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WHAT THE JEFF JUST HAPPENED: CRO-FRA Final

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    England have not even made a final away from home, whereas France had the 2006 one before this one. Add to that England's blank in the Euros.

    England and Spain are the only solo World Cup winners and Spain are obviously more likely than them to win a second in the next 20 years or so.

    Infact Uruguay, West Germany and France all won their second 20 years after the first. Argentina 8, Italy 4, Brazil 4.
    Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 15-07-2018, 19:28.

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      Originally posted by Hot Orange View Post
      I'm always happy when the World Cup is won by (a) a team unbeaten in the tournament and (b) a team that didn't win any of their games on penalties so, allez les bleus.
      This is a decent point.

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        They didn't even need extra time.

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          Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
          They didn't even need extra time.
          And scored four goals twice in the knock-outs. AP is talking from pure jaundice here, France are and will be remember as one of the better World Champions. Not Brazil '70 for sure, but above Brazil '02 for example.

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            Is this true?

            https://twitter.com/tjamandla/status/1018520954312458240

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              Yep, for sure. That Brazil team were slightly better than the rest in a poor World Cup. France have been notably better than all but Belgium in a very good tournament. That will give them a high degree of legacy.

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                Nef, it is real, but was announced last night.

                It is also quite comprehensive in terms of lines that go through the areas where people are likely to congregate and includes lines from rich areas. If they were really discriminating along class/race lines, they would have gone after the RER and a few metro lines.
                Last edited by ursus arctos; 15-07-2018, 20:41.

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                  Aye, despite some aspects of the refereeing of the final being very poor, the best team won this tournament.

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                      Deschamps made France into a team in his own image
                      Hard to beat, workmanlike but wielding a steel lance with clinical precision like the great Serie A teams of old
                      He curbed the flair instinct that often made France great to watch but also doomed to lose
                      After the Portugal disaster, this French team went to Russia with a powerful dose of 'realisme' - code for get the job done
                      Pogba 2.0 is the best example as he restrained his forging runs to limited attacks
                      The match stats are remarkable - France had 6 shots, all on target compared with Croatia with 14 shots, 5 on target
                      Can't get much more clinical than that

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                        'I Will Survive' was the French anthem from 1998 right? The French crew were playing it pretty much on a loop for their two hours in port. I guess it was their turn to take the piss out of us.

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                          Delighted for Paul Pogba's mam. Shame Macron took the shine off.

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                            What we have seen today is the equivalent of Bert van Marwijk's Netherlands beating Spain in the 2010 final. People would have said, "well, the Netherlands are worthy winners. They didn't need extra time. They scored more goals than Spain." Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong would have held the World Cup aloft. It would have been shite.

                            There's more to football than winning matches and scoring goals. This website is called onetouchfootball after all, and not freekickowngoal.

                            Croatia, the country of four million, were playing all the football all the tournament. Closing down high up the pitch, playing the ball out of defence with nutmegs that other team mates would help out with. It was a fantastic team effort. It was fucking beautiful. So what if they required extra time. They were always trying to play football the right way, with the players they had at their disposal. They don't have a squad of superstars. The teams they played against in extra time were all looking for penalties. Croatia always kept going, playing football like it is supposed to be played.

                            France has a better squad than Croatia. They have serious talent in all positions. But this France were afraid to play football. They won because Deschamps devised the least risky way to squeeze a trophy out of a talented squad. A tax accountant's world cup victory. The water carrier's victory. If France had tried to do what Croatia did all tournament, but with the players France have at their disposal, then maybe they could have been remembered as Brazil 70. But they won't be. They'll be remembered as the team that wanted to win more then they wanted to play football. 39% possession against Croatia in the final and 40% against Belgium in the semi.

                            Maybe the beautiful game sometimes requires ugly winners to remind us how it should be played. Nothing is more ugly than seeing a squad of very talented footballers being told to play within themselves. Croatia are the opposite of that. A group of decent journeyman players led to football nirvana by a couple of top players who decided to play the game as it should be played.
                            Last edited by anton pulisov; 15-07-2018, 23:15.

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                              Originally posted by anton pulisov View Post
                              Croatia, the country of four million, were playing all the football all the tournament.
                              Belgium would like to have a word.

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                                Originally posted by elguapo4 View Post
                                That's all Pogba's massive ego needs
                                https://mobile.twitter.com/SmnLlyd5/...21993112838144

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                                  Don't get the massive ego accusation. What is this based on?

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                                    Sure, Belgium definitely some good stuff. But I still had the feeling that they were slightly less than the sum of their parts. With Croatia I had the feeling that they were 200% of the sum of their parts. And they did it by playing fantastic football. Other teams with similar squads as Croatia might have gone down the same damage limitation route that Deschamps espoused. If Croatia had done that, with the players they have, they'd have been out in the first round. That's why what Croatia did achieve is football perfection.

