2022 FIFA World Cup Thread

#1      

IlliniFaninHoosierLand

IlliniFaninHoosierLand
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
Might as well get this thread started. Here's how the groups ended up after the draw:

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#5      
jrichisamazing
The European qualifier will be Wales, Ukraine, or Scotland.

Scotland was supposed to play Ukraine last week but the game got postponed to June 7th because of the war. The winner of that game goes on to play Wales.

As a USMNT fan, I really want Scotland to win. It would be a major upset, as they are significantly worse than Wales or Ukraine.

But as a general fan of the sport, it would be a shame to see Gareth Bale never play in the World Cup. Wales hasn't qualified since 1958. Maybe Wales will qualify, and the US and Wales knock England out. That would be fun.
 
#6      
the juiceman cometh
jrichisamazing said:
The European qualifier will be Wales, Ukraine, or Scotland.

Scotland was supposed to play Ukraine last week but the game got postponed to June 7th because of the war. The winner of that game goes on to play Wales.

As a USMNT fan, I really want Scotland to win. It would be a major upset, as they are significantly worse than Wales or Ukraine.

But as a general fan of the sport, it would be a shame to see Gareth Bale never play in the World Cup. Wales hasn't qualified since 1958. Maybe Wales will qualify, and the US and Wales knock England out. That would be fun.
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Good points on Scotland and Wales, but I gotta root for Ukraine for the obvious reasons. Then I'll root for them to make it out of the group along with the US and root for them in every game they're not playing the US.
 
#7      
orange100
Sad/shocked to see Italy did not qualify via loss to Macedonia.
 
#11      
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
the juiceman cometh said:
Italy didn't qualify for 2018. This is the 2nd consecutive World Cup they will miss.
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And I posted a couple other interesting stats regarding that previously so just to repeat:

-Italy has not played a knockout round matchup in the World Cup since the 2006 final when they defeated France on PKs.
-Jorginho has never played in a World Cup. He'll be 34 by the next time the World Cup takes place.
 
#14      
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
Ryan Giggs has officially stepped down as Wales manager, citing not wanting to be a distraction to the team during their World Cup prep.

Giggs has pleaded not guilty to assault and controlling and coercive behavior charges levied against him. His trial is set to start August 8th.
 
#15      
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
USMNT to face Japan and Saudi Arabia in pre-World Cup warmup matches. Both matches will be played in Europe. U.S. will face Japan on September 23rd at a site TBD. They will face Saudi Arabia on September 27th in Murcia, Spain.
 
#20      
danielb927
IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
On the plus side, Bundesliga and Premier League both start Friday so you have that to tide you over for the next few months.
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For some reason club soccer has never done much for me. I know the quality of play is probably better since the teams have much longer to practice and gel, but I just don't feel a connection to it the same way as I do to the international competitions.

Maybe I'll give it more of a watch this fall and see if anything grabs my interest.
 
#21      
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
danielb927 said:
For some reason club soccer has never done much for me. I know the quality of play is probably better since the teams have much longer to practice and gel, but I just don't feel a connection to it the same way as I do to the international competitions.

Maybe I'll give it more of a watch this fall and see if anything grabs my interest.
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You should. Bundesliga is on ESPN+ mostly with a few games here and there on one of the regular ESPN channels. La Liga is also on ESPN+. Premier League is over the air on NBC or USA Network (maybe sometimes CNBC) with the rest being on Peacock. Serie A is on Paramount+.
 
#22      
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
World Cup now set to start on Sunday, November 20th after Qatar requested and FIFA granted having the opening match vs. Ecuador moved up a day. The match will air at 10:00 AM CT. The match had previously scheduled been for the opening day of matches on November 21st but it would have been the 3rd match played that day and the opening ceremony wouldn't have been as prominent. The Senegal-Netherlands match will now be played at 10:00 AM CT on November 21st. The other two matches on November 21st (England-Iran, USA-Wales) will not have their start times changed.
 
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