We couldn’t comprehend the 4D chess USSF and the English FA were playing when they hired the most boring, defensive mangers in Berhalter and Southgate. They foresaw how the future World Cup was going to be.
Lmao I can't believe someone with an England flair said that. As if the English media and the country would applaud the team as they come home after getting knocked out in the group stage because they played some exciting football.
Football in general been more negative and result focussed. In the way they play but also the players.
Guys like özil or berbatov are sorely missed imo.
At this point Spain is the most fun team and one of the few.
To be fair our defense has been solid I would argue, especially when you consider 12 goals have been scored in the other 3 matches. This is by far the most important thing in KO stage.
They’ve both been pretty ass tbh but he has had 3 offside goals in fairness. Counts for shit but it’s not outside the realm of possibility one or both of them drops a blinder. It’s more likely, however, that turtle bro drops a hat trick so people remember what he looks like in a France uni.
Yea but Deschamps France has a proven track record of looking exactly this pedestrian and then going deep.
Their style is more effective when they play the better teams later in the tournament; the further up the field and more of the ball you have, the more space behind for Mbappe to counter.
Yeah if the "ranked 3rd-place teams" were changed to "ranked non-top-2 teams" then Ukraine would've made history as a rare 4th place team that made it to knockout stage
But then you need all 6 groups to play at the same time.
Otherwise, you could face a situation where all 4 of the teams in group E would play for a draw.
Because that would guarantee they'd all qualify and were relatively content with the seeding, but didn't want to risk not qualifying - as a loss may cause that to happen.
Not really.
All 4 group E teams know if they draw, they advance. If they win, they help their seeding. But if they LOSE, they're OUT.
Belgium is probably confident enough that they won't lose, and so they'll try to win. But the other 3? I could see how they'd be happy with a draw, so all of them will be tentative.
Plus, it might not even start that way, but as teams continue playing and it's a tie, they may be content with it. They may simply not attack as much.
The groups are not the same. We can't say that one team getting 4 points in an easy group performed better than a team getting 3 points in a group of death.
I think this would be bad. It would make it possible for the fourth team of a group to qualify and not the third.
This would happen because head-to-head does not make sense in a multi-group untie criterium
Bring in the 32 team Euros. 8 groups of 4 with top 2 going through. Yes qualification is then pointless, but it can be replaced by more Nations league games and qualifying through that.
And if Scotland hasn’t passed that ball to Switzerland, they see that game out and don’t need to press late against Hungary, they could’ve had 4 points and go through.
A low scoring game with only 3 matches like tournament football always has lots of butterfly effect moments.
Part of the problem is how set in stone the tournament tree & 3rd place table are at this point, it heavily influences what teams want to do. You're actually at an *insane* advantage the later your group plays on the final matchday, straight up designed to encourage matchfixing really. Teams won't really do it but realistically it's all the current system encourages.
…. Romania Slovakia was anything but shit; you’d think both needed to win the first like 80 minutes. Was anything but boring; rare case of both actually playing too risky given they only needed a draw but a loss would’ve eliminated them.
There is a big free (sponsored) betting game going on in Germany with millions playing. There is one user betting on a 0-0 every single game. The first 2400 players each Matchday win a 240€ travel gift card. That user is in the top 1000 rn.
Since the double matches at the time started, the only game that's been entertaining (at least for me) has been the Austria v Netherlands game. The rest have just been disappointing.
that's true, but I think the nerves all these players go through in games like these when they're representing their own colors is a bit different, I'd say the own goals reflect that a bit maybe
I desperately want to see England play Austria so the whole world can see how actually shit Southgate is; different style but Ragnick could legit embarrass them as bad as Iceland did he’s that much better of a manager and this Austria has that much better of a game plan.
what a crazy group lmao (all on 4) 🤯. fair play/congrats to romania coming top, not many would have expected that.
but that’s brutal for ukraine. got more points than others that are making it through. denmark and slovenia didn’t even win a game, and one less point than england 😭. that first game killed them tho.
Romania has been so fun to watch. They're organized, fast, willing to push forward and make runs. They play some very fun football and deservedly top the group based on their performance.
