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World Cup Russia 2018


St.Ricky

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The World Cup kicks off next month with Russia playing Saudi Arabia.  

No Scotland of course but our southern neighbours will be there. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-2018-full-schedule-groups-fixtures-kick-off-times-venues-matches-wallchart-a8087881.html

Hope this is a real festival of football. 

Edited by St.Ricky
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Looking forward to this. As a Belgian national I've got a team to support at least, although living in England could be painful if they beat us (which I reckon they will). There's nothing better in World football IMO than when the World Cup comes round.

This song always gets me in the mood for a major international tournament. I'm not sure if it's because 1998 was sort of my first one (can't count 94 as I was still a baby). I might have only been 5yo and remember Scotland v Brazil and nothing else until the final, but I also had the game on the N64 which I played for years afterwards so even now I can still recite all the groups!

 

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54 minutes ago, Cornwall_Saint said:

Why comment then?

I can't be arsed with cricket but you don't see me going on The Cricket Thread saying about how boring I find it.

Away and boil yer heid.

I'll comment on whatever I feel like.

Should you require further clarification, please do let me know

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Incredibly pissed off at the omittance of Radja Nainggolan from the Belgian squad. He's been excellent all season, one of the best CMs we have and a player who can both score and defend. A player you desperately need if you insist on playing R.Lukaku, E.Hazard, De Bruyne, Carrasco and Mertens all at once, none of who will or can defend. Now Radja has announced his retirement from international football. f**king brilliant there Martinez, well played.

If this campaign goes tits up we will be looking at this as a key reason. And please ffs do not allow Boyata to make the final 23 man squad. Even Celtic fans themselves are terrified when the ball comes near him. 

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On 5/21/2018 at 1:05 PM, oaksoft said:

Literally could not give a shit about this corrupt, festering cesspit of a tournament.

Might have some sympathy with your description in some ways but balanced by the experience in 1998 in France and the Pre World Cup tournament in South Africa. 

I am looking forward to it. 

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I think once the calendar ticks over to June the buzz will really begin for me. My Belgium top has arrived too. Still raging that Radja will not be there. Seriously hoping that Boyata will not be anywhere near Russia, can't believe he's made the 28 as it is. I'd rather take Denayer ffs.

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On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 4:01 PM, Cornwall_Saint said:

I think once the calendar ticks over to June the buzz will really begin for me. My Belgium top has arrived too. Still raging that Radja will not be there. Seriously hoping that Boyata will not be anywhere near Russia, can't believe he's made the 28 as it is. I'd rather take Denayer ffs.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup/world-cup-confidential-astonishing-mattress-gaffe-leaks-belgium-squad/news-story/0e2ff762fd858a61443f2cb202713c77

In case you want to know who goes and who stays.   :P

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10 minutes ago, stlucifer said:

Martinez is under pressure now to avoid leaving the 5 "unnamed mattress players" behind :lol: hope to f**k it isn't true, if you think Boyata is better than Kabasele football is really not your thing.

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3 minutes ago, Cornwall_Saint said:

Martinez is under pressure now to avoid leaving the 5 "unnamed mattress players" behind :lol: hope to f**k it isn't true, if you think Boyata is better than Kabasele football is really not your thing.

As the manager, he's made his beds now he's got to lie with them. 

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2 minutes ago, St.Ricky said:

World Cup fever is running high in countries involved.  Retro strips are said to be in.  Nigeria's strip certainly isn't retro but they have sold 3 million of them so far! 

Even though they haven't qualified, the Cameroon one is brilliant.

I had gone with the home tops for Belgium for 2014 and 2016 but have moved to the away one for 2018.

 

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On 6/2/2018 at 2:11 PM, stlucifer said:

This was pointless in the end as both Dendoncker and Januzaj require mattresses!

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My views on the Belgium squad...

Goalkeepers: Thibault Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels. 

No complaints there. Courtois will be N1, Mignolet has experience of big games, Casteels could be a future N1 as he's getting regular games in Bundesliga now. Potential is there.

Defenders

Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen, Dedryck Boyata

Worrying. Jan is the only one in this squad capable of playing LWB. Unfortunately with Jan likely to be at CB, it looks like Martinez has his heart set on Carrasco filling this role. Jordan Lukaku should have been here as the LWB option. What's even more worrying is that Boyata is coming. Even Celtic fans think he's dire. I can only presume Kabasele hasn't proven his fitness because Laurent Conan is on standby (who plays in the MLS). I hope tae f**k Boyata doesn't step on the pitch.

