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I'll stick with Brazil although I'd like Argentina to win it.

England are looking good too. They started slowly last night but once they found their groove they were very comfortable. IF, and it's a big if, they can come up with a plan to curtail Mbappe, they could be in business. I don't think a France win is the foregone conclusion some people are making it out to be. I would argue that England's squad is better than France's, especially with the likes of Benzema, Pogba and Kante missing. It will be a very interesting match.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 05/12/2022 08:43:38    2449529

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I'll stick with Brazil although I'd like Argentina to win it.

England are looking good too. They started slowly last night but once they found their groove they were very comfortable. IF, and it's a big if, they can come up with a plan to curtail Mbappe, they could be in business. I don't think a France win is the foregone conclusion some people are making it out to be. I would argue that England's squad is better than France's, especially with the likes of Benzema, Pogba and Kante missing. It will be a very interesting match."
I'd agree. I think that match is 50/50 and wouldn't be surprised if England beat them.
Poland created quite a few chances yesterday and could easily have taken the lead.
Mbappe is lethal of course, but he was actually quite poor for most of the game yesterday. He was taking the wrong option and lost possession most times he got it. It was only when Poland had to really go for it and left loads of space at the back that he started to play well.
Denying him space is key and that's much easier to do if you're not behind on the scoreboard. England will try to keep it very tight and cagey early on.
They also have Kyle Walker at right back who's extremely quick and won't be easily skinned by Mbappe.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2252 - 05/12/2022 10:49:00    2449544

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I think we know as much about England this morning as we did before the Senegal game, Senegal were poor imo, nor do I don't think France will go the distance.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3128 - 05/12/2022 11:14:14    2449547

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Replying To supersub15:  "I think we know as much about England this morning as we did before the Senegal game, Senegal were poor imo, nor do I don't think France will go the distance."
Yeah there's no real outstanding team that doesn't have a weakness. The quarter finals will most likely consist of Holland, Argentina, England, France, Spain, Croatia, Brazil and Portugal.

I would rank them 1. Brazil 2. France 3. England 4. Spain 5. Portugal 6. Argentina 7. Holland 8. Croatia

But in saying the above, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Japan, Switzerland or even Morocco in the last 8 going by the number of shocks we've seen so far in this tournament.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 05/12/2022 12:38:53    2449561

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "Yeah there's no real outstanding team that doesn't have a weakness. The quarter finals will most likely consist of Holland, Argentina, England, France, Spain, Croatia, Brazil and Portugal.

I would rank them 1. Brazil 2. France 3. England 4. Spain 5. Portugal 6. Argentina 7. Holland 8. Croatia

But in saying the above, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Japan, Switzerland or even Morocco in the last 8 going by the number of shocks we've seen so far in this tournament."
A place in the last 8 might be there for Japan, as for England they may reach the semi's or even the final but personally I don't think they carry the sucker punch to go for glory as seen over the past few years so for that reason I wouldn't have them in the top 3.

Before a ball was kicked in this WC tournament I nominated Portugal so I'm sticking with them.

1. Portugal. 2. Argentina. 3. Brazil. 4. Spain. 5. Japan. 6. England. 7. Holland. 8. Morocco.

As I say this Croatia are after equalising. 1 - 1

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3128 - 05/12/2022 16:15:58    2449590

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Replying To supersub15:  "A place in the last 8 might be there for Japan, as for England they may reach the semi's or even the final but personally I don't think they carry the sucker punch to go for glory as seen over the past few years so for that reason I wouldn't have them in the top 3.

Before a ball was kicked in this WC tournament I nominated Portugal so I'm sticking with them.

1. Portugal. 2. Argentina. 3. Brazil. 4. Spain. 5. Japan. 6. England. 7. Holland. 8. Morocco.

As I say this Croatia are after equalising. 1 - 1"
Portugal number 1 based on? Against mediocre Irish team they didn't look like a potential World Cup winner.

I'd have Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France and England ahead of them.

