World Cup 2018

[Dave Cahill]

Well this is getting off to a bang with the news that Julen Lopetegui has been given the toe end by the Spanish FA two days before they take on European Champions Portugal in their opening game. No news yet on whether he told Luis Rubiales to shove it up his bollocks.

It would appear that los quesos grandes in the Spanish FA were less than impressed with his decision to take the Real Madrid without informing them until 5 minutes before the announcement dropped.

[fourthirtythree]

Fantastic! Pass the popcorn.

[Dave Cahill]

Well that wasn't bad at all at all

[fourthirtythree]

Match to tell your kids about

[blockhead]

Ronaldo finally scores a goal from a freekick for his country at the 47th attempt.
I'd fancy Devin Toner to have a better strike rate than that.
Sorry Dev.

[fourthirtythree]

He couldnt score an absolute beauty like that. It was stunning and well defended.

Truly great.

I think the free kick start relates to international tournaments. Ronaldo is just doing everything he hadn't got around to before at the end of his career. Let's hope Messi does the same.

[fourthirtythree]

Deutschland gets das boot! Etc. Etc.
been interesting anyway.

[Dave Cahill]

Who will England lose on penalties to now?

[Oldschoolsocks]

Who will England lose on penalties to now?

la vengeance d'Agincourt

[Hornet]

Who will England lose on penalties to now?

Well it won't be the Republic of Ireland.

[Oldschool]

Allons lu Bleu

[ronk]

Who will England lose on penalties to now?

How did that happen?

[Dave Cahill]

Who will England lose on penalties to now?

How did that happen?

As someone said on Twitter, it hasn't rained all summer and England have won a penalty shootout. We're in bizarro world!

[tomthefan]

Even more bizarrely I find myself 100% behind
England. I'd love to see them win the thing

[fourthirtythree]

The draw has opened up nicely for them. Nothing to fear on their side and Uruguay could easily beat France (best defences usually get you far in tournaments) and then thug their way past Brazil and face England in the final with half their team suspended!

I don't think they are particularly good, real quality has been hard to find this year, but I genuinely think they are contenders.

[Oldschool]

Even more bizarrely I find myself 100% behind
England. I'd love to see them win the thing

÷1
The soccer authorities need to do something about the histrionics.
Rugby's another ten meters would shut them up quick enough when a free kick in no man's land suddenly becomes a free kick on the edge of the box.
As for Kane's Leno.
It took three minutes to take because of all the nonsense and blatant attempts to put him off.
Ok Mr Kane, now, you've got two attempts at this one.
Oh and refs should insist on only speaking to the captain.

[ronk]

Something more like hockey green cards.

3 or 5 minute powerplay. Play starts straightaway, suspension time counts from the time you sit down. They sprint off the pitch when carded.

[Oldschool]

Something more like hockey green cards.

3 or 5 minute powerplay. Play starts straightaway, suspension time counts from the time you sit down. They sprint off the pitch when carded.

So something equivalent to rugby's YC, in soccer 3/5 mins wouldn't really be enough.

[Lar]

Playing with ten men in Football is nothing like the same as playing with 14 in Rugby. Ten minutes in the bin will be a negative influence on the game. The side with the reduced numbers may tire marginally more but will undoubtedly play more defensively for ten minutes.

I agree with things like the captain is the only player who can speak to the referee being introduced. But even the ten yard advance rule would be problematical for football. It's probably easier to score direct from a free kick 25 metres out than it is from 20 metres for example. If a free kick was given for a foul 25 metres out would it become a penalty then if it was advanced ten metres - I suppose that might shut some whingers up.

[Dave Cahill]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. This kind of thing happens all the time in football. The ref wasn't going to change his mind, he is an experienced ref in both CONCACAF and COMNEBOL competitions and would be well used to that kind of behaviour. Let them rant themselves out and maybe flash a yellow or two to bring it to an end (if the English players had stayed out of it, it would have blown itself out much sooner). Football culture is different in different parts of the world and the whole 'respect for the ref' thing - or rather the whole 'this is how we would like what we consider respect for the ref to be seen in front of a huge television audience' thing - means different things to different cultures.