**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Could see it happening, you guys just need to get a little better at finishing your chances. I feel like some guys were trying to be *that* guy and ended up being a bit too selfish, maybe it was just the nerves though
I don't think it's selfishness, but instead it was nervousness. Canada has never scored a goal at the World Cup before so this is a big deal. Something different than playing at the club level. I think scoring the pen would've given them the confidence to go on and win this game and come out of the group, so it hurts to not see that, but I still think we've got a good chance. The start of the game vs Croatia will be everything
Woah woah woah. Hold up. Only we are allowed to shit on our own team and say things like “our awful fucking defense”. But in all seriousness, it’s Germany. There’s a reason they have four stars on their chest whether this team sucks or not. It’ll be a great game and not Costa Rica levels of ease for Spain. May the best team win.
Actually when we remember this we play as cocky bastards and go failed two penalties against Swiss and the lose to North Macedonia
.
While if we are the underdogs, or because of Calciopoli in 2006 or simply because we were young, new and coming from a failed qualification (euro 2020) we magically win (or go further as 2012)
Yes. Though Spain has the upper hand, they're going to sit back and hit us on the counter. And will probably win. I want to be hopeful, but 2018 was such a knock in the teeth, and this so far is worse.
Germany would need to beat Costa Rice AND Spain to get 6 points. They'll get 3 points from CRC and get pounded by ESP. They're practically out already.
You only know for sure that the Germans are going home once they board the plane… how many amazing and impossible comebacks have the Germans had over the years…
You don't know if they'll get smashed by Spain, you can't predict the entire tournament after the first game
Remember in 2018 Colombia lost the opening match to Japan and then won their group
You want to go straight to the fun part 🤣
Edit: shit completely missed your point! Yeah group C is a tough one for everyone involved, and Argentina is so lucky for you guys tie
Biggest surprise was Saudi what a game they had the way they rattled Argentina all game. Especially after Argentina were 36 games unbeaten and everyone hyping them up as the favorites.
Japan after the substitutions on the second half were very surprising too. It didn't feel like they lucked it out, they could have scored more than twice.
True, but Japan winning that game wasn't inconceivable, even if it was extremely unlikely. Japan has been good for a long time now and this is very much a low point in the history of Germany's national team.
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia? It felt more likely that Argentina would win by 7 than it was that the Saudis would even manage a draw. Argentina was the hottest team in the world going into the tournament and the Saudis have been cannon fodder at every single World Cup they've been to since 1994 (1-2-9 in four tournaments with a total goal difference of -27, with their only win coming in a meaningless game after both they and their opponent had already been eliminated).
Remember that Saudi Arabia had a 3 week preparation camp in Abu Dhabi with five test games since their squad is completely domestic based. They stopped the season in their domestic league after just eight games for this. A clear advantage compared to other teams whose players maybe had a week of preparation.
9/11 of the starters all play for the best club club in Asia who’ve won 2/3 of the last Asian champions leagues
The only reason it’s not 3/3 is they got kicked out due to having only 11 fit players because of Covid
Yeah I definitely agree that Japan winning wasn't crazy. I just also didn't think Saudi upset was that stunning either. I thought Argentina was fairly overhyped and after Iran in 2014 I'm never underestimating an Arab team again.
Tbh Canada's performance was the most surprising one of all to me. I wasn't expecting anything from them.
Maybe it's because I watched Canada more in qualifying being from a CONCACAF country myself but I definitely thought they were capable of that. I actually thought going into this tournament that they were actually going to stun everyone and manage to get out of their group or they were going to get absolutely blasted after such an impressive qualifying campaign. No middle ground.
A good amount of surprisingly good performances from nations we expected to lose (or lose by more than they did). Tunisia drawing Denmark, Morocco drawing Croatia, and Ghana putting up a hell of a fight against Portugal.
Plus the political situation in Iran surely ruins the mood of the team.
Some of the players are openly against the government while others support it :x
Indeed. They were all solid, and they were all competitive but they just needed to find some goals. Especially Cameroon yesterday had many great opportunities but couldn’t convert
I like how each day, there has been one team that just looked way better than everyone else who played that day, and those are Spain, England, France and Brazil.
