This is the World Cup thread

[UnseenParticipant]

Any thoughts on the World Cup? For me, the emergence of Africa as a producer of World Cup-quality national teams is perhaps the biggest news.

Other than the controversies surrounding Qatar, of course.

[DavisModerator]

As I no longer live in Spain, I thought I was less attached, until I saw the horrific penalties between Morrocco and Spain. It was dire, painful and slightly heart breaking.

Watching France play England in Scotland was absolutely hilarious. Everyone at the viewing party (30 of us) was supporting France (anyone but England) except an English friend of ours. We tried our best to keep the piss taking to a minimum but I think it was overdone as he left the party 15 minutes after the match was over.

I drew croatia in a pool amongst friends, so in fact, if they win the next match I stand to win a tidy sum and if they win the cup, yikes that’s a lot of dough. Also the Croatian players are smoking hot so I don’t mind watching them play at all.

I and my friends promised to boycott the cup, but we all gave in. I actually play on an LGTBQ+ football team and virtually nobody could bare to boycott it. For fans, watching the cup is like being a little child at Christmas. I do recognise that it was pathetic of me to give in and support this absolute fucking trainwreck of a shitty, biggoted, cruel and corrupt world cup.

[UnseenParticipant]

Any thoughts on Renaldo as a benchwarmer?

[DavisModerator]

Risky decision, seemed to have not worked unfortunately. On the one hand, you cannot have a player emboldened by being a disruptive diva, on the other hand, you certainly want your best player on the field. There is an argument about whether he is the best player anymore. Unfortunately we won’t have a chance to see what comes afterwards as they are out. He certainly fucked up his career (at least temporarily) by being an obnoxious diva. It’s amazing how quickly being a hothead (even temporarily so) can destroy what you’ve built up.

As an aside, interestingly one thinks of Spanish/Portuguese society as one of hotheads. This is a total myth, in fact open arguments, makings scenes, being disruptive is very much taboo and heavily avoided in general. I’ve seen way more public, work, sports, party displays of hot-headed destructiveness in Northern Europe and North America. In a few countries, on a daily basis out in public. That’s what makes examples of public meltdowns or overly diva behaviour extremely notable in the Iberian peninsula, especially in Rinaldo’s case.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Also the Croatian players are smoking hot so I don’t mind watching them play at all.

I was watching their last match and a TV soccer pundit said “I think Croatia can go all the way”. A Dublin wit in the background shouted out “They can go all the way with me”, to much applause from her friends.

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Davis,

The cognitive dissonance and lack of self-awareness and phony virtue signaling around this whole story is amazing.

The reputation of the United States of America is on a regular basis dragged through the mud in worldwide academia and media as if our nation is the only one where slavery and oppression ever happened, even though no U.S. Citizen living today either held a chattel slave or was a chattel slave in these borders.

And yet in the modern day, when the Sultans of this oil-rich Islamic nation Qatar–whose name sounds ugly no matter how it is pronounced, whether “Gutter,” Cutter,” or “Catarrh,”–

*restrain foreign workers from free movement,
*work 6,500 workers to death in triple-digit temperatures,
*oppress their own citizens with Islamofascist Sha’ria law,
and forbid freedom of expression to journalists reporting on these inhuman conditions,

all to build a sports venue hosting the FIFA Fo Fum Fiddle-Fuck Soccer Games,

everyone lines up and Salaams this horrible spectacle!

If people love soccer so much, let them play in places where people, whether immigrant or citizen, live free and governments respect their individual rights! Playing with hackey-sacks and fidget spinners made by free workers in free markets is more honorable than this bread-and-circuses in Qatar built upon mounds of corpses!

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  TheEncogitationer. Reason: Misspelled the synonym for Mucous

[DavisModerator]

The United States is rightfully dragged through the mud Enco. Get over it. Your country does inexcusable appalling shit on a daily basis around the world and it trails at the bottom of the developed world in things like income disparity, education, racism, neglect of those in need, healthcare for all, violence, police abuse and toxic politics. Face up to these obvious shortcomings and work to do something about it.

Yeah, Qatar is a shit ton worse. I’m not denying it. The world cup in Qatar is full of corruption, biggotry, labour abuse and human rights abuse. It shouldn’t be there.

In other words: people are absolutely right to criticise Qatar and the world cup. And they are god damned right to criticise the horror that the US inflicts on the world and the neglect of its own citizens. America could and should do better. Qatar has a million miles to go. See how I have the capacity to critique two different things that need be critiqued for different reasons?

