The football (soccer) thread

[Pohjolas Daughter]

So, how did Celeste's song "Stop the Flame" get used by FIFA?  I fell in love with it a few years ago after reading and listening to a BBC article about musicians that you need to listen to and are on the rise.

PD

[Irons]

I think I'm correct thinking Florestan resides in Rumania. The mighty Hammers played there last night but more importantly it seems a very nice place to live. At no time our fans threatened, unlike Germany, and they had a great time. A grey dull East European country Rumania plainly is not.

https://youtu.be/WGaEXqWnlVI

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I think I'm correct thinking Florestan resides in Rumania. The mighty Hammers played there last night but more importantly it seems a very nice place to live. At no time our fans threatened, unlike Germany, and they had a great time. A grey dull East European country Rumania plainly is not.

https://youtu.be/WGaEXqWnlVI

I thought that I had seen you there in the crowd, Lol! 

And, yes, from what I watched of the video, looks like a lovely place to visit/live.  And from what I saw of the hotel lobby, 45 quid gets you a very nice place to stay! 

PD

[Irons]

I thought that I had seen you there in the crowd, Lol! 

And, yes, from what I watched of the video, looks like a lovely place to visit/live.  And from what I saw of the hotel lobby, 45 quid gets you a very nice place to stay! 

PD

Love to go on a claret and blue European tour, PD. The farthest I have got is Manchester and Blackburn unfortunately.
That hotel is amazing.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Love to go on a claret and blue European tour, PD. The farthest I have got is Manchester and Blackburn unfortunately.
That hotel is amazing.

Hello,

I suspect that all of the world (minus me) are watching the World Cup?  Looks like there were serious problems yesterday(?) with the ticketing app not working properly?  Any idea how many people were shut out?

PD

[Irons]

Hello,

I suspect that all of the world (minus me) are watching the World Cup?  Looks like there were serious problems yesterday(?) with the ticketing app not working properly?  Any idea how many people were shut out?

PD

Like a lot of Brits trying my best to ignore the World Cup due to the politics of FIFA/Qatar. Watched the England game though and I guess will watch a lot of other games through clenched teeth. Politics again, but this time for the good. The Iran team refused to sing their country's national anthem as a protest against Iran's rulers.

[vandermolen]

Like a lot of Brits trying my best to ignore the World Cup due to the politics of FIFA/Qatar. Watched the England game though and I guess will watch a lot of other games through clenched teeth. Politics again, but this time for the good. The Iran team refused to sing their country's national anthem as a protest against Iran's rulers.

I enjoyed USA v Wales today. The Welsh team looked finished at half-time, but they made a great fight back in the second half and deserved their 1 - 1 draw. It was extraordinary and brave to see the Iranian team maintain a stony silence during the playing of their national anthem with the Iranian supporters jeering it, I've never seen anything like it before.

[Irons]

I enjoyed USA v Wales today. The Welsh team looked finished at half-time, but they made a great fight back in the second half and deserved their 1 - 1 draw. It was extraordinary and brave to see the Iranian team maintain a stony silence during the playing of their national anthem with the Iranian supporters jeering it, I've never seen anything like it before.

Very brave of the Iran team to make that protest. It is reported there will be consequences when they get back home.

Oh my Lord! Minnows Saudi Arabia beat the favourites for the World Cup, Argentina! Betting has no interest for me but.... Listening to the game on "Talk Sport" while gardening, with Argentina 1-0 up at halftime they had a sponsor on from Betfair who was discussing odds such as how many goals would Messi score. As a throwaway line he mentioned for Saudi to actually win the game after being 1 down at HT Betfair were offering 80 to 1! This is for an outcome that only can go one of three ways!

