Group B Matchday 2 - 20 June - Portugal 1-0 Morocco, Iran 0-1 Spain

[Kowabunga]

As I've told in the previous game, this stinks of a camachesque exit. That Camacho himself comments for the spanish tv station in "senequista" mode doesn't help.

Saúl is not going to play ever for this team. Happy for Costa, because I really didn't think of him as a great fit for the Spanish NT. De Gea seems to be "a por uvas/a verlas venir".

[Azeem]

5 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Ugly, boring, negative, nauseating, distasteful, loathsome, repugnant, grim, repellent

Could come out with more but my favourite of all the ones I could think of is repellent because it describes the sensation it creates and also funnily enough is the practical side of what is observed when a team plays in that fashion.

What makes it even worse is that it’s also cowardly in this case because Iran know how to play. 

Fair enough. But as i said Iranian's don't work hard enough to justify their talents which is a cultural thing. If they open up they will get thumped like the Saudi's or almost.

[SirBalon]

Just now, Devon Von Devon said:

Fair enough. But as i said Iranian's don't work hard enough to justify their talents which is a cultural thing. If they open up they will get thumped like the Saudi's or almost.

They’re a hundred times better than the Saudis and I don’t credit the qualification standings on how both got here. It’s plainly visible for anyone that watches a lot of football that Iran know how to play and it’s not always the case that you get thumped if you are more positive in your football. Obviously when you’re playing superior sides you have to be clever and very disciplined, not exactly opening up. But the show that they gave before the goal was abhorrent. 

[ASF]

That was one of the poorest performances I've ever seen from us. 

I can accept Spain having more possession than us and being better than us, during large parts of a game. I can't accept Morocco besting us in every department, for 90% of the game.

They beat us in intensity, in opportunities. It was embarrassing to watch.

Credit to Morocco. Certainly, a decent team that deserved more from the match.

I hope Fernando Santos make some changes in the next game. Starting by the defense. I think Rúben Dias should have a shot in the starting XI. 

[ASF]

23 hours ago, Stan said:

@ASF any chance of seeing Adrien Silva and/or Ricardo Pereira?

Asking for a friend.

Stanley, to answer your question:

I think we'll see Adrien starting games in future rounds, if we get there. He was important two years ago, nullifying the likes of Modric and Joe Allen. My bet as to why he hasn't started a game, thus far, is:

1st - Moutinho arrived in better shape to the WC, than he did in France for the Euros;

2nd - Adrien's transfer saga, that barred him the chance to play during 5/6 months. Lacking the necessary game time, to be in full condition.

As for Ricardo, the only way I can see him starting ahead of Cédric is if the later gets suspended or injured. Cédric defends better and he will be the first option, if nothing is wrong with him.

[Kowabunga]

Kudos to Iran anyways. Very limited talent wise, but they were perfect from a defensive standpoint in the first half. Perfectly drilled. Carlos Queiroz's done a great work over there.

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 minutes ago, ASF said:

That was one of the poorest performances I've ever seen from us. 

I can accept Spain having more possession than us and being better than us, during large parts of a game. I can't accept Morocco besting us in every department, for 90% of the game.

They beat us in intensity, in opportunities. It was embarrassing to watch.

Credit to Morocco. Certainly, a decent team that deserved more from the match.

I hope Fernando Santos make some changes in the next game. Starting by the defense. I think Rúben Dias should have a shot in the starting XI. 

I thought the same about Morocco against Iran, tbh. They were the better side for much of that match and that own goal, while excellent in my books, was pretty harsh on them. Even though I think we (this we being Iran) had the better chances in that match.

I think Portugal will still get a comfortable win (unfortunately) against Iran. 

9 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

They’re a hundred times better than the Saudis and I don’t credit the qualification standings on how both got here. It’s plainly visible for anyone that watches a lot of football that Iran know how to play and it’s not always the case that you get thumped if you are more positive in your football. Obviously when you’re playing superior sides you have to be clever and very disciplined, not exactly opening up. But the show that they gave before the goal was abhorrent. 

