The Gang of Five

Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => Hobbies and Recreation => Sports => Topic started by: The Chronicler on November 19, 2022, 09:00:15 PM

Title: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 19, 2022, 09:00:15 PM
The first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be tomorrow, so I decided to get this topic started.

I'm sure many of us are already well aware of the numerous controversies around the host nation for this tournament being the tiny Arabic nation of Qatar, so I won't bother getting into any of that political mess, as I would prefer to spend my limited time here sharing the results of each match.

To start off, I won't be watching all of the group stage matches (I got too many other things going on to dedicate that much time), but I will watch the ones played by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Believe it or not, this is only the second time ever that Canada had qualified for the World Cup (previously doing so back in 1986), and the first time doing so along with the US, so that's what's really got me excited for this year's World Cup (even though I doubt Canada will advance beyond the group stage).

Previous times, I would put in an effort to look up summaries of each match and then share the scores and some notable moments. This time, however, I'm hoping to try something a little different, but we'll have to wait until after the first few matches to see how it'll work out.

Anyway, for those of you who are interested in watching, which teams do you think are mostly likely to win?
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) on November 20, 2022, 08:12:34 AM
I’m boycotting the World Cup just like I did the Summer & Winter Olympics. Irresponsible to be having one in the middle of a pandemic, and a massive human right’s violation by the hosting country to boot.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Sneak on November 20, 2022, 01:45:12 PM
I always watch only late play-off stage, not counting matches with my team and couple chosen matches. But I always follow results of each match.

Will see who wins this year. ;)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 20, 2022, 04:03:31 PM
Ecaudor beats Qatar 2-0.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 20, 2022, 07:55:26 PM
To save myself from making several posts in a row, I'll be updating this post every day until after the first eight matches have been completed, then make a new post and repeat the process until the end of the group stage. Also, since the source I used to use in previous World Cups is apparently not active this time around, looks like I'll be going for my new plan anyway, and fortunately, I think I've found the perfect new source: highlight videos on YouTube, provided by the (American) network that's broadcasting the full matches. I won't bother wasting my time trying to summarize events and will instead let the videos do that for me.

Edit: Looks like my former source is still active after all. I guess they were just a little slow with getting started yesterday. Anyway, I'll link to those pages, but I still won't bother with trying to explain things and let the sources speak for themselves.

Qatar vs Ecuador (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/qatar-ecuador-11326120/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KokKw1esPL8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KokKw1esPL8)

Senegal vs Netherlands (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/senegal-netherlands-11326121/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S79XCmeTUPM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S79XCmeTUPM)

England vs Iran (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/england-iran-11326122/) 6 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpFEwMVKdsU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpFEwMVKdsU)

USA vs Wales (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/usa-wales-11326123/) 1 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VH-rrPw6BY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VH-rrPw6BY)

Argentina vs Saudi Arabia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/argentina-saudi-arabia-11326124/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zHbVQjeaw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zHbVQjeaw)

Mexico vs Poland (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/mexico-poland-11326125/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO2iHpGuPbg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO2iHpGuPbg)

Denmark vs Tunisia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/denmark-tunisia-11326127/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppaZH3uURqk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppaZH3uURqk)

France vs Australia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/france-australia-11326126/) 4 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0kVR0s7p7g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0kVR0s7p7g)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Mumbling on November 21, 2022, 05:55:50 AM
Quote from: aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) on November 20, 2022, 08:12:34 AM
Quote from: aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) on November 20, 2022, 08:12:34 AM
I’m boycotting the World Cup just like I did the Summer & Winter Olympics. Irresponsible to be having one in the middle of a pandemic, and a massive human right’s violation by the hosting country to boot.
This ^^^

Not that I would normally care, but this one doesn't sit right with me. Actively boycotting any service that's sponsoring it as well.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 21, 2022, 04:18:02 PM
Us and Wales tie 1-1. US scored first, but Wales tied it late.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 22, 2022, 07:16:43 PM
So far, we've seen home team Qatar lose their first match (first time a host nation has ever lost their opening match in a World cup), England crushed Iran, USA did okay against Wales despite ending in a tie, France did excellent against Australia, and by far the biggest shocker thus far was Saudi Arabia winning against Argentina. And that's just the first matches for only half of the groups, so let's see what will happen in the opening matches of the other groups...

