Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You cannot shame the shameless.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Nothing worth doing is easy.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

You are here: Home / Sports / Euro 2020 Football (Soccer) / Euro 2020 Round of 16 Open Thread: France v Switzerland

Euro 2020 Round of 16 Open Thread: France v Switzerland

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  3. 3.

    Tony Jay

    Swiss Roll the French!

    Will that be called a foul? It shouldn’t.

    Switzerland 1-0 France

  6. 6.

    Tony Jay

    I’ll be honest, I mostly want France to take a beating here so I can start quoting “Doing the French Mistake”

    Yes, I did catch the end of Blazing Saddles a couple of nights ago, why do you ask?

  7. 7.

    Another Scott

    I hope the sportsball is good.

    ObOpenThread: Wonkette:

    Zooks!

    […]

    Toward that end, Maier and LaRocca dropped about $30,000 to buy their way into progressive circles, including donations of $10,000 from each of them to the Democratic National Committee, which got them invites to the Las Vegas Democratic primary debate in February. Whether this money came out of their own pockets is not clear — although it would be really bloody stupid for them to violate campaign finance law by using someone else’s cash for a political donation. Just ask Lev Parnas.

    But the Times reports that Gore-Tex heiress Susan Gore, a staunch Libertarian who famously tried to adopt her ex-husband to increase her children’s inheritance, bankrolled the operation in some fashion, possibly motivated by her vehement opposition to marijuana legalization. And before you go pointing out that deregulating cannabis is kind of the ur Libertarian position, may I remind you this woman is very rich and is thus not bound by your bourgeois demands for ideological consistency.

    […]

    There’s even more.

    Someone should spread a rumor for these brainiacs that the US Dollar is a deep state conspiracy and the only way to break free of it is to give it back to the US Treasury.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  8. 8.

    Montanareddog

    @Tony Jay: Despite my natural instincts, I mostly like this French team and N’Golo is a treasure. But I can’t stand that poseur Griezeman. On top of a standard nclination to the underdogs, go Swiss

  9. 9.

    Haydnseek

    @Tony Jay:   Mr. Jay, maybe you can help me out here.  I didn’t grow up with the game, but I’ve grown to love it.  Nevertheless, I find some things perplexing, especially since I come from a tough playground brand of basketball.  In my world, if you”re guarding someone and they go up for a shot you go up with them to challenge the shot while trying not to make contact with the shooter.

    This was a very nice header to be sure, but it was made easier by the defender taking a knee in front of the offensive player while he was at the peak of his jump.  What gives?  Needless to say, I may be missing something.  If so, I would like to know what.  Thanks!

  10. 10.

    HumboldtBlue

    I don’t think I have seen France play so poorly, so uninspired. Three at the back is not the answer, Didier.

  11. 11.

    Steeplejack

    @Haydnseek:

    Assuming you’re not trolling . . . I believe the defender slipped. Probably will see it again now that it’s halftime.

  13. 13.

    Tony Jay

    @Haydnseek:

    The attacker gave the defender a little nudge just as the ball came in. Technically not a foul, though I have seen them given if the referee is so inclined. The thing in football is that it’s not supposed to be a non-contact sport. Players aren’t obliged to get out of an opponents way or vacate space for them, though of course deliberate obstruction (blocking with no intention of going for the ball) is a foul, which means that there will be bumping and nudging and general combative frottage all over the pitch as players try to inhabit the same strip of space where the ball is about to arrive. Basically it’s down to the referee to decide whether the players are doing so within the rules or are taking the piss.

    Case in point, that incident then when the French player wiped out the Swiss player as they went to head the same ball. He stopped play because the Swiss might have been knocked out, but it wasn’t a foul, they were just going for the same ball and the Swiss didn’t see the French guy coming. OTOH a prima-donna of a referee could have claimed the impact was so concussive that it constituted dangerous play. He’d be wrong to do so, but I’ve seen it happen.

    tl:dr – it depends on what the referee thinks.

  15. 15.

