I remember being fascinated by the World Cup as a kid and watched bits and pieces of all the tournaments since. I have to say this is the first time I have not watched a single moment of it. And funnily enough it is the first time Wales have qualified in 64 years. Getting older? The time of year? Qatar?
I remember being fascinated by the World Cup as a kid and watched but and pieces of all the tournaments since. I have to say this is the first time I have not watched a single moment of it. And funnily enough it is the first time Wales have qualified in 64 years. Getting older? The time of year? Qatar?
It’s time of year. We’re creatures of habit. World cups are for summer bbq’s in our memories.
That said I’m already pretty well engaged in this one. First World Cup I’ve been in England for since 2010, definitely picked up an upswing in interest over the last 72hrs. If England beat USA momentum should continue
I remember being fascinated by the World Cup as a kid and watched but and pieces of all the tournaments since. I have to say this is the first time I have not watched a single moment of it. And funnily enough it is the first time Wales have qualified in 64 years. Getting older? The time of year? Qatar?
It’s time of year. We’re creatures of habit. World cups are for summer bbq’s in our memories.
That said I’m already pretty well engaged in this one. First World Cup I’ve been in England for since 2010, definitely picked up an upswing in interest over the last 72hrs. If England beat USA momentum should continue
I can imagine it would be a great moment to wipe away the stain of 1950, 1776 and various NYT editorials.
I remember being fascinated by the World Cup as a kid and watched bits and pieces of all the tournaments since. I have to say this is the first time I have not watched a single moment of it. And funnily enough it is the first time Wales have qualified in 64 years. Getting older? The time of year? Qatar?
Then you are missing out. Excellent tournament so far. Two classic shocks in the first few days; some goal ridden hammerings; lots to like.
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
Costa Rica were beyond awful. Iran’s performance was weird: they are supposedly a decent side. We won’t really know until they have faced Wales on Friday morning.
I remember being fascinated by the World Cup as a kid and watched but and pieces of all the tournaments since. I have to say this is the first time I have not watched a single moment of it. And funnily enough it is the first time Wales have qualified in 64 years. Getting older? The time of year? Qatar?
It’s time of year. We’re creatures of habit. World cups are for summer bbq’s in our memories.
That said I’m already pretty well engaged in this one. First World Cup I’ve been in England for since 2010, definitely picked up an upswing in interest over the last 72hrs. If England beat USA momentum should continue
Limeys vs Yanks on a Friday night will be massive IMO. 7pm kick off too so not too late for young uns.
Betfair exchange France 8 England 8.2 Spain 8.4. Have had 20 on England.
Are England really as likely to win this as France and Spain? I have my doubts.
538's probabilities look pretty good to me: they have the UK as a 7% chance - and that feels about right. By contrast, they have Spain at 15% and France at 11%.
Brazil, of course, is the favourite with a 22% chance.
FWIW, they estimate Germany has only a 33% chance of even qualifying from their group!
Betfair exchange France 8 England 8.2 Spain 8.4. Have had 20 on England.
Are England really as likely to win this as France and Spain? I have my doubts.
They really really are. Certainly as likely as Spain, perhaps just behind France
If England had a recent history of winning tournaments, rather than 40 years history of choking and going out, I suspect they would be joint favourites with Brazil
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
England looked better than France in attack, worse in defence
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
I think that's a good summation so far. It's a bit shadow boxing so far. One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far. How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
I do, however, like the idea of pitch side air con. Quite clever
Meh, how?
Argentina 1-2 Saudi (with Saudi scoring the goal of the tournament)
Germany 1-2 Japan (with Japan with the best first touch of the tournament)
Hardly meh.
What's most interesting about both those games is that:
(a) the scorelines are identical (b) the favourites scored first in both matches (c) off a penalty (d) and had goals disallowed for offside (e) and the underdogs got both their goals in the second half
I do, however, like the idea of pitch side air con. Quite clever
Meh, how?
Argentina 1-2 Saudi (with Saudi scoring the goal of the tournament)
Germany 1-2 Japan (with Japan with the best first touch of the tournament)
Hardly meh.
What's most interesting about both those games is that:
(a) the scorelines are identical (b) the favourites scored first in both matches (c) off a penalty (d) and had goals disallowed for offside (e) and the underdogs got both their goals in the second half
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
England looked better than France in attack, worse in defence
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
I think that's a good summation so far. It's a bit shadow boxing so far. One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far. How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
Isn’t it 40 teams in 10 groups or something? Only 16 qualify I think. There’s no Round of 32 AFAIK. You could add several more good European sides. Most of the weaker sides are from outside Europe.