[Papy Oli]

Oh my Lord! Minnows Saudi Arabia beat the favourites for the World Cup, Argentina! Betting has no interest for me but.... Listening to the game on "Talk Sport" while gardening, with Argentina 1-0 up at halftime they had a sponsor on from Betfair who was discussing odds such as how many goals would Messi score. As a throwaway line he mentioned for Saudi to actually win the game after being 1 down at HT Betfair were offering 80 to 1! This is for an outcome that only can go one of three ways!

That was a turn up for the books wasn't it...and we already have the goal of the tournament with their second goal too!!

France got a bit of a scare against the Aussies last night but eventually got going. Sadly, we have another defender added to our already long injury list (ACL). Difficult to know how we'll actually fare against stronger teams. 

[Madiel]

Australia were depressing, even when in front. A distinct lack of ambition.

[Florestan]

I think I'm correct thinking Florestan resides in Rumania. The mighty Hammers played there last night but more importantly it seems a very nice place to live. At no time our fans threatened, unlike Germany, and they had a great time. A grey dull East European country Rumania plainly is not.

https://youtu.be/WGaEXqWnlVI

You should come visit us some day. And when you do that, let me know.

[pjme]

Romania is a beautiful country. Bucharest is - cfr. Budapest, or even Berlin, pockmarked by wars, fraud and deceit....During summer, the old city center (what is left of it...) changes at night into a frightening, loud, hellish disco, alas.
But I met Andréi (bonjour, cher Andreï), visited the (let's say "charmingly") delapidated villa of Enescu, listened to Enescu's massive 3rd symphony - live. I saw the Danube and pelicans, the Black sea ...and the crumbling remains of Constanta's superb Art Nouveau casino....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constan%C8%9Ba_Casino

There, I dreamed of a better world near Ovid's statue, in front of the National History and Archaeology Museum ....

[Florestan]

Romania is a beautiful country. Bucharest is - cfr. Budapest, or even Berlin, pockmarked by wars, fraud and deceit....During summer, the old city center (what is left of it...) changes at night into a frightening, loud, hellish disco, alas.
But I met Andréi (bonjour, cher Andreï), visited the (let's say "charmingly") delapidated villa of Enescu, listened to Enescu's massive 3rd symphony - live. I saw the Danube and pelicans, the Black sea ...and the crumbling remains of Constanta's superb Art Nouveau casino....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constan%C8%9Ba_Casino

There, I dreamed of a better world near Ovid's statue, in front of the National History and Archaeology Museum ....

Bon jour, cher Pierre!

Re: Enescu's villa in Bucharest, that was actually inherited by his aristocratic wife Maruca Cantacuzino. He didn't like it too much and actually lived in an annex building behind it. His real villa, built on his own design, is located in Sinaia, in the Carpathian Mountains. It's there where he spent a lot of time and composed a lot of his music.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

One thing that I was curious about was wondering how many of the Saudi Arabia's team are actually from Saudi Arabia?  From what I understand, good football players are often courted by other teams to come and play for them.  I believe that they can be "traded" during a certain window of time (like Dec/Jan)?  How all does this work?

In any event, good on them for winning!

PD

[Florestan]

Another surprise: Japan beats Germany 2-1 (0-1 half time).

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Another surprise: Japan beats Germany 2-1 (0-1 half time).

I caught the highlights of that this morning.  Impressive job by Japan!

PD

[Lisztianwagner]

Another surprise: Japan beats Germany 2-1 (0-1 half time).

Incredible, how disappointing! I support Germany in this World Cup, I hope this was just a false step....

[Irons]

You should come visit us some day. And when you do that, let me know.

Love to.

[Irons]

Another surprise: Japan beats Germany 2-1 (0-1 half time).

Blimey! Did not see that coming. Watched the first half with Germany leading. Such a boring game I gave up on it. What a mistake!

[Florestan]

Blimey! Did not see that coming. Watched the first half with Germany leading. Such a boring game I gave up on it. What a mistake!

The second half was much more animated. It's not very often one sees Neuer in the opposing team's goalkeeper square trying to hit the ball with his head.