Definitely true. Exiting out and rejoining every once in awhile might catch it up, so to speak.
And Mbpappé scoring his 5th in this tournament. On his way to becoming top scorer of this WC? People have won with 5 goals only in past tournaments, and I think there’s more to come from him.
Has Lewy forgotten how to shoot penalties?
ETA: ah, he got his third(!) chance and finally scores.
Morata and Rashford are on 3 with a game in hand. Brazil gets SoKo + Croatia/Japan. Could be an opportunity for Richarlison to make up some of that group, but I agree, Mbappe is the overwhelming favorite to win the golden boot. I’d take him over the field at this point.
I find myself rooting for Senegal.
They have a nice enthusiastic, opportunistic style.
When they have possession they seem unhindered by the English.
a bit like Holland v USA, counter-attack by England has done for Senegal.
I like underdogs and Senegal has heart. They do not look like the better team through the first half. England’s offence is very good when on form, but if the US can shut it down others can too.
Poland found its feet after a tough start, they gave away five corners in the first ten minutes. They improved and made some nice plays. But guys like Mbappe are not slightly better than average, but transcendental. He made a couple shots few goalies could stop. And the Polish goalie is better than most.
Mbappe now has 9 career World Cup goals at the age of just 23. You would have to give him every chance of not just beating Klose’s record of 16 goals but setting a 20+ goal record which will stand for a very long time.
Green screens could have interesting effects in a field of grass 
BTW, concerning advertising on football pitches, I once saw a game in Brussels where I could switch channels between the national broadcasters of both teams playing because in Brussels you can see BBC, ARD, RAI, FranceTV etc… I don’t remember which teams those were, but I was surprised to see that both countries showed the field from the oposite side! The adds were different in each side of the field lengthwise and in one channel, team A went from left to right, in the other team A went from right to left! I guess something similar happens in the World Cup, because otherwise I fail to understand why chinese and arabic characters appear in European screens. Nobody understands that here, a green screen would show something more lucrative for Europe
Are only 3 substitutions allowed in World Cups games, like others? That always seemed like way few substitutions but then again I’m accustomed to unlimited subbing in American football.
Pretty much every league, and the world cup, have gone to five substitutions.
2026 and on is going to have a weaker field on average field too. He’s going to get 10+ more WC games, barring injury. Potentially he gets 3 more WCs, although I think 2 is more likely. Yeah, I’d put the median expected number of goals for him in the upper teens with him completely blowing the record out being a real possibility.
As an England fan I can’t remember ever see us win a knock out game in such a stress free manner. Senegal looked very dangerous in the first half but in the end we got to rest some players. England v France is going to be very very tasty.
They’ve gone to five subs in three windows. So if you want to do all five subs, some will have to be double or triple.
England v France is what the 2018 World Cup final should have been
I think England and France are the best two teams in that half of the draw (with Spain chomping at their heels) whereas in the other side of the draw the two top teams are Brazil and Argentina. We should see a classic Europe v South America final at the end of all of this.
Having said all that, the final will probably be Netherland v South Korea.
Personally, my predictions - take them for what they’re worth - Japan beats Croatia; Brazil beats Korea; Spain beats Morocco; Portugal beats Switzerland.
Quarters - Argentina beats Netherlands; France beats England; Brazil beats Japan; Spain beats Portugal
Semi: France beats Argentina; Spain beats Brazil
Final: France beats Spain
That is all yanked directly out of my ass for the sole purpose of saying, I don’t see anyone stopping Mbappé and France.
I think you have your brackets mixed up. France would meet Spain in the semi and it would be an Argentina/ Brazil semi on the other side
Yep I just realized that. Let me re-jigger my predictions and I’ll get back to you.
So I guess I’ll have Argentina beating Brazil and France beating Spain, then France over Argentina in the Final.
And, or course, South Korea vs Morocco would be my dream final.