    Leto

    @Haydnseek: so I rewound it to the goal just to see what you were talking about, and there were no knees involved. Both players adjusted for position but the Swiss miss player got the advantage with the positioning/jump, and made the header. This is similar to the “under the basket” play where players are jostling for position. The French defender needed to react sooner to the incoming header, which in this case is measured in a few milliseconds. The defender basically stopped, tried to bump the Swiss guy, thought the ball was going over, and was turned around when the Swiss guy jumped to make the header. Just poor defending.

  20. 20.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    The French haven’t really impressed me so far in this tournament. They’re capable of astonishing quality, but they’re not showing much of it. They look disinterested and flustered and out of sorts. The pundits in the studio are giving them brickbats for their awful performance. Patrick Viera is looking very concerned.

  21. 21.

    Leto

    @Tony Jay:

    He’d be wrong to do so, but I’ve seen it happen.

    This tournament, so far, the ref’ing has been pretty good. They’ve allowed them to play, they’ve called a few dives, they’ve told players to gtfup, and overall it’s been really nice. There’s still ticky-tacky shit going on, but on par it’s been pretty good.

  23. 23.

    Tony Jay

    @Leto:

    It has, yes. The (very) few dodgy decisions have really stood out because of the high quality of refereeing on the pitch and in the VAR bunker.

    Are you watching, Premier League? This. Is. How. It’s. Done.

  24. 24.

    Haydnseek

    @Tony

     

     

    @Tony Jay:Thanks you guys.  My first impression was wrong.  It looks like he took a forearm in the back and was off balance, so there really wasn’t much he could do.  I appreciate your informative responses.

     

    @Leto:

  25. 25.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    The great thing about this Tournament is that no one has been Absolutely Fabulous. Every team has issues, they’ve all got weaknesses, and it’s leading to some fabulous, unpredictable matches.

    England could win this! (Ed – he’s joking, it’s not that unpredictable)

  26. 26.

    Haydnseek

    @raven: especially when your calls are occasional at best.  You learn the ropes.  I miss those days.  I’m almost 70 years old.  An awful lot of those games were at Whittier High, and they were great.  These days back hurts just looking at a basketball

  28. 28.

    Leto

    @Tony Jay: I do try to catch the games as much as I can. Currently rooting for Chelsea because of Christian Pulsic. Little known fact: he played for my local team when we lived in the UK, Brackley Town Football Club in Northamptonshire. It was a few years before I arrived, but it’s a cool thing.

  29. 29.

    Tony Jay

    Sssshhhhhut that door! I thought that was going to be 2-0 for certain.

    Did the French defender get a touch? If so it was vital.

  31. 31.

    Tony Jay

    @Leto:

    Indeed. Your boys could well challenge for the title next season. They were great in the CL Final. Tuchel certainly has Pep’s number.

    Ooooh, Swiss penalty!

    Save! Yowser.

  32. 32.

    Leto

    @Haydnseek: @raven: I basically had to stop playing football (soccer) after one too many matches against my fellow Armed Forces members. The Army and Marines kept treating it like a rugby match. After having an Army guy take out my left ankle, which had me limping off the field, and the next day was the size of a grapefruit, I got into coaching more as well just regular running. Last time I played was in Italy during an international match. Had a lot of fun but I knew it was time.

  35. 35.

    Leto

    What a save! Oh man!

     

    @Tony Jay: yup, they’re looking really good. Damn MBappe, gotta finish those!

    Edit: and old man Benzema does it again; he’s looked really good this tournament.

  36. 36.

    Tony Jay

    1-1. Typical. I forgot Benzema was playing, but that’s why they pay them the big money.

  37. 37.

    HumboldtBlue

    Benzema! What a turnaround!

    2:19 between the big save and France goal.

    What the fuck was Shaq doing?

    Wow, what a turaround!

  39. 39.

    Steeplejack

    Damn, France equalizes. Missed PK looms even larger now.

    ETA: Double damn, France scores again!

  44. 44.

    Diceros bicornis

    Allez les bleus! Picked a good time to finally tune in! (Really quiet all around here when I was out for my evening walk. Everyone inside watching, not much cheering before now…)

  47. 47.

