Vesper

he looks quite explosive, time will tell

starting XI Thibaut Courtois Thiago Silva Antonio Rüdiger Ben Chilwell (injuries are the main issue) and also Alonso got better, jury is still out on CuCu César Azpilicueta N'Golo Kanté Mateo Kovacic Cesc Fàbregas Eden Hazard Pedro Olivier Giroud

new rules have stopped that from ever getting to the old Loan Army days again I approve of this signing

For the first time ever, no British fans were arrested at the World Cup https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2022/12/14/world-cup-2022-england-wales-no-arrests/51072329/

Bayern Munich, Inter Milan continue to rule World Cup as 40-year run of finalists continues in Qatar https://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4831711/bayern-and-inters-incredible-streak-of-world-cup-finalists France will be facing Argentina in the 2022 men's World Cup final with the prospect of being the first team to retain their title since Brazil in 1962, but the match-up also guarantees that an extraordinary streak dating back four decades will continue when the showpiece kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. At least one player from both 10-time reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Serie A giants Inter Milan has been involved in every World Cup final since Italy's 3-1 victory over West Germany in the 1982 decider in Spain. What's more, when Kylian Mbappe leads the line against Lionel Messi & Co. in the 2022 final at the Lusail Stadium, both Bayern and Inter will once again have a player involved. Qatar 2022 Bayern: Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano, Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernandez (France). Inter: Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) We are once again guaranteed to have at least one Bayern and one Inter player taking part in the Qatar final. Inter are represented by Argentina, while France have plenty of Bayern players in their squad to ensure the streak will continue into the 2026 tournament.

No clue is going to win between the Argies and France the two best teams by far in the tourney Pessi seems on a mission and their MF matches up well, but Otamendi is potentially huge weak spot Mbappe has been a bit quiet the last 2 games, so I expect him to blow up, Molina will have his hands full, and Konate seems to have solved their CB issue with Upamecano, he was rock solid yesterday, and another key is Adrien Rabiot's health (he missed the last game with a flu) I am going to go 3 2 France (but zero shock if that is flipped)

top 25 players at WC (no final order) top 5 Pessi Mbappe Griezmann Gvardiol Amrabat then Julián Álvarez Kovacic Tchouaméni Giroud Modric Gapko Enzo Fernández Saka Bellingham Dominik Livaković Romain Saiss Azzedine Ounahi Nahuel Molina Alexis Mac Allister Achraf Hakimi Josip Juranovic Lovren Richarlison Mohammed Kudus Emi Martinez

toplight for club and country at age 31: 734 games, 276 goals, 133 assists, plus great defence

IF we miss out on Josko Gvardiol, these are pretty much all the main non youth CB options atm the ones in italics are do or die time in terms of age and paying a fa(all are born in early to mid 1995, except for Laporte, who is mid 1994, so all except Kimpembe will be 29yo in the coming season, and Presnel is only 6 months younger than the youngest of the others, we would get 2 full sub 30yo season out of him, one full sub 30yo season for all the others) I did not list the left footer Nathan Aké, who is yet another born in early 1995 (so do or die as well in terms of age), I think that ship sailed when we sold him Milan Skriniar (on a free unless he renews) Alessandro Bastoni left footer (likely the most expensive on this list, and a crazy hard pull, especially if Skriniar leaves on a free) Pau Torres left footer (to show you how time flies, he turns 27 in around a year) Jurrien Timber Presnel Kimpembe left footer José María Giménez Aymeric Laporte left footer, surely Citehs sells him if they buy Gvardiol (they would have then have three left footed CBs PLUS Dias, Stones, and Akanji, no chance they carry 6 starting level CBs), but he turns 30yo right at the end of next season, and he does have a history of injuries Benoît Badiashile left footer Robin Le Normand Evan Ndicka left footer Edmond Tapsoba Mohamed Simakan (can play RB too) Merih Demiral Gonçalo Inácio left footer Piero Hincapié left footer Adam Webster Odilon Kossounou David Carmo left footer Maxence Lacroix Armel Bella-Kotchap Attila Szalai left footer Ilya Zabarnyi

no shit!!!!!!!