The_analyser (Roscommon) - Posts: 3962 - 05/12/2022 19:49:42    2449604

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Replying To supersub15:  "A place in the last 8 might be there for Japan, as for England they may reach the semi's or even the final but personally I don't think they carry the sucker punch to go for glory as seen over the past few years so for that reason I wouldn't have them in the top 3.

Before a ball was kicked in this WC tournament I nominated Portugal so I'm sticking with them.

1. Portugal. 2. Argentina. 3. Brazil. 4. Spain. 5. Japan. 6. England. 7. Holland. 8. Morocco.

As I say this Croatia are after equalising. 1 - 1"
England are the top scorers and the scoring is widely spread out. They will feel that they left a major tournament after them having lost the Euros on home soil so hunger will not be an issue. I suppose the real test will come if they're locked in a tight battle with another big team. Will they have the nerve to go for it or play cautious again and suffer even more seemingly inevitable shootout heartbreak? We might find out this weekend.

Brazil looked awesome in the first half last night bout South Korea's tactics were baffling. Going toe to toe with Brazil was madness. I think Brazil will power past a tired and ageing Croatia team in the quarters. I don't see them losing to the winners of Argentina/Holland either. The other side of the draw is more interesting with England, Spain, France and Portugal all big hitters.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 06/12/2022 08:57:23    2449608

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Wasn't to impressed with the dancing of Brazil..they seemed to be mocking opponents..short memory after Germany got 7 in semi of 2014,against some of same players who were in tears..

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2469 - 06/12/2022 10:44:53    2449623

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Replying To The_analyser:  "Portugal number 1 based on? Against mediocre Irish team they didn't look like a potential World Cup winner.

I'd have Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France and England ahead of them."
Simply based on opinion, in truth that is all any of us are doing.

One mistake can send the best team home, one bit of bad luck can send any team home.

Supporting the underdog comes second nature to me anyway.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3128 - 06/12/2022 11:16:04    2449627

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Replying To CTGAA10:  "Wasn't to impressed with the dancing of Brazil..they seemed to be mocking opponents..short memory after Germany got 7 in semi of 2014,against some of same players who were in tears.."
Yeah it was over the top, but some of the reaction is over the top as well.

I'm probably just a grumpy old git but I find a lot of this stuff very boring at this stage. Some pundit will have a dig at some player, manager, team and then you have all these outlets like Joe.ie, Balls, Pundit Arena etc making it sound like Putin had threatened to nuke the White House. I know why they do it - it's clickbait and it generates loads of clicks which keeps advertisers happy. Roy Keane is practically a cottage industry. Every statement he utters is treated like it came from some deity or other.

Be better to just focus on the football, which Brazil happened to be very good at last night.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 06/12/2022 11:40:48    2449631

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Enjoying the World Cup but one thing that sickens me is the diving and fellas pretending they are hurt etc, there are some hard tackles going in in fairness at times though. it's getting a bit like the wrestling that used to be on tv with all the acting that goes on.
Also I find the refs annoying everytime there's acorner etc they are in telling fellas no to be pulling and dragging etc as the corner comes in, now this is all these lads do week in week out, they know the craic themselves,
seems these refs like the wee power trip they are on too much, a good ref I find is one you hardly notice in the game.
Hope Ronaldo and Portugal win this evening, would like to see Portugal v Spain in the quarter final.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3100 - 06/12/2022 11:54:45    2449632

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "England are the top scorers and the scoring is widely spread out. They will feel that they left a major tournament after them having lost the Euros on home soil so hunger will not be an issue. I suppose the real test will come if they're locked in a tight battle with another big team. Will they have the nerve to go for it or play cautious again and suffer even more seemingly inevitable shootout heartbreak? We might find out this weekend.

