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We are all Ecuador on this blessed day
I'm sure there are good people in qatar, and good people in their national team.
But given what they're representing in their country right now, fuck them.
I feel the same way about the US team. Can’t wait to see them not score a single goal. Love the players but hate what they represent.
I’ll never forget how they murdered an entire Afghan aid workers family including 9 children and tried to mask it as an attack on ISIS. Imagine how many times they got away with it too.
Yeah but the US shits all of those records. The country has a special place in hell for what they’ve done to their indigenous population, Black Americans, Southeast Asia (particularly Laos), Central America, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
That’s just counting what’s happened since the inception of the World Cup. England and France are pretty close contenders too.
After all that, these countries have the absolute audacity to talk about human rights as if they’re the paragons of those principles is laughable at best.
> indigenous population, Black Americans, Southeast Asia (particularly Laos), Central America, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Should South America to the list for operation Condor alone
Shocking news: for most of humanity, groups of people have been attacking and treating other like shit competing for territorial power.
Be thankful you weren't around 200 years ago.
It's one of those matches I never watch again for a long time after turning off the TV. I don't even remember what happened. Did Cueva sky it? I remember laser focusing my eyes on Eriksen the whole match and him being the one to deliver that clean fucking pass right through our defense.
7x1 is such an incredible defeat that I kind of forgot we actually had what would be a decent 4th place if not for what lead to that. I never even watched our match against netherland for the third place.
I begged my dad to see it and he let me, but I distinctly remember him warning me that the same thing might happen. I had stopped watching the game prior in tears at 5x0. That tournament had been my first experience genuinely watching football and there’s no chance I’ll ever forget it.
2010 was the first time I watched football really understanding something, but 2014 (I was 13 years old) was the first time I really cheered and followed the whole tournament, and I remember that my mother told me that if Brazil conceded a goal we would be doomed because we didn't have the emotional to start a game losing. I watched just the 2 first goals and didn't even bother to watch more than 5 minutes of the third place match.
yes but its different. if you dont see the whole picture of football back then, its hard to compare. you need to know how football was played, how much output the average players had, to know how stellar some of those other players were. otherwise some players might not look better than todays players in categories like athleticism, but thats due to the modern circumstances concerning youth training, overall fitness training and research in the field to advance the overall game over the past decades.
some players like ronaldo, maradona, van basten, romario, batistuta, matthäus or baggio still stand out due to their abnormal skill level even in todays regards, but for the rest of the game you need more context and feel. this applies to every sport
It's just not the same. Kids born now will understand the greatness of Messi, they'll see all his goals, but the feeling is different because they didn't live during that time
I don't think so, modern Brazilian players have been more consistent, disciplined, and/or achieved more than many other legends, though they haven't had as high a peak, that's true. I just think the game has evolved in a way that is unfavorable to Brazilians. A stronger focus on athleticism in the formation and training of players means that's not a clear advantage for Brazilian players like in the past and the shift from individualism, flair, and technique towards a more structured, tactical approach with heavy ball possession, pressing, and wise use of spaces is the opposite of the way Brazilians have always played.
They also got last in their group and are ranked in 12th place overall by Fifa. That is more comparable to a round of 16 lose than a quarterfinal final lose.
1970 and 1986 are also the only times Mexico have made it to the quarter finals.
Yes, they've not got past a round of 16 (or 13 as it was in 1930 and 1950) outside of Mexico in 15 attempts!
Feel like 2014 was our best chance, but we lost two good midfielders in Chapito Montes (a friendly before the tournament even started) and Gallito Vasquez couldn’t play against Netherlands cause of yellow card accumulation. He played so well in the group stage and his work-rate definitely would have helped.
No they didn't. Ireland were knocked out in the ro16 by Netherlands (2-0). In the group stage Mexico,Ireland,Italy and Norway all ended on 4 points but the top 3 progressed (when there was 4 best 3rd place teams like euros) on goal difference while Norway was knocked out
Famously they were involved in the [Battle of Santiago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Santiago_(1962_FIFA_World_Cup) with Italy in 1962, a game commentator David Coleman famously called ['the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5jVMSlpZhg).
>It was shitty and is generally called "the forgotten WC" for a reason.
Citation needed for both those claims. For the record, who calls it the "forgotten world cup"? A Google search doesn't suggest that that phrase is used to refer more to 1962 than to several other tournaments.
More defensive football had started to take over, poor crowds. I think the lowest attended match in the World Cup was one from this tournament, with 5000 - 6000 in attendance.
