Now that the game is over, I think it’s fair for the French to complain that that first penalty for di Maria was unjustified, he stumbled more of his own accord than anything the French defender did.
There was a penalty for major shove on Alvarez in the second half that wasn’t given, it would have made it 3-0.
The last penalty in ET was also more unjustified than Di Marias if we are being honest. It was ball to
hand.
Sunce when has that mattered? He jumped up, he put out his arm in a way that made him bigger, he stopped the ball with a body part that couldn’t play the ball and wasn’t in a natural position. That’s a handball, full stop.
In the same way someones face stops a fist. Mbappe kicked it right to his face, it was an instinctive move.
I think it was the correct call. As was Di Maria’s. He was infact tripped by Dembele.
I was thinking this (vid to follow) Richarlison goal was more impressive - scissor kick against Serbia:
There was also a goal by the Saudi player against Argentina (I didn’t get his name) at 10:13 that is pretty impressive as is the 30 yard free kick from Chavez of Mexico against the Saudis at 12:34.
THE VIDEO STARTS A LITTLE EARLY (poor linking) - it’s the one after the first one I was talking about.
This was my goal of the tournament. Korea NEEDED a goal to advance and it doesn’t get cooler or closer to the end than this:
There are more dramatic things. But he had clearly beaten the defender, was running full tilt and was pushed by someone with no chance or attempt to get the ball, which caused him (I believe genuinely) to fall. Defenders should know better than to do this in the box. It was a fair penalty even though many more dramatic things are seen.
I would also add that it would be a foul anywhere else on the field without much controversy.
Yes, I was rooting for France and I don’t understand how that penalty call was at all controversial.
And to keep things exciting, during the celebratory ride upon arrival on top of a double-decker, a bunch of the ARG players almost got clotheslined by a low hanging utility wire. Paredes was slow to duck and got his hat knocked off.
Later 2 idjits jumped from a bridge trying to reach the bus, this one if them being taken to the ambulance, we are beautiful idiots, all of us 
For “goal of the tournament”, is that usually just judged by how nice a goal it is in isolation? Or quality-of-goal along with context-and-importance?
Because if it’s the latter, I think Mbappe’s goal #2 in the final has to be it. An excellent goal in its own right, and also utterly transformed the match, signalling the start of 40 genuinely incredible minutes.
It’s usually judged in isolation, but I think that one has a good chance of winning even if you don’t consider how significant it was. I would vote for the Richarlison 3/4 bicycle kick, even though he has a stupid name and hair.
Messi did the post presentation celebration barefoot
Since his wife had taken his boots for the family museum an she was worried that h would give them away.
I must confess that on Saturday I was sad, I thought we were not going to be champions.
My reasoning was this: it was too perfect.
The genius who is about to retire and goes for one last chance.
The friend who gets heart disease and can’t accompany him.
The inexperienced DT who brings together a group of misfits willing to do anything to fulfill their idol’s dream.
it was too epic, and in real life, I thought, such things never end well.
In real life, Luke is killed by the imperial troops in his house along with his uncle and aunt.
In real life when Scotty or Geordi try a trick with the deflector shields to save the Enterprise that has a 5% chance to work… it doesn’t work, because it has a 95% chance to fail.
In real life Frodo doesn’t get out of the shire alive, Rohan doesn’t respond, the “Prince Serg” doesn’t get out of the wormhole in time.
Or at least I thought so.
Until Sunday, when with soul and suffering, after being ahead twice and being tied twice, the group of misfits led by the inexperienced young man raised the cup.
Thanks to the kid that went with his mother and his sister on a bicycle to train 10 kilometers from his house in the cold and at night for years.
Thanks to the protagonist’s crazy giant friend who saved a decisive penalty.
And I realized that while thinking that everything will always turn out well is illogical, Spock would tell us that thinking the opposite is also illogical.
I realized that in real life, sometimes, very rarely, Luke wears the shirt with a 10 on it and destroys the death star, Scotty from Pujato forces the reactors and the Enterprise doesn’t explode.
Sometimes, very rarely, far too rarely, but it happens, and so we will live on, trusting that we will see Rohan charge again in the fields of Pelennor.
This is a wonderfully discombobulated post. I enjoyed reading it. It seems churlish to point out “in real life” characters in Star Wars and Star Trek and The Hobbit are still fictional characters. It reminded me of seeing stores called “Open 25 Hours!” that still closed at eight pm. You have to love Argentine humour and their love of psychoanalysis. They still have the world’s most brilliant political humourist/cartoonist and social critic by many miles.
Hehehe, may be I didn’t come across right, I’m not saying that those fictional characters are real, I’m saying that sometimes, for a while (since they are real people and will no doubt do shitty things in the future, as real humans do), the real life equivalents of those fictional characters, sort of come to life.
I can’t actually remember when some problem with the deflector shields or potential engine problems going at warp speed didn’t work out surprisingly well, amazing many.
Still, credit where credit is due. I hope Lionel does not retire. Couldn’t blame him, but the evidence for diminution of his talents is lacking.
I had a similar thought. I went to take a bath with the score 2-0. When I emerged from the bath it was 3-3. I had become so accustomed to being cruelly teased that I knew deep down this was going to be a game where Messi would cruelly lose after having been tantalized with that promising 2-0 start. The universe was going to be savage, savage, savage. After all, that’s how I’d been teased with England leading Italy 1-0 in the Euro final…
I closed out of the browser again and didn’t return until half an hour later to see to my pleasant surprise that…hey, sometimes the universe does relent and let the good guy win once in a while.
That’s the point, in fiction it works everytime, in real life it never does… or so I thought until this sunday.