When Modrić got eliminated, the entire Croatia team came to him.
Even when Neymar got eliminated, I saw all the Brazilian players getting closer to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo exits and it's Spain players going to him.
Get them cameras outta Ronaldo’s face ngl. There’s some ppl on that pitch who are supposed to be in their prime who played some nonsense. Put the flashlights on them
This Portugese midfield has to be my biggest disappointment of the entire World Cup... What do you mean Bruno, Vitinha and Neves are completely useless together? How can this happen? How are they so in-effective?
Is it tactics? Is it lazyness? Nerves? Who is to blame? 🇵🇹
Madame Celeste Amarilla,
Vous êtes une femme méprisable et indigne de sa fonction.
Vous ne représentez pas le Paraguay, ce pays qui a transpiré la passion et l’honneur tout au long de la compétition. Par votre inconscience et votre racisme décomplexé, le monde entier a déjà oublié le parcours et l’effort historique que vos joueurs ont réalisés durant cette coupe du monde pour laisser place à une dame incompétente donnant la pire image possible de son pays.
Je ne laisserai jamais aux gens comme elle, la liberté de laisser propager leur haine et leur racisme à travers le monde.
Fun fact. Howard Lutnick missed work on 9/11 because he was bringing his son to school..for the first time ever he decided to be a dad. And the date of that school starting has not been confirmed. He lost everyone in his company that day. He also made an automated system that allowed him to not hire back the majority of people killed bc it took their jobs. He also sued American Airlines and won to the tune of $30 some odd million. He took the money and again, didn't have to replace anyone. He also cut off health insurance and payments to the families within 2 weeks. This matters because it sets the stage as to who he is as a human and sets the stage for what he's doing now. Coming tomorrow......bc f*ck you you child predator
No need to justify himself. This is how teams with less talent are supposed to play VS big teams with firepower. That was a defensive masterclass from Paraguay and Gill made 3 amazing saves. The Europeans are salty that Paraguay didn't just lay down and die like Sweden.
So, I have been asked to comment as to HOW match-fixing/"rigging" occurs at this level of the game. It's via an accumulation of attritional factors against the disfavored team, and an accumulation of positive factors for the favored teams. Here's how:
1. One of the single biggest predictors of success in the world cup is RECOVERY. Physical gap in the game is the biggest determinant of success in the KOs.
- Favorable match schedule (giving enough time for rest).
- Favorable travel schedule (some teams barely travel, no circadian rhythm disruption)
These have HUGE compounding effects later in the competition because they reduce accumulation of fatigue.
2. Favorable refereeing. How? Well, the referees are carefully selected for a match and there are powerful incentives for refs to tow the "company (FIFA) line". Their promotion, payout (which games they get to officiate), and future career rests entirely in the hand of FIFA's selection. Don't expect a ref that gives a red card to Messi at the 10th minute to ever get the chance of refereeing later KOs/final - which means he might be missing out on nearly 500k in total earning depending on number of matches - and that is not to speak of his future in the sport.
Secondly, every ref is vetted and their historical profile in terms of how they dish out decisions and cards is known beforehand - and they are SELECTED accordingly with the foreknowledge that they will favor the team of choice.
Thirdly, referees receive a pre-match report that details how to judge every player - they are told that a certain player needs protection because they're a target, or such a player is a diver in the pre-match preparation - this introduces biases before they even step onto the pitch! But few people even know this!
3. VAR. VAR is an extremely opaque process that effectively amounts to : "trust me bro". What people do not understand is there are dozens upon dozens of contact situations in the box. Football IS A CONTACT SPORT. Any such contact on video could potentially be interpreted by the VAR as a potential penalty offense. This provides an added layer of CONTROL and influence that was not available previously.
4. The Bracket. The Bracket is fixed/rigged beforehand to ensue certain teams can only meet late in the game. There is no guarantee of anything - but probability wise, you can ensure that the preferred teams can reach at least the QF which guarantees a payout for FIFA.