BearlySane88 said:

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🚨 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: Norway will use their team B against France today. Erling Haaland and Ødegaard will all be on the bench.

Up to 10 players who started against Senegal will be on the bench.

— @lequipe pic.twitter.com/09aQmvTjNC

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) June 26, 2026

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They have seen that there is not much of an advantage in winning the group wrt the brackets.

https://worldcup.louisguichard.fr/

Group winner gets Sweden, Germany, Holland, Spain, 2nd place gets Cote d'Ivoire, Brazil, England, Argentina.

One argument for playing to win though is that the group winner has a lot less travel between rounds.

Cal88 said:

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BearlySane88 said:

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🚨 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: Norway will use their team B against France today. Erling Haaland and Ødegaard will all be on the bench.

Up to 10 players who started against Senegal will be on the bench.

— @lequipe pic.twitter.com/09aQmvTjNC

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) June 26, 2026

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They have seen that there is not much of an advantage in winning the group wrt the brackets.

https://worldcup.louisguichard.fr/

Group winner gets Sweden, Germany, Holland, Spain, 2nd place gets Cote d'Ivoire, Brazil, England, Argentina.

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I'd take 2nd too

An argument for starting subs is to rest the starters, but for France an argument for having the starters play is for the team to continue to gel and not play like an all-star exhibition team.

Désiré Doué vers un retour dans le onze titulaire des Bleus pour France-Norvège > https://t.co/CE0YgZiCua pic.twitter.com/9WO1yDvOl8

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

Looks like only 2 subs in the lineup.

Belgium and/or Senegal are going to eliminate Scotland.

Le Paraguay en très bonne posture, le Sénégal va devoir s'employer > https://t.co/RsYwWN43Vm pic.twitter.com/p5pYjLPDIm

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

I can see both sides to the argument. Either way, it'll be seconded guessed in hindsight should the chosen strategy not lead to a round of 32 win.

sycasey said:

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But yes, coming in the thinking was that Turkey had a better offense than Australia or Paraguay. It was weird that they hadn't scored in the World Cup yet.

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Soccer is fickle, and stupid because of the fickle nature.
You can win or lose based on inches or happenstance of where an arm is, and then people either laud you a hero or a goat.

Often times, better teams don't win, and that actually appeals to many.


You've got to accept Chance with this game.

Cal88 said:

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Belgium and/or Senegal are going to eliminate Scotland.

Le Paraguay en très bonne posture, le Sénégal va devoir s'employer > https://t.co/RsYwWN43Vm pic.twitter.com/p5pYjLPDIm

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

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Good.

More chance element in soccer than in football or BB, but perhaps less than in baseball or hockey.

Anarchistbear said:

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Cal88 said:

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Belgium and/or Senegal are going to eliminate Scotland.

Le Paraguay en très bonne posture, le Sénégal va devoir s'employer > https://t.co/RsYwWN43Vm pic.twitter.com/p5pYjLPDIm

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

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Good.

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Teetotaller.

concordtom said:

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sycasey said:

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But yes, coming in the thinking was that Turkey had a better offense than Australia or Paraguay. It was weird that they hadn't scored in the World Cup yet.

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Soccer is fickle, and stupid because of the fickle nature.
You can win or lose based on inches or happenstance of where an arm is, and then people either laud you a hero or a goat.

Often times, better teams don't win, and that actually appeals to many.


You've got to accept Chance with this game.

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Yes, but no more fickle than baseball or hockey (for a single game).

So after Scotland in red, Germany in blue, now France in green, WTH.

Cal88 said:

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Anarchistbear said:

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Cal88 said:

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Belgium and/or Senegal are going to eliminate Scotland.

Le Paraguay en très bonne posture, le Sénégal va devoir s'employer > https://t.co/RsYwWN43Vm pic.twitter.com/p5pYjLPDIm

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

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Good.

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Teetotaller.

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They don't leave any for others

Anarchistbear said:

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Cal88 said:

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Anarchistbear said:

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Cal88 said:

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Belgium and/or Senegal are going to eliminate Scotland.

Le Paraguay en très bonne posture, le Sénégal va devoir s'employer > https://t.co/RsYwWN43Vm pic.twitter.com/p5pYjLPDIm

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) June 26, 2026

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Good.

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Teetotaller.

