Football World Cup 2022

[Cudzoziemiec]

Interesting luggage choices in the Argentinian team.

[Peter]

Messi can retire happy. And Brazil can celebrate still being the only team to win twice. And Mbappe the second ever final hat trick. Everybody's happy nowadays.

In succession.  But that is wrong if I remember.  I think both Italy and Brazil have won it twice in succession.  Never trust a TV pundit: the bar is far too low.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Twice in a row, yes, is what I meant. And yes, Italy won it twice in a row 1934 and 38. The missing words (which, unlike "in succession" I totally forgot rather than simply forgetting to type) are "in the modern era". I'm not quite sure when "the modern era" started but I think it might have been when it expanded from 16 to 32 countries, which makes it 1998. In which case the expansion to 48 teams for 2026 must mark the start of the post-modern era, possibly even the future.

[Peter]

Lot of wriggle room, there, Cudz but I understand.  I was born not too long after Italy's double, so understandably we have a slightly different view of modernity!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Uruguay also claim that their wins in 1930 and 1950 were in succession, as they didn't participate in 1934 and '38 for political reasons, I think objecting to it being held in fascist Italy in '34.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Actually if Brazil's back to back wins were the first consecutive wins in "the modern era", and that was 1958 and 1962, clearly the modern era starts long before the expansion to 32 teams. But when and why, I don't know. Nevertheless, France haven't done it either in or before "the modern era".

[pcolbeck]

Well that was epic!

[farfetched]

It first went to 24 in 1982 then to 32 in 98.  For me the modern era begins after the war.
Football was more or less professional from the 50s onwards with real qualifying etc...

This Argentina reminds me a lot of 86, one absolute legend with a team built around him.
Their keeper plays for Aston Villa making him the first villain to be crowned world champion in their long and distinguished history. ( For my sins I must confess to being a villa fan since the early 70s  )

Edit: also true for Brighton I guess with Alexi McCallister

[Mr Larrington]

Booo!  Star pupils at Herr Klinsmann's Academy of Modern Dance, the lot of 'em

If it hadn’t taken the French 3/4 of normal time to wake up, mind…

[Karla]

Boo!  First one to beat them next time gets a Metro.

[Jaded]

Talking of Metro, Paris renamed a station today. Argentine became France for today, I understand.

[T42]

Oh well.

[John Stonebridge]

Bored and staying at my mother in laws (who has succumbed to Amazon Prime) I watched the full Arsenal v West Ham game last night.

Declan Rice was culpable (not solely but certainly significantly) for Arsenal's first two goals and his positional sense for the 3rd was all over the place.  The 2nd goal where he was outmuscled by Bukayo Saka was particularly embarrassing for him. 

I also thought that Ben White looked rather impressive though it remains something of a mystery why he returned to the UK during the World Cup.