Football world cup thread.

I think having the crowd noise helps even watching on the telly, it wasn't long ago when covid meant matches were played in empty stadiums. They had to add artificial crowd noises on Match of the Day, it was all very weird.

 

I felt the same about the England game - very little atmosphere from the spectators. I felt that those that did turn up we're scared to make a noise!
It's the biggest tournament in the world (outside of the Olympics?) so will and should court a platform for issues such as human rights but the game should also be the focus of the coverage.

 

Just watched the Saudi win over Argentina on catchup, what an amazing match! Great to see the underdogs produce a wonderful performance. Even better to see the usual argie tactics of rolling about on the ground not paying off. I feel uplifted now.

 

According to the reporter on the radio the German players are covering their mouths in protest saying that they have shut up about wearing the rainbow armbands. A good silent protest.

 

There's not much they can say as Japan just beaten them 2-1

 

@pete something different is happening at the 2022 world cup . Teams are playing longer. A lot longer.

A typical soccer game is 90- minutes of regulation with two 45-minute halves. Unlike basketball or football, the referee keeps the time on the field and can add time for stoppages like injuries, substitutions and celebrations after goals.

In World Cups of the past, a referee might tack on three or four minutes to a half. But this World Cup is different. During Monday's England-Iran game, the referee added 15 minutes to the first half (largely because of an injury to the Iranian goalkeeper) and then another 14-minutes to the second half.

The Netherlands-Senegal game got 11 extra minutes in the second half, according to official match statistics. In the U.S.-Wales match, the referee added 11 minutes at the end of the game. Argentina-Saudi Arabia played 14 minutes beyond regulation in their second half.

There's a reason for these changes. FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, wants to make sure that every minute of competition should be played on the field and not be lost because of a delay.

 

I'm a day late and just watched Japan beat Germany, that has cheered me up coming after Argentina's humiliation as well. I'm enjoying this so far.