The 2021 Summer Soccer Thread

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:19 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:42 am One of the first things I do each morning is load up Grant Wahl's calendar and check out what's in store.

Very strange to look at today, where the only action are the two Euro matches.

Yesterday you had 4 Euro matches and 2 very good Copa games. And that has been pretty typical for the last 2 weeks or so.

I forgot the Copa was going on. Weird how the Euro is all over my feeds and I haven't seen or heard a single thing about Copa.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:30 am

The games are starting to get good now, as it's coming down to make or break for a few teams. Uruguay, for example, really needed points out of last night's match with Chile. Looked like absolute dog shit in the first half, down 1-0 for the majority.

Came out of HT a completely different team... bossed it for the majority. Got the 1-1 tie (they hadn't scored in something like 480 minutes of play or something stupid like that.)

Anyways, the format is two groups of 5, top 4 in each go through and they are into their 3rd match played, so it's tightening up.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:35 am

The Sybian wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:19 am
Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:42 am One of the first things I do each morning is load up Grant Wahl's calendar and check out what's in store.

Very strange to look at today, where the only action are the two Euro matches.

Yesterday you had 4 Euro matches and 2 very good Copa games. And that has been pretty typical for the last 2 weeks or so.
I forgot the Copa was going on. Weird how the Euro is all over my feeds and I haven't seen or heard a single thing about Copa.

Also, the cool thing is that all the games are on Fox Sports, so it's super easy to find/record. Quite a change from years gone by, where you had to hope that Univision or Telemundo had the rights... And that they were in your cable package to begin with...

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:29 am

Brazil v. Argentina 8:00 pm est on Saturday for the Copa final. Muy bien.

elflaco2 · Post by **elflaco2** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:31 am

all scores, all referee decisions lead to this game, all set for Brasil to win the cup as a reward for hosting.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:57 am

i see the columbians are feisty

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:13 am

CONMEBOL keeping Jesus out of the final.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:22 am

I don't know that I've ever seen a play as crazy as the COL goalie absolutely losing his mind and coming off his line like that... And then ARG couldn't put that away.

If they'd lost that game, that play would've gone down in the books as one of the worst chokes in history.

elflaco2 · Post by **elflaco2** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:58 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:22 am I don't know that I've ever seen a play as crazy as the COL goalie absolutely losing his mind and coming off his line like that... And then ARG couldn't put that away.

If they'd lost that game, that play would've gone down in the books as one of the worst chokes in history.

we've seen it before.. although it was a bit out of character for Ospina.

1990 World Cup
Colombia vs. Cameroon 2nd round (round of 16)
El Loco Higuita comes off his line 30yds+.. loses the ball to 38yo Roger Milla (Miller). Colombia goes home.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 12:21 pm

elflaco2 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:58 am
Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:22 am I don't know that I've ever seen a play as crazy as the COL goalie absolutely losing his mind and coming off his line like that... And then ARG couldn't put that away.

If they'd lost that game, that play would've gone down in the books as one of the worst chokes in history.
we've seen it before.. although it was a bit out of character for Ospina.

1990 World Cup
Colombia vs. Cameroon 2nd round (round of 16)
El Loco Higuita comes off his line 30yds+.. loses the ball to 38yo Roger Milla (Miller). Colombia goes home.

At least no one died.

elflaco2 · Post by **elflaco2** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 12:50 pm

nice.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 6:58 pm

Let’s go ARRRRRG

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 7:05 pm

Pretty looking game even with the not quite completely blue stripes

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 7:25 pm

Brazil play an Everton forward and two different guys who are NAMED Everton. At some point that has to come back to bite you.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:18 pm

Speaking of being accustomed to soccer mononyms and nicknames, my oldest asked tonight if Derek Jeter was Derek Jeter’s real name.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:02 pm

Good game.

"Gabi Goal?"

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:04 pm

So dumb, especially considering Batistuta was Argentinian not Brazilian.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:25 pm

Mexico with 85% possession in first half against T and T in game - of gold cup. 0-0 tho.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:22 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:25 pm Mexico with 85% possession in first half against T and T in game - of gold cup. 0-0 tho.

The game was on I. The background while we weee playing cards with friends and I didn’t see ball in t t attacking half until about the 40th minute.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:26 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:22 pm
tennbengal wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:25 pm Mexico with 85% possession in first half against T and T in game - of gold cup. 0-0 tho.
The game was on I. The background while we weee playing cards with friends and I didn’t see ball in t t attacking half until about the 40th minute.

