World Cup 2022

[palmerq]

Bloody ell, was hoping the argies would win, quite a stressful game to watch if you wanted someone to win :S..great fun from a neutral perspective though.. the argies had it in the bag and then bungled it, good goal by mbappe for the second though, also pretty impressive to score three penalties in the world cup final near the end of the game(and the shootout) v someone who is pretty good when facing penalties. Good to see Messi scoring in the final too, good for him, what a career he's had with Argentina, youth world cup winners, Olympics gold medal, Copa America, the intercontinental friendly trophy and now the world cup, he's on 98 goals for them too...

Scaloni has done a great job with the argies since taking over, the tactics are pretty much set up to let Messi do what he wants but he's really got the best out of maybe not the best squad in the tournament. Since the last Copa America, he's beaten Brazil in the final, the European champions(and winners of their nations league group) convincingly too and on the way to winning this cup they beat two of the other European nations league finalists (Croatia and the dutch) and the defending world champs and a strong french team. They've beaten the form European teams. Very well deserved win and they looked impressive doing it, barring the late game blunders and losing leads..

[palmerq]

Apparently scaloni dropped Aguero in his early days to force Messi to talk more to the other players, that plan also worked out pretty good l, Messi has certainly become far more of a captain then any time before in his career.

[Mark TKO]

Pele. He did everything first.

Though hard to compare eras.

As I said after last year euro final would have rather gone out before than lose final in a shootout. It feels so much worse.

Can't imagine how French feel after losing that one. Thought Argentina deserved it mind as France basically did nothing for 80 minutes.

Not happy he's equalled Sir Geoffs feat after two penalties and a shinned volley mind....

What, as opposed to Hurst’s one when the free kick was taken before West Germany were ready, one that didn’t cross the line, and one that should’ve been disallowed because people were on the pitch and the game should’ve been stopped?

Germans were ready. It was well over. They weren't interfering with play.

Feel free to come back and spout more bollocks

[Primo Carnera]

Pele. He did everything first.

Though hard to compare eras.

As I said after last year euro final would have rather gone out before than lose final in a shootout. It feels so much worse.

Can't imagine how French feel after losing that one. Thought Argentina deserved it mind as France basically did nothing for 80 minutes.

Not happy he's equalled Sir Geoffs feat after two penalties and a shinned volley mind....

What, as opposed to Hurst’s one when the free kick was taken before West Germany were ready, one that didn’t cross the line, and one that should’ve been disallowed because people were on the pitch and the game should’ve been stopped?

Germans were ready. It was well over. They weren't interfering with play.

Feel free to come back and spout more bollocks

Now now, I was only having a bit of fun, hence the wink and the tonguey one. Oh , and no way was it all over the line, curvature and all!

[TitoFan]

Well , although I bang on about the standard in general dropping , I have been watching finals live since 1970, and it has to be said, that is the greatest World Cup final ever! In recent times the finals have been terrible.
This one could’ve been a film script and it would be seen as far fetched.
Messi absolutely deserves to get his hands on that trophy and be put up there with the absolute greatest of all time.
Which is going to bring up the old argument again. Who is the GOAT?
I could wake up one day saying Messi, another day Maradona and another day Pele! I can’t fucking say any more.

Finally! Some common ground. Couldn't agree more.

The drama of the match was almost UNBEARABLE. Thought Argentina was going to cough it up there for awhile... but they kept fighting back. Lots of incredible plays. Normally I clean up my DVR, erasing programming I no longer need.

I'm keeping this one, though. It's worth watching again.

Soooo happy for Messi. Mbappe will have plenty more chances... this was Messi's last hurrah. Somewhere Ronaldo must be green with envy, as this was his last World Cup also.

The announcers on Fox were going bonkers... one even calling it the greatest sporting event ever.

I don't know that I'd go THAT far... but it certainly had everything we hoped for and more.

Hadn't remembered that both countries were in a 2-2 tie for career World Cup titles. Now Argentina sits alone behing Brazil (5), Germany (4), and Italy (4).

[palmerq]

Not sure about the best game ever, as the argies were dominant for 80 mins then just bungled it.. they really should have won it in 90 mins, and then after Messi scored in extra time they should have held on then but they gave away the penalty again.. it was maybe the most dramatic game ever(considering the stakes) but does that make it the best, well who cares everyone can decide what they want!

Drones eye view of Buenos Aires Obelisk after the win

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/s...gr30oEUZOdAzVA

Great stuff, you love to see it..

[Mark TKO]

Yes I know you were Primo and me.

I avoid replying with quote when it's a long post by the way as the thread becomes excessively long

[Mark TKO]

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/s..._w3qFl_lA&s=08

Look at these scenes. Wow. Just wow.

