This is one of the lesser interesting WCs in recent memory. I suspect people who are calling it the most interesting are getting a bit carried away with the emotion of the moment. Barring something extravagant in the next week or two, we'll likely look back at this one as distinctly average.
Is this going to be (or already is) the best WC in living memory?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
I normally try to get time off work during World cups and Olympics. But I had really low expectations for this World cup and didn't bother with leave. It has been fantastic so far. If it has a great final, then it will be my favourite.
So what was it that 14, 10, 06.... had that elevated them so much above this average one? The goals, the upsets, the last minute goals, the fans.....?
Sorry, but...what ? It is unquestionably better than 2014 , 2010 , 2002. But 1994, 1998 and 2006 are still holding up nicely though.
Right now which country would be a worthy World Champion??
There is not 1 team that impressed me . Sorry but sofar only 2002 was worse than this one.
Some of it has to do with where you watched the games, the atmosphere etc. I loved the drama in 06 - the Argentina - Serbia game, the CR7/Figo Portugal dynamic, R9's final WC, the Zidane/Matterazzi drama etc.
Better than 2014 I would say. 2010 and 2002 are still more interesting.
When comparing to previous WCs people tend to recollect the entirety of the tournaments while this has not yet completed the round of 16 .
I don't understand people saying the latter rounds will be shit because there aren't as many "big" teams left and we won't have classics. Have we forgotten the absolute shit the "big" teams have served up when paired against each other in the last World Cups in the knock-outs?
Germany 1-0 France (absolute snoozefest of a match decided by a set piece. Switzerland-Sweden earlier today had more chances)
Argentina 1-0 Belgium (game of few chances and no drama...not even a second half Belgian surge)
Germany 7-1 Brazil (A classic yes, but in terms of excitement and drama the game was over after 25 mins. If a team like Russia or Sweden gets murdered in the semi-final like that, we'll never hear the end of "Shit team ruining the competitiveness of latter stages" argument
Argentina 0-0 Netherlands (One of the worst semi-finals in history of WC. As dull as France-Denmark match last week)
Even the final wasn't a "classic" to write home about.
Germany 1-0 France (absolute snoozefest of a match decided by a set piece. Switzerland-Sweden earlier today had more chances)
Argentina 1-0 Belgium (game of few chances and no drama...not even a second half Belgian surge)
Germany 7-1 Brazil (A classic yes, but in terms of excitement and drama the game was over after 25 mins. If a team like Russia or Sweden gets murdered in the semi-final like that, we'll never hear the end of "Shit team ruining the competitiveness of latter stages" argument
Argentina 0-0 Netherlands (One of the worst semi-finals in history of WC. As dull as France-Denmark match last week)
Even the final wasn't a "classic" to write home about.
There will be a great atmosphere in 2022 ..lol Nobody will travel to Qatar . Nobody will watch games outside on a big screen in December .
Anyone calling this World Cup not one of the best guaranteed puts their bag on a seat next to them in a busy departure lounge then hates it when someone asks if they can sit there and it ruins their day.
I keep forgetting about the winter thing. What cnuts.
Good point, well made.
If you're good enough, you get through to the knockouts? Whatever your country's name is.
Since you from the USA . I wonder about 2026 . Will Canada/Usa/and Mexico all qualifying without playing ??
It has not be decided yet if all three hosts countries will get automatic qualification. FIFA are to make that decision at a later date. However, opinion in Canada among football circles is that all three will get automatic qualification. But we will have to wait and see.
Just checked in 2002 both Korea and Japan got automatic qualification . France as defending WC aswell .
1994 and 2006 are the gold standards for me. More so just personal taste as opposed to any footballing reasons.
Well, it is highly subjective, isn't it? I am enjoying this world cup much more than I expected and that has nothing to with stats.
Okay, now this is officially the worst world cup in history*
Not only that i had to witness us getting knocked out in the group stages for the first time in the history, now i also had to witness England winning penalties for the first time ever at a world cup. It can only get worse if Neymar wins this cup.
*(for me)
Not only that i had to witness us getting knocked out in the group stages for the first time in the history, now i also had to witness England winning penalties for the first time ever at a world cup. It can only get worse if Neymar wins this cup.
*(for me)
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I think it has to do with the internet and how we are simultaneously consuming this with millions on it. 2014 didn't have this kind of internet buzz, be interesting to see 2022.
