And BBC use City/Donna as their example lmao
World Cup 2026
- Thread starter KS55
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And BBC use City/Donna as their example lmao
Alan Harper's Tash
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Looks like Raya on that BBC tweet, but I see they have used GD on the website.
Trevor Morley's Tache
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I'll be in the USA for the WC and I have loads of colleagues with match tickets, but I've never been so not arsed about a Word Cup than I care to remember.
From being a nipper and watching Zico, Socrates and Maradona in '82 and the 'Hand of God' game in '86 through Italia '90 and USA '94, France, South Korea/Japan, Gemany, South Africa featuring 84 year old Roger Miller and the fucking Vuvuzela, Brazil, Russia and even the last on in Qatar I've had at least a twinkle of interest, but this one can just fuck off.
From being a nipper and watching Zico, Socrates and Maradona in '82 and the 'Hand of God' game in '86 through Italia '90 and USA '94, France, South Korea/Japan, Gemany, South Africa featuring 84 year old Roger Miller and the fucking Vuvuzela, Brazil, Russia and even the last on in Qatar I've had at least a twinkle of interest, but this one can just fuck off.
Tbf, it was blatant and poorly executed! He’s not winning any Oscars anytime soon!!
Likewise.
I’m sure I’ll watch the occasional “big teams” game, but I really couldn’t give a shit.
I used to try to organize things around the schedule, but I don’t even know when it starts, let alone when England play!
Infantino’s expansion of the tournament has watered it down, created unnecessary games, and all for the Almighty Dollar…of which they are charging WAAAAAAAY too many for EVERY game!
Sad.
heslops barnet
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He definitely wasn’t the first to try it on!
Oh, I agree. But he was particularly brazen and obvious about it!
Cramp should not entail a stoppage of play. If play is stopped in the last 10 mins of the game for ANY “injury,” the player should have to be removed from the field of play for 2 minutes or substituted.
As for players congregating around their bench while an injured player is being tended to? I’m not sure how you stop it, unless you draw a 15-20 meter semi-circle around the bench and yellow card any player who enters it during the stoppage of play. Not sure how players get water or a gel, though.
Something’s got to be done about all the “norms” that are being run over, though, because almost everything is a dark arts pisstake these days!
As for players congregating around their bench while an injured player is being tended to? I’m not sure how you stop it, unless you draw a 15-20 meter semi-circle around the bench and yellow card any player who enters it during the stoppage of play. Not sure how players get water or a gel, though.
Something’s got to be done about all the “norms” that are being run over, though, because almost everything is a dark arts pisstake these days!
Yes and in that game against Brazil apart from the treatment, that at least was not as bad as against Italy and we treated Zico also quite bad, the ref didn't call a penalty against him as clear as water.
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Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
It's easy.
Any manager / coach even substitutes (deviously sent down the line to chat with team mates) dishing out any advice during this time is banned from the touchline for the rest of the competition and has to sit in the stands.
Any player walking over towards the bench gets a yellow card.
Water can be strategically placed around the pitch or behind each goal.
heslops barnet
Well-Known Member
Obviously hasn’t ‘practiced’ it unlike other keepers
Ho Chi Man City
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I may watch the odd match from the 28th June when the knock outs start. The 48 team group stage is a joke, losing just 16 teams, plenty of dead rubbers for match day 3 and opportunities to stage a result.
When England won the tournament in 66 there were 4 groups of 4, England played just 6 matches, the teams reaching the final or 3rd place play off will be playing 8 games, concluding on the 19th July, 34 days before the Premier League kick’s off. Five games then we have a break of nearly three weeks with two International weekends.
The World Cup is shite now, the City team of 2022 would have beaten Argentina who won it that year. It’s all about the dosh and that insipid fella Infantino is as bent as Platini and Blatter.
Trevor Morley's Tache
Well-Known Member
When the football comes a distant second to commercial success then you know it's upside-down.
I sincerely hope this WC dies on its arse.
Protein Junkie
Well-Known Member
World Cup 2026: Pick your second team
The World Cup is almost here and you will no doubt have mapped out your team's potential route to the final, but if they exit early who should be your second team to follow at the tournament?
www.bbc.co.uk
I will support England as my second team. Wife is English, mother half English and City are an English team.
Other that I suppose Spain because of Rodders and Pep.
Can’t do Portugal if Fake Ronaldo is still stinking the squad out.
Be interesting to see how Norway and the Uzbeks get on.
Leaving the shennanigans, the greed aside, why not trying to involve more teams in a WC to make smaller, less traditional countries become better. There is no other way.
City today it is what it is because the Greed took the best of big clubs in the creation of the EPL, changing the scenario of money influx biting the arse of United, Liverpool and even Everton was big in those days. If not it would still be a hood club that would be badly treated by other bigger budget Traditional clubs.
Anyway, the issue its not more teams, its the bizzness behind these new formats that are hardly well managed. That has so many issues that indeed sucks.
Yet Rugby was extremely prejudice including countries with less resources and now with just adding more teams, more competition since some years, the level around the globe has been better than ever.
PD: don't be that sure about club sides winning easily WCs, indeed to train regularly for years gives an advantage, but playing WCs has some pretty hefty extra emotional weight that's not easy to handle.
After all that City side had issues in KO tournaments in crunching time and even the 23 side didn't had the best of times against Inter in a very WC alike match.
City as great as has played during all these last years, had and has many moody players that that most of them never translate their club form to their NTs. What I mean it's that it's not that plain, that straight forward, plus the Final Argentina played till the 80 mark minute and the suplementary was tight and top notch and also shows that the slightlest of slips you can end in the gutter in two seconds in a WC KO match (and the same, perhaps even a tad less in CL KOs). Very similar to what happened to City way too mamy times in CL.
I've actually come round to liking 48 teams to be honest. It makes it more of a 'world' cup, and for the players and people of those nations, much more meaningful, rather than feeling like they're just looking in with no hope of cheering on their own country being there. At the end of the day, it's something that only comes around every 4 years, so it's not something anually dominating the football calender and causing player burnout. For players from Curacao, Iraq, Haiti, etc, its the opportunity of a lifetime. Many of them will never play Champions League, but they'll get to play in a WC. If they can impress, it could be life changing, not just for them but also for their families and communities. It's a chance for some remarkable stories to be written. I can't begrudge that.
I think Portugal will win it. The heat and humidity means teams are not going to press as much as normally, the pace of games is going to be much slower, which will suit someone like Ronaldo. The team that can keep the ball and retain possession the best will be the winner.
I think Portugal will win it. The heat and humidity means teams are not going to press as much as normally, the pace of games is going to be much slower, which will suit someone like Ronaldo. The team that can keep the ball and retain possession the best will be the winner.
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
How many English / Scottish?
Exactly.
It makes the group stage absolutely fucking meaningless, even Scotland should qualify ffs. I know pep is rightly credited with changing football, but has anyone caused so many rule changes than Arteta in a single go? legohead is a legend in IFAB terms.