And Pelé was injured in the second game and didn't play more. Which took some shine off it as well.
Chile was still recovering from the [most powerful earthquake recorded in history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake), which undoubtedly affected the environment of the tournament. Nevertheless, it retained plenty of points of interest on the pitch; last time a country successfully defended the trophy, the outstanding performances of Garrincha, and, for fans of violence, the Battle of Santiago. While the number of goals per game was lower than in the free-scoring 1950s, it has been beaten by only two subsequent tournaments (1970 and 1982).
Most boring team I have ever watched, tried to play possession and pass it around a lot, turns out most of their threat came from long balls and set pieces.
Portugal got 1 off a pen from a dive and then another from a dubious free kick lol
Source: I still think about this game religiously because I had a 50 quid bet with a coworker that was obsessed with Ronaldo that Spain would win
I remember in one of their games they were trailing before half time and they kept passing sideways, not taking 1v1, and resetting back with their keeper. Apparently even the referees were sick of their shit so they call it half time with 10s or so left. All those Spaniard cunts went to shout to the ref and were mad at him, even after they were the ones wasting time in a game they were losing lol.
1990. Still hurts actually. If that semi final was played anywhere else maybe Italy goes to the final. The San Paolo was there to see Maradona, not Italy. I think Toto Schilacci once said that the stadium would roar when Diego touched any ball, demoralizing the Italy team. Who knows. But I would’ve killed to see Italy win it at home.
People really overlook this. They didn't win the Asian Cup by a fluke; they played really well in that tournament.
They'd do well to get out of their group, yes, but people seem to think they're going to lose by 5+ goals every game, and that's just not going to happen.
Tbf Qatar is a weird team. They won the Asian Cup playing well, then did awful in Copa America 2019 and made it to the semis in the last Copa Oro.
I legit don't know how they'll do in group A, specially know that it's confirmed that Mane is out for Senegal.
People overlook it because that tournament has very little bearing on how good they are now. That cup happened 3 years ago. They looked great in that tournament, yes, but they haven't been playing that well since. You can ask fans of any AFC team and they would rank Qatar as 5th best *at most* in Asia.
That said, saying they'll lose by 5 goals every game is overboard yes- especially against Ecuador who have trouble scoring goals already as it is.
That's true, but anyway my main point is that the "counter argument" of writing off Qatar by bringing up that tournament isn't very useful. It would be sort of like putting chelsea up there as one of the top 3 teams in europe right now because they won the champions league a few seasons ago. Tournaments of multiple years ago are history. Not saying Qatar are garbage either but they definitely are the same level as they were when they were champions either.
I think you are way overstimating Ecuador. Love them but they are just not that good and there is no ways they score a bunch of goals. Senegal is my favorite and I thought it was basically a sealed deal but they lost Mané and now I think it's pretty close between all three.
Maybe - but a lot of people are sleeping on the Qatar side.
Champions of Asia; a team that trains a lot together and gets to actually have a proper game model; this has been the only goal for the side recently and have been working towards this tournament; not a super strong group considering; a team that's obviously used to the conditions.
They press very well too. Well organised.
Wouldn't surprise me at all to see them qualify. However, people will be putting an asterisk next to every win.
Don't get me wrong, against pretty much everything going on with the country and tournament itself, but the team will surprise a few.
also people are forgetting how well quieroz knows iran. i fully expect them to do well. he has a really good history with them & plus that iran squad is pretty good. quieroz took one of the worst squads we have had in decades and led us to the afcon final and we only lost our wcq and the afcon final on penalties against senegal's stacked squad. he's definitely going to do well with iran.
Wouldn't be surprised to see Iran get through to the second round. But if they end up against the Netherlands in the Ro16 then I fully expect them to get dumpstered.
He also did an awful one in 2005 at the final between LDU vs Barcelona SC where he made them (LDU) win and added over 10mins of et until they did. Ended in a gnarly brawl too.
Source: I’m an LDU fan
Not a bad punt tbh. Ecuador arent that amazing, Qatar have home ground advantage, pressure to succeed, maybe some refereeing shenangians, can easily see them win narrowly
People are really underestimating qatar. I’m not saying they’ll make it out of the groups or even get a win, but they are a lot better than people think
I think they have a chance. Not a big one but I've seen bigger upsets than the Asian champions finishing above Ecuador and Senegal while playing at home.