Iran were the best Asian side in qualification. Topped both groups for the qualifying rounds - conceded only 5 goals in 18 matches and scored 36. No losses either. But despite being the best in qualification, and having players like Sardar Azmoun turn it on for the national team (when he's nowhere near as pivotal at the club level, at least looking at the stats)... they've always had a defensive setup. Carlos Queiroz has had the setup always be focused on being solid defensively first and foremost.

And let's be real here, Spain are several levels up from the next best Asian teams in qualification in Japan and South Korea. The way they kept the ball against that Portuguese side, which is also several levels up from their Asian competitors, gave them good reason to be concerned. I think Iran should have taken more confidence from the difficulties Spain were having and played a bit more positively before the goal. But I don't blame Queiroz for looking at that Spain side and thinking "holy shit I need to drop the handbrake here and keep this bus from moving anywhere. It almost worked as well - it's not like Costa's goal was a moment of genius from Spain, that was unfortunate for Iran. And they did create some quality chances, but they couldn't finish.

I think Spain deserved the win, but this performance is more worrying for Spain than Iran imo. If Spain play like that against a side like Belgium... or with the way Russia are playing in this tournament... they'll be punished badly. Although the counterpoint to that is better sides are less inclined to play as negatively as Iran did today... which lets Spain get back into the match, as they did against Portugal.

This group ended up being more interesting than I thought it would be though - for Iran to still have a chance at this stage is not something I was really expecting. And while I think Portugal are significantly better than Iran, that showing against Morocco should give Team Mellli some hope they can get 3 points against them.

I think if Iran are out after Portugal... which is likely as fuck imo. And if England don't win the world cup (lol so hard to say that seriously)... I hope Portugal win it and Ronaldo has a historic world cup. I've never really liked him because he acts like such a collosal twat, but he's an incredible player and the start he's had to this world cup is great. All time European international goalscorer... and if he plays for a few years maybe he will catch up with the current overall international goalscorer Ali Daei.

[Dr. Gonzo]

10 minutes ago, Kowabunga said:

Kudos to Iran anyways. Very limited talent wise, but they were perfect from a defensive standpoint in the first half. Perfectly drilled. Carlos Queiroz's done a great work over there.

I'm sad he's stepping down from the Iran job after the world cup. He's done a great job, as you say the side is limited on talent and most of these players are playing in the Persian League... which is a bit shit, but they're well coached and organised. He also did a lot to get Iranian diaspora players to play for the Iran national team - which is how players like Dejagah and Ghoddos got their callups.

I hope Iran finds a suitable replacement that can carry on his good work.

[Paulh_85]

1 hour ago, Blue said:

It wasn't that blatant to me. If Cunha saw it on first glance, fair enough. 

VAR needs to be very strict on goals, otherwise there will be no emotion in football. its not all about being perfect with calls. 

I think its been doing a fine job in this world cup, but theres no need for goals being called unless its something like a handball.

 

VAR didn’t disallow the goal it just confirmed it

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 minutes ago, Paulh_85 said:

 

VAR didn’t disallow the goal it just confirmed it

I'm obviously disappointed Iran didn't get a goal it didn't deserve... but I don't understand the opposition to VAR literally doing it's job and making sure the correct decision is upheld. I've actually been pretty impressed with VAR in this tournament to how we saw it used in the FA Cup. Says something about English refs.

[Stan]

 

Adrien Silva. Lad.

 

[ASF]

Yeah, just saw that.

I hope we don't finish second because we have one more yellow card. That would be depressing and unheard of.

[Inverted]

1 hour ago, ASF said:

Yeah, just saw that.

I hope we don't finish second because we have one more yellow card. That would be depressing and unheard of.

Yeah, well a team winning the Euros without winning a knockout match in regular time was also depressing and unheard of.

[6666]

32 minutes ago, Inverted said:

Yeah, well a team winning the Euros without winning a knockout match in regular time was also depressing and unheard of.

Be fair, they did win their knock out tie against Wales in normal time (although that required their best player that tournament to be out of the game)...

