FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 - RUSSIA
- Thread starter Sabiondo
- Start date
- Watchers 10
ShoeFlo
Well-known member
Decent performance by 
During first half I was surprised about how passive Russia played. They had like 40% possession... although they play on home ground against a third-tier team. sure, they were never in danger but I thought they should try to score more since the goal difference might become essential at the end. And well, in the last few minutes they did. It doesnt even feel like they wasted power to achieve this win. Saudi Arabia was very generous in giving presents. Very good conversion of chances by the Russians, very clinical. Respect for that. The performance isnt meaningful in view of their next two matches. But it brings them into a good position.
As a follower of Asian football I can tell you Saudi Arabia shouldnt be there.They benefitted by suspicious referee decisions in 2, 3 matches of qualification round. Only by that their beat Thailand and turned around the away match against Iraq. Anyway, they were going to end up on 3rd place in their group but then they were saved by Japan on last match day. Japan was already qualified and eased up so that Saudi Arabia could beat them after a hard fight. Well, the likes of United Arab Emirates or China arent more competitive but they possibly wuldnt have lost to 0-5 as they know you have to put emphasis on defense when you are hopelessly inferior. Otherwise you make a fool of yourself
During first half I was surprised about how passive Russia played. They had like 40% possession... although they play on home ground against a third-tier team. sure, they were never in danger but I thought they should try to score more since the goal difference might become essential at the end. And well, in the last few minutes they did. It doesnt even feel like they wasted power to achieve this win. Saudi Arabia was very generous in giving presents. Very good conversion of chances by the Russians, very clinical. Respect for that. The performance isnt meaningful in view of their next two matches. But it brings them into a good position.
As a follower of Asian football I can tell you Saudi Arabia shouldnt be there.They benefitted by suspicious referee decisions in 2, 3 matches of qualification round. Only by that their beat Thailand and turned around the away match against Iraq. Anyway, they were going to end up on 3rd place in their group but then they were saved by Japan on last match day. Japan was already qualified and eased up so that Saudi Arabia could beat them after a hard fight. Well, the likes of United Arab Emirates or China arent more competitive but they possibly wuldnt have lost to 0-5 as they know you have to put emphasis on defense when you are hopelessly inferior. Otherwise you make a fool of yourself
Himan
Well-known member
- Joined
- March 16, 2018
- Posts
- 2,001
They also fired their head coach who made a tenth or eleventh team of asia a fourth team of asia an a WC Qualifier. He is now in Australia. But Russia couldn't outplay Saudi, They just were tactically better, by a lot though.\
I don't believe China, Thailand, UAE, Uzbekistan or Syria would have lost here with 5-0.
I don't believe China, Thailand, UAE, Uzbekistan or Syria would have lost here with 5-0.
ShoeFlo
Well-known member
I try a WC prediction
Group A
1. Uruguay
2. Russia
3. Egypt
4. 5audi-Arabia
Uruguay is way too strong for the other competitors in this group. Egypt is overhyped for no reason. Salah alone cant carry the team. They will beat 5audi and might get a draw against Russia but even if they'll be equal on points with Russia they will lose by goal difference.
Group B
1. Spain
2. Portugal
3. Iran
4. Morocco
Spain is on fire again. They recovered from the last two tournaments. Yes, there might be a little mess now after they changed the coach but then again their playing system is firm and solid, you can wake them up at 3:00 in the morning and they would show you excellent possession game.
Portugal will play meh-ish but advance to the R16. Iran will save the honour of Asia
Group C
1. France
2. Denmark
3. Peru
4. Australia
I thought about betting on a surprise and putting Denmark on 1st place cause France is like a collection of worldclass talent who doesnt really fit well together. They rely a lot on their individual qualities, I miss the "thumbprint" of the coach, something distinctive in their way of playing football.
Denmark can be stunning sometimes, but all in all they are shaky so I guess 2nd place is the best they can achieve.