Germany vs Japan (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/germany-japan-11326129/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvZoSogBCzs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvZoSogBCzs)

Spain vs Costa Rica (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/spain-costa-rica-11326128/) 7 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hSVDLPWeKA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hSVDLPWeKA)

Morocco vs Croatia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/morocco-croatia-11326131/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQRRU79vEE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQRRU79vEE)

Belguim vs Canada (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/belgium-canada-11326130/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdlcBO6tTZM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdlcBO6tTZM)

Switzerland vs Cameroon (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/switzerland-cameroon-11326133/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32RyT05OpVE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32RyT05OpVE)

Brazil vs Serbia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/brazil-serbia-11326132/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0s8GFVTwGc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0s8GFVTwGc)

Uruguay vs South Korea (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/uruguay-south-korea-11326135/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z305OHe03k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z305OHe03k)

Portugal vs Ghana (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/portugal-ghana-11326134/) 3 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRH-4Sq4dOQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRH-4Sq4dOQ)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 23, 2022, 11:00:05 AM
Japan upsets Germany 2-1. not the biggest upset (Saudi Arabia over Argentina was bigger), but it removes any margin for error for Germany,  another loss would eliminate them.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 24, 2022, 08:30:10 PM
So, from these most recent matches, Japan gets an upset win over Germany, Spain absolutely crushes Costa Rica, Canada is still yet to score any goals in all of their World Cup appearances, Brazil gets a win over Serbia (though I've heard Brazil's best player Neymar my have an ankle injury after that game), and Portugal wins over Ghana (with Portugal's Ronaldo becoming the first player in the men's World Cup to score goals in five different World Cup tournaments). And now for the next few matches...

Qatar vs Senegal (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/qatar-senegal-11326136/) 1 - 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzd1uv1dVLQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzd1uv1dVLQ)

Netherlands vs Ecuador (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/netherlands-ecuador-11326137/) 1 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBE1mLjyJY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBE1mLjyJY)

Wales vs Iran (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/wales-iran-11326139/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wG42eh8bKc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wG42eh8bKc)

England vs USA (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/england-usa-11326138/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H99a2DYyRAo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H99a2DYyRAo)

Poland vs Saudi Arabia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/poland-saudi-arabia-11326141/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yagon1YbhN8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yagon1YbhN8)

Argentina vs Mexico (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/argentina-mexico-11326140/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyIbvPpyb4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyIbvPpyb4)

Tunisia vs Australia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/tunisia-australia-11326143/) 0 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aF_H0ERWpM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aF_H0ERWpM)

France vs Denmark (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/france-denmark-11326142/) 2 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fDLqJOpItI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fDLqJOpItI)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 25, 2022, 03:59:30 PM
qatar eliminated after ;losing 3-1. Us holds the UK to a scoreless tie, the first time in US WC history that they ended in a scoreless draw. with  Iran upsetting Wales 2-0, the US-Iran match is a 'winner is in' match.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 26, 2022, 08:10:20 PM
Halfway through the group stage matches, Qatar has been eliminated and France has advanced to the knockout stage. USA managed to hold off England to a scoreless tie, and Argentina overcame their recent loss by winning against Mexico. Up next in the group stage...

Japan vs Costa Rica (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/japan-costa-rica-11326145/) 0 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jglaIocBp5c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jglaIocBp5c)

Spain vs Germany (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/spain-germany-11326144/) 1 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaiWyMP4N24 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaiWyMP4N24)

Belgium vs Morocco (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/belgium-morocco-11326146/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m33Ua0s3_nE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m33Ua0s3_nE)

Croatia vs Canada (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/croatia-canada-11326147/) 4 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-YcKHLsuew (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-YcKHLsuew)

Cameroon vs Serbia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/cameroon-serbia-11326149/) 3 - 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMaR0dr3QqE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMaR0dr3QqE)

Brazil vs Switzerland (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/brazil-switzerland-11326148/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v29h93DcUH4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v29h93DcUH4)

South Korea vs Ghana (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/south-korea-ghana-11326151/) 2 - 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62-AGlwbRIE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62-AGlwbRIE)

Portugal vs Uruguay (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/portugal-uruguay-11326150/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV1OVKEMlTk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV1OVKEMlTk)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 28, 2022, 09:50:30 PM
Second round of group stage matches are over. In addition to France, Brazil and Portugal have also already advanced to the knockout stage, while Canada has been eliminated despite finally scoring their first ever goal in a World Cup match. In other news, I've heard there were riots in Belgium after their team's upset loss to Morocco, and the match between Portugal and Uruguay was interrupted by a protester running onto the field and waving a rainbow flag around (with how controversial the host nation of this particular World Cup has been, I figured it was really a matter of when it would happen rather than if).

