Board 8 > Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 - Topic 6 (end)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Worth making one more thread?

I did it

i got through fifa without watching a single game

I did it.

I got through the WC watching every single game.

ctesjbuvf posted...

I did it.

I got through the WC watching every single game.

perfectly balanced

I did it.

I got through watching most games

What's next for Messi? I heard his contract with PSG ends somewhat soon. Has he given any indication whether he's retiring soon?

Crazy last game.

I watched every knockout game, the US games, and some of the final group stage games.

Bring on the Womens World Cup, where the US is an actual favorite!

YoBlazer posted...

What's next for Messi? I heard his contract with PSG ends somewhat soon. Has he given any indication whether he's retiring soon?

Don't think he has chosen a next destination yet.

Sounds like he wants to play in an Argentina shirt with three stars on it before retiring.

YoBlazer posted...

What's next for Messi? I heard his contract with PSG ends somewhat soon. Has he given any indication whether he's retiring soon?

Idk.

Maybe he'll destabilize his club, attempt to make it all about him, be an extraordinarily toxic douchebag, be disowned by club and country, get fired from his day job during a major tournament, then be forced to watch in tears as his team gets dumped out by a team they should easily beat

Oh no wait wrong guy FUCKING LOL

YoBlazer posted...

What's next for Messi? I heard his contract with PSG ends somewhat soon. Has he given any indication whether he's retiring soon?

Ive heard Miami, but that might just be hopeful

Also never seen a match with that much #narrative before. The swing from Messi to Mbappe and back and forth was movie-esque

Gutted

Mbappe is amazing, but it feels like some of that "personal narrative" or drama isn't there for him when he already helped lead his team to a WC at age 19. Seems crazy to say but it's like he accomplished too much too early.

Sure, to add all of the final results to the topic, starting with the Group Stage:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/9/AAE6mcAAEAV7.jpg

Knockout Stage Bracket:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/0/AAE6mcAAEAV8.png

Final Rankings:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/1/AAE6mcAAEAV9.png

Final Results:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/2/AAE6mcAAEAV-.png
Third Place Results:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/0/AAE6mcAAEABy.png

YoBlazer posted...

Mbappe is amazing, but it feels like some of that "personal narrative" or drama isn't there for him when he already helped lead his team to a WC at age 19. Seems crazy to say but it's like he accomplished too much too early.

It's interesting how in one way Mbappe is like reverse Messi

Messi had the longevity and the 7 Ballon D'ors and the trophies, but no World Cup was a huge issue whenever you made a GOAT argument for him (in my mind, 2014 was enough in the same way 1974 was enough to put Cruyff in that discussion).

Mbappe is the reverse. He has the ability and he already has a WC. But he now needs to do all the other stuff and that will take 10 years or more.

Also I will die on the "Deschamps is actually bad" hill. He made good in-match changes which eventually paid off, but for 80m they were outclassed by a team they had no business being outclassed by. Tactically done over, mediocre and 2nd to everything.

XIII_Rocks posted...

Mbappe is the reverse. He has the ability and he already has a WC. But he now needs to do all the other stuff and that will take 10 years or more.

Well first step is getting the hell away from PSG

Well yeah PSG has blocked Neymar out of that discussion too - to choose PSG is to choose irrelevance, unless they actually win (multiple) CL(s). And even then, it's still the only achievement that matters if you're there.

Neymar and Mbappe stopped mattering at club level when they reduced their career to like 8 meaningful games per year

Wonder how Messi stands in regards to getting a final ballon dor now.

Messi is definitely getting next year's ballon dor. Unless he's out from January onwards and Mbappe drags PSG to their first UCL win, I can't see it being anyone else.

Yeah I initially thought it was a bit weird to do the World Cup after the Ballon D'or, but since they've reformatted it to be based on the previous season rather than the calendar year (which they should have done ages ago) then that's fine. Should mean Messi wins it.

https://twitter.com/Mustafa_Qadri/status/1605230722939322368?t=AVpXBd-vdyoAEf2bj7mIpA&s=19

Worth noting tbh.

The tournament being well-run in real time isn't the same as it being a good idea to host it there

The relative success of the tournament itself has disguised that which was always a potential issue

XIII_Rocks posted...

Well yeah PSG has blocked Neymar out of that discussion too - to choose PSG is to choose irrelevance, unless they actually win (multiple) CL(s). And even then, it's still the only achievement that matters if you're there.

Neymar and Mbappe stopped mattering at club level when they reduced their career to like 8 meaningful games per year

Doesn't Messi play for PSG too?

MZero posted...

Doesn't Messi play for PSG too?

The difference is Messi already accomplished literally everything at club level several times before going there.

Can somebody go into the plans for World Cup 2026? More specifically the plans to increase the field to 48 teams and mess around with the group stage format? Seems all very confusing and not logistically sound.

ZaziGuado posted...

Can somebody go into the plans for World Cup 2026? More specifically the plans to increase the field to 48 teams and mess around with the group stage format? Seems all very confusing and not logistically sound.

Last I heard it was 16 groups of 3, top 2 advance/32 team knockout stage. So dumb.

I also heard that structure isnt guaranteed but you're kind of boned either way. 8 groups of 6 is too many games, 12 groups of 4 and it's not a clean knockout stage slotting. Though didnt Euro 2020 do something like that, a bunch of variable 3rd place slots...