Peru can defend well but they lack experience. Australia has physically strong players - thats the only positive about them I can come up with.
Group D
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. Croatia
4. Iceland
Mmmh, bad feeling about this group. Nigeria on 2nd place is a bold prediction ... however the team looks quite good, the qualification record was very good, the chemistry is good, and their coach really helped them to progress. Moreover, the atmosphere there is very calm and relaxed for Nigeria standards. Usually in African confederations there are some upheavals that cause distraction ...
Croatia will bottle their job like they mostly do and Iceland... well ...I dont have trust in our defense sadly
Group E
1. Brazil
2. Serbia
3. Switzerland
4. Costa Rica
Brazil will sail through without further problems. Switzerland is a little overrated.They had an impressive run in the last couple of years but their Qualification group was a joke tbh. Serbia is on a similar level and I feel like theyll have the edge here.
Costa Rica wont be able to repeat their adventure of 2014
Group F
1. Germany
2. Mexico
3. Sweden
4. South Korea
We always perform well when it counts and moreover Mexico, Sweden and to some extent South Korea will steal points from each other so 1st place is ours. Mexico is more experienced than Sweden and they have been extremely consistent through the years. South Korea has Son, and 3-4 more players who proved theirselves in Europe, but the other players lack quality.
Group G
1. Belgium
2. England
3. Tunisia
4. Panama
Belgium vs Panama is a contender for the highest win of the tournament. This one will challenge the opening match result. Belgium will also beat Tunisia easily. The stunning Three Lions are gonna humiliate the underdogs with 1:0 and 2:0 and spread fear all around the world.
Tunisia beat Panama but this wont play a role.
Group H
1. Columbia
2. Poland
3. Senegal
4. Japan
Even though there is no top team this is arguably one of the most thrilling groups with three amitious teams on a similar level and another decent side, namely Japan
Columbia has a good mixture of technical and physical skills. Poland looked well in the last Euros and I hope they keep developing. Senegal has a stunning squad and Id love them to do well but they hardly didnt face any strong teams in the last couple of years... and they rarely impressed.
Japan has too many problems and still didnt overcome their crisis.
Round of 16
Uruguay - Portugal
France - Nigeria
Spain - Russia
Argentina - Denmark
Brazil - Mexico
Belgium - Poland (because this R16 needs a surprise win at least)
Germany - Serbia (only after extra time cause we always struggle with yugo-teams)
Columbia - England
Quarter final
Portugal - France (successful revenge for the Euro final)
Brazil - Poland
Spain - Argentina (Messi will retire from national team after this match)
Germany - Columbia (whenever we are current world champions we get kocked out against underdogds..Austria in 1978 and Bulgaria in 1994.. history repeats. We are just not that good this year. And moreover, I dont want to let us lose to Spain in Semi Finals so I eliminate us before xD clever me)
Semi Finals
France - Brazil
Spain - Columbia
Final
Spain - Brazil(will go down in history as one of the most amazing finals ever. Spain will be the dominant team but Brazil will hit them on the break.
Congrats for 6th World Cup!
Group A
1. Uruguay
2. Russia
3. Egypt
4. 5audi-Arabia
Uruguay is way too strong for the other competitors in this group. Egypt is overhyped for no reason. Salah alone cant carry the team. They will beat 5audi and might get a draw against Russia but even if they'll be equal on points with Russia they will lose by goal difference.
Group B
1. Spain
2. Portugal
3. Iran
4. Morocco
Spain is on fire again. They recovered from the last two tournaments. Yes, there might be a little mess now after they changed the coach but then again their playing system is firm and solid, you can wake them up at 3:00 in the morning and they would show you excellent possession game.
Portugal will play meh-ish but advance to the R16. Iran will save the honour of Asia
Group C
1. France
2. Denmark
3. Peru
4. Australia
I thought about betting on a surprise and putting Denmark on 1st place cause France is like a collection of worldclass talent who doesnt really fit well together. They rely a lot on their individual qualities, I miss the "thumbprint" of the coach, something distinctive in their way of playing football.