That could be due to the bourbon consumption.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:31 pm

I definitely didn’t edit but yes it’s possible.

Although bengals stat does help me.

ETA: having a kid to drive you home is properly rated. A plus stuff.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:35 pm

Also I’ve made a rookie mistake. Had vodka bourbon and scotch tonight. Tomorrow am could be bad. I’m pounding water right now.

Hey it’s not like 20 percent of my MBA grade this semester is due tomorrow night!

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:06 am

I could have played striker for T and T.

Funniest 0-0 result i’ve seen in awhle

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 8:06 am

30-4 in shots? Had to be incredibly frustrating for Mexico. That’s a shame.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:23 pm

Watching the Copa last night (and I got to it a bit late because of the baseball game in extra innings)...but did they drag Pele out for the final in Brazil? Or is he just not in good enough shape for this/Covid concerns?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 9:58 pm

1-0 against Haiti is not a good result...and Haiti had some good chances.

Also not a fan of hearing Ochoa is training with the Mexican team during the Gold Cup. Losing the kid to Canada is less concerning to me.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 10:02 pm

Hated it!

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:13 pm

This is going to be tough watching a full tournament with this team. I know it’s a B/C team, but that was really poor play. Shaq Moore looked good, but thats about it.

Arriola is the only guy in the lineup I like, so seeing him go down early really hurt. Excited to see more of Dike, but fuck, Zardes being the only offensive threat is depressing. Also doesn’t help that I’ve never heard of a close to half the guys on the roster. I don’t know if it’s my lack of reading about the player pool like I used to, or my excitement over all the young guys with enormous potential taking my attention, but I felt blindsided by this roster. Hopefully it starts to gel after the group stage, but I just really want to get this over with to see the A team again. So excited about this team, then stuck watching this mess. Actually had a thought that I wished Tim Ream was there for experience, (and to keep him w away from WCQs).

ETA: went back and counted. Only 8 names I don’t recognize, but several guys were unknown when they got a previous call up, or a guy like Hoppe I only know because he got a hat trick in one club game.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:30 am

Yeah, it's compounded by watching so much of the Euros and Copa America...

I will say this, Haiti is a very underrated squad at the moment. They will give Canada a true run for their money.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:02 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:30 am Yeah, it's compounded by watching so much of the Euros and Copa America...

I will say this, Haiti is a very underrated squad at the moment. They will give Canada a true run for their money.

My hatred for how Berkhalter ran that game last night was sated by remembering that we have an attack, but it is with the A team. That said, there is SO much more and different he could do in terms of who is on the pitch and formation that would help this at least be watchable.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:37 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:30 am Yeah, it's compounded by watching so much of the Euros and Copa America...

I will say this, Haiti is a very underrated squad at the moment. They will give Canada a true run for their money.

Canada recently beat Haiti 4-0 in a two-legged World Cup qualifier. Both teams are a little reduced for this tournament so we'll see.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:57 pm

I was really surprised at Haiti's xG being under 0.50, but maybe they were always one more step away from danger than a few of those felt?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 1:55 pm

Wonder if the Haitian presidential murder has impacted the team at all. Does not feel like a governmental overthrow like other countries but have to believe the Gold Cup games performance is not top of mind for most folks in Haiti.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:32 pm

Words I never suspected I would type:

This Panama/Qatar Gold Cup game is straight fire.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:33 pm

0-0 at halftime. Then...

1-0 Qatar
then 1-1 about four minutes later
then 2-1 Qatar
then 2-2 almost immediately thereafter
then 3-2 Qatar
now 3-3 in minute 78.

It has been bonkers.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:31 am

Messy stays at Barca. I'm weirdly happy about this.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:35 am

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:31 am Messy stays at Barca. I'm weirdly happy about this.

Yeah, glad they avoided a messi divorce.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:05 am

How are they going to fit under the La Liga salary cap? Seemed nigh impossible.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:05 am

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:05 am How are they going to fit under the La Liga salary cap? Seemed nigh impossible.

Rich coming from a Lightning fan!

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:34 am

Horvath will be fighting for a chance to play against Blackpool. Moved to Nottingham Forrest.