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They don't leave any for others

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Plenty of Bud Light left over.

🔥🤣 THE SCOTTISH ARE DRINKING ALL THE BEER IN BOSTON LOL

“We have never seen anything like it. The White Bull Tavern… they drank the place dry… all that was left was BUDLIGHT” - Bar Managers

Even the Scots won’t drink Bud Light. It’s true they are assimilating to… pic.twitter.com/x87qb0jkYl

— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) June 19, 2026

South Korea in danger of being eliminated if Senegal scores another goal, assuming Belgium beats NZ and Algeria ties.

Is this real or an agent pushing up his value? Who knows. Anyway, the article below say Poch is talking about staying longer. I think it would be great, but club coaching is more prestigious and pays more, so I figured he would be gone the day after the Cup. Being a national team coach is really a part-time job.

Poch was let go by Chelsea who still had to pay him. So he took the US job with Chelsea picking up much of the tab. And he has done a wonderful job. And in 2030 the US could seriously compete for ... I am not sure, but more. Maybe he is having fun an wants it to continue.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49188769/mauricio-pochettino-positive-talks-new-usmnt-contract-sources

BearlySane88 said:

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The WORLD CUP TRAPEZOID OF EXCELLENCE⬇️

Verticality x FotMob rating

If you play too direct/aggressive or not aggressive enough, you cannot win in a singe elimination tournament bracket, like in CBB.

Works in theory AND in practice.
2022 🇦🇷 & 2018 🇫🇷 were used as the base pic.twitter.com/goVZs8cfcE

— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) June 26, 2026

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Interesting, so by this metric the US is maybe just below the elite level (or if you snip out the game where they played their subs, just within it). Small sample size obviously but it squares with what I saw on the field in the World Cup so far.

Senegal looked good today, they are the most likely USMNT opponent in the last 16 should we get past Bosnia.

Absolutely incredible place to watch football.

A bucket list stadium, for sure… 🤩pic.twitter.com/PfzMC9A1JF https://t.co/ptxcaM73Vt

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) June 26, 2026

Anyone seen a game here?

Cape Verde managed to finish 2nd in their group, ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia!

They're going to get slaughtered by Argentina next, but they get their well-deserved 15min now.

Cal88 said:

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So after Scotland in red, Germany in blue, now France in green, WTH.

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Sell more jerseys!

sluggo said:

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Is this real or an agent pushing up his value? Who knows. Anyway, the article below say Poch is talking about staying longer. I think it would be great, but club coaching is more prestigious and pays more, so I figured he would be gone the day after the Cup. Being a national team coach is really a part-time job.

Poch was let go by Chelsea who still had to pay him. So he took the US job with Chelsea picking up much of the tab. And he has done a wonderful job. And in 2030 the US could seriously compete for ... I am not sure, but more. Maybe he is having fun an wants it to continue.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49188769/mauricio-pochettino-positive-talks-new-usmnt-contract-sources

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How much do the two job segments (National vs top club) pay?

I would think the National job would be a better job, lifestyle wise. You get to spend lots of time scouting in between. But it probably pays much less.

Props to Sluggo for calling out France's Dembele, 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, as a player to watch.
First half hat trick today says HELLO.

Once again, the live knockout brackets.

Teams with group and place number (eg: G1) are still up in the air.

https://t.co/6VnflFrzZQ

Argentina is going to waltz to the semis, Messi is going to score a bunch more against three mediocre teams on the way there.

Belgium looks like the same old poorly coached group of individuals, up 1-0 against a bad NZ team. Argentina will beat them soundly in the round of 16.

concordtom said:

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Props to Sluggo for calling out France's Dembele, 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, as a player to watch.
First half hat trick today says HELLO.

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Olise is the man to watch on this French team, he has been the real revelation so far on this team. Dembele is very good, but we knew that already.

France has shined when there is a great playmaker, Platini, Zidane, and now Michael Olise is running the show distributing assists. He reminds me a bit of former midfielder Jean Tigana.

Cal88 said:

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concordtom said:

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Props to Sluggo for calling out France's Dembele, 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, as a player to watch.
First half hat trick today says HELLO.

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Olise is the man to watch on this French team, he has been the real revelation so far on this team. Dembele is very good, but we knew that already.

