Obviously the golden boot doesn't mean nearly as much as the world cup trophy but I think it's a fun little side thing to talk about lol. I hope Messi wins it, he's got the slight assist tiebreaker edge against Mbappe going into the final matches. However, Mbappe still has the 3rd place match to pass him and honestly, my money would be on Mbappe to win it again. I think he probably wants it so he can say he's the only player to ever win it twice. Plus, England's coach has already suggested that he doesn't care about the 3rd place game so we'll probably see Mbappe going against reserve English players. I can definitely see Mbappe getting at least 2-3 goals while Messi's going up against a Spanish squad who's only given up 1 goal the whole tournament.

What do you guys think?

90,000 people welcomed their national team home after the World Cup. The Prince of Norway played the drums, and the whole city did the "Norwegian rowing" celebration. IMPRESSIVE.

I'm watching old games with the Brazilian Golden Squad (Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo), and then I'm watching some of Zinedine Zidane's, the old Italy Golden Squad too, and England's Golden Squad. I realised that all of these teams played in the 2000s and early 2010s, and the fucking standard of play is just phenomenal. The kind of tricks and shots from free kicks, dribbles, and passes are just unbelievable. I was recently rewatching some of those FIFA's best goals of this tournament so far.

By the way, I'm not just talking about the World Cup. I'm talking about club football, I watch all of it, because the same players who are top two clubs are top in the World Cup anyway. I'm not seeing many spectacular players at all anymore, and no one, not even a 29-year-old Messi, is still leagues above everyone else. I'm almost sure this standard has gone down, but why has it gone down? Is it just a phase, or is it that tactics, skills, or raw talent aren't being rewarded anymore? What's been happening?

It could just be nostagia, but the highlight reels from that era look sooooooo much better than the modern day highlight reels.

Anyone who says the match doesnt matter is a narrow-minded elitist asshole. Imagine being the first english team to take home a medal. They would, and should, be lauded as heroes.

For some reason the american capitalism think of "2nd place is 1st loser" has seeped into sports and i hate every second of it.

Should Pickford retire?

I've been really enjoying watching football. Like anything else, I'm also starting to see the issues people are having with the game, especially from a business standpoint. I recently saw a video of people upset that they are planning for a 30 min break during the finals. Also have learned that people prefer watching on Telemundo to avoid the ads and boring commentary of the other network. I had a fleeting question I wanted to ask. Do you think it's best football doesn't get popular in the USA since it will likely result in more stoppage of play to allow for advertisements and make the rich get richer, taking away the established culture of football from the players and fans?

I was reading this frankly astonishing post. Cricket has third place playoff but aside from that I sympathise with the emotional drain and how their hearts really can't be in the match and I came up with a solution, they could conspire to draw. Wait, hear me out...

Because both teams are have great players they could put on an exhibition match as it were without worrying about winning or losing but in stead to play beautiful football and each side would aim to do this. There can still be a legitimate winner because by conspiring for the draw for the sake of the football would mean when it came to penalties that would be legit, so they'd only really have to put their emotions into that small bit.

what do you think?

Jordan, Algeria, Austria are one thing but can he finally get another NPG against a top 10 country at the World Cup? His only one NPG against a top 10 team at the World Cup was against France in 2022, the Final from a rebound into an open goal - can he do it against Spain?

BBC debunks the viral images which is spread during world cup for views.

What do you think? On one hand I feel it keeps players more accountable and reduces human error of the referee but on the other hand I feel it can be overused where they check everything where the game gets a lot less entertaining and is always in review.

Do you think it’s better or worse? Sometimes I feel they should just let the game be played.

Personally I think for a really close call I think it should be used but I don’t think everything should be examined as it ruins the excitement of the game.

I am ready to get this party started.

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To me vuvuzela was peak annoyance.

I am reading some comments around the social media that Tuchel is as bad as Sven, but to put things in perspective; Sven never had major meltdowns like Tuchel had.

