Hmm, all referee experts I have heard so far said that it was a 100 % foul, and all 3 of 3 parameters to indicate a foul are given.
Actually this is such an obvious scandal that all other teams should really think about a boycott if this is not reversed.
It would be an incredible precedent case for all future decisions.
Yes, I saw him on television. He told us that āhe liked the sport, was a great sportsman himself; knew the sport very well, but didnāt know what a red card was.ā
Heās probably the only man in the entire world who could say such a thing and still think that he sounded believable.
But anyway, itās the FIFA would took the decision to postpone this suspension, not Donald Trump, and like I said the decision is against the rules. They cannot do this, they can withdraw the decision to give a red card (if they think it was unjustified), but they didnāt do that, they confirmed the red card, but the consequence of a red card is that a player is automatically suspended for the next game. Those are the rules and you cannot change them halfway a tournament.
Ultimately, Trumpās intervention made no difference as Belgium breezed through to the quarter-final with minimal effort. In fact, it was counterproductive, as the U.S. team put in a very flat performance. Pochettino should have left Balogun on the bench. Spain next for Belgium, who are yet to concede a goal.
Well, we gave the right answer to all of the questions. Balogun became our Trump card. Well done, Red Devils.
Of course, the logical psychological consequence of such a scandal is a positive anger, which usually makes one stronger.
So far no surprises in the 8finals.
Spain - Portugal was another game that came too early in the tournament.
Why does everyone think it was Ronaldoās last WC?
because he old as fuck in soccer terms 
I thought 2018 would be his last WC, the discussion if he was a problem or a help had already started in the EC 2016 (despite Portugalās win), instead he was then a major factor for them winning the European League twice in 2019 and 2025.
No, Messi, Neuer, Ronaldo, Modric, Neymar, see you in 2030 ā¦
Messi is old as f*** in soccer terms as well, but he was the decisive factor in their late come back (Belgian style).
Argentina got some help from the referee as well though 
The World Cup is getting more and more corrupt.
Did they?
I saw only the last 20 min (thought it began at 19:00), that was wild ā¦
Luckily Switzerland - Colombia began very late, because it was sleep-inducingā¦ But Argentina - Egypt was indeed wild, a cracker. The second time, after Belgium - Senegal, that a favorite makes an incredible come-back after being two goals down. There was some help from the referee yes, but it was still an impressive achievement. And Messi is still great at 38.
Funny thing: after a tournament (so far) with narrow escapes, incredible come-backs and drama, we seem to be heading for a predictable quartet of semi-finalists: before the tournament, Spain, France, Argentina and England were the great favorites, and if they win their quarter finals, we get the semi-finals that were predicted: France-Spain & Argentina-England.
I was wondering which of the top 4 teams left might lose their quarter final?
I reckon Argentina as their defence is not great!
France: They have the strongest opponent
Spain: The lack a real goal scorer are therefore having great difficulty scoring goals
England: They depend too much on the Harry Kaneās goal scoring abilities (and they have the strongest opponent as well )
Argentina: They escaped twice, against Capo Verde and Egypt, wonāt happen a third time
Weāre now at the business end of the tournament. I donāt think Morocco are serious contenders, maybe in 2030 with home advantage. But, unlike Paraguay in the last round, it should be an entertaining match. France, with their more dynamic and offensive style will be too much for Morocco, and probably Spain too, if the teams meet in the semi-final. Many are already calling it the āFinalā, however, such presumptions often come back to bite you. Spain, with their usual methodical, possession-based style, have yet to concede a goal. A penalty shootout may represent Belgiumās best chance.
England v Norway is on paper a 50/50 match. But can Norway follow-up their historic win over Brazil with another big scalp? Argentina arenāt relinquishing their title without a fight. Egypt folded at 2-0, but, thereās another three rounds to go, and against tougher, more experienced opponents.