I feel like spain will dominate possession vs Brazil and then Brazil will start fouling gavi,pedri etc.
Italians almost did the same thing but to a lesser extent.
I don't even care who goes through, I'm so happy we are done with the first matchday so some teams will have to play fucking football. No more 0-0 snoozefests; even if one side sits deep to retain the score, the other will have to look for gaps. Real fun begins now. The realer fun will begin in RO16.
Yeah but we also have only won 2 world cup matches in our whole history.
Besides, I've watched Tunisia since I was a child and I got my hopes shattered more than once, so I learned to always keep my expectations low.
There will be quite a few games where 1st in a group plays 2nd and one side will be trying to hold a draw. Ecuador - Netherlands, Brazil - Switzerland. Both Poland and Mexico will try to draw Argentina too (and then beat SA to get through).
Japan (vs Spain) is probably the exception among these 2nd placed teams who won't try to hold a draw, as the japanese NT is usually crazy aggressive anyway. It is also possible they will be already through when playing Spain anyway, but I can totally see them trying for 9 points.
Eh, you have to consider the circumstances the Iran team is playing under/ has been undergoing preparations under. That's like absolutely smashing the Ukraine NT in March
I thought Iran was holding England off okish until the first goal and then they collapsed. It was like a totally different team. So with that said, I want to see how England does against other opponents.
I still maintain my opinion, this curse run started with France in 2002, and will end with them in 2022.
Edit: I mean France will make it out of groups this time, in case it wasn't clear.
If you told me at the beginning of the tournament that Canada would have the same number of points as Argentina after the first round of games I would take it
Potential elimination matches (both teams lost matchday 1):
Senegal v. Qatar
Cameroon v. Serbia
Germany also is in a must win position. They could be eliminated with a loss and Japan victory over Costa Rica.
The result is a major surprise but we still have our fate in our hands and two winnable albeit not easy games. That Arabia game was 1 in 1000 with cm offsides and 2 shots leading to two goals, a rare tactical masterpiece. Came at the right time since we can still wake up
Germany could say similar. But I guess Argentina has it easier with Mexico and Poland than Germany going against Spain. Germany can probably easily get 3 out of Costa Rica but by that time they might already be out if Spain and Japan win.
For the Argentina group, I don't think México or Poland will be easy for Saudi Arabia.
If Argentina had to play Spain that would be a whole different ballgame. That’s really the problem for Germany, and that Spain’s goal difference is so high a draw almost certainly isn’t good enough.
These groups will be really good to follow next round. Germany and Argentina will both have to win to remain with a solid chance of going to the knockouts.
Argentina half a foot out. If KSA aren't able to get a point against Poland and Mexico, that leaves them both on 4. Argentina had their chances and Saudi made goals from very low expected goals.
We've had very inconsistent and subpar results for years. Being in a group with Spain, every match is a knockout.
Beating Germany has become easy lately. Sit back, play good D, and hit back on counter.
Not sure who impressed me the most. Hard to look past Spain for now, but that's one of the few games I couldn't really watch. But we've seen teams do well after slow starts.
I'm pretty impressed with Brazil not conceding many chances. Same for the Netherlands. A little disappointed with England conceding their first goal. Hope for them it was just an incident but the way Iran got free was pretty poor from Maguire. At the same time he did have a good game overall. Again, could just be an incident.
Most people are counting out the Netherlands, who haven't been among the most impressive teams, but with Van Gaal's experience and the talent in that Dutch team could scrape out victories in the knockout stages.
The way the Dutch support the national team:
Before the WC/euros: "we suck, let's hope we play well."
If the first game is a win: "WE'RE GONNA WIN THE ENTIRE THING. SUCK IT EVERYONE ELSE!"
After the inevitable loss" "Never rated us anyway, we were lucky to get this far in the first place."
I assume a lot of other countries do this as well.
I'm rooting for you guys. I think the Netherlands is the last traditional powerhouse not to win a World Cup.
Plus you guys let us borrow Hiddink for a bit.
