World Cup 2022 Japan v Costa Rica, Spain v Germany, Belgium v Morocco, Croatia v Canada - Sunday 27th

The main point from the games thus far has been how poor teams are up front.

Any bit of quality means you instantly become a contender to win the whole thing.
Was pretty obvious last night with Arg & Mex. Not many teams have big name striker in their prime. Seems like past tournaments there was always a sense of excitement but not so much this time.
 
Japan being the favourite and on the verge of qualification for the knockout phase of the tournament is a different level of pressure and expectation than they're used to.
 
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This Japan game reminds me of the game I was at in 1990. Scotland had more of the play, Costa Rica got the goal and it was 1-0.
the day when Andy Roxburgh decided to play Alan McInally because he thought he'd provide the physical threat Scotland needed :cool:
 
In the event two teams finish level on points, does head to head come into play or is it GD?
Tie-breaking criteria for group play
The ranking of teams in the group stage is determined as follows:[182]
  1. Points obtained in all group matches:
    • Win: 3 points;
    • Draw: 1 point;
    • Loss: 0 points;
  2. Goal difference in all group matches;
  3. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
  4. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  5. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
  6. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
  7. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction can be applied to a player in a single match):
    • Yellow card: −1 point;
    • Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
    • Direct red card: −4 points;
    • Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
  8. Drawing of lots.
 
The main point from the games thus far has been how poor teams are up front.

Any bit of quality means you instantly become a contender to win the whole thing.
The lack of genuine quality CFs is glaringly obvious and the ones that are are mostly getting on a bit.

Is too much emphasis in todays game getting put on building out from the back perhaps?
 
Match itself may not have been the most scintillating but there's why we love football.

Japan beat the might Germany 2-1. Costa Rica humiliated 7-0. Four days later Costa Rica beat Japan

No one saw that coming. You just never know what's going to happen
 
the day when Andy Roxburgh decided to play Alan McInally because he thought he'd provide the physical threat Scotland needed :cool:

McCoist tells the story that he initially thought he was playing when he thought the team was read out as ‘Mo & Ally’ when in fact it was ‘Mo & Nally’ as in McInally’s nickname.

Even thinking about it now it was a mentally ridiculous team selection decision that Roxburgh came up with that day!
 
Joe Cole seems to think cynical fouling and a tactical yellow is a culture of Costa Rica. I presume he hasn’t seen Lundstram then.
 
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McCoist tells the story that he initially thought he was playing when he thought the team was read out as ‘Mo & Ally’ when in fact it was ‘Mo & Nally’ as in McInally’s nickname.

Even thinking about it now it was a mentally ridiculous team selection decision that Roxburgh came up with that day!
Brilliant story though.

He said that he was rooming with McInally and he was doing the crossword in the paper and McInally told him to get the light off because some of them had a game tomorrow. Next game McInally gets dropped and Ally still doesn’t start so he bought two papers to do a crossword each. :))

Think that was from the Super Ally video?
 
McCoist tells the story that he initially thought he was playing when he thought the team was read out as ‘Mo & Ally’ when in fact it was ‘Mo & Nally’ as in McInally’s nickname.

Even thinking about it now it was a mentally ridiculous team selection decision that Roxburgh came up with that day!

Should've been sacked before the kick off for that selection
 
Tie-breaking criteria for group play
The ranking of teams in the group stage is determined as follows:[182]
  1. Points obtained in all group matches:
    • Win: 3 points;
    • Draw: 1 point;
    • Loss: 0 points;
  2. Goal difference in all group matches;
  3. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
  4. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  5. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
  6. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
  7. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction can be applied to a player in a single match):
    • Yellow card: −1 point;
    • Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
    • Direct red card: −4 points;
    • Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
  8. Drawing of lots.
That explains why there are so many drab 0-0 draws and England's approach the other night, then.

Head-to-head incentivises winning because you can get 4 points, give a team a doing and go out due to a shock defeat.

Goal difference means that a shock defeat for a top side can get negated by giving a punching bag an absolute doing. Look at Germany now, they can lose narrowly tonight in the knowledge that going out and battering Costa Rica by 4 or 5 is enough to see them through.
 
Alan Smith is brutal on co-comms.
Sounds like the guy in those old Tunes adverts: “A second class ticket to Nottingham…”
 
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