I admitted that I caved in an watched the world cup. Note how I am capable of admitting I did something that goes against my values. It is actually possible for someone to admit something about themselves or their country that isn’t cool or can be improved. Try it yourself Enco by admitting you’re wrong once in a while (you frequently are) and that your country can do a shit ton better around the world and within (it can).

[DavisModerator]

Turns out, ufff…Croatia was massacred. Was painful to watch. To my surprise, the pool I’m in gives out a little cash to the 4th and 3rd place team so at least I get a pint or two out of it. Argentina easily deserved that win.

If by some miracle Morocco wins tomorrow, then we will have the first final without a European team since 1950, and the first final with a non-European or South American team ever, which will be pretty interesting. I only just found out the next world cup is in all of North America throughout three countries. Fabulous idea!

[UnseenParticipant]

Davis wrote:

I admitted that I caved in an watched the world cup. Note how I am capable of admitting I did something that goes against my values. It is actually possible for someone to admit something about themselves or their country that isn’t cool or can be improved. Try it yourself Enco by admitting you’re wrong once in a while (you frequently are) and that your country can do a shit ton better around the world and within (it can).

Don’t hold your breath, as the colloquialism goes.

[UnseenParticipant]

Davis wrote:

If by some miracle Morocco wins tomorrow, then we will have the first final without a European team since 1950, and the first final with a non-European or South American team ever, which will be pretty interesting.

Brazil is a South American team and they’ve actually won five finals. Am I missing something here?

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Unseen.

[AutumnParticipant]

Uruguay*, Brazil, and Argentina have all taken first at the World Cup more than once. I believe he means it would be the first time a team outside of Europe or South America has made the championship game. Only one team outside of Europe and South America has made the final four: Korea in 2002. (Though one might argue the Soviet Union qualifies as well). None have ever made it to the final.

*Uruguay displays four stars over its national team’s crest despite only having won the World Cup twice. This is because their Olympic wins in 1924 and 1928 (prior to the first World Cup) are also recognized as valid championships. Also, there is probably some fear that if anyone attempts to take two of those stars away, Luis Suarez will quite literally chew them up and spit them up.

Anyway, I skipped this tournament. FIFA has always been problematic, and every host nation has its fucked up shit in some measure, but Qatar has me considering just giving up World Cup altogether. I’ve never been under the impression that FIFA has genuinely given a shit about equality, but one would hope it could draw the line at the use of borderline slave labour. Fortunately for my FoMo, Germany got knocked out early again, so it’s not like I missed much anyway. It’s not the only team I watch, but it’s the only team I really root for. Would have been interesting to see Canada play (despite lacklustre performance in the final tournament, it was interesting that they came out on top during the CONCACAF qualifiers).

[DavisModerator]

So actually, yeah, since Pluto is technically not a planet (but a dwarf one) Earth’s moon is, technically the largest moon in the system relative to the planet it orbits. So not entirely wrong! 🙂

[UnseenParticipant]

Autumn wrote:

Uruguay*, Brazil, and Argentina have all taken first at the World Cup more than once. I believe he means it would be the first time a team outside of Europe or South America has made the championship game.

I guess I’m not catching the distinction in play here.

[UnseenParticipant]

Davis wrote:

So actually, yeah, since Pluto is technically not a planet (but a dwarf one) Earth’s moon is, technically the largest moon in the system relative to the planet it orbits. So not entirely wrong! 🙂

This isn’t the factoid thread, Davis. LOL

[AutumnParticipant]

Unseen wrote:

Autumn wrote:

Uruguay*, Brazil, and Argentina have all taken first at the World Cup more than once. I believe he means it would be the first time a team outside of Europe or South America has made the championship game.

I guess I’m not catching the distinction in play here.

Every team to reach the championship game has been from either Europe or South America. If Morocco had beaten France today, it would have been the first time in World Cup history that a team not from Europe and not from South America was in the championship game. That’s what was being said, not that it would be a first to have a South American finalist. As it stands, Morocco is only the second team not from Europe or South America to make the final four.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in the not too distant future, we saw more diversity in championship games. The past few decades have seen more players from around the world traded to the most competitive leagues. Of the current Moroccan squad called up to World Cup, 20 out of 26 play on European teams including a few powerhouse teams.

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