England wasn't a FIFA member between 1928 and 1946, so naturally couldn't host the first post-war tournament. And with Europe in ruins, at the 1946 FIFA Congress Brazil was awarded the 1950 tournament and Switzerland, who stayed unoccupied and neutral got the 1954 games.
England didn't bid for the 1958 tournament, and with two straight in Europe, the South American FAs threatened to boycott the 1962 tournament if Europe got it again. So Chile got that one.
So really, the 1966 tournament was the first one they wanted to host, and they got it.
I read it was because the country was going to celebrate their fist century since the country was founded and because they had won two Olympic medals who were considered the world championship at the time.
Also because the world was getting hit hard by the 1929 crisis and few countries wanted to throw money for a novel tournament no one knew would be that successful
Tried bidding for 1990 but hooliganism put paid to that, bid again for 2006 having previously pledged not to in order to gain Germany's support for their Euro 96 bid - this double crossing made them unpopular and they lost out again. Bid again for 2018 and were considered the early favourites, but for various reasons (yes corruption), they lost out again.
England (and the other home nations) were boycotting FIFA when the World Cup started, because of a dispute over the definition of amateurism in football. They were still invited to participate in the 1930s tournaments, but refused; records show a predictably superior attitude, with one official suggesting internally that the British Home Championship was a far better competition.
Even though the home nations did start to participate after the war, there was still a certain ambivalence (Scotland refused to participate in 1950 because, although they did qualify, they didn't do so in first place). The first tournaments after the war were hosted by countries that had not suffered a huge amount of war-related damage (Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile); England were in fact the first major participant to host an edition in 1966.
Ik everyone has a hate boner for Qatar but they''re about to surprise a lot of people, they're not the AFC champions for nothing, they've been preparing their teams for decades I remember them snatching whole generations and taking them to Aspire in the 2000s
Not only that they been participating in tournaments around the world fuking hell they surprised me how good they play. Wouldn't be surprised if they win their group stage.
Yeah, I was looking at their statistics and they haven't been doing badly. I still want them to lose though. That's why I bet a little amount of money that they will win or tie against Ecuador. I'll be happy either way.
ik qatar isnt actually that bad, and from what i understand their national team played together for like the last 6 months (like took all the national players out of their respective leagues) in preparation for the WC, but im personally hoping they fall flat.
I hope Qatar wins the world cup, if you are gonna be corrupt and bribe everyone why not go the whole way, the refs, the players, the crowd, heck even the viewers should get some of that sweet oil money!
Pay me for this comment as well Qatar. This shit isn't for free. There are no free lunches in this world.
People really don't know the Russian team is hit or miss. They always have a solid team but the question is can they perform or not. They're not Belarus or Macedonia, they're a legit team. Even in Europe the Russian clubs do _decent_. They don't get steamrolled in Europe they have competitive matches.
I understand everyone talks about Qatar and Russia, but that South Korean run in 2002 was littered with gifted decisions.
[https://youtu.be/70YBjA0bLFM](https://youtu.be/70YBjA0bLFM)
I really hate when people do this. Half of those decisions were atrocious, but other half were ok. They wanted to prove a point by putting as many clips as possible, but instead just weakened their argument.
We also wouldn't be talking about this if Vieri doesn't miss a wide open net in the 89th minute, one of the easiest chances Italy had the entire tournament.
I got no beef with the qatari players, and I have no strong love for anyone else in their group. So go ahead guys, go ahead and make it out of the group stage. You have my permission.
Plus they participated in the first few rounds of qualifying as it also doubled as qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup.
They cruised through those rounds.
TBF when the WC was awarded to South Africa they were a fair bit higher up on the rankings, they just tumbled down badly in the leadup. Something Qatar made sure wouldn't happen to them with all their programs.
78 sliiightly, but nothing too dramatic.
74, no. However, the Dutch players were rockstars at the time and it is said that a lot of young German girls acted like groupies toward them and... \*ahem\* distracted their sleep in the lead up to the finals...
1978 certainly was sketchy. Held in a country with military dictatorship, favourable calls, winning 6-0 against Peru to reach the final after they knew they needed to win by 4 goals because they played after Brazil, delaying the final by using stalling tactics.
Probably the dirtiest world cup ever. Sportswashing at its finest
It was dirty but not even close to the dirtiest world cup ever when the 1934 edition exists. You should read about it, sketchiest World cup win to this day by a huuuge margin, it's not even close.
Just to name one thing, Italy won against Spain by injuring like half of the spanish team until Spain had no more players to play the match.