Makes me a little jealous to be honest.

In my lifetime they've had 3 wins and 2 final defeats. We've had 0...

Italy 2 wins and 1 euros?

I lose track.

[Master]

This image of Buenos Aires is amazing.

[TitoFan]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/fif...c2bef1939f4e97

"New FIFA rankings released after 2022 World Cup"



Interesting stuff here... the updated FIFA rankings.

FIFA rankings, Top 20 as of December 22, 2022

1. Brazil – Even

2. Argentina – Up 1

3. France – Up 1

4. Belgium – Down 2

5. England – Even

6. Netherlands – Up 2

7. Croatia – Up 1

8. Italy – Down 2

9. Portugal – Even

10. Spain – Down 3

11. Morocco – Up 11

12. Switzerland – Up 3

13. USA – Up 3

14. Germany – Down 3

15. Mexico – Down 2

16. Uruguay – Down 2

17. Colombia – Even

18. Denmark – Down 8

19. Senegal – Down 1

20. Japan – Up 4


Nice having two South American teams on top, at least for now.

USA climbed over Germany... not sure THAT'S ever happened before.

Morocco hit the big time. We'll have to see how that stands up.

Spain dropped 3 places... undoubtedly deserved.

[Mark TKO]

Always found the fifa World rankings bollocks to be honest

[Master]

Rankings mean very little, it is winning tournaments that counts.

[Primo Carnera]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/fif...c2bef1939f4e97

"New FIFA rankings released after 2022 World Cup"



Interesting stuff here... the updated FIFA rankings.

FIFA rankings, Top 20 as of December 22, 2022

1. Brazil – Even

2. Argentina – Up 1

3. France – Up 1

4. Belgium – Down 2

5. England – Even

6. Netherlands – Up 2

7. Croatia – Up 1

8. Italy – Down 2

9. Portugal – Even

10. Spain – Down 3

11. Morocco – Up 11

12. Switzerland – Up 3

13. USA – Up 3

14. Germany – Down 3

15. Mexico – Down 2

16. Uruguay – Down 2

17. Colombia – Even

18. Denmark – Down 8

19. Senegal – Down 1

20. Japan – Up 4


Nice having two South American teams on top, at least for now.

USA climbed over Germany... not sure THAT'S ever happened before.

Morocco hit the big time. We'll have to see how that stands up.

Spain dropped 3 places... undoubtedly deserved.

It happens a bit more often than you would think . Going into the 2006 World Cup , USA were ranked #5 behind Brazil, Czech Republic , Netherlands and Mexico.
Like the other guys have stated, FIFA Rankings are pretty crap really. It’s based on scoring points for each victory in FIFA based tournaments. The problem being that the region that USA and Mexico are in is a pretty low standard compared to the European, South American and even African regions.
And there have even been instances where tournaments like Le Tournoi and the Confederations Cup give rankings points, even though not everybody is allowed or invited to play in it.
It’s poor really that the World’s biggest sport is run like a little perk club for certain individuals.

[TitoFan]

Every governing sports body has its rankings. Why would FIFA's be any better than anybody else's? Yet they exist and get published.

Having said that... I noticed the latest WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) rankings ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

(I know nobody here gives a shit about baseball... but being the well-rounded individual that I am... I do).

In any case, I noticed they have Puerto Rico # 16. This is "one-six", as in SIXTEEN.

Behind such notable baseball powerhouses as: Australia (10), Canada (12), and... (gulp) the Czech Republic (14).

Never mind that Puerto Rico has been the runner-up in the last two Classics. Never mind that Puerto Rican baseball players are among the best in the world.

Never mind that the Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic rivalry is the best global rivalry in baseball. Never mind that the Caribbean spawns the world's best baseball players.

Hell... we're barely above ITALY (17) in the rankings.



All of which can only mean one of three things:

1. Someone at WBSC got a hold of a bad batch of hallucinogenic drugs.
2. The rankers at WBSC can't tell a baseball from a basketball.
3. The rankings are bought... like everything else in life.
4. All of the above.

So YEAH... rankings don't mean diddly squat.

[Master]

Winner: Brazil
Finalist: France
Top Scorer: hairy kane
Player of the tournament: Neymar
Best keeper: argy martinez

Two out of five :S

You are the best of us.

Master
Winner: France
Finalist: Argentina
Top Scorer: Mbappe
Player of the tournament: De Bruyne
Best keeper: Neuer (Germany)

Primo
Winner: France
Finalist: Brazil
Top Scorer:Benzema
Player of the tournament: Mbappe
Best Keeper : Alison Becker