2022 World Cup

[MSU01]

Not sure how many soccer fans we have here on BN, but the weirdest World Cup of all time is underway in Qatar. The US team has underperformed lately but at least they made it this time! Leading 1-0 over Wales at halftime.

[RickRund]

Not sure how many soccer fans we have here on BN, but the weirdest World Cup of all time is underway in Qatar. The US team has underperformed lately but at least they made it this time! Leading 1-0 over Wales at halftime.

Definitely not a soccer fan. US played to a tie with Wales, 1-1.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Frustrating getting a tie against Wales. England is next and they are loaded. Goal difference may be the tie breaker between us and Wales assuming we both lose the England and beat Iran. We never make it easy.

[BelgradeBobcat]

USA vs England today. Probably going to be a tough one.
Iran beat Wales which was a surprise in our group. USA likely in a must win against Iran.
Asian teams are doing very well in this tournament. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, Japan beat Germany.
Iran will probably have a big home crowd advantage and they only need a draw to advance so not great for us assuming we lose to England today.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Against one of the last teams in the tournament, Wales, the US gets a draw.
Against one of the favorites to win the whole thing, England, the US gets a draw.
That's World Cup soccer for you.
The England result is nice for credibility on the international stage for our very young team, but it doesn't do us too much good as we now are in a must win against Iran. Iran only needs a draw so I expect them to park the bus in front of goal against us. It's going to be tough but if you can't beat Iran do you really deserve to advance?
The USA longs for that world class goal scorer-we've just never had that element. Most of the other pieces are there.

[MSU01]

It really isn't a bad spot for the US to be in because there's no need to scoreboard watch the other game on Tuesday for a favorable result. Win and advance, or go home. England was clearly entirely happy to take the draw today and essentially guarantee their own qualification.

[BelgradeBobcat]

It really isn't a bad spot for the US to be in because there's no need to scoreboard watch the other game on Tuesday for a favorable result. Win and advance, or go home. England was clearly entirely happy to take the draw today and essentially guarantee their own qualification.

Yeah England was very professional about this one. They gave up some chances, but they didn't risk too much, avoided yellow cards, and will cruise to a group win. A draw is all they needed. If we had scored they would have turned it up a notch. They'll have a lot in the tank for the knockout rounds.

[DMMDCats]

USA
USA
USA

Up 1-0 at half

Down with Iran
Up with US

[MSU01]

The US wins 1-0 and advances! A less dramatic version of 2010's win over Algeria. Next up, the Netherlands Saturday morning. We'll be underdogs but Netherlands has looked a little shaky in the group stage.

[BelgradeBobcat]

I only got to watch the 1st half (stupid job), but I got to see the goal. Christian Pulisic sacrificed his family jewels for team and country on that one. I remember getting our butts kicked by Iran in the 1998 World Cup and was afraid of history repeating itself. But they made that goal hold up and that was awesome. Tyler Adams did so much dirty work in the midfield. He's gonna get himself a big pay raise after this tournament.

Up next is The Netherlands, my second favorite team due to my Dutch heritage. Holland is always a favorite, but often an underachiever. It'll be a tough task, but with the pressure of having to beat Iran and getting out the group done, this young team might surprise. We'll be a lot better off if Pulisic comes back, but he was sent to the hospital so he'll have to be a really fast healer.

Watching the 2nd half replay now.

[MSU01]

Looks like Pulisic will be good to go on Saturday. Thanks to the schedule makers for giving this game the earlier 8 AM start time so it doesn't conflict with the football game in the afternoon!

[MSU01]

Wow, Belgium and Germany both go out today. Japan advances but had the most unlikely group stage of all time, beating Spain and Germany while losing to Costa Rica.

[BelgradeBobcat]

This World Cup is nuts-which we knew it would be just because of the location. But Japan, USA, and Morocco moving on. World powers Belgium and Germany don't make it out of the group! European teams don't always do so well when the tournament is outside of Europe. Maybe gives the USA a little bit of hope against the Netherlands.

[BelgradeBobcat]

We’ll we made Holland nervous for about 5 minutes in that one. Still a good run for a very young team that is being set up for 2026 when we’ll be hosting.

[MSU01]

We’ll we made Holland nervous for about 5 minutes in that one. Still a good run for a very young team that is being set up for 2026 when we’ll be hosting.

The Netherlands knew exactly what they were doing, what the weakness in the US defense would be, and how to exploit it. It was quite impressive to watch and shows the gulf in coaching between Van Gaal for the Netherlands and the guys the US have. It was always about 2026 though, personally I'd love to see them being in an experienced coach with World Cup experience for the next cycle.

Netherlands v Argentina and France v England will both be great quarterfinal matchups, so far no surprises in the Round of 16.

[BelgradeBobcat]

This final between France and Argentina has been absolutely incredible. Messi and Mbappe doing their thing-they're both incredible. Messi being the best that ever was.

[91catAlum]

This final between France and Argentina has been absolutely incredible. Messi and Mbappe doing their thing-they're both incredible. Messi being the best that ever was.

And it comes down to a shootout!

[BelgradeBobcat]

This final between France and Argentina has been absolutely incredible. Messi and Mbappe doing their thing-they're both incredible. Messi being the best that ever was.

And it comes down to a shootout!

Argentina definitely had the best goalkeeper. Not gonna lie, I wanted to see Messi win a World Cup. This was likely his last chance. The guy has literally won everything now.