Russia World Cup 2018

[Steamflogger Boss]

OMG. Please Australia, do it for everyone. Except French fans of course but they don't count. :p

Edit: Damn, the dream is dead.

[__SKYe]

Yeah, I had a bit of faith they'd draw the match at the end, but alas, France didn't give them many chances.
Let's see how Argentina-Iceland goes.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Iceland came to party. Well, that and defend.

[__SKYe]

That's to be expected, but they have had quite a few dangerous attacks, and I think they're playing quite well.
And after defending the penalty kick, they deserve the draw, at least. We'll see. It's been a good game so far.

[BIL]

Oh hey. ITV talky bloke said Iceland is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the finals, I always thought that was Jamaica (1998). edit: oh duh, by population.

[Steamflogger Boss]

That's to be expected, but they have had quite a few dangerous attacks, and I think they're playing quite well.
And after defending the penalty kick, they deserve the draw, at least. We'll see. It's been a good game so far.

Fantastic effort and their keeper is a gd hero. Would have been amazing if they could have won, but the draw is good enough for twitter trolling purposes.

[__SKYe]

Oh hey. ITV talky bloke said Iceland is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the finals, I always thought that was Jamaica (1998). edit: oh duh, by population.

Yeah, they really have a fantastic team compared to their population size. Would be awesome if they made it past the group stage.

Fantastic effort and their keeper is a gd hero. Would have been amazing if they could have won, but the draw is good enough for twitter trolling purposes.

I think their best chance of winning was to have scored on the first half. On the 2nd half, Argentina was all over them, and Iceland had very few opportunities. Their defence was absolutely amazing -- other than the penalty and a couple dangerous plays/strikes by Argentina, they did great.
I can't help wanting to cheer for the underdogs.

[soprano1]

Spoiler

[Steamflogger Boss]

Oh hey. ITV talky bloke said Iceland is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the finals, I always thought that was Jamaica (1998). edit: oh duh, by population.

Yeah, they really have a fantastic team compared to their population size. Would be awesome if they made it past the group stage.

Fantastic effort and their keeper is a gd hero. Would have been amazing if they could have won, but the draw is good enough for twitter trolling purposes.

I think their best chance of winning was to have scored on the first half. On the 2nd half, Argentina was all over them, and Iceland had very few opportunities. Their defence was absolutely amazing -- other than the penalty and a couple dangerous plays/strikes by Argentina, they did great.
I can't help wanting to cheer for the underdogs.

They will definitely regret that early miss, it was pretty open. From there who knows, the whole game might have changed in general had they went up 1-0.

And same, as long as Germany isn't involved lol.

[__SKYe]

Spoiler

Hehe, it's pretty accurate, I guess.

And same, as long as Germany isn't involved lol.

Oh yeah, I'm rooting for the underdogs only when my team isn't playing. Unless they are the underdogs.

[bottino]

I'm always pro-South America *, but damn it's hard not to be captivated by Iceland; any team would've hard a time playing against these guys today. Argentina didn't play a bad match, but their defense is weak and Iceland took advantage of that.

Messi wasn't particularly inspired today as well.

Football is wonderful because it's unpredictable and the underdog always have a chance.

Guerrero won't play the match against Denmark, but I still think Peru has a good chance of winning the game.








* I have to confess though: as a kid, I was a huge fan of Hagi's Romania.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Peru/Denmark is one of my favorite games so far. Fun watch.

[__SKYe]

I'm always pro-South America *, but damn it's hard not to be captivated by Iceland; any team would've hard a time playing against these guys today. Argentina didn't play a bad match, but their defense is weak and Iceland took advantage of that.

Messi wasn't particularly inspired today as well.

Football is wonderful because it's unpredictable and the underdog always have a chance.

Couldn't agree more.

Guerrero won't play the match against Denmark, but I still think Peru has a good chance of winning the game.

Really? The commentators (in the channel I'm watchng from) were pretty confident that he could play in the second half.

Peru/Denmark is one of my favorite games so far. Fun watch.

It's been a pretty even game so far and I'm looking forward to the second half. And yet another missed penalty.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Haha yeah that miss was horrific.

[d3vak]

Damn, I am sad... Perú deserved a draw game at least.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Damn, I am sad... Perú deserved a draw game at least.

Felt like they had at least two goals in them today, tbh.

[Steamflogger Boss]

I'm not sure if I've ever seen Mexico play this well.

[__SKYe]

Yeah, Germany's play has been sub-par compared to what they're capable of. I'm expecting a better 2nd half on their part.
Also, I'm very happy to see both Herrera and Layún playing, especially Herrera, who has played a fantastic match. Chicharito hasn't been at his best so far, though.

Really great first half.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Germany is really getting just dumpstered in midfield, surprising to see. And yeah I thought Chicarito should have probably had a goal based on his chances but he bungled them.

[__SKYe]

Yet another failed attack by Mexico. Chicharito and Vela really aren't at their best.
Mexico is now playing a bit more defensively, and Germany is starting to push their game onto them.

[Mero]

It's over.

[BIL]

God damn, well done to Mexico's defense. That was intense towards the end.

[__SKYe]

Great second half with plenty of opportunities for both sides, though much more ball for Germany. Still, Mexico missed a whole lot of flagrant opportunities and the game could very well had gone in a different direction (either a wider win for Mexico, or a comeback from Germany, given how fiercely they were attacking).

Germany's likely to have to win both their remaining games, though they certainly have the quality to do so.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Congrats to Mexico. Germany simply have to be better going forward. Not good enough today. Lucky it was only 1-0 IMO.

[BIL]

Lucky it was only 1-0 IMO.

Yeah, there was at least one howling miss on Mexico's part. Dude looked appropriately ashamed of the one I'm thinking of (second half), too.

[__SKYe]

Mexico could, and should have, certainly widened their lead, but the danger of playing so defensively against such a great team is that, should Germany had scored, they could have very well scored a few more. And I only say this because unlike Iceland, for example, Mexico has a more than good enough team to go for the second or even third goal.
Of course, Mexico deserves nothing but praise for stopping Germany, but Germany also had quite a few dangerous strikes, like that fantastic freekick met by an equal fantastic defense by Ochoa.

Looking forward for Brasil's match now.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Oh hey, an amazing goal from a Brazilian player.

[BIL]

Fucking beautiful. edit: and the equaliser was no slouch either!

[Durandal]

What's it with all the top teams playing like they're bored out of their mind? All the cannon fodder is starting to look competent in comparison. People are having delusions that we won't end up with the usual Germany/Argentina/Brazil/Spain quartet in the finals.

[d3vak]

It looks like Brazil thought they were going to win just because they are Brazil. What a lazy match.