# 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:** 73
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1442 "2018-07-06T21:09:58Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Geeze, now who do I root against? France. They’ve been diving almost as much as the Brazilians in this tourney. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1443 "2018-07-06T21:25:20Z")
Brazil was brilliant defensively. They didntvhave the MC to create for their attacking players. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1444 "2018-07-06T21:37:05Z")
An interesting question, how low would the TV ratings be for a potential Belgium-Croatia Final? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1445 "2018-07-06T21:39:07Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > An interesting question, how low would the TV ratings be for a potential Belgium-Croatia Final? 😃 We will not quite find out. My pick was France v Croatia, a close cousin. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1446 "2018-07-06T21:41:09Z")
I think France can get some decent numbers. There are more than a few Francophiles in the world (and even in the States). I shudder to think of how low the number of Americans is who couldn’t put Belgium or Croatia on a map. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1447 "2018-07-06T21:54:26Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > An interesting question, how low would the TV ratings be for a potential Belgium-Croatia Final? 😃 Anyone who watched this match will watch another Belgium match. It was one of the most thrilling matches ever. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1448 "2018-07-06T21:58:57Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > An interesting question, how low would the TV ratings be for a potential Belgium-Croatia Final? 😃 You underestimate America > **[England’s World Cup Penalty Win Provides Top 10 Ratings Celebration For Fox](https://deadline.com/2018/07/england-world-cup-penalty-win-ratings-mexico-fifa-fox-1202421552/amp/)** > > They looked to have blown it again but the boys of Albion came through in a shootout with Colombia that scored strong numbers for Fox ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1449 "2018-07-06T22:01:12Z")
I hear Neymar’s off to Thailand now to teach those kids trapped in a cave how to dive. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1450 "2018-07-06T22:08:12Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > You underestimate America > > [England’s World Cup Penalty Win Provides Top 10 Ratings Celebration For Fox](https://deadline.com/2018/07/england-world-cup-penalty-win-ratings-mexico-fifa-fox-1202421552/amp/) Yes, that’s ENGLAND. Probably the US’s 3rd most favorite men’s national team. Which is why I asked how low a Belgium-Croatia final would draw. The 2014 Final got 27mil US viewers. Of course it had Germany and Argentina. But compared to that, 4.4mil viewers is nothing. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1451 "2018-07-06T22:26:12Z")
FWIW, I never said American ratings alone. A Bel-Cro final would be bad for Worldwide ratings. 2 small countries who have never been to a WC final. Both have stars, but no one close to the level of a Messi or Zidane (or ever a Pogba in terms of social media followers). If you don’t think broadcasters around the world aren’t praying for a France v. England Final, you are delusional. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [July 6, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1452 "2018-07-06T23:16:32Z")
Brazil got unlucky with some bounces. But fuck 'em. Neymar escapes another yellow for even more simulation. A lot of Ronaldo hate is due to diving and faking injuries and he’s not a quarter of the diver Neymar is. Very even and very exciting game. Too bad it’s unlikely we see anything else as free flowing in the remaining games. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1453 "2018-07-06T23:34:57Z")
Honestly I’m almost expecting Croatia to get robbed next game. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1454 "2018-07-07T00:10:51Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Does anyone remember the 1994 semi-final match between Brazil and Holland? I was there. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1455 "2018-07-07T02:02:55Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > FWIW, I never said American ratings alone. A Bel-Cro final would be bad for Worldwide ratings. 2 small countries who have never been to a WC final. Both have stars, but no one close to the level of a Messi or Zidane (or ever a Pogba in terms of social media followers). If you don’t think broadcasters around the world aren’t praying for a France v. England Final, you are delusional. > > Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk You are delusional if you think the teams matter in a WC final. Its a final. People will watch. Belgium has been a very exciting team. It really won’t matter. Look at the ratings for Russia v Saudi Arabia. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1456 "2018-07-07T02:14:04Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Honestly I’m almost expecting Croatia to get robbed next game. I agree that there’s a strong possibility. I should know this, but is there any negative history between Russia and Croatia? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1457 "2018-07-07T02:29:14Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I agree that there’s a strong possibility. I should know this, but is there any negative history between Russia and Croatia? Dude the [fix is in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=51&v=AXO-Wu9FkaM), just off to put a lazy hundie on Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1458 "2018-07-07T05:19:06Z")
What an exciting game. And what a save by Courtois in the dying seconds. Now if England and Croatia would be so kind to won today, we would have four teams left that I’d be happy to see become world champions. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1459 "2018-07-07T06:08:29Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I agree that there’s a strong possibility. I should know this, but is there any negative history between Russia and Croatia? Russia has been quite supportive of Serbia during the Yugoslavian civil war. I don’t know if there’s anti-Russian sentiment in Croatia nowadays, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1460 "2018-07-07T08:08:52Z")
> [@Art\_Rock](#): > > What an exciting game. And what a save by Courtois in the dying seconds. > > Now if England and Croatia would be so kind to won today, we would have four teams left that I’d be happy to see become world champions. England has no chance against Sweden, at least not in my eyes. Kuijpers won’t be as blatantly partial as Geiger. So there is no way England scores even 1 goal. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615/1461 "2018-07-07T11:52:47Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > England has no chance against Sweden, at least not in my eyes. > > Kuijpers won’t be as blatantly partial as Geiger. So there is no way England scores even 1 goal. Brave statement, considering Sweden has no attacking force and England does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615.md?page=72) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-cup-2018/815615.md?page=74)