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I didn't see the game last night so I've only caught up with highlights now. Did Scotland have any game plan; they neither took the game to Brazil to put them on the back foot, nor sat back a la Cape Verde or Ghana to frustrate and maybe nick something.
In fact from the early exchanges seems like the main tactic was to give the ball away close to their own final third; no point wasting all that energy taking the ball upfield only to THEN lose it and have to run back again when it's that hot 😉
It felt like they were holding back a bit, almost to save energy for the second half. Problem was Brazil were happy to let Scotland build from the back and then pick them off. Too many times the ball was played to the midfield or full backs and then it just came back again.
If Brazil play someone like the Dutch on that form they'll be torn apart and eaten.
Interesting article on the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cgev2vdzjvvo
Will be interesting to see how the remainder of the group games play out & if there are any notable results.
It's a bloody stupid tournament of you can lose 1 out of 3 games and still potentially go through.
We won't but it's bloody stupid if we did.
Germany Ecuador game is great so far
It was the same in '86, we lost our first two games but would have gone through if we beat Uruguay.
It's a bloody stupid tournament of you can lose 1 out of 3 games and still potentially go through.
It's farcical that after a couple of weeks of a tournament, there will still be 32 teams left in it, some of whom are rubbish! Once we get into the knock out games I expect there will be some absolute shoeings dished out when the 'not quite as shit as the other teams who finished third' sides meet the big boys in a must win game.
I'm genuinely curious about the total love affair Boston (and now Miami) appear to be having with the Tartan Army!
I really hope everything I'm reading (mostly FB so who knows...) is true, but there is just no part of 'massive crowd of drunk Scottish football fans celebrating in the street' that sounds like a good thing, perhaps my experiences of a Hearts/Hibs fan riot right outside my flat window have soured me 🙄
I can get why people are loving the marching bagpipes thing, say what you like but they are pretty uplifting when you hear them in the right context, and clearly kilts travel well.
Is anyone 'in' the Tartan Army? It sounds too well organised to just be spontaneous goodwill, does someone police the behaviour of fans to prevent bad PR? Is it just ingrained?
It almost felt like Boston was anxious to stick to the narrative by (apparently) turning their back on the English supporters, although if it's true that they arrived in town and started chanting 'F--- off Tartan Army, you've had you're f------ party' then yeah, that's not likely to set a great tone.
It's a bloody stupid tournament of you can lose 1 out of 3 games and still potentially go through.
It's farcical that after a couple of weeks of a tournament, there will still be 32 teams left in it, some of whom are rubbish!
Agreed – I did read an article somewhere (aha - found it) - basically, this expanded format is flawed because, to make it fair, all teams in the same group need to play their final game at the same time and they need to whittle it down to 32 teams for the next round (so 32 > 16 > 8 > 4 > 2), so it just doesn't really work (you can't have a format that goes 48 > 24 > 12 > 6 > 3 > errr), so they have to allow more teams through to re-balance the format.
I'm genuinely curious about the total love affair Boston (and now Miami) appear to be having with the Tartan Army!
Boston has a big Irish population, which might affect the feeling towards Celts and English.
Iirc the tartan army started when others but particularly the English were less well behaved.
The national support has always overridden team tribalism. It was "fun" sitting in the Guildford arms watching the Hibs casuals ready themselves for the next train of traveling support.
Norway Vs France - potentially a humdinger.
edit Norway are playing a 2nd choice team , ah well.
To be fair to Norway they're giving it a go.
Not sure giving their playersa rest is the right decision. Will lose their tournament momentum and go out in the next round.
Wow Cape Verde through without winning a single game and finishing 2nd in their group.
all teams in the same group need to play their final game at the same time
That's been the case since Germany and Austria played out the dullest game ever in 1982; a low score win to Germany would see both progress by having better goal difference than Algeria who'd played earlier on, and whaddya know, 1-0.
Semi-interesting there's now potential for that again because GD is no longer the primary deciding factor for teams level on points, it's the result of the head to heads which may well be known already if you tie with one of the teams in the other final game.