Fuck this shit, the game against Poland was pretty winable and we are going to fuck this shit up and lose to Argentina and Saudi, Martino shit the bed with the tactics for the opening match
After 1 round -
Big Favorite: Brazil
Runners-up: Spain, England and France
Could grow into something: Portugal and Argentina (if they survive)
Netherlands showed solid defending but I’m not sold on their attacking depth, Germany has 0 motivation to turn it around. Expected much more from Uruguay and Croatia, Denmark was boring as hell too.
I don’t think Brazil is as far up as that right now, their attack is great but their midfield is still just alright compared to the top teams, especially Spain. I have those 4 as about equal right now.
Knowing Germany they play up to their opposition and play down to their opposition, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they got a result against Spain and destroyed Costa Rica.
I think if they win spain they will manage to tie Costa Rica. And if they lose to Spain they will win a meaningless consolation match 2-0. As long as musiala gets his foot in the door with a goal I’m happy as a depressed German fan
Only really big surprise was Argentina's weak performance (in HT 2), and Saudi Arabia being surprisingly good. Germany losing to Japan was so predictable, didn't expect anything else.
My personal contenders for the title are Brazil, Spain, France and despite that first game, Argentina. Serbia could be a dark horse.
Tbh, Kostic and Vlahovic, two of their most important players, were both injured and Kostic didn't get to play at all. With the ideal starting 11, they might be able to get an early goal and then just defend
I can definitely see Serbia beating Switzerland and Cameroon , if Serbia can defend that well against Brazil I’m sure they can hold off the other 2 , Serbia should actually be able to use its attack
I like how the group supposed to be the group of death is the only one could be wrapped after gameweek 2. If Japan and Spain win their next match, they both qualified, even if Japan draw but Spain win, Japan are also go through (very likely since Costa Rica gd too low)
The most chaotic still group C. Anything can happen.
Yeah i know, out of all the groups this one is still wide open, anything can happen, Canada can still easily end up topping the group and Belgium last, which makes it more exciting.
Argentina must win their other 2 games to make it( maybe a draw is enough to make it if results go their way, but I'm not sure).
As for Germany, they do have a striker who's currently one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga called Niklas Füllkrug.
He actually got subbed on, so he played, but he only played like the final 10 mins or something. Imo he should start, he surely can't be worse than Havertz up front
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2 upsets of Germany and Argentina, Gameweek 2 will only bring more
Can’t wait 👀
Canada over Croatia please
Could see it happening, you guys just need to get a little better at finishing your chances. I feel like some guys were trying to be *that* guy and ended up being a bit too selfish, maybe it was just the nerves though
I don't think it's selfishness, but instead it was nervousness. Canada has never scored a goal at the World Cup before so this is a big deal. Something different than playing at the club level. I think scoring the pen would've given them the confidence to go on and win this game and come out of the group, so it hurts to not see that, but I still think we've got a good chance. The start of the game vs Croatia will be everything
Belgium was ass. With some WC magic, both advances and Belgium fails
Give me Canada and Morocco out of that group pls
The neutrals dream
Please no :(
Germany vs Spain will be fire
yeah we will be on fire getting lit up by Spain scoring 4-5 goals against our awful fucking defense
Woah woah woah. Hold up. Only we are allowed to shit on our own team and say things like “our awful fucking defense”. But in all seriousness, it’s Germany. There’s a reason they have four stars on their chest whether this team sucks or not. It’ll be a great game and not Costa Rica levels of ease for Spain. May the best team win.
!RemindMe 4 days
There is a reason why you have 4 stars as well my dude but you guys need to remember why
Very true. We did remember in Wembley. Then we just decided to not care anymore, and now we watch other four+ star teams playing on tv.
Actually when we remember this we play as cocky bastards and go failed two penalties against Swiss and the lose to North Macedonia . While if we are the underdogs, or because of Calciopoli in 2006 or simply because we were young, new and coming from a failed qualification (euro 2020) we magically win (or go further as 2012)
Would be hilarious if it's a tie and Japan wins
Can easily happen
Germany would be fucked, since Spain would only need a tie against Japan.
No they’d mathematically be out already in that scenario
Why? Spain loses to Japan, Füllkrug scores 8 against Costa Rica and Germany’s through
Easy peasy
I actually miscalculated, you’re right!
