Might as well start a general Footy/Soccer thread

[Woodsy]

World Cup schedule is out and I hate it.
WC Final a week before Christmas? WTF
Ruins the traditional festive fixtures in the English top flight.

USA ENG debauchery Black Friday only plus I can see.

Monday, Nov. 21

Group A: Senegal vs. Netherlands (Al Thumama Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group B: England vs. Iran (Khalifa International Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group A: Qatar vs. Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium), 11 a.m. ET

Group B: United States vs. Wales, 2 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Nov. 22

Group C: Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia (Lusail Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group D: Denmark vs. Tunisia (Education City Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group C: Mexico vs. Poland (Stadium 974), 11 a.m. ET

Group D: France vs. AFC-CONMEBOL playoff winner (Al Janoub Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Nov. 23

Group F: Morocco vs. Croatia (Al Bayt Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group E: Germany vs. Japan (Khalifa International Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group E: Spain vs. Concacaf-OFC playoff winner (Al Thumama Stadium), 11 a.m. ET

Group F: Belgium vs. Canada (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Thursday, Nov. 24

Group G: Switzerland vs. Cameroon (Al Janoub Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group H: Uruguay vs. South Korea (Education City Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group H: Portugal vs. Ghana (Stadium 974), 11 a.m. ET

Group G: Brazil vs. Serbia (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Friday, Nov. 25

Group B: Wales vs. Iran (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group A: Qatar vs. Senegal (Al Thumama Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group A: Netherlands vs. Ecuador (Khalifa International Stadium), 11 a.m. ET

Group B: England vs. United States (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 26

Group D: Tunisia vs. AFC-CONMEBOL playoff winner (Al Janoub Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group C: Poland vs. Saudi Arabia (Education City Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group D: France vs. Denmark (Stadium 974), 11 a.m. ET

Group C: Argentina vs. Mexico (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Sunday, Nov. 27

Group E: Japan vs. Concacaf-OFC playoff winner (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group F: Belgium vs. Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group F: Croatia vs. Canada (halifa International Stadium), 11 a.m. ET

Group E: Spain vs. Germany (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Monday, Nov. 28

Group G: Cameroon vs. Serbia (5:00 a.m. EST, Al Janoub Stadium), 5 a.m. ET

Group H: South Korea vs. Ghana (8:00 a.m. EST, Education City Stadium), 8 a.m. ET

Group G: Brazil vs. Switzerland (11:00 a.m. EST, Stadium 974), 11 a.m. ET

Group H: Portugal vs. Uruguay (2:00 p.m. EST, Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Nov. 29

Group A: Netherlands vs. Qatar (Al Bayt Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group A: Ecuador vs. Senegal (Khalifa International Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group B: Wales vs. England (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Group B: Iran vs. United States (Al Thumama Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Nov. 30

Group D: Tunisia vs. France (Education City Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group D: AFC-CONMEBOL playoff winner vs. Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group C: Poland vs. Argentina (Stadium 974), 2 p.m. ET

Group C: Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Thursday, Dec. 1

Group F: Croatia vs. Belgium (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group F: Canada vs. Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group E: Japan vs. Spain (Khalifa International Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Group E: Concacaf-OFC playoff winner vs. Germany (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Friday, Dec. 2

Group H: South Korea vs. Portugal (Education City Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group H: Ghana vs. Uruguay (Al Janoub Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Group G: Cameroon vs. Brazil (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Group G: Serbia vs. Switzerland (Stadium 974), 2 p.m. ET

ROUND OF 16

Saturday, Dec. 3

Match 49: Winners of Group A vs. Runners-up of Group B (Khalifa International Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 50: Winners of Group C vs. Runners-up of Group D (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Sunday, Dec. 4

Match 51: Winners of Group D vs. Runners-up of Group C (Al Thumama Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 52: Winners of Group B vs. Runners-up of Group A (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Monday, Dec. 5

Match 53: Winners of Group E vs. Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 54: Winners of Group G vs. Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974), 2 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Dec. 6

Match 55: Winners of Group F vs. Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 56: Winners of Group H vs. Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