    Tony Jay

    This isn’t over yet, though. The Swiss are more than rugged enough to get back in this. They just have to re-frustrate the French until the cracks start to appear again. One Swiss goal and this is back on.

    Are you listening Shaq?

  49. 49.

    Leto

    @Tony Jay: he was listening, too bad his teammates couldn’t finish it.  Also doesn’t help when your teammate basically punches the dude in the face to break free.

  51. 51.

    Tony Jay

    @Leto:

    Everyone’s a critic. 8-)

    One thing this tournament has proven beyond all shadow of a doubt is that Manchester United paid £80+ million for an extremely lifelike (but not quite) Cybernetic Bodyform that can be worn by tiny wee jockeys. Unfortunately for United Ed Woodward has insisted on piloting the Pogba-droid for the last few seasons, with predictable results. When he’s picked for France a 13 year old FIFA addict takes the controls and we see how the machine can really perform.

    Will you look at that?

  55. 55.

    Diceros bicornis

    @Leto: oui, southeast (not far from Italy!)

    Not a ‘uge football fan but it’s definitely in the air. And these guys are almost as fun to watch as the US women :)

  56. 56.

    Leto

    @HumboldtBlue: I remember the first game of the tournament where there was a ball played back behind the defender, the defender probably had a few yards on MBappe, but good lord did he find a second, third, and fourth gear to blow past the defender. Defender had to foul him because no way in hell would he have caught up.

  57. 57.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Leto:

    He’s only 28, but man is he a different player for France than he is for Manchester United and I’m just fine with that. Fuck ManU

    I just wish Mbappe wasn’t in Ligue 1, he’s wasted in that farmer’s league.

  63. 63.

    Leto

    @Diceros bicornis: very nice! My family and I were stationed just outside of Milan (about an hour out) when the 2012 Euro was going on. I was able to watch matches at my local soccer club, as well as in my neighbors home. It was such an exciting time!

  66. 66.

    burnspbesq

    What position is Rabiot playing, false left back?

    I like his game. If Juve wants Moise Kean back, I would take Rabiot in a straight-up trade without a second’s hesitation.

  73. 73.

    HumboldtBlue

    Wow. Just wow. Aren’t sports fun?​ 
    There have been holes in the France back line all game and the Swiss just found another way through.

  75. 75.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Got ourselves a tie ballgame. The game today have been nuts, in a good way.

  77. 77.

    Tony Jay

    What do the French have in the locker? They had this won. They were already in the next round.

    We know what the Swiss are going to do.

  80. 80.

    HumboldtBlue

    Switzerland have played France seven times and this is the first time they have ever had a lead.

    Coman!

  81. 81.

    Leto

    And each side had one final chance to finish it, but each were just off the mark a bit. Damn, what a game.

  82. 82.

    Diceros bicornis

    @Tony Jay @Leto Grenoble, French Alps. I mostly follow the euro and World Cups. Women’s World Cup in France was awesome. They played one match in our home stadium…

    ouch another bounce off the poteau. Ouch ANOTHER. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the viewing room

  83. 83.

    JML

    This match has been a bloody delight. I wonder if France will come to regret subbing Greizmann off?

  84. 84.

    HumboldtBlue

    Just read this on Twitter and it’s spot on:

    this game went to a 10 am brunch with mimosas and then decided to turn it into an all dayer

  87. 87.

    Leto

    @Diceros bicornis: These two months have been great as it’s been the Euro’s, and now the Tour de France is starting up. Not sure if you follow that, but the last 10km of the today’s stage had some great drama.

  88. 88.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Leto: ​ 
    There was a minor controversy between Mbappe and Giroud following the blowout win in the group stage when Giroud said Mbappe refused to pass him the ball. Mbappe was not Mhappy.

  89. 89.

    JML

    @Leto: awfully nice to have a guy like Giroud to bring on late in a game like this.

    Both teams are playing lovely, interesting, exciting football. Love how both teams keep thinking forward.

  90. 90.

    Tony Jay

    @Diceros bicornis:

    If I ever do get to return to that part of France I’m definitely going to spend some time in the French Alps. Last time we were were very Rhone and coast based.

