2022 FIFA World Cup

[ShakAttack]

I am 75% Iranian and I was old enough to witness Iran vs. USA in the 1998 World Cup.  USA is my "second" team, since it is where I was born and raised, after all, but I became obsessed with the Iranian national team in 1998 for many of the same reasons I became a Buffalo Bills fan as a kid growing up:   They were the ultimate underdog. 

 

And since the Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and since they lost "13 seconds" and every other miraculous playoff game we have played in involves us losing in the end (besides "The Comeback" which I vaguely remember but was just a bit too young to fully appreciate,    Iran's win over the U.S. in 1998 would probably have to rank as my favorite moment as a sports fan.

 

I say "probably" because the moment we ended the playoff drought on Andy Dalton's 4th down TD to Tyler Boyd just might actually have it beat.  

 

And if we were on the winning end of "13 seconds" it would have been no contest at all... That would have been my greatest sports moment of all-time... In fact, it is kind of sad because after Allen tossed the go-ahead TD with 13 seconds left, I ran around the house yelling something along the lines of  "THIS IS THE BEST MOMENT IN MY LIFETIME AS A BILLS FAN!!!!!!!!" 

 

Anyway... Where am I going with all of this... 

 

All of this is to say... MAN... the Saudi Arabia upset over Argentina today was just miraculous.  In 2014,  Iran lost to Argentina 1-0 and it was celebrated by the country as if they won; the most impressive match they had ever played.    It really feels like Saudi Arabia accomplished what Iran was unable to pull off that day. 

 

It's just not supposed to happen!  I mean, 100% of the Saudi roster plays for Saudi club teams, while Argentina is essentially an international all-star team.  

 

Every now and then the question comes up "Can a really good college FB team beat the worst NFL team?"  And almost always the answer is a resounding "NO" 

 

But I think what happened today in the World Cup was the the soccer equivalent of a college FB team beating a pro team... And that is just incredible. 

 

Indeed, Argentina blew it, but once the Saudis had the lead, I could not believe some of the saves made by the goal-keeper to hang on, especially the save in the 100th minute... WOW....

 

It's kinda funny, I'm a more casual soccer fan and I do not follow the sport year-round, but every 4 years when the World Cup returns, I am quickly reminded why it is my 2nd favorite sport to watch.  There are some remarkable moments in this sport.

[US Egg]

4 minutes ago, BobBelcher said:

It’s kinda funny, I'm a more casual soccer fan and I do not follow the sport year-round, but every 4 years when the World Cup returns, I am quickly reminded why it is my 2nd favorite sport to watch.  There are some remarkable moments in this sport.

Well said.

[Logic]

5 minutes ago, BobBelcher said:

I am 75% Iranian and I was old enough to witness Iran vs. USA in the 1998 World Cup.  USA is my "second" team, since it is where I was born and raised, after all, but I became obsessed with the Iranian national team in 1998 for many of the same reasons I became a Buffalo Bills fan as a kid growing up:   They were the ultimate underdog. 

 

And since the Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and since they lost "13 seconds" and every other miraculous playoff game we have played in involves us losing in the end (besides "The Comeback" which I vaguely remember but was just a bit too young to fully appreciate,    Iran's win over the U.S. in 1998 would probably have to rank as my favorite moment as a sports fan.

 

I say "probably" because the moment we ended the playoff drought on Andy Dalton's 4th down TD to Tyler Boyd just might actually have it beat.  

 

And if we were on the winning end of "13 seconds" it would have been no contest at all... That would have been my greatest sports moment of all-time... In fact, it is kind of sad because after Allen tossed the go-ahead TD with 13 seconds left, I ran around the house yelling something along the lines of  "THIS IS THE BEST MOMENT IN MY LIFETIME AS A BILLS FAN!!!!!!!!" 

 

Anyway... Where am I going with all of this... 

