against a Premiership side in the FA Cup. Good bye Ronald.
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He managed to find someone more insane to start at FB/WB over Maatsen than Lucas Digne, honestly that's impressive. His entire strategy seemed to just be, what if I have all the biggest players possible at all time regardless of talent or being used properly. I don't have an issue with the Dutch playing a back three, I have an issue with using VDV and Dumfries as wingbacks.
 
Harry freaking Kane. Missed most of the match between early morning car repair visit and class but did see enough to know that Congolese keeper must've been an acrobatic stuntman in a previous life. But Harry was not to be denied.
Next stop? Azteca. Amazing
 
Btw, one of the joys of watching the French is getting to hear Thierry Henry find different ways to wax poetic about Michael Olise. "Split vision"? As if we football enthusiasts didn't already have enough reason to love Thierry, and love the way Olise plays the game.
 
Lukaku has never scored a goal that matters bit since circa 2012, RIP! Time of death, the 86th minute. Though to be fair, he might have thought there wasn't enough time to get the second goal and that it would be as meaningless as all of his other goals in his career.
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
Harry freaking Kane. Missed most of the match between early morning car repair visit and class but did see enough to know that Congolese keeper must've been an acrobatic stuntman in a previous life. But Harry was not to be denied.
Next stop? Azteca. Amazing
Click to expand...
The winner was a freaking rocket, man. I can’t stand Harry and I was still impressed.
 
May be my red, white and blue-tinted glasses here, but I'm not sure I saw enough from Belgium to suggest they will trouble the U.S. that much, Balogun or no Balogun. Haven't been impressed with any match of theirs saved the outmatched Kiwis. The Egypt match was largely sluggish from them until the minutes leading up to the goal, though they were better after that. And the match vs Iran was dreadful.
 
That Balogun red was a freaking joke. Especially when you didn’t even bother to look at Dzeko clattering into Adams’ head accidentally on purpose or to book any of the fifty million shirt pulls from Bosnia. The only way that’s a red is if the VAR ref wanted it to be a red going into the review and was looking for a way to justify his position.

That said, it was a really professional performance from the US and they kept their cool even after getting comprehensively hosed. Pulisic obviously doesn’t have 5th gear, but he didn’t look awful and badly needed to get something like a full run-out under his belt. Belgium have the finishing to make anybody’s life miserable, but they honestly seem to hate each other, their D are meh and their tactics are tired. The US have also been great at forcing teams to run with them and the Belgians seem completely uninterested in that thus far in the tournament. It’s all right there for the US if they can figure out how to menace and stretch that backline without Flo. Pepi looked like a zombie last night … I’d at least think about going to Wright. He’s better on set pieces and can be an annoyance physically, if nothing else. He also tends to step up for big occasions where Pepi seems to shrink a bit.
 
My thought exactly. Was surprised when the referee came out and ruled otherwise. 🤦 Such an awful way to watch the end of the international career of the legend that is Luca Modric.
 
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