wow, can fifa make a call to the video room and cancel the penalty? should be 2-0 ecuador inside of 15 minutes.

well, 2-0 at the half...still never saw an offside in the 3rd minute. the qatar GK is tragic on high balls; to be fair, many GKs from much more football-pedigree nations are also weak on high balls. maybe qatar would have had it better if this match was in june, after ecuador's players dealt with a full club season and fatigue.

The player "streaking towards the goal at full speed" isn't the primary one responsible for staying onside, is it?

_________________

like the over in tomorrow morning's england x iran. more times than not, the 3 lions flatter to deceive on paper, against inferior opponents and squeak out 1-0, 2-0 victories. england will hit the bar twice, the post once, goal called back due to offsides. i'd like to think they'd be more relaxed in group play as opposed to knock-out matches. to me, for decades, iran was like today's qatar; blown away by much more skilled and fit players. they qualify for the wc just about every time and gain experience. they have more players in europe, than ever. can't see them winning, but maybe a goal losing 1-2, 1-3. i also like the usa or draw, not sure here.

England coming out hot...3-0 start, plus Iran's starting goalie got knocked out with a concussion. 14 minutes of stoppage time due to that.

_________________

easy win, england went over by themselves by the half. DVRed the match, ian darke had to tolerate landon donovan's american soccer accumen. dvr started after the national anthems and darke said some iranians were booing their own anthem. maybe much more turmoil in the iran camp than anticipated, due to domestic issues. usually, they all toe the line. english media has picked up american criticism of fox world cup coverage.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11452901/World-Cup-FOX-Sports-SLAMMED-soccer-fans-TV-coverage-drops-multiple-times.html

speaking of national anthems - fifa makes billions off nationalism, yet they are trying to dampen nationalism. for awhile, there was talk of eliminating national anthems before matches. infantino with ridiculous takes trying to protect the host nation and all it's criticisms. trying hard to be woke, then trying even harder to protect the host nation that the woke are attacking.

so far, so good. going to make a small play on the usa. leaned draw, want to cheer on the usa instead.

excellent first half from the usa. nice through-ball by pulisic and a sweet finish by weah. wales definitely pragmatic, played for 0-0, i don't believe they have the quality and mentality to force play. a 1-1 would have to come from an american mistake or a set-piece, don't see bale nor ramsey able to work individual magic.

Why isn't Freddy Adu playing?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

freddy tore a hamstring running to first base.

F this shitty typical US team. Get a lead and then sit back and wait to get scored on for 45 minutes and then pick up a terrible penalty with 10 minutes left.

I wish we lived in a country where the moron who got the penalty would be shot when he returned to his home country.

_________________

That was an egregiously stupid penalty.

_________________

agreed...dumb foul, went through bale - and bale with back to goal. entertaining match, great tempo. no pulisic, no american goal, but i thought he has poor for the other 89 minutes. kudos to wales, they gave their best to come back and they accomplished that.

From a guy who should have known better.

Pulisic is a pussy btw.

_________________

agreed. very hard to do for many nations - how to play with a lead, how to play for a draw. the fact is wales isn't a world-beater, so, disappointing from the usa. usa hit the post and scored with weah, i don't believe they forced the wales Gk to make any saves.

Poor stuff from Pulisic today. He’s becoming another Landon Donovan, but at least Donovan got to shine a bit in 2002 and 2010.

This should’ve ended 2-0. Keeping Wales alive is good for the tournament though. It increases the stakes for their match against England.

Everybody needs to lay off the LeBron James of soccer. I’m missing my number 1 hated US player Jozy Altidore.

Soccer guy, do I pull the trigger on a play on Poland today?

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

wow, argentina with a big hiccup. this has to be the biggest intl. football upset in recent years. similar to 2014, they needed an injury time messi goal to defeat iran, 1-0. this time, not even good enough for a late draw. denmark lived a charmed life at the last euro, no charm today. a desperate side needing handball calls as their only path to scoring, irritating.

mexico with it's dodgiest side in years, while my favorite poland player of the past 10 years, grosicki, not starting. he's old, about as old as lewandowski, lewandowski starts. if he gets no service, he won't score and grosicki serves. the poland manager not starting his juventus duo, milik and sczcesny.

only game i played today was france. small play. so far, 3 (ecuador, over england, england) -1 (usa) and bankroll at +1280.

poland x mexico dull match. dodgy penalty given, ochoa the man of the moment. poland's mentality would have been better against a better mexico, mexico not good enough to constantly attack and get caught out for counters. lewandowski is the example of club football x NT football. going forward, each side with a chance to redeem themselves.

Odds are decreased but I prefer two way bets where the tie is a voided bet.

_________________

Is it too much for Australia to pull off another huge upset today? I hope they can but I don't think France will let their foot off the pedal.

France is really good, and still have a bunch of youth from the last WC on their side.

_________________

Sounds like FIFA is cracking down on armbands that support any cause opposed by the host country. Nice "sport" you have there.

_________________

It's a confusing moment for The Woke. Do they attempt to colonize a Muslim nation by imposing Western sexual mores?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

The governing body of their tournament is threatening to sanction anyone who attempts to exercise free speech. My guess is most nations outside the United States don't care. Confusing indeed.

I wonder if the July types will continue to watch?

_________________

If you didn’t know FIFA was the most corrupt and morally bankrupt organization in the history of the world I don’t know what to tell you.

The Olympics say hi.

How do you feel about the crackdown on free speech? I know you are pretty liberal, will you still watch?

_________________

Saager is having a lot of fun with his I Told You So moment on Qatar. I was ready for it.

But hey, 2026 is gonna be…somethin.

You beat me to Olympics.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

If the Olympics were more corrupt they'd have already taken place in Qatar. The IOC wish they could have received the bribes FIFA did. As part of the bid Qatar said they could still hold it in the summer in 130 degree heat because they had the technology to make artificial clouds and would be able to air condition open air stadiums. FIFA was like, "sounds legit," and took the money. Sure, China totally lied about their snow making capabilities for the last Winter Olympics, but they still had snow.

I'm watching, every big sport is a different kind of cesspool. Sucks for free speech but I enjoy Qatar showing their asses while making FIFA look like shit at the same time. I could have told you the minute they were awarded the WC they wouldn't sell beer, no matter what they agreed to. The Crown Prince of Qatar, or who ever the royal in charge is, is completely gay. Before he took the throne he had a huge party yacht they'd take out into the Gulf with a bunch of dudes in the morning, fish all day and fuck all night.