General World Cup Observations

[whitestomper45]

Yep the refs telling players to get up after rolling and rolling, far better than the crap in the PL.
Brilliant defending by Cape Verde in particular of the underdogs.

[ozleeds]

What's with the pink football boots & studs all the teams are wearing, maybe good to catch the cameras eye but all the manufacturers of Nike, Puma, New Balance & Skechers have monopolised the colour - defo a no for me.

Ronaldo is wearing Gold ones apparently ! 😬

It's to encourage all the players that are gay to come out! Not joking totty. Been happening here at Aussie rules for a couple months and seems to have gone world wide as we are the LGBTQ adverts of happeness.

[ozleeds]

please watch.

[spaldy]

The officiating seems better than the prem.

Maybe the prem needs to consider taking officials from other leagues like they do players. It certainly affects the matches almost as much as any single player or number of players they loot from the other leagues.

[spaldy]

used to like defending a player that has flashy boots. especially very finesse and gifted players. Made the contrast on the ball vs boot easier to pick up. Especially in close quarters where it gets so congested. In the "old days" balls were generally fairly benign color wise so a pink or gold boot against a white/black or monocolor ball really stood out.

It might not matter at world cup or prem level but it does make a difference at the Sunday beer league level. Every little bit helps at that level.

[Orgoner]

used to like defending a player that has flashy boots. especially very finesse and gifted players. Made the contrast on the ball vs boot easier to pick up. Especially in close quarters where it gets so congested. In the "old days" balls were generally fairly benign color wise so a pink or gold boot against a white/black or monocolor ball really stood out.

It might not matter at world cup or prem level but it does make a difference at the Sunday beer league level. Every little bit helps at that level.

I think it is even more important at the higher levels. Fine margins and all that.

Apparently, there is a doctoral thesis waiting to be written about the various arm patches on display.

[Orgoner]

Guilty pleasure. Whenever I played against opposition players wearing stupid or fancy coloured footwear, I usually made a point of getting an early friendly love stamp in to scuff them up a bit.

[Billyni]

Don?t watch any of the pundits but there seems to be an abundance of them.
Even some that you wouldn?t normally associate with football.

[Billyni]

You also used to look forward to the flamboyance of the South American teams,
The naivety and exuberance of the smaller countries,
The grit and determination of the brits.
Now it’s all european style shyte.

[ozleeds]

So me being a racist brings you some stats lol: 56% of the World Cup final players are African. decent; 24% are Asian; 20% are made up of white people. A very interesting read was that 43% of the Premier League players in 2026 are Black or African, however you look at it. Watched the news, and in the highlights I was playing spot the white player in the France game. So are you enjoying the World Cup? As I see, some are saying they like the referring!

[whitestomper45]

3 ex Leeds managers at this tournament, must be some record.... Bielsa (Argies), Marsch (Canada), Christiansen (Paraguay)....

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

The water breaks in a/c stadia is also a thing to behold

[cherrypie7]

1. I have noticed quite a few goals from corners, either directly or recycled in. This is because teams gave less time and opportunity to prepare for their opponents unlike European league football. Thats why England really have a shot this year. Declan Rice and Kane are very decent indeed.
2. Goal checks have been speedy. i like that.
speedy.3. Hydration breaks came about in Brazil World Cup of 2014, when the humidity was intolerable. I dont like them. There have been at least 3 goals scored within 2 min of a hydration break, i.e. after teams get more instruction.
4. Did England really deserve a penalty?
5. Some National anthems are overly long
6. The Surfaces of the pitches look like billiard tables.
7. Lionel Messi.

[Orgoner]

I guess much has probably been made of the extortionate prices of tickets, which weren't cheap at face value in the first place, but it seems as if the only way for ordinary fans to get hold of them is via secondary markets like StubHub and LiveFootball. A single game (not necessarily in a great seat either) costs more than a season ticket to ER. Daylight robbery.

What perhaps hasn't been rammed home is all the other excess costs being thrown at fans attending the games.

I used to have the use of a NE Patriots season ticket to the Boston Stadium (Foxboro) and was always a bit cheesed off that it cost $40 to park more than a mile from the stadium.

For the same car park, I'm going to be fleeced $168 this coming Tuesday.

If you want to park nearer the stadium, you'll need to take out a third mortgage (you'll already have taken a second one out for the match ticket).

Thieving gits.

[ozleeds]

3 ex Leeds managers at this tournament, must be some record.... Bielsa (Argies), Marsch (Canada), Christiansen (Paraguay)....

That is sure a lot more than players showcasing there skills! Only one i have seen is in friendlies as sub Oka. And yes I ain't watching I just look at results and stats.