Does Ventura know he has Insigne on the roster?Just saw Italy's lineup. Puke.
This team played significantly better without Zlatan than they did with him, at least since Henrik Larsson retired. Part of that is because Sweden never really used Zlatan correctly; during the Euros in 2016 they used him as an attacking midfielder and tried to use his overall skill to distribute to other players, and that predictably never worked because Zlatan isn't Zidane. In theory that could be changed by a tactical shift, but the reality is he also cast an enormous shadow over his teammates and their was immense pressure on them to get Zlatan the ball all the time. They lack name talent at the striker position, but they finished sixth in qualifying in total goals scored. Obviously I wouldn't say not to Zlatan coming out of retirement to play for Sweden in the World Cup, but the team has played very well without him.They could really use Zlatan when Russia actually comes around, though. They qualified in spite of their deficiencies at striker.
Yeah, we want to go down this path. All Red Sox fans are racists.Oh please. If the "good ones" don't like the banana throwing or holocaust denying, they should speak up instead of allowing Italy's reputation to get to where it is now. No sympathy.
This isn't the Italian team I grew up with, with the exception of Buffon. He had the opportunity to appear in six World Cups. The goalkeeper position has changed dramatically over the years, but no moreso than during his career. The change in the ball and the worldwide shift of goalkeepers as an eleventh field player both happened during his tenure and he adapted. Not many did, let alone at such a high level.I'm happy with the result but do feel for Buffon.
Ventura was a disaster, but not calling Giovinco barely moves the needle on his list of transgressions. Italy have had some really managers over the past twenty years, but Ventura is so head-scratchingly awful. No consistency in system, formation, or player selection (other than poor). He had personal gripes with some of Italy's brightest and refused to field his strongest side as a result. I genuinely believe that even with the chaos it would have caused, pitching him after the first leg in Sweden (and his subsequent comments about not worrying about the return leg, instead thinking about the group stage) would have lead to a brighter result yesterday. Certainly there would have been a higher chance of the right players being in the right position to make a difference.Too bad Giovinco isn't good enough to help Italy!
The world cup ends July 15th. Plenty of time over that next month to have another tournament.FIFA won't sanction other games during the World Cup.
The Italians used to have an unending supply of world class players and managers, but the player flow has become a trickle. (Except at GK. Going from Buffon to Donnarumma is like what...going from DiMaggio to Mantle or Williams to Yaz? And they still have Scuffet & Meret in reserve).Italy is also just not as good as they used to be. Where are all the good Italian forwards? The 2006 team that won the world cup had Totti, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Toni, Gilardino, and Iaquinta. The current team has Belotti and Immobile and that's it, and even those two might not have even got in the 2006 squad. They started Gabbadini yesterday, which tells you everything you need to know.
FS2, channel 618, it doesn't start until 2:45Is the Ireland-Denmark WCQ on anywhere? I can't find it on PPV or DirecTV.
But if it were 2-2, it would have gone to extra time before they take the away goal result, right? Not that it matters anymore.Away goals definitely count. Ireland needs to win the game outright, Denmark goes through with a scoring draw.
Right on cue (sort of).They should have the soccer version of the NIT, a tournament with the US, Italy, Chile, Scotland, Wales, Cameroon, Denmark/Ireland, Northern Ireland, etc.
I ain't proud, I would watch that for sure.
See my post upthread. Just Australia-Honduras at 4:00am (!) and then Peru-NZ at 9:15pm.What other qualifiers are yet to happen? I know Peru-NZ is tomorrow, is that the last one or is there more qualifying still in Africa and/or Asia?
Champions league final is May 26, WC starts June 14. They could squeeze a little tournament in there.The world cup ends July 15th. Plenty of time over that next month to have another tournament.
USA, Italy, Chile, Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Australia/Honduras loser, Peru/NZ loser? That's a hell of an 8-team mini-tournament. Just run same format as the Confed Cup. It's not like the US wouldn't tune into the matches because it's not the WCF.
No, this had the same rules as the Champions League. Extra time only happens if everything (including away goals) is tied. Once there was any score in the game, extra time was impossible due to the 0-0 first leg.But if it were 2-2, it would have gone to extra time before they take the away goal result, right? Not that it matters anymore.
Thank youNo, this had the same rules as the Champions League. Extra time only happens if everything (including away goals) is tied. Once there was any score in the game, extra time was impossible due to the 0-0 first leg.
I know some people hate the rule, but it definitely increases the excitement when a single goal can change the result from a loss to a win, rather than just a draw.