OT: 2023 - 2024 Football / Calcio / Futbol / Fußball Thread

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by echappist

Der fussbal nicht kommt nach hause?

Jest aside, quite the pyhrric victory for Spain. Pedri injured (again), and nasty Carvajal gets suspended. Even Morata will be suspended. It'll be a tough semifinal match.

Yeah, it wasn't meant to be; it could have gone either way though.
Unlike in the previous matches, Kroos, Gündoğan, and Musiala were not able to put their stamp on the game. All in all, Spain was the more complete team.
At least Pepe is out...

[wc1934]

Down to the final 4 - your thoughts and reasons.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/league/_/name/uefa.euro
I commented (before his broken nose) that KM did not look good.
So, will Mbappé and/or Griezmann start?

And the ref in the Ned/England game??????????

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by wc1934

And the ref in the Ned/England game??????????

The refereeing at the Euros looks downright exemplary compared to the crapshow that is Copa America.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

The refereeing at the Euros looks downright exemplary compared to the crapshow that is Copa America.

For the most part, yes.

But Felix Zwayer (who is currently scheduled to ref the NED vs ENG match) has a somewhat checkered past.

[JedB]

Non-plussed with both Copa and Euros.
I think the Copa refs get that win for ambition outweighing competence.

In spite of having the best attacking talent in the world, I'm seeing about 3-5 back passes for possession for every forward pass that even has a whiff of attack about it. It appears that no one up top is making runs (I stand to be corrected). France has 1 goal in normal+stoppage time. 1.

Diving, shennanigans and ref-lawyering are becoming (still/always been) a drain on the game, especially when everyone knows it's going to go to VAR. Just fscking dumb. Get on with the game, play hard and to the whistle. IMO, there's a need to get the next 5 (10?) "foul simulations" red cards to have it stop. You gambled, you lost, GTFO and your team suffers for your idiocy.

My fan favorites:
Turkey
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain

3x played with heart and left almost everything on the pitch.
Spain played with their head and combined tactics and talent.

[wc1934]

Originally Posted by echappist

For the most part, yes.

But Felix Zwayer (who is currently scheduled to ref the NED vs ENG match) has a somewhat checkered past.

Jim, you are too nice.
In 2005? as a linesman, he accepted a bribe to fix a second division match. As a result, he was banned for six months.

[martl]

France so far hasn't scored once from free play yet. They may have the best attack on paper but failed to prove it. England reached the semis playing a copy of Germany 1986. The Netherlands failed to create enthusiasm, either. By all that is just and right, Spain should win.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by martl

France so far hasn't scored once from free play yet. They may have the best attack on paper but failed to prove it. England reached the semis playing a copy of Germany 1986. The Netherlands failed to create enthusiasm, either. By all that is just and right, Spain should win.

Well now France has.

Except Spain has started probing and inquisiting the French goal.

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by echappist

Well now France has.

Except Spain has started probing and inquisiting the French goal.

Spain has some real fight... Now France has conceded for the first (and second) time too

Too much movement for the French defense, and a hell of a goal from Lamine.

[martl]

Originally Posted by ltwtsculler91

Spain has some real fight... Now France has conceded for the first (and second) time too

Too much movement for the French defense, and a hell of a goal from Lamine.

The way Spain controlled the match after taking the lead was impressive.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by martl

The way Spain controlled the match after taking the lead was impressive.

Spain's main deficiency going back to 2014 had been the inability to score, leading to quips that the game in Spain is played mainly in the brain.

Having Williams and Lamal changes that, and Ruiz and Olmo look quite incisive too. So once they took the lead (which had been the difficult thing to do for about a decade), going back to keeping the lead by playing keep-away is almost easy, especially with Rodri pulling the strings.

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by echappist

Spain's main deficiency going back to 2014 had been the inability to score, leading to quips that the game in Spain is played mainly in the brain.

Having Williams and Lamal changes that, and Ruiz and Olmo look quite incisive too. So once they took the lead (which had been the difficult thing to do for about a decade), going back to keeping the lead by playing keep-away is almost easy, especially with Rodri pulling the strings.

They never replaced Villa and Torres, and noone wants to talk about that. David Villa is easily the most underrated player of his generation and Spain's top scorer ever. While they did win without him, they were MUCH better with him on the pitch (or prime Fernando Torres)

The difference now, is that De La Fuente has also finally evolved the style and played with a lot more directness having actual wingers for the first time since Pedro and Navas, along with midfielders (Olmo, Ruiz, Merino) who are much more likely to break forward. It's a really nice evolution to see as a Spaniard.

[JedB]

Thoughts on the Dutch v. England?

[Waldo62]

I sincerely hope that the Netherlands wins today and on Sunday, and that the final does not become a hack-a-tiki-taka that the 2010 World Cup final was. I was embarrassed to be the Netherlands fan that day.

[Waldo62]

Originally Posted by JedB

Thoughts on the Dutch v. England?

The Netherlands play as a team better than England, though the British have better players. 2:1 Netherlands.