2022 Qatar World Cup

Yeah I really love international football, but I've quietly resolved to boycott Qatar. Shame.

VivaStPauli wrote:Yeah I really love international cup football, but I've quietly resolved to boycott Qatar. Shame.

Fixed unless you are a friendly loving pos

Kind of am.

VivaStPauli wrote:Kind of am.

Reported, check top right and red exclamation for proof.

Fair play, mate

Yeah I decided about a year ago I'm not watching. I just can't do it. Far too much fuckery going on in Qatar and it's been like that from the jump. I'm frankly disappointed with myself that I didn't boycott the last one.

FIFA don't need my money or my internet bandwidth so me not watching changes very little from a macro perspective, but it does a lot for my conscience personally.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:BTW, is it just me or there are truly no groups of death this time?

Group A: Qatar (hosts), Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador

Group B: England, United States, Iran, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

Group C: Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia

Group D: France, Denmark, Tunisia, Peru/Australia/UAE

Group E: Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica/New Zealand

Group F: Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana

You can predict for almost every group which teams are going to the knockout rounds.

Is this WC more expanded than the last one? True for some reason there isnt a group of death for once... although there always is an upset or a few since its tournament n teams go on runs n some big teams underperform etc... gonna feel weird watching WC in December for a change

Group C and G will have a batter for top 2 imo.

Reuters: No beer will be served inside stadiums at 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Myesyats wrote:Reuters: No beer will be served inside stadiums at 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Outside?

Still not sure if I will follow this abomination. It being smack right middle of a football season might force to catch a game or two ffs

This wc is a fucking travesty and everything about it is shameful... but it is the wc and I will watch every minute.

Yeah everything about this world cup is a travesty.

It's still the WC, so I'll watch everything and go to a couple of matches

Curious to know why this WC is being hated more than the Russian WC.

CM Pep wrote:Curious to know why this WC is being hated more than the Russian WC.

Do you have an opinion here or are you asking?

Why would the Russian WC be hated?

That was years before Putin's incursion and it isn't Russia that deserves any hate we all know who was behind the WC.

Shit take.

Nishankly wrote:

CM Pep wrote:Curious to know why this WC is being hated more than the Russian WC.

Do you have an opinion here or are you asking?

I was asking...

Arquitecto wrote:Why would the Russian WC be hated?

That was years before Putin's incursion and it isn't Russia that deserves any hate we all know who was behind the WC.

Shit take.

Well I believe at that time Russia was deep into the Syrian crisis right? Supposedly aiding chemical warfare as well and also Crimea was in the recent past too.

And mine wasn't a take per se (perhaps my language wasn't clear - apologies).

I'm from India, and our media isn't as euro/western-centric as the football world's. I've seen (western) people talk about Qatar negatively from day 1. In part it's obviously because of the bribery to actually get the bid.

But as we get closer, people seem to be more against it than the Russian one.

I'm curious to know why that's the case.

Probably jealousy over arab money is a factor

But then
- in winter
- build 7 stadiums only to destroy them
- scandals about dead workers and kafala system
- a very small country with not much to talk about makes it less world cupish
- Qatar NT became legit (i mean with real qataris) just a few years ago
- PSG/QSG is despised as a club and people blame Qatar for it

There wasn't much enthusiasm over WC2018 but it ended as a great tournament. Maybe WC2022 will be great, personally the idea of boycott never came to my mind.

Thoughts on who will win it this time? I think Argentina will win, or Brazil unless they face each other, I do not see European countries getting it this time.

Arquitecto wrote:Why would the Russian WC be hated?

That was years before Putin's incursion and it isn't Russia that deserves any hate we all know who was behind the WC.

Shit take.

I dont even give a shit about Katar hosting this bs event really but Russia is awful since the first slavic settlers and was awful way before the recent "incursion" of Ukraine, as a neighbor of Russia I vehemently disagree. They invaded Georgia in 2008 and part of Ukraine in 2014 even if without resistance it's still an invasion, used chemical weapons in Syria in 2017 year before WC, the human rights abuse, murder of political opponents and journalists etc is probably even more than Qatar could ever be accused of

Nishankly wrote:Thoughts on who will win it this time? I think Argentina will win, or Brazil unless they face each other, I do not see European countries getting it this time.

