World Cup (2018) - Group E (Brazil, Serbia, Costa Rica, Switzerland)

No one needs protection. Break these bones if you have to. If you can't take it, you are not good enough.

One important thing VAR brings: there will be no huge and shocking referee mistakes anymore, about fouls where it's 50-50 you can agree or disagree, but it's important there will be no huge mistakes anymore or offside goals

FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME TO RIO

Willian should be dropped for Costa next game

Would still prefer Jesus at CF. Firmehno can then come on as a super sub. Ideal role for him IMO

You can kick... no problem.  But give a guy a yellow for deliberate play-stopping fouls and, if a guy commits 3 times, auto yellow.  That's how it's done.

As it stands, you can break a play however you want in this WC and there are no consequences.  As soon as a skill guy gets the ball and makes a move, he's kicked.  All of them.  It's disgraceful.

Small teams... thank you for showing up a the WC.  Now pack your bags and go home where you belong if this is how you're going to be play.  You can play compact and defensive without hacking people down.

VAR has been GOAT in this tournament

Anyone complaining can GTFO or switch to another sport or something

There will be inconsistencies but it will eliminate the major errors like the one today. Thats the whole point of having VAR. What's not to like ?!

And btw, big teams do this shit too (looking at you Mascherano and Otamendi)... so this applies to everyone.

Football is about skill, speed and passing. Physical play is part of it but shouldn't be the main ingredient. It's becoming the main ingredient.

Grant you, it's great for France as we're plenty strong physically. But it's shit for football.

sportsczy wrote:You can kick... no problem.  But give a guy a yellow for deliberate play-stopping fouls and, if a guy commits 3 times, auto yellow.  That's how it's done.

As it stands, you can break a play however you want in this WC and there are no consequences.  As soon as a skill guy gets the ball and makes a move, he's kicked.  All of them.  It's disgraceful.

Small teams... thank you for showing up a the WC.  Now pack your bags and go home where you belong if this is how you're going to be play.  You can play compact and defensive without hacking people down.

Completely absurd.

This ref was an idiot. Players can kick, make tactical fouls, and time waste all they want, just give them the cards. Physical football is good, there must need to be consequences.

sportsczy wrote:You can kick... no problem.  But give a guy a yellow for deliberate play-stopping fouls and, if a guy commits 3 times, auto yellow.  That's how it's done.

As it stands, you can break a play however you want in this WC and there are no consequences.  As soon as a skill guy gets the ball and makes a move, he's kicked.  All of them.  It's disgraceful.

Small teams... thank you for showing up a the WC.  Now pack your bags and go home where you belong if this is how you're going to be play.  You can play compact and defensive without hacking people down.

gtfo you pussy

sportsczy wrote:You can kick... no problem.  But give a guy a yellow for deliberate play-stopping fouls and, if a guy commits 3 times, auto yellow.  That's how it's done.

As it stands, you can break a play however you want in this WC and there are no consequences.  As soon as a skill guy gets the ball and makes a move, he's kicked.  All of them.  It's disgraceful.

Small teams... thank you for showing up a the WC.  Now pack your bags and go home where you belong if this is how you're going to be play.  You can play compact and defensive without hacking people down.

Dat double standards. As if France dont do that

That's how it has always been though i.e kicking the skilled guy. Hell, you see that in any regular football game in your local park. If you cannot take the hit, this is the wrong sport for you. Basically, completely disagree with what Sports wrote.

sportsczy wrote:
Football is about skill, speed and passing. Physical play is part of it but

Nah, football is about winning and you can win any way you want

Hard to condemn these small nations for not playing an open style against objectively more talented teams

Too used to the Levantes and Rayo Vallecanos bending over for Real Madrid every week to realize this maybe

These are all classic away to Chievo/Crotone/Bolgona types of matches, sempre cosi, allow it.

sportsczy wrote:You can kick... no problem.  But give a guy a yellow for deliberate play-stopping fouls and, if a guy commits 3 times, auto yellow.  That's how it's done.

As it stands, you can break a play however you want in this WC and there are no consequences.  As soon as a skill guy gets the ball and makes a move, he's kicked.  All of them.  It's disgraceful.

Small teams... thank you for showing up a the WC.  Now pack your bags and go home where you belong if this is how you're going to be play.  You can play compact and defensive without hacking people down.

If the referee thinks it’s fine then who are you to tell these teams to go home?

Why don’t France go home and leave the men play the sport?

Agree with sportszy.

3 fouls and it should be a yellow card. I'm all for underdog story but hacking players down and disrupting the flow of match isn't the way to go.. In the long run it will adversely affect football as a sport if it is allowed like it was against Brazil.

I really dont know how  you guys would have reacted if this was 70s or 80s where the thuggish physical play was 10x compared to today

If anything, the physical play has come down compared to the past decades thanks to popularity and influence of dem  star 'skilled' players you people talk about

Too much La Liga agenda here

Funny you mention La Liga since during the 90s and early 00's, La Liga was a hard league. Some proper blood, sweat and tears stuff. Seriously, physicality is as part of football as the skill.

Anyway, as Luca said, allow it. I got no issues with Costa Rica's or any other team's similar approach.

Luca wrote:Hard to condemn these small nations for not playing an open style against objectively more talented teams

Too used to the Levantes and Rayo Vallecanos bending over for Real Madrid every week to realize this maybe

These are all classic away to Chievo/Crotone/Bolgona types of matches, sempre cosi, allow it.

Levante drew with Madrid twice this season gone by with a physical style of play. Pls Luca, not like this.

Doc wrote:

Luca wrote:Hard to condemn these small nations for not playing an open style against objectively more talented teams

Too used to the Levantes and Rayo Vallecanos bending over for Real Madrid every week to realize this maybe

These are all classic away to Chievo/Crotone/Bolgona types of matches, sempre cosi, allow it.

Levante drew with Madrid twice this season gone by with a physical style of play. Pls Luca, not like this.

I knew someone would look it up

Sports is right though, the referee has to show some cards to contain the match but I thought Costa Rica played well, defended for their lives and Keylor was unreal

I got no problems with how they came to play either. They need to do what they need to do. The ref has to do his job as well though, not let things get out of hand with no consequence.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME TO RIO

reported.

70s and 80s were more physical... but also more open.  Players weren't as athletic so, as tough as you wanted to play, the skill players had the room to get away from you.  That created a balance.

Now, you have athleticism combined with thug play...  which shifts the balance to negative tactics because the pitch has shrunk and skill players don't have the room to get away from the contact.

And i grew up during the 80s so I know full well how it was.

Football is about balance.  The balance is off.  At the very least, the rules in the WC should be interpreted as it's done in the CL.  But hell, you're allowed to play rougher in the WC!  I'm not asking for La Liga interpretation... although i think that's the way to go.

Completely agree with Sports. The fact that teams have turned BREAKING THE RULES into a strategy that works is a failure on the part of refereeing.

Teams have turned "breaking the rules" into a strategy a long time now. Like before most of us were born. This is really nothing new.

The balance isn't off. The WC has been incredibly entertaining.