Cancer Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 Most of the qualifying is done, and the group stage draw happened today. Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands Group B: England, Iran, USA, one of (Wales, Scotland, Ukraine) Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland Group D: France, one of (Peru, Australia, United Arab Emirates), Denmark, Tunisia Group E: Spain, one of (Costa Rica, New Zealand), Germany, Japan Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea World Cup in Qatar happens in November and December later this year. For my fellow countrymen who pay no attention to soccer, the last World Cup was in Russia in 2018. The winner was France, runner-up Croatia, 3rd and 4th were Belgium and England respectively. USA did not qualify for that tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 Netherlands will qualify from Group A England from Group B Argentina should qualify from C France and Denmark from D Spain and Germany from E Belgium from F and based on last time Croatia Brazil from G Portugal from H Europe have been the Champions since 2006 so South America have a point to make. Brazil were champions in 2002 so..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 Yeah, I'm not optimistic about USA getting out of the group stage. Iran are tough and they are rather close to home for this tournament. England clearly the favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 Only Italy of former winners is not present. I recall papers in 1974 when England did not qualify thanks to Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 I missed the 1974 World Cup entirely. As a family we took a trip down to California, mostly to see extended family, right after my high school graduation, and on the day before we were supposed to start heading back my grandfather was killed in a tractor accident. I spent the next month (which included the entirety of the tournament) out of TV range helping move my grandmother out of the house on the ranch and back into town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 I remember the papers going on about the qualifying for 74. I do not recall the tournament at all. 78 I recall as England were again not present but Scotland were. Argentina won and were very good. This was 4 years before the Falklands War Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 19 minutes ago, death tribble said: I remember the papers going on about the qualifying for 74. I do not recall the tournament at all. 78 I recall as England were again not present but Scotland were. Argentina won and were very good. This was 4 years before the Falklands War Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 Okay, here's the thing I can't wrap my head around: The USA secured its spot by losing to Costa Rica, who may not even end up in the World Cup. Costa Rica? Really? I mean, we have 330 million people in this country. We can't find 11 guys who play soccer better than Costa Rica's best 11 guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 If you are talking pure numbers explain how China and India did not qualify yet Serbia, Croatia and Belgium did (6 million, 4 million and 11 million respectively) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Pariah said: Okay, here's the thing I can't wrap my head around: The USA secured its spot by losing to Costa Rica, who may not even end up in the World Cup. Costa Rica? Really? I mean, we have 330 million people in this country. We can't find 11 guys who play soccer better than Costa Rica's best 11 guys? Need more context here. USA went into the match with a 3-league-point lead on Costa Rica (3 LPs for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss). So if Costa Rica won over USA (which they did) the two would be tied on LPs. The next criterion is goal differential (or maybe raw goals scored; I forget which). The US had a huge lead over Costa Rica in that department. In order to overtake USA in that criterion, Costa Rica would have needed to win by 6 goals or more. They only won by 2, so they finish behind USA in the final standings. The top 3 teams from CONCACAF go to the World Cup automatically. The #4 team (which is Costa Rica) have the equivalent of an NCAA "play-in" against the champions of Oceania (who are New Zealand), and the winner of that goes to the World Cup also. Costa Rica is a solid favorite over New Zealand for that, which will occur in mid-June. Because a forfeit is used as a 3-0 loss in FIFA, there were serious suggestions that USA simply forfeit the match to dodge possible injuries (CONCACAF is a brutal place to play with lots of fouls); USA would still have advanced to the WC had they done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 It was announced today that both Seattle and Vancouver BC will each host 4 to 6 games of the 2026 World Cup, but I've yet to see an official announcement of all the sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Just saw that in today's LA Times. Along with SoFi Stadium in Inglewood 2026 World Cup host cities Atlanta Boston Dallas Guadalajara, Mexico Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Mexico City Miami Monterrey, Mexico New York / New Jersey Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle Toronto, Canada Vancouver, Canada Cancer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 The cities that didn’t make the cut were Denver, Baltimore/DC, Nashville, Cincinnati, Orlando, and Edmonton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Does that mean that Canada, Mexico and the USA all qualify ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 That seems not to have been officially decided yet, though I think it is expected that yes, all three will get automatic bids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Orlando would have been good. They have the infrastructure in place. And that close I would have to come up with an excuse not to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Four years from now is a long time, and we know nothing about ticket prices as yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 17, 2022 Report Share Posted June 17, 2022 Excessive, is going to be my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2022 Rousing the slumbering thread back to life as the games loom up a week away... First match in World Cup 2022 is a week from tomorrow: On Nov 20, host Qatar plays Ecuador, in a Group A match, at 8AM Pacific Standard.. The following day all of Group B plays: England vs Iran (at 5AM Pacific Standard), and USA vs Wales (at 11 AM Pacific Standard). (Also group A's other match, Senegal vs Netherlands, at 8AM Pacific Standard.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2022 Rather to my surprise, supposedly most of the matches are being carried by Telemundo (Spanish-language network), which started being carried over free local broadcast ("rabbit ears") here only a few months ago. I've been watching Spanish-language networks for futbol for a long time, so this comes as a significant happy surprise for me. Of course, I have my work duties three or four days a week until Dec 8 or so, but the situation is looking far more favorable than I expected a year ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2022 And because it is relevant and shameful, FIFA is squelching protests over Iran's participation, as it kills people at home and abroad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Posted November 14, 2022 Report Share Posted November 14, 2022 The odds of Canada getting out of the group stage in group F seem rather high, but I'm pulling for them anyhow. Here's hoping for a Cinderella story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted November 14, 2022 Report Share Posted November 14, 2022 Dua Lipa not performing at Qatar. Which is good. As she has not scored a goal all season nor stopped a goal from getting into the back of the net. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63620686 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted November 18, 2022 Report Share Posted November 18, 2022 I look forward to updates and discussions of the upcoming tournament, but I intend to watch precisely none of it. The fact that FIFA gave an event of this caliber to Qatar demonstrates the depth of their corruption, and they're not getting any of my money or screen time. YMMV, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2022 First kickoff is in just about 12 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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