Denmark can be stunning sometimes, but all in all they are shaky so I guess 2nd place is the best they can achieve.
Peru can defend well but they lack experience. Australia has physically strong players - thats the only positive about them I can come up with.
Group D
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. Croatia
4. Iceland
Mmmh, bad feeling about this group. Nigeria on 2nd place is a bold prediction ... however the team looks quite good, the qualification record was very good, the chemistry is good, and their coach really helped them to progress. Moreover, the atmosphere there is very calm and relaxed for Nigeria standards. Usually in African confederations there are some upheavals that cause distraction ...
Croatia will bottle their job like they mostly do and Iceland... well ...I dont have trust in our defense sadly
Group E
1. Brazil
2. Serbia
3. Switzerland
4. Costa Rica
Brazil will sail through without further problems. Switzerland is a little overrated.They had an impressive run in the last couple of years but their Qualification group was a joke tbh. Serbia is on a similar level and I feel like theyll have the edge here.
Costa Rica wont be able to repeat their adventure of 2014
Group F
1. Germany
2. Mexico
3. Sweden
4. South Korea
We always perform well when it counts and moreover Mexico, Sweden and to some extent South Korea will steal points from each other so 1st place is ours. Mexico is more experienced than Sweden and they have been extremely consistent through the years. South Korea has Son, and 3-4 more players who proved theirselves in Europe, but the other players lack quality.
Group G
1. Belgium
2. England
3. Tunisia
4. Panama
Belgium vs Panama is a contender for the highest win of the tournament. This one will challenge the opening match result. Belgium will also beat Tunisia easily. The stunning Three Lions are gonna humiliate the underdogs with 1:0 and 2:0 and spread fear all around the world.
Tunisia beat Panama but this wont play a role.
Group H
1. Columbia
2. Poland
3. Senegal
4. Japan
Even though there is no top team this is arguably one of the most thrilling groups with three amitious teams on a similar level and another decent side, namely Japan
Columbia has a good mixture of technical and physical skills. Poland looked well in the last Euros and I hope they keep developing. Senegal has a stunning squad and Id love them to do well but they hardly didnt face any strong teams in the last couple of years... and they rarely impressed.
Japan has too many problems and still didnt overcome their crisis.
Round of 16
Uruguay - Portugal
France - Nigeria
Spain - Russia
Argentina - Denmark
Brazil - Mexico
Belgium - Poland (because this R16 needs a surprise win at least)
Germany - Serbia (only after extra time cause we always struggle with yugo-teams)
Columbia - England
Quarter final
Portugal - France (successful revenge for the Euro final)
Brazil - Poland
Spain - Argentina (Messi will retire from national team after this match)
Germany - Columbia (whenever we are current world champions we get kocked out against underdogds..Austria in 1978 and Bulgaria in 1994.. history repeats. We are just not that good this year. And moreover, I dont want to let us lose to Spain in Semi Finals so I eliminate us before xD clever me)
Semi Finals
France - Brazil
Spain - Columbia
Final
Spain - Brazil(will go down in history as one of the most amazing finals ever. Spain will be the dominant team but Brazil will hit them on the break.
Congrats
for 6th World Cup!
Hope that Serbia is going to make it to the next round. Will be hard against Brazil, but nevertheless a second place is possible!
Thank you and I also hope for the best for Germany
It sucks though that we would have to play against each other if we make it from the 2nd spot but we will see.....maybe we manage to avoid each other as well I agree that Brazil is the absolute favorite of our group and they are also potentially the first favorites for the title as well. They are very disciplined and very dominant as well. It will be very hard against them.