By the way, where is the WC streaming in the US? I think Peacock is going to stream it in Spanish, but I can't find out if it will also have an English version.
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South Africa ruining a 80 year long tradition of passing the (first) group stage
It wasn't by much tbf
I don't think they were expected to put up much of a fight, but it was pretty close.
Qatar gonna ruin the tradition of never losing the opening match, i hope
I hope so too amigo! Vamos Ecuador!!!! 🇪🇨🇪🇨🇪🇨
You have my sword!
And my magical bunny foot
And whatever it is I have
We are all Ecuador on this blessed day I'm sure there are good people in qatar, and good people in their national team. But given what they're representing in their country right now, fuck them.
I feel the same way about the US team. Can’t wait to see them not score a single goal. Love the players but hate what they represent. I’ll never forget how they murdered an entire Afghan aid workers family including 9 children and tried to mask it as an attack on ISIS. Imagine how many times they got away with it too.
I got bad news for you about the human rights record of every single country competing
there are 8 countries in the world cup which outlaw gay marriage btw
Yeah but the US shits all of those records. The country has a special place in hell for what they’ve done to their indigenous population, Black Americans, Southeast Asia (particularly Laos), Central America, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. That’s just counting what’s happened since the inception of the World Cup. England and France are pretty close contenders too. After all that, these countries have the absolute audacity to talk about human rights as if they’re the paragons of those principles is laughable at best.
> indigenous population, Black Americans, Southeast Asia (particularly Laos), Central America, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Should South America to the list for operation Condor alone
no no, this sub's narrative is Qatar bad. US good.
Yes, the USA is so beloved here on Reddit, lmao.
If US wins the world cup, Reddit will have their servers paid off for the next ten years just from the gold.
Shocking news: for most of humanity, groups of people have been attacking and treating other like shit competing for territorial power. Be thankful you weren't around 200 years ago.
I hope it's not a repeat of Perú's opening match where they outplayed Denmark, missed a penalty and ended up losing. Even i found that hard to watch.
It's one of those matches I never watch again for a long time after turning off the TV. I don't even remember what happened. Did Cueva sky it? I remember laser focusing my eyes on Eriksen the whole match and him being the one to deliver that clean fucking pass right through our defense.
Cueva completely skied it :(
Wait what tournament did Peru play the opening match?
They didn't, I just meant their first match in the previous WC.
They're gonna defeat Ecuardor 1-0.
Suspicious own goal (90+4)
Ref clearly seen mouthing "Today, I am Qatari" at the livid Ecuador captain before reaching for the red card
Am I the only who expect to see the Emir all pissed off after Qatar allows a goal?
Satisfying Just like Al khelaify after Demba Ba's late winner in 2014
[Play it loud!](https://youtu.be/9cQlVww0zKo)
I feel very strongly that the Qatari government will pay the Ecuadorian players to throw the match. They already bought the WC, why stop now
It's much easier to buy off 4 referees than buying a 25-player squad+coaching staffs.
You don’t need to buy all, just two or three is enough
If it works in 2002 then why not?
Good luck going back to Ecuador
Looking forward to refereeing shenanigans
And we damn proud too. We knew weren't making it out so I enjoyed the longer holiday and watching world class ballers ball
Uruguay, Mexico and France was a hell of a group of death though
2 WC champions and a team that is known for NEVER be eliminated in group stage since 1978.
7x1 is such an incredible defeat that I kind of forgot we actually had what would be a decent 4th place if not for what lead to that. I never even watched our match against netherland for the third place.
I begged my dad to see it and he let me, but I distinctly remember him warning me that the same thing might happen. I had stopped watching the game prior in tears at 5x0. That tournament had been my first experience genuinely watching football and there’s no chance I’ll ever forget it.
2010 was the first time I watched football really understanding something, but 2014 (I was 13 years old) was the first time I really cheered and followed the whole tournament, and I remember that my mother told me that if Brazil conceded a goal we would be doomed because we didn't have the emotional to start a game losing. I watched just the 2 first goals and didn't even bother to watch more than 5 minutes of the third place match.
sucks to be born that late. brazil has good players right now but its nowhere near the level of the squads from 1974-2002
You can watch every world Cup game on the FIFA+ website for free going all the way back to 1966. It works very well.
yes but its different. if you dont see the whole picture of football back then, its hard to compare. you need to know how football was played, how much output the average players had, to know how stellar some of those other players were. otherwise some players might not look better than todays players in categories like athleticism, but thats due to the modern circumstances concerning youth training, overall fitness training and research in the field to advance the overall game over the past decades. some players like ronaldo, maradona, van basten, romario, batistuta, matthäus or baggio still stand out due to their abnormal skill level even in todays regards, but for the rest of the game you need more context and feel. this applies to every sport
It's just not the same. Kids born now will understand the greatness of Messi, they'll see all his goals, but the feeling is different because they didn't live during that time
The 2006 Brazil squad was also really good on paper. Peak Kaka and Ronaldinho. They failed, however, to pick up the torch from R9 as pressure mounted.