The other 3 knockout games, sure they failed to win in normal time. And they drew all 3 of their group games and finished third and only went through because UEFA wanted to be experimental with an abnormal number of teams in the tournament but other that that, Portugal were deserving champions. 

[True Blue]

Iran surprised me in both games to be honest, felt they couldn't offer enough in a tough tough group. Should have got at least a draw against Spain for their efforts.

[DeadLinesman]

What the fuck are you even trying to say?

[SirBalon]

15 hours ago, Eco said:

Sergio might be my least favorite player in the world...

In fairness he’s cut a lot of that out but that picture of what he did last night is embarrassing to be honest! 

[ASF]

20 hours ago, Inverted said:

Yeah, well a team winning the Euros without winning a knockout match in regular time was also depressing and unheard of.

We beat Wales in the 90 minutes. Also, didn't lost a single match in the Euros. 

Try again.

[Dave]

In the opening fixtures I was glad Iran gave themselves a fighting chance of going through in the 95th minute. However, after the 3-3 draw in one of the perfect football matches possible it looked set to be a contest between who would score most between Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo to finish top of the group.

With that in mind, Portugal's lacklustre display against Morocco was really surprising. With a decent striker Morocco would have won comfortably. It will be interesting to see how Portugal approach their next fixture. Iran showed they're great at parking the bus but need a win. Will Portugal concede possession again and rely on a Ronaldo moment? If they do, that's pretty dissapointing, and sends out a bad message for European football given they're our champions.

As Spain's next game, I imagine (Even though they're out) Morocco will not be as adventurous and will be a bit more pragmatic. My reasoning for thinking that is that going home on zero points after the campaign they have had would be soul destroying for those players. I imagine a Spain victory, but I don't anticipate a walk over.

It has to be said though - all we've learned so far is that @Teso dos Bichos has always been right about Ronaldo being the GOAT.

[Eco]

On 6/21/2018 at 06:00, SirBalon said:

In fairness he’s cut a lot of that out but that picture of what he did last night is embarrassing to be honest! 

Very likely, but I haven't watched a lot of La Liga to really know. 

That photo just is one of the worst ones in recent memory. 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Eco said:

Very likely, but I haven't watched a lot of La Liga to really know. 

That photo just is one of the worst ones in recent memory. 

That picture is from four years ago mate. 

[Cicero]

Found it very funny and ironic Ramos handing over Pique's 100 appearances kit. 

Weren't these two always going back and forth with the whole Spain vs Catalonia stuff? 

[Eco]

1 hour ago, SirBalon said:

That picture is from four years ago mate. 

Now that I did know. haha

[SirBalon]

46 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Found it very funny and ironic Ramos handing over Pique's 100 appearances kit. 

Weren't these two always going back and forth with the whole Spain vs Catalonia stuff? 

That’s a media invention mate. And the media capitalised on it once (5 years back) when they were both selected for a Spain press conference and Piqué answered a Catalan journalist in Catalan. Ramos made fun instantly during the press conference saying he’d answer the next question in Andalusian (which doesn’t exist).

Ramos was joking but these things are taken seriously in Spain as are many other things that should be trivial. Since then you have the ensuing war the Madrid based media have with Piqué, although Piqué doesn’t help matters with his very vocal character.

They (Piqué and Ramos) actually run a business together. 

[Cicero]

4 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

That’s a media invention mate. And the media capitalised on it once (5 years back) when they were both selected for a Spain press conference and Piqué answered a Catalan journalist in Catalan. Ramos made fun instantly during the press conference saying he’d answer the next question in Andalusian (which doesn’t exist).

Ramos was joking but these things are taken seriously in Spain as are many other things that should be trivial. Since then you have the ensuing war the Madrid based media have with Piqué, although Piqué doesn’t help matters with his very vocal character.

They (Piqué and Ramos) actually run a business together. 

How true exactly is the rumour that back in 2011 (before the Copa Del Rey Final) Pique shouted to one of Arbeloa, Ramos, or Alonso "Watch us win your king's cup"?