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… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

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You are here: Home / Sports / World Cup / World Cup: The First Semifinal Match!

World Cup: The First Semifinal Match!

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Well folks, those were some games on Saturday; I’m so pleased that Croatia went on, leaving Russia in the rearview mirror.

Today at 2 Eastern, it’s France v Belgium.  It should be a great match, one where I’m rooting for both teams!  I think Belgium has what it takes to win the Cup, but first, they need to overwhelm the young French team.  Exciting!

 

Enjoy today’s match, see you tomorrow for the final semifinal.

 

Reader Interactions

111Comments

  4. 4.

    The Dangerman

    Belgium are the Red Devils, right? A win for them might hack off the Orange Devil (isn’t he and Macron best buds) so, rooting for Belgium it is.

  5. 5.

    Chris

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    I wanted them gone too. And yes, it is still about soccer! The Russians have made much of the fact that their team was made up of white, “real” Russians, in contrast to the mongrel teams of countries like France. So yeah, I very much wanted them crushed.

  6. 6.

    Chris

    @The Dangerman:

    They’re not best buds. Macron was just enough of an egotist to think he could straighten out Trump in a couple of meetings. That… didn’t quite pan out.

  7. 7.

    HumboldtBlue

    If nothing else we should see some of the finest attacking players in Europe battling it out today. Loaded rosters.

  8. 8.

    Steeplejack

    I have been waiting for this thread!

    I can’t believe it, but my Cox Cable channel guide is showing that the England-Croatia match tomorrow will not be shown live (2:00 p.m. EDT) but will be delayed until 8:00 p.m. WTeverlovin’F.

    Anybody else seeing this? If Fox really does this, it will be a colossal fiasco. The chances of someone being able to not learn the result ahead of the broadcast are miniscule.

  11. 11.

    Barbara

    @Chris: I think Macron was trying the soft sell approach under the theory that Trump won’t respond well to anyone who tries to force him to do things he doesn’t want to. The lurking variable, of course, is that Trump is so beholden to Putin that nothing will cause him to view European allies as allies. So I don’t blame Macron for trying.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    @The Dangerman:

    I’m hoping it’s an error in the schedule, but I’m nervous. Plus the schedule has the match on Fox Sports, not “regular” Fox. That is inconsistent with previous matches.

  14. 14.

    Steve in the ATL

    @ruemara: Wasn’t Belgium the worst colonizer? Those atrocities you hear about African warlords committing were first used by King Leopold.

  16. 16.

    Yutsano

    @ruemara:@Steve in the ATL: I’d like to say Belgium was more of a bastard in Africa than France was but as France is STILL mucking about with their former colonies…allez les Belgiques!

    EDIT: You’re not wrong about how terrible Belgium treated the populace of Congo, but at least when they got out they stayed out. France still has an outsized military presence in most of its former African colonies.

  17. 17.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Chris:
    I admit I’m not a fan of soccer but that was great. I wonder how Russians rationalize that away? Must have been doping, those mongrel French!

  21. 21.

    JPL

    @Steeplejack: Call your local cox provider. Do you mind telling me where you live, and I’ll pass on the info. I happen to know someone at corp. their main office in Atlanta.

  22. 22.

    Paul W.

    I’m excited! The French team has been a lot of fun to watch, as has Belgium but I’m gonna have to say viva la France for now!

  23. 23.

    HumboldtBlue

    France’s speed against the the likes of Fellaini and Verthongen is going to be key. Greizmann and Mbappe can cause an awful lot of problems for a slow-footed defense.

    The Belgians, however, counter with the excellent attacking trident of De Bruyne–Lukaku–Hazard. Should be a hell of a match.

  25. 25.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    I live in NoVa, just outside D.C.

    I got on the Cox website and tried to do a live “chat,” but I gave up trying to penetrate the automated-response levels before I could get to a “Yes, I really want to talk to a live person” button. Didn’t feel like calling, because the wait time is usually interminable and the chance of getting someone who could answer any questions seemed remote.

    I’m probably sounding a little hysterical, but this is just so weird. Fox is about to show France-Belgium live today, so what’s the problem tomorrow?

    And, yes, the schedule has Telemundo showing the match live (thanks for the reminder, Barbara), so that means I don’t have to prep the isolation tank.

  27. 27.

    mali muso

    Allez les Bleus! Their roster is very diverse and has a lot of players with West African origin, so in lieu of an African team…they get my vote.

  28. 28.

    eric

    @Yutsano: The English are in the other semi final…..message: colonialize the world and you will have a better futbol team in 10 years.

  29. 29.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, 61° and 77% humidity at start time in St. Petersburg (9:00 p.m. local time).

  30. 30.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    Yeah, it is good. I have used it in the past. But it looks like Telemundo will be my go-to tomorrow if this Fox bullshit stands.

  32. 32.

    Mary G

    @Steeplejack: I’ve never used it for programming, but have found the online chat with a rep invaluable in dealing with Fox incompetence and malice over billing screw-ups.

  35. 35.

    Mary G

    @Steeplejack: Reading comprehension fail on my part, sorry. Read your post, or so I thought, to say you tried calling and not chatting when in fact it was the other way around. They are probably inundated with other furious fans.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    @Steeplejack: Sent a text. The person I know reviews complaints every morning when he first rises in the morning. So might as well let him know now. I’ll call later and see what he knows. They are really working to improve customer service and I’ll tell him about the chat problem also

  42. 42.

