Best World Cup Since 1970

Manila Blue 888 said:
I know it's not politically correct to say so, but this is turning out to be such a good tournament. As the games progress, I think the atmosphere will become wild. France seem to rely on Mbappe, Argentina rely on Messi, the Netherlands seem good but beatable, England seem to be beaten only by their own lack of self belief, except that Brazil just appear to be able to split teams apart at will. It is so much better than I expected. I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised and yes, I'm old enough to remember the most magical World Cup of my life in Mexico.
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That you David Beckham?
 
Highway Star said:
Worst in my lifetime.

Certainly the poorest Argentinian, Brazilian, German and Dutch teams I've ever seen.

A very ordinary Spanish, French, or English team could end up winning it.

Atmosphere at the games has been absolutely pish too, apart from when Argentina are involved.
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You didn't mention Portugal. Good players all over the park, and capable of of going up a gear or two imo.
 
I think overall the quality has been dreadful, there have been a few crackin games and some exciting moments, but it really hasn’t been the best, hopefully the remaining games can throw up some memorable games.

There have been 6 or 7 world cups since 1970 that are far superior to this one.
 
Lots of things I don’t like about this World Cup: moving it from the summer; letting a nation with zero footballing tradition host it; the lack of regulation of working conditions on the hastily-built, soulless stadiums; Italy a big miss.

But it’s too soon to compare it to previous tournaments - the time for that is when it’s over.
 
Grimsdale said:
You didn't mention Portugal. Good players all over the park, and capable of of going up a gear or two imo.
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I thought they were garbage against South Korea and fortunate to beat Ghana mate, tbh.

Definitely one of the better sides left, but they've had better teams.
 
Its been ok to good. No better than that imo.
Some tedious group games but also some genuine excitement with the last round of games.
Think it will really pick up at the qtr final stage.
 
It’s been average at best, players or some players seem to not be that fussed and there is some amount of shite on show.

The atmosphere isn’t helping anyone though and it’s mental seeing stadiums empty after 70 minutes.

Brazil win it for me, so much more better defensively and can win games in a blink, England will lose to France, and France are brazils only danger IMO.

Been good having the 4 games but it’s a summer time tournament and now it’s really getting cold, it’s getting stranger by the day.
 
GVB56! said:
It’s been average at best, players or some players seem to not be that fussed and there is some amount of shite on show.

The atmosphere isn’t helping anyone though and it’s mental seeing stadiums empty after 70 minutes.

Brazil win it for me, so much more better defensively and can win games in a blink, England will lose to France, and France are brazils only danger IMO.

Been good having the 4 games but it’s a summer time tournament and now it’s really getting cold, it’s getting stranger by the day.
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I still cant believe i will be sitting watching a WC final with a christmas tree up.
What a time to be alive :D
 
Hasn't had the usual feeling of being a WC. Poor sides and TV presentations looking to make sure they avoid criticism by being desperate to find a story that shows the Qatari regime in a bad light.
 
Simply a Bear said:
*This was a paid promotion by the Qatar government.
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It was purely to get Qatar and the UAE on the showcase tournament of the world for god knows what reason.

It hasn’t made me or the people I talk to want to go their for a holiday and when that visit Saudi Arabia advert comes on I chuckle / like aye let’s book now so when I’m smashed I can hit the desert.

Noticed on one advert they had Pirlo mincing about
 
GVB56! said:
It was purely to get Qatar and the UAE on the showcase tournament of the world for god knows what reason.

It hasn’t made me or the people I talk to want to go their for a holiday and when that visit Saudi Arabia advert comes on I chuckle / like aye let’s book now so when I’m smashed I can hit the desert.

Noticed on one advert they had Pirlo mincing about
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I don't think they will get a jump in tourism after the tournament has finished. Probably political reasons why they bribed their way to get the tournament. I don't want to derail this thread so I'll leave it at that.
 
Manila Blue 888 said:
I know it's not politically correct to say so, but this is turning out to be such a good tournament. As the games progress, I think the atmosphere will become wild. France seem to rely on Mbappe, Argentina rely on Messi, the Netherlands seem good but beatable, England seem to be beaten only by their own lack of self belief, except that Brazil just appear to be able to split teams apart at will. It is so much better than I expected. I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised and yes, I'm old enough to remember the most magical World Cup of my life in Mexico.
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Argentina '78 , Espana '82 and Italia '90 are the 3 greatest in my opinion
 
Manila Blue 888 said:
I know it's not politically correct to say so, but this is turning out to be such a good tournament. As the games progress, I think the atmosphere will become wild. France seem to rely on Mbappe, Argentina rely on Messi, the Netherlands seem good but beatable, England seem to be beaten only by their own lack of self belief, except that Brazil just appear to be able to split teams apart at will. It is so much better than I expected. I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised and yes, I'm old enough to remember the most magical World Cup of my life in Mexico.
Click to expand...
Group stages were as good as I can remember from a World Cup. KOs actually a bit disappointing so far but hopefully set up some exciting heavyweight clashes for the latter rounds. Also good to see most of the big stars turning up.
 
