2018 World Cup running thread

They all attempted to be and are a part of FIFA. They’re as represented here as the Browns are in the Super Bowl, just eliminated teams.

 

Just think how good these games would be if they re seeded....

 

World Cup reporter robbed in Moscow; 2 detained

 

Yeah Brazil definitely isn't as good as Russia.

 

"It's pronounced Ahs-Weep-Ay."

 

Also, inspired by my Liquid Symphony, I took it upon myself to recreate the World Cup the best I could in FIFA 17 (since that's what we own, not 18, which has the tournament already). I had to substitute a whole bunch of teams, but the main one was putting the USMNT in Panama's spot. My main drunken takeaways:

- Man, the U.S. roster is uninspiring, particularly with Pulisic rated before he turned into Soccer God. I had forgotten about Jermaine Jones and would like to forget about him again. Gyasi Zardes, on the other hand, was shockingly useful.
- My USMNT beat England and South Africa (filling in for Tunisia) in the group stage and lost to Belgium, then beat Colombia, Portugal and Argentina to reach the final. (Ronaldo scored on me, Messi did not, but not for any lack of chances.) The other semifinal was...Russia over Brazil, 2-0. You'll be pleased to know that the good guys won 4-1 on the strength of a Clint Dempsey hat trick. I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

 

I would be very down with France winning the World Cup, and Mbappe becoming the new face of world soccer. I am over Messi and Ronaldo. And anyone from Brazil.

 

That'd be a good outcome as I am rooting for France due to my daughter living there. But Lukaku and De Bruyne are certainly potential global superstars. Same thing with Kane should England win.

 

I love the Belgians. But I lived through the annoyance of the Red Sox in 04. I don't need a repeat of that kind of shit again with England.

 

Hey, I wrote some of that shit in '04.

 

I wonder if France is the worst matchup for Belgium. France has a great defense, the best d-mid in the world and speed to exploit the somewhat slow Belgium defense. Brazil had their chances and while Courtois saved a few, they squandered a lot more.

 

I think France win it pretty handily in the end. Pretty much this same Belgian team lost 3-1 to Wales two years ago at Euro. They have some great players—if I were building a team from scratch, I might start with De Bruyne—but they also have some big holes.