Midfielders

Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini, Nacer Chadli, Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Moussa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco, Leander Dendoncker.

Biggest concern here is no Radja Nainggolan. Absolute pish from Martinez on that front. Alongside the key worry he plays Carrasco in a defensive role when he's best in a front 3.

Forwards

Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Thorgan Hazard, Michy Batshuayi, Adnan Januzaj

Decent enough. No Benteke, his form this season has not been good enough. Delighted Batshuayi is in there and I hope Martinez has the balls to replace Lukaku if he underperforms, something Wilmots failed at. Mertens in the form of his life.

Overall verdict - Nonplussed. No Nainggolan or J.Lukaku while selecting Boyata is highly concerning. The insistence of playing Carrasco at LWB will be our undoing. He should be cover for E.Hazard/Mertens or starting in the front 3. If we have a poor exit the fans will jump on these mistakes right away, myself included. Excited but I have my concerns.

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21 hours ago, Cornwall_Saint said:

My views on the Belgium squad...

Goalkeepers: Thibault Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels. 

No complaints there. Courtois will be N1, Mignolet has experience of big games, Casteels could be a future N1 as he's getting regular games in Bundesliga now. Potential is there.

Defenders

Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen, Dedryck Boyata

Worrying. Jan is the only one in this squad capable of playing LWB. Unfortunately with Jan likely to be at CB, it looks like Martinez has his heart set on Carrasco filling this role. Jordan Lukaku should have been here as the LWB option. What's even more worrying is that Boyata is coming. Even Celtic fans think he's dire. I can only presume Kabasele hasn't proven his fitness because Laurent Conan is on standby (who plays in the MLS). I hope tae f**k Boyata doesn't step on the pitch.

Midfielders

Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini, Nacer Chadli, Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Moussa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco, Leander Dendoncker.

Biggest concern here is no Radja Nainggolan. Absolute pish from Martinez on that front. Alongside the key worry he plays Carrasco in a defensive role when he's best in a front 3.

Forwards

Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Thorgan Hazard, Michy Batshuayi, Adnan Januzaj

Decent enough. No Benteke, his form this season has not been good enough. Delighted Batshuayi is in there and I hope Martinez has the balls to replace Lukaku if he underperforms, something Wilmots failed at. Mertens in the form of his life.

Overall verdict - Nonplussed. No Nainggolan or J.Lukaku while selecting Boyata is highly concerning. The insistence of playing Carrasco at LWB will be our undoing. He should be cover for E.Hazard/Mertens or starting in the front 3. If we have a poor exit the fans will jump on these mistakes right away, myself included. Excited but I have my concerns.

I haven't seen much of these players but Hazard looks like a potential match winner. 

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Game and TV Schedule for the World Cup. Opening game 16.00 on Thursday

Group stages

Thursday 14 June

Russia vs Saudi Arabia (Group A) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 4pm - ITV

Friday 15 June

Egypt vs Uruguay (Group A) - Ekaterinburg - 1pm - BBC

Morocco vs Iran (Group B) - St Petersburg - 4pm - ITV

Portugal vs Spain (Group B) - Sochi - 7pm - BBC

Saturday 16 June

France vs Australia (Group C) - Kazan - 11am - BBC

Argentina vs Iceland (Group D) - Moscow (Spartak) - 2pm - ITV

 

Peru vs Denmark (Group C) - Saransk - 5pm - BBC

Croatia vs Nigeria (Group D) - Kaliningrad - 8pm - ITV

Sunday 17 June

Costa Rica vs Serbia (Group E) - Samara - 1pm - ITV

Germany vs Mexico (Group F) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 4pm - BBC

Brazil vs Switzerland (Group E) - Rostov-on-Don - 7pm - ITV

Monday 18 June

Sweden vs South Korea (Group F) - Nizhny Novgorod - 1pm - ITV

Belgium vs Panama (Group G) - Sochi - 4pm - BBC

Tunisia vs England (Group G) - Volgograd - 7pm - BBC

Tuesday 19 June

Colombia vs Japan (Group H) - Saransk - 1pm - BBC

Poland vs Senegal (Group H) - Moscow (Spartak) - 4pm - ITV

Russia vs Egypt (Group A) - St Petersburg - 7pm - BBC

Wednesday 20 June

Portugal vs Morocco (Group B) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 1pm - BBC

Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia (Group A) - Rostov-on-Don - 4pm - BBC

Iran vs Spain (Group B) - Kazan - 7pm - ITV

Thursday 21 June

Denmark vs Australia (Group C) - Samara - 1pm - ITV

France vs Peru (Group C) - Ekaterinburg - 4pm - ITV

Argentina vs Croatia (Group D) - Nizhny Novgorod - 7pm - BBC

 

Friday 22 June

Brazil vs Costa Rica (Group E) - St Petersburg - 1pm - ITV

Nigeria vs Iceland (Group D) - Volgograd - 4pm - BBC

Serbia vs Switzerland (Group E) - Kaliningrad - 7pm - BBC

Saturday 23 June

Belgium vs Tunisia (Group G) - Moscow (Spartak) - 1pm - BBC

South Korea vs Mexico (Group F) - Rostov-on-Don - 4pm - ITV

Germany v Sweden (Group F) - Sochi - 7pm - ITV

Sunday 24 June

England vs Panama (Group G) - Nizhny Novgorod - 1pm - BBC

Japan vs Senegal (Group H) - Ekaterinburg - 4pm - BBC

Poland vs Colombia (Group H) - Kazan - 7pm - ITV

Monday 25 June

Uruguay vs Russia (Group A) - Samara - 3pm - ITV

Saudi Arabia vs Egypt (Group A) - Volgograd - 3pm - ITV

Spain vs Morocco (Group B) - Kaliningrad - 7pm- BBC

Iran vs Portugal (Group B) - Saransk - 7pm - BBC

Tuesday 26 June

Denmark vs France (Group C) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 3pm - ITV

Australia vs Peru (Group C) - Sochi - 3pm - ITV

Nigeria vs Argentina (Group D) - St Petersburg - 7pm - BBC

Iceland vs Croatia (Group D) - Rostov-on-Don - 7pm - BBC

Wednesday 27 June

South Korea vs Germany (Group F) - Kazan - 3pm - BBC

Mexico vs Sweden (Group F) - Ekaterinburg - 3pm - BBC

 

Serbia vs Brazil (Group E) - Moscow (Spartak) - 7pm - ITV

Switzerland vs Costa Rica (Group E) - Nizhny Novgorod - 7pm - ITV

Thursday 28 June

Japan vs Poland (Group H) - Volgograd - 3pm - BBC

Senegal vs Colombia (Group H) - Samara - 3pm - BBC

England vs Belgium (Group G) - Kaliningrad - 7pm - ITV

Panama vs Tunisia (Group G) - Saransk - 7pm - ITV

Round of 16

(Matches in bold are potential England fixtures)

Saturday 30 June

Group C winner vs Group D runner-up - Kazan, 3pm (Match 50)

Group A winner vs Group B runner-up- Sochi, 7pm (Match 49)

Sunday 1 July

Group B winner vs Group A runner-up- Moscow (Luzhniki), 3pm (Match 51)

Group D winner vs Group C runner-up - Nizhny Novgorod, 7pm (Match 52)

Monday 2 July

Group E winner vs Group F runner-up - Samara, 3pm (Match 53)

Group G winner vs Group H runner-up - Rostov-on-Don, 7pm (Match 54)

Tuesday 3 July

Group F winner vs Group E runner-up - St Petersburg 3pm (Match 55)

Group H winner vs Group G runner-up - Moscow (Spartak), 7pm (Match 56)

Quarter-finals

Friday 6 July

Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 - Nizhny Novgorod, 3pm (Match 57)

Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 - Kazan, 7pm (Match 58)

 

Saturday 7 July

Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 - Samara, 3pm (Match 60)

Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 - Sochi, 7pm (Match 59)

Semi-finals

Tuesday 10 July

Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 - St Petersburg, 7pm (Match 61)

Wednesday 11 July

Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 - Moscow (Luzhniki), 7pm (Match 62)

Third place play-off

Saturday 14 July

Loser match 61 vs Loser match 62 - St Petersburg, 3pm

Final

Sunday 15 July

Moscow (Luzhniki), 4pm

 
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