World Cup 2026

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Tuchel's choices after the England goal was mind boggling...absolutely bizarre

Puedes hacerlo España!

Even I knew you aren't going to beat Argentina on one goal.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Tuchel's choices after the England goal was mind boggling...absolutely bizarre

Puedes hacerlo España!

Messi vs Lamine, here we go. Two of Barcelona's La Masia products (former and current) are duking it off in the World Cup final.

 

[seangee]

Tuchel's choices after the England goal was mind boggling...absolutely bizarre

Puedes hacerlo España!

The players need to put their hands up too. You can't blame the coach for poor on field decisions. It seemed every time England's defenders got the ball all they could think about was getting rid of it. You can't blame the coach for that, and if you keep handing away the ball so the opposition can have another go they will keep accepting the invitation.

 

[GaryE]

I expect to read a torrent of anger toward England's coach. It's something I see after every World Cup exit for that country. Pick the coach, and it's always his fault. In this case it can be argued (as always), but the English press just has to edit 4 year old articles and change names.

It looks to me like they tried to go into a defensive shell, and didn't have a good enough defence to pull that off. They were the underdogs to everyone but my English friends, and the latter stages of this tournament have been brutal to underdogs. They had some very talented players, but a couple of teams were better.

So now, go Spain.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

The players need to put their hands up too. You can't blame the coach for poor on field decisions. It seemed every time England's defenders got the ball all they could think about was getting rid of it. You can't blame the coach for that, and if you keep handing away the ball so the opposition can have another go they will keep accepting the invitation.

I agree to a point. The first half was one foul after another so it would make sense to up the pace and make quick passes. They couldn't get out of Argentina's half and just gave them chance after chance, despite having 6 defenders on the pitch. I can't make sense of why he replaced Gordon with Konsa instead of Rashford though

 

[elephantnose3334]

I expect to read a torrent of anger toward England's coach. It's something I see after every World Cup exit for that country. Pick the coach, and it's always his fault. In this case it can be argued (as always), but the English press just has to edit 4 year old articles and change names.

It looks to me like they tried to go into a defensive shell, and didn't have a good enough defence to pull that off. They were the underdogs to everyone but my English friends, and the latter stages of this tournament have been brutal to underdogs. They had some very talented players, but a couple of teams were better.

So now, go Spain.

Regarding the final, the Spanish do have a good attacking defense, so I'll give them that. About Argentina, I just want Scaloni to sub in Nico Paz and some of the younger talents, something I think he doesn't want to do. We saw Guliano Simone in the England game but no Nico Paz. Lautaro's a good player (Inter Milan are playing in my city in August!) and has scored 3 banger goals in the tournament.

Spain has Lamine Yamal, Cucurella, Pedri and some of the other nice-looking dudes.

 

[elephantnose3334]

I agree to a point. The first half was one foul after another so it would make sense to up the pace and make quick passes. They couldn't get out of Argentina's half and just gave them chance after chance, despite having 6 defenders on the pitch. I can't make sense of why he replaced Gordon with Konsa instead of Rashford though

Fair point @CaptainBarnicles. I support Argentina but I still can't believe that this Albiceleste are cooking comeback wins like jelly and peanut butter sandwiches. That is absolutely mindboggingly unreal. I do also have to say that England also did their best in the tournament, but fell just short of going into a potentially historic final. You did well, Three Lions, you did everything you can. Hold your heads up high, English fans...

 

[Magnum Man]

so, I’ve never really watched soccer before, so, a newbies unbiased view of soccer ( watching the world cup game ) top 3 dislikes of the game…

dislikes…

1… the count up clock is opposite of nearly every other sport… how long is the period??? oh, wait… there is a +4 on the clock… what happens the 2nd period, with the clock???

2… not very exciting ( not a lot of scoring ) it’s like watching a game of American foot ball with 2 powerful defensive teams just slugging it out, with no scoring…

3… tons of illegal plays, unsportsman like plays, but only one referee, so it’s like the players try to get away with bad play…

… it is exciting during a big scoring blitz, but they often come away with nothing…

so, what am I missing???

 

[MattW]

Each Half is 45mins. The + time is added for any loss of time from that first 45mins. In this WC there has been obsecene amounts due to the ‘hydration’ breaks. A normal game is usually one or two minutes

A World Cup game will always have these qualities. A single mistake can cost you the game and even the tournament. Imagine being that player? Responsibility of a country’s tournament run on your shoulders. A great opposite example was England vs France yesterday. Both teams had nothing to play for as they were knocked out, resulting in a 10 goal thriller.

This has been a big issues for years. The introduction of VAR has helped but only when used, as not all fouls are checked by VAR. The unsportsmanlike fouls usually follow certain country’s. I will get criticised for this, but South American teams are known for it. Much like the chichlids we see in the hobby

It is personal preference to be honest. I can’t watch a NFL game due to it stopping and starting often.

 

[Magnum Man]

it’s like watching professional wrestling, players flipping through the air, falling, and acting like they are dying to plead their case, then when no foul is called, they get up and play like normal afterwards… doubt I’ll watch more soccer… I guess it’s entertainment for when it’s too hot to work outside, but otherwise “not my cup of tea”

cool, I actually saw a goal… no wonder everyone is so excited

 

[anewbie]

Seems like several no calls on Argie including a shove the back of the Spanish player.

 

[Fishmanic]

Nice win! Spain controlled the game from beginning to end.
The Spain team will be awarded $51 million bucks. Well deserved. My relative in Spain is ecstatic.

 

[MattW]

Argentina didn’t do themselves any favours after that full time whitslte. Saw a few Spanish players pushed over going to celebrate with teammates. Even former City teammates Otamendi and Rodri had a bust up.

Cichlid mentality

Also congrats Spain!

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Viva España! Deserved winners! Disgusting sportsmanship from the Argentinian team, they embarrassed themselves at the end of that and I was very glad to see the back end of Enzo Fernández, what a thug

 

[anewbie]

I don't follow soccer but i was really unhappy with Argentina behavior and in that sense i'm happy Spain won. I can understand the emotions but this conduct should not have been allowed.