Should Scotland really be proud of qualifying with one World Cup win?
Scotland are likely to get through to the knock-out stages of the World Cup by beating Haiti 1-0. Really? Is that worth celebrating?
We have lots of World Cup reaction; send more to theeditor@football365.com
Europa League…you’ll never sing that
That finish from Lamine Yamal was positively Brennan Johnson esque…
Jerome, Bristol Spur….
Campaign against diversity at World Cup begins here
The entire sports media has reliably informed me today that the World Cup has arrived, finally kicked off, pay attention now! Obviously we need to ignore that it started over a week ago and there have been many games with many exciting happenings but this recent happening is far by the most important.
Those who have been leading full lives might be confused about what this amazing, never before so wonderful thing that has happened is? Well…Lamine Yamal, the world’s most obnoxious and overrated player who also plays for the world’s most obnoxious club team (who also have the world’s worst fanbase)…scored a hat-trick? No…assisted all of his teams goals in a match? No…Did he put on a performance so amazing that it makes Messi and Ronaldo look like amateurs? No…He scored a single goal against one of the worst teams in the competition then got substituted at half-time…
The less enlightened of 365 mailbox readers might be asking themselves why this event is so important, so totally impossible not to be left in awe by so I will educate you and correct your ignorance.
Yamal is the son of not one but two Third World immigrants from Africa so is not only very diverse but proof mass migration is wonderful and diversity is indeed our strength. This alone would be enough to make this an event the human race will remember for millennia but wait there is more…He also claims to practice the right religion, the one of peace and harmony and love (reality may not match this description but no noticing!) so this just adds to how significant this event of a footballer scoring a goal is by many times of magnitude.
I hope we are now all fully clued up on why the sports media is treating this stupendous, sensational, mind-blowing and thoroughly jaw-dropping event that is the most momentous in not just football history but all history and now we should all hail our new God and savior Lamine “Diversity” Yamal (who’ll probably be playing in Saudi Arabia or Turkey within 5 years but ignore that he has a whiff about him of Ricardo Quaresma or at best Vinícius Júnior rather than Lionel Messi because that would be bigoted!).
Let’s all just hope Spain don’t win the thing like media wants as the “diversity won the World Cup” propaganda will be turned up to not just 11 but 11 trillion. Fingers crossed Norway, Argentina or Japan win it so save us from that nightmare.
My thesaurus fell apart after writing this.
William, Leicester
That fella won’t get on with this fella…
So apparently it is “Turk-E-A” now and not “Turkey” anymore. Who knew? Apparently this is to more closely resemble the origin of the name and to separate any confusion with the animal with the similar name (which I assume only becomes an issue around Thanksgiving and Christmas!) So good for them to insist upon this change but what about a bit of consistency? Why is it “Ivory Coast” and not “Cote d’Ivoire?” And should it be “Cape Verde” or a less exotic “Cape Green?”
As I am watching the World Cup on the U.S. feed, I have no idea what MexicanTV is calling the countries. Is it Japan or Nippon, Germany or Deutschland, etc. If some pedant can change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, surely TV channels can show some respect and refer to each nation by the names they use themselves?
I realize that, with all the other things going on in the World Cup and the world at large, this may seem like such a trivial issue but there does seem a slight residual of Colonialism at play here.
Or maybe I’m too woke!
Adidasmufc
(As Gloria from “Modern Family” once said, “eventually it will be Numero Uno!”)
Things I like about this World Cup so far
The refereeing has been good – why do we make it so hard for ourselves in the PL?
The stadiums look amazing
The atmospheres feel World Cuppy
It looks like a proper World Cup
With the exception of one or two, everyone seems to actually be quite good at football.
I used to (really) not like Tuchel (pound shop Klopp yards yadda) but that post match interview, the pressers, his general demeanour is winning me over. Which I’m sure he cares about.
Every four years the World Cup comes along and reminds me that football is, in fact, marvellous. It doesn’t seem to matter where it is held or what the surrounding noise is, the players and fans make it what it is.
Things I’m not so keen on:
Hydration breaks – obvs!
The Lets go lets go chant.
The idea that the USA might go quite deep into the tournament, if you think Liverpool or Arsenal fans are unbearable you are in for a treat.
Still think we are short on class defenders, nothing we can do now but hopefully there’s some Maldini/Baresi/VVD clone in the pipeline somewhere.
Have we put all of our eggs in a Harry Kane shaped basket?
Not being able to stay up and watch games without being completely broken the next day.
Easy groups for the hosts, the format makes it all feel a bit contrived.
