Day 8: Japan vs Costa Rica | Belgium vs Morocco | Croatia vs Canada | Spain vs Germany

Lay

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As someone who partially supports Celtic, it drives me nuts that Kyogo is not in the team.
Yet Maeda was picked! Who is a decent player, works his socks off but is nowhere near the quality of Kyogo. Hatate isn’t in the squad either
 

Sylar

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Another 0-0 half time
And odds were evens so glad Ive was put that yesterday and today. Somehow will make tiny profit even if the rest of today doesn't go that way
 

Lay

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Not liking this midday games. They’re too slow.
 

Bobski

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80% of the matches seem to start with pundits saying they think it'll be a good match and then having to apologise at half time for how boring it's been
The individual depth of quality is either not there or just too old.

Cyclical, not always going to get WC98 or Euro 2000 level squads at tournaments.
 

Offside

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Haven’t seen a major tournament in a long time with such a lack of quality in nearly all the games. Could all change in the knockout round though.
 

Lay

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The individual depth of quality is either not there or just too old.

Cyclical, not always going to get WC98 or Euro 2000 level squads at tournaments.
I think there’s a big gap between upcoming stars and fading stars. The middle of that is mediocre
 

Djemba-Djemba

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The individual depth of quality is either not there or just too old.

Cyclical, not always going to get WC98 or Euro 2000 level squads at tournaments.
It does feel like a weird period where a lot of the World Class talent from the last generation are just a bit too old now and past their best and the upcoming generation haven't quite emerged yet, obviously a few exceptions like Mbappe etc.

So it's this middle ground where it's pretty defensive ugly football on display.
 

RedDevilQuebecois

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Yet Maeda was picked! Who is a decent player, works his socks off but is nowhere near the quality of Kyogo. Hatate isn’t in the squad either
It all comes down to Moriyasu. He got his substitutions perfectly right against Germany, but, just as @lawliet354 mentioned, he's been so bad that many Japan supporters both at home and abroad wanted him sacked. It's a very boring brand of football for most of the time under his tenure, and thus he doesn't trust free attacking spirits like Kyogo.
 

RedDevilMachine

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The amount of money you can profit from a 0-0 draw at HT in this World Cup must have made you rich by now.
 

marktan

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Tbh the Japan manager might be playing a blinder by playing the crapper players for the first half and the better ones in the second. Keep them fresh for the Spain game.

Or he could just be a bit crap
 

Swordsman

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Tbh the Japan manager might be playing a blinder by playing the crapper players for the first half and the better ones in the second. Keep them fresh for the Spain game.

Or he could just be a bit crap
he is still crap. one win over Germany doesn't make him the top 10 manager of all time.
 

RedDevilQuebecois

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I thought they have the Blue Lock project.

edit: It's a joke and its ok if you don't get it.
I haven't seen that anime yet.

Truth being told, I swear that there must be a number of Japanese kids out there who grow up watching top European football and thus dream of being the next Wayne Rooney, the next Fernando Torres, the next Thierry Henry or, more recently, the next Robert Lewandowski. Some ways need to be changed in order to develop those strikers.
 

Telsim

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Terrible half. I don't blame Costa Rica, they are by far the worse team in this tournament, but Japan have been disappointing. What happened with the speed they showed against Germany? Slow and sloppy. Should have gone at them fast and hard and been done with it. Instead, they play like old people.
 

Swordsman

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I haven't seen that anime yet.

Truth being told, I swear that there must be a number of Japanese kids out there who grow up watching top European football and thus dream of being the next Wayne Rooney, the next Fernando Torres, the next Thierry Henry or, more recently, the next Robert Lewandowski.
that is the most they can do. they only can dream...

 

Hulme91

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I don't understand how you can go into a game against Japan and play this defensively when you're in a group with Germany/Spain.... Have a go ffs, a draw gives you nothing
 

noodlehair

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That was the worst half of football since that soccer aid where James Corden and Hitler both scored
 

RedDevilQuebecois

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Changes for Japan.

Asano and Ito start the second half instead of Ueda (shite) and the veteran Nagatomo.
 

Hakara

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This first half made my already bad hangover worse.
 

RedDevilQuebecois

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Now Japan are coming to play proper football. Wish they did that a lot earlier.

edit: the French Canadian commentators from RDS were questioning the rationale behind starting a CF who never scored for the national team (Ueda).
 

Bobski

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It does feel like a weird period where a lot of the World Class talent from the last generation are just a bit too old now and past their best and the upcoming generation haven't quite emerged yet, obviously a few exceptions like Mbappe etc.

So it's this middle ground where it's pretty defensive ugly football on display.
I think there’s a big gap between upcoming stars and fading stars. The middle of that is mediocre
Yes, I think there are a handful of teams, France, Brazil, Spain, potentially England and Germany where the age profile is healthier and you have mainly guys either approaching their prime, in it, or just out.

Messi, Ronaldo, Cavani, Suarez, Bale, Muller, Hazard, Lewandowski, Di Maria, Godin, half of Mexico, Modric, Perisic, Grizeman, Giroud, Witsel, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Ramsay. Probably many others, a lot of important guys well past their best.
 

Bole Top

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it's the nature of the sport. Costa Rica isn't any different than your 67th ranked player on atp, but obviously in tennis it's always something happening. or in basketball. when it's bad, football is actually the worst sport to watch because you can spend 90+ minutes watching literally nothing.
 

GhastlyHun

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I have pretty bad expectations for Germany Spain tonight. 1. More often than not we cannot score. 2. We basically never keep a clean sheet.
3. We absolutely need to win.
An ominous mix.
 

RedDevilMachine

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I have pretty bad expectations for Germany Spain tonight. 1. More often than not we cannot score. 2. We basically never keep a clean sheet.
3. We absolutely need to win.
An ominous mix.
What is the media reaction in Germany and does the public think you can get a result against Spain?
 

Tony247

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I think Japanese tactic is to conserve stamina to push in last half hour or so.
 

Reditus

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This tournament really has been a mixed bad. A couple of great games and a fair few moments of great drama but also some of the most dull games you will ever see

If this finishes scoreless it will be 6x 0-0 so far and the most ever in a tournament was 7
 

Sly

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Boring. The good thing is that the next games can't be worse than this