League: SDMB WC 2018
Code: 1552590-76630
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Admittedly, I don’t follow the Mexican team that closely, but they’re getting beat 2-0 by Denmark in a friendly right now.
That’s bad news for the Mexicans as they open next Sunday against Germany and will have to beat out Sweden and South Korea to advance…for a likely round of 16 match against Brazil. 
The USA looked great against France. Its too bad that this wasn’t the team we fielded in qualifying.
Are you defending Klose by comparing him to Jack Morris? That makes him an above average striker, but not really elite. Yeah, second tier.
We all acknowledge that Messi is an elite striker yet he has only scored 5 WC goals and none in the knockout stage. Klose delivered consistently on the world’s largest footie stage. While Germany have been in the top tier of teams why hasnt any other striker produced like him since OG Ronaldo?
Well, out and out strikers are a rare bird these days.
Among people that have scored at least 5 goals at the world cup, Klose is 41st in scoring rate (9 of which have played in at least one of the same WCs as Klose). The reason he has scored the most goals is, for the third or fourth time, that he’s played so many games because Germany has had very poor alternative options. A secondary reason is that the World Cup is a small sample size. Scoring above your long term skill level is definitely possible over the course of 24 games. (People call this clutch, but statistical analysis of several different sports shows this is an after the fact justification i.e. a myth) Klose’s 500+ career games tell the real tale of his value.
Neymar scored a great goal this morning. I think he’s ready and raring to go.
They’re friendlies so we need to limit our conclusions – see the US result yesterday for proof – but this is not great for Mexico because I think Sweden is just as strong as Denmark.
The whole team looked great, and on the road against Austria, who had been playing very well. I watched just about every Brazil match in CONMEBOL qualification and saw how quickly they evolved under Tite. But I haven’t watched much of the German team lately. How have they looked?
This year no so great, they’re 1-1-2 including a loss to that Austria team. In 2017 they were undefeated. IMO their squad is stronger than last time around, they’re my favorites for the tournament.
I vote that we stop the Klose discussion.
What are the odds that Suarez bites someone during the world cup?
I am warming to Group H because it not only has a few Southampton guys in it (and former ones like Sadio Mane) but it seems the one most likely to produce the most chaos. It seems like any of the four could finish first or finish fourth.
(Columbia, Poland, Japan, Senegal)
I’m getting a little pumped.
So Goldman Sachs just sent me their 50-page paper on “The World Cup and Economics” that was published yesterday. Here is a summary of their conclusion:
“After hours of number crunching, 200,000 probability trees, and 1 million simulations, some of the results are strikingly intuitive: England meets Germany in the quarters, where Germany wins; and Germany meets Brazil in the final, and Brazil prevails.”
Cutting to the chase, in the QF, they have France > Spain, Brazil > Belgium, Portugal > Argentina and Germany > England. That 3rd match would probably be the most watched match in history.
In the semis (with the expected scores), Brazil 1.51 - France 1.22 and Germany 1.39 - Portugal 1.25.
In the Final, Brazil 1.70 - Germany 1.41
Team of the tournament: DeGea/Kimmich-Ramos-Hummels-Marcelo/De Bruyne-Coutinho-Kroos/Messi-Ronaldo-Neymar
ETA: I assume that a defensive midfielder would be needed, but I guess Busquets and Casemiro aren’t sexy enough for a TOTT.
I thought they looked like utter shite. Gave France way too much space.
Looks to me like the massively overrate Portugal. Winning the group, beating Argentina, and being close in skill to Germany are all stretches, IMO.
Kroos can play as a defensive or box to box midfielder. Probably would a true defensive midfielder given that those front 3 aren’t going to contribute a huge amount defensively, but team of the tournament isn’t about a cohesive unit, is it? If it’s just the best 11, then that’s a pretty solid lineup.
A USA team made up of mostly young players draws against Frances stars…in France. If that is what utter shot looks like ill take it anytime.
Yes, a little perspective might be in order. I think the starting lineup for the U.S. in France Saturday had a combined 84 caps or thereabouts.
ESPN’s best XI is balanced more like an actual team.
De Gea - Marcela/Ramos/Hummels/Kimmich - Kroos/Kante/de Bruyne - Messi/Lewandowski/Ronaldo.
In a bold and innovative move Spain have sacked their manager on the eve of the tournament starting!