They had 6 groups of 4 back when the World Cup was 24 teams.

You're just begging for collusion if you do 16 groups of 3 where the two playing teams can conspire to eliminate the non-playing team.

12x4 groups with 8 third placers isn't great but it's better than 3-team groups

charmander6000 posted...

You're just begging for collusion if you do 16 groups of 3 where the two playing teams can conspire to eliminate the non-playing team.

Obvious to everyone except the brain trust at FIFA, but don't worry - one of the potential workarounds they've discussed is not allowing any draws during the group stage, so every game would require a winner (by full-time or via penalty kicks).

"But couldn't they collude via a penalty kick victory?"

Well yes, but that'll invoke FIFA's plan B: a finger wagging and/or stern talking-to.

I also heard reports that FIFA has discussed the idea of teams having a penalty kick shootout before the start of every game which would serve as the tiebreaker if there's no winner at the end of regulation. I like ties in soccer and would be sad if they went away for the world cup.

Denmark moves from 10th to 18th on the World Rankings. Among the 8 countries going past them are Colombia that didn't even play in the damn World Cup.

We have a good group for Euro qualification so hopefully we can climb back up to get a good WC draw and be in top 16 by that time again.

I've decided I like the away goals rule and I like the idea of doing the penalty shootout first for the same reason.

Let's do the final WC XI

E. Martinez
Hakimi - Varane - Gvardiol - Acuna
Modric - Fernndez - Griezmann
Messi - Alvarez - Mbappe

Substitutes:
Livakovic
Bono
L. Martinez
Saiss
Dumfries
Theo Hernandez
Amrabat
Tchouameni
De Paul
Bellingham
Mac Allister
Perisic
Di Maria
Ziyech
Giroud

Unsure about some of the starters but I don't feel like I'm missing anyone from the full squad.

Seeing a best XI got me wondering: What are Norway or Egypt's prospects at making a world cup like? It'd be great to see Haaland or Salah on this stage. Do they have a good shot with the expanded field in 2026?

Egypt qualified in 2018 and was favored to qualify again, but lost out against Senegal. They should have a good chance in 2026

Norway would need a favorable qualification group. Even with the expanded field, Europe has so few spots to compete

Egypt SHOULD be making the World Cup more often than they do. They just choke a lot and Africa is the hardest to qualify out of. Expansion will help
Norway isn't good enough and Europe is getting the shaft with expansion.

A truly amazing player is the difference between qualifying and not - it's no coincidence to see Wales making three tournaments during the Bale era.

So I wouldn't rule Norway out with the expansion but they are still Norway.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Let's do the final WC XI

E. Martinez
Hakimi - Varane - Gvardiol - Acuna
Modric - Fernndez - Griezmann
Messi - Alvarez - Mbappe

Substitutes:
Livakovic
Bono
L. Martinez
Saiss
Dumfries
Theo Hernandez
Amrabat
Tchouameni
De Paul
Bellingham
Mac Allister
Perisic
Di Maria
Ziyech
Giroud

Unsure about some of the starters but I don't feel like I'm missing anyone from the full squad.

I didn't think Modric had a fantastic tournament especially compared to last time. I thought his setpiece delivery in particular was below par.

I'd be inclined to replace him with Amrabat or even Tchouameni and move Griezmann further up for a true 4231. Romero for Varane also possible. Otherwise I agree.

Norway should see a WC in Haaland's time if he keeps this level, but they likely won't do well. It's a shame he's not Danish, we qualify, and what we lack the most is a proper 9.

Salah did not look that convincing in 18.

If a player spent a long time playing in another country's domestic league, is there a path for dual citizenship there? Like let's say a transcendent Luxembourger had no ties to England until he signed with a team at age 18 and then spent the next ten years playing within the English pyramid. Does essentially being employed in that nation open up the opportunity to apply for dual citizenship and play for the English national team? Does it require some sort of loop hole?

XIII_Rocks posted...

I didn't think Modric had a fantastic tournament especially compared to last time. I thought his setpiece delivery in particular was below par.

I'd be inclined to replace him with Amrabat or even Tchouameni and move Griezmann further up for a true 4231. Romero for Varane also possible. Otherwise I agree.

He got the bronze ball! But I think it's probably a better lineup when looking at the rest of the field to have Fernndez there with Amrabat for holding the midfield. Other than Gvardiol there are a bunch of decent options for the other center back. I might be too kind to Varane but wanted more experience there.

It can happen yeah. He'd be called up for Luxembourg asap though. Or possibly one of his grandparents would be German and he'd play for them instead.

Qatar took advantage of citizenship rules - even redefining the meaning of the word - for a few of their team.

IIRC Haaland could have already chosen to play for England.

I think it is very difficult to change nationality once you gain your first senior international cap.

Brazil got something

Richarlison gets goal of the tournament.

The link is too long and gamefaqs doesn't allow for links with more than 150 characters but there is an article saying 200,000 people (most of whom were French) have signed a petition for a rematch of the 2022 WC final. Lol.

I think France may have done the unthinkable and become just as bad as Portugal for me in football.

I truly have no clue who I will be rooting against when the two teams face each other in any future competition. The only reason I haven't put France below Portugal yet is because I kinda like Mbappe as a player but absolutely resent C Ronaldo.