# World Cup 2018 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 7, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615 "2018-06-07T18:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 40
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/781 "2018-06-26T20:18:45Z")
OK thanks. If Argentina and Portugal meet in the quarterfinals…my, my. It would be a madhouse. CR7 vs Messi. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/782 "2018-06-26T20:18:53Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Maradona back on the beak, by the looks of him in the stands On the US feed (are they all the same?), he was shown flipping the bird to someone or other. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/783 "2018-06-26T20:22:37Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > So was that a hand ball in the box, or not? While it went from the head to the arm, the arm was extended. The arm wasn’t in an unnatural position for someone jumping for a header, so no? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/784 "2018-06-26T21:00:40Z")
Croatia just too good for Iceland. Was a good game though. I’d say Croatia should be able to beat Denmark from what I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/785 "2018-06-26T21:07:38Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The arm wasn’t in an unnatural position for someone jumping for a header, so no? That’s exactly what I said to the guy next to me at the bar (who also happened to be an Argentina fan), and he was convinced it would be a penalty. I didn’t watch the Portugal game yesterday, but he said that that one was even less egregious. Since the review was so quick, I felt vindicated. We were all happy none-the-less, as I didn’t want to see Messi go out like that. And of all the people to score with the foot, it being Rojo was even crazier. Maybe he should replace Higuain up front. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/786 "2018-06-26T22:00:38Z")
Think the Nigeria pk was BS. Forward threw himself to the ground while Maschereno barely touched him. Especially after you have something like the absolute mugging in the Switzerland vs Serbia game. Players will see how that’s called and act with that in mind. Higuain missed two that should have been goals, one in each half. If he finished goals he should, this Argentina team would be one of the more decorated teams in history. Rojo is an absolute nightmare passing out of the back or with the ball at his feet, but he sure can strike a ball! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/787 "2018-06-26T22:02:36Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > On the US feed (are they all the same?), he was shown flipping the bird to someone or other. Yeah, that was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/788 "2018-06-26T22:07:59Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > On the US feed (are they all the same?), he was shown flipping the bird to someone or other. With both hands, what I saw. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/789 "2018-06-26T22:19:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > With both hands, what I saw. The hands of God, with the middle fingers of God… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/790 "2018-06-26T22:21:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > With both hands, what I saw. Not his hands. The Hands of God. ETA: Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/791 "2018-06-26T22:37:28Z")
Apparently Maradona was hospitalized after the game, according to what I just heard on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/792 "2018-06-26T23:01:22Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Round of 16 matches for today’s winners: Argentina-France and Denmark-Croatia. The first one should be an interesting match! Both interesting matches! Arg, this schedule is killing me. I DVR all the matches, of course, but it’s inevitable I trip across results- I should stay off Twitter. Worse is that I normally get home from work right at about half time of the latest match, but the streaming service I’m using (Fubo) doesn’t let you watch it from the beginning until it’s done recording. So I usually watch an earlier match while that one’s finishing. It kills me that I \*could \*watch a match live, but only the second half … where I may have already missed a goal, and the announcers will inevitably talk about the results of the earlier matches. I think I’m going to have to burn some vacation days for the knockout rounds. I don’t deal well with all this anxiety. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/793 "2018-06-26T23:43:16Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Apparently Maradona was hospitalized after the game, according to what I just heard on the radio. It seems he’s ok now, thanks to Himself. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/794 "2018-06-27T00:15:02Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > T-20 minutes and let me just say “GANEN O MUERAN” :mad: Let’s leave Irish players out of this discussion. 😉 (I know it’s Spanish for “(Y’all) win or die!”) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/795 "2018-06-27T00:37:18Z")
This Score app I use has a bunch of extra stats in it. How many passes, how many succeeded – damn, do they have a trainspotter-type in a booth somewhere who just sits there and hits tally buttons? The last stat I see is “off the line”, which seems to happen once or twice in a dozen matches. It is recorded as a positive stat. Does this mean that an offensive player beat the goalie? If not, what is it? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/796 "2018-06-27T00:48:48Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Let’s leave Irish players out of this discussion. 😉 > > (I know it’s Spanish for “(Y’all) win or die!”) Ganen O’Mueran the legendary striker of the Irelan National Team 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/797 "2018-06-27T00:49:57Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Ganen O’Mueran the legendary striker of the Irelan National Team 😛 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/798 "2018-06-27T01:41:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > This Score app I use has a bunch of extra stats in it. How many passes, how many succeeded – damn, do they have a trainspotter-type in a booth somewhere who just sits there and hits tally buttons? > > The last stat I see is “off the line”, which seems to happen once or twice in a dozen matches. It is recorded as a positive stat. Does this mean that an offensive player beat the goalie? If not, what is it? Passes were probably originally tallied by a handful of interns in a booth, but I bet now it’s mostly a lot of cameras and algorithms. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/799 "2018-06-27T03:25:26Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s as if you’ve never played the game. WHERE exactly is he supposed to have his arm that isn’t blocking the ball? The picture clearly shows a natural stance just as every other player had their arms out. It’s a natural function of balance. You can’t run with your arms behind your back so their arms have to be SOMEWHERE. The defender has no way of knowing where the ball is going to be kicked unless he’s inches from the goal. Unless the hand is moved to block a ball then it’s pure chance the ball hits it. > > Penalty shots drastically alter a game and should represent an egregious breach of the rules. > > If this was how the refs were calling the game I would instruct my forwards to deliberately kick the ball at defender’s hands. You aren’t even talking about the same call, apparently. The call in question occurs when the player slides to his right to try and stop a cross and has his hand straight up in the air. That’s not a “natural stance” in any sense of the word. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/800 "2018-06-27T03:53:55Z")
If I kick the ball and it hits an opposing player’s butt before going out, that is our throw-in/corner even if the other player had no idea the ball was going to hit him – do I have that right? If it works that way, _any_ hand ball, even if it is unintentional, should count as a foul. I would think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615.md?page=41)