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
England looked better than France in attack, worse in defence
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
I think that's a good summation so far. It's a bit shadow boxing so far. One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far. How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
Isn’t it 40 teams in 10 groups or something? Only 16 qualify I think. There’s no Round of 32 AFAIK. You could add several more good European sides. Most of the weaker sides are from outside
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
For those guys who still play in the (salary capped) MLS, it's the opportunity to never have to work again in their lives.
It's not quite salary capped: each team is allowed three players (so called 'designated players') who don't count against the cap. (Or rather, they incur the same 'charge', irrespective of their actual salary.)
This means that the teams can end up ridiculously unbalanced: Toronto pays Italian international Lorenzo Insigne $14m/year. And he'll regularly be on the pitch with players earning $65,000/year.
Interestingly, the most successful MLS teams are rarely the ones who spend the most money. LAFC's total wage bill ($14.5m) is about the same as Insigne's salary, while Philadelphia (who came second in the League) was only $11.8m.
Watch for Kellyn Acosta in the England - USA game; he's tipped to move from MLS to Europe.
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
England looked better than France in attack, worse in defence
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
I think that's a good summation so far. It's a bit shadow boxing so far. One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far. How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
Isn’t it 40 teams in 10 groups or something? Only 16 qualify I think. There’s no Round of 32 AFAIK. You could add several more good European sides. Most of the weaker sides are from outside
40 teams in 8x5 groups with two to qualify would be better if you have to expand. AIUI there will be only 3 more European teams. You could add more from S America. I don't see Peru, Chile, Colombia getting battered. There's probably an argument for Africa too. The problem is Asia and CONCACAF are almost always exactly the same countries. Regardless of whether they have a decent side or not.
France, Spain, England are the only teams to have looked good. Their opponents weren't, mind. France probably best given who they played.
England looked better than France in attack, worse in defence
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
I think that's a good summation so far. It's a bit shadow boxing so far. One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far. How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
Isn’t it 40 teams in 10 groups or something? Only 16 qualify I think. There’s no Round of 32 AFAIK. You could add several more good European sides. Most of the weaker sides are from outside
40 teams in 8x5 groups with two to qualify would be better if you have to expand. AIUI there will be only 3 more European teams. You could add more from S America. I don't see Peru, Chile, Colombia getting battered. There's probably an argument for Africa too. The problem is Asia and CONCACAF are almost
always exactly the same countries. Regardless
of whether they have a decent side or not.
Sounds like they still might go with four team groups because of the risk of collusion when one team in a group isn’t playing in the final round of group matches. From Wiki:
In response to fears of collusion, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani commented in April 2022 that FIFA was still considering 12 groups of 4.
Regarding Concacaf, USA, Mexico and Canada will automatically qualify as hosts - which means more Caribbean and Central American sides will be in there I guess?
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
Rival does indeed imply what you say. However, I’m assured that the States fans do consider us one.
US-Mexico is a (more genuine and two way) rivalry too though yes.
The Colorado shooter’s dad on finding out his son murdered people: “They started telling me about the incident, a shooting... And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew… I am a conservative Republican.” https://mobile.twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1595519454900805649
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
Definitely Germany. No contest. And Argentina. Scotland are a rival too despite the fact we are vastly more successful on the international stage.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
Having said all that. Why do we still have exclusively continental qualifying quotas? It isn't necessary at all these days. Here's how I'd do it on current 32 teams. Automatic: Hosts and holders (2).
20 groups (with preliminaries beforehand). 9 from Europe. 3 from Africa. Merge CONCACAF and S America. 5 groups there. Merge Asia and Oceania. 3 groups there.
Winners of groups only to qualify. That's 20 more teams.
The remaining 10 places to be decided by a two-legged playoff between group runners-up. No European team to play each other. This would make qualifying more rigorous and less automatic for average sides.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
The Colorado shooter’s dad on finding out his son murdered people: “They started telling me about the incident, a shooting... And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew… I am a conservative Republican.” https://mobile.twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1595519454900805649
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
"Tier 1" is pushing it for a team that will start the next UEFA Nations League campaign outside of the top Group A of 16 teams, following their relegation to Group B this year. Let's hope that the turnaround of form on Monday lasts and marks an end to the run of bad results against decent European teams that got them there.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
The Colorado shooter’s dad on finding out his son murdered people: “They started telling me about the incident, a shooting... And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew… I am a conservative Republican.” https://mobile.twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1595519454900805649
America is deeply wierd.