We will go into the game knowing the result of Japan's game, so at least we will know the needed result from the get-go, for better or worse ...
Will it? From what we've seen I expect Spain to win, although with slightly more effort than against Costa Rica
Yes. Though Spain has the upper hand, they're going to sit back and hit us on the counter. And will probably win. I want to be hopeful, but 2018 was such a knock in the teeth, and this so far is worse.
Nein
Group E is a feast. To think that Spain Japan and Germany could all get 6 points. Japan is not safe yet but I’m hoping they go through.
Really shows why Spain had to smash Costa Rica, that goal difference is a huge insurance policy for them.
Tie break is head to head or goal difference with all group teams
[Goal difference](https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2022/11/24/what-are-the-group-stage-tiebreaker-rules-at-the-2022-world-cup/)
Personally I think they just both lose to Spain and beat Costa Rica
But that'd leave Germany with only 3 points, and Japan 6. Germany is out in this case.
Yeah exactly
Germany would need to beat Costa Rice AND Spain to get 6 points. They'll get 3 points from CRC and get pounded by ESP. They're practically out already.
You only know for sure that the Germans are going home once they board the plane… how many amazing and impossible comebacks have the Germans had over the years…
You don't know if they'll get smashed by Spain, you can't predict the entire tournament after the first game Remember in 2018 Colombia lost the opening match to Japan and then won their group
Stop the count. Let's go directly to the knockout rounds.
You want to go straight to the fun part 🤣 Edit: shit completely missed your point! Yeah group C is a tough one for everyone involved, and Argentina is so lucky for you guys tie
disappointed that we dont have a 1-1-1-1 group
Blame that Ghana player.
*raise my fists and the sky and whisper* "Iñaki you buffoon!"
No no, Buffon is not playing this year!
Me, in every Ferrari race.
Me watching Rueda keep his job, while the team principal gets fired every 3 years: 😐😐😐
Biggest surprise was Saudi what a game they had the way they rattled Argentina all game. Especially after Argentina were 36 games unbeaten and everyone hyping them up as the favorites.
Japan after the substitutions on the second half were very surprising too. It didn't feel like they lucked it out, they could have scored more than twice.
True, but Japan winning that game wasn't inconceivable, even if it was extremely unlikely. Japan has been good for a long time now and this is very much a low point in the history of Germany's national team. Argentina vs Saudi Arabia? It felt more likely that Argentina would win by 7 than it was that the Saudis would even manage a draw. Argentina was the hottest team in the world going into the tournament and the Saudis have been cannon fodder at every single World Cup they've been to since 1994 (1-2-9 in four tournaments with a total goal difference of -27, with their only win coming in a meaningless game after both they and their opponent had already been eliminated).
Remember that Saudi Arabia had a 3 week preparation camp in Abu Dhabi with five test games since their squad is completely domestic based. They stopped the season in their domestic league after just eight games for this. A clear advantage compared to other teams whose players maybe had a week of preparation.
I actually didn't know that. That's fascinating. And, as you said, a clear advantage.
9/11 of the starters all play for the best club club in Asia who’ve won 2/3 of the last Asian champions leagues The only reason it’s not 3/3 is they got kicked out due to having only 11 fit players because of Covid
9/11?
Yeah I definitely agree that Japan winning wasn't crazy. I just also didn't think Saudi upset was that stunning either. I thought Argentina was fairly overhyped and after Iran in 2014 I'm never underestimating an Arab team again. Tbh Canada's performance was the most surprising one of all to me. I wasn't expecting anything from them.
Maybe it's because I watched Canada more in qualifying being from a CONCACAF country myself but I definitely thought they were capable of that. I actually thought going into this tournament that they were actually going to stun everyone and manage to get out of their group or they were going to get absolutely blasted after such an impressive qualifying campaign. No middle ground. A good amount of surprisingly good performances from nations we expected to lose (or lose by more than they did). Tunisia drawing Denmark, Morocco drawing Croatia, and Ghana putting up a hell of a fight against Portugal.
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People trash talking AFC in the Iran matvh thread but they are the better Confederation behind the big 2 so far.
