Ken Gargett Posted July 10 Posted July 10 On 7/8/2026 at 7:34 AM, VeguerosMAN said: Then again Balogun is no Messi or Mbappe. Balogun is nobody. Wrong call by Trump. i think that is a bit unfair. gunners' fans will certainly know him. was with us as a youngster and tipped as a truly potentially massive talent. i think we only lost him because that was the wera we would have lost our janitors if anyone wanted them. i think he had the choice of three nations? he is still obviously a talent and very young. 1
ha_banos Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 15 hours ago, Li Bai said: Well actually it's gone pretty smoothly this time... Well...for you maybe... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/10/violent-disorder-in-london-france-morocco-world-cup-police-officer-hurt-arrests
El Presidente Posted July 10 Posted July 10 22 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said: I can't wait! Just discovered Haaland. What a beast. He's a dead ringer for a friend of mine too. 1
Li Bai Posted July 10 Posted July 10 11 hours ago, ha_banos said: Well...for you maybe... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/10/violent-disorder-in-london-france-morocco-world-cup-police-officer-hurt-arrests Hadn't seen that. At least in France we're used to a lot more trouble than what we had to face yesterday... 3
gormag38 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 14 hours ago, Gubbins said: I’ve heard there are massive costs for parents getting their kids into grass roots football in the U.S, and that as a result it’s only accessible to middle class families. We’re talking at least $2/3,000 a season, including travel. That could be B.S, but it’s what I’ve read. I think that is the main barrier. In the UK and Europe there are pitches everywhere and there is basically no financial cost to join a club, or very little to join 5 aside leagues etc. youth clubs aren't for profit like they might be in the U.S. Football is everywhere in Europe, you just need two jumpers for goals and a ball, and there are football posts up all over the place. I always presumed this was the biggest barrier for the U.S. that not enough kids can get out there and play, and some of your could-be geniuses will never even play. Again I could be wrong. Regarding America having a top talent seen in the Champions League (for example). I think that’s only a matter of time. I'm glad to see you have access to the Premier League as it’s the best league by far. Doesn’t the MLS also have a salary cap for players? This is also a major problem for the league if so, as it won’t be able to retain its talent. I look forward to the day that the U.S takes off in football. As I've begun to dig deeper into this, I think your take is spot on actually. While the popularity of youth soccer is indeed quite high in the US, the system for them to continue in it, grow, learn, etc is behind velvet ropes so to speak. I know for other travel sport leagues here $2-3K would be considered 'cheap'. The profit system of it all is ultimately the problem in my mind. Similarly with youth hockey; just recently in my state of Michigan there was a group getting sued on anti-trust grounds for buying up all of the available ice rinks and forcing youth teams to pay higher prices to be in their leagues, rent ice time etc. The parents have gotten pissed because some can no longer afford to pay the prices and with very little alternatives for nearby ice rinks the kids just get taken out of the sport. While not the same exact thing as youth soccer, I'm sure there's similar issues with fields (or indoor fields for folks in the winter). 1 1
VeguerosMAN Posted July 10 Posted July 10 14 hours ago, Ken Gargett said: i think that is a bit unfair. gunners' fans will certainly know him. was with us as a youngster and tipped as a truly potentially massive talent. i think we only lost him because that was the wera we would have lost our janitors if anyone wanted them. i think he had the choice of three nations? he is still obviously a talent and very young. He choked in the match. He can't be mentioned in the same sentence as Messi or Mbappe. That's all. And that call to FIFA didn't help his case either.