All the ‘they’ve made it to the knockout rounds for the first time overhype’. Yes, they Scotland) might, but only because pretty much everyone will!
It needs Italy. Every World Cup does.
Anyway, went a bit neggers in the end there, but there you go.
T
A
Scotland heading through?
Just woken up to news of Ecuador 0 Curacao 0.
A massive result for Scotland. Looking now like making it through to the second round as one of the eight best third place teams. Czechia, Iran and Ecuador have dropped point against weaker teams so won’t make it to three points. Algeria heading to three points but have lost a game 3-0. Senegal might also end up on three with a worse goal difference.
If Czechia, Iran and Ecuador go out then, whether it’s Senegal or Algeria that go through, we get round of 32 ties:
– Mexico vs Scotland
– DR Congo vs England
with winners meeting in round of 16.
#itscominghome🏴
Steve Mills
Bored of Scotland
I’m English and usually root for the other home nations at international tournaments because why not. However this time I find myself actually willing Scotland to get knocked out as soon as possible so I don’t have to hear anymore about how wonderful their fans are and how great it will be to get to the knockout round for the first time ever.
Firstly the fans. They stand around in the street in the sunshine, drinking beer and looking happy with kilts on. What absolutely top people they are! It wouldn’t be so bad if it was the locals just saying this but they say it about themselves and it’s got to the level now that they seem a bit up themselves about how brilliant they are.
Secondly, FIFA have made qualifying for the knockout phase so easy now, that it’s not much of an achievement. It’s like starting to give Olympic medals for 6th place and people carping on about how great it is to get one now. Next World Cup, everyone gets out of the group and makes the knockouts for even more games! What an achievement, sigh.
I wonder if there are any Scottish people that feel a bit patronised by the whole thing, cos I’m sick of the over the topness of it all. Or maybe I should just join in since it is a World Cup in USA! after all.
Andy, chief grumpy pants, Cheshire
READ: Tartan Army’s sobering regret as Scotland’s one-point plan almost pays off
Tell that to Big Dunc
England supporter here, watching the pre-Scotland-game bumpf on ITV.
Big Dunc, looking like one of the scarier characters from The Boys. Some sort of Iron-Bru infused human nail-gun, gives Keano a cheeky jibe about being proud to be Scooattish and follows it up with the eyes.
Oh the eyes! The eyes just did it.
Genuinely don’t need nuffink else from the World Cup after that pure gold.
// Phil The Hammer, Norway
Oh Martin…
Martin Keown saying “this goalkeeper will go down in foll-klore”, thinking he was gently correcting his commentating colleague’s pronunciation was hilariously on brand for Mr Insight in the Ecuador v Curaçao game.
RHT/TS x
(That pointless Elanga goal was an absolute banger)
On the big World Cup issue of shirt-tucking
Like Jean-Philippe Mateta, Germany’s Joshua Kimmich tucks his shirt; it makes Mateta look silly, and it makes Kimmich look like a little boy, especially in short sleeves. I suppose we can’t really ban the practice, but these players are clearly not being shamed enough by the people who claim to love them.
And how about Miggy Almiron? He was the first World Cup player yellow-carded for diving under the new “mistaken identity” rule, then the first to be red-carded for speaking with a covered mouth. It’s a whole new category of World Cup record, and unlikely to ever be equaled. So proud.
Chris C, Toon Army (The mistaken identity rule, by the way, is the best argument I’ve yet seen for the existence of VAR. It could actually diminish the incidence of diving.)
Lads, it was Tunisia
Prior to kick off of the Netherlands v Sweden match in the BBC studio, it was interesting to see Thomas Frank say that Sweden’s attacking duo of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres could be the ‘deadliest duo at this World Cup’.
Based on what exactly?
In the dozen or so games Isak played in an injury-ravaged season he scored three goals, and while Gyokeres did win the title with Arsenal, he was hardly prolific.
Yes, they both scored in the 5-1 rout of Tunisia, but no disrespect, it’s Tunisia ffs.
At least the ‘deadliest duo in the World Cup’ statement did have one positive effect though. It stopped Micah Richards shouting and laughing for a few seconds, which increasingly seems to be the entirety of his punditry.
Ant MUFC (at least Frank doesn’t chew gum in the studio like he does on the sideline like a goat slowly working through a cardboard box)
Not brilliant orange
I wrote in last week and said the Netherlands kit is awful, it’s not even orange. I’m watching on a different TV and it does look orange, so that’s probably on me. It is still shit, though.
Phil, Manchester