QUARTERFINALS

Friday, Dec. 9

Match 58: Winners of Match 53 vs. Winners of Match 54 (Education City Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 57: Winners of Match 49 vs. Winners of Match 50 (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Saturday, Dec. 10

Match 60: Winners of Match 55 vs. Winners of Match 56 (Al Thumama Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

Match 59: Winners of Match 51 vs. Winners of Match 52 (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Match 61: Winners of Match 57 vs. Winners of Match 58 (Lusail Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Match 62: Winners of Match 59 vs. Winners of Match 60 (Al Bayt Stadium), 2 p.m. ET

THIRD-PLACE MATCH

Saturday, Dec. 17

Semifinal losers (Khalifa International Stadium), 10 a.m. ET

FINAL

Sunday, Dec. 18

[SumJongGuy]

^^^Thanks for posting. It's cooler there in November and December right?

[Woodsy]

less hot, yes.
Never should of been put there

[SumJongGuy]

Never should of been put there

Agreed but FIFA $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[EWG]

I didn't realize the WC schedule was going to impact EPL etc that much. Sucks.

[Woodsy]

1st PL match back is boxing day

[EWG]

1st PL match back is boxing day

Yeah, that sucks.

[SumJongGuy]

Let's hear some.. "not your primary favorite but would be cool to see win it" teams..

My no affiliation but if USA and England are out... then Mexico Ole!

[Woodsy]

Dude
Where are you from?
Must not be America as Mexico are our greatest rivalry.
That like Irul saying " golly if the Yankees don't win it, good Red Sox!"
Or me cheering on Liverpool....

Senegal would be cool....
Wales too, if they weren't in our group.

[SumJongGuy]

Dude
Where are you from?
Must not be America as Mexico are our greatest rivalry.
That like Irul saying " golly if the Yankees don't win it, good Red Sox!"
Or me cheering on Liverpool....

Senegal would be cool....
Wales too, if they weren't in our group.

My whole neighborhood is full of Mexicans. I always pull for them when they're playing anybody but US or England. I don't care if they've beaten the shit out of us before. in important games Here's another fun fact. I'm an Oklahoma Sooner class of 86 but will root for Texas when they're not playing Oklahoma.. WHAT???? I did my graduate work at UT MBA 1998. I definitely pulled for TexASS when they beat USC in the 2006 Championship. My dad did his grad work at USC so that was EPIC to beat his team..

Despite popular opinion.. HATE is not required to be a good sports fam. You spend more time here bellyaching about teams and people you hate than teams and players you love. That's messed up LOL!

Show us on the doll where Liverpool/lGerrard touched you..

[Woodsy]

Just feel rivalry is part of sport, you dont.
Cheer for all the teams.
Yeah sports

[Woodsy]

And Gerrard tried to touch me but he slipped and couldn't quite....

[dunfree]

The move to November is making me increasingly indifferent to the World Cup at all. No longer the sports highlight of a summer it’s some weird midsession interlude.


it’s gonna cause a bunch of moves - players, managers, in mid-November I’d expect. At the bottom of the premier league November 13, sack the manager and the replacement has 7 weeks to build something. Harder on the top teams who’s talent will be elsewhere. Might be a more even competitive mid to bottom table. Might

[The SnowShow]

Mane leaving Liverpool sucks! Loved watching the combo of him and Salah.

[BmillsSkier]

The move to November is making me increasingly indifferent to the World Cup at all. No longer the sports highlight of a summer it’s some weird midsession interlude.

It’s almost like hosting the Winter Olympics in a city at sea level that sees next to zero actual snow.

I know I’ll have to dig deep to find an example. Maybe even one with a cooling tower in a venue background to prove my point.

I know it’s incongruent with the values of the IOC and FIFA, but I feel like the events would be better served if someone just told them, no, that’s not actually a good idea to hold it there.



On topic, did Pulisic weigh in on the crowd tonight?

[MarcusBrody]

Let's hear some.. "not your primary favorite but would be cool to see win it" teams..

My no affiliation but if USA and England are out... then Mexico Ole!

