2018 World Cup in Russia

[stattointhailand]

Received a vision, during the course of my afternoon sleep.;that one of the players involved in tonight's games will receive the tournament's first red card.
Sorry fellahs, couldn't make out the colour of his shirt so, like me, you will just have to sweat it out. [-o<

Be honest ...... you fell asleep at the dinner table again didnt you

That was Mrs Mat waking you up with the ketchup bottle in her hand

[Chuchi]

Received a vision, during the course of my afternoon sleep.;that one of the players involved in tonight's games will receive the tournament's first red card.
Sorry fellahs, couldn't make out the colour of his shirt so, like me, you will just have to sweat it out. [-o<

If it was an English player let’s jusr hope it’s Ashley Young

[stattointhailand]

Received a vision, during the course of my afternoon sleep.;that one of the players involved in tonight's games will receive the tournament's first red card.
Sorry fellahs, couldn't make out the colour of his shirt so, like me, you will just have to sweat it out. [-o<

If it was an English player let’s jusr hope it’s Ashley Young

Is a deliberate attempt to induce Hypersomnia a red card offense now?

[arjay]

Well in the first 9 minutes of the Sweden v Switzerland match, Sweden seem more intent on maiming the fans behind and well above the Swiss goal, with several shots blasted almost into orbit.

[stattointhailand]

Well I think I know why Hamburg got relegated this season .......they were relying on Albin Ekdal to score their goals

[mathusalah80]

Received a vision, during the course of my afternoon sleep.;that one of the players involved in tonight's games will receive the tournament's first red card.
Sorry fellahs, couldn't make out the colour of his shirt so, like me, you will just have to sweat it out. [-o<

If it was an English player let’s jusr hope it’s Ashley Young

Is a deliberate attempt to induce Hypersomnia a red card offense now?

If you think you can con me into staying awake for the next hour, trying to discover what the hell 'hypersomia' means, think again! I am now off to bed , having set the alarm for 0045hrs.

[arjay]

I think substitutions should not be allowed in the last 5 minutes of normal time, or in injury time, to avoid time wasting tactics.

[arjay]

Lots of attacking by Switzerland later in in the second half, left them vulnerable to Swedish counter- attacks, and Sweden scored with a Swiss deflection. Resolute defending by the Swedes.

Then an almost penalty - free kick (and red card) on the very edge of the penalty area, in the 92nd minute, in favour of Sweden, delays the exit of Switzerland a few minutes more, as Sweden go through 1-0.

[arjay]

England v Columbia:

A spicy first half, with a fair bit of provocation later in the half, both on and off the pitch (Watch the England players walking off at half time). England played well, with quite a few corners early on, but without scoring, though Harry put one onto the roof of the net.

Second half: The re start produces further fouls and provocation, leading to a penalty to England in the 53rd minute and Harry putting it away in the 57th minute.

Ali heads over in the 61st minute, and yellow cards abound.

England corner onto the roof of the net in 72nd minute. Kane fouled again in the 73rd.

Real excitement breaking out from the 75th minute, with breaks at both ends. England generally keeping cool.

Deli Ali substituted in 80th minute, by Dier (Ali injured earlier).

Columbia blast one over the top in the 80th minute and a further flurry in the 85th.

England substitute Vardy for Sterling in the 87th minute. Another free kick to England in the 88th and 90th minutes, as the tension mounts.

5 minutes of injury time to go.

Columbia steal 10 yards on a free kick and blast one from long distance which Pickford just manages to push around the post, only for Columbia to then score from the corner and equalise in the 93rd minute!!

Phew I need some tranquillisers. End of normal time at last!!

[arjay]

Into Extra Time:-

c 12 mins - Danny Rose replaces Ashley Young.

England not as tight as before, with some gaps beginning to open up and Columbia beginning to look the more dangerous side.
Vardy seems to be left up front on his own and is less effective.

Half time - a bit worrying for England fans.

Vardy fumbles an opportunity in the 16th minute and Pickford comes out to save the day on a chance at the other end!

England have got it together again and are now pressurising well. Danny Rose puts one across the face of the Columbian goal. Oooh, phew.

22nd minute Rashford on for ?

23rd minute England near miss.

Daer over the top on 24minutes.

Really exciting stuff.

Full (Extra) Time 1-1

It's down to penalties. I hope you are all up watching this!!!

Pickford will now be tested!!

Penalties:

England miss one (saved by keeper).
They miss one (hit the woodwork)
Pickford saves one.

England go through, 4-3

[BobHelm]

wc.png (11.59 KiB) Viewed 1014 times

I don't think either of these games will feature much in the football guide to the 2018 World Cup.

