World Cup 2022 (at the moment)

[tamada]

Costa Rica secure the last slot with a 1-0 win over New Zealand.

Oh well, back to the sheep.

[stattointhailand]

Beggers belief some of the teams that "qualify" for the World cup??

How the hell do Costa Rica. Australia , America, Iran get to play in the Finals when Italy, Hungary, Czech Rep, Chile etc are eliminated. There has to be a better way to ensure the "World Cup" has the BEST possible teams in the finals. Perhaps a World Shield competition for Africa/Asia/Concacaf teams with the winner allocated a slot in the World Cup

[stattointhailand]

Latest "odds"

Brazil: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
England: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
France: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Argentina: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Spain: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Germany: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Portugal: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Belgium: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Netherlands: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Denmark: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Uruguay: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Croatia: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Switzerland: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Senegal: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
United States: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Poland: +12500 (bet $10 to win $1,260 total)
Ecuador: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Serbia: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Mexico: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Wales: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Canada: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Cameroon: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Ghana: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
South Korea: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Saudi Arabia: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Qatar: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Morocco: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Japan: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Tunisia: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Iran: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Australia: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Costa Rica: +150000 (bet $10 to win $15,010 total)

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Latest "odds"

Canada's got this! A team that deserves its rightful place in the tournament.

[tamada]

Aaron Ramsdale outlines plan to oust Jordan Pickford as England's World Cup goalkeeper

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has warned Everton counterpart Jordan Pickford about his plans to take the England No.1 goalkeeper's jersey off him before the World Cup

By Andy Dunn

14:36, 12 Jun 2022 Updated14:51, 12 Jun 2022

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has one major attribute that makes him England’s perfect number two goalkeeper.

He does not, for one second, believe he is England’s number two goalkeeper.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... d-27212016

After last night, neither do a lot of England fans either.

[GT93]

I nearly fell off my chair when I saw England is so highly fancied for this tournament. This adds a bit of interest as the English are really entertaining when they turn against their team.

[GT93]

Beggers belief some of the teams that "qualify" for the World cup??

How the hell do Costa Rica. Australia , America, Iran get to play in the Finals when Italy, Hungary, Czech Rep, Chile etc are eliminated. There has to be a better way to ensure the "World Cup" has the BEST possible teams in the finals. Perhaps a World Shield competition for Africa/Asia/Concacaf teams with the winner allocated a slot in the World Cup

Looking at the FIFA rankings you seem a bit out of line on some of that. Hungary is ranked 40. Costa Rica, the US and Iran are higher. The Czech side is ranked 33. Again below Costa Rica, the US and Iran. Australia is ranked near Hungary.

Presumably Hungary, the Czech Republic and Chile don't perform as well as you might think? Or are the rankings shxtty? What happened to the Italians? They didn't win enough when it mattered.

[jackspratt]

Hungary didn't qualify, and yet they just flogged the highly touted (looking at the betting line) Poms 4-0.

Beggars belief how some of the teams qualified.

[stattointhailand]

FIFA rankings are a load of bollox GT ....... far too much based on winning matches and too little on who those matches were against ......... NZ will nearly always beat Solomon Islands, Papau NG etc and tha Americans or Costa Rica should always beat Trinidad & Tobago or Bahamas. The Aussies again got there by deciding to play in someone elses zone as it made qualifying easier with games against the likes of Oman, Vietnam, Taipei, Nepal & Kuwait to bolster their win record.

[deankham]

Latest "odds"

Brazil: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
England: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
France: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
..
Tunisia: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
...

Tunisia as the runners up in the FIFA Arab cup must be worth a daft tenner. It pains me to say but my money would be on France to win

[747man]

Aaron Ramsdale outlines plan to oust Jordan Pickford as England's World Cup goalkeeper

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has warned Everton counterpart Jordan Pickford about his plans to take the England No.1 goalkeeper's jersey off him before the World Cup

By Andy Dunn

14:36, 12 Jun 2022 Updated14:51, 12 Jun 2022

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has one major attribute that makes him England’s perfect number two goalkeeper.

He does not, for one second, believe he is England’s number two goalkeeper.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... d-27212016

After last night, neither do a lot of England fans either.

After some of those SOFT Goals he let in I Wouldn't play him in a Sunday League Parks Team....

[stattointhailand]

That sure as hell would be a "daft tenner" ........ as you yourself said they could only finish as runners up in the Bl**dy Ayrab cup

[deankham]

^ beaten by the mighty algeria, who failed to qualify for w/c

[tamada]

FIFA rankings are a load of bollox GT ....... far too much based on winning matches and too little on who those matches were against ......... NZ will nearly always beat Solomon Islands, Papau NG etc and tha Americans or Costa Rica should always beat Trinidad & Tobago or Bahamas. The Aussies again got there by deciding to play in someone elses zone as it made qualifying easier with games against the likes of Oman, Vietnam, Taipei, Nepal & Kuwait to bolster their win record.

So does this "big fish in a small pond" regional footie theory make England being thumped at home by Hungary any less of a shocker?

[stattointhailand]

cant expect England to win at Cricket AND footie on the same day, we have to have something to moan about

[marjamlew]

Beggers belief some of the teams that "qualify" for the World cup??

How the hell do Costa Rica. Australia , America, Iran get to play in the Finals when Italy, Hungary, Czech Rep, Chile etc are eliminated. There has to be a better way to ensure the "World Cup" has the BEST possible teams in the finals. Perhaps a World Shield competition for Africa/Asia/Concacaf teams with the winner allocated a slot in the World Cup

Maybe when they have it every second year, or every 6 months or whatever other brain fart that comes out of FIFA, they can call every second competition the European and South American Cup and only have the elite play. That would solve the problem of having teams from all parts of the world participate in a World Cup. Would just be like the yanks calling their baseball the World Series

[stattointhailand]

The problem seems to be that in Europe & S America the weaker teams Gibralter/Andorra/San Marino etc get eliminated in the qualifiers, but the likes of Australia/Iran/America/Canada dont face any proper teams during qualifying and so get past the level of competition they should face ....... lets face it Australia "qualified" through the early rounds and then could only finish 3rd in a group with Saudi Arabia & Japan in it ...... yet they still go to Qatar

[marjamlew]

Can't blame Australia for that. We didn't make the rules, just followed them. Penalties are a lottery. Peru choked and team on no name non achievers get to go and play in the sand. Australia has qualified for 5 world cups on the trot and only had a half decent team in 2006. But again, we just follow the FIFA rules.
Maybe FIFA need to move away from a continent based qualifying system. You can fly anywhere now in 24 hours. Put all the country names in a hat and create qualifying groups that way.

[stattointhailand]

As you say Australia have qualified 5 times on the trot ....... that in itself is an indictment of the current system

[GT93]

I thought there's quite a history of lesser teams going quite a way into the finals and fancy teams often crapping out.