Soccer Thread

Chocolate Lab said:
Maybe :unsure
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Simpleton said:
Don't see these sorts of late game theatrics working against Spain.
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Is it theatrics, or a team that's well conditioned and improving its attack throughout the game? A little like a great QB that hits most of his yardage in the 4th quarter vs tired defenses he has mostly figured out.

Those crazy crossing shots near the goal come when you work yourself open to cleanly strike.

Messi wasn't getting as open early, but towards the end he just wore down whoever was trying to cover him to the point he was clearly drawing double teams. That alone opened the path to their first goal (Messi assist).

Then Spence hurts himself pushing to beat Messi to a loose ball, and so he draws another double team as he recovered the ball before it goes out, and he crushes another crossing kick despite the double team right to his open guy for the final header and goal. Sick.

Soccer is definitely a test of endurance, and England couldn't hang for a full 100 minutes.
 
ravidubey said:
Is it theatrics, or a team that's well conditioned and improving its attack throughout the game? A little like a great QB that hits most of his yardage in the 4th quarter vs tired defenses he has mostly figured out.

Those crazy crossing shots near the goal come when you work yourself open to cleanly strike.

Messi wasn't getting as open early, but towards the end he just wore down whoever was trying to cover him to the point he was clearly drawing double teams. That alone opened the path to their first goal (Messi assist).

Then Spence hurts himself pushing to beat Messi to a loose ball, and so he draws another double team as he recovered the ball before it goes out, and he crushes another crossing kick despite the double team right to his open guy for the final header and goal. Sick.

Soccer is definitely a test of endurance, and England couldn't hang for a full 100 minutes.
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It's not theatrics in the sense that it's not real, they're obviously an elite team. I'm just saying if they are down 1-0 against Spain with 10-15 minutes left they aren't going to be scoring two, or probably even one, in the last few minutes.
 
Simpleton said:
It's not theatrics in the sense that it's not real, they're obviously an elite team. I'm just saying if they are down 1-0 against Spain with 10-15 minutes left they aren't going to be scoring two, or probably even one, in the last few minutes.
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Spain is prolly better conditioned than the Brits, so that part is real.

And they also have enough Combined star power to cancel Messi in Rodri, Yamal, and maybe Pedri, but I gotta say, the stars have seriously delivered in this World Cup, and Messi is right at the top of that.

Going to be a good match, I think. If Spain stifles Messi while playing their game, they win. But that guy is pesky as shit. Not going to be easy for 90+ minutes.
 
bbgun said:
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Contradict much? So does being African trump homogeneity?

One World Cup isn't going to show jack shat about race. There are way too many factors too allow anyone to reasonably put that kind of pressure on a single sporting event.

I will say most of America's best athletes are already playing other sports they've played their whole lives.

NCAA Division I Soccer Tournaments moving the College Cup to 48 teams might help grow it into a larger event. Hosting the World Cup can only have helped that process. College sports are where the heart of the country beats.
 
ravidubey said:
Contradict much? So does being African trump homogeneity?

One World Cup isn't going to show jack shat about race. There are way too many factors too allow anyone to reasonably put that kind of pressure on a single sporting event.

I will say most of America's best athletes are already playing other sports they've played their whole lives.

NCAA Division I Soccer Tournaments moving the College Cup to 48 teams might help grow it into a larger event. Hosting the World Cup can only have helped that process. College sports are where the heart of the country beats.
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Americas best athletes definitely do not play soccer.
 
ravidubey said:
Spain is prolly better conditioned than the Brits, so that part is real.

And they also have enough Combined star power to cancel Messi in Rodri, Yamal, and maybe Pedri, but I gotta say, the stars have seriously delivered in this World Cup, and Messi is right at the top of that.

Going to be a good match, I think. If Spain stifles Messi while playing their game, they win. But that guy is pesky as shit. Not going to be easy for 90+ minutes.
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You also have to consider that Argentina has been to extra time twice in the knockout rounds, and the two games that didn't go to extra time were dramatic/emotional wins in the last minutes.

Spain hasn't played a single extra time game and has an extra day of rest for the final, so I think all of that will catch up to Argentina, who also hasn't played a team of Spain's caliber yet while Spain has (France).
 
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