Three teams have already advanced and two teams have already been eliminated, and now we move on to the final round of matches in the group stage...

Ecuador vs Senegal (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/ecuador-senegal-11326152/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCs5drZaO_g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCs5drZaO_g)

Netherlands vs Qatar (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/netherlands-qatar-11326153/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hykVIIB7fF8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hykVIIB7fF8)

Wales vs England (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/wales-england-11326155/) 0 - 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufIbJCJUoJU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufIbJCJUoJU)

Iran vs USA (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/iran-usa-11326154/) 0 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNl7ZcnDB0Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNl7ZcnDB0Q)

Poland vs Argentina (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/poland-argentina-11326157/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mCren8Dhjw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mCren8Dhjw)

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/saudi-arabia-mexico-11326156/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GKEHoKN7Yc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GKEHoKN7Yc)

Australia vs Denmark (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/australia-denmark-11326158/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFCoiOrLqs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFCoiOrLqs)

Tunisia vs France (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/tunisia-france-11326159/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UquOBrpCKhE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UquOBrpCKhE)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 29, 2022, 02:57:34 PM
US leads 1-0 at half. if that score holds, they will advance to the knockout stage. if wales beats England and the Us wins, the US will win the group 5 points to 4. England would be second on goal differential over Wales.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 29, 2022, 04:14:05 PM
US holds on 1-0 to advance. England wins the group after a 3-0 win over Wales. Iran and Wales are eliminated.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 29, 2022, 04:26:26 PM
Us will play the Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday. the US last got out of the Round of 16 in the WC in 2002 when they made it to the quarterfinals. the furthest the US has ever gotten? The Semifinals , in the first World Cup in 1930. the US ended up getting 3rd in that tournament, based on a  better goal differential than Yugoslavia. the 3rd place game was added in 1934.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on November 30, 2022, 04:08:16 PM
mexico gives up a stoppage time goal to saudi arabia that eliminates them fromthe World Cup. Mexico won 2-1, but only picked up 3 goals on Poland who lost 2-0 to Argentina.  Argentina wuins the group with 6 points, while Poland advanes in second. mexico and Saudi arabia are out.  Austraia, France Argentina and Poland advance out of their respective groups. 10 of the 16 playoff spots have been clinched. of the 4  teams from North America, the Us has clinched a playoff spot, Canada and Mexico are eliminated and Costa rica must either  beat Germany or tie and have Japan lose to advance.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on November 30, 2022, 08:16:16 PM
From Group A, Netherlands lead with Senegal runner up, so Ecuador has been eliminated with Qatar. From Group B, England lead with United States runner up, so Iran and Wales have been eliminated. From Group C, Argentina lead with Poland runner up, so Mexico and Saudi Arabia have been eliminated. From Group D, France lead and Australia runner up, so Tunisia and Denmark have been eliminated.

With these results, Senegal, Poland, and Australia make it to the knockout round for the first time in quite a while for each of them, while Mexico's running streak of reaching the knockout round comes to an end after seven World Cups. I'll wait until after the remaining group stage matches are complete before I start making my predictions for the knockout stage.

Japan vs Spain (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/japan-spain-11326161/) 2 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPWrVyyd3U4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPWrVyyd3U4)

Costa Rica vs Germany (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/costa-rica-germany-11326160/) 2 - 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtsKkNBz-R0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtsKkNBz-R0)

Croatia vs Belgium (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/croatia-belgium-11326163/) 0 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQg5KE8Ui0E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQg5KE8Ui0E)

Canada vs Morocco (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/canada-morocco-11326162/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO-_MsCBMcU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO-_MsCBMcU)

Serbia vs Switzerland (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/serbia-switzerland-11326164/) 2 - 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj62aNAcxck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj62aNAcxck)

Cameroon vs Brazil (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/cameroon-brazil-11326165/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcU7Jr-7oZM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcU7Jr-7oZM)

Ghana vs Uruguay (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/ghana-uruguay-11326166/) 0 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIusaKCuTn4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIusaKCuTn4)

South Korea vs Portugal (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/south-korea-portugal-11326167/) 2 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js-bcssOQyo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js-bcssOQyo)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on December 01, 2022, 07:25:43 PM
Japan upsets Spain 2-1, eliminating Germany who beat Costa Rica 4-2. Spain finished second in group thanks to an overwhelming goal differential of +6.  Morooco and Croatia advance out their group, Belgium and Canada are going home.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 02, 2022, 08:12:32 PM
Unlikely winners of these recent matches include Japan, Morocco, and South Korea, while unexpected teams being eliminated include Germany, Belgium, and Uruguay. And with that, the group stage matches are all complete. Now it's on to the knockout stage, with these matches for the Round of 16:

Netherlands vs United States


Argentina vs Australia


France vs Poland


England vs Senegal


Japan vs Croatia


Brazil vs South Korea


Morocco vs Spain


Portugal vs Switzerland


And now that the bracket is set up, here are my current predictions for the remainder of the tournament:
Spoiler: ShowHide
The winners of the Round of 16 matches would result in these Quarterfinal matches...
Netherlands vs Argentina
Croatia vs Brazil
England vs France
Spain vs Portugal

The winners of those matches would result in these Semifinal matches...
Argentina vs Brazil
France vs Portugal

The losers would result in a third place match of Brazil vs Portugal, with the winner being Brazil.
And the winners for the final match would be Argentina vs France, and I think France will ultimately win their third World Cup and second in back-to-back tournaments.


Anyone else interested in sharing their predictions?

EDIT (still prior to the first match): After thinking about how many supposedly good teams have already been eliminated and how many lesser teams got some upset wins, I'd like to make a second set of predictions for the knockout stage. Let's call the previous set my conservative predictions, while this second set are my slightly chaotic expectations:
Spoiler: ShowHide
Quarterfinal matches...
United States vs Australia
Japan vs Brazil
England vs France
Morocco vs Portugal

Semifinal matches...
United States vs Brazil
France vs Morocco

Third place match would be United States vs Morocco, with United States winning.
And the final match would be Brazil vs France, and just for the sake of having something different for this set of predictions, I'll give this one to Brazil.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 03, 2022, 08:00:05 PM
To avoid being suspected of changing my predictions after the matches had been completed by editing the previous post, I'll instead just make a new post for the summary links of the Round of 16 matches.

Netherlands vs USA (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/netherlands-usa-11326168/) 3 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kH-EQbMprI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kH-EQbMprI)

Argentina vs Australia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/argentina-australia-11326169/) 2 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDMHtI1G6_4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDMHtI1G6_4)

France vs Poland (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/france-poland-11326171/) 3 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcnEc61SJ64 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcnEc61SJ64)

England vs Senegal (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/england-senegal-11326170/) 3 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT_oOZh--ks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT_oOZh--ks)

Japan vs Croatia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/japan-croatia-11326172/) 1 - 1 (penalty kicks: 1 - 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYqhGEmMpo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYqhGEmMpo)

Brazil vs South Korea (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/brazil-south-korea-11326173/) 4 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL7hOU8cYkI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL7hOU8cYkI)

Morocco vs Spain (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/morocco-spain-11326174/) 0 - 0 (penalty kicks: 3 - 0)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vluo9tQcTDU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vluo9tQcTDU)

Portugal vs Switzerland (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/portugal-switzerland-11326175/) 6 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYROE3BcHVg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYROE3BcHVg)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 07, 2022, 07:30:10 PM
So it seems that of my conservative predictions for the Round of 16 matches, all but one of them were correct, with the only one I got wrong (though I was correct from my chaotic predictions) was Morocco winning over Spain, which was definitely interesting to see, since this means Morocco has now advanced further than they ever had before, while also now being the fourth African team to ever reach the quarterfinals and the first Arabic team to ever reach the quarterfinals. While I realistically doubt they'll advance any further, I would certainly be excited to see if they can pull off another upset win.

And with the Round of 16 complete, here are the Quarterfinal matches that'll be played on Friday and Saturday:

Croatia vs Brazil

Netherlands vs Argentina

Morocco vs Portugal

England vs France

And here are my new predictions for the remaining matches...
Spoiler: ShowHide
Playing in the Semifinal matches will be:
Argentina vs Brazil
France vs Portugal

Third place match will be Argentina vs Portugal, with the winner being Portugal.

And the Final match will be Brazil vs France, with the winner being France.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 09, 2022, 08:30:31 PM
The results of the Quarterfinals...

