El Profesor

Watching that midfield formed by Bruno Guimarães, Paquetá and João Gomes has got to be some sort of punishment for us brazilians. At this point, I wouldn't mind if Uruguay wins it. I am sick and tired of watching this team.

When it comes to international football, in my opinion there are 2 clear paths: 1 - playing with style and leaving an aesthetic legacy in the minds of football fans even if you lose, like Hungary in 1954 and Brazil in 1982; 2 - playing pragmatic football to win the competition, like Brazil in 1994. Both are defensible and since the 1st path is much more difficult to achieve, I would gladly take the 2nd option for Brazil. But to be fair, I don't think England play boring football by design like France does. I am not sure Southgate has much of a clue of what he is doing. It feels like England is advancing more due to a lucky draw and to the individual talent of their players.

This one has just started, but it feels like there will be a brawl at some point of this match. Also, our midfield is incredibly poor as usual.

Andreas Pereira recently said that: “The Uruguayan national team is very good, but if you take it name by name, we have a team that they dream of having.” Quite a stupid thing to say before a decisive match, it will definitely come to haunt us, I am sure. Especially since Uruguay at the moment is a much better side than Brazil. Their midfield, formed by Valverde, de La Cruz and Ugarte is miles ahead ours, by the way. Uruguayans, rightly so, took exception to this statement and their FA just posted a motivational video highlighting it. I expect quite a heated match.

Good question. As a baseball fan, I associate "Sweet Caroline" with the Boston Red Sox.

I wonder what Demiral is thinking at the moment. His gesture ended up being decisive for Turkey.

The most entertaining match of the quarter-finals. Both teams can't defend and I am loving it.

Comic defending by the turkish player. Way too passive, he could have cleared the ball instead of worrying where Gakpo was.

Arda Guler reminds me of James Rodríguez. Love players like him, classic 10 whose technical gestures are all incredibly refined, great at creating chances and at set-pieces. A breath of fresh air in today´s dry football.

Like they say in american sports, banners fly forever. If I was an english fan, I would celebrate those wins without any sign of shame. Regarding France, I actually admire how much Deschamps changed the attitude of France´s national team. Especially considering the complete disaster of 2010. I find it extremely impressive to see how had these group of players work, covering an impressive ammount of yards and blocking lot of shots. They play like Simeone´s Atlético and while it´s not pretty to see, I respect Deschamps leadership skills and the commitment from their players.

Turkey playing a final in Berlin would be crazy in terms of atmosphere. It would probably be a home game for the turkish. I actually wonder if the competition being in Germany isn´t giving Turkey a bit of an advantage in terms of fan support, considering how large the turkish community in Germany is.

I agree. Venezuela top priority should be qualifying for 2026. Considering the expansion of the number of teams and how bad the likes of Chile, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia are at the moment, it´s completely possible. Definitely, yes. Conmebol should stick with a format and periodicity. Doing every 4 years and simultaneously with the Euros, to ride the international competitions hype, is the best solution., in my opinion. In the first match versus Argentina, much like yesterday against Venezuela, Canada had chances to open the score but was too wasteful in front of the goal. Argentina is the clear favorite obviously, but with Messi not looking completely healthy, Argentina looked vulnerable at times. If Argentina perform at the same level they did against Ecuador, Canada has a chance to win it, albeit it being a very small one. That kid Jacob Shaffelburg looked a really good football player, by the way.

Sommer lacks height, so he will probably have to move early in order to be able to save penalties. English players should wait until the last moment to choose the side.

His dance in that match against United was an epic moment though. As you guys pointed out, Switzerland is the NPC of international football. I still expect England to win it somehow.

If Sven-Goran Eriksson were as lucky as Southgate is in the draws, you guys probably would have won a major title in the early 2000s. England had an open path to the final in 2018 and now in 2024.

I don't think watch England regularly, but from what I've seen Foden and Bellingham can't coexist. Southgate should choose between one of them and start either Belligham or Foden centrally. England lacks pace and threat with Bellingham on the left-wing.

I would add Foden to the passenger list. What is Foden's role in this team? He is a shadow of his Man City version.

Saka and Bellingham are looking really good so far.

Yep, a lot better in the last few minutes. It feels like England's best defensive strategy for this one holding the ball possession for long periods, because when Switzerland is given time to circulate the ball they are easily finding holes in the english defense.

The swiss are breaking the english defensive lines with ease. England lacks cohesion. It fees like a team is playing against a bunch of players. Only the individual brilliance from its players can save England.

Ronaldo never really had a signature moment in an international competition. I wouldn't count the hat-trick against Spain in 2018 as such, considering it was a group stage match and that Portugal ended up being eliminated to a mediocre Uruguay. But I agree with the notion that Ronaldo made the Portugal NT and portuguese football as a whole bigger and more important. It was the Figo generation that put Portugal back on the football map, that 2000 side was a joy to watch by the way On the other hand though, it's impossible to deny that Ronaldo made the portuguese national team a huge deal globally and gave it a different status. To sum up, Ronaldo's record at international is kinda disappointing but he still belongs in the Mount Rushmore of portuguese football, all things considered.

What a goal by Salomón Rondón to tie it for Venezuela. Match of the tournament so far. Very entertaining.

1-0 Canada. Surprisingly, this match so far has been more entertaining than Portugal vs France. Canada playing at home in 2026 will be tough to beat.

Venezuela vs Canada. That feels like one of the most important matches in the history of both national teams. It´s not common to see Venezuela or Canada in a Copa America semi-final versus the defending world champions. Venezuela is more talented and I would love to see Soteldo, who is very underrated due to his lack of height, shine at the big stage. At the same time, Canada has a physical advantage over Venezuela and that could be decisive. Hoping for an entertaining match.

Couldn´t agree more. Ronaldo almost never performed at his top level for Portugal. For all the crap Messi got during most of his career for not stepping up for Argentina, it´s Ronaldo´s international legacy that should be questioned. The one time I can remember he was in fact great for Portugal was in 2013 versus Sweden, when he led Portugal in that two-legged playoff to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.