FPL 21/22 ๐ OR Ranking 54 530 finish top 1% FPL 22/23 SKLW Rimet League Champion SKLW Smackdown winner & SKLW Champions League winner with Banyana Bafana
Thierry Henry on South Africa qualifying for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time ever:
๐ฃ๏ธ โThis is why we love football. Tonight isn't just a victory for South Africa. Tonight is history. An entire nation has waited for a moment like this, and now it finally belongs to them.โ
โWhen the final whistle blew, you could see the emotion everywhere. The players, the staff, the fans. These are the moments people remember for the rest of their lives.โ
โMany people didn't believe South Africa would get this far. They were underestimated before the tournament started, but they kept fighting, kept believing, and now they have achieved something no South African team has ever achieved before.โ
โLook at those players. Some of them grew up dreaming about representing their country on the biggest stage. Tonight they didn't just represent South Africa they made history for it.โ
โWhat makes this story beautiful is that nobody can take it away from them. Years from now, people will still talk about the team that broke the barrier and carried South Africa into the knockout rounds for the very first time.โ
โThis is bigger than football. Somewhere in South Africa, young boys and girls are watching this team and believing that anything is possible.โ
โSouth Korea fought hard, but tonight belonged to South Africa. Every tackle, every save, every sprint was for a place in history, and they earned it.โ
โThe celebrations will be unforgettable because these players know exactly what they have done. They haven't just won a match. They have given an entire country a moment of pride.โ
โWhen people talk about the greatest stories of this World Cup, South Africa's name deserves to be part of that conversation.โ
โTonight, millions of South Africans will go to sleep smiling. Not because their team won 1-0, but because their nation has achieved something it had never achieved before.โ
No one with any self-respect or integrity should go on the rage baiting show to have someone who hates them undermine their arguments, sneer at them and patronise them. I'd be disappointed if Rupert Lowe or Tommy Robinson ever bothered.
It's just a show for Cenk Uygur and Dave Smith to whinge about Israeli relentlessly while swivel-eyed basement YouTubers are invited on to say inevitably retarded shit for the clicks that outrageous nonsense generates.
Tommy Robinson has been much more receptively received by Dave Rubin, Gad Saad, Jordan Peterson, TRIGGERnometry, and Andrew Gold, none of whom had a loaded agenda, but who were willing to listen to the man set out his views without constantly attacking him.
I'd advise anyone interested in what he has to say to check out those resources and give Tikka boy a wide berth.
๐ฃ๏ธ Vozinha: โI cried after the match because I was raised by my grandparents when I was young, and they couldn't be there. They passed away a few years ago.
โMy mother couldn't be here either because of visa issues and the money we needed to pay for it. We weren't able to sort it out in time.โ
Wishing him strength. โค๏ธ๐จ๐ป๐๐ป
Everyone has been so impressed by Japanese fans cleaning up after themselves but most probably missed this beautiful moment at the post-game (๐ณ๐ฑ2 - 2๐ฏ๐ต) press conference.
Toward the end after reporters were done asking questions, ๐ฏ๐ตhead coach, Hajime Moriyasu, asked to speak one more time.
๐ฃ๏ธ โMay I speak?โ
He turned to the Dutch reporters in the room.
๐ฃ๏ธ โI think there are many Dutch reporters here as well, so Iโd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people of the Netherlands once again.โ
Moriyasu explained that when he became part of the Japan national team, Japanese football still had no professional league.
๐ฃ๏ธ โI was trained by a Dutch coach named Hans Ooft. It wasnโt just me. Japanese coaches in general were greatly influenced by him, which has led to the development of Japanese soccer today.โ
He also mentioned another Dutch figure who shaped his career.
๐ฃ๏ธ โThe legendary Dutch coach Wim Jansen served as the manager for J.Leagueโs Sanfrecce Hiroshima and also as a coach for Urawa Reds, contributing to Japanese soccer.โ
๐ฃ๏ธ โItโs not just those two. Many other coaches and players have contributed to raising the level of Japanese soccer, so I want to express my thanks. Thank you very much.โ
What a masterclass in graciousness and gratitude. Imagine after a high-stakes match, instead of basking in glory and bravado (well-deserved in my opinion), the coach took to the microphone to... thank his opponents publicly and sincerely.
Japan's cultural operating system prizes harmony (wa), respect for precedent, and gratitude as a form of strength, not weakness. Japanese sports culture reflects its broader society where you'll see athletes bow to their opponents, thanking referees, and even crediting rivals or mentors.
Think of sumo wrestlers, Olympic athletes, or even bullet-train staff apologizing for a 30-second delay.
The Japanese have this concept of On (ๆฉ) - it is the sense of indebtedness to those who came before or helped you. It's what you'd expect from a culture that truly prizes continuity.
Moriyasu was acknowledging a real debt to Dutch coaches like Hans Ooft (who coached Japan in the early 90s and helped professionalize the game) and Wim Jansen. Japanese football openly credits foreign influences - Dutch "Total Football" philosophy, German organization, Brazilian flair - while building something distinctly their own. Few nations do this with such little ego.
Japan is pure class
This might be the CRAZIEST stat of the World Cup...
Cape Verde had more possession against Spain than Arsenal did against PSG in the Champions League final. ๐คฏ๐จ๐ป
Football is Australiaโs 4th most popular sport, yet look at this.
Thousands of fans standing under the blazing afternoon sun in a plaza just to watch Australia beat Turkey in the World Cup. ๐ณ๐ฑ
Piers Morgan denies heโs Woke Reich. Ok, I stand corrected. Heโs just a straight up piece of sh*t who sounds Woke Reich. I always want to be accurate.
Arsenal kept playing him, promoted him to women and kids, offered him a new contract, and their fans cheered him.
Mikel Arteta talked about being so happy for him โafter everything heโs been through.โ
Just the most rancid club and fanbase in the world, and itโs not even close.
We will now start a minutes silence to reflect on the two whole weeks of generational happiness weโve enjoyed since Arsenal lost the Champions League Final
๐จ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ฅ
All six players who narrowly missed selection for South Africaโs final 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup declined an offer to watch Bafana Bafanaโs opening match in Mexico.
Brandon Petersen, Patrick Maswanganyi, Thabiso Monyane, Thapelo Morena, Lebohang Maboe, and Brooklyn Poggenpoel were each offered fully-funded trips. The package covered travel and accommodation to witness Bafana Bafana take on co-hosts Mexico at Estadio Azteca on 11 June.
The generous package came through a partnership secured by Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie with Old School. Initial reports said Lebohang Maboe opted against the offer to focus on pre-season training with Kaizer Chiefs. The latest developments confirm the five other players followed suit.
@GaytonMcK@BafanaBafana Since when do celebrate 3 out of 10 performance it was beyond disappointing and we were lucky we conceded 2 goals only . Based on that performance neither South Korea and or Czech Republic have anything to fear
@GaytonMcK@BafanaBafana We want to know exactly how much of 9 Million Dollars give to SAFA actually is used for development and academy grass roots development and proper coaching and player development . The players apparently get 2 Million Rand each what happens to rest of the money .
This thread is probably geared more towards the newcomers who are only starting to get interested in World Cup Fantasy.
This format rewards planning more than people think.
I hope this helped! Thank you for reading :)