2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

Discussion in 'Sports and Fitness' started by Kilana2, May 31, 2018.

  1. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I must confess, this year I'm not that much euphoric than 2014. But let's start a thread nontheless.

    Who's your favorite this year?
     
  2. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I wish the US would have made it. It's really depressing they didn't.

    I guess I will root for whatever team Ronaldo is on. Was it Italy who head butted a player in a world cup. Probably won't be rooting for them.
     
  3. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Italy didn't make it, too. And it was France's Zidane who head butted Materazzi of Italy. The latter proved him, though.

    Russia has a doping problem which is denied by them. They excluded some investigative journalists. Negative publicity is bad for business as Quark would surely quote.
     
  4. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Ok. Well, screw France then. ;)

    Historically the strong teams has been Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. Probably root for Portugal.
     
  5. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    Well England have somewhere between slim and no chance, and my '2nd' teams Ireland, Italy and Holland didn't make it.

    I'll probably be cheering on Japan and Germany plus anyone playing against Portugal and Argentina, having a serious dislike for Ronaldo and a 32 year old grudge against Maradona !

    :hugegrin:
     
  6. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Germany has lost its friendly match against Austria. It won't be easy for Jogi and his men in Russia. I don't know what to expect from Spain, though.
     
  7. Shaytan

    Shaytan Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ah :(

    My second favorite would be Brazil. If Neymar ends being the star of the competition, it's still good for a parisian :D
     
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  8. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know who to root for, I guess I'll root for strong competition.

    Or I'll root for the countries whose fans will murder their players if they mess up.

    If one of the countries that's marginalized and struggling gets an opportunity just for a minute to say "SUCK IT WORLD", I will be happy.
     
  9. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    [​IMG]

    Group A: Uruguay & Egypt
    Group B: Spain & Portugal
    Group C: France & Denmark
    Group D: Argentina & Iceland
    Group E: Brazil & Costa Rica
    Group F: Germany & Mexico
    Group G: Belgium & England
    Group H: Colombia & Poland

    I went to Wembley this past weekend to see England and the first 45 minutes, it was the best I've seen us play since Euro 2016 against Russia, when we dominated the match (still drew 1-1) and we were deserving of our 2-0 lead, should of been 4 or 5. The 2nd half was typical England, lack of pace, misplaced passes, poor runs and dodgy defending though Nigeria didn't offer too much after they made it 2-1. I think the best we can do is the last 8 though because then Germany or Brazil await unless they suffer a shock exit or fail to top their group.

    For me the winners are between Germany, Brazil, Spain & France...

    My gut says Germany will successfully defend their World Championship from 2014.
     
  10. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    Not England lol

    The next WC in Qatar will be even more ridiculous! FIFA WC became a joke under Blatter's dodgy reign
     
  11. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

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    I can't seem to get interested in this World Cup so far. The fact it's being held in Russia probably has a lot to do with that, along with the screening rights here being rather...restricted. Whatever the reason, it's odd to feel so unenthusiastic about an event I usually follow pretty closely.

    Given that something quite astonishing would have to happen for Australia to win a game, never mind get out of our group (although I'll be suitably stoked to be proved wrong), any parochialism will very likely end pretty quickly. That'll make it much easier to enjoy whatever games I get to see. I'd like to see Brazil win the thing (again), if for no other reason than to make the 2014 nightmare recede at least slightly. If not them, I'd like to see Argentina win the thing, so Lionel Messi can comprehensively emerge from the shadow of the deified cheat...but I doubt even Messi can drag them that far. I agree with Jax that Brazil, France, Germany and Spain seem most likely to be the teams left standing by the semi-final stage. Whatever happens, I hope (as ever) that refereeing / officiating controversies will play no role in the outcome (unlikely thought that is), and that the host nation's fans will keep the racism, homophobia and similar revolting nonsense to themselves.
     
  12. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    Do not withhold oxygen from your breath...[​IMG] :sigh:
     
  13. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

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    Yes, it's a ridiculously optimistic hope on my part. It's probably more likely that Australia will win the World Cup in my lifetime.
     
  14. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

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  15. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I don't care about football / soccer at all and FISA is so insanely corrupt I partly hope the whole thing is a mess.

    But I'm rooting for Germany, I'm a quarter German and have a bunch of family over there.
     
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  16. at Quark's

    at Quark's Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I have no favourite, as my country didn't make it this edition. Looking forward to it nevertheless, since now I can look without attaching any value to the results, just enjoying the matches for what they are.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
  17. crookeddy

    crookeddy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I actually expect the Russian fans to be perfectly behaved, as father Putin will be watching, and will bring justice down with an iron fist on anyone that causes and embarrassment to mother Russia. All of Russia's problems will be perfectly hidden for a month, and people will come away with the impression that it's a paradise. They will be wrong.
     
  18. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    I hope Russia doesn't even get a point, much less make it out of their group. (Which they wouldn't anyway.)

    Since the United States isn't in, my backup team is usually France, just kinda went with them back in the day because of my French ancestry. But they have a really talented roster this year so they should be fun to watch.
     
  19. crookeddy

    crookeddy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Not a great sendoff game though ;-)
     
  20. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    Ha! True enough. Maybe they just didn't take it very seriously.