 

All of this is to say... MAN... the Saudi Arabia upset over Argentina today was just miraculous.  In 2014,  Iran lost to Argentina 1-0 and it was celebrated by the country as if they won; the most impressive match they had ever played.    It really feels like Saudi Arabia accomplished what Iran was unable to pull off that day. 

 

It's just not supposed to happen!  I mean, 100% of the Saudi roster plays for Saudi club teams, while Argentina is essentially an international all-star team.  

 

Every now and then the question comes up "Can a really good college FB team beat the worst NFL team?"  And almost always the answer is a resounding "NO" 

 

But I think what happened today in the World Cup was the the soccer equivalent of a college FB team beating a pro team... And that is just incredible. 

 

Indeed, Argentina blew it, but once the Saudis had the lead, I could not believe some of the saves made by the goal-keeper to hang on, especially the save in the 100th minute... WOW....

 

It's kinda funny, I'm a more casual soccer fan and I do not follow the sport year-round, but every 4 years when the World Cup returns, I am quickly reminded why it is my 2nd favorite sport to watch.  There are some remarkable moments in this sport.

Great post, thanks.

I didn't get to watch the Argentina match, as I live on the west coast and it was on at 2am my time, but what an astounding outcome! And in the "win one for Messi" World Cup, no less!

I think it's super interesting any time a massive underdog wins a game they "have no business winning". All the more so when the team they're going up against is arguably the best in the world (or at least top two or three). The fact that Saudi Arabia did so in Qatar makes it all the more special for them. 

Sorry your guys ran into the buzzsaw that is the English national team yesterday. My goodness, they were impressive. Hell of a team to draw for your first matchup of the tournament.



 

[LewPort71]

At the end of the US...Wales match, my buddies and I at the bar decided it was worth the early wake up to watch Saudi...Argentina.

Luckily it began at 5:00 here on the East coast.  The atmosphere and the crowd noise was deafening on the broadcast.  Many 

"can you believe this"  texts were flying back and forth.  Great win for the  Saudis and this group is in turmoil.

France musta watched the match as they did not let Australia pull off the upset.

 

I still can not believe the size of the Mexican crowd during their contest.  70% of the crowd ?

 

[Logic]

Japan with the second big upset of this young tournament. 

Everyone who had Argentina and Germany losing to Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively, raise your hand. 😳

[US Egg]

Never thought Germany be facing a consecutive WC group exit, but, with Spain next…..?

 

 

 

 

[GoBills808]

Japanese always tough out

[That's No Moon]

46 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Japanese always tough out

Harry Truman agrees.

[US Egg]

59 minutes ago, Bandito said:

So Japan wins the battle of Axis Powers. Hoping Belgium takes down Canadah

Canada playing well, sort of taking it to high ranked Belgium, who look a bit befuddled. Good game, so far. 
 

Edit: Spoke too soon, Belgium buries their 1st good chance, 42’. Canada has had more, to no avail.

 

At half. Canada got jobbed on a bad miss by refs.

Edited November 23, 2022 by I am the egg man

[Bill from NYC]

Why are they playig this time of year. Don't they usually play in the summer?

[Jauronimo]

8 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Why are they playig this time of year. Don't they usually play in the summer?

Because its in Qatar and summer weather in Qatar is ridiculously hot.

 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/Qatar- World-Cup-November-Winter-Summer/lbimjdtaysxdxbuuxp30btt5

[Kevbeau]

9 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Why are they playig this time of year. Don't they usually play in the summer?

Heat in Qatar can approach 120f in the summer

[Buffalo716]

23 hours ago, BobBelcher said:

I am 75% Iranian and I was old enough to witness Iran vs. USA in the 1998 World Cup.  USA is my "second" team, since it is where I was born and raised, after all, but I became obsessed with the Iranian national team in 1998 for many of the same reasons I became a Buffalo Bills fan as a kid growing up:   They were the ultimate underdog. 

 

And since the Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and since they lost "13 seconds" and every other miraculous playoff game we have played in involves us losing in the end (besides "The Comeback" which I vaguely remember but was just a bit too young to fully appreciate,    Iran's win over the U.S. in 1998 would probably have to rank as my favorite moment as a sports fan.