Happened in '94 too, only that the positions were decided by goals in favor as they all had 4 points and a GD of 0. Norway got the boot that time around having beaten group leaders Mexico in the opening match.
If the opponents will do the same ukraine did, that is underestimate romanian team and expect you guys to roll over and take it deep.
Id expect another banger 3-0 for Romania.
Honestly Puscas really is a ... Lukaku if he was wayyy worse. His strong points are basically the same, hold up play and deflections. His weak points are the same, especially his first touch (edit) and reaction speed. But he's .... well, 1 Euro store Lukaku! XD
We re the embodiment of “ sometimes good, sometimes maybe shit “ just that we do both in the same game or one extreme in one game and one extreme the very next. We re an unknown even for ourselves, that can t be not entertaining
Thought head-to-head counted before GD, shouldn't Slovakia be ahead of Belgium?
Edit: Cannot happen because other head-to-head's in the group, go figure.
Then Belgium should be above Romania, but Romania cannot be behind Slovakia. It's a catch-22, so they revert to other means of differentiation, i.e. scored goals.
Romania will face Slovenia in the Round of 16, and the winner will face Austria/Turkey in the QF...
...as long as Czechia and Georgia are eliminated.
Turkey, we re counting on you to eliminate the Czechs and give us an underdog in the Semi!
If no one from Group F gets 3rd place, Slovenia, and the final table will have a semi-finalist from Romania / Slovenia vs Turkey / Austria. Truly the dankest timeline.
If Czechia beats Turkey than .... the Netherlands, puke. Netherlands would literally be awarded for losing to Austria in that case, as they'd get a really good bracket >.>
Now Belgium vs france here we go
Belgium played like they wanted to face France
Pathetic display
Imagine paying for a flight/train, tickets, hotel to watch KDB hold the ball in the corner to kill the game when it's 0-0. Absolutely shameful.
So many teams playing negative football for fear of going out at the group stage. What happened to going out with a bang and heads held high?
Having thirds qualify makes things more interesting for the final matchday but rewards defensive play. Like teams are going through with 3 draws
Getting through to the quarter finals of a world cup with only draws is my country's biggest achievement. Fuck Schillaci.
Looking forward to the next World Cup then! We’ll get 12 groups worth of defensive play, double what we’re getting now!
Gregg licking his lips as we speak
We couldn’t comprehend the 4D chess USSF and the English FA were playing when they hired the most boring, defensive mangers in Berhalter and Southgate. They foresaw how the future World Cup was going to be.
I reckon this tournament is defined by the lack of jepordary. And 3rd place qualifiers are to blame. I wish they would revert to 16 teams next euro
> What happened to going out with a bang and heads held high? That has absolutely never been a trend
Lmao I can't believe someone with an England flair said that. As if the English media and the country would applaud the team as they come home after getting knocked out in the group stage because they played some exciting football.
Football in general been more negative and result focussed. In the way they play but also the players. Guys like özil or berbatov are sorely missed imo. At this point Spain is the most fun team and one of the few.
I actually think Austria have been the most entertaining. They’ve really gone after it for each match.
Imo Turkey have been great fun too
I thought Albania was fun to watch as well
Turkey have been great but have made some absolutely suicidal mistakes. If they can iron out the crap could be exciting going forward.
Spain and Austria both. They absolutely do not come off the gas pedal at any point in the game
Croatia kept attacking against Italy.
Early vacation
France played like they wanted to play Belgium too. Best buds them lot
Brothers, nephews, lovers. (the Dutch are jealous)
so we get beaten by France, AGAIN
bro u won vs the mighty romania, baguette is nothing
When you defeat merdenelele, you still have a shot at the baguettes.
Belgium will be put out of their misery
So we just gonna act like France hasn’t been pretty ass too?
To be fair our defense has been solid I would argue, especially when you consider 12 goals have been scored in the other 3 matches. This is by far the most important thing in KO stage.
Lukaku and KDB could drop a masterclass and make it difficult regardless of how well France’s defense has been. They are due. I’d still bet on France.
You've seen this Lukaku for the past 3 matches and you think he will magically perform a masterclass?
