The official 2018 World Cup thread

[Mr Ehrmantraut]

England is a joke now in the football world


Shame...

Population of 400 million and couldn't qualify over a tribe called Panama.

[JJRod]

Population of 400 million and couldn't qualify over a tribe called Panama.

I know you English have been hearing this forever but honestly I believe in 20 years soccer will be the at the minimum the US 2nd most popular sport.

With all the head injuries and recent brain injury drama that has surrounded the NFL many parents are choosing to put their kids in other sports. It used to be that one would walk through middle and high schools (I work in education) and kids would be wearing NFL,NBA or MLB gear. Today it's NBA and Barcelona, Madrid and United gear. Kids are talking Messi and Ronaldo as much as LeBron.

If this keeps up we may finally be able to get our best athletes playing the game and the US can become a powerful soccer nation.

[ShoulderRoll]

I'm going to laugh so hard if the U.S. wins a first World Cup before England wins it's second.

I hope I live to see that day.

[Sparked_26]

Are the English players mediocre and middle of the pack in club football too?

That could be your role in the thread I guess.

Hammering English players

[Mr Ehrmantraut]

I know you English have been hearing this forever but honestly I believe in 20 years soccer will be the at the minimum the US 2nd most popular sport.

With all the head injuries and recent brain injury drama that has surrounded the NFL many parents are choosing to put their kids in other sports. It used to be that one would walk through middle and high schools (I work in education) and kids would be wearing NFL,NBA or MLB gear. Today it's NBA and Barcelona, Madrid and United gear. Kids are talking Messi and Ronaldo as much as LeBron.

If this keeps up we may finally be able to get our best athletes playing the game and the US can become a powergil soccer nation.

I know what you are saying, but that 20 year timetable can be at least doubled.

And Americans still need to learn that the best athletes are not necessarily the best footballers. Skill is still more important than athleticism in football.

But still I get your point athletes being turned towards football more and more. But the US is still a sporting nation insanely obsessed with stats and that doesn't translate to a more skilled game like football.

The US will improve no doubt, but I doubt in my lifetime we will ever see them as serious contenders in football until that stat obsessed culture changes.

[Beercules]

That mother****er Mbbpe is great.

[Phenom]

That could be your role in the thread I guess.

Hammering English players

adidas Golden Glove Award:

🥇Thibaut COURTOIS (#BEL) #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/S5xB7RBBdP

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018

[Sparked_26]

I'm going to laugh so hard if the U.S. wins a first World Cup before England wins it's second.

I hope I live to see that day.

Honestly, the way the world likes to beat the English is amplified by ten fold when it comes to the US. International footy is a proxy war.

England were hated even more when we lost to a bunch of American toothpaste salesmen in 1950. That is STILL our biggest humiliation despite all the competition and we’ve lost to a country with the population of one of your Walmart’s.

That’s why you fail to qualify for a World Cup after being knocked out by a team of fishermen that England made look farcical and basically disgraced the tournament.

US will never beat anyone good. Honestly.

Your zenith maybe will be beating an England/Switzerland/Sweden sort of team in a 2nd round. At some point in the next 60 years.

Mexico are a country with proper football culture and they play nice football but they’ll never beat anyone when it matters either.

Football culture counts. It can’t be manufactured really.

[Sparked_26]

Apart from their behaviour against Poland Japan were my favourite non-England nation.

Also liked Peru

[Phenom]

Mexico beat Germany this world cup

what was the last decent team England beat