That was an absolutely cracking match! I thought that the skill level, number of shots, and intensity and energy of this match were the highest of the tournament so far. I also thought England outplayed France...alas it was not to be. These are clearly the two best teams of the tournament...too bad this was not the final and that one has to go home today.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Yay super power who wins all the time.

I really want to see underdog Morocco defy the odds and win the World Cup. Would be fantastic for football in Africa, and the African teams and countries FIFA has long ignored.

Even if they don't, what a run.

France player well too.

really, really fun match to watch - gasped many times!

Seemed like an appropriate way to England to go down

---

I felt France's possession was a lot smoother, more controlled.
England was caught flat footed quite a few times. Rice/Maguire totally blew that second goal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2022 09:35PM by Pat.

I felt like crying.

Oddly, after a night of mourning, I will wake up rooting for France. Hugo Lloris irritated the heck out of me today with his talent, but he is one of my favorite Spurs so I'm following my heart.

---

Brits may have tempted fate a bit.

Quote
$tevie
I felt like crying.

Oddly, after a night of mourning, I will wake up rooting for France. Hugo Lloris irritated the heck out of me today with his talent, but he is one of my favorite Spurs so I'm following my heart.

I rooted for the USA until they got knocked out. Now I am rooting for Argentina (part of my ancestry escaped from the Russian Empire to the US, and one part went to Argentina, and my closest colleague is from Buenos Aires.)

I notice that France got 2 goals the hard way -- by kicking the ball into the net during play, and England was lucky enough to get two penalties called in the box. Still, England did take a lot of shots on goal, but both French goals were really dramatic as I recall.

One slightly obscure observation: The fact that the Netherlands played so closely in their knockout loss, including two late goals in crunch time, at least slightly validates the quality of US soccer, which gave up 3 goals to the Netherlands but perhaps isn't as bad as that would appear to suggest, now that we've seen Netherlands against one of the top 3 teams.. What the US is missing is the kind of scoring talent that is incredibly rare even in Europe and South America, but may someday appear in some random stroke of genius. What has been missing in the development process is a place (places) for young talent to develop, and now quite a few Americans play in Europe and Britain.

Soccer is treated differently in the US than in most parts of the world. Go to any country and you will find children playing independently of any organized effort. Even a child alone just dribbling. Those children are developing skills and a love for the game that will last a lifetime.

In the US, game play is organized in youth sports. Kids play in set matches. They go to organized practices, but rarely just go out and have fun with the ball. Few develop the passion to go far.

The difference in the two approaches can be dramatic. The US method sounds good, but the world method gets better results.

---

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Quote
Ombligo
Soccer is treated differently in the US than in most parts of the world. Go to any country and you will find children playing independently of any organized effort. Even a child alone just dribbling. Those children are developing skills and a love for the game that will last a lifetime.

In the US, game play is organized in youth sports. Kids play in set matches. They go to organized practices, but rarely just go out and have fun with the ball. Few develop the passion to go far.

The difference in the two approaches can be dramatic. The US method sounds good, but the world method gets better results.

Sounds like the way US kids play basketball.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Quote
rgG

Quote
Ombligo
Soccer is treated differently in the US than in most parts of the world. Go to any country and you will find children playing independently of any organized effort. Even a child alone just dribbling. Those children are developing skills and a love for the game that will last a lifetime.

In the US, game play is organized in youth sports. Kids play in set matches. They go to organized practices, but rarely just go out and have fun with the ball. Few develop the passion to go far.

The difference in the two approaches can be dramatic. The US method sounds good, but the world method gets better results.

Sounds like the way US kids play basketball.

This is true, though you need less equipment to play soccer. When I was growing up in England we used to play soccer all the time, and only needed a patch of grass, dirt or pavement along with a somewhat round object (ball, wadded up piece of foil, piece of wood, whatever). For basketball you need a basket on a pole, a hard surface and a ball that bounces.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

It does sound like the way American kids play basketball and baseball and football. But if only one-tenth of American kids eventually start playing soccer then we have a group as large as many of the competitive countries. I think the defining difference is the passion for the game. Some Americans will develop that passion. Right now, the American women have been the dominant force in world soccer for decades, while teams from Brazil and Germany have fallen to the USWNT.

Perhaps the spread of international television and cable tv showing sports every second of the day has allowed for increased interest in sports that previously were all but unknown in this country.

Ah! This is all Jonny Wilkinson's fault!
[www.walesonline.co.uk]

---

On a more serious note, I fail to understand why France was allowed to beat on Saka continuously and none of it was called. That ref was so bad that he had to use VAR to see even the most blatant of penalties. And he only gave Hernández the yellow card because everyone was screaming at him and he realized he couldn't get away with it.

---