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Post by K1power on Dec 1, 2022 20:55:31 GMT 1
 WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 IN QATAR THREAD!This very late thread on the tail end of the group stage is not at all meant as a boycott or something like that. The simple reality is that I forgot to create this in time and have been going going back and forth on it since. Better late than never, though. The tournament has definitely been interesting so far. So for those interested feel free to share your thoughts, enjoy the tournament and the thread! |
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Post by K1power on Dec 1, 2022 22:02:07 GMT 1
As nailbiting as watching Germany's games has been, not getting past the group stage of a World Cup twice in a row is a shameful display and inexcusable.
Heads will and should roll for this.
On the bright side, the absolute surprises of the tournament so far have been Japan and Morocco and it'll be interesting to see if they can get past Croatia and Spain, respectively.
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Post by Kenshin (Banned) on Dec 1, 2022 22:29:39 GMT 1
Germany's out. I like it.
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Post by miscmisc on Dec 2, 2022 1:36:12 GMT 1
The way Group E went for 90 minutes:
0-10: Spain, Japan
10-48: Spain, Germany
48-51: Spain, Japan
51-70: Japan, Spain
70-73: Japan, Costa Rica
73-FT: Japan, Spain
Pretty dramatic stuff. It was Japan and Costa Rica for 3+ minutes late in the games.
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Post by K1power on Dec 2, 2022 22:03:39 GMT 1
Yeah, the 'anything can still happen' groups tend to have the most dramatic and entertaining group finals.
Unfortunately for Belgium and Germany, it didn't work out for them.
With Germany out, however unlikely, I'm hoping an African or Asian country takes the whole thing.
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Post by K1power on Dec 2, 2022 22:12:55 GMT 1
We have our round of 16:  A fun, refreshing list of matchups. I believe the last time both Japan and South-Korea survived the group stage was during the World Cup there in 2002. |
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Post by miscmisc on Dec 3, 2022 3:35:56 GMT 1
So Serbia lost a crucial game to Kosov... er, I mean Switzerland again, and Shaqiri scored one of the goals for Switzerland, again, though he refrained from eagle-posing this time. Humiliation II for the Serbian nationalists.
Pretty mentally weak, and it's not just football. Their basketball team even with Jokic failed to qualify for Tokyo Olympics. One wishes they had even a fraction of Djokovic's metal fortitude.
Anyway, that's a nice lineup for Round of 16. The most underdoggy team is Australia. They are a bunch of scrappy dudes playing in the Premiership and I mean Scottish, the English Championship, Serie B, 2. Bundesliga, A-League, J2 (J.League second division) etc. People's team.
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Post by K1power on Dec 3, 2022 21:18:29 GMT 1
Australia is fighting valiantly against a not so hot looking Argentina.
Unfortunately, they made two very dumb mistakes that put them behind 2-0.
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Post by K1power on Dec 5, 2022 18:49:46 GMT 1
When it went to a penalty shootout I 'knew' Japan was going to lose. There's no shame in their performance, though. Japan played a strong tournament and lost to another top contender.
With Japan out, I'm rooting for Croatia, South-Korea and Morocco. If it has to be another one than those I wouldn't mind Portugal winning, I guess.
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Post by K1power on Dec 6, 2022 19:30:56 GMT 1
And Morocco eliminates Spain!
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Post by K1power on Dec 12, 2022 8:10:21 GMT 1
We have our semifinals:  Not what many would have predicted I'm sure, which makes it all the more welcome. A Croatia vs. Morocco final would be ideal, but I'm not so sure about it actually happening. |
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Post by miscmisc on Dec 12, 2022 8:33:16 GMT 1
Morocco facing Spain, Portugal, then France. It's as if someone scripted it.
They have already finished the Reconquista. Going for Charles Martel's head now. Better luck this time, 1,290 years later.
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Post by K1power on Dec 14, 2022 21:58:22 GMT 1
We have our World Cup final: Argentina vs. France.
It's unfortunate as they're two of the most unlikable teams as far as I'm concerned, but if I have to pick a favorite it'd be Argentina as I feel France has won enough tournaments in recent history.
No team should win two World Cups in a row. Unless of course it's Germany lol.
And hey, we're still getting Croatia vs. Morocco, only it's for the third place.
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Post by K1power on Dec 18, 2022 20:10:16 GMT 1
Argentina beats France 4-2 in the penalty shootout and wins the World Cup. While not a fan of either team I gotta admit it was a strong final, specifically once France started scoring goals. At the end of the day most people will only care about who won (which is fair enough), but it takes two to tango or in this case 32 to 'World Cup' and I thought it was a pretty good tournament where a lot of underdogs were able to shine. Africa made it to the semi-finals for the first time and while the riots caused by Moroccan youths throughout Europe are despicable, it's foolish to judge a whole nation by the mistakes of a vocal minority and I'm happy Morocco had an overall great performance here. And despite my belief that much of the criticism toward both FIFA and Qatar is absolutely justified, Qatar turned out to be a 'good' host. It'll be interesting to see how the rankings will change now that the tournament is over and I'm cautiously optimistic for the UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany. Now, back to (mostly) ignoring the sport until the next big thing  . |
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