 

I say "probably" because the moment we ended the playoff drought on Andy Dalton's 4th down TD to Tyler Boyd just might actually have it beat.  

 

And if we were on the winning end of "13 seconds" it would have been no contest at all... That would have been my greatest sports moment of all-time... In fact, it is kind of sad because after Allen tossed the go-ahead TD with 13 seconds left, I ran around the house yelling something along the lines of  "THIS IS THE BEST MOMENT IN MY LIFETIME AS A BILLS FAN!!!!!!!!" 

 

Anyway... Where am I going with all of this... 

 

All of this is to say... MAN... the Saudi Arabia upset over Argentina today was just miraculous.  In 2014,  Iran lost to Argentina 1-0 and it was celebrated by the country as if they won; the most impressive match they had ever played.    It really feels like Saudi Arabia accomplished what Iran was unable to pull off that day. 

 

It's just not supposed to happen!  I mean, 100% of the Saudi roster plays for Saudi club teams, while Argentina is essentially an international all-star team.  

 

Every now and then the question comes up "Can a really good college FB team beat the worst NFL team?"  And almost always the answer is a resounding "NO" 

 

But I think what happened today in the World Cup was the the soccer equivalent of a college FB team beating a pro team... And that is just incredible. 

 

Indeed, Argentina blew it, but once the Saudis had the lead, I could not believe some of the saves made by the goal-keeper to hang on, especially the save in the 100th minute... WOW....

 

It's kinda funny, I'm a more casual soccer fan and I do not follow the sport year-round, but every 4 years when the World Cup returns, I am quickly reminded why it is my 2nd favorite sport to watch.  There are some remarkable moments in this sport.

No college team could ever been an NFL team

 

All the Saudis are professional soccer players… It doesn’t matter what league … they are pros

 

Alabama Tennessee or Georgia Would lose by 30 to the jags or houston or Carolina 

 

They have 70 guys who aren’t professionals… The NFL team has all professionals… 20 future pros won’t Beat 46 current pros 

 

And those 20 future pros on the best team in the country… Lots of them won’t be long term nfl starters 

 

What you witnessed is way more of the equivalent of UB beating Ohio State… a massively under talented team winning 

 

but all the soccer players on the pitch were pros

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Buffalo716

[US Egg]

2 hours ago, Bandito said:

So Japan wins the battle of Axis Powers. Hoping Belgium takes down Canadah

Oh, Canadah! Sacre bleu! Eh?
 

They played well, no finishers.

[Big Turk]

Wow...2-0 for Iran versus Wales...not a great result for the US.

 

Also not great considering we tied Wales and England destroyed Iran 6-2.

 

Likely the US-Iran game will determine who goes through to the next round. If we manage a tie with England we likely could tie and go through due to goal differential and Wales unlikely to beat England. But a win would be better 

[GoBills808]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

Wow...2-0 for Iran versus Wales...not a great result for the US.

 

Also not great considering we tied Wales and England destroyed Iran 6-2.

 

Likely the US-Iran game will determine who goes through to the next round. If we manage a tie with England we likely could tie and go through due to goal differential and Wales unlikely to beat England. But a win would be better 

It's a good result for the US

[PromoTheRobot]

 

Bills Mafia in Qatar today.

[Warcodered]

34 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Bills Mafia in Qatar today.

 

[GoBills808]

Very good half from US

 

conceded possession when they wanted to, defended when they had to, looked dangerous going forward

 

9/10 imo

[LeGOATski]

17 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Wow...2-0 for Iran versus Wales...not a great result for the US.

 

Also not great considering we tied Wales and England destroyed Iran 6-2.

 

Likely the US-Iran game will determine who goes through to the next round. If we manage a tie with England we likely could tie and go through due to goal differential and Wales unlikely to beat England. But a win would be better 

The US need to beat Iran. If they tie, Iran advances and the US is knocked out.