ReiseReise

I met Pac in the locker room and saw him in the ring back in Germany's wXw in something like 2005 or 2006 and was just amazed by him. It's somewhat of a personal loss, even though not as big as other losses from that locker room. He was an amazing highflyer and got really good in portraying a gimmick and working matches. It's a tragic loss, condolences to all his family and friends.

Maybe Dominik or Liv were not okay with the Line and they asked for a removal. Both have spouses at home after all.

I know it will sound arrogant and eurocentric, but I would prefer a 2-year-EURO cycle over what the fuck the World Cup has become. Hell, turn it into 32 teams just to have a proper group stage. FIFA is beyond repair. If UEFA has a moral high ground, your only choice is to burn everything down to the ground and kill your kings.

I love how those who act most outrageous and call others soft, weak etc are the ones acting like crybabies if they catch stuff in return.

I like how seemingly the reasoning was that Spain were celebrating too much. They pulled the same with Germany 2006 after losing on pens. Ridiculous and also disingenious...watch how Argentina celebrated their wins in 2022 for instance...ask the Dutch.

I Love how he tried to get in the middle of the celebrations, but all the players ignored him while a laughing Infantino just tried to gently get him off the stage.

Spain are far from my favourites, but damn...that was dominant. Argentina winning this would have been the worst after that final... Argentina again not taking a loss well and Paredes attacking a Spanish bench player. I feel a little sorry for Messi, but I'm not yet sure that it's over just yet.

That was such fun to listen to. Hold your hands up high, you Three Lions. Highest scoring World Cup Game since Hungary v El Salvador in 1982. Mbappé is the first to score Double Digits in a World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970. He also overtakes Messi - at least temporarily - as the World Cups leading all-time scorer.

Usual Third Place Madness, listening to this on Radio (German Broadcast only on PayTV), sounds crazy entertaining.

Well, other sports do just that. I guess it's kind off a deal to medal in my view. It's chance to leave a tournament on a positive note. For me personally, the Third Place match has often been one of the most entertaining games in the tournament, so I have a bias. Plus, England (Kane & Bellingham) and France (Mbappé) can still try and get one of their players the Golden Boot ...

I can say that a positive end to a tournament was a spark for Germany in 2006 and 2010. I would probably still give minutes to a few second and third stringers. I think other traditional/grand footballing nations aren't too invested in Third Place Playoffs. The English - despite the fact that a third place would be England's Second best Finish to a World Cup ever - aren't among those. Therefore, I assume the same level of ticked-offness either way.

First off, all your anger is totally understandable. Getting as close as England got, then crashing out with all the managerial interventions falling flat is incredibly frustrating. For the one Game v Argentina, I think the "Fire Tuchel" Attitude is not entirely justified. For as much as I dislike them, Argentina are an incredible site with Champion's mentality. And judging by every Interview I read, the matchplan never was to be entirely passive after taking the lead, it just happened. Tuchel's subs might not have been good, the Idea certainly made sense. Stabilize the wings and prevent crosses was apparently the Idea behind it. At that point in the match, every cross meant danger so preventing that seemed logical. But it backfired and that can happen. Tuchel everywhere I read said he is taking the responsibility. Deciding Tuchel's fate should consider If there is actual progress or not. As a fairly neutral Person, I see pros and cons. PRO This is the first time I saw England win five games at a World Cup (three knockout games even). Of course, it's a different format helping, it still was not a bad perfomance by results. England are NOT as strong as France and Spain, but they are ahead of the Dutch, the Portugiese, the Germans and the Italians. So, yeah ... the English are definetely among the World's best judging by what they achieve. CON Every England-Match I saw outside of maybe the second half of England v Croatia was pretty much the same as EURO 2024. England showed great mentality, but not much outside of that. The truth ist, the path on that side of the bracket went pretty much as expected before the tournament. There is not much of a progress in way of play and such. Southgate was a successful Coach and all the pseudo pundits acted as if he never was a contributing factor to the best English Tournament run we all saw in our lifetimes. If what they criticized was Southgate's fault, the same would have to be said for Tuchel, since England continue to be a talented site with a good mentality, but restrictions in tactics & Playstyle. So yeah, if you take progress, it doesn't seem to be enough. That being said: Do you actually sack the coach about two years before the Home EURO having to play qualifiers? And If you do... hands Off Kloppo, thanks! 😄

First half was utterly forgettable, slow and plodding. Argentina doing all their usual Shit which never fails to piss me off. I thought England would continue to control the game and would have to be patient. Argentina's match plan and actual play looked like they should never conceed, since they would be cooked right away. I thought very wrong. While the lateness of both goals makes the loss feel.... English, it was way different on the pitch: After England took the lead Argentina looked to have 90 % posession. Time and again, even though they seemed quite solid in defending for the first ten minutes after scoring, it was clear that this would backfire for England. Meanwhile Argentina just overpowered them in every aspect of the game, even in the air. After the hydration break, England looked tired and afraid. Of course the match claimed a physical toll, but the older Argentinians with one extra time more in their legs switched into another gear. It was astonishing and frustrating to watch.

That ...is actually pretty good. My Star Trek knowledge is just enough to understand the meaning. Spain's biggest individual name would be Lamine Yamal, who turned 19 two days ago. He didn't shine all that much during the tournament, but definetely did his part / did the work. Shockingly lopsided match. For a neutral viewer, Spain scoring early was the worst possible scenario. They are a really stable squad and never really looked in danger to conceed. Mbappé gets some praise for going doen properly fighting. Rodri really took control of that match in midfield and Cucurella is a strong candidate for MVP for Spain. Olise and especially Digne had nightmares for France.

The general idea of giving equal opportunities is great. If Infantino would put budget restrictions on the "heritage sites" while funding corresponding budgets for smaller nations while the budget is coupled for business expenses and (capped) wages & premiums, I would implore "our" FA to vote the guy in. We all know this is in no way what this is about...