Either the Swiss or the Swedes could have won the first game when the importance of having someone who can finish became abundantly clear.

The referee lost the game early on in the England match & allowed it to turn into a bad tempered physical battle. Somehow England actually managed to win a penalty shoot out..
Sweden then Russia or Croatia... nothing unbeatable there

[BobHelm]

Mouse click to enlarge

[Galee]

Can't help but think that England are the equivalent of Stoke.
Very rarely score during open play and rely too heavily on set pieces.

[Zidane]

Nothing much to add to the comments of Bob and our roving reporter in Moscow,arjay. The match wasn't much of a spectacle to watch and whilst Colombia might have the most beautiful women there footballers were nasty and spoilers throughout most of the game.
Two reasons why England wont win the World Cup,though…….
1.Ashley Young....He's supposed to be an attacking wingback but he never takes a man on and always passes the ball backwards when he has possession.Compare his performances to those of Trippier,on the right,who I think has done pretty well overall.
2.Raheem Sterling....He's absolutely awful....offers nothing to the team.The only reason I can think of why he's still selected is that he's Southgates secret lovechild !
Also,Dele Alli didn't offer too much last night and maybe wasn't fully fit ?Jordan Hendersons performance....I only noticed him 3 times during the match....once when the Colombian guy was booked for a clash of heads with him in the area....once when Henderson reciprocated in the second half and was booked himself.....and once when he missed the penalty !
But,hey,we won and are in the quarter finals Bring in Rose and Rashford for Young and Sterling and it will surely improve the team.Special mention to Rashford for his cool penalty so soon after coming on,also Dier for his composure for the winning one......Pickford,too,did very well I thought,statto !

Swedens match against Switzerland was a disappointing,lacklustre affair.Either side could have won it and thank goodness someone scored to save us all extra time and penalties.
England have nothing to fear against Sweden....not so sure about Croatia,though.

[stattointhailand]

"..Pickford,too,did very well I thought,statto ! "

YOU ARE 'AVIN A LARFF

You ask him to do one thing in 95 mins ... take two paces towards a corner and punch the ball as far away from goal as possible ..... where is he? hoverring half a metre from his goal line watching the ball go into the net

[Galee]

"..Pickford,too,did very well I thought,statto ! "

YOU ARE 'AVIN A LARFF

You ask him to do one thing in 95 mins ... take two paces towards a corner and punch the ball as far away from goal as possible ..... where is he? hoverring half a metre from his goal line watching the ball go into the net

Two things. The save he made that resulted in their corner was brilliant.

[arjay]

I think Pickford and the defender were both caught out by the header down off the ground.

I thought it was an exciting game, with a good performance from England. They didn't do so much of the passing back, kept most (not all) passes accurate, though did miss a few shots that they should have got in (the net).

I only really tune in to this channel to see the fan photos. With Japan out, I shall miss the Japanese fans' pics, particularly the one in the black bikini. Thanks for memories Zid.

[747man]

"..Pickford,too,did very well I thought,statto ! "

YOU ARE 'AVIN A LARFF

You ask him to do one thing in 95 mins ... take two paces towards a corner and punch the ball as far away from goal as possible ..... where is he? hoverring half a metre from his goal line watching the ball go into the net

Two things. The save he made that resulted in their corner was brilliant.

Sure Was Gal......Can't Take ANY Notice of The TOON or is it LOON ??

[stattointhailand]

"..Pickford,too,did very well I thought,statto ! "

YOU ARE 'AVIN A LARFF

You ask him to do one thing in 95 mins ... take two paces towards a corner and punch the ball as far away from goal as possible ..... where is he? hoverring half a metre from his goal line watching the ball go into the net

Two things. The save he made that resulted in their corner was brilliant.

Yeah ..... blood fantastic ......if you happen to be a paparazzi photographer ...... if he left it alone we get a goal kick and they dont get their goal

[Brian Davis]

The referee lost the game early on in the England match & allowed it to turn into a bad tempered physical battle.

I thought you're a bit harsh on the ref there Bob. It turned into a difficult game to referee, but I don't think he was to blame. Let's face it these days, players moan, cheat, appeal for anything - it's called being a professional! e.g think it was Kane who kicked the ball off for a goal kick, absolutely clearly, but still appealed for a corner. Corners or free kicks into the penalty box are an absolute nightmare to handle for a ref. It's more like a scrum. How the Columbians can complain about the penalty award, when Kane was 'tackled' in a way a rugby player would have been proud of, I've no idea. Strangely, VAR appears to be highlighting quite a lot, not all, but not actually encouraging players to stop it(fouling).