As it is the last international break before the summer, may as well look for a few predictions:
1 - Winner
2 - Semi-Finalists
3 - Biggest Flop
4 - Darkhorse
5 - Top Scorer
6 - Best of the Rest - Best non European/South American.
7 - How far will England go?
8 - Anything else you wish to say...
1 - I am going for Brazil. Very strong in qualifying, look to have a good core of players. Good blend of experience and youth.
2 - Brazil, Germany, France, Spain.
3 - European Champions Portugal. In a group of near neighbours (and Iran), I can see Morocco snatching 2nd place behind Spain.
4 - Egypt could top a weak looking group including the hosts and a below their peak Uruguay. An all North-African second round against Morocco could be on the cards.
5 - Harry Kane
6 - Egypt.
7 - Quarter final exit to Germany.
8 - Hopefully VAR and Russia won't ruin it.
World Cup Opinions...
posted on 23/3/18
comment by vidicthelegend VIVA LA REVOLUTION (U8735)
posted 6 hours, 59 minutes ago
People saying England will go to the quarters
We'll beat Panama, draw with Tunisia and lose to Belgium and be out in the group stages as usual.
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England do tend to get through the group, to be fair. Brazil 14 the obvious recent exception.
posted on 23/3/18
As usual.
posted on 23/3/18
Bloody Russians at it again.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/national-embarrassment-anger-drunken-england-12240281.amp
posted on 23/3/18
TooR desperate to prove something that no-one is arguing against
posted on 23/3/18
I'm not desperate at all. Just two articles tonight have been written proving what I said at the beginning of the article. England fans are as bad or at least close to as Russian fans. Well a minority of each set anyway.
As Southgate said, one's own house needs to be put in order before talking about Russians.
Arrogance and a holier than thou attitude isn't going to cut it.
posted on 23/3/18
No-one has argued there aren't England hooligans.
Putting your own house in order is all well and good - but the World Cup is in Russias 'house'....
posted on 23/3/18
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 5 minutes ago
No-one has argued there aren't England hooligans.
Putting your own house in order is all well and good - but the World Cup is in Russias 'house'....
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Yes. It was in England's in 96 and I thought it went quite well. Nothing much out of the ordinary. I'm sure that will be the same in the summer. Once again the sensationalism about a country which isn't England hosting a tournament will seem rather silly. Its funny as France was the one that I don't remember too much negative being said about before the event and yet it was the worst in recent memory for trouble. Of course no thanks to some English and Russian fans for that.
posted on 23/3/18
England did a lot of work in the 90s to try and eliminate hooliganism and racism in football.
And for a while England certainly improved.
posted on 23/3/18
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 9 minutes ago
England did a lot of work in the 90s to try and eliminate hooliganism and racism in football.
And for a while England certainly improved.
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Without a doubt and Russia are claiming they are putting a lot of work in to make sure the World Cup is a normal one. We will hopefully see the benefits of that. Unfortunately I won't be there. If VAR was in play in the qualifiers I might have went. Although I did go to France in 98 and saw Brazil beat Scotland. It just not the same when your own country aren't there. I sometimes feel some fans need their country to miss out on a few tournaments and then they might actually enjoy going there for the football and not the trouble, when they do get in.
posted on 23/3/18
Russia are claiming they are putting a lot of work in to make sure the World Cup is a normal one. We will hopefully see the benefits of that.
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Hope so. Be nice if hooliganism and VAR are topics that don't dominate the summer.