Goals, upsets, changing of the guard ...... and England won a penalty shootout!
Come on 'previous World Cups'. Keep up.
Come on 'previous World Cups'. Keep up.
Depends how you rate a WC. This one has had more upsets and underdogs have done well, so by that metric, it's a candidate. But the football has overall been very dodgy. Nobody is dominating, nobody is an obvious candidate for the title. Almost all the games are won by a single goal. Close matches are good to watch, but these aren't the things that get remembered. You remember the exceptional sides that were clearly the best in the world.
I don't think this WC will go down in history as anything other than an unusual one where all the expected favourites were below par, unless some massive underdog like Croatia ends up winning the whole thing. While there have been a lot of close games, are people really going to remember any of these the way we remember the 7-1 Germany-Brazil game? Or the absolute brawl that was the Netherlands-Spain final? What players have stood out? What team has excelled?
There's a penalty in every other game. While they've generally been correct calls, it's still far more penalties than is good for the game. There have been some close, tense games, but there haven't been any that really got me excited. No games where one team proved themselves to be a candidate for the title. It's been smaller teams slightly overperforming and bigger teams slightly underperforming, day after day.
Kinda feels like when Leicester won the PL. That was certainly a remarkable and unusual event, but at the end of the day, it was a season where just about everyone else was total shit. It wasn't good football, and other than the fact that Leicester won the title, I don't remember a thing from that season. I think this WC will be the same. You'll vaguely remember that a lot of slightly unexpected things happened, and then possibly that Belgium won it or something. But there'll be no individual games that go down in history, no players who put their names on the map.
I prefer WCs where some team took the world by storm and the best players proved it on the biggest stage. Not ones where a lot of wonky things happened and all the favourites were mediocre. That sort of thing is pretty forgettable to me.
I don't think this WC will go down in history as anything other than an unusual one where all the expected favourites were below par, unless some massive underdog like Croatia ends up winning the whole thing. While there have been a lot of close games, are people really going to remember any of these the way we remember the 7-1 Germany-Brazil game? Or the absolute brawl that was the Netherlands-Spain final? What players have stood out? What team has excelled?
There's a penalty in every other game. While they've generally been correct calls, it's still far more penalties than is good for the game. There have been some close, tense games, but there haven't been any that really got me excited. No games where one team proved themselves to be a candidate for the title. It's been smaller teams slightly overperforming and bigger teams slightly underperforming, day after day.
Kinda feels like when Leicester won the PL. That was certainly a remarkable and unusual event, but at the end of the day, it was a season where just about everyone else was total shit. It wasn't good football, and other than the fact that Leicester won the title, I don't remember a thing from that season. I think this WC will be the same. You'll vaguely remember that a lot of slightly unexpected things happened, and then possibly that Belgium won it or something. But there'll be no individual games that go down in history, no players who put their names on the map.
I prefer WCs where some team took the world by storm and the best players proved it on the biggest stage. Not ones where a lot of wonky things happened and all the favourites were mediocre. That sort of thing is pretty forgettable to me.
1998 is probably my favorite.
This one is sort of like a Game of Thrones season where a lot of weird shit happens out of nowhere.
England is sort of like Stannis' army
This one is sort of like a Game of Thrones season where a lot of weird shit happens out of nowhere.
England is sort of like Stannis' army
For sheer entertainment this matches Mexico 1970, though for skill, style and football brilliance, the Brazil of 1970 is the best team I ever saw.
If your definition of 'average' is upsets, great goals & high drama, then sure, it's average.
Too many World Cups have one-paced games with teams aiming to nullify. This World Cup has had so little of that. It's been better than average.
I still hold 98 as the high watermark. It had a volume of outstanding players that this tournament doesn't. Otherwise I place Russia 18 over anything since France.
Upsets and high drama happen at every world cup (though this time maybe more than usual). The same with great goals and I'm actually not sure this WC is anything special in that regard.
It has been enjoyable for sure but it's missing a bit too much quality teams for it to be regarded as one or even the best ever. Upsets are great but they are even greater if it's not because the "big" teams are stinking up the place. So I can see people ranking it over 14,10,02 but for example 98 and 06 were definitely better imo?
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Yes and no.
I object to anyone labelling it as average.
98 was better. 06 perhaps comparable but it was too card-happy and perhaps I rate it lower as I was in Germany for it and not back home. My overall experience was amazing but I watched fewer matches and from what I remember, pretty much every single group went as expected.