he was better today but will never be confused defensively for Maldini, lol he is becoming like TAA super on offence but shite on defence the LB to watch out for in terms of becoming a defensive beast is Destiny Udogie, who unfortunately is now a Spuds player (out on loan this season)

lol that was the most rambling all over the place but bizarrely great post of this thread

who would have thought before the WC that Griezmann would turn into Kante, lol

Argentina squad yell "fucking English" insult during World Cup dressing room celebrations Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday night to qualify for the final of the World Cup and their celebrations involved singing a controversial and offensive song in the dressing room https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/argentina-english-insult-world-cup-28727304 Argentina’s players sang a song which insults the English and makes reference to the Falklands War after beating Croatia to reach the World Cup final. Lionel Scaloni’s side picked up a comfortable 3-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday to book their place in Sunday’s final in Qatar. Lionel Messi ’s penalty and two goals from Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez ensured Argentina will play the winner of France vs Morocco’s semi-final this weekend. After opening their campaign with a shock 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia, Argentina have now picked up five straight wins. They will play in their sixth World Cup final and will be aiming for their third trophy – and their first since Diego Maradona inspired them to the title in 1986. The victory prompted joyous scenes inside the Lusail Stadium, with Messi and his teammates hugging each other and singing with their fans. Scaloni was caught on camera bursting into tears while embracing Messi, but their celebrations took a different tone once inside the dressing room. Defender Nicolas Otamendi’s Instagram story showed how they celebrated reaching their first final since the heartbreak against Germany in 2014. The players and coaching staff are shown jumping up and down, swinging shirts around their heads while singing in unison a song which has been commonplace among supporters in Qatar. The song as, relayed by Marca, describes rivals Brazil as the "crumpled the five-time champions", says "f***ing English" and includes reference to the Malvinas. As neighbours, Brazil are Argentina’s biggest rivals – and it seems their exit from the tournament at the hands of Croatia in the quarter-finals was well received across the border. The Malvinas, meanwhile, are a reference to the Islas Malvinas – the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands, over which Argentina and Britain fought a war in 1982. The sovereignty of the territory in the South Atlantic remains disputed by Argentina, who maintained their invasion was a reclamation of its own territory. The Falklands have been a British crown colony since 1841 and the population is heavily derived from British settlers, who have always favoured British rule. Speaking after the win, Scaloni tried to sum up what it meant for his squad. "It’s difficult to put this in words,” he said. “This is what I’ve always dreamed of as an Argentinean. It is emotional and our people support us in a way which is unforgettable. We are making history. "We're celebrating because it's something very exciting, but there's still a step left. It's a time to enjoy, but we already have to think about what's to come."

France , a billion times more class than the Argies when they win

we need to try this Silvio Berlusconi Promises 'Busload of Whores' if His Soccer Team Wins https://www.thedailybeast.com/silvio-berlusconi-promises-busload-of-whores-if-his-soccer-team-wins Silvio “Bunga-Bunga” Berlusconi, who was recently lofted to power in the ruling Italian government, is back to his old misogynistic ways, it would seem. When introducing a new coach for his Monza A.C. soccer squad, whom he described as “good, nice, kind, and able to stimulate our boys,” he added another incentive. “I added extra stimulation ... if you win against one of these great teams, I’ll send a bus full of whores to the locker room.” The 86-year-old was thrice elected prime minister and twice charged for sex crimes, including abetting prostitution tied to an underage dancer. He is the leader of the Forza Italia party. It is unclear what his 32-year-old girlfriend thinks of his promise to his team.

Randal Kolo Muani was on the pitch for seconds when he scored

2 nil game over

Giroud off, wow

Konate has been a beast defensively, as has Griezmann and Amrabat and Hakimi

Marca? Every single source, including Romano, the Athletic, Sports Illustrated , The Guardian, etc have said its €120m and remember, Benfica have to pay 25% of that to River Plate. have a REALLY hard time believing Benfica would sign him with RC that would net them only £48m (as they paid 10m quid for him)

https://www.si.com/soccer/liverpool/transfers/liverpool-willing-to-pay-release-clause-for-argentinas-enzo-fernandez-personal-agreement-close Liverpool Paying Up According to reports by Argentinian journalist Gustavo Yarroch, via ESPN Futbol Argentina, Liverpool are willing to pay the €120m release clause for Benfica star Enzo Fernandez. The report also states that a personal agreement is close. These new statements follow up from the weekend's reports suggesting that Liverpool had a pre-contract agreement to sign the Argentinian midfielder. His former side River Plate are attentive to the situation, as they will receive 25% of the fee.

wow, overhead kick hit the woodwork