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World Cup: 2018 FIFA World Cup

Hesher

Hesher

Sagan for President
Jan 22, 2013
4,807
620
Slovakia
I wasn't too impressed with the quality of play in this WC. Very few teams were willing to take the initiative, too many teams were happy to just sit back and wait for a set-piece. France won it all with their striker scoring 0 goals, the best goal scorer of the tournament scored 1 goal in 4 playoff games (a penalty). Maybe my standards are just too high or I just don't love football the way I used to.
 
Corto

Corto

Faceless Man
Sep 28, 2005
15,994
943
Braavos
Big Kahuna said:
If you ask me, this WC saw a bit of a resurgence of more defensively-oriented fullbacks.
Click to expand...

I think it was more of a lack of top (offensive) fullbacks.

I'd say overall Vrsaljko (bias aside) would be my choice as best RB and he's defensively fantastic, but offensively he can't create space for himself.
He'll run, he's got a good cross, but he can't dribble or blow past people, he's not exactly Carvajal/Marcelo in that regard.
Tripper... I just wasn't impressed. Set piece delivery great... but in actual play? I didn't see it, offensively or defensively. He was good, but certainly not the best fullback of the tournament as the English media are putting it.
Meunier was probably the best RB when it came to offense. Shame he missed the semi vs France, he's vital to Belgium's strategy.
Pavard was adequate for France, I just think the team success covered the fact that (at least for the time being) he's a level below most of the other French players (that said, Sidibe was pretty awful in the one game he played).
Kimmich was absolutely brutal for Germany and Carvajal never looked like himself following the latest injury.

Left backs were even less impressive...
Lucas Hernandez is still very young, and was good... but I wouldn't say great. Possibly still the best LB in the tournament.
Croatia's LBs are its weakest link, and noone is terribly impressed with Ashley Young or Rose.
Belgium basically plays without a LB.
And Marcelo went out in the quarters.

Am I forgetting some guys that went out earlier?
Trying to think, but I don't think so tbh. Augustinsson was decent, but hardly spectacular.

So, if I had to pick, I'd take both Atletico Madrid as my starting fullbacks, Vrsaljko and Hernandez - and they're both defensively than offensively (though not terrible offensively by any means).
 
maclean

maclean

Registered User
Jan 4, 2014
8,496
2,601
Hesher said:
I wasn't too impressed with the quality of play in this WC. Very few teams were willing to take the initiative, too many teams were happy to just sit back and wait for a set-piece. France won it all with their striker scoring 0 goals, the best goal scorer of the tournament scored 1 goal in 4 playoff games (a penalty). Maybe my standards are just too high or I just don't love football the way I used to.
Click to expand...

By their striker do you mean Giroud? Because.... I don't think that should be a huge surprise for anyone or reflects poorly on anyone but maybe the coach
 

member 305909

Guest
Four years ago when Klose scored his historic goal which put him number one in all-time WC-finals scoreboard people said that it would be very temporary as his younger team-mate Thomas Muller would surely go past him in the years to come.

Now however there was an entire WC-tournament for Muller without a single goal. He isn't get younger either just as the rest of us. He is now 28. he may have two more WC's to look forward to but Klose is still ahead.
 
Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper

Registered User
Dec 9, 2005
70,569
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Sunny Etobicoke
Hell, the way Mbappe played in his debut with 4 goals, while still likely having another 4 World Cups to play, it could be his trophy in due time.

Either that, or we could see another Just Fontaine-like performance in Qatar. Anyone's guess, really. :laugh:
 
Suiteness

Suiteness

Registered User
Mar 14, 2003
8,782
705
Time to Rebuild
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Ya Mueller never relied on superior physical attributes to score his goals so age should not limit him all that much in that regard but man, while he was bad at Euro 2016, he was at least making some things happen. In this WC he just looked like a guy that had nothing left to give to the game. It was odd to say the least.

Dr Pepper said:
Hell, the way Mbappe played in his debut with 4 goals, while still likely having another 4 World Cups to play, it could be his trophy in due time.
Click to expand...