They’ve both been pretty ass tbh but he has had 3 offside goals in fairness. Counts for shit but it’s not outside the realm of possibility one or both of them drops a blinder. It’s more likely, however, that turtle bro drops a hat trick so people remember what he looks like in a France uni.
Yeah, but we gotta check who was more ass between France and Belgium 😃
They having a mid-off
We'll join them as the truly terrible trio
The Assix Powers
Agreed Ass-to-Ass game
Bring Hazard out of retirement
call up gignac again
Yea but Deschamps France has a proven track record of looking exactly this pedestrian and then going deep. Their style is more effective when they play the better teams later in the tournament; the further up the field and more of the ball you have, the more space behind for Mbappe to counter.
France, even in their current state, is still leagues above this Belgium team. It will *not* be close IMO.
It's their fault tbh... They weren't even eager to score a goal..
It's really funny how a team with 4 points won't make it to the Ro16 due to being last in their group, but a few 3rd places with 3 points will.
Yeah if the "ranked 3rd-place teams" were changed to "ranked non-top-2 teams" then Ukraine would've made history as a rare 4th place team that made it to knockout stage
Yeah but then you're making teams even more dependent on games they have no control over.
But then it’s more like an actual wildcard. The top performing teams that didn’t get guaranteed spots should go, imo
But then you need all 6 groups to play at the same time. Otherwise, you could face a situation where all 4 of the teams in group E would play for a draw. Because that would guarantee they'd all qualify and were relatively content with the seeding, but didn't want to risk not qualifying - as a loss may cause that to happen.
That’s some 9D chess
Not really. All 4 group E teams know if they draw, they advance. If they win, they help their seeding. But if they LOSE, they're OUT. Belgium is probably confident enough that they won't lose, and so they'll try to win. But the other 3? I could see how they'd be happy with a draw, so all of them will be tentative. Plus, it might not even start that way, but as teams continue playing and it's a tie, they may be content with it. They may simply not attack as much.
Pretty rare though you get four teams on three points going into game 3
The groups are not the same. We can't say that one team getting 4 points in an easy group performed better than a team getting 3 points in a group of death.
And we can’t say a team getting 3 points in an easy group is more deserving than a team that got 4 in a group of death. That logic works both ways
exactly that's why it makes no sense to compare points between the groups
I think this would be bad. It would make it possible for the fourth team of a group to qualify and not the third. This would happen because head-to-head does not make sense in a multi-group untie criterium
That is easy to fix just make the first untie criteria if on the same points group position and only goal difference after.
i dont like this 24 format... do 16 or do 32... i dont mind either version. or do groups with 6... but 24 teams like this sucks
I just hate how there is this invisible group of potential 3rd place teams that we're all somehow supposed to keep track of.
This format sucks….honestly 3rd place shouldnt go thru.
Bring in the 32 team Euros. 8 groups of 4 with top 2 going through. Yes qualification is then pointless, but it can be replaced by more Nations league games and qualifying through that.
Yes this is what they should do. Because i doubt we are ever going back to 16 team format.
Who expected Romania to top this group though? LETS GOO
Me everbody laughed when I said it🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴
Nice call. Any stocks you’re looking at buying haha?
Us in the quater finals
If we pass slovenia or netherlands i am happy with that performance.
hell yeah, believe in your team!!!
Same here, my biggest hot take payed off
I talked shit about the boys and now I am sorry. Better sorry than being right.
If Italy hadn't scored that 98th minute goal, Hungary would have been eliminated. Crazy butterfly effect.
I mean if Czech Republic win today then Hungary are out anyways
Unexpected Georgia 1-0 win incoming
…
This is all your fault
Hey
Well....
Who are you
Technically speaking it's not 1-0
JUST SCORED THE SECOND, WTF-
Absolute cinema 👐
Well I was wrong…
It's 2 0 for them rn sooo
Or Czech draw and Georgia defeat Portugal, then Hungary is eliminated for sure
After that Csoboth winner would be kinda brutal
And if Scotland hasn’t passed that ball to Switzerland, they see that game out and don’t need to press late against Hungary, they could’ve had 4 points and go through. A low scoring game with only 3 matches like tournament football always has lots of butterfly effect moments.
