This game intrigued me. At first I thought it was intentional, but Argentina is likely too proud for that. Then I wondered if it was the heat or travel. But the reality is that the difference between the best teams and average qualifiers has decreased quite a bit. There were many, many surprises in Qatar.
If you could’ve only seen the country that morning after the defeat you wouldn’t think it could EVER be intentional.
I worked from home, got out after the game to buy some groceries, walked perhaps two blocks.
It was silence, preternatural silence, I swear even the cars sounded subdued, the birds didn’t sign, a whole country in a state of sadness so profound that people didn’t even raise their voices, teachers of high school students report that even their charges were unnaturally quiet.
It lasted until Messi scored against Mexico, and for that, among other things, I’ll be ever grateful to him.
Looking at the knockout bracket, I don’t think I like the way it’s set up. The two qualifying teams from each group end up in the same half of the bracket. So, for example, if Argentina and Canada qualify from group A, they could meet again in the semifinal. It would seem better to avoid rematches where possible. Probably there is some timing involved, since you want to give teams similar rest between matches, but I feel like that could be worked around.
One thing I do like is using goal differential as the first tiebreaker, rather than head-to-head as the Euros have. In a three-game group stage. a loss is already a huge setback, and including it as the first tiebreaker overvalues it even more.
It’s ugly as sin.
I’d guess scheduling played a role - the hosts I’m sure really wanted a match on July 4th, which meant that all feeder groups for that match must have been finished by June 30th, which (if a group C team is involved, with first match on June 22nd) would have meant starting play for the tournament on June 19th, a likely night for a game 6 of the NBA playoffs (in the event, the NBA ended with game 5 on the 17th).
If you want max sports media coverage for your event in the U.S., the NBA playoffs is something you should dodge.
I’ve been watching a bit. The number of players rolling on the ground writing in agony has been quite surprising. I’m amazed this sport is allowed to continue with players getting maimed on such a regular basis.
This is among the best and most intense of the MFA programs, please appreciate it for what it is.
They could solve it with VAR and changes in direction on how to call games, but you just need to accept it as gamesmanship and think of it as legitimate strategy. Or let it annoy you I guess.
Lautaro is the best striker in the world and one of the best in Argentina…
Canada is thrilled to be advancing to the next round.
I’d be more thrilled if they could score an onside goal against ten men. They didn’t have a shot on target for the first 75 minutes. Lots of pretty passes though. Only 3 shots on target by the final whistle.
Not to say they don’t deserve kudos. But they need to shoot and score more than they do to further advance. Crépeau played well. But Canada can’t rely on red cards, writhing for penalty kicks and colliding with the opposing goalie.
Canada may be about to save CONCACAF’s bacon, since USA and Mexico may very well not reach the round of 8.
The US might well have a tough game against Uruguay, a tough draw. I don’t know if Mexico will beat Ecuador, but I think they probably will.
The US is in bad shape, even if they tie Uruguay (not the way to bet) or win (forget about it), they need Panama not to defeat Bolivia, which, the way things are going seems unlikely.
Another slog of a game for Canada, but a bit more expected for them to play this way this time with the state of the group. Canada only scored once in their three games, but that gets you through when Peru and Chile score zero 
.
This makes the tournament a success for Canada, and they should hopefully have some chances in an QF against Venezuela/Ecuador/Mexico. But Argentina are huge favourites to reach the final of course.
Correction, they could go forward if they defeat Uruguay and Panama defeats Bolivia if they score more goals than Panama, which seems extremely unlikely but it’s mathematically possible.
The US has their work cut out for them. Mexico can play very well sometimes. Canada has done quite well by its standards, but realistically still should be able to elevate their game.
The US (#11) is supposedly ranked higher than Uruguay (#14), but I’ll believe it when they win. FWIW, England is #5, Slovakia #45, Georgia #74.
Yeah those rankings are usually outdated at best, and downright goofy at worst, Belgium is always ranked around the top 5th for some reason for example.
FIFA rankings are dog shit. Use the ELO rankings. 6 and 30, btw.
This.
I knew there was a better ranking but I could not remember the name.