Weezer

Yeah sorry, that was a lazy generalisation because I’ve not been everywhere in Asia (it’s a big place!) but if you’ve ever been here, China or India you’ll know what I mean.

I thought it was great tbh. The atmosphere in the stadiums and fan zones has been brilliant. I don’t think it’s been as loud as a regular British game but I think that’s the nature of a World Cup. The crowd is mixed, there’s a lot of casuals and neutrals, there isn’t the variety of songs and chants as in club football nor the number of fans of that specific team to make it loud enough. The lack of alcohol has also made this the safest feeling World Cup there’s ever been. Crime is already low here anyway (in Brazil you constantly had to check your pockets in crowds) and the closest thing I’ve seen to animosity or aggression here is when a young Qatari guy pushed into the front of a refreshments queue and some Westerners set him straight (queueing is an alien concept to a lot of Asians). Fans have been mixing in busy areas of the city with no tribalism, everybody is just getting along. No heavy handed policing, and the only time I’ve seen security in the stadiums be necessary is when they’re pointing clueless people to their seats. I think us British people also forget that whilst drinking is so ingrained into our football culture the rest of the world doesn’t. Sure the South American fans have a couple of beers, a lot of the European nations like the Germans, Dutch and Eastern Europeans but they don’t feel the need to get tanked up to enjoy a football game. A lot of the other fans seem to be able to party without getting drunk, because that’s normal for them. I don’t know if it’s always been the case and I’ve never noticed because I only normally watch them on TV but I’ve noticed the English do seem more subdued than others. Maybe that’s because they haven’t been able to get slaughtered and without that we’re naturally reserved? We only seem to have one chant and that’s droning the chorus of the national anthem.

I’d guess elite journalists don’t live the healthiest of lifestyles either, lot of stress, hard work and lack of sleep.

Friends in high places You just have to be persistent. There were tickets available for tonight’s game available today but when I looked several times yesterday there were nothing. Its still no guarantee though, I’ve been to 7 games during this tournament but 3 of the 4 England games I’ve been to I had to rely on others getting the tickets for me. Also when you get to this stage of the tournament it’s ‘who you know’. You’re not going to get tickets through official channels because the bulk of tickets go to friends of friends of FIFA. I only got tickets England-France tickets because my girlfriend’s boss is quite high up in Doha bureaucracy.

I went to a random club game in Buenos Aires and the atmosphere was ****ing mental. And away fans were banned so it was only home fans and it was still terrifying. Terrifying but brilliant. Colombia and Bolivia too, South American fans are something else.

The support here for Argentina is insane. Feels like half of Argentina is here.

100% scripting

Hard for Croatia to play for penalties from here.

Jammy bastard!

And when the Argentina player gets there a millisecond before him he allows him to pass through his with the power of osmosis? He made no move towards Alavarez, very very harsh for me.

Operation get Messi a penalty again! Don’t understand what Livakovic is supposed to do there.

Only won a single group game too. Got to the final last time with only 1 knockout round win too. Turgid

Found a place selling beers for £8.90 so I can actually afford this one to go to penalties but I’d rather it didn’t , would prefer both teams tried to win it.

I’m supporting whichever team makes the most effort to actually win the game, I don’t care who it is.

Would make for some interesting schedules. First group game in Manchester, second group game 5 days later in Melbourne

We’ve disowned Russia now though, technically this is two Asian WCs in a row…

I’d expect 2030 to be in Europe.

The top teams ‘ruin’ tournaments by underperforming more than an underdog does by over performing. But if you asked me what my dream final would be it would always be a combination of any of the ‘big’ nations and world class names. Its the World Cup, I want to see the Maradonas, Peles, Messis, Neymars etc lifting the trophy and becoming legends.

I’d look forward to it, about time we had a group of death again. Qualifying might hold a bit more interest for me if there was even a hint of jeopardy that we might not qualify instead of a bunch of exhibition matches. Unfortunately with ever expanding tournaments the likelihood of that happening gets slimmer every year.

Yes, but not everybody thinks the same. For me watching Saudi beat the Argentinians was hilarious and brilliant, but in a showpiece event I’d rather watch the best of the best compete. People would rather watch different things, neither are wrong. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody not criticise the likes of Spain and Portugal for their terrible boring football. I’m not criticising a team like Croatia for playing the optimal way for the personnel they have, but I’m also not going to pretend it isn’t a huge grind for the neutral to watch. Greece winning the Euros was a great story but would I ever want to watch any of their matches again, **** no

If we get rid of Southgate we might also have to say goodbye to his prodigious luck when it comes to draws as well.

Wonder if Morocco winning it would finally strengthen their bids to get a World Cup?

You’re arguing that the best team always wins and in the same post arguing that England and Argentina cheated for their wins? Fairly or not I don’t think that Greek team is held in high regard. People respect the achievement sure, but it was absolutely horrible to watch. It was a great one off story but I wouldn’t want every World Cup finals to be like that, I would much rather see two giants full of world class players going at it in the final. I think it’s fair to say you’d prefer that without also saying ‘little’ countries like Morocco aren’t allowed to compete as well.

I sort of see his point, you want to see the best players and teams competing against each other at the highest level. A Ronaldo v Messi final, for example, would certainly be a better spectacle for me than watching Morocco or Croatia play for penalties against a stronger opponent but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy that also.

Moukoko?