2026 World Cup

[Welsh Exile]

Guys a West Ham legend. Good luck to him, he went to the one London club where he'll win things.

One of my West Ham mates (I have 2 lol) said that Matheus Fernandes is probably the most complete, high potential players he’s seen at the club for many years. Rates him higher than Rice. He knows I think Rice is overated though so could’ve just been stroking my ego as my other West Ham mate said he’s tripping.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I don't think anyone with a braincell cares that players born and raised in England play for them

This explains the amount of outrage in the football community, then

I don’t know why I’m talking to you about this. You don’t give a ****. I don’t give a **** to be honest.

This sums up the entire TRF experience - we should replace the logo with it

 

[Welsh Exile]

I see it’s getting to that stage of the tournament where me and @Leonormous Boozer boozer are going to fall out with all you dickheads. You’re all at “it’s coming home” stage and we can’t be having that amirite @Leonormous Boozer?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I do want to make it clear that I would still hate Rice regardless of the whole Ireland thing on account of him being gifted the ability to speak and how he chooses to use that gift

I see it’s getting to that stage of the tournament where me and @Leonormous Boozer boozer are going to fall out with all you dickheads. You’re all at “it’s coming home” stage and we can’t be having that amirite @Leonormous Boozer?

**** em

 

[Saintjay]

RFU - What we do is a we only pick players, playing in England

The FA - Lolz, STFU

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I see it’s getting to that stage of the tournament where me and @Leonormous Boozer boozer are going to fall out with all you dickheads. You’re all at “it’s coming home” stage and we can’t be having that amirite @Leonormous Boozer?

Been there since 1day after the last World Cup

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Been there since 1day after the last World Cup

I hate when I'm reminded of similarities between England and Leinster fans.

 

[Reiser99]

Probably the worst penalty of the tournament from Mbappe.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Don't ever remember a tournament with so many misses from the spots, even the shootouts have been low scoring.

Although having to wait a few business days for VAR can't have helped there.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Mbappe and Messi both messing them up - crazy, should basically be a guaranteed goal

 

[Welsh Exile]

Don't ever remember a tournament with so many misses from the spots, even the shootouts have been low scoring.

Although having to wait a few business days for VAR can't have helped there.

Interesting fact about the penalty spot. It's not like the other lines. You can't have the ball just over the edge. Part of the ball must be over the exact centre of the spot.
So the ref was right to make him move that.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing more misses?

 

[Welsh Exile]

When I say interesting I mean boring as ****.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Interesting fact about the penalty spot. It's not like the other lines. You can't have the ball just over the edge. Part of the ball must be over the exact centre of the spot.
So the ref was right to make him move that.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing more misses?

I was more talking about the 3min VAR check for a stonewall peno!

Only criticism of the ref is waiting until after the check to tell Mbappe to move the ball!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

21/60 penalties missed this tournament, mad

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Had to look up the Morocco's left backs name. The RTE commentator kept saying Saladin and that would have ended the European nations chances really.

 

[Reiser99]

Game over. France are the team to beat.

 

[OllyM97]

Game over. France are the team to beat.

Watched Spain/Belgium last night and France just look a level above them. Anything can happen in a one-off semi final but I’d have France as solid favourites.

As for the other SF, I’ve got a question for neutral members of the forum. If it is ends up being England/Argentina, what result would you prefer?.

 

[Welsh Exile]

33-0 Argentina.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Write Spain off at your peril. I agree France are favourites but Spain have only let in 1 goal all tournament.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

33-0 Argentina.

Would rather not have to sweat out that tight a fixture.

 

[nickp]

Watching the Telemundo coverage over the Fox Sports coverage of the World Cup

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

so every World Cup Americans will say what if our best athletes play soccer. then we'd have an mbappe or Haaland. I heard a really good counter to that yesterday. Our best athletes play gridiron, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey (in certain states).

no one else other than Canada plays gridiron so we obviously are better than everyone else so who cares.

baseball: best player is Japanese and he's the best player by a wide margin. We aren't that much better as a team than them.

ice hockey: Canada definitely has the best players but we have better depth and better goaltending

basketball: most of the best players are not American and the best Americans right now tend to be guys of above average athleticism. We have better depth so we win the olympics.

we are good at producing 2nd tier talent but not elite. If our best athletes played soccer we'd be better but we probably wouldn't be consistent semi-finalists.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Would probably have an amazing rugby team though.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

Would probably have an amazing rugby team though.

I think we'd be England. Lots of good athletes who know a system but just don't have that special flair that breaks games.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I think we'd be England. Lots of good athletes who know a system but just don't have that special flair that breaks games.

I reckon you’d be up there with SA.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Klopp apparently set to become the next Germany manager. England better make sure they win this WC because they won’t be winning any euros or world cups for a while now.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I came across a couple of random "best games of the World Cup so far" rankings. In almost all of them, Arg had 2 games in the top 5: Egypt and Cabo Verde.

What surprised me was that every list ranked the Cabo Verde match higher, and most of the comments seemed to agree. So I m curious: do non-Arges realize just how big, how massive, how absolutely gargantuan the game against Egypt was for us?

For many Argentinians, that match easily belongs in the same emotional tier as the final against France. It was a Round-of-16 game against a fairly ordinary opponent, played by a team that, on paper, had nothing left to prove. Yet somehow it became something much bigger than that.

At first I thought it was just my personal reaction in the moment. But from everything I ve read, watched, and discussed since then, the feeling seems almost unanimous among Arg fans. Journos, players and staff appear to agree, too.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I think it’s just that had Cape Verde won it probably would’ve gone down as the greatest WC upset ever.

I agree, though, the Egypt game was the better one

 

[Welsh Exile]

Who would you rather play in the semis @Cruz_del_Sur ?

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I think it’s just that had Cape Verde won it probably would’ve gone down as the greatest WC upset ever.

I agree, though, the Egypt game was the better one

I understand that. The thing is, it was 79 min, 2-0 down, half the planet was counting us out on live tv while the other half was waiting for the whistle to laugh us. Chileans, colombians, mexicans and uruguayans (thou not brazilians!) were all drooling. It was so close they could taste it. i've spent more time watching people's reactions during/after the comeback that repeats from the game itself. Havent laughed so hard in a long time. priceless stuff.

One of those fancy computer simulations thingies estimated the probabilities of turning it around (at the time) was 0.6%. This is a team that plays for him. They would jump in front a bus for him. And this was a pretty pathetic way for him to end such a particular carreer. But they said, not today and it was all, everything, for him. He delivers, he's humble, no alcohol/drugs/etc problems, family man, he doesnt go out claiming he's the best, he shuts up and plays. Sure, he's not perfect, but he's a pretty damn good role model. And sure, we will lose eventually, we know that. But if we are going out, this is how we want to do it. All in, no regrets. That is what we ask from them and that is what they delivered.

And i get the cabo verde feeling. Thing is, I never, not once during the entire game, felt 'jsesus christ, they are going to beat us'. It was more along the lines of '****, this is going to take longer than we expected'. It was annoying and inconvenient, but never dangerous. At least not the way we felt.