While I'm truly hoping for the best for Mbappé, we have to be weary that nothing in this life is guaranteed. Look at Michael Owen for instance, at 18 he burst onto the scene at the WC and people thought with at least three more WC to look forward to, he would simply crush everything. As it turned out, with injuries and all, the 98 WC at 18 was the peak of his career. You could make a similar case for Ronaldinho who had a pretty good WC in 02, became one the best in the world and started to decline by the time the next WC rolled around 4 years later.:laugh:
 
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Duchene2MacKinnon

Duchene2MacKinnon

In the hands of Genius
Aug 8, 2006
45,300
9,465
Suiteness said:
Ya Mueller never relied on superior physical attributes to score his goals so age should not limit him all that much in that regard but man, while he was bad at Euro 2016, he was at least making some things happen. In this WC he just looked like a guy that had nothing left to give to the game. It was odd to say the least.
Click to expand...

It wasn't not even close to being odd... more expected to those paying attention. :)
 
Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper

Registered User
Dec 9, 2005
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Sunny Etobicoke
Suiteness said:
Ya Mueller never relied on superior physical attributes to score his goals so age should not limit him all that much in that regard but man, while he was bad at Euro 2016, he was at least making some things happen. In this WC he just looked like a guy that had nothing left to give to the game. It was odd to say the least.



While I'm truly hoping for the best for Mbappé, we have to be weary that nothing in this life is guaranteed. Look at Michael Owen for instance, at 18 he burst onto the scene at the WC and people thought with at least three more WC to look forward to, he would simply crush everything. As it turned out, with injuries and all, the 98 WC at 18 was the peak of his career. You could make a similar case for Ronaldinho who had a pretty good WC in 02, became one the best in the world and started to decline by the time the next WC rolled around 4 years later.:laugh:
Click to expand...

Oh that's certainly possible, a lot could go wrong in four years. But of all the active players with the potential to break Klose's record, he'd be a top contender IMO.

James and Suarez as well, although their respective teams don't usually make the same deep runs that helped Klose tally so many.

Kane's also at a goal-per-game pace, but I doubt that's sustainable. ;)
 

member 305909

Guest
More whinging about expansion to 48 teams, sorry, but the inevitable outcome is that there will be more very one-sided matches and therefore players scoring way more goals than was enough this time to win the golden boot.
 
JJ68

JJ68

Registered User
Oct 5, 2017
1,315
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VLK said:
It's probably goodbye Messi, goodbye Ronaldo, goodb.ye Suarez. Very unlikely that any of them would still be around in four years time
Click to expand...

I think they all may play at least once more.
 
maclean

maclean

Registered User
Jan 4, 2014
8,496
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VLK said:
More whinging about expansion to 48 teams, sorry, but the inevitable outcome is that there will be more very one-sided matches and therefore players scoring way more goals than was enough this time to win the golden boot.
Click to expand...

I'm not complaining about it, but I think the grounds for the complaints are that weaker sides don't mean one-sided matches, but more matches where one team is just in a defensive block, so the opposite outcome
 

member 305909

Guest
There will be a lot of third matches in the group-stage like the France-Denmark match this year.

However, there can no more be a situation that you have lost your chances to qualify but yet have to play one more match. I guess that is improvement.
 
Evilo

Evilo

Registered User
Mar 17, 2002
62,129
8,583
France
Number of goals scored in the knockout stage of the WC by the eventual champs :
86 : Argentina 8
90 : Germany 5
94 : Brazil 5
98 : France 6
02 : Brazil 7
06 : Italy 7
10 : Spain 4
14 : Germany 11 (including 7 in the semis)
18 : France 11
 
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YNWA14

YNWA14

Onbreekbaar
Dec 29, 2010
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Very impressive for France considering who they had to face to get there. Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium and Croatia is certainly no cakewalk.
 
Harry22

Harry22

Registered User
Mar 28, 2005
20,534
2,304
Montreal
Evilo said:
Number of goals scored in the knockout stage of the WC by the eventual champs :
86 : Argentina 8
90 : Germany 5
94 : Brazil 5
98 : France 6
02 : Brazil 7
06 : Italy 7
10 : Spain 4
14 : Germany 11 (including 7 in the semis)
18 : France 11
Click to expand...

Wow at Spain. Four 1-0 wins.
 
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