I root for the US, where I'm from, then Italy -where my family was once from and where my cousins who introduced me to soccer are from.

But assuming they're out (and Italy already is, dammit), I usually root for the underdogs or teams with my favorite club players. My favorite club player right now is probably Fede Valverde, so Uruguay would be the natural choice, but Luis Suarez is still playing so that would be tough. I love Vinicius and Camavinga as well, but rooting for Brazil/France seems too easy. Croatia and Luka Modric? I'll just hope the US goes a ways and root for the underdogs after they're out.

[SumJongGuy]

Just feel rivalry is part of sport, you dont.
Cheer for all the teams.
Yeah sports

Rivalry us head to head. In the USA vs Mexico rivalry I'm going USA. If USA is out of the picture/tournament, the rivalry is also out of the tournament. I don't wish ill on rivals when it's moot to my preferred teams succeeding. I only hate on teams when it actually matters

You're welcome to hate on other teams all you want when you can't cheer for your favorites if that's your thing.

[Woodsy]

Not necessarily hate, just think if you asked 100 USMNT fans if they would want Mexico to win a world cup before the US 98 would say no.

A rival succeeding is not moot to your team succeeding, its legacy where teams are always head to head.

I dont want Mexico to win a world cup before the US. I dont want Liverpool to surpass United for most titles in England. This is rivarly. It has always been part of sports. Unfortunately, especially in Soccer, it goes too far with Ultras and hooligans attacking each other. that is too much. But most Barca fans are never going to cheer for Real Madrid. Same with red and blue sides of Milan, Manchester, Liverpool, etc. Dont even get me started on Glasgow.

I dont hate liverpool, I respect its traditions and European Success. I just compare them to my fav team and want to find Untied the better, which they are not right now.

I dont hate Mexico. I went to Catholic school in Utah so spent a lot of my adolescence in 1st gen Mexican homes, Spanglish is a second language. My best man has Salazar as a last name. I just dont want their footy team to do better than the US and look down on the US program anymore than they already do.

Shit, Canada is more likely than either to go deep in the tourney, although they have a tough group.

[Woodsy]

Blatter and Platini trial starts today
Should be interesting

https://www.theguardian.com/football...ectric-theatre

[BmillsSkier]

Pretty stoked I’ll be able to see some World Cup matches here in ATL in 4 years. The list of awarded cities is pretty strong.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/11055...p-announcement

[SumJongGuy]

Pretty stoked I’ll be able to see some World Cup matches here in ATL in 4 years. The list of awarded cities is pretty strong.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/11055...p-announcement

Wow jellies! That's definitely a bucket list wish for me too. But, odds of taking time off to travel out of town to do it aren't good. If they had one in Raleigh I'd definitely try to get tickets. Charlotte, maybe? Atlanta? Doable but definitely need to stay overnight before or after.. Not a relaxing day trip.

[BmillsSkier]

Wow jellies! That's definitely a bucket list wish for me too. But, odds of taking time off to travel out of town to do it aren't good. If they had one in Raleigh I'd definitely try to get tickets. Charlotte, maybe? Atlanta? Doable but definitely need to stay overnight before or after.. Not a relaxing day trip.

Looks like they will also host a Semifinal game too which you can guarantee will be absofuckinglutely nuts here.

[Woodsy]

My soccer playing boy will be 12 and we are def hitting NJ, Philly, and maybe Boston.

He doesnt need college really, right?

[SumJongGuy]

My soccer playing boy will be 12 and we are def hitting NJ, Philly, and maybe Boston.

He doesnt need college really, right?

Best we could do was hit a couple Railhawks games here when the kid played. Last one was pretty cool. The high school coach was the head official and my kid got to be a ball boy for the match.. Then they won on a PK at the end of regulation. Good times! But envy you and admire you for taking those road trips. We were more all in on scouting and skiing than soccer..

[~mikey b]

I got to go to a couple games at Stanford in 1994. I’d love to be able to go to a couple at Levi’s Stadium but I bet it will end up being cost prohibitive.