2022 World Cup Qatar

Costa Rica take the last place in Qatar by defeating New Zealand 1-0.

double whammy defeats for NZ

Costa RIca will be one team we will want to avoid if we get out of the groups

What did you guys make of the statement put out by the Aussie soccer team? Do you agree with what they said, & do you think England should follow suit or should we keep quiet? Also there have been calls for Iran to be kicked out of the competition for its involvement in supporting Russia in Ukraine, I feel FIFA will be hesitant about removing Iran at this late stage, as it is so close to the competition but if they did, I feel they should either be A) Replaced by another country from their section or group, B) their place given to Ukraine or C) Their matches/results should be automatic 3-0 walkovers for their opponents once the competition starts, plus many papers I think have even suggested or said that England should refuse to play Iran. What do you guys think?

I think Iran stand bog all chance of winning the bloody thing anyway. But kicking them out would be a stupid idea.

Alcohol ban in the grounds, to which one of the World Cup sponsors Budweizer tweeted, 'This is awkward'.

The security is an issue as expected, already told some journalists to stop filming for whatever reason, then threatened to break the crew camera. They had all the credentials, permissions etc, but were still interfered with...so to speak. An apology was issued, but stull, not a good start at all. If they expect fans to adhere to a no alcohol rule, or rules in general, then they are living in a fantasy land, apply that same attitude to drunk and/or angry fans and yeah, I smell potential for international incidents. I hope it doesn't but I imagine this could go very wrong, very quickly for some.

I mean, who would of thought that getting to host a World Cup legitimately and in no way because briefcases of cash were a thing, could mean that a country that has no business hosting, for numerous reasons, would make it a good world cup for paying, travelling international fans. Hmmm. Host an international tournament in a restrictive, human rights loving, treat workers well country you say, great fun!

Oh and I don't know how reliable the source was, but there was a rumour that bribes for Qatar to qualify and progress are/were happening. lol.

I still think that short of going "nowhere in the Middle East is fit to host", Qatar was one of the least worst options. Banging the "human rights" drum, however sound, is a bit hollow when Saudi Arabia and Israel both kill journalists and basically get away with it, and are still "friends of the West".

When will Australia get a turn to host? Surely they're big enough?

(18-11-2022 13:05 )Charlemagne Wrote:  Alcohol ban in the grounds, to which one of the World Cup sponsors Budweizer tweeted, 'This is awkward'.

I think Budweiser might escape the ban as it's basically Camel Piss.

Poor old camels.

There's camels in Australia too

Giovanni Infantino banged the drum for FIFA sticking with Qatar today. Fun starts tomorrow. Well, the football does.