Off Topic International Break Thread

Argentina's backs against the walls (again...) this evening: not only do they need a win against Qatar to avoid elimination, but with Colombia resting the likes of Rodriguez, Barrios and Ser Davos against Paraguay it's possible they could only finish third in the group even should they beat Qatar - leading to a nervous evening tomorrow when Japan play Ecuador with one of the two third-place spots in the knockout stages up for grabs

 

Are Argentina like Ossie Spurs 1995 (can score 4 and concede 4) ??
With the attack they have, it can only be a poor defence (even allowing
for Foyth moments) that puts them in these positions.

 

The thing with Argentina is the current issues are hardly new, as they've existed in one form or another since at least the 2002 World Cup
* No outstanding goalkeeper, which is odd for a country with so many Italian migrants
* A production line of top quality attacking fullbacks (Zanetti, Sorin, Tagliafico) but only one quality centre back at a time
* A similar production line of superb defensive midfielders (Simeone, Mascherano) yet a dearth of creative central midfielders
* So many playmakers dwarfed in the shadow of Maradona (Ortega, Riquelme, Aimar)

Add to that a couple more issues more came along around the time of the 2010 World Cup
* All too often the team's response to adversity is "Leo'll get us out of this...right?"
* Argentina have two teams: the one where Messi plays, and the one where he doesn't - with Tevez and Icardi being notable players for the latter

 

...yikes, Argentina and Kenya fans are in agreement over something: the Spurs player in their respective starting xi were liabilities

 

Why are Qatar and Japan even in the Copa AMERICA??

 

They have an uneven number of teams in the Association I think, so they usually invite a couple of teams from outside to compete. It’s usually the the likes of USA and Mexico I think but they have their own tournament on or something, so they’ve gone further afield for their recruits to make up the numbers.

 

Because the Copa America always invites outside teams due to there only being ten South American teams. For example, in the three Copa Americas before this one Mexico were in three, Costa Rica in two, and the USA of America and Jamaica in one each - but since the CONCACAF Gold Cup is currently taking place they needed to look further afield this year

 

I wonder when England will enter it and inevitably lose on penalties in the quarter-final?

 

This year was the last chance of that happening, as CONMEBOL decided to switch it to even years starting with the next one...which is in June next year, so rather than holding the title for four years instead this year's winner will only hold it for one (and, before you ask, Australia and Qatar are the invited teams for that one)

Also, on the subject of Qatar's participation (since it's a prickly subject for reasons nobody seems to be able to adequately explain...) here's one thing people are overlooking: they won the Asian Cup this year, so it actually makes perfect sense to have them as an invited team considering the CONCACAF Gold Cup taking place at the same time rules out the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica et al from being invited, and with Japan reaching the final their participation also makes a reasonable amount of sesne, just as Australia being invited for next year's tournament also makes sense due to Qatar and Australia being the last two Asian Cup winners

 

Watching USA v Spain ladies WC. Megan accidentally slaps a Spanish player and gets the yellow. The Spanish player rolling around as though shot! They must be watching the men!!!!?
If John Wayne was alive and watching,he'd choke on his ciggy.

 

Serge Aurier captained Coite D'Ivoire today and was apparently man of the match!

 

I’d probably be MOTM vs South Africa tbh.

 

South Africa's manager reacts to a late, late missed chance for his team:

 

Vlasic is stretchered off in the U21 game with a foot injury, having just scored to make it 2-2.
The footage cuts to a player doing up the laces on his woven boots, which appear to have been knitted by an old lady.
Very protective.

 

England U23 3-3 Croatia U23s. That should do for Boothroyd, but I have a horrible feeling that it won't.

 

It was a decent game but it showed that whilst we have some good young attacking players many of whom are getting a plenty of starts at higher levels of the game the younger defenders have some way to go to get to the same levels. That said Alexander-Arnold, Gomez and Chilwell were still eligible to have played in this tournament.

 

We could’ve been even stronger in attack too as Sancho and Rashford would’ve been eligible.

 

Get's nuttier and nuttier! I'm waiting for a ref to score a winning goal!!!!!!!

 

Kenya have 79% of the possession but go a goal down within 5 minutes.

Looks like Wanyama has brought a sprinkling of Spursy magic to his compatriots.