I agree that England v Norway is a 50/50 match. Many think England is favorite, but probably more on historical grounds than anything else. France is most certainly favorite in their quarter final, Iād put my money on them too, but I wouldnāt say that Morocco has no chance: they have a talented group of players and they form a strong block: if they can score the first goal they will no doubt turn to defensive tactics and in that case I fear that it will very difficult to outmanoeuvre them, even for this French team. For the same reason I donāt think Belgium has absolutely no chance against Spain. Of course Spain is favorite, they simply have the better players, but they lack a true goal scorer, and that could jeopardize their chances. They will have a lot of ball posession, but probably struggle to convert their superiority into goals. Belgium may lack the superior technical skills of the Spanish team, but they have some very specific qualities: they have a better goal keeper and have a super sub in Romelo Lukako, someone who instills fear in an opponent merely by his stature. What will happen if Spain leads 1-0 with twenty minutes to go and he is brought in?
And the Swiss? Iāll be one of their strongest supporters during their quarter final against Argentina. I think they can do it, but somehow I donāt think they will. Those Argentines are like cats: they have seven lives.
I was completely wrong. France had some difficulty to outmanoeuvre them, but Morocco didnāt create anything. Their first shot at goal was in the 82nd minute or so. It was a one-sided game and I guess it will be very hard to stop this French team from grabbing the title.
Yes, they are very, very good ā¦ and would be a deserved winner. But Spain is able to beat them though.
France was a minor football nation until the mid 90s, one of those who had from time to time a strong team (late 50s and early 80s), but they have become now the most successful football nation in the last 30 years.
After 100 matches, weāve got the semi-finalists many predicted one month ago - France v Spain and England v Argentina. The much anticipated France v Morocco quarter-final was a non-event. Morocco set up as absolute underdogs/minnows, and were duly defeated. France may very well cruise past Spain, too. Belgium held their own for most of the match against Spain, but the die was cast once Courtois went off injured.
As expected, Norway v England was a very close match, played in draining heat and humidity. Lady luck smiled on England in the second-half; but they were the stronger team in extra-time. In the last quarter-final, the Swiss threw the match away with a ridiculous red card shortly after equalising. Argentina is next up for England - 40 years on from the infamous āLa mano de Diosā quarter-final in Mexico '86. England have played Argentina more times than any other nation at the World Cup - six. Theyāre also each otherās No. 1 rivals, and havenāt played each other for over 20 years. It should be an historic match.
I thought of that Radiohead song this morning:
āAnd no alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises.ā
A lot of alarms during these quarter finals, but finally no surprises, the favorites came out on top. Belgium gave Spain a good fight, overhere everybody is proud of what the Red Devils showed against one of the big favorites for the title. Unfortunately it was a goal keeper mistake that delivered the knockout blow. The same happened to Norway in their game against England. As expected that was a close match, England the better team in the first half, Norway better during the second half ā¦ and 30 minutes of extra time with two teams of players that were completely worn out due to the circumstances. Why not schedule such an important game a couple of hours later?
And Argentina - Switzerland?
Well, it was a dive by this guy Embolo, but I found it sad to see that the VAR intervened in one of the rare Swiss dives, while the countless dives by the Argentinians were allowed to go unchecked. (I know that the unjustly given yellow card (to the Argentinian player) plays a decisive role here.)
Argentina were wearing black armbands in respect to their former captain Antonio RattĆn, who died yesterday, aged 89. The tall, strong and skillful Boca Juniors half-back, achieved notoriety in the quarter-final clash with England at the 1966 World Cup, by refusing to leave the pitch after controversially receiving his marching orders from German referee Rudolf Kreitlein. It led to decades of resentment and conspiracy theories; plus as a direct consequence, the introduction of yellow and red cards.
Antonio Ubaldo RattĆn 1937-2026. R.I.P.
I had expected that France would have a difficult game against the Spanish āball possesion machineā, but I admit that I had not anticipated this outcome. The explanation is nevertheless quite simple: France have the best forwards, but the game was decided in midfield, and there the French were one man short. None of his defenders dared to move into midfield, so Spain could always find the free player there. Itās hard to understand why Didier Deschamps didnāt make any adjustments: he should have taken off a forward and bring in a midfielder to break Spainās domination in midfield. Now his team fell apart in three seperate lines: an anxious defensive line (especially Digne looked very nervous after his fatal penalty foul), an outnumbered and outplayed midfield, and an isolated attack: all supply lines for an eagerly waiting MbappĆ© were cut off.
I hope England will make it to the final, but Iām also afraid that it will be the second final within a couple of years they are going to lose. Spain is now the hot favorite to win the title.
