PauloPerth Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I think you're right. France in 1938 were knocked out in the first match by eventual winners Italy, but that was knockout from the start, no groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Christophe said: That’s pretty incredible, didn’t for a minute imagine it was so significant. I’m sure there will be plenty written about home advantage psychology etc, but for my part I think a massive part of Gareth Southgate’s success thus far has been tapping into the spirit back home. You don’t see an interview go by without him or one of the players mentioning the celebrations in the pubs and streets in England, it’s almost a gathering of groundswell around you that a home team enjoys, whereas I think previous England managers have distanced themselves and the team from what’s going on at home. I’m certainly no psychologist but I wonder if that’s made a difference? I take the point but I think the major factor in their success so far has been an incredibly kind draw tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 27 minutes ago, PauloPerth said: Moving away from the 'big' country thing, there are other examples of the host nation doing okay (compared to expectation):- Switzerland 1954 QF Sweden 1958 finished as runners-up Chile 1962 finished 3rd Mexico 1970 QF Mexico 1986 QF Italy 1990 finished 3rd USA 1994 round of 16 South Korea 2002 finished 4th Japan 2002 Round of 16 Russia 2018 QF It's clear all Scotland needs to do is raise a £billion or so, build eight 40,000 capacity, and one 80,000 capacity stadia round the country, and we've got a great chance of getting out of the group stage. Yep. There are very few tournaments where the hosts either failed to finish top 4 or at least significantly exceed expectations. You're looking at maybe only France in 1938, Spain in 1982 and South Africa in 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiblue Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Next Sunday England could be World Cup Champions.....Am I having a bad dream????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 23 minutes ago, PauloPerth said: I think you're right. France in 1938 were knocked out in the first match by eventual winners Italy, but that was knockout from the start, no groups. France beat Belgium 3-1 in the first round in 1938. If I was an English commentator, I might suggest that's an omen for no particular reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordopolis Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 England have had a fortunate path so far, but they've been pretty clinical in every match, so they deserve to be where they are. I've yet to see them stretched apart from extra time vs Colombia when they looked really ragged. Will Croatia turn it on in the semi? If England reach the final, will France or Belgium be exhausted from their route through the tourney? It's all a weird mix of emotions for me - I can totally identify with the euphoria of the England fans, but feel sick at the thought of them winning it (pure footballing envy and nothing more). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 England clearly deserve to be there. It's a a World Cup. Luck (or lack of it) of the draw is part of it all. On the one hand, it's churlish to say they don't deserve to be in the semi because of the relative ease of their route. You have to beat who's put in front of you and they've done that, and well done to them for it. Plenty of teams have fallen against sides the 'should' beat. On the other hand, if you're taking a hard headed look at the chances of the teams left, you have to say there's a question mark over England because they haven't faced real top opposition yet. Maybe they'd have beaten Japan and Brazil if they'd topped their group, maybe they wouldn't. Personally, I think England are a very good team but not a great one. I think they'll get to the final and once they're there, anything is possible. I don't think they'd have gotten to the final from the top half of the draw though. If they were in Belgium's position, I think there's very little chance they get past both Brazil and France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Snooty Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 On 25/06/2018 at 23:52, Lord Snooty said: Belgium won't win it. All fur coat and no knickers. Folk who quote themselves are w*****s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat(The most tip top) Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Folk who quote themselves are w*****s! They are indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat(The most tip top) Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 They are indeed No they’re not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 On 08/07/2018 at 11:31, Gordon EF said: France beat Belgium 3-1 in the first round in 1938. If I was an English commentator, I might suggest that's an omen for no particular reason. So they did. I also notice the Dutch East Indies took a 6-0 pasting from Hungary in that round, Brazil knocked Poland out 6-5 in an extra time thriller, and that German flag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsr Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 No surprise Switzerland settled for a draw. Neutral p***ks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Like many on here, I was wondering whatever happened to John Langenus who refereed that game between the Swiss and the Germans. I found this Langenus first undertook his refereeing exam only to fail it when he wrongly answered a question posed by examiners. The question asked of him was: "What is the correct procedure if the ball strikes a low-flying plane?". Langenus did not answer and failed the exam. Is the answer a drop ball? Sadly, John Langenus passed away in 1952. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkst Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 19 minutes ago, PauloPerth said: The question asked of him was: "What is the correct procedure if the ball strikes a low-flying plane?". Langenus did not answer and failed the exam. Is the answer a drop ball? Interesting. I wonder how frequently that law has been required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naetshirt Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Have yi no been watchin the telly England are going to win it[emoji57] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 39 minutes ago, PauloPerth said: Like many on here, I was wondering whatever happened to John Langenus who refereed that game between the Swiss and the Germans. I found this Langenus first undertook his refereeing exam only to fail it when he wrongly answered a question posed by examiners. The question asked of him was: "What is the correct procedure if the ball strikes a low-flying plane?". Langenus did not answer and failed the exam. Is the answer a drop ball? Sadly, John Langenus passed away in 1952. If the ball hits the plane and is still in play, let play go on surely? These days we'd go to VAR to see if there was actually contact with the plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 2 hours ago, PauloPerth said: So they did. I also notice the Dutch East Indies took a 6-0 pasting from Hungary in that round, Brazil knocked Poland out 6-5 in an extra time thriller, and that German flag! That's a different German flag. Why did they change it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Ferguson's Hat Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 'Cause the English gave them a right good seeing to. IT'S COMING HOME!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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