Football Discussion.

[pandascepter]

UEFA

 

[Angry_Panda]

UEFA

CONCAC- nope. Can't do it with a straight face.

 

[Mr_Detective]

Holy crap, I didn't realize Leverkusen was undefeated in all competitions so far this season.

Only for them to get beaten badly by Atalanta, a 5th ranked team in Serie A. But then again, Atalanta in their recent matches have been good, too. Guess Leverkusen's luck finally ran out. Apparently, they tried to confuse Atalanta with their change in tactics, only to get confused themselves. XD

Madrid won again.

I wanted to resurrect this thread in time for the Euro, but I was too late. XP Had a lot to say about the matches, but one thing for sure is that most of the favorite teams, except for Germany and Spain, have underperformed badly.

And now Germany and Spain face each other early. A shame one of them has to get knocked out already. Portugal VS France is another great match, too. Ronaldo VS Mbappe! Was hoping for this in the WC22.

I predict Spain and Portugal winning. I think Spain is slightly above Germany right now. I love Mbappe, but even if Ronaldo has been struggling, Portugal's midfield is still better than France's. They support Ronaldo, and can score just as well. Griezmann has been pretty disappointing in these matches. Giroud hasn't been memorable. I see Portugal being slightly better, overall.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Yeah, Spain-Portugal seems like the semi on that side, but both of the quarters look like they could be epic, and any of the semi possibilities could be as well. Meanwhile, on the other side... idk, Netherlands-England, I guess? How did the draws wind up that lopsided?

Meanwhile meanwhile, Canada's about to get its ass handed to it tonight. And WHY THE FUCK did the USMNT not replace Berhalter yet? Aren't there, like, a dozen great European coaches they could get to replace him right now?

 

[pandascepter]

Imagine seeing scotland getting one

 

[pandascepter]

France literally just sitting and goes to semi final.

icant

 

[Angry_Panda]

Have to say, all four of the Euro quarters were fantastic games. Hopefully the semis continue that.

Over here, Canada needs to remember they're only allowed to be good at international hockey (and not the NHL).

 

[pandascepter]

@Mr_Detective have you seen pickford bottle water?

 

[Mr_Detective]

@Mr_Detective have you seen pickford bottle water?

Spoiler

So Ronaldo couldn't take Portugal to the final, after all. XD It's a shame, really. He, and the Portugal team, played quite well in the first two matches. They basically handed Georgia a ticket to the KO round, too. And then the match against Slovenia dragged out because Ronaldo squandered too many chances, two of which he could score and be the hero. And then 3 days later, they had to face France. I don't know for sure, but both teams might not have had enough time to rest. France didn't play so hot, either. Giroud didn't do anything memorable. Griezmann has been consistently disappointing this entire tournament. Somehow, they managed to crawl their way to the semi. They scored only one goal, and that was Mbappe's penalty. How unbelievable. XD

Felix had one job when he was subbed in: to score penalty. He couldn't do it. Well, he didn't have to worry. He, Bruno, and Bernado must be feeling relieved right now because all the attention is on Ronaldo. He's the only one being blamed for their loss, even though Bruno has been unimpressive for two games straight. Yeah, it's CR7's fault that Felix missed his penalty, alright. I'm no crazy fan of CR7 but the way he's being the scapegoat for everything is hilarious and ridiculous that I often myself defending him. =w= Martinez probably should have subbed in Ramos or Jota instead.

Pepe. I never liked him that much. He had a history of violent conduct. But I gotta respect his performance. He played for 90 minutes, yet, still had enough strength to keep up with a freshly subbed in French player (I think it was Dembele?). That was just incredible to watch.

So tomorrow is Spain VS France. As much as I like to root for Mbappe, I think Spain is going to win this one. They have a better team overall, and has been performing much more impressive. At best, France holds out until extra time or penalty and loses. Spain will be missing some key players, but I don't think that will be a big problem.

I don't watch COPA, but seems like Brazil has been very bad this tournament. Apparently one of the worst squads in a long time.

