World Cup 2018

Not if they face a better backline.

Messi is also regressing like 95% of aging players. CR7 is the spawn of Satan and he just keeps getting better. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m not sure that really proved anything for France, but it’s all about survival.

I do think the next match will be a low scoring draw. It should be pointed out that the Uruguay hasn’t allowed a goal in 540 minutes plus injury time played in 2018. They have a stacked and seasoned back line.

I agree. Uruguay is seriously underrated. They are a veteran and crafty side. And Suarez.

Cops America 2019 was supposed to be a sixteen team tourney with 3 CONCACAF and 3 at large sides. Now it will be the traditional 12 with Qatar and Japan invited. WTF?

Mascherano retires. Messi likely to.

Is it too early to speculate about what might happen if France makes it all the way to Moscow? Will it involve Tchaikovsky?

The core of this Argentine side has been to four major finals and lost them all. Wonder if there is any other example in sports of 4 defeats in major finals.
Borg lost 4 US Open finals is the closest I can think off.

Jimmy White lost 6 World Snooker finals, including a run of five in a row.

What are the 4? Last World Cup and the back-to back Copa America. What else?

This is the only football-related thread on the Dope where this question wouldn’t be immediately answered. :wink: The NFL’s Buffalo Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 90s.

The Buffalo Bills lost 4 Super Bowls in a row.

2007 Copa America Final.
Jimmy White lost to the best players of all time.
Re the Buffalo Bills; damn. Poor bastards. A bit of googling reveals that they got hammered each time except for the first, why did they keep choking?

And the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have lost 13 World Series, including 5 within 10 years when they were in Brooklyn (1947-1956). The Los Angeles Lakers lost 7 NBA finals between 1962 and 1970.

There are plenty of franchises that have lost more than 4 finals, and there are plenty of “sides” (teams that are made up of basically the same players) that have lost more finals in a limited period of time.

Such as? LeBron has lost 3/4 NBA Finals. But I cannot think of any side except this Argentina side which has lost 4 finals without winning; and also the Bills.

Maybe they can do what Napoleon couldn’t.

Well the first one was won, except for an infamous missed field goal at the end. It was 47 yards so not a chip shot or anything, but goes in the history books as a “choke”. The last 3 were against dominant NFC teams.

At least we don’t expect a case of winter til the final…

You didn’t make that distinction. The Dodgers lost 7 World Series before they won their first one, including 4 between 1947-1953. The Lakers won some titles in Minneapolis, but as the Los Angeles Lakers they lost 7 before they finally won an NBA title.

You need to define what you mean by a “side.” Obviously it doesn’t mean the Argentine national team, since Argentina has won the World Cup before. I’m sure one could find other examples of teams made up mostly of the same members who have lost 4 or more championship series over a span of a few years besides the Bills, the Dodgers, or the Lakers. (You gave Bjorn Borg as an example of someone who lost 4 finals, but since his losses weren’t consecutive evidently that’s not one of considerations as to whether a team qualifies.)

Winter may be harsh, but the Russians have a specific word for what follows it, which is usually translated to “season of bad roads”.