Last time I was properly into these tournaments was probably Euro 2004 when Rooney first broke through, and maybe 2006 though by then I had already started to not care as much, a far cry from WC 1998 when I was invested as much as I was in Arsenal. These days it's pretty hard to support a team full of knobs form Tottenham and co that are also dreary to watch, I can't bring myself to care.

I've decided I want Messi to win it, but that probably won't happen.

Boycott this dictator lovefest people. It's Argentina '78 all over again.

I love these tournaments. Brazil and France have excellent teams, Germany will be in the mix as usual. Argentina are so weird. They have the best offensive players by far, but no manager, not even Sampaoli, can make them anything else than a team that Messi has to bail out time after time.

Gurgen wrote:

Boycott this dictator lovefest people. It's Argentina '78 all over again.

What?

Will be in Australia all through the WC so the timing of the games are going to be perfect bar one or two. Should be able to catch most games I reckon.

Really, really want Messi and Argentina to do it but just can't see it, think we'll see a final four of France, Brazil, Spain and Germany based on the way the tournament is structured. Of those I'd give the edge to Brazil.

Would a Neymar inspired WC triumph be enough to finally break the Messi/Ronaldo Ballon D'Or monopoly?

Claudius wrote:
Gurgen wrote:

Boycott this dictator lovefest people. It's Argentina '78 all over again.

What?

You missed that this is in Russia, like those winter olympics in a fucking beach resort? This tournament is another opportunity for a brutal dictator to present a positive imagine of himself and his murderous regime to the outside world.

Doesn’t really pan out like that though, generally it just puts a lot more scuitiny in said countries.

Sochi panned out just fine for Putin and his cronies. They got to hang out with royalty and were able to launder massive amounts of money with idiotic infrastructure projects.

What royalty? Russia's reputation in Western media hits new lows every week

Oft is right, 2014 was a catastrophe for Brazil. I don't care about World Cups but I'm not sure what boycotting this one would achieve

12 days later


How do one pick an XI from this? France is even deeper in depth.

Had no idea Gundogan, Can, Sane and Ter Stegen were German.

Where did you think they were from?

Could understand thinking the former two were from Turkey.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Could understand thinking the former two were from Turkey.

Sane sounds kind of French and Ter Stegen like a scando. So if you weren't into football I could get it but Tony, come on.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Could understand thinking the former two were from Turkey.

Yeah I thought Can and Gundogan were Turkish.

Klaus wrote:

Where did you think they were from?

Turkish for the first two.

Sane I just didn't know or even wondered.

I thought Ter Stegen was Dutch.