Morocco, despite having a lot less of the ball, seemed worth at least a draw
Quote from: Ged on December 06, 2022, 08:19:06 pmAs for France, they lost to Tunisia. So clearly not that superior.Very much not a full strength team (they were already through) and maybe lacking in commitment as well.This from the Guardian live reporting made me laugh:'France are currently playing like a tribute act to the normal starting XI. Very much the Friday night at a working men’s club version of Mbappe et al. I am not sure you could charge entry.'
As for France, they lost to Tunisia. So clearly not that superior.
Quote from: moose on December 06, 2022, 08:49:04 pmMorocco, despite having a lot less of the ball, seemed worth at least a draw Plus some remarkable goalkeeping in the penalties. Big man, moves fast.
Quote from: IanP on December 06, 2022, 09:30:07 pmQuote from: Ged on December 06, 2022, 08:19:06 pmAs for France, they lost to Tunisia. So clearly not that superior.Very much not a full strength team (they were already through) and maybe lacking in commitment as well.This from the Guardian live reporting made me laugh:'France are currently playing like a tribute act to the normal starting XI. Very much the Friday night at a working men’s club version of Mbappe et al. I am not sure you could charge entry.'Good quote True about France not being a full strength team in that game, but I think that's an important point - once you get past their starting 11 the quality really plummets, leaving them not many options for substitutes to make an impact late in the game, or rotation to avoid players becoming injured or fatigued. This is typically key to success in a tournament.
How many posts about the football is it ok to have before a reminder about the corruption and death is required; or are we on to the “enjoying the sausage without thinking about what’s in it” stage? 😄
What they have proved is that they are very rich and very good at organising things, with the event, the stadia, infrastructure and service for the event being exceptional. Loads of reports about it being the best experience of a WC many fans have had, especially women who appear to like the fact that its not full of pissed up blokes.
The money is pretty much irrelevant to them though. Think they made 20- 30 billion extra in last year due to gas price rises so we have all paid for it anyway.
the best experience of a WC many fans have had, especially women who appear to like the fact that its not full of pissed up blokes
...a very clumsy take on football in the UK (to be polite)... a small number of football fans, far far away from a "majority"
Quotethe best experience of a WC many fans have had, especially women who appear to like the fact that its not full of pissed up blokesCan't believe you've not been pulled up on this, I was told it was: Quote...a very clumsy take on football in the UK (to be polite)... a small number of football fans, far far away from a "majority"On the plus side apart from the school debacle it's been easy enough to forget it's happening.
there is no moral consistency between boycotting Qatar, but watching the next world cup in the US, given the number of their laws that are pretty unpleasant as well. (Guns, abortion...).
Quote from: Johnny Brown on December 08, 2022, 10:50:41 amQuotethe best experience of a WC many fans have had, especially women who appear to like the fact that its not full of pissed up blokesCan't believe you've not been pulled up on this, I was told it was: Quote...a very clumsy take on football in the UK (to be polite)... a small number of football fans, far far away from a "majority"On the plus side apart from the school debacle it's been easy enough to forget it's happening.Fair enough, happy to take responsibility for that second quote - although I hadn't yet read that post re. pissed up blokes.I've not been following overly closely what fans have been saying about this world cup experience vs previous ones. However, from what I have seen, the reason for enjoyment of this world cup seems to be a range of factors, including easy public transit, low petty crime rates, etc. But there has been less (violent) trouble than at other world cups, so I'm guess it is making a difference to some people. On the other hand, the number of violent fans in football, and specifically at world cups, is still a minority. Yes it occurs, and involves a few hundred fans, but hundreds of thousands of fans attend these tournaments. I would argue that if you asked fans at previous tournaments how safe they felt, a lot more would have quoted pickpockets and muggings (ie. not football related issues) as things that made them feel unsafe, compared to those who would cite fan trouble. I imagine people would still be saying it was their best experience at a world cup, for other reasons, even if there was the usual level of fan trouble.So yes, less fan trouble is good for everyone. I have no issue with addressing it when it occurs, as it is unacceptable. But don't paint everyone with the same brush - to directly address the original quote: football is never "full of pissed up blokes". They just steal the headlines
Think the app issue was one game or a couple and nothing compared to the issues at euro final or champions league mess in Paris.
Quote from: TobyD on December 08, 2022, 10:01:18 am there is no moral consistency between boycotting Qatar, but watching the next world cup in the US, given the number of their laws that are pretty unpleasant as well. (Guns, abortion...). Wow that’s a pretty hefty false equivalence there Toby!
Think the last time the WC functioned as outreach in this way was probably 2002 in South Korea and they now consistently reach the knockout stages, and Japan are handy too.