True, but we have great pace on the counter and a set up that works for us. Plus there seems to be a good spirit in the squad. Not that much to cling onto, I suppose, but none of the other sides are that great. We could win it.
Hard luck on Sweden but you can't let the Germans come at you in that way for 45 mins. Sweden produced nothing in the second half and appeared to hang back even more after the red card. South Korea will be desparate to produce something before going home, and the next game is not a foregone conclusion for Germany. I can't see Sweden beating Mexico, but if they do then the 3 could all end up on 6 points. If that happens and the goal differences are the same, the goals scored as well, then the next criteria is the fair play league - in which case Germany would go out because of the red card. Even if the Germans do get through they are there for the taking for a really good side.
Fair play only comes in after head to head results, so Germany would be ahead of Sweden. The Swedes will need to better Germany’s result against SK (likely now to be a good win for Germany, I’d go for a 3 goal margin, meaning Sweden need to win by four or more). That last second goal saved their tournament, and - to be fair - was so good it deserved to be a match winner.
But if all three countries are on six points the head to head records would be the same. One win each! However, Mexico would then need to lose by no more than one goal & score to avoid going out. A Sweden 3-2 victory & i think Germany are gone. Sweden goals 3-3 Mexico goals 3-3 Germany goals 2-2 A Sweden 2-1 win would leave Mexico on goals 2-2, the same as Germany. As Mexico beat Germany, they would win the head to head. At least, that is my understanding of how it works! Nobody considering wins for South Korea & Mexico, leaving three of them on three points?
"Shakira" and "Chaka Khan" have been causing a bit of a stir with their goal celebrations in yesterdays victory over Serbia.... Double eagle' celebration provokes Serbs please log in to view this image Image copyrightEPA Image caption Xhaka and Shaqiri both used the Albanian nationalist gesture Serbia has hit out at a "provocative" double eagle celebration by two ethnic Albanian goalscorers in the World Cup. Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scored for Switzerland who beat Serbia 2-1. Their gesture is a nationalist symbol representing the double headed eagle on Albania's national flag. Critics say it could inflame tensions among Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians. Albanian leaders applauded the pair. A pro-government Serbian newspaper said they had "humiliated" Switzerland. The celebration has brought political tensions in the Balkans on to the World Cup stage. BBC Monitoring reports that in Serbia, pro-government newspaper Informer used a derogatory term for Albanians, saying "the Albanian clan within 'clockmakers' team was sending poisoned arrows weeks before, so the match couldn't pass without a provocation". Some Swiss papers also called the gesture a provocation betraying a lack of political sensitivity. Both players had earlier been booed by Serbian fans during the match. please log in to view this image Image Copyright @BoalsGoals@BOALSGOALS Report please log in to view this image Shaqiri later sought to downplay his celebration, saying: "It's just emotion. I'm very happy to score this goal. It's not more. I think we don't have to speak about this now." Xhaka and Shaqiri's families are from Kosovo, where a Serbian crackdown on the Albanian population only ended with Nato military intervention in 1999. Kosovo turns 10 - but what does it still need to do? Xhaka's father spent three-and-a-half years as a political prisoner in Yugoslavia for his support for Kosovan independence. Shaqiri was born in Kosovo and his family fled to Switzerland as refugees. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority declared independence in 2008 but Serbia, its ally Russia and most ethnic Serbs inside Kosovo do not recognise it. There had already been some tension between the Serbian and ethnic Albanian Swiss players before the game. please log in to view this image Image copyrightAFP/GETTY Image captionEthnic Albanians celebrate Shaqiri's winner in the Kosovan capital Pristina Shaqiri wears boots displaying the Swiss flag on one heel and the Kosovan flag on the other - but Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic asked: "If he loves Kosovo so much and decides to flaunt the flag, why did he refuse a chance to play for their team?" The Switzerland attacker was then roundly booed by Serbs when his name was announced. please log in to view this image Image Copyright @goal@GOAL Report please log in to view this image Afterwards the Swiss manager Vladimir Petkovic - born in Bosnia - said: "You should never mix football and politics." Serbian manager Mladen Krstajic - also from Bosnia - refused to comment. Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said he was "proud" of the players, adding: "Kosovo loves you". please log in to view this image Image Copyright @HashimThaciRKS@HASHIMTHACIRKS Report please log in to view this image Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama shared the picture on his Facebook page: Skip Facebook post by Edi Rama Report End of Facebook post by Edi Rama please log in to view this image Most Serbian media said the goal celebration was a provocation, but not all took a tone of outrage. Popular news portal B92 said the match had been made "politically tense" Widely read Blic said of Shaqiri: "He first made us mourn and then explained after the match in Serbian language why he provoked" Srbin.info said: "Brutal provocation: Xhaka displays the Albanian eagle after scoring and infuriates all Serbs" However Vecernje Novosti, Politika and state broadcaster RTS focused instead on a complaint by the Serbian football association over the referee's failure to award a penalty when Mitrovic was apparently wrestled to the ground by two Swiss players. The Serbian football association is also complaining about Shaqiri's boots, the goal celebrations and Albanian flags in the stands, they reported. It is not the first time that football has provided a flashpoint for the long and bitter rivalry between Serbia and Albania. In 2014 a match between the Balkan nations was abandoned after a drone carrying an Albanian flag sparked a brawl. Ordinary Albanian fans had been banned from attending the game.
We don’t have the composure, maturity, experience or, dare I say it, cynicism either. Yet. But we have the talent and commitment I think. If everything falls right we could go a fair stretch in this tournament, and further in the next one. If we avoid an Iceland or insipid. Brazil 14 type performance this time my minimum expectations have been met. Of course tomorrow I might change my mind.
All this is very hard on Mexico. With 2 consecutive wins that should have been enough for them to be celebrating by now.
Just realised I've not taken into account the goal differnce from all of the group matches, so this is crap! Have now decided Mexico probably need to avoid defeat to qualify.
All of which is true. I’m just saying that in my opinion we ain’t likely to win in coz we ain’t got that type of player, shame though it is. I’d be hugely delighted to be wrong, of course.
Someone here was saying that if 3 teams finish on 6 points each, results against the 4th team are excluded from the head to head calculation, and came up with a scenario where Mexico could still not make the next round.
I always thought, that sweden would be tactically perfect team but tonight they were stupid and naive against germany. They had a loaded gun against germans head and they ended up shooting straight to their own foot. Now it is obvious, that swedens match are played after mexico match and germany march to playoff rounds.
Had to go out last night and have just watched the Germany v Sweden highlights. What the **** is going on with VAR? Nailed on penalty for Sweden not looked at is a joke. The German defender clearly shoulders the attacker in the back and clumsily trips him as well!! That would possibly have put the win out of Germany's reach. Maybe each team should be given one or two appeals to VAR each game to ensure these things get looked at? It's very disturbing to think that VAR could easily determine who wins this World Cup and not necessarily because they made the right decision; it could be because they didn't look at something that should have. The Swedes were so naive giving away that last minute free kick, but credit to Germany for creating chances and controlling the game when down to 10 men. Mind you the Swedes had chances to finish the game too. That result will unfortunately galvanise the Germans imo and we will see a much more "German" like side from now on I suspect. Belgium scare me and they look as though their "golden generation" are starting to deliver when it matters. They do look vulnerable at the back though and had England taken their chances against Tunisia, they too would have scored a hat full. I really hope we get the job done today against Panama as I wouldn't like us to need a result against Belgium!!
I have just discussed this with my “authority” of my ex. referree brother-in-law. For him it was a clear penalty as his his hand was raised and it impeded the ball.
Pissed off. Just invested 29 whole Canadian dollars in ‘streaming’ quality in air Wi-fi, got the VPN set up to fool BBC iPlayer into thinking I’m in Blighty and it works, thinking I’m all set up for the match, only to discover that ‘streaming’ quality doesn’t actually include ‘streaming’, just ‘buffering’. Works ok on YouTube, but not the BBC. ****sticks. Now I have two hours to figure something out before I am reduced to following the game on here. COME ON INGERRRLAAAAND!!!!!!!!!
