World Cup 2018 - Rossiya

[Brickyard Jack]

Brilliant goal

[KeithPratt]

Argentina are going home. I think Iceland will beat Nigeria.

[Brickyard Jack]

Surely one of the dirtiest games so far. Dozens of low level niggly pushes, nicks, trips etc. The ref has had no control and the whole thing is a poor advert for football. And argentina are crap.

[Penk!]

Surely one of the dirtiest games so far. Dozens of low level niggly pushes, nicks, trips etc. The ref has had no control and the whole thing is a poor advert for football. And argentina are crap.

It’s quite nice to see Croatia holding their own with the rough stuff after they got tripped and kicked out of the Euros by Portugal two years ago.

[Penk!]

As for Argentina you can have all the Messis and Agüeros and Higuains and Dybalas in the world but no defenders or midfielders and you’re going to get pumped.

[Penk!]

One thing though - I find it really distasteful showing crying children in the crowd after the last goal went in.

[Brickyard Jack]

Surely one of the dirtiest games so far. Dozens of low level niggly pushes, nicks, trips etc. The ref has had no control and the whole thing is a poor advert for football. And argentina are crap.

It’s quite nice to see Croatia holding their own with the rough stuff after they got tripped and kicked out of the Euros by Portugal two years ago.

Well they certainly did that!

[KeithPratt]

Croatia can go far. They're quarter-finalists at least.

[joklend]

I've Croatia in the sweep and they were always my tip to win that group. Argentina have been execrable of late. Physical but smart performance from the Croats, they probably lack one or two players to make a real impact later on though.

That said, quite a few of the big names haven't turned up thus far. Could be interesting.

[algroth]

As for Argentina you can have all the Messis and Agüeros and Higuains and Dybalas in the world but no defenders or midfielders and you’re going to get pumped.

Pretty much. That was a dreadful show and then some.

[Brickyard Jack]

Bollocks. I was at work. Sounds like I missed a great game and now I have to endure ITV highlights.

You didn't. It was largely dull.

[never/ever]

One thing though - I find it really distasteful showing crying children in the crowd after the last goal went in.

I don't.
Gives a wonderful difference of the usual crowd shots of beer-guzzling gutbuckets and the babe-cam contests the directors employ.
Besides, nothing would please me more than to know that the training staff had put that image on loop and showed it in Argentina's team bus on the way back to the hotel.

[mentalist (slight return)]

I don't know much about this football Malarky but I've never understood why Wenger never played Giroud more. Even more so.

[trans-chigley express]

There seem to be five people marking Messi - what are the rest of his team doing?

conceding goals with comedy defending

[trans-chigley express]

A shame Australia never got the win their play deserved. Oh for a clinical striker. I don't understand why they don't just put Cahill on for the last 20 mins or so.

[never/ever]

Considering how tall and organised the Swedish defense was, headed goals (Cahill's speciality) were always going to be hard to come by. Australia needed to be more direct going to goal- Arzani's little darting run on the backline had them in all sorts of trouble and just needed a few more bodies in the box to finish off.
It was rather pleasing to see how they were able to prise the defense open with quick and clever passes but it needed a quality finisher at the end. Cahill is talismanic for Australia and a quality finisher but I can see the need for speed on the whole and Juric and Irvine have that in spades.

With Nabbout out we may see Cahill against Peru though.

[mentalist (slight return)]

A shame Australia never got the win their play deserved. Oh for a clinical striker. I don't understand why they don't just put Cahill on for the last 20 mins or so.

you and most of the population of Australia

[Penk!]

Considering how tall and organised the Swedish defense was, headed goals (Cahill's speciality) were always going to be hard to come by.

Another thing that made it very hard for Australia to beat the Swedes in the air was the fact that the Swedes were at their base in Gelendjik while Australia were playing against Denmark in Samara.

[never/ever]

Thanks Ed, I'm glad to report the medication is slowly wearing off.

[KeithPratt]

Modric produced the performance of the tournament so far for me. Outstanding and a timely reminder of his humble genius.