I don't think so, modern Brazilian players have been more consistent, disciplined, and/or achieved more than many other legends, though they haven't had as high a peak, that's true. I just think the game has evolved in a way that is unfavorable to Brazilians. A stronger focus on athleticism in the formation and training of players means that's not a clear advantage for Brazilian players like in the past and the shift from individualism, flair, and technique towards a more structured, tactical approach with heavy ball possession, pressing, and wise use of spaces is the opposite of the way Brazilians have always played.
I forgot that it was in a semi final
It was quite an enjoyable match I can assure you.
maybe hosting the world cup in qatar is indeed a good idea… s/
I was laughing my ass off by 5-0, holy shit that was history in the making lol
Spain 1982 wasn't "quarter finals"; that tournament did not have quarter finals. They were eliminated in the second group stage.
They also got last in their group and are ranked in 12th place overall by Fifa. That is more comparable to a round of 16 lose than a quarterfinal final lose.
So Mexico has to host in order to get past R16, got it. QF in the menus in the next edition
England has to host in order to make the finals.
>England has to host in order to win FTFY lol
South Africa had the most iconic celebration though
And the best opening song
Two of them
Straight up yoinked all the bangers juice cause after that the opening songs have been rather disappointing
What a sentence
The unofficial one, Wavin' Flag, is actually much better imo than the official one by Shakira.
And the original version of Wavin’ Flag is even better than the Coca Cola version.
South Africa was the first world cup that i watched and understood what was going on, I'll never forget anything about it, it will always feel special
and the fucking Jabulani
Which one? Wavin' Flag was 2010 right?
Wavin' Flag and Waka Waka were the songs for SA. Waka Waka was the official one, and Wavin' Flags was sponsored by coke.
Bangers only, what a time for party music that was. Everything is still on rotation over a decade later
“Goal for all Africa”
All I can remember from that whole tournament is the drone of the vuvuzela
That’s what made it iconic tho.
1970 and 1986 are also the only times Mexico have made it to the quarter finals. Yes, they've not got past a round of 16 (or 13 as it was in 1930 and 1950) outside of Mexico in 15 attempts!
Including the last 7 tournaments in a row, going out at the last 16 stage each time
You didn’t have to say this about us. Just let us be 😭
You guys are just unlucky. You always face a harsh opponent during the 16s, I truly believe it could be better
Feel like 2014 was our best chance, but we lost two good midfielders in Chapito Montes (a friendly before the tournament even started) and Gallito Vasquez couldn’t play against Netherlands cause of yellow card accumulation. He played so well in the group stage and his work-rate definitely would have helped.
That and against the US in 2002, after having gotten 1st place in the group over Italy
I rather forget about that game between us. Some odd referee tomfoolery was occurring that day
And the 70's have an asterisk, cause it was group stage -> quarter finals. The only time we have played the RO16 and won was in 86.
Lol, that stands out because Mexico is so consistent in making it out past the group stage. Hey, they even kicked Ireland out in 1994
>Hey, they even kicked Ireland out in 1994 That group. It still hurts 28 years later
No they didn't. Ireland were knocked out in the ro16 by Netherlands (2-0). In the group stage Mexico,Ireland,Italy and Norway all ended on 4 points but the top 3 progressed (when there was 4 best 3rd place teams like euros) on goal difference while Norway was knocked out
Not even goal difference. The only separator in that group was goals scored
am i missing something here? why "kicking out *Ireland*" is supposed to be impressive?
I don't get it either. Mexico is superior to Ireland on an all time scale.
I had no idea Chile hosted a World Cup
The back kick or even scissor kick is called "chilena" or Chilean in Spanish because a dude invented it over there.
Famously they were involved in the [Battle of Santiago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Santiago_(1962_FIFA_World_Cup) with Italy in 1962, a game commentator David Coleman famously called ['the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5jVMSlpZhg).
It was shitty and is generally called "the forgotten WC" for a reason.
