the Euros went to shit when it went to 24 teams.
it would be better off if the World Cup just went every 2 years instead.
I can remember very little of Euro 2024 compared to the Qatar World cup.
Euro 2021 was good I thought. Loads of drama in the knockouts. Us being at the next Euros will greatly enhance our enjoyment of it.
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that’s fair.
England and Italy’s run to the finals were exciting.
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Michael Holding
And there was I thinking it was Peckham’s finest……
Cape Verde v Argentina 2026 World Cup is surely straight in at number 1.
They certainly went down swinging.
Juan Roman Riquelme and Juan Fernando Quintero
Star players on World Cup semi-final teams in my lifetime:
1990 probably wins on box officeness, 2026 probably wins on quality though 2026 also ranks highly on box officeness.
1990 gets a very bad rap as a tournament (not talking about John Barnes) but the two epic box office semi-finals were its saving grace.
1990 and 1998 the only two times in my lifetime where there wasn’t at least one dud semi-final.
1982:
Italy: Rossi
Poland: Boniek
West Germany: Rummenigge
France: Platini
1986:
Argentina: Maradona
Belgium: Pfaff?
West Germany: Rummenigge
France: Platini
1990:
Italy: Schillaci
Argentina: Maradona
West Germany: Matthaus
England: Gascoigne
1994:
Italy: Baggio
Bulgaria: Stoichkov
Brazil: Romario
Sweden: Brolin
1998:
Brazil: Ronaldo
Holland: Bergkamp
France: Zidane
Croatia: Suker
2002:
Germany: Ballack
South Korea: Ahn Jung Hwan? Not many stars there
Brazil: Ronaldo
Turkey: Hakan Sukur? Hasan Sas? A starless team really
2006:
Germany: Ballack
Italy: Pirlo
France: Zidane
Portugal: Figo
2010:
Germany: Ozil?
Spain: Xavi or Iniesta
Hollland: Robben probably
Uruguay: Suarez but was suspended, so Forlan probably
2014:
Brazil: Neymar but he got injured and didn’t play, so probably David Luiz or maybe Fred or Jo or Tom
Germany: Muller?
Argentina: Messi
Holland: Robben
2018:
France: Mbappé
Belgium: Hazard
England: Kane
Croatia: Modric
2022:
France: Mbappé
Morocco: Bono? Not many stars
Argentina: Messi
Croatia: Modric
2026:
France: Mbappé
Spain: Yamal
England: Bellingham
Argentina: Messi
POWER RANKINGS of World Cup semi-finals since 1982:
1 West Germany 3 France 3 1982
2 Argentina 2 Belgium 0 1986
3 Germany 0 Italy 2 2006
4 Italy 1 Argentina 1 1990
5 West Germany 1 England 1 1990
6 Brazil 1 Germany 7 2014
7 Croatia 2 England 1 2018
8 Brazil 1 Holland 1 1998
9 France 2 Croatia 1 1998
10 Italy 2 Bulgaria 1 1994
11 Holland 3 Uruguay 2 2010
12 Argentina 3 Croatia 0 2022
13 Spain 1 Germany 0 2010
14 Argentina 0 Holland 0 2014
15 Italy 2 Poland 0 1982
16 West Germany 2 France 0 1986
17 Brazil 1 Sweden 0 1994
18 Brazil 1 Turkey 0 2002
19 Germany 1 South Korea 0 2002
20 France 1 Belgium 0 2018
21 France 2 Morocco 0 2022
22 France 1 Portugal 0 2006
Yeah the two dud semi-finals in 2022 really let down an otherwise brilliant World Cup. I think we pretty much have the optimum pairings this time. The best team in the world v the reigning European champions who haven’t lost in 35 games and the reigning world champions v the nearly men in a historically iconic grudge match which happens sporadically enough to make it feel like a real treat. Hopefully the games and narratives live up to the billing now. I’ll probably miss most of tonight’s game for training unless I avoid the score and watch it on the plus +1.
You must be the youngest poster on this forum.
Nah @Copper_pipe is a smidgen younger than me anyway.
There were no semifinals in 1974 or 1978. Instead there was a second group stage with the first team going through to the final and the second team going to the third place playoff.
There was still a second group stage in 1982 with 4 groups of 3 and the winner of each group going into a semi final.
What was the first World Cup that you’d remember? Possibly before your time but was the 1966 World Cup televised here or only on the BBC on the east coast?
BBC in rural Leitrim. We got electricity that June, the oul’ lad had procured a Bosch drill instead of a kettle or a fridge but anyways we were up and running with the telly just as the tournament started.
The same oul’ lad was less than pleased with the result, rightly commenting ‘we’ll never hear the end of this now’. Prophetic…
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The first association football match me oul’ fella ever saw on the telly was the 1962 World Cup Final. I’m not even sure the family had a telly at that stage as Telly Éireann had only started on New Year’s Day 1962 . The Cowans next door had a telly however and they had the BBC. They were Protestants cc: of @cowpat. Slightly distant as all Protestants are, but good people. The game was not shown live on BBC. It was shown on the BBC either on the Monday or the Tuesday night in full. Oul’ Mr. Cowan invited me oul’ fella in to watch it, which was very nice of him, and Mrs. Cowan served up very good tea and sandwiches. Poor oul’ Mr. Cowan died on Christmas Eve six months later as the snow fell.
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Was a lovely story until the final whistle went for Mr.Cowan.
If only there was VAR then your Da could have reversed the outcome.
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Major international football rivalries POWER RANKINGS - both teams must have reached at least one World Cup semi-final ever
20 France v Spain
19 France v England
18 Argentina v Portugal
17 France v Portugal
16 Brazil v Germany
15 Brazil v Uruguay
14 Brazil v England
13 Germany v France
12 England v Holland
11 France v Argentina
10 Germany v Italy
9 France v Brazil
8 Italy v Argentina
7 Germany v Argentina
6 Brazil v Italy
5 Brazil v Argentina
4 England v Germany
3 Argentina v Holland
2 Germany v Holland
1 Argentina v England