Romania on 1st place, as expected. HAI ROMANIAAAAAAAAAAA 🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴
Never doubted the NT during the qualifiers!
Didn't expect 4 points with Switzerland. Pleasant surprise.
That ball hitting Puscas head on the 2-2 was goated (Mihaila too despite how bad he was vs Israel iirc)
Just like we drew it up
alo, salut....
Numa numa all day
blessed day
Congrats guys, well fucking done!
DA DA DUMLA DUMLA DA MADE IN ROMANIA
My brackets all fucked up
We're all romania on this blessed day
Romania going from drawing vs. Liechtenstein to topping their group in less than 3 weeks is quite the turnaround.
We also topped our qualifying group lol
We took a page out of Sun Tzu: "appear weak when you are strong" :)))
did the Netherlands and Austria suck all the air out of the room? Only shit games since that one ended
Everybody is so cautious, that they rather go out with a goalless draw than take any risk prior to the 80th minute.
That's what happens when third place finishers go through.
Part of the problem is how set in stone the tournament tree & 3rd place table are at this point, it heavily influences what teams want to do. You're actually at an *insane* advantage the later your group plays on the final matchday, straight up designed to encourage matchfixing really. Teams won't really do it but realistically it's all the current system encourages.
Romania and Slovenia both happy with a draw
36 games to eliminate Ukraine, Albania, Scotland and Georgia
Georgia’s not out yet, they advance if they beat Portugal.
I would rather they added 8 more teams to the groups than the third place shit
3rd place finish going thru in Euros has absolutely fucked the tournament in quality
Reminds me of South Africa 2010 World Cup.
Romania-Slovakia was good until 80th min, the monsoon killed it.
yeah the ball was bouncing and rolling as if deflated. pretty funny considering it only rained for like 5-10 minutes
But what a rain it was
…. Romania Slovakia was anything but shit; you’d think both needed to win the first like 80 minutes. Was anything but boring; rare case of both actually playing too risky given they only needed a draw but a loss would’ve eliminated them.
This entire round has been shit, we were the only 2 countries to score 2 or more goals All other games from the third round ended 0-0 1-0 or 1-1
There is a big free (sponsored) betting game going on in Germany with millions playing. There is one user betting on a 0-0 every single game. The first 2400 players each Matchday win a 240€ travel gift card. That user is in the top 1000 rn.
That's genuinely shocking
Romania vs Slovakia was pretty fun.
till God said "hey guys I'm gonna cause a downpour so yall chill"
Euro started great with 2 first rounds, but this last round is very disappointing overall
Group F will be better because Czechia and Georgia will get eliminated if they don’t win
It's just the pressure of losing that's holding everyone back
Since the double matches at the time started, the only game that's been entertaining (at least for me) has been the Austria v Netherlands game. The rest have just been disappointing.
the first game between Romania and Ukraine ( won 3-0 by Romania ) decided the 1st and 4th places
Ukraine’s disaster class against Romania cost them
you mean Romania's masterclass
Both
Poor Trubin didn't deserve this
Yup. Don't want to see anything resembling Lunin in goal for a long time
Strange considering how good he was for Madrid
that's true, but I think the nerves all these players go through in games like these when they're representing their own colors is a bit different, I'd say the own goals reflect that a bit maybe
It was just a meltdown. It happens. They did pretty well to recover from it. Sad they have to go.
Smiles all around, unless you are Ukraine.
perfectly balanced, as all things should be
Not quite, the goal differences are different. Group E in '94 World Cup had all teams on 4 points and 0 GD
The E stands for equality
Group of death but Dracula's sons do not fear death :)
What s death to an immortal being?
Can't believe Spain Germany Portugal France Begium all ended up same side of draw
I hope I don't betray my age with this comment, but Ukraine really is the **bad luck Brian** of the group
Losing 3-0 to Romania was absolutely unacceptable, and there was no bad luck involved in that game.
But going out with 4 points sucks
They did play well the last two games. Disappointing.
u've betrayed your age, hag
Ukraine was lucky to get out of groups at the last Euros, as they only got 3 points from beating North Macedonia by 1 goal.
Now, football gods give us England.
