Paullow

I was just about to say probably no Kuol again this evening, but that second goal might change things a bit and come on like he did vs France.

Just realised if the Swiss had scored one more goal they would have topped the group on goals scored and that would have put the cat among the pigeons and shaken things to their core

Aye, but 3 of Italy, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, Czech, then Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, plus the African countries you mention and Ivory Coast would add something. If you get 8 of those 12 in then it doesn't harm the event and we get more KO matches to look forward to. Extra CONCACAF and Asian sides might not help the quality of the tournament at this stage, but their participation may well improve them down the line. I'd probably prefer to stick to 32 as it works very well, no 3 team groups or 3rd place teams going through, but wouldn't be too against a few more nations getting their chance.

Best match of the tournament thus far!

No goals, but a frantic start to the Swiss match. Really entertaining.

You'd hope so, he'll be one of very few not to have started a match at this stage.

If it somehow wasn't spotted in a VAR-less world back then and play was waved on and the offence wasn't punished at all then that would be a lot different, and I'd have a different view and it would have left a bad taste, but he committed an offence, was caught, got subsequent punishment for it, a red card and a penalty, which would still stand today. Perhaps not the most sportsmanlike thing in the world to do, but not cheating IMO.

Ghana vs Uruguay and Serbia vs Switzerland for me tomorrow, well certainly to start with anyway, and of course, neither are on the main TV channel - I feel like a proper hipster (if Bruno starts then I might be tempted to watch Brazil...)

It started off really well until like Thursday, had 3 or 4 poorer days, lots bemoaning the lack of quality, but it's massively picked up again since the final group matches started, and some insane drama, especially tonight. Really enjoyed it overall. So many shocks and dramatic moments. I wouldn't like to see it become a permanent fixture due to the carnage of the domestic league, and of course it won't, but I've actually surprisingly really enjoyed having it in November, and the lead up to Christmas.

Get in! Ideal scenario for me. What a fantastic evening of football!

Absolutely perfect for Spain now. On course to finish 2nd (avoiding Croatia and then Brazil in the QF) - hopefully the management will get the word out and they don't equalise.

Insane drama. The vast majority would have assumed things were done and dusted at half time, but this has definitely been the most dramatic final group night. Hoping Spain go through, so I'm pleased the Germans equalised. I'd be happy if the group order stayed as it is now. I'd love to watch both games, but it's annoying how far behind online is.

This group certainly got more interesting. I thought Spain were comfortable and might have been content with finishing 2nd not 1st, but completely forgot that one more Costa Rica goal would send them out. Crazy.

SSN reporting Martinez has now stepped down. No surprise really.

I think they'll just go out and try and finish the job, keep the momentum going, and then plan for the KO matches when they arise, but it definitely looks more favourable them finishing 2nd than first (probably Morocco then Portugal, instead of Croatia and likely Brazil), but with them not beating Germany the other day, it's harder to potentially ease off etc. Had they beaten Germany and were on 6 points and Japan on 4, then they could have lost and definitely finished 2nd, but Germany could just about pip them on goal difference, plus Costa Rica could go ahead of them if they got a shock win, and there'd be serious egg on their face if they ended up 3rd having won their first match 7-0. It's a weird situation, but I guess they just have to be professional and go for the win, and what will be will be. Edit - actually no they couldn't because Japan are only on 3 points, and would need have needed to be a battering for Japan to pip them into 2nd, and even then a win CR could see them in 3rd as well.

They've done very well for a relatively small country to produce so many good players at the same time, but yeah, most of the squad were there in 2014, and there doesn't seem too much coming through. I thought Trossard was like 22/23, but he's 28 in a few days as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_squads#Belgium Courtois, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Witsel, KDB, Lukaku, Hazard, Mertens all there back then and most of them in better shape at that time than they are now, plus many other solid players like Defour, Kompany, Fellaini, Dembele, Vermaelen etc. When I was growing up they rarely qualified for anything - no Euro's from 1984 to 2016, bar one event they qualified automatically for as co-hosts (2002). They did fair a bit better in the World Cup without making any real impact (pre golden generation), but also failed to qualify in 2006 and 2010, so no major tournament at all for them from 2002 to 2014, so despite probably not living up to expectations these past 8 years, it was obviously a huge contrast to the 12 prior to that. With a lot of there squad early to late 30's, I wonder if they naturally sift back down the rankings in the next few years?

Definitely. It was annoying (for us) when OGS took out Lee (I think) all those years ago and got a red card (and a standing ovation from the OT fans), but it made perfect sense. If there's a 100% chance you're going out if you let it go past you, or a 10-15% chance the resulting penalty will be missed / saved, I'd hope most players would take the red card and the risk. No brainer, surely.

I heard Luis Enrique yesterday being asked questions about finishing 2nd, but didn't really take much notice, but looking at how the knockout draw is looking, it would definitely be an advantage to finish 2nd. Obviously things can quickly change, Croatia could top their group, Brazil could rest players and finish 2nd themselves etc. but how it's currently looking, their respective paths to the final could look something like the below Top the Group - Croatia/Belgium - Brazil - Argentina Finish 2nd - Morocco - Portugal - France (or England) They'd surely have more chance of reaching the semi final by being runners up. They can't fully control the destiny of how their group will shape up, but they could try and keep things tight in their match, and keep tabs on the Germany-Croatia match, and potentially act accordingly.

Better for the neutral. If that pen stands, and goes in, the group is almost over after 14 minutes.

Well at least they're not going out on cards...

Switching over to the Mexico match.

7-5 now in terms of yellows Surely Poland will know and avoid getting any more cheap cards

I'd like to see Mexico through, but at the same time, I hope the Saudi's don't get absolutely battered and wor MBS pulls the plug on football activity in the country in disgust