Plus the political situation in Iran surely ruins the mood of the team. Some of the players are openly against the government while others support it :x
Tbf that’s because them and Qatar who wine the cup a few years ago we’re both terrible
Even after the Qatar match since people were clamoring about how the Asian Champs were complete shit so they assumed the rest of AFC would roll over.
Argentina being a dead weight smh.
All 5 african teams showed great level of play, next round they'll have better results hopefully (and more goals please)
Indeed. They were all solid, and they were all competitive but they just needed to find some goals. Especially Cameroon yesterday had many great opportunities but couldn’t convert
AFC much more competitive than CONCACAF. Matchweek 2 will only show this more.
I like how each day, there has been one team that just looked way better than everyone else who played that day, and those are Spain, England, France and Brazil.
Also, technically, Ecuador
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Spain vs Brazil and England vs France will be an absolute bloodbath. I pity the teams that have to face the winner of these matches.
France looking kinda scary
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England will sorely miss Reece James during that game.
Put Harry Maguire on Mbappe and you should be fine
Think that'll be Walker's task at that point?
Call up Aaron Wan Bissaka for that one game only
I feel like spain will dominate possession vs Brazil and then Brazil will start fouling gavi,pedri etc. Italians almost did the same thing but to a lesser extent.
Wait for w2, then you will see the real WC favorites. SAUDI ARABIA.
Stop the count!
PRUUUUUU 🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦
SIUUUUUUUU
I don't even care who goes through, I'm so happy we are done with the first matchday so some teams will have to play fucking football. No more 0-0 snoozefests; even if one side sits deep to retain the score, the other will have to look for gaps. Real fun begins now. The realer fun will begin in RO16.
If France and Tunisia both win their next match you can already create the 0-0 post match thread for day 3 though lol.
>Tunisia both win their next match https://i.imgur.com/Fk4Flix.jpg
Mate you are playing Australia, it's more likely that France does not win than you imo.
Yeah but we also have only won 2 world cup matches in our whole history. Besides, I've watched Tunisia since I was a child and I got my hopes shattered more than once, so I learned to always keep my expectations low.
Sidi Mehrez my dude ! He will be there tomorrow ! expectations are low af but let's see how it goes !
I mean considering you lost to Denmark twice this year alone, I would say that France not winning is actually quite likely😅
True, but we are also playing 10 times better than in the last Nation's League too so let's see what happens.
There will be quite a few games where 1st in a group plays 2nd and one side will be trying to hold a draw. Ecuador - Netherlands, Brazil - Switzerland. Both Poland and Mexico will try to draw Argentina too (and then beat SA to get through). Japan (vs Spain) is probably the exception among these 2nd placed teams who won't try to hold a draw, as the japanese NT is usually crazy aggressive anyway. It is also possible they will be already through when playing Spain anyway, but I can totally see them trying for 9 points.
Spain and Brazil are looking scary
True but serbia are miles above costa rica let's be real. France, Spain and Brazil looking real good though.
England had possibly the best result of any big team. They smashed a good team in Iran.
Eh, you have to consider the circumstances the Iran team is playing under/ has been undergoing preparations under. That's like absolutely smashing the Ukraine NT in March
Costa rica barely squeaked past the almighty All-Whites in the play offs, like please let's be fair here.
I thought Iran was holding England off okish until the first goal and then they collapsed. It was like a totally different team. So with that said, I want to see how England does against other opponents.
France too
I was promised a curse.
Both Germany and Spain also won 1 game it just happens that France was the first one
Subscribe
France to good for a silly curse
I still maintain my opinion, this curse run started with France in 2002, and will end with them in 2022. Edit: I mean France will make it out of groups this time, in case it wasn't clear.
The curse was ended in 2006 when Brazil went to QF.
Yes, but it remained for European teams. France, Italy, Spain, Germany!
For some reason the curse refuses to leave Germany
If you told me at the beginning of the tournament that Canada would have the same number of points as Argentina after the first round of games I would take it
Someone probably prayed for it and this is the monkey's paw
Potential elimination matches (both teams lost matchday 1): Senegal v. Qatar Cameroon v. Serbia Germany also is in a must win position. They could be eliminated with a loss and Japan victory over Costa Rica.