Croatia vs Brazil (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/round-of-sixteen-5-winner-round-of-sixteen-6-winner-11327238/) 1 - 1 (penalty kicks: 4 - 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5wEQK9IYL8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5wEQK9IYL8)

Netherlands vs Argentina (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/round-of-sixteen-1-winner-round-of-sixteen-2-winner-11327237/) 2 - 2 (penalty kicks: 3 - 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=449blfnmd2A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=449blfnmd2A)

Morocco vs Portugal (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/round-of-sixteen-7-winner-round-of-sixteen-8-winner-11327240/) 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op4mGRTAlEY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op4mGRTAlEY)

England vs France (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/round-of-sixteen-3-winner-round-of-sixteen-4-winner-11327239/) 1 - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcgZf2PfIgw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcgZf2PfIgw)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Sneak on December 10, 2022, 08:42:10 AM
Netherlands vs Argentina was one of my favorite matches I watched in this cup. :)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 11, 2022, 06:50:06 PM
Those quarterfinal matches sure were something alright. Croatia once again holds out to win on penalty kicks, this time taking out mighty Brazil. The one between Netherlands and Argentina got quite brutal at times, ultimately going to the final penalty kick for Argentina to win. England and France did well, but it was France that did just a little bit better. And the one that really excited me the most was Morocco winning over Portugal and thus becoming the first African (and Arab) nation to ever reach the semifinals of a World Cup. I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming semifinal matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Argentina vs Croatia

France vs Morocco

As for my undated predictions...
Spoiler: ShowHide
Here's my conservative predictions:
The third place match will be Croatia vs Morocco, and will be won by Croatia.
The final match will be Argentina vs France, and will be won by France.

As for my chaotic predictions, simply reverse the results of all four remaining matches, so the third place match between Argentina and France will be won by Argentina, while the final match between Croatia and Morocco will be won by Morocco.

We'll just have to wait and see which of my two sets of predictions will be more accurate.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 13, 2022, 06:55:05 PM
The results of the Semifinals...

Argentina vs Croatia (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/argentina-croatia-11327241/) 3 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2xz9J1OqN0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2xz9J1OqN0)

France vs Morocco (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/france-morocco-11327242/) 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ0wo2_1iVg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ0wo2_1iVg)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on December 14, 2022, 03:52:35 PM
France is going to advance to the final as they ae up 2-0 late. so it will be Croatia and Morocco playing for 3rd. while Mbappe and Co will try to repeat as World Cup champs, while lionel Messi tries to win a World Cup and ensure his place forever among  the greatest to ever play.
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 15, 2022, 07:20:11 PM
While my expectations for the semifinal matches came true, I will be cheering for the opposite teams of what my conservative predictions were for the last two matches, now that I have a better idea of the context of what these last four teams are about. For the third place match of Croatia vs Morocco, we already know Croatia is one of the best teams of this generation, so I would like to see Morocco at least get a bronze medal for their remarkable run in this tournament. And for the final match of Argentina vs France, while both teams had previously won the World Cup twice, France had gotten both of theirs in the years since Argentina got their most recent one, so I think I'd rather see the next one go to the team that had waited the longest, so I'll be hoping to see Argentina win this match.

(I'd also like to note that there are currently no teams that have won exactly three World Cups (Brazil has 5, Italy and Germany each have 4, France, Argentina, and Uruguay each have 2, and England and Spain each have 1), and since both finalists here each have two, that means regardless of who wins, we will see someone win their third World Cup.)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 17, 2022, 07:00:10 PM
The results of the third place match...

Croatia vs Morocco (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/croatia-morocco-11327243/) 2 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvyAbgsUymU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvyAbgsUymU)
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Nick22 on December 18, 2022, 02:08:15 PM
messi finally gets his Cup! it was a classic final, with Messi scoring twice. france coming off the deck by scoring twice in just 2 minutes to tie it. Messi scoring with 10 to go in extra time, and mbappe tying the game AGAIN with 2 to play. in penalties, the difference was the goaltender, Argentina's made a save, while france's didnt.  Argentina wins 4-2 in pks
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: Sneak on December 18, 2022, 05:05:32 PM
That was a fiery final! ^^ I liked it!
Title: Re: 2022 FIFA World Cup
Post by: The Chronicler on December 18, 2022, 10:30:21 PM
The results of the final match...

Argentina vs France (https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/argentina-france-11327244/) 3 - 3 (penalty kicks: 4 - 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxkg3qLIPC8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxkg3qLIPC8)

I unfortunately slept in a bit and missed the first 25 minutes of this match (along with all of the pre-game discussions), but thankfully nearly all of the very interesting moments happened later, so I was still able to enjoy watching this game.

And now to look forward to the Women's World Cup next summer, and since that tournament will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand, that time difference should be a little easier for me than this World Cup had been.