The (Un) Official Football thread

[houston4044]

I was amazed at the Saudi's lack of attacking movement. It was like they were used to just passing it around until a defender makes a mistake.

Made me look up their route to the WC, I have to watch Thailand play football because if that Saudi team can beat them 3-0 then I can only imagine how they play

Mind you, unlike say, Scotland, at least Saudi Arabia made it to the tournament

[Black Wizard]

Scotland did have to play better teams than Thailand though, but I can imagine Scotland losing to Thailand. If you're going to mock any countries for not qualifying then it should be Italy and Holland.

[houston4044]

Scotland did have to play better teams than Thailand though, but I can imagine Scotland losing to Thailand. If you're going to mock any countries for not qualifying then it should be Italy and Holland.

Ah, just wanted to try and get one back for the ABE thing

Portugal v Spain, finally a hyped match lives up to expectations

[Bizza]

Portugal v Spain, finally a hyped match lives up to expectations

Yep, that was a bit good! can't wait for England to turn up on Monday and stink the whole tournament out

[Haldamir319]

Enjoyed Mexico v Germany and Brazil v Switzerland last night.

What do we make of VAR so far? I think it's been right more than not, but am bamboozled as to the criteria they are using for alerting the referee to certain issues.

[Skippy]

What do we make of VAR so far? I think it's been right more than not, but am bamboozled as to the criteria they are using for alerting the referee to certain issues.

I hate it so far. It slows down decisions, and doesn't always provide any better judgement for refs. Plus it seems like just another excuse for players - so many are shouting at the ref to use it for the simplest decisions - the Pogba goal, for example, despite the fact the ref had the goalline technology thing. So far it seems really messy and annoying.

[Black Wizard]

VAR is a good addition to football that will take time to streamline. I think it's been introduced into the World Cup too quickly and still has a lot of improvements to be made to it. I'm sure it'll be made a lot better in the future though.

Goalline technology is great though, France's winner being the obvious example. It's such an efficient addition to the game - why were FIFA so resistant to it for so long?

[houston4044]

What do we make of VAR so far? I think it's been right more than not, but am bamboozled as to the criteria they are using for alerting the referee to certain issues.

Needs to be explained a bit better really, after what happened to Kane tonight think everyone wants to know why it wasn't used. Overall I think it's a work in progress, it does slow the games pace a bit but teething troubles that i'm will be streamlined in time.

The good news though is that if matches were 20 minutes long we'd be in with a shot of winning it would of turned it over during the second half had it not been England, good lord that was a chore.

[Black Wizard]

That match was painful to watch for a non-English person, so must have been excruciating for English people. I got a message on a group chat midway through the second half just saying "I would like to die".

[CharlesDexterWard]

Glad England won as I had over 2.5 goals on my coupon!

[Black Wizard]

The two takeouts of Kane should have def been penalties though.

I agree. It was laughable that the ref missed those - what's the point on having VAR if you're not going to use it for things like this?

[houston4044]

Having a lot of Polish co-workers made for an interesting watch today All credit to Senegal and Japan though, both deserved their wins and has defied expectations.

[Black Wizard]

Having a lot of Polish co-workers made for an interesting watch today

Are you a plumber?

[Gandalf the Red]

Harry Kane's already well in front in the Golden Boot. Those five OGs are definitely his as he's sworn on his daughters life.

[Black Wizard]

Why don't England/Tottenham fans sing "Rock you like a Harry Kane" when he scores? It seems like you're missing out on a golden opportunity.