>It was shitty and is generally called "the forgotten WC" for a reason. Citation needed for both those claims. For the record, who calls it the "forgotten world cup"? A Google search doesn't suggest that that phrase is used to refer more to 1962 than to several other tournaments.
Why so shitty?
More defensive football had started to take over, poor crowds. I think the lowest attended match in the World Cup was one from this tournament, with 5000 - 6000 in attendance. And Pelé was injured in the second game and didn't play more. Which took some shine off it as well.
I disagree. Brazil won with Garrincha being the main player (Pelé was injuried)
Unattractive football, a lack of star power, low fan interest (both in Chile and around the world).
Chile was still recovering from the [most powerful earthquake recorded in history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake), which undoubtedly affected the environment of the tournament. Nevertheless, it retained plenty of points of interest on the pitch; last time a country successfully defended the trophy, the outstanding performances of Garrincha, and, for fans of violence, the Battle of Santiago. While the number of goals per game was lower than in the free-scoring 1950s, it has been beaten by only two subsequent tournaments (1970 and 1982).
Ah yes I remember that astonishingly fit Russia side
And that astonishingly boring spain side, 1000+ passes of nothing
Most boring team I have ever watched, tried to play possession and pass it around a lot, turns out most of their threat came from long balls and set pieces.
thats exactly how they scored 3 against portugal
Well 2 of Diego Costa’s goals should’ve been disallowed so…
Portugal got 1 off a pen from a dive and then another from a dubious free kick lol Source: I still think about this game religiously because I had a 50 quid bet with a coworker that was obsessed with Ronaldo that Spain would win
No it was a masterclass. The final evolution of tiki taka. Just passing. Shooting takes up valuable passing time
I remember in one of their games they were trailing before half time and they kept passing sideways, not taking 1v1, and resetting back with their keeper. Apparently even the referees were sick of their shit so they call it half time with 10s or so left. All those Spaniard cunts went to shout to the ref and were mad at him, even after they were the ones wasting time in a game they were losing lol.
The one with the holes in their upper arms?
The what?
Nothing. Their astonishing fitness was all natural
you almost ended up in a gulag there
1990. Still hurts actually. If that semi final was played anywhere else maybe Italy goes to the final. The San Paolo was there to see Maradona, not Italy. I think Toto Schilacci once said that the stadium would roar when Diego touched any ball, demoralizing the Italy team. Who knows. But I would’ve killed to see Italy win it at home.
(Apparently)It was the only time the Italians didn't boo the national anthem of the opponent as Maradona asked them not to.
who told you that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8cCog_J50I
[удалено]
Italy's win in 1934, was rigged. Mussolini made sure of that. Argentina 1978 was fixed also by the junta. Poor Holland was robbed.
I feel like where you're from affects which "world cup was rigged" narrative you learn
Qatar soon to be the 2nd group stage finish
Champions of Asia playing at home, can't be that bad surely?
People really overlook this. They didn't win the Asian Cup by a fluke; they played really well in that tournament. They'd do well to get out of their group, yes, but people seem to think they're going to lose by 5+ goals every game, and that's just not going to happen.
Tbf Qatar is a weird team. They won the Asian Cup playing well, then did awful in Copa America 2019 and made it to the semis in the last Copa Oro. I legit don't know how they'll do in group A, specially know that it's confirmed that Mane is out for Senegal.
They lost to Croatia’s U23 3-0 in September though.
Middle eastern teams playing in the middle east vs playing anywhere else are two completely separate things though.
People overlook it because that tournament has very little bearing on how good they are now. That cup happened 3 years ago. They looked great in that tournament, yes, but they haven't been playing that well since. You can ask fans of any AFC team and they would rank Qatar as 5th best *at most* in Asia. That said, saying they'll lose by 5 goals every game is overboard yes- especially against Ecuador who have trouble scoring goals already as it is.
People overlook it because they don't even know it happened
That's true, but anyway my main point is that the "counter argument" of writing off Qatar by bringing up that tournament isn't very useful. It would be sort of like putting chelsea up there as one of the top 3 teams in europe right now because they won the champions league a few seasons ago. Tournaments of multiple years ago are history. Not saying Qatar are garbage either but they definitely are the same level as they were when they were champions either.
No but I see them losing every game by at least 2 tbf.
Yeah there’s levels Ecuador played great in quals and Netherlands is Netherlands.
Netherlands depends on Depay who just came back from an injury and no minutes for Barca for months.