Brazil looked awesome in the first half last night bout South Korea's tactics were baffling. Going toe to toe with Brazil was madness. I think Brazil will power past a tired and ageing Croatia team in the quarters. I don't see them losing to the winners of Argentina/Holland either. The other side of the draw is more interesting with England, Spain, France and Portugal all big hitters."
Ì won't argue any of your point Lockjaw (Donegal) because you know more about the game than I do, however I would argue England's ability to win the final, they did leave a major final behind them after losing the Euros final to Italy nearly two years ago, on home soil no less. Didn't they go one up after two or three mins, they sat back on that one goal lead with Kane left around the middle of the field "unemployed" until Italy equalized after 60- or 65-mins Ish, finished level at full time, level again after extra time, England lost out 3-2 on penos. They were scoring very well in the Euros then, they waited over 50 years to reach that final and blew it. Personally, I don't think they have the resolve or the mental strength to deliver the sucker punch, I could be wrong though.

PS. Its not ABE, Its my honest opinion, that is one reason I would rate Portugal above them.



As for Brazil, they may have looked awesome but they were anything but convincing simply because South Korea were anything but competitive (no disrespect meant to them) so the jury is still out on Brazil imo, Japan most certainly should have beaten Croatia, the better team went home, for that reason also I would put Portugal ahead of Croatia. Neither Senegal or South Korea were competitive.


Australia could have beaten Argentina but for a goalkeeping error they were beaten 2 - 1, on the day I thought Australia were at least on a par with Argentina. At this moment I don't think there is any one team with one hand on the cup.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3128 - 06/12/2022 12:58:26    2449648

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Replying To supersub15:  "Ì won't argue any of your point Lockjaw (Donegal) because you know more about the game than I do, however I would argue England's ability to win the final, they did leave a major final behind them after losing the Euros final to Italy nearly two years ago, on home soil no less. Didn't they go one up after two or three mins, they sat back on that one goal lead with Kane left around the middle of the field "unemployed" until Italy equalized after 60- or 65-mins Ish, finished level at full time, level again after extra time, England lost out 3-2 on penos. They were scoring very well in the Euros then, they waited over 50 years to reach that final and blew it. Personally, I don't think they have the resolve or the mental strength to deliver the sucker punch, I could be wrong though.

PS. Its not ABE, Its my honest opinion, that is one reason I would rate Portugal above them.



As for Brazil, they may have looked awesome but they were anything but convincing simply because South Korea were anything but competitive (no disrespect meant to them) so the jury is still out on Brazil imo, Japan most certainly should have beaten Croatia, the better team went home, for that reason also I would put Portugal ahead of Croatia. Neither Senegal or South Korea were competitive.


Australia could have beaten Argentina but for a goalkeeping error they were beaten 2 - 1, on the day I thought Australia were at least on a par with Argentina. At this moment I don't think there is any one team with one hand on the cup."
Yeah I think England lack the temperament and composure to properly manage a game when the pressure is really on. They are all well and good when their backs are against the wall, plucky underdogs or whatever, and receive pats on the back for glorious failure. But proper teams, i.e. teams that go on and win trophies are able to cope with winning the biggest games.

Your example of the last Euros is a perfect illustration. They got a great start & had home advantage but were still unable to see it out. They ceded possession to Italy and invited the inevitable equaliser. A more composed team would have sought to retain possession, demoralise the opponent and pick them off when further opportunities presented themselves. I always thought England lacked a midfield technician or two, the like of a Xavi, Pirlo, Modric, Moratti etc who can really dictate the temp of a game when the situation demands it. They've always had barnstorming box to box types, Robson, Gerrard, Lampard, Rice, Bellingham. Great players but not ones who really can control games.

You could argue that Scholes was exactly that type of player. But then they went and stuck him out on the left wing to accommodate Gerrard & Lampard. Enough said.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 06/12/2022 13:59:11    2449658

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Replying To supersub15:  "Ì won't argue any of your point Lockjaw (Donegal) because you know more about the game than I do, however I would argue England's ability to win the final, they did leave a major final behind them after losing the Euros final to Italy nearly two years ago, on home soil no less. Didn't they go one up after two or three mins, they sat back on that one goal lead with Kane left around the middle of the field "unemployed" until Italy equalized after 60- or 65-mins Ish, finished level at full time, level again after extra time, England lost out 3-2 on penos. They were scoring very well in the Euros then, they waited over 50 years to reach that final and blew it. Personally, I don't think they have the resolve or the mental strength to deliver the sucker punch, I could be wrong though.

