World Cup General Discussion Thread - 2030 The Jokes On You

You'll also be welcome at the Park. We've completely refurbished the clubhouse bar - and now have 3 bars at pitchside in partnership with the Mad Squirrel brewery.

 

The ban initially applied to the three countries, but the limit was then raised so that the only capital city it still applied to was Quito, as it was so much further over the threshold even than those other high-altitude venues.

 

Sorry @Saints, but for the avoidance of doubt, it is the city of St Albans she loves, not David Noble and co!

 

This is one of the main reasons I think that Ecuador are dark horses to progress further than most people think they will - should protect them against the heat giving them an advantage over some of the teams they're likely to face. The bookies rank them at evens to get out of the group stage - they should beat Qatar and stand a very good chance of at least getting a draw against Senegal (especially if Mane ends up missing out). Netherlands are a strong team this year but never seem to do well on the big stage so could be prone to a shock result there. Personally I reckon Netherlands will win the group but Ecuador pinch 2nd place. If that happens they face the runner up in our group - most likely either Wales or USA which again is a very winnable game for them.

Really like a number of their players - most of which already play in the PL (Caicedo, Estupinan, Sarmiento) and Hincapie who plays for Leverkusen looks a talent. Only concern is their strikers aren't good enough - Campana has looked good in the MLS this season, but that's a big difference in quality needed and the fact that they've got a very young squad which might lack big tournament experience.

 

Will there be extra policing for the Cheshunt game with it being a Herts derby?

 

Isn’t La Paz highest altitude capital in South America?

 

I've just looked into this and from my 'research', it seems quite likely that the qualification would be dependent on what you/FIFA count as the capital of Bolivia, given that La Paz is the seat of government but Sucre is the constitutional capital!

 

Good - it'll hopefully give us the chance to pick out one or two loanees.

 

Bit of Stevenage, bit of non-league…keep saying to myself not interested in WC, but know I’ll end up watching bits n pieces, Wales in particular

 

What's my plan?

1. Support Senegal.

2. Wonder about how Louza would have done if he hadn't got crocked.

3. Watch England with my son. Get excited. Get disappointed. Comfort upset child. Repeat in 2 years time.

 

Euro 2024 ain’t at Xmas m8

 

Ho ho ho.

 

I see some of the midweek games kick off at the same time as Flog It is on. No thought has gone into this world Cup at all

 

Trying to avoid confusion with the Qatari version of Flog It, where adulteresses are beaten half to death with sticks and belts.

 

I suppose any big teams success is based on how a shock result at the group stages effects that team .
If 4 "big" teams are in the top and bottom half of the last 16, should results go to plan, then a shock result
could mean that the top half (or bottom) will now have 5 big teams and the other half 3 . If you are in the half with 3 then that equates to 2 . This is the luck that England have had at the last 2 tournaments and hopefully this will carry on ! Hope this makes sense!

 

I followed the gist of your quantum theory until this bit…
3=2
But I’m sure it must make sense

 

Affects.

 

I watch a fair bit of non-league football anyway, so I'll easily find somewhere to go each weekend. As for the World Cup, I usually find international football – other than the Euros and World Cup – almost unwatchable. And even the major tournaments are not all that good. Perhaps it's a rose-tinted view of the World Cups from the past, perhaps it's over-exposure to so many of the players now we can all watch them play week-in, week-out.

The scheduling is obviously weird. Watching games in the cold and the dark will be a reasonable diversion from the relentless rush towards Christmas but it all feels pretty tawdry.

I've been to Qatar, quite a long time ago now, and it was a strange half-built place then. It's right that the Middle East gets to host the World Cup, it's fine to move it to the winter if more thought had been put into the scheduling, but we're going to see knackered players with barely any chance to tune up before tournament playing matches in grounds that mean absolutely nothing to anyone. Billions of dollars' worth of white elephants in the desert.

But with that right comes scrutiny and, so far, the Qatari authorities and FIFA have not covered themselves in glory. The soft power play will win in the end, but no one looks good. FIFA and its sponsors look even grubbier, even less principled, than during the Blatter-Warner-Blazer-Platini years, which is saying something. Small, greedy men who stand for nothing except money – and certainly not for the game – being used while not being bright enough to realise just how compromised and irrelevant they've made themselves. Quite a feat from Gianni Infantino, that.

 

Being somewhat charitable to the current FIFA lot, this is Blatter's legacy we're seeing unfold right now. The contracts were all drawn up long before Infantino came on the scene and I doubt FIFA could have backed out without some serious financial penalties.

 

Good point, but Blatter was apparently not happy that Qatar won the bid, according to the new Netflix documentary. Infantino is a nothing man who stands for nothing. Just the kind of empty vessel to carry out Blatter's legacy (unwanted or not) without flinching.

 

If England are one of the 3 then there are only 2 other big teams that they could meet

 

Just watched "United Passions", the film about FIFA. I'm probably the only person on the planet who enjoyed it. Massive fan of the Blattster now as well! Tear in the eye stuff when he got that re-election at the end.

 

Perhaps not: https://twitter.com/amjadt25/status/1593271354803032064

Apparently Qatar has tried to bribe them to throw the opening game..

 

I won’t be pretending to find some sort of higher ground, of course I’ll watch. I love the World Cup.

I’ll obviously be hoping that England come home as soon as possible. How any self-respecting non-Spurs fan could be cheering on a team captained by the serial loser Harry Kane is beyond me.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm no great fan of Infantino and I'm sure the outcome would have been the same if he had been in charge during that bid process. I just think this particular item needs to be laid squarely on Blatter's doormat.

Even if he didn't want it, he oversaw FIFA becoming the corrupt organization it was (and was complicit in that too), so for me the buck stops with him regardless of his personal wishes on tournament destination.

 

Unsourced, so we should take with a hefty helping of salt.

Given that they won the event hosting via bribing those with a vote, though, it seems unlikely that bribing players is a line they wouldn't cross.

 

Yes, it's right that the Middle East should get to host a World Cup, given how central it is to their culture, but I'm livid that the biggest camel-racing comp has never been held here.

 

Had never heard of it, a quick google and I’ve never seen an IMDB rating that low!

 

Only right they host the WC, next for the Middle East is surely to host the Winter Olympics as I don’t believe they have yet.

 

This absolutely chimes with me. Years ago, when the World Cup came round you got to see, say, the Brazil team for the very first time because they were almost all different players from four years earlier. They seemed fabulous and exotic and it was a real thrill to watch them play. Even European teams like the Italians or Dutch were virtually unknown apart from the odd superstar. It made the whole thing so much more enjoyable. Younger fans today know no different but I do think they have missed out on that sense of wonderment.

 

The element of the unknown ?

 

Another bait and switch from Qatar, alcohol now banned within stadiums.

Funny how they waited until two days before to do it.