Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

I was promised a recession.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

People are complicated. Love is not.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

A dilettante blog from the great progressive state of West Virginia.

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

“But what about the lurkers?”

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

We still have time to mess this up!

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

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

You are here: Home / Sports / Thursday Morning World Cup Open Thread: Croatia vs Belgium / Canada vs Morocco

Thursday Morning World Cup Open Thread: Croatia vs Belgium / Canada vs Morocco

by | 14 Comments

This post is in: ,


========

Croatia vs Belgium

SportsMole:

Group F favourites Belgium face the prospect of elimination at the first hurdle of the 2022 World Cup when they take on Croatia at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Thursday.

The Red Devils currently sit in third place, one point behind the Checkered Ones and Morocco in the top two heading into their final group fixture.

After playing out a goalless draw with Morocco in their opening Group F fixture, Croatia responded with an impressive 4-1 victory over Canada on Sunday, boosting their last-16 hopes while eliminating the Maple Leafs in the process…

Roberto Martinez is under pressure to steer his side out of the group, and the Red Devils require a victory against Croatia to guarantee their place in the last 16. A draw, meanwhile, will only be enough to claim a top-two spot if Morocco lose by three or more goals against Canada.

Belgium, ranked second in the world by FIFA, have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, but they are unbeaten in their last three meetings with Croatia, including a narrow 1-0 friendly win in June last year, which provides a glimmer of optimism for the Red Devils heading into Thursday’s crucial clash.

========

Canada vs Morocco

SportsMole:

Morocco have the chance to extend their stay in Qatar beyond the group stages when they face Canada at the Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday in a World Cup Group F tie.

Canada are already eliminated, but there are potentially huge implications on this fixture for the North African side.

There are many permutations surrounding the final matchday in Group F, which remains incredibly tight and tough to call.

However, things can be relatively simple for Morocco – win or draw and they progress regardless of what happens in the other match in the group.

If they lose though, then things do become very complicated, as they would then need either Croatia to lose by at least two goals more than they do, or for Belgium to lose in order to progress…

Reader Interactions

14Comments

  1. 1.

    cmorenc

    I am so glad that in 1994 when the US hosted the World Cup and the ABC network, which had television broadcast rights to WC that year, ABC tried to pressure FIFA into playing matches in quarters rather than halves so ABC could show more commercials – FIFA basically told them to piss off (but in more polite language).  Had FIFA given into ABC’s demands, that could have opened the path to lots of further game-interrupting rules modifications to facilitate tv commercials (e.g. each team could have 3 time-outs per half, etc).  It would not be the same attractive game now had FIFA not held firm in 1994.

    FIFA is thoroughly, reprehensibly corrupt, but they did come through standing up for the integrity of the game in that crucial respect.

  3. 3.

    Alison Rose

    @cmorenc: Some years back, when Beckham was playing for the LA Galaxy, during the Western Conference final (I think with Houston), the power went out twice in the stadium and the game had to stop for a few minutes each time till it came back on. I think it was one time in each half. Afterward, Beckham was talking to the media and they asked about how it affected the game (LA won). He smiled and said, “Well, you Americans have been dying to get to four quarters, so…” It made me LOL.

  9. 9.

    Burnspbesq

    Lukaku should have had a hat trick. That was some (as the Brits say) exceedingly profligate finishing, plus one tackle by Gvardiol which increased his market value by at least EUR 10 million.

  10. 10.

    Kevin

    Can’t believe Belgium is out. KDB is my favorite player and I was hoping to see more. They should have scored though, so many good chances.

    Canada & USA should be a good rivalry for awhile. They played well, just not quite enough.

  11. 11.

    JML

    Belgium has looked slow the entire Cup. Congrats to Morocco!

    I thought Canada might be a tougher out, but this might their “just happy to be here” Cup and a warm-up for 2026. Can’t take them lightly any longer.

  12. 12.

    West of the Cascades

    Any way we can drop Mexico from the 2026 World Cup organizing? I love the country, but its soccer fans are repulsive (and under investigation for yet more homophobic chanting during this World Cup). I was not unhappy to see El Tri crash out yesterday. They’re the third-best team in CONCACAF these days anyway (although a few of their soccer stadiums – fans aside – are world class, particularly compared to what Canada can offer).

  13. 13.

    Kent

    @JML: What is the status of soccer and youth soccer in Canada?  Is it growing like in the US?  Have the massive waves of immigration to Canada turned it into a premier game?

    Canada has three MLS teams and their own premier league but I don’t know how good the competition is in the Canadian league.

    In any event, Canada is a wealthy growing country of 38 million which would put it between Spain and Poland in terms of size, and larger than the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark combined.

    There is no reason why Canada can’t become a leading soccer nation.

  14. 14.

    Kent

    @West of the Cascades: Yeah no.  Not going to happen.  And the US bid might not have even succeeded in the first place without Mexico and the presumed support of other Latin American countries.

    And Mexico does have some premier stadiums beyond just the famous Azteca in Mexico City.  For example:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_BBVA

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Ol%C3%ADmpico_Universitario

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Jalisco

    And they will no doubt drop a ton of money bringing these up to world class standards for the World Cup.

Comments are closed.