There is a growing theo-fascist strain in US politics.
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
"Tier 1" is pushing it for a team that will start the next UEFA Nations League campaign outside of the top Group A of 16 teams, following their relegation to Group B this year. Let's hope that the turnaround of form on Monday lasts and marks an end to the run of bad results against decent European teams that got them there.
The Nation's League is a system of glorified friendlies. It's a good innovation over actual friendlies but real teams only care about the Euros and World Cup.
Holland are equivalent to England but both Germany and France have brought a lot more trophies home than us. They are genuinely tier 1 footballing nations. We are probably between tier 1 and tier 2.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
America is deeply wierd.
Republicans are deeply weird. Urban non-political Americans also think this sort of stuff is mental.
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
"Tier 1" is pushing it for a team that will start the next UEFA Nations League campaign outside of the top Group A of 16 teams, following their relegation to Group B this year. Let's hope that the turnaround of form on Monday lasts and marks an end to the run of bad results against decent European teams that got them there.
I think @Leon is forgetting just how awful England was in the Nations League this year.
In the first five games, they scored only one goal, while conceding seven. In the end, England managed zero wins from six games.
I'm not convinced drubbing Iran is a sign that England is now a genuine World Cup contender, and would happily sell them on Betfair.
I'm bullish on England but just slightly concerned about us starting so strong. You need to build through the tournament. Hoping for a scrappy 1-0 win vs USA or even the draw.
On the betting I think Uruguay at 46 stands out on a value metric. I have a few pounds on that.
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
"Tier 1" is pushing it for a team that will start the next UEFA Nations League campaign outside of the top Group A of 16 teams, following their relegation to Group B this year. Let's hope that the turnaround of form on Monday lasts and marks an end to the run of bad results against decent European teams that got them there.
I think @Leon is forgetting just how awful England was in the Nations League this year.
In the first five games, they scored only one goal, while conceding seven. In the end, England managed zero wins from six games.
I'm not convinced drubbing Iran is a sign that England is now a genuine World Cup contender, and would happily sell them on Betfair.
Mind you... LAFC managed to lose all its pre-season friendlies, and then went on to win both the Supporters Shield and the MLS cup. So maybe I'm being excessively negative.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
This will be our third WC meeting with the USA. We've one goal and one point so far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
Yup. Our record against them is poor. The Americans see us as a major rival and consider the fixture effectively a derby match: they’ll be up for it.
They don't see us as a major "rival". Rival implies consistent equality. They see us as a tier 1 nation highly likely to defeat them, as a Tier 2 nation, especially after the last games played by both in this tourney
This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
"Tier 1" is pushing it for a team that will start the next UEFA Nations League campaign outside of the top Group A of 16 teams, following their relegation to Group B this year. Let's hope that the turnaround of form on Monday lasts and marks an end to the run of bad results against decent European teams that got them there.
I think @Leon is forgetting just how awful England was in the Nations League this year.
In the first five games, they scored only one goal, while conceding seven. In the end, England managed zero wins from six games.
Decent start from England. Let's see if we can beat USA. We haven't done that in the World Cup! I remain hopeful and positive, 6 points after 2 games is good outcome 👍
I feel we should implement the same approach the Japanese take with school cleaning by children - it seems to work wonders on general cleanliness. As far as trying a new cultural approach it seems a very good one.
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
Makes the ayatollahs sound moderate.
Certainly doesn't sound like any God I'd want to follow.
Certain ayatollahs seem more concerned with temporal displays of power in any case.
I feel we should implement the same approach the Japanese take with school cleaning by children - it seems to work wonders on general cleanliness. As far as trying a new cultural approach it seems a very good one.
As long as we adopt the teachers and students having a kip after lunchtime as well, then I'm massively in favour
I feel we should implement the same approach the Japanese take with school cleaning by children - it seems to work wonders on general cleanliness. As far as trying a new cultural approach it seems a very good one.