Still there as in Aug, have not checked fixtures but Argentina or Brazil will take it. Brazil more shit with their back four, Argentina's counter will just about beat most plebs they face.

Just read up on all the major teams n seeing the brackets, cant help but agree with most ppl the favourites Brazil/Arg., although I still would add France to that if they simply just have Mbappe n Benz playing, they have just been so good Pogba is a huge miss though, but still have loaded squad. Brazil's squad is also loaded but it seems they dont have a RB? Making that side bit weak if u just have Raphinha. Arg. arent great but with Messi in the mood u just never know, it seems again n prolly more so this time, many fans worldwide are supporting Arg. this time so we would all see win the WC his final chance.

From the brackets, top side it looks really like it should be Arg. n France in the semi finals, unless England can pull something. Netherlands I just cant rate if their attack is led by Depay XD The bottom half is more packed n it seems Germany n Portugal are pretty much not rated but I consider them stronger than the likes of Spain/Belgium for sure. From that it looks like Brazil n Portugal in the semis.

Anyone else thoughts or is it still too early?

I just think beyond France, most EU teams are in transistion and do not understand their best eleven or best system + having an inept coach as England.

France I just think they have stagnated a bit but this is again outside the main competition. Anything can happen but if I were to put my money, it would be on Argentina unless they start Otamendi

Argentina are easily my favorites. There are some certain ingredients to World Cup winning teams and Argentina shares a lot of those.

- Newfound confidence after winning Copa America and La Finalissima. They used to play with 200KG on their backs. Winning their first international trophies since the 90s has given them a freedom to their play.

- They've been playing with the same spine since Scaloni joined. You don't get a lot of time to train automatisms in international football due to a lack of training, but they have pretty much had the same starting lineup since 2019 Copa America. Familiarity goes a long way. Compare it to the European teams who have a different lineup every match.

- The team's energy seems really positive. I don't think there's a more united-looking dressing room. Messi said it's the best team atmosphere he's ever been part of. You can really see the camaraderie among them.

- They know how to suffer. They are very organized defensively and are willing to put in those extra KM. Not only are they comfortable sitting deep, but they genuinely fight for each other. Look at how they react when Messi gets tackled its a sight to see.

- They have a reliable spine and a lot of fire in the team. Martinez is a good shot stopper and can save penalties. Romero is one of the best CB in the world. Paredes, De Paul, and Lo Celso have the technical security to hold on to the ball, so I don't expect brainfarts from them. Di Maria, Messi, and Lautaro shouldn't be missing sitters.

- Decent bench depth. If they need a better passer in the back they can play Lisandro Martinez ahead of Otamendi. If they need another technician in midfield they can bring on Enzo Fernandez. If they need another threat between the lines they can bring on Papau Gomez or Dybala. If they need another #9 they can bring on Alvarez.

- Messi's last dance. He's looked good this season, and has been great in his recent performances for Argentina. His teammates are willing to die for him. He's especially motivated since it will be his last World Cup.

I don't think there's another team who has as much going for them. Maybe Brazil? No European team seems to have as much going for them.

I was told Argentina's fullbacks might be an issue although Moniel and Tagliafico aren't that bad. They're average. Germany and France played CB's as their Fullbacks, so it's not the end of the world.

Argentina needs their stars to stay fit. Messi and Di Maria are the only guys who can create something out of nothing consistently. Dybala has that talent, but he doesn't really change the outcome of games when he comes on.

If Di Maria and the rest of their spine can stay fit, they're my favorites.

Brazil and Argentina are basically on tour to smash every team they face, except each other. Top two favorites, with France as third. France has struggled recently but they are also missing a lot of players, once the world cup starts if their team is fit they can definitely win again.