    Mike J

    @Steeplejack:

    I can’t believe it, but my Cox Cable channel guide is showing that the England-Croatia match tomorrow will not be shown live (2:00 p.m. EDT) but will be delayed until 8:00 p.m

    WTTG, channel 5 is the Fox affiliate. Their web site shows it being aired live tomorrow.

    No idea why a cable company would change a broadcast time, or that they’re even allowed to.

    Worst case, hook up a cheap antenna. You can get one for $10 get all the local channels OTA.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    Thanks. My mania has subsided. I was going to set an on-screen reminder about the match and was just so surprised to find that (apparently) Fox—or the affiliate here—is not showing it live. If it’s true, it seems like a colossal gaffe right up there with the legendary “Let’s cut away from the last minutes of this tight Jets game so we can start Heidi on time.”

  48. 48.

    Tony Jay

    Very even game, so far. Both sides playing some nice stuff in attack, coming up against well-drilled defences in depth. They’re trading periods of domination, but it looks to me like the first team to up the tempo and break at pace will have a great chance of opening the scoring.

    Where did that first 45 go?

  51. 51.

    Bostonian

    I thought Lukaku looked pretty slow in the first half. Just sort of jogging around, sometimes putting his hand up. The only time he was actually in a good position the ball just bounced off him.

  52. 52.

    Tony Jay

    @mali muso:

    They’ve both got real attacking threat, though the French coach is a lot more devoted to the principle of defence springing into attack than Roberto “Defence? Explain this concept, please” Martinez. It’s really hard to call, except to say that I can’t see this staying 0-0, and I don’t think 1-0 is going to do it for either team.

  54. 54.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Yeah. The teams are making it easy for him though. No diving, no stamping, no histrionics. Just two quality sides bringing it with confidence and skill.

    If England do go through against Croatia tomorrow the Final is going to be one hell of a challenge.

  58. 58.

    mali muso

    Woot! I knew there would be a score as soon as I took a moment to walk away. lol. The ball went in the net just as I came back in the room. On y va!

  61. 61.

    Onkel Fritze

    Very high quality game so far. With Belgium a goal down, it’ll only get better.

  63. 63.

    Amir Khalid

    A camera spots Sir Mick Jagger in the crowd. Are The Rolling Stones touring Russia?

  65. 65.

    Tony Jay

    France are turning it on now, but Belgium won’t panic. Plenty of time for them to hit back.

  67. 67.

    Tony Jay

    @raven:

    It’s good. The best referees are the ones who don’t have to do very much and let the game flow. It’s probably due to the implications of VAR really sinking in. Why bother diving when you won’t get the decision and risk a booking?

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    Yeah, the on-screen schedule’s probably wrong. As a career programmer/​debugger I was struck by the fact that it seemed like an improbably complicated mistake to be just a simple omission. But, hey, they do happen.

  70. 70.

    JPL

    @JPL: Steeplejack, They don’t change the programming, so he is going to have someone look into why the guide says that. You can relax because he is assured that it is gonna be live.

  71. 71.

    Tony Jay

    @raven:

    Oh, sorry, I misunderstood what you meant. No, not the officiating. I meant that both France and Belgium are looking so dangerous and capable that England will face a real challenge if we do get to the final.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    In related news, I splurged and ordered a pizza to get me through today’s match. My usual delivery guy, a Moroccan who knows his soccer, thinks Croatia is going to win it all. Ugh.

  77. 77.

    Tony Jay

    Belgium should start upping the tempo in their attacks. France can deal with balls into the box pretty well, so if they’re to be unlocked Belgium need to shift that ball quicker and open gaps for the front three to exploit.

    France are defending very well, though.

  79. 79.

    Tony Jay

    Hazard’s got such lovely feet, vision, skill, passes like a dream. You can see why Real Madrid are probably going to make him Ronaldo’s replacement.

    De Bruyne’s gone off the boil, though. Not often he puts as many balls into Row Z as he has tonight.

  81. 81.

    Tony Jay

    How is that not a free kick? Giroud just dumped Hazard on the edge of the box. I take back everything nice I said about the ref, he’s a prick.

  85. 85.

    Tony Jay

    This should be a very tasty last 10 to 15 mins. Belgium need a goal and you can’t help but think there’s at least one more goal in this game.

  94. 94.

    Tony Jay

    6 minutes to go. What can the Belgians do? Carve open one chance? The French will be only too happy to take advantage of any gaps they leave.

  96. 96.

    Tony Jay

    Naughty Mmm-Bop. Nice foot control though.

    Shit, Griezemann should have finished it then.

  103. 103.

    Onkel Fritze

    Dammit. Seems like every time I pick a team, it’s the kiss of death for them.

  105. 105.

    Tony Jay

    Got a bit shirty by the end, but that was a good game. 20 solid minutes of defensive grit by France to keep Belgium from equalising.

    On to tomorrrow. Whoever goes through knows that beating France will take a hell of a performance.

  106. 106.

    HumboldtBlue

    Nothing like a staff meeting that last just fucking long enough for me to miss the entire second half.

  107. 107.

    Onkel Fritze

    Very mature performance by France, not only today. That’s the way to win titles.

  108. 108.

    Steeplejack

    Well, c’est la vie, as some would say.

    Looks like a little executive time for me is in order.

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    France v England, France v England…so little history there it’s hard to imagine how they’re going to size each other up.

  110. 110.

    donatellonerd

    and people won’t stop honking their effing horns. but my daughter’s very happy.

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