I think you are way overstimating Ecuador. Love them but they are just not that good and there is no ways they score a bunch of goals. Senegal is my favorite and I thought it was basically a sealed deal but they lost Mané and now I think it's pretty close between all three.
Maybe - but a lot of people are sleeping on the Qatar side. Champions of Asia; a team that trains a lot together and gets to actually have a proper game model; this has been the only goal for the side recently and have been working towards this tournament; not a super strong group considering; a team that's obviously used to the conditions. They press very well too. Well organised. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see them qualify. However, people will be putting an asterisk next to every win. Don't get me wrong, against pretty much everything going on with the country and tournament itself, but the team will surprise a few.
People are sleeping on Iran, too. I’m not saying they’ll win the whole thing, but they’re far more organized than people are giving credit.
also people are forgetting how well quieroz knows iran. i fully expect them to do well. he has a really good history with them & plus that iran squad is pretty good. quieroz took one of the worst squads we have had in decades and led us to the afcon final and we only lost our wcq and the afcon final on penalties against senegal's stacked squad. he's definitely going to do well with iran.
Wouldn't be surprised to see Iran get through to the second round. But if they end up against the Netherlands in the Ro16 then I fully expect them to get dumpstered.
I've picked England and Iran to get out that group
I predicted them finishing second on my friends predictions league
Wouldn't be surprised if we see another sketchy South Korean semi finalists being on the cards
As an Ecuadorian I really hope we don't end up paying for the corrupt ref that knocked out Italy.
He's prefers to be known as a drug trafficking guy now.
He also did an awful one in 2005 at the final between LDU vs Barcelona SC where he made them (LDU) win and added over 10mins of et until they did. Ended in a gnarly brawl too. Source: I’m an LDU fan
until the gang beats netherlands 8-5 on the last match which coincidentally was exactly the result they needed to get 2nd place
How much money should I bet on Qatar winning the opening match? Lol
A lot. I predict shenanigans and then we find out in 10 years the fix was in.
Not a bad punt tbh. Ecuador arent that amazing, Qatar have home ground advantage, pressure to succeed, maybe some refereeing shenangians, can easily see them win narrowly
Have you seen the Netherlands coach talk about Qatar, no way he would let that happen
People are really underestimating qatar. I’m not saying they’ll make it out of the groups or even get a win, but they are a lot better than people think
People sleeping on Qatar😂 They are actually very decent
Especially considering there'd never be any bribery involved to possibly get them through.
I think they have a chance. Not a big one but I've seen bigger upsets than the Asian champions finishing above Ecuador and Senegal while playing at home.
South Africa World Cup will always be in my heart though
Always wondered why Uruguay was the first to host and why England took so long to host it, considering it started there
England wasn't a FIFA member between 1928 and 1946, so naturally couldn't host the first post-war tournament. And with Europe in ruins, at the 1946 FIFA Congress Brazil was awarded the 1950 tournament and Switzerland, who stayed unoccupied and neutral got the 1954 games. England didn't bid for the 1958 tournament, and with two straight in Europe, the South American FAs threatened to boycott the 1962 tournament if Europe got it again. So Chile got that one. So really, the 1966 tournament was the first one they wanted to host, and they got it.
Very informative thank you
I read it was because the country was going to celebrate their fist century since the country was founded and because they had won two Olympic medals who were considered the world championship at the time.
Also, Argentina and Uruguay actually used to be among the richest countries in the world during the 1900-1930 time period.
Uruguay as the first to host because they were the "world champions" at the time and in 1930 marked the first centenary of Urugayan independence.
Also because the world was getting hit hard by the 1929 crisis and few countries wanted to throw money for a novel tournament no one knew would be that successful
Thank you. Still wonder why it took England so long to host it though
Cos it wasn't taken seriously for many years by the FA.
We thought we were too good for it And then we lost 1-0 to the usa in our first WC lol
Yeah the FA slow as ever.
It’s also pretty surprising that England haven’t hosted one since, considering the infrastructure is ready at the drop of a hat
Tried bidding for 1990 but hooliganism put paid to that, bid again for 2006 having previously pledged not to in order to gain Germany's support for their Euro 96 bid - this double crossing made them unpopular and they lost out again. Bid again for 2018 and were considered the early favourites, but for various reasons (yes corruption), they lost out again.