As long as we adopt the teachers and students having a kip after lunchtime as well, then I'm massively in favour
Works for me, I often feel like I could use a siesta (apparently some theorise this may be something called Postprandial somnolence, which is too good a name to not be real).
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.” https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
Makes the ayatollahs sound moderate.
Clearly she is a nutcase, but at least her damnation on people is for the next life.
A particular poster hijacks the conversation several times a day with transgender re-Tweets. I have conflicted views on the issue. It seems very complicated and not the simple universal condemnation narrative that poster prefers. Under the circumstances I am finding it best to keep away from the site.
Other dreary borefests to be avoided are AI and photographs of exotic location lunches, as well of course as my own PMQs scorecard.
Surely you appreciate the comedy value in Johnson's weight being due to excessive muscle mass, as accorded by one poster, rather than an over indulgent bon viveur lifestyle.
The World Cup betting tracker – politicalbetting.com
Comments
Their opponents weren't, mind.
France probably best given who they played.
That said I’m already pretty well engaged in this one. First World Cup I’ve been in England for since 2010, definitely picked up an upswing in interest over the last 72hrs. If England beat USA momentum should continue
I do, however, like the idea of pitch side air con. Quite clever
We've one goal and one point so far.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
But Brazil haven't played yet, and they have the best team according to FIFA
I'd have Brazil as faves, France as -just! - 2nd faves, England a close third, Spain fourth, Argentina fifth
It will be one of those five
Argentina 1-2 Saudi (with Saudi scoring the goal of the tournament)
Germany 1-2 Japan (with Japan with the best first touch of the tournament)
Hardly meh.
Brazil, of course, is the favourite with a 22% chance.
FWIW, they estimate Germany has only a 33% chance of even qualifying from their group!
If England had a recent history of winning tournaments, rather than 40 years history of choking and going out, I suspect they would be joint favourites with Brazil
Unfortunately (!!!) we do have that history
It's a bit shadow boxing so far.
One point. 32 teams, and there are a couple completely out of their depth so far.
How many when we have 48 next time? In groups of three with two to qualify?
(a) the scorelines are identical
(b) the favourites scored first in both matches
(c) off a penalty
(d) and had goals disallowed for offside
(e) and the underdogs got both their goals in the second half
💥Labour is ahead of the Conservatives in both the Red & Blue Wall, according to an exclusive VI by @RedfieldWilton for @itvpeston 📈
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This is reflected in the FIFA rankings - 5 (England) versus 18 (USA)
If the USA get a draw they will consider that a big result. For Southgate it will be a considerable disappointment
Does the USA have a rival and a derby game? Perhaps Mexico? I dunno. Don't follow their football
For England it is probably Holland, Germany or France (tho the French have beaten us of late more than vice versa)
Sorry @dixiedean it seems you are right.
I stand by my point about European teams though.
This means that the teams can end up ridiculously unbalanced: Toronto pays Italian international Lorenzo Insigne $14m/year. And he'll regularly be on the pitch with players earning $65,000/year.
Interestingly, the most successful MLS teams are rarely the ones who spend the most money. LAFC's total wage bill ($14.5m) is about the same as Insigne's salary, while Philadelphia (who came second in the League) was only $11.8m.
Watch for Kellyn Acosta in the England - USA game; he's tipped to move from MLS to Europe.
AIUI there will be only 3 more European teams.
You could add more from S America. I don't see Peru, Chile, Colombia getting battered. There's probably an argument for Africa too.
The problem is Asia and CONCACAF are almost always exactly the same countries. Regardless of whether they have a decent side or not.
In response to fears of collusion, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani commented in April 2022 that FIFA was still considering 12 groups of 4.
Regarding Concacaf, USA, Mexico and Canada will automatically qualify as hosts - which means more Caribbean and Central American sides will be in there I guess?
https://mobile.twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1595495444339380224
@BBCNewsnight’s been told dozens of his ex-private secretaries are to submit formal complaints, in a co-ordinated effort to lodge concerns
There are also questions over Mr Raab’s use of personal email accounts
More 1030pm BBC 2 https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire/status/1595538720555409408/photo/1
US-Mexico is a (more genuine and two way) rivalry too though yes.
