2022 FIFA World Cup Finals

[PGen98]

Oh, so you do believe the U.S. will win Friday then?

It's England, we always bugger it up

 

[PGen98]

"...we'll be right back to Mary Had a Big Bone after these commercial messages for Drag Queen Story Hour...."

lol, of course! The best of the best!

 

[Webster]

It's England, we always bugger it up

From 2014....


"I Believe That We Will Win!!!"

 

[PGen98]

From 2014....


"I Believe That We Will Win!!!"

Yeah, you Yanks need to work on your chants a bit!

 

[Webster]

I get Mexican fans doing shit like this but Ecuador? When did they start?

 

[Webster]

 

[PGen98]

I get Mexican fans doing shit like this but Ecuador? When did they start?

Well that's good, Qatar have a highlight they'll adore.

Screw you, Ecuador fans.

7-1, wow!

 

[Webster]

Screw you, Ecuador fans.

Apparently FIFA doesn't like the fact that Ecuadorean fans chanted "we want beer" during their match agst. Qatar....

 

[Webster]

The Guardian: Germany’s protest will reverberate down the years and generations

Sometimes in football, as in life, you don’t always get what you deserve. We might otherwise now be lauding Germany for defying Fifa before beating Japan in their World Cup opener. Instead, after an upset that resembled Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa in its force and magnitude, the sniping from the critics quickly began.

There was a common refrain after Germany’s 2-1 defeat: that they had paid the price for being too distracted by daring to stick up for human rights. As one Qatari reporter’s account, liked more than 200,000 times on social media, put it: “This is what happens when you don’t focus on football.” It reeked of schadenfreude. It stank of scoreboard journalism. And it was also plain wrong, on multiple levels.

Germany did not lose because their players put their hands over their mouths to signify that they had been gagged by Fifa. Or because they wore rainbow-coloured boots. Or because their interior minister wore a OneLove armband while sitting next to the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino.

If there was a lack of focus, how come Hansi Flick’s side enjoyed 74% possession, had 25 shots compared with 11 for Japan, and largely dominated until removing Ilkay Gündogan and Thomas Müller on 67 minutes? More often than not in such games, a 1-0 lead becomes two or three. Instead a match that had appeared so controlled suddenly turned to chaos in the final 20 minutes.

There’s another, even more important, point to make here. Even if Germany’s protest had directly contributed to their defeat, it would have still been the right thing to do. Standing up for universal rights, for tolerance and freedom, matters far more than 22 people kicking a ball around. It is a damning failure on Fifa’s part that it fails to recognise this.

Let us make a prediction. That photograph of the German players with their hands over their mouths will, like the one of the Iran team who bowed their heads when their anthem played against England, reverberate down the years and the generations. Even if they go out of this World Cup in the first round. Some things just matter more.

 

[Webster]

FotMob: Harry Kane injury latest ahead of England's clash with United States

Gareth Southgate will make a late call on whether to start England captain Harry Kane against the United States on Friday after a scan cleared him of significant damage to his ankle, 90min understands.

The 29-year-old was on the receiving end of a heavy tackle during England's 6-2 mauling of Iran, their opening Group B game at the 2022 World Cup. Kane continued playing until the final 15 minutes, when he was replaced by Callum Wilson, and was sent for a scan on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury after complaining of ongoing discomfort.

Southgate told the press immediately after the game that he thought Kane was "fine", and a scan has determined that England's talisman has escaped serious injury.

Harry Kane injury latest ahead of England's clash with United States

England will make a late call over whether to start Harry Kane against the United States in their World Cup Group B clash.

www.90min.com

 

[PGen98]

Definitely can't afford to lose Kane!

 

[Webster]

Definitely can't afford to lose Kane!

-Webster: Lord, please impress upon Southgate the need to not start Harry Kane on Friday...
-Aaron: Lord, give me ringside seats for when @PGen98 kicks his ass....

 

[Webster]

The Guardian: ‘Miracle of Doha’ - calls for public holiday as Japan’s Samurai Blue put Germany to sword

Japan’s shock victory over Germany in Qatar on Wednesday sparked late-night celebrations and calls to mark the Samurai Blue’s momentous feat in their 2022 World Cup opener with a public holiday.

The clock was nearing midnight when Takuma Asano rifled Japan’s winner into the roof of the net at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – a result that had seemed impossible after a poor first half from Japan, playing in their seventh straight World Cup. For fans over a certain age, the comeback 2-1 victory went some way towards banishing painful memories of another decisive match in Doha almost three decades ago. It was there that Japan came within minutes of qualifying for their first World Cup, only to be denied qualification for USA 1994 by a stoppage-time equaliser by their opponents, Iraq.

Wednesday’s victory sparked impromptu celebrations at the famous scramble crossing in Shibuya and calls for the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, to follow Saudi Arabia’s example by calling a public holiday.

Yui Sasaki, a Tokyo office worker, was among hundreds of fans who watched the match at a public viewing venue in the capital. Fighting back tears, Sasaki told the Asahi Shimbun: “Honestly speaking, before the match I thought it would need a miracle for Japan to win.”

Kishida invited derision on social media after a tweet appeared on his official account while the match was taking place in which he mentioned his visit earlier in the day to the imperial palace. “I expressed my gratitude for a bountiful harvest and prayed for the prosperity of the imperial family and the peace of the nation,” he wrote. The response from social media users: "why aren’t you watching the football?" But Kishida, whose approval ratings are at a record low over his party’s ties to the controversial Unification church, managed to capture the national mood on Thursday morning. “I watched the match on TV … it was a wonderful victory,” he told reporters. “I hope they can keep going and make it to the knockout stages.”

 

[PGen98]

-Webster: Lord, please impress upon Southgate the need to not start Harry Kane on Friday...
-Aaron: Lord, give me ringside seats for when @PGen98 kicks his ass....

 

[Webster]

Dammit, where's Tonya Harding's crew when ya' need 'em?

(BBC Sport) England captain Harry Kane will be fit to play in Friday's World Cup match against the United States, says manager Gareth Southgate. The striker injured his ankle early in the second half of Monday's opening 6-2 victory over Iran in Group B and was later substituted.

"Harry is fine. He has worked slightly separately from the group but all good for Friday night," said Southgate. "He had a scan [on Wednesday] to make sure everything is fine."

Tottenham's Kane has scored 51 goals in 76 appearances for the Three Lions, two behind Wayne Rooney's record of 53.

 

[PGen98]

Phew, atta' boy, Kane

 

[Webster]

-Webster: Lord, please impress upon Harry Kane the need to slip a/la Steven Gerrard in 2014 on Friday...
-Aaron: Lord, get me ringside seats for @PGen98's ass-whooping of Webster tomorrow....

 

[Webster]

 

[PGen98]

-Webster: Lord, please impress upon Harry Kane the need to slip a/la Steven Gerrard in 2014 on Friday...
-Aaron: Lord, get me ringside seats for @PGen98's ass-whooping of Webster tomorrow....

Yay! Nicely done, Wales, keep the hats alive.

 

[Webster]

Elsewhere in Qatar...