 

[pandascepter]

Spoiler

So Ronaldo couldn't take Portugal to the final, after all. XD It's a shame, really. He, and the Portugal team, played quite well in the first two matches. They basically handed Georgia a ticket to the KO round, too. And then the match against Slovenia dragged out because Ronaldo squandered too many chances, two of which he could score and be the hero. And then 3 days later, they had to face France. I don't know for sure, but both teams might not have had enough time to rest. France didn't play so hot, either. Giroud didn't do anything memorable. Griezmann has been consistently disappointing this entire tournament. Somehow, they managed to crawl their way to the semi. They scored only one goal, and that was Mbappe's penalty. How unbelievable. XD

Felix had one job when he was subbed in: to score penalty. He couldn't do it. Well, he didn't have to worry. He, Bruno, and Bernado must be feeling relieved right now because all the attention is on Ronaldo. He's the only one being blamed for their loss, even though Bruno has been unimpressive for two games straight. Yeah, it's CR7's fault that Felix missed his penalty, alright. I'm no crazy fan of CR7 but the way he's being the scapegoat for everything is hilarious and ridiculous that I often myself defending him. =w= Martinez probably should have subbed in Ramos or Jota instead.

Pepe. I never liked him that much. He had a history of violent conduct. But I gotta respect his performance. He played for 90 minutes, yet, still had enough strength to keep up with a freshly subbed in French player (I think it was Dembele?). That was just incredible to watch.

So tomorrow is Spain VS France. As much as I like to root for Mbappe, I think Spain is going to win this one. They have a better team overall, and has been performing much more impressive. At best, France holds out until extra time or penalty and loses. Spain will be missing some key players, but I don't think that will be a big problem.

I don't watch COPA, but seems like Brazil has been very bad this tournament. Apparently one of the worst squads in a long time.

Ronaldo be like, orange, but everyone else is green. Please put Ronaldo aside, i know hes all star but hes just not it man

 

[Angry_Panda]

So tomorrow is Spain VS France. As much as I like to root for Mbappe, I think Spain is going to win this one. They have a better team overall, and has been performing much more impressive. At best, France holds out until extra time or penalty and loses. Spain will be missing some key players, but I don't think that will be a big problem.

I get the feeling either Spain is going to come out early and own the field the entire match (3-0 or 4-1 or something else lopsided), or it's going to be close and France is going to squeak through in AET/penalties.

And on the other side... man, I just don't know (or really care that much). I kind of want to see it go 15 rounds of penalties for grins.

I don't watch COPA, but seems like Brazil has been very bad this tournament. Apparently one of the worst squads in a long time.

They were very much not-good. Somehow Canada has stolen their momentum. (I'm imagining some kind of Ocean's 11 heist to swap out water bottles between the two teams at a point early in the tournament.)

 

[Angry_Panda]

Everybody got their Spanish Armada references ready to go?

 

[Mr_Detective]

OK, folks. Today is the day. The final between Spain and England will start in about 5 hours. =w=

Will England be able to overcome their Harry Kane curse, and finally lift an international trophy after 6 decades of drought? Or will Spain emerge victorious with the help of the young genius Lamine Yama?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF EURO Z!

 

[Mr_Detective]

First half is over. Still 0-0. Not many chances from both sides. They all defend very well. At least with the intensity of this match, you never feel bored.

 

[Manko-sensei]

Everybody got their Spanish Armada references ready to go?

I have zero interest but I just checked it to see a message like this.

 

[Mr_Detective]

And it's over. Heartbreak for England. Heartbreak for Cole Palmer. Heartbreak for Harry Kane.

I felt like rooting for England toward the end. It's a shame they couldn't keep the net safe.

 

[Manko-sensei]

Think about it in a different way, the only thing that Spain is more or less capable of is running behind a ball. England will always have cricket. Football is and always be about money, even national competitions. And since I've been spammed about it, it's not like England was trying that hard in this tournament. It's a pain that this night will be extremely noisy, but at least the money for the prize will cover the bill for this expensive passtime. That's the only reason it's good for me for them to win.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Meanwhile in Miami...

As it turns out, CONMEBOL is organizing their tournament solo, despite it being held in the US... but they are not up to the task, and the championship game between Colombia and Argentina has been delayed at least an hour and a quarter due to fans forcing their way into the stadium instead of, y'know, not doing that. I'm sure the players are thrilled.

Bear in mind this stadium hosts both the Miami Dolphins of the NFL and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team (a member of the ACC, a top-tier US college conference). Neither the stadium nor the city are unaccustomed to hosting events of this size - they hosted the Super Bowl in February of 2020, for instance. This is some serious egg on the face for CONMEBOL.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Nil-nil at the half, which ran 10 minutes long to allow for Shakira to do a halftime show. Both teams look displeased while waiting to kick off.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Still scoreless at the end of regulation. 1st half was Colombia pretty convincingly; 2nd was much more even, with a slight edge to Argentina (plus an Argentine goal waived off for a clear offsides). Messi subbed off with a slight ankle injury at the 65th minute (walked off under his own power). Game will not end before midnight local time.