Footsy World Championships 2018

[Charger]

I've called football (or soccer) Footsy for a long time now just to avoid minsunderstandings between the two....so let's use Footsy here too when talking about the actual Football.


The world cup is gonna start mid June so it's almost here....

I got a 5€ free bet earlier today to put down on the team I think might win...I chose Argentina...didn't want to pick the obvious Germany because...well I just didn't want to...

I don't know how good Spain's new team is gonna be so as much as I loved the old team lot of players from that team are now gone...

Portugal was another choice of mine...but can they do what Spain did win the Euro championship and then the World Cup...I think not. They are probably one of the most stable teams but they do struggle making goals...and that's a big problem.

Brazil has a lot to prove after their complete and utter meltdown at their home olympics...but they are a bit of a wild card with very little team play and just individuals..

England....I hope they'll be able to shake their World Cup curse finally and make it far...but I still have my doubts...

I do hope some smaller countries are gonna make it far this year again...it's always great to watch countries you wouldn't expect to get far do....

But as long as Italy goes out fast I'll be happy... 


What are your predictions and thoughts?

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Although I'm English I have to be realistic about our chances, we usually qualify well and then under perform at the finals. It's the youngest most inexperienced squad in some time, but we have some good players. I expect to get out of the group stages and the first knock out round. After that any further would be a bonus.

As for who might actually win... well of course the usual suspects will be there or there abouts and if Germany won again I would not be in the slightest bit surprised... but as a slight outsider I might put a few scheckles on Belgium.

[Zzzptm]

I cheer for Mexico! I'm not worried about their chances, I just support them. Once they get knocked out, I go for another Latin American team.

[Jack the Stripper]

Obviously I'll be supporting Australia but they're gonna find it extremely difficult to get out of their tough group. I'll be supporting England too who I have a bit of a soft spot for, also given they have quite a few Spurs players in the squad, in particular Harry Kane who's an absolute star.

I'm gonna go out on a bit of a limb though and tip Belgium to live up to their potential and win their first World Cup.

[Typhon]

I don't know much about this sport, but I just found out that this event is going to take place in Russia. The Olympic Committee all but called this country a bunch of cheaters.  Holding the World Cup there I believe deserves a red card. Pun intended.

[Charger]

I don't know much about this sport, but I just found out that this event is going to take place in Russia. The Olympic Committee all but called this country a bunch of cheaters.  Holding the World Cup there I believe deserves a red card. Pun intended.

But the thing is these are decided years and years in advance...waaaaaaaaay before that whole olympic doping fiasko came out. And once they are decided they can't really be undone either...the sheer ammount of money that goes into these games is staggering with countries building stadiums and accommodations and what not...

Even to a bigger extent this thing is evident with the 2022 games in Qatar....they bribed pretty much everyone to get the games then dozens of people died while building the stadiums and still Fifa couldn't come out of the deal when those things came out and that all happened pretty soon after the location was decided....

But Fifa is a very corrupt organization...or atleast it was...I think it probably still is.

[Zzzptm]

Oh yeah, no question. FIFA is up to its eyeballs in corruption, possibly more than that.

[Charger]

Looks like North America gets to host the 2026 games...

Pretty stupid choice again I'd say...part from Mexico no one even cares about soccer over there...ridiculous.

[Zzzptm]

Looks like North America gets to host the 2026 games...

Pretty stupid choice again I'd say...part from Mexico no one even cares about soccer over there...ridiculous.

You'd be surprised... Dallas in particular has a very enthusiastic soccer culture - The Dallas Cup is a global youth soccer event held annually, it's a pretty big deal.

And don't forget, we're a nation of immigrants, many of whom pay plenty to buy sports packages for their favorite sports. Lots of South Asians, for example, buy comprehensive cricket packages. The USA has a lot of African and Latin American immigrants and descendants thereof who will watch any soccer that's out there. We've got channels that will cover English Premier League, Spanish League, German League, and Liga Mexicana.

[Charger]

I think you might have a bit of a point there zzz! BUT popularity wise it's nothing like it is here or south america.

But then again who knows...more people over there might get interested in it with the "home" games and all...

[Jack the Stripper]

Australia should've been awarded the 2022 WC. They had far and away the best bid and have proven time and time again they can host the big sporting events. They even paid off Fifa members to get their votes but were double crossed as Qatar had paid off the same members.

That's how corrupt FIFA are...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

^^^ I would like to have seen that. Perhaps the next bid could be a joint one with New Zealand, joint bids seem to be the way things are going.

[Zzzptm]

Australia should've been awarded the 2022 WC. They had far and away the best bid and have proven time and time again they can host the big sporting events. They even paid off Fifa members to get their votes but were double crossed as Qatar had paid off the same members.

That's how corrupt FIFA are...

Reminds me of the brilliant John Clarke series "The Games".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc7kqhsGAQc

I love how he can make intricate financial misdeeds into great comedy.

[Charger]

Australia should've been awarded the 2022 WC. They had far and away the best bid and have proven time and time again they can host the big sporting events. They even paid off Fifa members to get their votes but were double crossed as Qatar had paid off the same members.

That's how corrupt FIFA are...

Yeah...ridiculous. Australia would have been a great host....also I think the weather would have been a lot better...or atleast less hot...as the games would have been in the winter there...rain might have been an issue though?

[Jack the Stripper]

Australia should've been awarded the 2022 WC. They had far and away the best bid and have proven time and time again they can host the big sporting events. They even paid off Fifa members to get their votes but were double crossed as Qatar had paid off the same members.

That's how corrupt FIFA are...

Yeah...ridiculous. Australia would have been a great host....also I think the weather would have been a lot better...or atleast less hot...as the games would have been in the winter there...rain might have been an issue though?

No not really. The weather can change very quickly in Melbourne, it's infamous for having four seasons in one day but rain is intimidate. Sydney can get torrential rain over a few days but Brisbane is more tropical so it rains more in the summer and temps can still be very mild in the winter. Perth is also mild this time of year and Adelaide is similar to Melbourne without the four seasons in a day.

In other news. Spain has sensationally sacked their coach on the eve of the tournament kicking off. Apparently he signed a deal in secret to take the reigns at Real Madrid after their World Cup  campaign is done. The Spanish camp is apparently in turmoil.

Seems a ludicrous and over the top decision, particularly given they've replaced him with a Spanish Div 2 coach with one years experience.