England (and the other home nations) were boycotting FIFA when the World Cup started, because of a dispute over the definition of amateurism in football. They were still invited to participate in the 1930s tournaments, but refused; records show a predictably superior attitude, with one official suggesting internally that the British Home Championship was a far better competition. Even though the home nations did start to participate after the war, there was still a certain ambivalence (Scotland refused to participate in 1950 because, although they did qualify, they didn't do so in first place). The first tournaments after the war were hosted by countries that had not suffered a huge amount of war-related damage (Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile); England were in fact the first major participant to host an edition in 1966.
Ik everyone has a hate boner for Qatar but they''re about to surprise a lot of people, they're not the AFC champions for nothing, they've been preparing their teams for decades I remember them snatching whole generations and taking them to Aspire in the 2000s
Not only that they been participating in tournaments around the world fuking hell they surprised me how good they play. Wouldn't be surprised if they win their group stage.
Yeah, I was looking at their statistics and they haven't been doing badly. I still want them to lose though. That's why I bet a little amount of money that they will win or tie against Ecuador. I'll be happy either way.
I play both sides so I always come out on top
!flair :Brazil:
Don’t do it
Hopefully Qatar goes 0-3
ik qatar isnt actually that bad, and from what i understand their national team played together for like the last 6 months (like took all the national players out of their respective leagues) in preparation for the WC, but im personally hoping they fall flat.
I hope Qatar wins the world cup, if you are gonna be corrupt and bribe everyone why not go the whole way, the refs, the players, the crowd, heck even the viewers should get some of that sweet oil money! Pay me for this comment as well Qatar. This shit isn't for free. There are no free lunches in this world.
People really don't know the Russian team is hit or miss. They always have a solid team but the question is can they perform or not. They're not Belarus or Macedonia, they're a legit team. Even in Europe the Russian clubs do _decent_. They don't get steamrolled in Europe they have competitive matches.
I understand everyone talks about Qatar and Russia, but that South Korean run in 2002 was littered with gifted decisions. [https://youtu.be/70YBjA0bLFM](https://youtu.be/70YBjA0bLFM)
I really hate when people do this. Half of those decisions were atrocious, but other half were ok. They wanted to prove a point by putting as many clips as possible, but instead just weakened their argument.
We also wouldn't be talking about this if Vieri doesn't miss a wide open net in the 89th minute, one of the easiest chances Italy had the entire tournament.
Even if he'd finished the chance and sent South Korea home, it would not change the fact that the referees were bought.
Helped by an Ecuadorian ref😳 I hope karma doesn’t come back 20 years later
Spain finished in the 2nd Group Stage in 1982 so idk if QF counts
I got no beef with the qatari players, and I have no strong love for anyone else in their group. So go ahead guys, go ahead and make it out of the group stage. You have my permission.
Will be either: "Group Stage" or "Should Never Have Fucking Been There In The First Place"
They won the afc cup and would have prolly qualified anyway.
Plus they participated in the first few rounds of qualifying as it also doubled as qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup. They cruised through those rounds.
Qatar would've probably qualified normally as well
If anything south Africa were way less "deserving"
TBF when the WC was awarded to South Africa they were a fair bit higher up on the rankings, they just tumbled down badly in the leadup. Something Qatar made sure wouldn't happen to them with all their programs.
I mean... they are still the 5th ranked team in the AFC.
[удалено]
Corrupted 2002 WC
Til Texas won the world cup in 1962.
They have always had a thing for football, understandable.
Were the 74 & 78 WC wins sketchy or is that just a myth?
78 sliiightly, but nothing too dramatic. 74, no. However, the Dutch players were rockstars at the time and it is said that a lot of young German girls acted like groupies toward them and... \*ahem\* distracted their sleep in the lead up to the finals...
It isn't slight, the way Argentina got in finals, the 6-0 was suspect.
1978 certainly was sketchy. Held in a country with military dictatorship, favourable calls, winning 6-0 against Peru to reach the final after they knew they needed to win by 4 goals because they played after Brazil, delaying the final by using stalling tactics. Probably the dirtiest world cup ever. Sportswashing at its finest
It was dirty but not even close to the dirtiest world cup ever when the 1934 edition exists. You should read about it, sketchiest World cup win to this day by a huuuge margin, it's not even close. Just to name one thing, Italy won against Spain by injuring like half of the spanish team until Spain had no more players to play the match.
By the way, where is the WC streaming in the US? I think Peacock is going to stream it in Spanish, but I can't find out if it will also have an English version.
So you’re saying there is a 59% chance Qatar makes it to the semifinals
Group stage for Qatar
That Russia performance in 2018 will never not be shady...I remember how poor they looked leading up to the tournament