There has been some real excitement and drama in games and several real shock scorelines but I've been less than impressed overall so far.
 
BZL89 said:
Group stages were as good as I can remember from a World Cup. KOs actually a bit disappointing so far but hopefully set up some exciting heavyweight clashes for the latter rounds. Also good to see most of the big stars turning up.
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Apart from about half a dozen games the group stage games were dreadful.
 
ssblue said:
Apart from about half a dozen games the group stage games were dreadful.
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Each to their own I suppose but was full of drama. Each group had twists and turns and were all alive until right at the end. Huge shocks (Saudi, Australia v Denmark and 2 x Japan wins), an entertaining match between Spain and Germany. Not really sure what else you could want from a group stage. You are always going to get some poor games with teams setting out defensively but don't think this was any worse than is usually the case in tournaments.
 
Minkia said:
The thread title ie self explanatory, so why bother posting?
Are you looking for a round of applause?
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Staying my opinion on a site for stating opinions, regarding the World Cup, on a thread about the World Cup. Any issues with that and I'll just ignore you.
 
Manila Blue 888 said:
I know it's not politically correct to say so, but this is turning out to be such a good tournament. As the games progress, I think the atmosphere will become wild. France seem to rely on Mbappe, Argentina rely on Messi, the Netherlands seem good but beatable, England seem to be beaten only by their own lack of self belief, except that Brazil just appear to be able to split teams apart at will. It is so much better than I expected. I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised and yes, I'm old enough to remember the most magical World Cup of my life in Mexico.
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Are you Infantino? With a couple of exceptions it's been predictably dire.
 
Probably the best I can remember in the last 20-30 years with '82 being another very good tournament.
I think this one has been so much fun to watch because most of the top teams are nowhere near as good as they were in the past and other teams are now more organised so much closer games.
 
I think people's expectations of a World Cup can be realistic. It's never going to be technically a good as the Champions League as teams don't have the cohesion you get from training together week in week out. In terms of drama though, this World Cup has been right up there.
 
Been better than I thought, or maybe not as bad as I thought would be more accurate. The best in 50 years though? Not remotely close for me.
 
Manila Blue 888 said:
I know it's not politically correct to say so, but this is turning out to be such a good tournament. As the games progress, I think the atmosphere will become wild. France seem to rely on Mbappe, Argentina rely on Messi, the Netherlands seem good but beatable, England seem to be beaten only by their own lack of self belief, except that Brazil just appear to be able to split teams apart at will. It is so much better than I expected. I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised and yes, I'm old enough to remember the most magical World Cup of my life in Mexico.
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It's been decent tbh. Quite enjoying watching football when it's baltic outside!
 
I'll be honest I think the standard of football has been utterly garbage.

Aye the final game of the group stages threw up some good moments but overall it's been turgid. Loads of 0-0s and generally a lack of quality.

Where are all the flair players?
 
Brazil 2014 was my favourite WC of recent times. Just remember it having a number of high-energy end-to-end games (USA and Algeria, with Bougherra, being involved in a few). Maybe not top quality, but top effort.
 
Any idea what the reasons might be for the complete lack of 'world class' goals?

The Mexico free kick is about the pick of the bunch but other than that there haven't been any 'wow' moments.

I remember the 2006 World Cup seemed to have screamer after screamer.

 
86 was the best for me but that's probably cause it was the first one I watched and bunked off primary school feigning illness to do so.
 
Foe me, the 1974 and 1982 World Cups were top class. The Dutch should have won in '74 and Brazil in '82. You can't have everything.
 
Scotland aside, quite enjoyed 78 but maybe as I was only a boy. Best in recent times was 2018, really enjoyed it bar the final.
 
Thought it would be weird having a World Cup at this time of year but it's actually been great, wouldn't mind seeing it in December again.

Probably watched more games in this World Cup than any other previous. Dark cold nights with football to watch every night has been excellent.

Atmosphere was poor at the start but it's definitely picked up in most games and that final round of group stage games provided some of the best entertainment of any world cup group stage for a long long time.
 
Blueranger45 said:
don't think it's been anything special other than for the 3rd group stage matches in some groups. A lot of teams holding things back for the harder challenges and ones trying to do that and getting stung (Germany/Belgium)

USA 94 still the best World Cup for me in the last 25-30 years
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Terrible semis and final though. Italia 90 is my favourite, followed by S.Korea/Japan 2002 and then Spain 82
 
What I would say in its defence, and there is plenty wrong with it, is that it has been a proper ‘World’ Cup.
The standard of football from teams from every continent has been very high, mainly because most of the teams now have players who are playing in the top five leagues in Europe.
 
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The 1970 WC for the most part was the slowest pace football you could ever see.

It is mytholigised because the moments of genius it created have rarely been equalled.

The famous Brazil- England match was a case in point. Four things happened-
Jair"s goal
Banks' save
Moore's tackle
Astle's sitter.
The 90 minutes otherwise would have sent you to sleep.
 
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