Belgium look like shit. Batshuayi still hasn’t learned the offside rule. I remember his spells on loan at Palace when he scored a boatload of goals - every one of them correctly ruled out for offside.
Canada looked so promising in their opening match, and they’re now eliminated with a game left to play. Football, eh?
Pretty goal by Spain
Good grief the bodies falling in the Mexico/Argentina game was nuts.
Hey Iran, if you want the US out of the World Cup, you can handle that yourselves on Tuesday.
I’m not sure what their flag is supposed to look like today, but this is what it will look like on Tuesday…
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Maybe it should be an ostrich with its head in the sand.
USMNT Twitter should have made it a woman with no head covering.
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Crazy games this morning. A 3-3 and a 3-2, the latter being won by Ghana with the South Koreans being furious that (crap English) referee Antony Taylor ended the game as the Koreans were about to take a corner. It was 11 minutes into 10 minutes of time added on, but still, the typical protocol is to let the set piece play out. South Korea’s coach got a red card for his protests. Must’ve called Taylor a cocksucker.
Fun fact: an English referee at the World Cup once ended the game as an incoming corner was in the air and just before it was converted for what would’ve been a meaningful goal (I can’t remember the exact details, but I remember the shitstorm that ensured).
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Didn’t know the World Cup thread would go Godwin.
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With Germany involved, there’s always a chance.
Much obliged.
(hat tip)
This is amazing.
The Portuguese players are all so supremely talented, and they’re all such damnable cheats.
Can’t stand 'em.
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So France and Brazil are through, and Portugal will be any minute. Anyone else I’m missing?
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Nope. And only Qatar and Canada have been eliminated, which means that 27 teams have a win-and-in match coming up.
With the 3rd round of group games starting tomorrow, followed by the round of 16 and the quarter finals, we have 7 straight days of knockout matches coming up.
Group A - 9am Tuesday
The Netherlands plays Qatar so, barring any weirdness, the Dutch are locks to go through. Ecuador vs. Senegal is the one to watch, with the winner going through but Ecuador progressing with a tie.
Game to watch: ECU-SEN (FS1)
Group B - 1pm Tuesday
England would have to lose to Wales by 4 clear goals in order to not go through. So USA and Iran is essentially a death match, with Iran progressing on a tie. The caveat here is that a modest Welsh victory and a tie in the Iran-USA game sends the Welsh through with England.
Game to watch: IRA-USA (Fox)
Group C - 1pm Wednesday
In this group, the top two play each other and the bottom two play each other. The winner of Poland vs. Argentina will go through, as will Poland with a tie, but either Saudi Arabia or Mexico can grab a spot in the bracket with a win.
Game to watch: Either/Both
Group D - 9am Wednesday
Either Australia or Denmark can progress from their head-to-head match but, if they tie and Tunisia somehow beats France (who are already through as group winners), then Tunisia pips them both on goal difference.
Game to watch: AUS-DEN (FS1)
Group E - 1pm Thursday
In a mirror of Group C, the winner of Spain vs. Japan will go through, as will Spain with a tie, but either Costa Rica or Germany can grab a spot in the bracket with a win. The fucking Germans are going to squeak through, I just know it.
Game to watch: COS-GER (FS1)
Group F - 10am Thursday
Morocco can seal a bracket place with a win over already-eliminated Canada (who should prove to be a tougher opponent than this suggests). Belgium and Croatia are fighting for the other slot, but both can go through if Belgium wins and Morocco loses against Canada (which wouldn’t shock me, to be honest).
Game to watch: CRO-BEL (Fox)
Group G - 1pm Friday
Brazil is already through, and likely as group winners unless they somehow suffer a heavy defeat to Cameroon. Switzerland plays Serbia for the other slot, with the Swiss holding the tie-breaker, but Cameroon can still gazump these two with a win over Brazil and either a Serbia win or a tie in the other match.
Game to watch: SER-SWI (FS1)
Group H - 10am Friday
The winner of Ghana vs. Uruguay is the most likely to join Portugal in the Round of 16, with Ghana holding the tie-breaker. Ghana can actually pip Portugal for the top spot if the latter loses. South Korea can leap into the second slot with a win over Portugal and an Uruguay win or tie.
Game to watch: GHA-URU (FS1)
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Group A ended with the Netherlands expectedly topping it as easy winners over Qatar, while Ecuador and Senegal exchanged second half goals, with Senegal emerging victorious at 2-1.
This is of note to USA and England, as the winner of Group B will face Senegal in the Ro16, and the Group B runner-up will face the Netherlands.