I'm currently watching the 2nd best World Cup of my lifetime. It's awesome.
As far as no one making a strong case for themselves as winners goes, back at this stage in 2006 Italy still hadn't got their shit together, even with France the best was still yet to come.
Yeah if there's one thing holding this world cup back it's this. The only really giant team vs giant team we've had is France vs Argentina which only looked good on paper as Argentina are shite.
For me, this is the most into a WC I've been since 1990 (that was my first proper WC so it will always be the most magical).
Most the games have been very entertaining, but also I've found myself really rooting for England again for the first time since 1990. I wouldn't say I was jumping up and down during the shootout, but I was giving it the fist pumps, and I did feel hurt when Colombia equalised. That hasn't happened to me for decades. Difficult to pinpoint why exactly, but I think the main reason is the England team has always had players I hugely disliked, starting with Alan Shearer in the mid-90s, then Owen, then Gerrard and Terry and Cole, so it's difficult to get behind a team when you hate some of the key players.
Now for the first time in decades, I don't hate any of them (maybe I have a mild dislike of one or two of them, but it is very mild), so I feel like I can get behind them again for the first time since I was a kid.
But also, as I said earlier the games have been really entertaining too, even a couple of the games which were a bit on the dull side, something seems to always happen to liven them up. So long may it last!
Most the games have been very entertaining, but also I've found myself really rooting for England again for the first time since 1990. I wouldn't say I was jumping up and down during the shootout, but I was giving it the fist pumps, and I did feel hurt when Colombia equalised. That hasn't happened to me for decades. Difficult to pinpoint why exactly, but I think the main reason is the England team has always had players I hugely disliked, starting with Alan Shearer in the mid-90s, then Owen, then Gerrard and Terry and Cole, so it's difficult to get behind a team when you hate some of the key players.
Now for the first time in decades, I don't hate any of them (maybe I have a mild dislike of one or two of them, but it is very mild), so I feel like I can get behind them again for the first time since I was a kid.
But also, as I said earlier the games have been really entertaining too, even a couple of the games which were a bit on the dull side, something seems to always happen to liven them up. So long may it last!
I’m only 22 so obviously this is one of the best world cups in my memory (2006 being the other) but the quality hasn’t been the best - it’s just been the sheer entertainment that’s been the best. In general, the quality hasn’t been that great. We’ve just seen the poorer teams playing out their skins, but the best players haven’t turned up.
Although, there’s been some absolute screamers this year.
Even though I’m only young I feel like I’ve seen England fail so much, today was fecking brilliant. 2018 has definitely been my favourite so far, and maybe even the best - but not in quality.
Spain and Germany are Robb and Ned Stark then.
Brazil is Joffrey Baratheon or Ramsay Snow.
Who's going to be Jon Snow?
I'm not sure I'd have Argentina as a giant at the minute .... declined in recent times, still ok though.
Spain v Portugal was too biggish teams and a good game to watch? Had Nacho goal too which I really rated.
Going forward, Fridays games could give you the giant contests you're after?
I think it all depends. England fans will was lyrically about Italia 90. That's meant to be one of the worst world cups.
USA 94 didn't get brought up much by England fans good obvious reasons. It's meant to be one of the best.
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. The 2010 world cup was the worst in my lifetime. Travelling fans complained about Japan/SK 2002 but it may go down as one of the best.
I think 2006/2014/2018 are probably about par. But everyone's perspective will vary
The last great World Cup imo was 1998.
In hindsight this will go down as a special one. A World Cup near Christmas time in 2022 will mess up the European football calendar, and from then on 46 teams. Hellish.
In hindsight this will go down as a special one. A World Cup near Christmas time in 2022 will mess up the European football calendar, and from then on 46 teams. Hellish.
It's my favourite World Cup. First one I saw was 2002, I thought 2006 was good too.
Theyre last tournament finalists with the best or 2nd best player in the world. If not giants what are they?
My favourite since 2006, easily. The last two are half the reason I've had such a strong dislike for international football in recent years, just awful tournaments.
First I remember / saw was 90. I think this has pretty much all you could have asked for. Entertainment factor for games not involving your own country is a big thing for me. Ive been really into games that i shouldnt have been into.
Lets see how the quarters, semis and final go. But keeping up at this pace, personally ill say its the best.
Lets see how the quarters, semis and final go. But keeping up at this pace, personally ill say its the best.