The Colorado shooter’s dad on finding out his son murdered people: “They started telling me about the incident, a shooting... And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew… I am a conservative Republican.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1595519454900805649
.@JennaEllisEsq on the Club Q shooting. The “people killed in the nightclub that night, there is no evidence/that they were Christians. Assuming they have not accepted the truth/affirmed Christ as the lord of their life they are now reaping the consequences of eternal damnation.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1595492438033936385
Here's how I'd do it on current 32 teams.
Automatic: Hosts and holders (2).
20 groups (with preliminaries beforehand).
9 from Europe.
3 from Africa.
Merge CONCACAF and S America.
5 groups there.
Merge Asia and Oceania.
3 groups there.
Winners of groups only to qualify. That's 20 more teams.
The remaining 10 places to be decided by a two-legged playoff between group runners-up. No European team to play each other.
This would make qualifying more rigorous and less automatic for average sides.
Until Saudi Arabia and Japan saved it
https://twitter.com/johnestevens/status/1595543514137387008
Ministers preparing to launch £25m ‘full scale’ public information campaign urging people to cut energy use
Campaign includes 8 pieces of advice coming at little or no cost to people while not sacrificing comfort, saving up to £420 a year https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1595545208141537280
Holland are equivalent to England but both Germany and France have brought a lot more trophies home than us. They are genuinely tier 1 footballing nations. We are probably between tier 1 and tier 2.
In the first five games, they scored only one goal, while conceding seven. In the end, England managed zero wins from six games.
I'm not convinced drubbing Iran is a sign that England is now a genuine World Cup contender, and would happily sell them on Betfair.
On the betting I think Uruguay at 46 stands out on a value metric. I have a few pounds on that.
Never got it.
England ARE
Not England was
Not England is
Aaaaaargh. @NickPalmer was at this earlier.
Or something.
English is weird/wierd.
KierKeir.It has been really bad. Far left San Francisco/Berkeley views have been propagated to the world via Twitter.
I’m sure this comes as no surprise to anyone watching closely.
Twitter is moving rapidly to establish an even playing field. No more thumb on the scale!
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1595534031545765890
Certain ayatollahs seem more concerned with temporal displays of power in any case.
• Musk
• Borisweight
• Trans
Ex-Ambassador speaks out: How Qatar funds extremism in the West
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLny7b0DAiI
What do you do about bots/threats/incitement to violence?
The very mark of a free speech absolutist.
It's a bit trickier than first imagined.
I presume she would have thought likewise about the Thatcher government's Aids awareness campaign.
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/449950/stupid-decision-liz-truss-blocks-15m-ad-campaign-to-help-public-save-energy/
I feel good about that meeting, I was in prime and didn't hold back.
One contributor asked "well can you just fill in a form to reverse the GRC"
I retorted, "which form do I complete to get my genitals back"
Spicy....
I'll speak to English MPs too, but for most part, England is getting its shit together.
But Scotland, what are you doing? Funding grooming organisations that will "help children find their trans identity"
Disgusten.gif
https://twitter.com/TullipR/status/1595432713045086208
Powerplay: The House of Sep Blatter
I simply cannot pronounce “compartmentalisation” correctly…
Curiously the Sh*tter account #elonmuskisac*nt (without the bleepout) is marked as "suspended".
C'mon, Musk, is Musk a c*nt or is he not a c*nt? Or does he tell us like some fool of a philosophy lecturer that it's more complicated than that?
Let's hold a vote! "Vox Populi, Vox Dei", according to the Musk.
A particular poster hijacks the conversation several times a day with transgender re-Tweets. I have conflicted views on the issue. It seems very complicated and not the simple universal condemnation narrative that poster prefers. Under the circumstances I am finding it best to keep away from the site.
Other dreary borefests to be avoided are AI and photographs of exotic location lunches, as well of course as my own PMQs scorecard.
Surely you appreciate the comedy value in Johnson's weight being due to excessive muscle mass, as accorded by one poster, rather than an over indulgent bon viveur lifestyle.
On topic. Japan?
https://www.ktoo.org/360TV/#page=schedule&day=20221123&provider=Broadcast
Addendum - Lisa Murkowski re-elected as US Senator
I am off to bed 👎
SKS wins Spectator MP of the year award and receives applause from fellow Tory MPs
SKS fans please explain
note results are still unofficial until certified (likely on Tuesday) but outcome is set.
https://pollingreport.uk/articles/welcome-to-uk-polling-report
Spain and France should be favourites, England and Belgium outsiders but plausible. Netherlands and Portugal as long-shots.