PS. Its not ABE, Its my honest opinion, that is one reason I would rate Portugal above them.



As for Brazil, they may have looked awesome but they were anything but convincing simply because South Korea were anything but competitive (no disrespect meant to them) so the jury is still out on Brazil imo, Japan most certainly should have beaten Croatia, the better team went home, for that reason also I would put Portugal ahead of Croatia. Neither Senegal or South Korea were competitive.


Australia could have beaten Argentina but for a goalkeeping error they were beaten 2 - 1, on the day I thought Australia were at least on a par with Argentina. At this moment I don't think there is any one team with one hand on the cup."
I'd agree that Argentina don't look convincing at all, but I'd disagree that Australia looked on a par with them. Argentina's second goal did come from a poor goalkeeper error, but Australia's goal which got them back in the game had an outrageous bit of fortune. The shot was heading for Row Z before taking a huge deflection off the Argentine defender and ending up in the net.
Prior to that Australia hadn't looked threatening at all. Also, Lautaro Martinez missed at least hat-trick of very good chances to put the game to bed.
There was certainly panic at the end, but overall the better team won.
It'll be interesting to see how they get on against the Dutch.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2252 - 06/12/2022 15:02:30    2449665

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For those that like the underdog that was a great win for Morocco. Portugal manager finally gets the sense to drop a well past it Ronaldo but of course if they lose Ronaldo fan boys such as Piers Morgan will blame the manager.

Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3546 - 06/12/2022 18:26:45    2449684

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Portugal look contenders after their 6-1 beating of Switzerland, without Ronaldo starting the game.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1879 - 06/12/2022 21:13:49    2449705

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Portugal look a real team without Ronaldo holding them back… All managers starting to work that one out and not before time

ForeverBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 3569 - 06/12/2022 21:39:00    2449710

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A statement performance from Portugal last night with rising star Goncalo Ramos announcing himself to the world. I think even Ronaldo must realise at this point that his days as the marquee man are over. Hopefully he'll show some humility now and accept his role as an impact sub - something which could still be a very dangerous weapon for Portugal.

I see Piers Morgan is still on his Ronaldo crusade. He is one loathsome individual. Leveraging Ronaldo's celebrity and status to further his own ends. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he still puts Ronaldo up on a pedastal as the world's best.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9627 - 07/12/2022 08:46:20    2449712

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "A statement performance from Portugal last night with rising star Goncalo Ramos announcing himself to the world. I think even Ronaldo must realise at this point that his days as the marquee man are over. Hopefully he'll show some humility now and accept his role as an impact sub - something which could still be a very dangerous weapon for Portugal.

I see Piers Morgan is still on his Ronaldo crusade. He is one loathsome individual. Leveraging Ronaldo's celebrity and status to further his own ends. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he still puts Ronaldo up on a pedastal as the world's best."
Morgan has really become a parody figure these with his obsession with Ronaldo and Meghan Markle although obviously differing feelings towards both.

TerribleFootwork (Wexford) - Posts: 1760 - 07/12/2022 10:36:21    2449727

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "A statement performance from Portugal last night with rising star Goncalo Ramos announcing himself to the world. I think even Ronaldo must realise at this point that his days as the marquee man are over. Hopefully he'll show some humility now and accept his role as an impact sub - something which could still be a very dangerous weapon for Portugal.

I see Piers Morgan is still on his Ronaldo crusade. He is one loathsome individual. Leveraging Ronaldo's celebrity and status to further his own ends. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he still puts Ronaldo up on a pedastal as the world's best."
Morgan would drop Ronaldo in a flash if he had a bigger story. Takes baldies side in the Royal story. Fair play to the Harry boy, he knows what happened his mother and if baldy had any balls he would stand up for his late mother. Come on France.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2260 - 07/12/2022 12:39:50    2449744

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