2018 World Cup running thread

What's even dumber is after fair play points they go to drawing lots. After goal difference, total goals, head to head, why not just skip the last step? Just go straight to coin flip to take bias out of it.

 

Why not corner kicks? I think that used to be a tiebreaker in some scenarios in some levels. Takes the subjective element out of it. Also a higher total than cards and therefore less likely to result in yet another tie.

 

The plan is for the World Cup to expand to 48 teams but with three-team groups, thus eliminating any last-day-of-group-play drama. There are valid concerns about a repeat of what happened to Algeria in 1982.

 

Makes zero sense.

I saw several times a team would be on the fast break, and the defensive team would hard foul to stop the fast break (not unlike in the NBA). The result was a foul, and a yellow.
The team accumulating yellows gets penalized for not playing good enough defense (or leaving themselves exposed), and having to resort to hard fouling to stop a fast break.

Want to win the fourth (or whatever it is down the line) tiebreak? Stop fouling so much.

 

LOL. Yeah. Thankfully racism and bias is tightly confined to a small geographic area.

 

Don't you have that summer camp for failed point guards trying to become strikers to run?

 

This rule throws my whole plan into jeopardy.

If the refs call more fouls on black guys, what chance do my converts have?

 

Why are you assuming the yellows on Senegal weren't deserved?

 

Belgium-England may be decided on yellows as well, right?

 

Given that they can’t play extra-time (because the teams may be in different cities) or an extra match (due to the round of 16 starting) any system is going to be imperfect. I don’t love this one but I’m not sure that corners or fouls committed work any better. Nature of the beast and at least the lines are clearly drawn.

 

That face save by the Tunisian goalie was awesome.

 

I frigging love this world cup. Good stuff.