World Cup and European leagues

[Hopkins92]

Coming here to type almost a verbatim post, Kuiper.  I would add that the GK they subbed off was having the night of his life. He was on fire and had what was probably the save of the tournament so far.

Coach over-thought a host of issues for the PK, but taking out a guy that was having a HEROIC night was the biggest issue I have.

Sometimes, when you have a plan, the greatest strength a coach can display is the ability to improvise and read the moment.

Huge fail on a bunch of fronts from him.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

E1 Germany      1(3) 
                     | Paraguay    
D3 Paraguay     1(4) |             |
I1 France        3                 |            
                     | France      |            |
F3 Sweden        0   |                          |
A2 South Africa  0                              |       
                     | Canada                   |   |
B2 Canada        1   |             |            |   |
F1 Netherlands  1(2)               |            |
                     | Morocco     |
C2 Morocco      1(3) |


K2 Portugal      2   
                     | Portugal    
L2 Croatia       1   |             |
H1 Spain         3                 |            
                     | Spain       |            |
J2 Austria       0   |                          |    |
D1 United States 2                              |    |         
                     | USA                      |
B3 Bos & Herz    0   |             |            |
G1 Belgium       3                 |            |
               a.e.t | Belgium     |
I3 Senegal       2   |


C1 Brazil        2   
                     | Brazil       
F2 Japan         1   |             |
E2 Cote D'Ivoire 1                 |            
                     | Norway      |            |
I2 Norway        2   |                          |
A1 Mexico        2                              |    
                     | Mexico                   |    |
E3 Ecuador       0   |             |            |    |
L1 England       2                 |            |
                     | England     |
K3 DR Congo      1   |


J1 Argentina     3   
               a.e.t | Argentina   
H2 Cabo Verde    2   |             |
D2 Australia    1(2)               |            
                     | Egypt       |            |
G2 Egypt        1(4) |                          |    |
B1 Switzerland   2                              |    |         
                     | Switzerland              |
J3 Algeria       0   |             |            |
K1 Colombia      1                 |            |
                     | Colombia    |
L3 Ghana         0   |


#1 vs #2: 3-1
#1 vs #3: 7-1
#2 vs #2: 4
Remaining
#1: 10
#2: 5
#3: 1


    R16/R32/Total
UEFA: 7/13/16 (Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, B&H eliminated)
CONMEBOL: 4/5/6 (Ecuador)
CONCACAF: 3/3/6 (none)
CAF: 2/9/10 (S Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Cape Verde, Algeria, Ghana)
AFC: 0/2/9 (Australia, Japan)
OFC: 0/0/1 (N/A)

[Kuiper]

That Argentina-Cape Verde game was an instant classic.  It was no low block and chaos ball game by a minnow either.  For many parts of the game, they were legitimately better than Argentina and their second goal to tie up the game in extra time was the most highly skilled, perfect, delivery, of any player on the pitch that night.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Cape Verde faced the #1, 2, and 16 ranked teams who have a combined 6 WC titles and none of them could beat the Blue Sharks in regulation. Plus they scored a total of 4 goals on them.

[Ron Boerger]

And I hope Vozinha (Cape Verde GK) gets paid somewhere after this.  He doesn't belong in the second division of Portugese ball, but even with his outstanding performance throughout the WC he probably won't get a first division look due to his age. 

[Hopkins92]

I would think someone might bring him in as a one season insurance plan AND his leadership/personality. Not to mention a little media/branding pop.

Part of me thinks a team like Wrexham pulls him in.

[Kuiper]

And I hope Vozinha (Cape Verde GK) gets paid somewhere after this.  He doesn't belong in the second division of Portugese ball, but even with his outstanding performance throughout the WC he probably won't get a first division look due to his age. 

Actually, Vozinha is out of contract and came into the World Cup without a club.  Someone definitely needs to pick him up.

[jknezek]

I'm happy for the team and for Balogun, but FIFA should not have suspended the red card. While I think the call was overly harsh, it was not unjustifiable, and that really should be the standard. You have to support the refs or the game loses integrity. Especially when it looks like you are favoring the host nation.

Happy to have him back, but I think it was the wrong thing to do. I also think it just gave Belgium some more motivation.

[stlawus]

Doesn't even have to do with the card itself, it was the improper use of VAR.  Immediately after the call was made you saw tons of former refs and officials say that it was the wrong call because they incorrectly applied VAR.  Even Clattenburg himself said as much on the broadcast.  The game lost integrity by the ref incorrectly using VAR so I don't see why the ref should be supported when he didn't abide by the rules in the first place.

If Belgium couldn't even be motivated to play a world cup knockout game before this then yikes.

[kevdog]

Doesn't even have to do with the card itself, it was the improper use of VAR.  Immediately after the call was made you saw tons of former refs and officials say that it was the wrong call because they incorrectly applied VAR.  Even Clattenburg himself said as much on the broadcast.  The game lost integrity by the ref incorrectly using VAR so I don't see why the ref should be supported when he didn't abide by the rules in the first place.