Also semi interesting, there was a chance in Italia 90 going into the final group game that England, NL, Egypt and ROI could all finish with identical records, if both final games finished the same score all would be P3 D3 Fx Ax. And the order would be decided by a raffle. As it was ENG bt EGYPT 1-0 to decide top and 4th, while NL v ROI was 1-1 and they still had to draw lots for 2nd and 3rd, and the easier next round tie. And by the luck of the Irish they got Romania and Packie Bonner's shootout heroics, NL got Germany and went home.
I do find that semi interesting - Italia 90 was the first World Cup I can remember, but have always assumed only the top two in the group went through.
Will tonight’s England performance galvanise support, or even ‘fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tuchel’?
(I was expecting to hear strains of this in the pre-match build up)☺️☺️☺️
I've been asleep for the last 30 minutes, what have I missed?
what have I missed?
Absolutely nothing. I think we’ll all be asleep if it carries on like this
have always assumed only the top two in the group went through.
Italia 90 was 24 teams, 6 groups of 4 and top 2 going through makes 12, and then the 4 best 3rd places
1998 went to 32 teams and only this time has it expanded again, except now instead of the KO starting with 16 teams, it's now 32 and also therefore to win the tournament you play 8 games, not 7.
Anyway. Very unimpressed so far, open at the back and no real guile in attack. And Rashford missing the target with that freekick is so frustrating. As we've constantly been told it's been pissing down, slippy ball, skiddy surface, at least make the keeper make a save
Is anyone 'in' the Tartan Army? It sounds too well organised to just be spontaneous goodwill, does someone police the behaviour of fans to prevent bad PR? Is it just ingrained?
We have (had) a similar experience in Aviemore every August when the Harley riders descend on the town. The influx is massive, the behaviour could be troublesome but it's so well "policed" by the participants themselves that there's no trouble and, in fact, it's a big party for visitors and locals alike all weekend.
I wish this stadium announcer would STFU!
I watched it in crowded pub with a ceilidh band in full force. I think I was the only one watching.
Steve Clarke resigned. Probably the right decision after seven years, and progress I guess, given three qualifications for major tournaments.
Feel he’s had a bit of a hard time for the performances. The squad is very imbalanced, with some very good players scattered throughout (mainly midfield) and then some championship level players, if that, in defence/attack. You need some guile and attacking threat at this level and I don’t see any pace/ability required in the SPL coming through.
And they’ve never got out of a group anyway, despite the great players in the past, so expectations were too high I guess.
Given the group Scotland were in they were never going to progress.
Literally both teams deserve to go out here... I suspect whoever wins will lose next round. Awful game.
Cracking goal from Japan. Shades of Lothar Matthäus 1990.
Helps it was Casemiro he had to run past. Though he atoned with the equaliser.
Fabinho on!? I genuinely thought he’d retired!
“ The dark horses have been bucked out of the saddle again” 🤪
Cracking match though. I had a tenner on ‘em to get to the final at 50/1, but it’s Brazil.
There’s plenty of teams who are going to make it through this stage who are nowhere near as good as Japan. England spring to mind.
'Schland...!
Seems it's not a contact sport anymore. All a defender/ keeper has to do nowadays is feel a featherlight touch and go over.
Thank goodness there's rugby at the weekend.
Germany out on penalties. And again, two clear misses among then, unforgivable.
Can't believe that is the first time the Germans have lost on pens.
Do feel a bit for them regarding the disallowed goal - as Kloppp said that was 60% of Arsenal's goals this season.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crr8x5qkly1o
Just popped in this thread to post that.
If you can still get behind this tournament considering thing like that, then fair enough.
I really don't want to be getting behind this tournament - but I can't help myself with this much football, especially as it's pretty much the only live football we get on normal telly these days.
I felt the same with the Qatar World Cup, held at the wrong time of year with a questionable human rights record. No idea what the legacy is now of all the bits that were built for that tournament. At least this one has the infrastructure in place.
There is however so much stuff about this one that is wrong.
There is however so much stuff about this one that is wrong.
Given how vocal Spain have been against the Donalds actions it'd be sweet if they get to knock the USA out 🤞
I am looking forward to him hopefully getting massively booed at the final.
Apparently FIFA are getting very edgy about the tango tyrant handing over the trophy in the final as all the English-speaking sides have come up with a number of very creative chants about him 😃
I'll be booing him from home.
Why are the Norway player numbers made out ofelectric tape?