But for us the 2 first matches are the most important ones. Costa Rica will be a match of the year for us and that's where we need to look for our first victory. Even though many people in
think that Costa Rica will be easy to beat, I believe quite the opposite. It will be a tough match especially because Costa Rica is very compact as well. The Swiss team is also great and that's where we also have to try and get a positive result And against Brazil........well, we should come out and play what we always played and we will see if that will be enough.Germany I believe will easily win the group although Mexico and Sweden are both great teams and we will surely see some exciting matches there
As for the opening, a deserved victory of the
team .Saudi Arabia was very bad today and we couldn't see anything from them. It's a shame when you decide to defend all the time in a match that is watched by the entire world. I think this is a good boost for but they had some mistakes as well and they need to fix that before the duels with Egypt and Uruguay if they want the first place.Looking forward to tomorrow's matches, especially
vs. 
Follow the odds, that's about my prediction
That's definitely a way to do it! My guess lies on either France or England as winners.
Himan
Well-known member
- Joined
- March 16, 2018
- Posts
- 2,001
Well, that's not totally the truth of this match though. The ball percentages were 57% for Saudi Arabia and 43% for Russia. They were tactically made dead by the Russians. And to weak to keep the ball for that long. They should have defended all the way, which wouldn't have given them that much against goals. Saudi Arabia was just too weak. And the score was may be a bit to high for the difference between the teams.
MyHeartIsYours
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Posts
- 24,545
Big win for Russia today, bet we won't have very many other 5-0's lol.
Tomorrow I'm supporting:
Egypt vs Uruguay
Morocco vs Iran
Portugal vs Spain
Can't wait for the Portugal vs Spain match!
Tomorrow I'm supporting:
Egypt vs Uruguay
Morocco vs Iran
Portugal vs Spain
Can't wait for the Portugal vs Spain match!
JamieBrown
Well-known member
I try a WC prediction
Oooh. After seeing them I just want to spoil your predictions
Is this funny because I put your predictions in "Spoiler" to not get this tooo big? 
Just one warning. It's a little bold.
Group A
1. Uruguay
2. Egypt
3. Russia
4. Saudi Arabia
We agree on Uruguay, they don't have the strongest team ever, but a solid squad with one or two good players on every side. A strong player can lead a team to bigger success and Mo Salah defo leaded Liverpool in the important matches. It's a close call with Russia, but I'm still not convinced our hosts are actually good. They just played the worst team they could find here.
Group B
1. Portugal
2. Morocco
3. Spain
4. Iran
I just think most of Spains strenght belonged to the tactics of Lopetegui. Dismissing the coach two days before the first match never seemed a good idea and the players stood behind him. Portugal will so win this group now, with a motivational victory tomorrow. And Morocco is 'the' underdog to me. They have an interesting midfield, a solid defense and need just one goal to score. Iran will entertain us, but they needed another group for success.
Group C
1. France
2. Denmark
3. Peru
4. Australia
Well. No differences here. But anything between Denmark, Peru and Australia can happen I guess. That's the deal with two teams with no names.
Group D
1. Croatia
2. Nigeria
3. Iceland
4. Argentina
Eliminate Messi and you might eliminate the whole Argentina. Never seen such an inbalance between defense and attack. Group of Death shall hit them. Croatia never delivered after 1998 and a little bit in 2008, so it's another 10 years I guess. They have the ability to annoy Argentina and the structure to beat Nigeria. They will lose Iceland again tho. Iceland may suffer from not being strong enough for Argentina.
Group E
1. Brazil
2. Switzerland
3. Serbia
4. Costa Rica
I actually thought the same about Serbia and Switzerland but then I though of one match to end goalless and Serbia vs. Costa Rica came to my mind. It will never happen now, but I fear the serbian team is too inexperienced to cope with the pressure of this WC. The old swiss boys will show us one last time, that they were a great generation, but it's time for new boys soon. Costa Rica can still surprise, because no one expects them to surprise us once more.
