I’m a big sports fan as you may have noticed. Two days without WC games is tough on me. :))
Tomorrow is a new day though. Now that everyone has lost their house and farm, maybe the crops too, I won’t give you my winning picks. I don’t want to be responsible for any further loss. =))
Ugh. Cavani is on the injured list and not playing. :((
@Nrdsb4, I don’t get it, why do people think the KFC ad is racist? What am I missing?
Several people referenced the fact that they chose a black player who is injured but cured once he arrives to eat fried chicken.
Others countered that this is an ad targeted to South Africa, which has a population of 79% black people, so naturally the player would be a black man. Others said the stereotype was racist.
My first reaction to the ad was that it was very funny. I didn’t consider any other way of viewing it at that time.
“Just as much scoring in soccer as in American football.”
Nonsense. When was the last time an NFL game ended regulation play in a 0 - 0 tie?* In pro soccer scoreless ties happen all the time. In a World Cup Qualification tournament in Europe just this last November, ALL THREE games ended in 0 - 0 ties (Italy vs. Sweden, Greece vs. Croatia, and Switzerland vs.Northern Ireland). For most sports a scoreless tie is an astonishing rarity. For soccer it’s just another day at the office - a routine exercise in futility that doesn’t surprise anybody.
So far in the current World Cup tournament 27 games have ended with at least one of the teams totally failing to score. That’s not the sign of a sport where the offense and defense are well-balanced.
*In case you are wondering, the answer to the question is November 11, 1943. An NFL game between Detroit and the New York Giants ended in a scoreless tie.
You’re free to hate soccer but billions of people across the world disagree. 
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-most-popular-sports-in-the-world.html
The Thai soccer team has been asking the rescuers about the World Cup. FIFA has invited the team to the World Cup final. I am so hoping for a good outcome with this rescue.
American football may not often end in a tie but shoot outs are quite exciting to watch. The constant stoppage of play in American football is not.
Honestly, I’m not trying to be argumentative, but here’s my response. Two points:
Is this a “soccer is boring thread”, because of the lack of scoring? I didn’t grow up playing or watching soccer, but I learned to love it. I’m not going to drone on (I know I already have), but just for example, watch the feet of the players. Advanced ball handling skills such as the scissor, the Cruyff Turn, step over, Revelino, or one of my favorites, the Rainbow, where the ball is flicked off the back heel over head to feet in front. etc. These are beautiful moves when executed. And don’t get me started on kicking the ball with different spin(s). Or even that gorgeous counter attack of Belgium last game against Japan.
That’s why they call it the “Beautful Game.”
Stephen Curry just signed a new contract that pays him $40 Million/year. Messi and Ronaldo make $50 Million+/year. These professional soccer players make money, because the sport is extremely popular outside the US.
"Is this a “soccer is boring thread”
This is not a "soccer is boring thread, actually. It’s a thread for those who enjoy soccer to talk about the World Cup. Others are free to start their own “soccer is boring thread” if they wish and just skip following this one. 
Really. I doubt anyone on this thread thinks soccer is boring.
However . . . I do think there’s something off when you had three out of eight quarterfinal games decided by penalty kicks, and several other games in which the only goal a team scored in regulation time was a penalty kick. While the penalty kicks, when they come, are exciting, they have almost nothing to do with the match that preceded them, and comparatively little to do with the key skills that make for great soccer. I much prefer to see a team try to score goals and win than to see a team turtle up to try to survive until penalty kicks give them a chance to win.
I’ll take the counterpoint (again). :))
If you want to extend OT beyond two 15-minute OT’s (or 10-minute OT’s in college playoffs), then you will need rule modifications for additional substitutions, since players are already FAR more prone to injury and dehydration even after just 75-90 minutes of play. Most players run over a 10K (6.2 miles) in a single match, not to mention that there are games every 4-5 days in the WC plus training and practice of course.
If you allow additional substitutions, then you’re obviously degrading the run of play with lesser quality players from the bench, especially on national teams, where not all of them are top level professionals. So, do you: a) risk the health of the players, b) reduce the level of play or c) go to penalty kicks, which is kicking a ball into the goal and a primary requisite of playing the game of soccer. 
And there’s the strategy of picking of the 1st five and 2nd five players to shoot PK’s as well as who you would want as a coach to sub in at the end of the game to potentially kick PK’s.
Oh and read post #404, sounded a bit like “soccer is boring” (not enough scoring) to me.
Anyway, it looks to be an all-European semifinals, and of course none of them will be Germany, Italy, Spain, or Portugal. That’s a lot of change in the world, for someone who follows international soccer only intermittently (like, whenever there’s a World Cup).
From the highlights of the 1st half, #9 Lakaku, who I mentioned earlier in this thread, does a step over and nutmegs (ah, yes, the nutmeg, love the nutmeg) a Brazilian player.
That Belgium team can score, but now, at least for the 1st half, they’re defending. Belgium is the most exciting team in the WC. And I’m watching the 2nd half!
“However . . . I do think there’s something off when you had three out of eight quarterfinal games decided by penalty kicks, and several other games in which the only goal a team scored in regulation time was a penalty kick. While the penalty kicks, when they come, are exciting, they have almost nothing to do with the match that preceded them, and comparatively little to do with the key skills that make for great soccer. I much prefer to see a team try to score goals and win than to see a team turtle up to try to survive until penalty kicks give them a chance to win.”
^^Exactly.
I don’t think soccer is boring so much as it is frustrating. If it were boring I would ignore it completely. But watching it I marvel at the great athleticism and amazing skill of the pro players. I just wish the game could be structured in such a way that all that skill and talent resulted in some scoring on a reasonably regular basis - so that the game could be decided by playing actual soccer.
Belgium wins 2-1. I only saw the 2nd half, but Brazil dominated play in the 2nd half. Overall, Brazil had 26 shots and Belgium 8. The Belgium GK was excellent. So, Belgium-France in one semifinal.
If all you knew were the stats, you might think the game had ended far differently.
Belgium vs. France should be interesting from a social/political standpoint. About half of Belgium speaks Flemish (a form of Dutch) and about half speaks French - and the two halves can’t stand each other. The Walloons (French speakers) often identify with the French much more than with their Flemish-speaking countrymen - and will often opening cheer for a French athlete to defeat a fellow Belgian if the Belgian is Flemish.
On the other hand, Walloons often have a Little Brother complex with respect to France. They are bitter that France will somehow manage to steal the credit for anything great that comes out of Wallonia - prime example: French fries. Invented by the Belgians (or so the Belgians say).
Those stats for Brazil and Belgium directly reflect the fact that Belgium scored twice in the first 30 minutes. The shots etc. were much more even then. They went into don’t-lose mode.
If I were King of Football, I would consider:
– Allowing much more substitution, including re-entry after being subbed out. I understand this is heresy, but it seems like soccer’s substitution rules are a lot more about machismo than about having high-quality play. You want your stars on the field doing star-like stuff, and they simply can’t do that for 90 minutes, much less 120.
– Have the extra periods be sudden death, and/or have them played 7 on 7 (with free substitution). There would definitely be some goal scoring.
– If you didn’t resolve the game during extra periods, instead of penalty kicks alternate corners, with play continuing until the defending team gets a goal kick, the ball goes out of bounds laterally, or the ball crosses the center line.
Sudden Death otherwise known as the Golden Goal rule was first introduced in 1998 and was scapped after the 2002 WC, IIRC.
I’m a fan of PK’s, the height of suspense and psychological warfare.