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                                      Originally posted by jwdd27 View Post
                                      Deschamps is only 49, but looks 20 years older, I wonder what his trick is?
                                      Didier Deschamps played for Marseilles and Juventus. That means he took more drugs in the 1990's than Bez. It's a miracle he's not fucking dead.

                                      Fair dues to France. For a country that has produced some of the best attacking players in the history of the sport, they again managed to win a world cup while playing with an actual sack of potatoes up front. Croatia habe been great in this tournament, but a big part of achieving what they did is that they're basically Atletico Uruguay. They've played right on the edge of the rules, and frequently beyond it. Yes Griezmann dived like a sneaky little bastard, but all that means is that he fell over before Brozovic could plough into him. And Sure Pogba was offside, and then interfering with play, but only because Vida got behind him and shoved him into mandzukic. Perisic scored a great goal, but gave away a pretty stupid penalty. The ref looking at it on var, would have seen how high his hand started, how quickly it came down to block the shot and then the second movement to tuck it in to his stomach after contact. It's the movement that made the penalty so Var-tastic. (had he just jumped with his arm down close to his side, the ball would probably have still have hit his hand, but without movement, there would have been no penalty) But it's a decision that could have gone either way, just like another ref might have frowned on an attacker challenging for a ball with his foot, while his unaware opponent has gone for the ball with his head. He got the bounce of the ball on that occasion, but not tonight. But that's the sort of thing that happens when you operate right on the line. Croatia are basically Europe's Uruguay. About four million people and a propensity to get to the business end of a tournament that makes everyone else look bad. They seem to have four fast twitch muscles between the entire country so they have to know where the edges of everything are.

                                      I must Say Pogba's goal really is a thing of beauty. Croatia get pulled apart by a ball into the channels, regain their shape, force france out of the box, get the block in on pogba's first shot and before even Modric realises what is going on, he's nailed the rebound from 20 yards with his other foot. I think that highlights the challenge facing Croatia today. They could definitely have won, but they would have a) needed every major event to go their way (like the first two French goals) b) needed France to really fuck up. France won out thoroughly on a) and after they scored the first two goals, pogba had half the pitch to drop the ball into for mbappe. hopefully people will stop talking about him like he was one of Frank mcAvennie's dolly birds, obsessed with hair, or shoes, or music.

                                      Something that puzzles me is did antoine Griezmann have a good game? the first time I watched the game, I thought he was feeble, then watching the repeat, that free kick for the first goal was great. He scored a fairly average penalty, and then had the presence of mind to to a half gerrie muhren in the build up to the third goal. but at various times I just thought that the player he most reminded me of was the 2018 version of alexis sanchez. I'm sure he'll be happy enough with himself though.

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                                        I just thought it was a very entertaining World Cup final. Given its predecessors (at least since 86 or 82) it was as good as anyone could dare to expect.

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                                          That's spot on. The 2010 final was amusing in its own dark way. 8 yellow cards, and a red for Holland. 5 yellows for spain. In looking up those statistics I notice that Iniesta was booked in the 118th minute, and xavi was booked in the 120+1. I wonder what they did?

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                                            Time wasting IIRC

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                                              I'm shocked.

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                                                  Many times, there are World Cup winners and the "moral winners", such as Holland 1974 or France 1982. Croatia will join their ranks.

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                                                    One flippant remark (water carrier), by a player who achieved maybe a quarter of what Deschamps has in the game has blighted his whole career.

                                                    I regularly watched him as a youngster for Nantes and he was a superb, creative no. 10.

                                                    He was the absolute motor in the OM team, who I also had the privilege of watching regularly (if only for the quality of the football). Without him that team would just not have worked. Juvuntus saw this.

                                                    Britain, in general, never understood the Aime Jacquet France. They were too busy looking through their Cantona/ Ginola bifocals. Maybe after they won in 98 when a few premiership players had come into the team. Vieira, Petit.

                                                    I remember constantly telling people between 94 and 96 that this bloke Zidane was a much better player to base a team around than Cantona.

                                                    And I really loved Cantona. We'll, before he left Leeds.

                                                    Anyway, 4 clear wins without the need for extra time, in the tough half of the draw is enough to merit being worthy champions.

                                                    Feel very sorry for Croatia though. One of those great teams which you will always remember the names from 1 through to fictitious 11.

                                                    Particularly sorry for my football loving daughter, who on holiday, dragged her friends of schedule to Croatia because she said she couldn't miss being part of the wildest party ever seen on the planet.

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