If Belgium couldn't even be motivated to play a world cup knockout game before this then yikes.

Exactly. According to what other refs were saying that they use the VAR wrong. As they said it was a bang bang play and both were going for the ball. In a play like that VAR is not suppose to be slow down frame by frame like this ref did. Also this ref has been involved in a huge scandal of card fixing although he was not found guilty. Add to the fact that Messi did the exact same thing and got nothing and Ronaldo was suppose to be out for 3 games due to a red card he got in the last qualifying game but it was suspended too. I think also after the France/Paraguary game yesterday FIFA wants to get things right

[Kuiper]

The issue with the decision to reverse the suspension is not really whether it was the right call or not in the first place.  It's whether the disciplinary committee chose to review the punishment and reduce it because of outside pressure or bias. 

As far as the game itself, it certainly will give Belgium extra motivation, but it's an interesting question how much it affected each side because of when it came down.  Both sides developed game plans based on what they knew about who was available.  There's always the chance of injury etc that can disrupt those, so you have to be adaptable, but the US didn't really have a like-for-like sub for Bolagun.  On the one hand, that means Belgium has to change its defensive plan on a day's notice.  On the other hand, it also means the US likely will change its approach that it practiced all week, although it is going back to what it has been playing, so it's an easier transition.  Bottom line is that while Bolagun is very good and clearly our best striker, it's not like he's Erving Haaland (beating Brazil today with a brace!). We weren't doomed without him and we aren't saved with him.

[jknezek]

Doesn't even have to do with the card itself, it was the improper use of VAR. Immediately after the call was made you saw tons of former refs and officials say that it was the wrong call because they incorrectly applied VAR.  Even Clattenburg himself said as much on the broadcast.  The game lost integrity by the ref incorrectly using VAR so I don't see why the ref should be supported when he didn't abide by the rules in the first place.

If Belgium couldn't even be motivated to play a world cup knockout game before this then yikes.

Nowhere does FIFA claim this. Here is the statement:

"By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year."

They gave no reason for lifting the suspension, they just did it. And that's causing a lot of uproar. So you can argue that it was because of VAR, or you can argue it was because it was a soft call, or you can simply call it ridiculous like 90%+ of the world is doing, because they didn't say why it happened. All they said is, we are undoing what was done by the referee on the field in terms of the suspension. The red card was still given and exists, the punishment was simply suspended.

I repeat, I'm happy for the team and player, it was a very harsh result from the ref, but that doesn't mean what FIFA did was a good idea and it will forever open FIFA up to even more suspicion.

As for the second highlight, Belgium walloped us 5-1 just a few months ago. It wasn't even competitive. It was a slaughter. I now the U.S. team is playing significantly better and differently now, but that result was definitely hanging around in Belgium's minds. As was the fact that the U.S. hasn't really beat a quality opponent to get to this point. Australia and Paraguay are both mid teams with little offense, and Turkey, in a nonsense game, more than held there own in a B team to B team win. The U.S. beat one of, if not the, weakest UEFA team in the tournament in B-H. We were in a great position to be underestimated, especially without our best forward.

This decision changes all of that. Belgium, and 90% of the world, is going to want to beat the "cheaters." And yes, I know the team didn't cheat, but that's going to be the view, especially now that the President is mixed up in the decision. So yeah, Belgium were going to be up to play a sweet 16 World Cup game, but now they are going to be motivated to beat a team they likely would have underestimated.

I still think the game is roughly a toss-up. If we can get at their backline with pressure, I think we will be ok. If Lukaku can run at our backline, I think we will be in trouble. Both teams have a similar weakness in the back, and we will see who can take advantage of it best.

[Gregory Sager]

Bottom line is that while Bolagun is very good and clearly our best striker, it's not like he's Erving Haaland (beating Brazil today with a brace!). We weren't doomed without him and we aren't saved with him.

That's fair. Balogun certainly isn't Haaland. Then again, at this point there aren't any more than two or three strikers on the planet who deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Erling Haaland.

Incidentally, speaking as a North Park fan, it's obvious that the three teams I've rooted for in this World Cup are the United States, Sweden, and Norway. Pretty excited about what Erling & Co. did to the Brazilians yesterday! Norway, which only has a population roughly the same size as South Carolina's, is the 31st-ranked team in the FIFA international standings. Getting to the World Cup quarterfinals, and beating Brazil in the process, is an amazing accomplishment for such an underpopulated and lightly-regarded country.

Yesterday, however, I adopted a fourth team, England, because I understand the principle of rivalry. In hockey I always root against Canada, and in soccer I always root against Mexico. So I was certainly pleased to see the Three Lions take down Mexico, especially in the stadium with possibly the greatest home-team advantage in international play, Azteca.

Belgium, and 90% of the world, is going to want to beat the "cheaters." And yes, I know the team didn't cheat, but that's going to be the view, especially now that the President is mixed up in the decision.

Well, at least we'll still have the Congolese in our corner. Trump may be Trump, but he's no King Leopold.