Group F
1. Germany
2. Mexico
3. Sweden
4. South Korea
Following my bold predictions I should've let Germany hit the champions curse. Mexico and Sweden are strong. But I agree on you in the end
Group G
1. England
2. Belgium
3. Panama
4. Tunisia
I just think England will deliver everything in the group stage, just to get eliminated in the 1/8-final again or something. Maybe their last game against Belgium will be 0-0 too, then Belgium should win this group due to the goal difference. Panama will give us a nice farewell against Tunisia.
Group H
1. Poland
2. Senegal
3. Colombia
4. Japan
Anything can happen. Not the strongest teams so Lewy scores enough, Senegal is fast, Colombia and Japan should make it as well? Haha. #SorryAsia
1/8-Final
Uruguay vs. Morocco The lucks on their side again
France vs. Nigeria - Interesting match, but with the better end for France
Brazil vs. Mexico - No way Mexico will finally advance
England vs. Senegal - Smashing their group and losing to an underdog is so England. Their time will come, but Senegal is too fast for them.
Portugal vs. Egypt - No fucking Portugal has it easy
Croatia vs. Denmark - Croatia and the nordics. Danish Dynamit reloaded.
Germany vs. Switzerland - Nice neighbouring duel with the stronger side to the north
Poland vs. Belgium - Sorry to Poland, but Belgium coming 2nd will be their only mistake
Quarterfinal Now the shit begins
Uruguay vs. France - I expect them to scrape through in a close and exciting match. Maybe Extra time needed.
Brazil vs. Senegal - England wouldn't have beaten them
Portugal vs. Denmark - I didn't want this, but Spain is to blame imo. Worst QF and worst semifinalist.
Germany vs. Belgium - Same prediction, but different opponent.
Top 4
4.
3. ::uy
2.
1.
It seems Brazil will win this #Jynx
not making predictions, i predicted brazil would win against germany last time and..........
of course stanning my country!!!!! (and egypt tomorrow. i'm not picking side on the other two matches)
of course stanning my country!!!!! (and egypt tomorrow. i'm not picking side on the other two matches)
[MENTION=16089]anaraqueen[/MENTION] A little homage/tribute to the 'magical' Brazil team of 1982,
a 'Team of Dreams' & imho Best national team Never to win the World Cup
Go Brazil
OWWWWWWWWNNNN THANK YOU
333333
njdevils94
Veteran
- Joined
- June 16, 2018
- Posts
- 6,545
I was really disappointed with Morocco they had a lot more to offer. I don't think its out of the question that they can get points of Portugal. They were just too aloof today. Iran have always been defensive. They should of pushed the tempo more. Far too casual. Ayoub El-Kaabi did not have as big of an influence that I thought he would. One of the more interesting stories at the world cup. Coming out of no where playing in the Moroccan league scoring 11 goals in 9 games at international level. Should of been at least 3 more minutes of added time at the end of the game with all the stoppages in the 2nd half but oh well.
Egypt lacked that cutting edge today without Salah although I thought Amr Warda was decent and they were unlucky not get a draw. El-Shenawi the keeper made a terrific save on Cavani in the 2nd half. Their captain Ahmed Fathy was excellent as well at right-back as was center back Ahmed Hegazi but Uruguay were able to capitalize on a set piece and it was a fantastic header by Jose Gimenez to win it for them.
Egypt lacked that cutting edge today without Salah although I thought Amr Warda was decent and they were unlucky not get a draw. El-Shenawi the keeper made a terrific save on Cavani in the 2nd half. Their captain Ahmed Fathy was excellent as well at right-back as was center back Ahmed Hegazi but Uruguay were able to capitalize on a set piece and it was a fantastic header by Jose Gimenez to win it for them.
A Fantastic match between Portugal and Spain just finished. Could be one of the best matches in the whole World Cup, well done both teams!
And Cristiano Ronaldo: simply out of this world!!
Agree. But loved the goals from Spain too. Great shots! Ronaldo ... great player, but he always looks so arrogant, not my type at all!
I thought that the match could have been a final from the intensity.
