The Beautiful Game (The All Inclusive Soccer Thread)

[VinylGuy]

Little known fact: Mbappé's favorite song is MMMBop.

I made that joke in my office!! Are we best friends??

[tragabigzanda]

i hate in sports when someone says "i got it!" but then they miss it.

[tragabigzanda]

i hate in sports when someone says "i got it!" but then they miss it.

[Anders]

The best team in the World Cup won. Well deserved.

[epilogue]

I was pulling for Croatia. I loved that team. I loved their story and their path to the final. They have every reason to be proud of what they accomplished and I look forward to what they bring in the future.

Congratulations to France. They played an amazing tournament and turned it on big time here. Excellent win. Good work, France!

[tragabigzanda]

i hate in sports when someone says "i got it!" but then they miss it.

[96583UP]

sometimes it’s just as important not to make mistakes as it is to be ‘the better team’

tough to win the WC when you score an own goal and handball in your own box

then france showed their pedigree on offense with two top-tier strikes

no shame for Croatia tho

[96583UP]

putin looked sauced up there in that box

[epilogue]

this played less like a win for France and more like a loss for Croatia. They really fell apart as the game went on.

Young, inexperienced team that played more over-time games than anyone else the entire tournament. Can't really blame them.

[VinylGuy]

France is a fair winner. They played a very nice even if the finale was weird.

[daft twat]

What happens when you run out on the field in Russia? Holy shit, is that person dead now?

[Anders]

this played less like a win for France and more like a loss for Croatia. They really fell apart as the game went on.

Young, inexperienced team that played more over-time games than anyone else the entire tournament. Can't really blame them.

France is young, Croatia not that much.

[epilogue]

this played less like a win for France and more like a loss for Croatia. They really fell apart as the game went on.

Young, inexperienced team that played more over-time games than anyone else the entire tournament. Can't really blame them.

France is young, Croatia not that much.

Fine, I retract that word. My point is still valid.

Inexperienced team that played more over-time games than anyone else in the entire tournament. Cant' really blame them.

[Anders]

It’s true that they played more over-time games than anyone. That could lead to fatigue. On the other hand it’s also a sign that they haven’t been much better than the competition, despite facing arguably worse competition than France.

Croatia’s starting eleven had an average age of 29,5. Their squad is one the oldest in the World Cup. Their four star players are 29, 30, 32 and 32, all approaching the end of their careers. Those four players alone have played about 400 national team matches put together. They have played together since Euro 2008 (qualifying for all but the WC 2010), and all play regularly for the biggest club teams in the world (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Inter).

[epilogue]

I never said they were better than France. France was rightly the favorite. And they won. I'm not sure what you're arguing.

[Anders]

I mostly reacted to you calling Croatia young and inexperienced. When that is actually true for France, and not at all for Croatia.

[epilogue]

I mostly reacted to you calling Croatia young and inexperienced. When that is actually true for France, and not at all for Croatia.

When I said that, I was specifically referring to their World Cup Final experience. By "young" I meant that they were "new" to the final. I used the wrong word, which is why I took it back. I wan't being clear. I admitted that. My point still stands about their inexperience in the World Cup Finals. That's all I was trying to say.

A team that hasn't ever been on that stage. And being there after such a long road to get there, a road that had them playing more minutes than anyone else.

Is that better? I'm sorry I wasn't as explicit as I should have been.

[Anders]

Yes, if you think of it more as a nation than a group of players, France now have three finals in a World Cup, while this was the first for Croatia. They also have a bronze from before. Impressive for such a small nation.

[epilogue]

Yes, if you think of it more as a nation than a group of players, France now have three finals in a World Cup, while this was the first for Croatia. They also have a bronze from before. Impressive for such a small nation.

[LetMeSleep]

3-1 away win to start the season.