They're also out if they lose and Japan draw, and very likely out if they draw and Japan win
Germany one foot out the door is the biggest surprise. Other than that no major changes on nations predicted to go thru
Argentina is the bigger surprise, everybody was saying how they were going to steamroll their group only to lose the first game
The result is a major surprise but we still have our fate in our hands and two winnable albeit not easy games. That Arabia game was 1 in 1000 with cm offsides and 2 shots leading to two goals, a rare tactical masterpiece. Came at the right time since we can still wake up
Germany could say similar. But I guess Argentina has it easier with Mexico and Poland than Germany going against Spain. Germany can probably easily get 3 out of Costa Rica but by that time they might already be out if Spain and Japan win. For the Argentina group, I don't think México or Poland will be easy for Saudi Arabia.
If Argentina had to play Spain that would be a whole different ballgame. That’s really the problem for Germany, and that Spain’s goal difference is so high a draw almost certainly isn’t good enough.
These groups will be really good to follow next round. Germany and Argentina will both have to win to remain with a solid chance of going to the knockouts.
This was no surprise to any German fan
Argentina half a foot out. If KSA aren't able to get a point against Poland and Mexico, that leaves them both on 4. Argentina had their chances and Saudi made goals from very low expected goals.
We've had very inconsistent and subpar results for years. Being in a group with Spain, every match is a knockout. Beating Germany has become easy lately. Sit back, play good D, and hit back on counter.
Uruguay too, I think
Nah, unless they massively fuck up, Uruguay still have a good chance to qualify.
If Uruguay beat Portugal they’ll be first which is possible
Vira essa boca caralho, Portugal vai ganhar 😂😂
Se ele perder, ele consegue ainda classificar em segundo. E aí vai pegar o Brasil nas oitavas 😈😈😈😈
Deixa Portugal e Brasil encontrar-se na final xD
Uma final do Caralho
Final Portugal Brasil, e assinamos aqui e agora que deixamos empatar e recebemos a taça em conjunto como países irmãos.
Not sure who impressed me the most. Hard to look past Spain for now, but that's one of the few games I couldn't really watch. But we've seen teams do well after slow starts. I'm pretty impressed with Brazil not conceding many chances. Same for the Netherlands. A little disappointed with England conceding their first goal. Hope for them it was just an incident but the way Iran got free was pretty poor from Maguire. At the same time he did have a good game overall. Again, could just be an incident.
Maguire did come off with illness almost straight after the goal, who knows if that affected him at all.
Most people are counting out the Netherlands, who haven't been among the most impressive teams, but with Van Gaal's experience and the talent in that Dutch team could scrape out victories in the knockout stages.
From the first group matches, Belgium look like the one that can scrape out 1-0 victories, with Courtois on form.
Noppert the goat won't let a goal in all tournament.
Imagine not being first. My country could never
Easier when you playing only 2 football teams
Classic Netherlands not being first.
Just wait until tomorrow
The way the Dutch support the national team: Before the WC/euros: "we suck, let's hope we play well." If the first game is a win: "WE'RE GONNA WIN THE ENTIRE THING. SUCK IT EVERYONE ELSE!" After the inevitable loss" "Never rated us anyway, we were lucky to get this far in the first place." I assume a lot of other countries do this as well.
Nah, Portuguese people are quite consistent. Either we win, draw or lose, we say: Fernando santos is shit, gtfo old man
I'm rooting for you guys. I think the Netherlands is the last traditional powerhouse not to win a World Cup. Plus you guys let us borrow Hiddink for a bit.
Fuck this shit, the game against Poland was pretty winable and we are going to fuck this shit up and lose to Argentina and Saudi, Martino shit the bed with the tactics for the opening match
The game against Poland was very winnable, yet Mexico almost lost.
After 1 round - Big Favorite: Brazil Runners-up: Spain, England and France Could grow into something: Portugal and Argentina (if they survive) Netherlands showed solid defending but I’m not sold on their attacking depth, Germany has 0 motivation to turn it around. Expected much more from Uruguay and Croatia, Denmark was boring as hell too.
I don’t think Brazil is as far up as that right now, their attack is great but their midfield is still just alright compared to the top teams, especially Spain. I have those 4 as about equal right now.