    Though, being British, I’m aware that we’re about as welcome on the continent as Attila’s Huns or the music of, well, any British Eurovision entrant.

    Quite right too. 8-)

  93. 93.

    Tony Jay

    After the earlier game went through much the same gobsmacking fightback to extra-time route as this one, I best the French are hoping they can mimic Spain and shotgun a commanding lead that the Swiss just can’t overcome.

    The Swiss will be determined not to mimic Croatia and will keep their defensive concentration.

    This could get tighter than a (insert graphic sheep/Welshman joke here) since neither team will want to give away a stupid goal.

    Penalties? Incroyable.

  95. 95.

    Tony Jay

    Mmmm’Bop injured? That’s at least £50 million off his transfer fee. Buy him FSG, you owe the fans this

    ETA – No, he’s fine. Drat.

  97. 97.

    Amir Khalid

    Whenever the ball hits the posts or the crossbar instead of going in, the commentators always, always say it’s “hit the woodwork”. At this level of football venue, and indeed pretty much at all levels, it’s been many decades since they switched to all-metal goal frames. Yet commentators keep going on about the bloody “woodwork”.

  101. 101.

    Diceros bicornis

    Sudden death? I came from hockey country and now most of the football terms I know are French. “Tire au bout” I guess it’s the opposite, first to miss loses?

    The French coverage of the Tour de France is gorgeous. Lots of aerial shots of lovely countryside and the color commentary is informative and banal at the same time. They’ll be coming through my village this year…maybe I’ll see aerial coverage of my house

  103. 103.

    Steeplejack

    @Diceros bicornis:

    I love the Tour de France. Great video wallpaper for three weeks—beautiful scenery, good commentary and just the right amount of “action.”

  104. 104.

    LeftCoastYankee

    @Amir Khalid: ​
     

    My woodwork nit is even pickier. I do not understand how a shot which hits the goal (in play) is not counted as “on goal”.

  112. 112.

    JML

    what a match. what a finish.

    Congrats to the Swiss, they played brilliantly and deserve the win.

  119. 119.

    LeftCoastYankee

    Wow, that was dramatic. Good job Swiss!

    Jeez, every day it’s getting crazier. Can’t wait for England/Germany and the Battle of the Blondes tomorrow.

  121. 121.

    Tony Jay

    @Leto:

    We’ll offer PSG £10 million and Origi. Come to Liverpool, MmmmBop, we’ll make you feel better with a Premier League and Champions League double.

  124. 124.

    Tony Jay

    Hopefully tomorrow’s England v Germany match is a boring 1-0 with a scrambled header from a free kick and plenty of misplaced passes from both teams preventing any periods of intense pressure.

    I can’t go through this again.

  125. 125.

    Morzer

    Well, to quote Blackadder’s father in the original series:

    “The Swiss are always cowards!”

    What an amazing day of goals and wonderful madness. I suppose we are now due for the grimmest of battles of attrition between England and Germany tomorrow.

  126. 126.

    HumboldtBlue

    And that wasn’t a fluke win by the Swiss. They earned all of that victory.

  127. 127.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    That’s because I spent most of the day after the 2019 CL Final on here drunkenly typing “Spursy Spursy Spursy Spurs” over and over again.

    I’m a better person now.

  129. 129.

    Diceros bicornis

    @Leto: “Crazy American with oversized sign too close to race on narrow mountain road takes down entire peloton. Message on sign very odd, something about juicy balloons?”

  137. 137.

    billcinsd

    @burnspbesq: I guess it depends on where Rabiot is ending up. If it is more often central, probably an inverted wingback in which the back often moves centrally to provide shielding to the center backs

  138. 138.

    Tony Jay

    @piratedan:

    Ouch! The kid only had a penalty saved, he didn’t do the sticky-salty with anyone’s Granny!

    Let’s compromise. He can go to Roma on loan. Jose will have him concentrating on shutting down the opposition on the left flank and only passing sideways and backwards. A few months of that and he’ll need Jurgen’s toothy bonhomie to regain his sanity.

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