ha_banos Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 6 hours ago, El Presidente said: And he doesn't tend to fall over quite as often when someone looks at him. 1 1
JohnS Posted July 10 Posted July 10 France vs. Spain semi-final. Spain hasn't lost a game of football since March 2024 (a friendly to Colombia). Spain has defeated France the last two times they've met (Euro 2024 semi-finals 2-1 and 2024-25 Nations League 5-4). Having said all this, has France been playing 'electric football' or what? Yet, Spain has been clinical. No wonder Cabo Verde celebrated their 0-0 draw like they won the World Cup (in their group stage match). For England vs. Norway tomorrow, Erling Haaland has scored for Norway the last 14 times he has started. 4
loose_axle Posted July 10 Posted July 10 13 minutes ago, JohnS said: France vs. Spain semi-final. Spain hasn't lost a game of football since March 2024 (a friendly to Colombia). Spain has defeated France the last two times they've met (Euro 2024 semi-finals 2-1 and 2024-25 Nations League 5-4). Having said all this, has France been playing 'electric football' or what? Yet, Spain has been clinical. No wonder Cabo Verde celebrated their 0-0 draw like they won the World Cup (in their group stage match). For England vs. Norway tomorrow, Erling Haaland has scored for Norway the last 14 times he has started. Been a great week to be on n/s caught a few matches where we could. Spain didn't look as composed as they did against Portugal but still a great game with Belgium. Loved Cabo Verde's effort this WC. 3
cgoodrich Posted July 10 Posted July 10 (edited) Both France and Spain have been in top form. Spain won a tough one against an excellent Belgium team…but does Spain have enough for France? Possibly. Spain has an outstanding and deep bench to draw from. Not sure any of the remaining teams can beat either Spain or France. That includes Argentina (I’m pulling for a back-to-back repeat, but not sure they have it in them). I give the edge to Norway over England, but only by the width of a whisker. Edit: I love the fact that all the top scorers are converging on the title game! Edited July 10 by cgoodrich 2
Ken Gargett Posted July 10 Posted July 10 16 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said: He choked in the match. He can't be mentioned in the same sentence as Messi or Mbappe. That's all. And that call to FIFA didn't help his case either. i did not watch the game but in fairness to Balogun, you are saying that he is not as good as one bloke who is surely one of the greatest three or four players ever to play the game and another bloke who is possibly the best player in the world at the moment? neither is anyone else on the planet. he is clearly a very good player but no one is comparing him to all time greats. i'd also suggest, as you acknowledge, that all this c**p was certainly something he did not ask for. the actions of FIFA and friend basically put a spotlight on him and had the whole world watching him. how do you reckon most of us would have gone under that sort of pressure? 3
ha_banos Posted July 12 Author Posted July 12 The manager [head coach...] was unhappy with that performance. Bellingham said of that whatever...That lack of energy and dying in heat might not cut it next game. We did well to shut out Haarland. Almost not a peep from him. There was no feeding him. And he was never alone. Just enough. Not enough. Next game will be painful! Quite a clean game though. 3
Chibearsv Posted July 12 Posted July 12 England played like they were trying to bore Norway into submission and then attack or take advantage. Seemed to work out ok for them. 😁 1
VeguerosMAN Posted Sunday at 07:48 PM Posted Sunday at 07:48 PM After Switzerland scored I told myself, " let's see how long it takes the refs to do something to help Argentina." Well that didn't take long. 😆 2
ha_banos Posted Sunday at 10:56 PM Author Posted Sunday at 10:56 PM 12 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said: After Switzerland scored I told myself, " let's see how long it takes the refs to do something to help Argentina." Well that didn't take long. 😆 Players should be banned for life. 3
VeguerosMAN Posted Sunday at 11:40 PM Posted Sunday at 11:40 PM 9 hours ago, ha_banos said: Players should be banned for life. 99% of the time that would be play on just like all those divers in the box trying to get a penalty. Let's dive into what happened since we will likely never see this scenario with FIFA after this World Cup. So VAR steps in to give Embolo a second yellow card because the referee made the wrong decision in the first place to book Parades. If it was just a foul, not a yellow, it's not reviewable. Pure insanity.
ha_banos Posted Monday at 12:02 AM Author Posted Monday at 12:02 AM This is one of the areas of football that turned me off it decades ago. I don't follow anything other than the World Cup. For me VAR is needed. And 'simulation' should be severely punished. Referees make poor decisions all the time. Long line V-AI-R! 3
dan05 Posted Tuesday at 01:13 PM Posted Tuesday at 01:13 PM 7 hours ago, El Presidente said: What a cracking set of games! What’s your prediction Rob?
Li Bai Posted Tuesday at 01:16 PM Posted Tuesday at 01:16 PM I think France has the best team but anything can happen in the World Cup. 🤔
Chibearsv Posted Tuesday at 02:44 PM Posted Tuesday at 02:44 PM I read that these were the 4 top ranked teams with 5 of the leading scorers in the world prior to the WC. That’s a great way to finish a tournament! I’ve really enjoyed watching and I’m all in to the finish.
ha_banos Posted Tuesday at 04:04 PM Author Posted Tuesday at 04:04 PM 5 hours ago, Chibearsv said: I read that these were the 4 top ranked teams with 5 of the leading scorers in the world prior to the WC. That’s a great way to finish a tournament! I’ve really enjoyed watching and I’m all in to the finish. From this season, not just World Cup games: 1. Harry Kane – 40 goals 2. Kylian Mbappe – 22 goals 9. Lamine Yamal – 16 goals World cup Player Goals Games Goal Average National Team 1. Kylian Mbappé 8 6 1.33 France Lionel Messi 8 6 1.33 Argentina 3. Erling Haaland 7 5 1.40 Norway 4. Jude Bellingham 6 6 1.00 England Harry Kane 6 6 1.00 England 6. Ousmane Dembélé 5 6 0.83 France 7. Mikel Oyarzabal 4 6 0.67 Spain That bloody viking getting in the way again... 1
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