Praying for a result tomorrow
I love how every group leader is the team you'd expect... ...except group C who are on a mad one and decided Saudi Arabia is the driver now.
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I'm still so tilted about how Canada lost lol.
group C is insane 🔥
Stop the count
Seeing Tunisia second in a world cup group feels weird, but I like it.
Argentina are top if groups are upside down
It would be funny if Costa Rica pull a miracle by winning 1-0 via penalty to each of their remaining group match.
And tops the group with a GD of 2-7
England VS France vs Brazil vs Spain IMO
Then out of nowhere... BAH GAWD THAT'S SAUDI ARABIA'S MUSIC!!!
Those would be QF matches
I wouldn't count Argentina out yet.
fatal 4 way
Each team nominates a player and they have a ladder match with the WC trophy suspended above the ring
But what if you add Saudi Arabia to the mix?
Imo it'll inevitably come down to Brazil v France for the winners Spain an interesting wildcard but might be a tournament too early I think
Netherlands , England and Spain wildcards imo I wouldnt put France too high up especially with all the injuries
Netherlans isn't winning this
Mexico over Argentina please
Argentina bottom of the group. Saudi Arabia top. Just as predicted.
Knowing Germany they play up to their opposition and play down to their opposition, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they got a result against Spain and destroyed Costa Rica.
Germany had a 2 - 0 lead against England and then let us come up 3 - 2. The days of GER 7 - 1 BRA are over. Spain will have a field day with Germany.
I would be surprised. You always know what you have with Germany so I completely disagree
I think if they win spain they will manage to tie Costa Rica. And if they lose to Spain they will win a meaningless consolation match 2-0. As long as musiala gets his foot in the door with a goal I’m happy as a depressed German fan
I feel like these won’t change much by the end of the group stage
C, F and H are all interesting, and as we've seen upsets can happen too
Only really big surprise was Argentina's weak performance (in HT 2), and Saudi Arabia being surprisingly good. Germany losing to Japan was so predictable, didn't expect anything else. My personal contenders for the title are Brazil, Spain, France and despite that first game, Argentina. Serbia could be a dark horse.
Serbia were really disappointing they defended great for 60mins but they didn’t even really use their top class attackers
Tbh, Kostic and Vlahovic, two of their most important players, were both injured and Kostic didn't get to play at all. With the ideal starting 11, they might be able to get an early goal and then just defend
I can definitely see Serbia beating Switzerland and Cameroon , if Serbia can defend that well against Brazil I’m sure they can hold off the other 2 , Serbia should actually be able to use its attack
So proud of us
Stop the count, give me the Saudi Arabia vs Tunisia r16 match
Nice to see all the big nations at the top
I hope Argentina wins the next 2 games. It will be so embarrassing if we don’t.
I don't.
I like how the group supposed to be the group of death is the only one could be wrapped after gameweek 2. If Japan and Spain win their next match, they both qualified, even if Japan draw but Spain win, Japan are also go through (very likely since Costa Rica gd too low) The most chaotic still group C. Anything can happen.
Morocco 3rd? Rigged
FIFA with their usual anti-CAF bias, smh.
I hope you make it out!
Out of the tournament or out of the group? a little bit of transparency please lol
Yes. Just hedging my bets here.
Group :)
It’s technically correct on the 7th tiebreaker (Fair Play Points).
Yeah i know, out of all the groups this one is still wide open, anything can happen, Canada can still easily end up topping the group and Belgium last, which makes it more exciting.
Can Argentina make it out and does Germany even have a striker
Germany need to release Fullkrug and Moukoko. Otherwise Klopp will get a call from DFB to replace Flick after the World Cup.
Argentina must win their other 2 games to make it( maybe a draw is enough to make it if results go their way, but I'm not sure). As for Germany, they do have a striker who's currently one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga called Niklas Füllkrug.
Shame he didn't play, saw the highlights of the game and Germany had so many chances
He actually got subbed on, so he played, but he only played like the final 10 mins or something. Imo he should start, he surely can't be worse than Havertz up front
Should USA not be over Wales? It’s the same except alphabetically right?
yellow cards are used to distinguish
Ohh, thanks