Coulthard's Jaw

It has to be hard to blot out all of the noise. Maguire cannot live under a rock. Last week he was even ridiculed in the Ghanaian parliament when an MP denigrated the vice-president as the “economic Maguire”, accusing him of being a liability.

Luis Enrique GONE. Unsurprising, they were dreadful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20221206-what-would-a-green-world-cup-look-like I'm all for more sustainable World Cups and sporting events in general, but "lets play fewer matches in really small stadia" is a no from me.

Yeah, I think he will have one quiet game at some point in the knockouts. The question is, can whoever that is against take advantage?

That's amazing. A new superstar is born.

Winner plays... Morocco. Huge opportunity for both sides!

Morocco... could reach the semi finals? Like legit they have a really good chance against either Portugal or Switzerland?

Spain have been dreadful.

It's a Big Game. When was the last time we played one of the big boys in the knockout stages of a World Cup? Germany in 2010? But yeah, wouldn't consider it a massive rivalry, tbh we simply have never played them often enough over the years.

Can you imagine

France: Lloris, Debuchy, Rami, Mexes, Evra, Nasri, Cabaye (Ben Arfa 84), Diarra, Malouda (Martin 84), Ribery, Benzema. Subs Not Used: Mandanda, Giroud, Matuidi, Reveillere, Menez, M'Vila, Valbuena, Clichy, Koscielny, Carrasso. Goals: Nasri 39. England: Hart, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole, Milner, Gerrard, Parker (Henderson 77), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Defoe 77), Young, Welbeck (Walcott 90). Subs Not Used: Green, Carroll, Baines, Jones, Jagielka, Downing, Butland. Booked: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Young. Goals: Lescott 30. ---------- Not great sides in 2012.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/05/king-kylian-v-prince-harry-french-media-world-cup-quarter-final After Sunday’s matches set the scene for a battle between the two countries – historic rivals on and off the pitch despite the Entente Cordiale – Eurosport carried a picture of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé and declared: “The quarter-final on Saturday will have an unusual flavour: for the first time in history the French team and the English team will cross swords in a direct elimination match”. France Info headlined with France meeting its “best enemy” and “Prince Harry” referring to Kane making the “French kingdom tremble”. No reference to the Anglo-French rivalry is complete without a reference to “perfidious Albion” and France Info did not disappoint. “Between France and England, [football] history dates back more than a century to the first match on 1 November 1906 [which England won 15-0],” it said. “Since then, Perfidious Albion have won 23 of the 40 official duels, with 11 victories for the French and six draws. But 16 of these successes were achieved before the war … In the 21st century, Les Bleus have won four of the six encounters, with one defeat and one draw. And while this match has become a European classic, it will be the first time the two nations have faced each other in an international tournament’s decisive match.” L’Équipe carried a photo of Mbappé with the headline: “God Save Notre [Our] King”. The French crown should have been shared with Olivier Giroud, who became France’s leading goalscorer after Sunday’s match against Poland when he recorded his 52nd and surpassed the 13-year-old record set by Thierry Henry. The regional newspaper Sud-Ouest asked if Les Bleus were “prêts à manger du lion”, ready to eat the Lions, while Le Figaro said facing England could be France’s first serious challenge. “For those who thought that the French team’s journey so far was too easy, it is possible that they will change their minds next Saturday, on the occasion of a quarter-final between Les Bleus and England, which is as explosive as it is attractive . “The two teams have not faced each other since 13 June 2017, when Didier Deschamps’ men got the better of the Three Lions in a friendly match at the Stade de France. But in five years, a lot of water has flowed under the bridges of the Seine and the Thames. Since the start of the competition, both teams have impressed … this means that both Les Bleus and the Three Lions will have plenty of confidence going into the quarter-final.” Many French commentators relayed remarks from across the Channel indicating admiration – some saw fear – of Mbappé. The football website maxifoot.fr said he was “already causing “deep concern” in the England camp.