- in 2002 England met one of the best brazilian teams ever; David Seaman with a gaffe in goal

- in 2004 England lost to penalities to Portugal, and Sol Campell got a winning goal disallowed.

- in 2006 England lost to portugal penalties again and Rooney got a red card during the game

I mean, yes England didnt made the semi-finals but all these games were a bit unlucky.

This is more of a cultural post for those who want to know a little more about how we Argentines process these emotions, from the longest drought to absolute glory.

The song I posted is called "No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor" (I do not regret this love), originally by one of Argentina's greatest cumbia singers, Gilda, whose life was cut short in 1996 by a horrific traffic accident, and covered by Argentina's famed punk band Attaque 77.

The current Argentine fan song for the 2026 edition of the World Cup is based on the rhythm of the song and is a fantastic rendition, merging digestible and easy to learn lyrics to one of the most memorable songs ever put to music.

The lyrics of the original are very much in tune with our national sentiment when it comes to the Albiceleste:

No me arrepiento de este amor,

Aunque me cueste el corazón,

Amar es un milagro y yo te amé,

Como nunca jamás lo imaginé,

Translation:

I do not regret this love,

Even if it costs me my heart,

Loving is a miracle and I've loved you,

In a way I would have never imagined,

Anyways, I wanted to write this to sort of move away from the drama and vitriol of the current games and do something positive.

Does your country have something similar?

A very, very long shot but what do you think?

That would solve the question of near telepathic understanding that clubs players have and national teams usually lack.

Wouldn’t that team consistently destroy any national team opposition?

Hypothetically how much would it cost and would there be any challenge in achieving this if money was not an issue? I assume they would still do well in the league right? Would you get behind that team… if let’s say Musk started it? Not many people would have the funds…

Barcelona are already doing that “organically” with 8 players in the national team.

If Argentina wins the World Cup:

"Rigged." "VARgentina." "FIFA wanted Messi." "Referee bought." "Corruption." "Robbed." Insert conspiracy theory here.

If Argentina loses:

"Messi is finished." "Argentina are washed." "Football won." "Justice served." "Karma." "Finally exposed."

So... what's actually the favorable outcome for them? Feels like they're getting cooked either way. 😂

Pretty on brand really.

If both 2nd and 3rd place win and lose to the same teams in semis/finals/play offs then what makes 2nd place better? For example, in the 2022 world cup, France beat Morocco before losing to Argentina, getting them in second place, however at the same time, Croatia lost to Argentina before beating Morocco, getting them below France despite basically getting the same result as them. Why should 2nd place better held above 3rd?

I've watched many match analyses, and everyone's criticizing Tuchel. I think that's just hindsight. It's obvious that before Tuchel's substitutions, the England players were already intimidated by Argentina's momentum, spontaneously retreating to defend. Coupled with exhaustion and England's history of faltering in crucial moments of major tournaments, and considering there was still half an hour left in the game, Tuchel's decision to substitute defensive players was reasonable. Given England's strength, it's difficult to withstand Argentina's massive counter-attacks while also launching effective counter-attacks. Without strengthening their defense, they probably would have conceded a goal much earlier. Criticism of Tuchel should also focus on his inadequate defensive arrangements; he neglected to defend against long-range shots from outside the box, and even his crosses weren't properly defended. Okay, but that's also because they had Messi on the other side. Against any other team, they could have held on. English fans and media keep criticizing Tuchel, but what they should really be thinking about is why their players have such weak willpower and are so mentally fragile. They've changed so many coaches, yet the same problem persists, and they're still blaming the coach—it's quite ridiculous. This is actually related to the culture of praising players in British football; after all, praising players generates traffic and value. So the fault definitely isn't with the players, it's always the coach's. The British know how to manage a league, but applying the same approach to the national team will inevitably lead to consistently missing the point and failing to achieve a breakthrough.