England instead of Spain AND the easier side of the bracket? Hell yeah
I desperately want to see England play Austria so the whole world can see how actually shit Southgate is; different style but Ragnick could legit embarrass them as bad as Iceland did he’s that much better of a manager and this Austria has that much better of a game plan.
I would also like to see that but it would have to be in the semi final.
what a crazy group lmao (all on 4) 🤯. fair play/congrats to romania coming top, not many would have expected that. but that’s brutal for ukraine. got more points than others that are making it through. denmark and slovenia didn’t even win a game, and one less point than england 😭. that first game killed them tho.
How the hell did this group get to this? Happy for Romania tho
Romania has been so fun to watch. They're organized, fast, willing to push forward and make runs. They play some very fun football and deservedly top the group based on their performance.
first time i’ve seen it
Happened in '94 too, only that the positions were decided by goals in favor as they all had 4 points and a GD of 0. Norway got the boot that time around having beaten group leaders Mexico in the opening match.
Hai baietiiiiiii
A 4pt team is eliminated, that's incredible considering how the other groups have been played
Romania played awesome. Great job neighbours!
Insane how much Ukraine match counted for us, we need that masterclass again for R16
If the opponents will do the same ukraine did, that is underestimate romanian team and expect you guys to roll over and take it deep. Id expect another banger 3-0 for Romania.
Aduceti-ne adversari!!!!
SA VINA BRAZILIA!
Real Madrid sau nimic. Nu ne e frica de nimeni!
Sunt cam praf si aia, n au reusit decat egal cu Costa Rica (fara Navas) si sunt pe 6 in calificari:)))
Să vină Costa Rica atunci.
ez game ez lyfe
🇷🇴 L2p ty for tutorial 🇷🇴
Let Ukraine stay, send England home
Send France and Italy home as well
Puscas > Lukaku
The Romanian Puskas
Even the dead one would be less offside.
Honestly Puscas really is a ... Lukaku if he was wayyy worse. His strong points are basically the same, hold up play and deflections. His weak points are the same, especially his first touch (edit) and reaction speed. But he's .... well, 1 Euro store Lukaku! XD
If this holds up it's either Slovenia, Romania, Turkey or Austria in the semis lmao
Group D(readful) and Group (E)pic.
This looks so surreal.
I've been waiting for this since 2000
Who do netherlands play next?
probably England but if group F produces a 3rd place team they face Romania.
Who do England play in that case?
Slovakia
Every time I have watched Romania it's been a lot of fun
We re the embodiment of “ sometimes good, sometimes maybe shit “ just that we do both in the same game or one extreme in one game and one extreme the very next. We re an unknown even for ourselves, that can t be not entertaining
Every team finishes on same points Romania wins group What is this timeline?
Group of death.
Didn't realize the E stood for Equal
As expected of course
Dang, win the group and get Netherlands as a reward...
Thought head-to-head counted before GD, shouldn't Slovakia be ahead of Belgium? Edit: Cannot happen because other head-to-head's in the group, go figure.
Then Belgium should be above Romania, but Romania cannot be behind Slovakia. It's a catch-22, so they revert to other means of differentiation, i.e. scored goals.
can’t head to head if they’re all level on 4 points
It technically is H2H, it's just that it's between all 4 teams
SCREAM IF YOU LOVE ROMANIAAAAAAAAAAA💪🇷🇴💪🇷🇴💪🇷🇴💪🇷🇴💪🇷🇴💪🇷🇴
Romania will face Slovenia in the Round of 16, and the winner will face Austria/Turkey in the QF... ...as long as Czechia and Georgia are eliminated. Turkey, we re counting on you to eliminate the Czechs and give us an underdog in the Semi!
Romania for the win!
tbh I see a nil nil from Belgium vs France lol
Congratulations Romania , predicted them to reach quarter finals
Who will Romania face next in the knockouts?
If no one from Group F gets 3rd place, Slovenia, and the final table will have a semi-finalist from Romania / Slovenia vs Turkey / Austria. Truly the dankest timeline. If Czechia beats Turkey than .... the Netherlands, puke. Netherlands would literally be awarded for losing to Austria in that case, as they'd get a really good bracket >.>
Just according to keikaku (Translator's note: keikaku means plan)