France has shined when there is a great playmaker, Platini, Zidane, and now Michael Olise is running the show distributing assists. He reminds me a bit of former midfielder Jean Tigana.

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Is Olise the guy they were talking about during the game today (great player who's not Mbappe or Dembele)?

Sounds like he's an attacking midfielder (or something like that)?

A 5 STAR PERFORMANCE BY BELGIUM TONIGHT.

FROM 3RD TO 1ST IN GROUP G.

Cal88 said:

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Cape Verde managed to finish 2nd in their group, ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia!

They're going to get slaughtered by Argentina next, but they get their well-deserved 15min now.

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Really poor showing from Uruguay.

When I tuned into the Egypt-Iran match, I wasn't anticipating a Fernando Mendoza cameo.

Cal88 said:

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concordtom said:

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Props to Sluggo for calling out France's Dembele, 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, as a player to watch.
First half hat trick today says HELLO.

---

Olise is the man to watch on this French team, he has been the real revelation so far on this team. Dembele is very good, but we knew that already.

France has shined when there is a great playmaker, Platini, Zidane, and now Michael Olise is running the show distributing assists. He reminds me a bit of former midfielder Jean Tigana.

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Watching their previous games the player who I thought was interesting was Kone. I had never seen him before. He was athletic, solid on the ball, in the right place, passed well, etc. France's midfield was a question mark given international superstars up front and in the back, but I think no more. He plays at Roma, a decent club but let's say the sixth best in Italy. I think he is due for a huge upgrade.

Olise and Dembele were considered top 5 or at worst top 10 players going into the tournament.

concordtom said:

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sluggo said:

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Is this real or an agent pushing up his value? Who knows. Anyway, the article below say Poch is talking about staying longer. I think it would be great, but club coaching is more prestigious and pays more, so I figured he would be gone the day after the Cup. Being a national team coach is really a part-time job.

Poch was let go by Chelsea who still had to pay him. So he took the US job with Chelsea picking up much of the tab. And he has done a wonderful job. And in 2030 the US could seriously compete for ... I am not sure, but more. Maybe he is having fun an wants it to continue.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49188769/mauricio-pochettino-positive-talks-new-usmnt-contract-sources

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How much do the two job segments (National vs top club) pay?

I would think the National job would be a better job, lifestyle wise. You get to spend lots of time scouting in between. But it probably pays much less.

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National team coaches for big countries are typically 3-6 million, maybe up to 10 if the country is desperate. Club coaches for rich ambitious clubs usually start at 10 and go over 20 for the biggest names.

Sure national coaching is an easier job, and even with that, Poch phoned it in for months. (Rumors are that he called in Tiim Tillman, Malik'Tillman's less good MLS brother, when he thought he was calling in Malik.) It is less prestigious, a job for coaches trying to rehab their careers or older coaches.

It is unclear where Poch stands in the coaching hierarchy. After his success at Tottenham he was at the very top. Then he went to PSG whose only goal was to with the Champions league and in two years did not. Then he went to Chelsea for a year and stabilized their chaos but was let go. He is not a super technical coach like Arteta or Guardiola and he is not young. But I think he is great at the emotional side of the game and just fine technically.

I agree with the tweet below except for the term "lowkey" because I hate trendy slang. I had seen him play here and there since he was a youth national team player and never thought anything of him. He currently plays at Celtic, with former USMNT center defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, and he was criticized for his play, and he has been at previous stops. But Poch say something and now I do too. He is very big, like 6'4'', and a great athlete. His one v one defending is fine, and he seems to have a better feel as where to be on the field than players like McKenzie and M. Robinson.

The other revelation, the one I called out before the tournament, is Malik Tillman, but he was transferred for 40 million before being benched so he is not as big a surprise. But he an McKennie together are excellent.

Lowkey Auston Trusty has put together a string of solid performances for USMNT. He was one of the few bright spots last night. After this tournament when Ream likely retires from USMNT duty, the LCB job is his to lose I would think. pic.twitter.com/kXhvHPNJ5j

— Marcus Chairez | US/SC (@USSoccerColl) June 26, 2026

Belgium in the round of 16? We are not the favorites, for sure. I hate the conversation with my non-soccer watching friends that the US never gets better, as this team is the best it has ever been. So the time is now to beat them. Somehow. Other than the obvious move of starting Gio Reyna over Tyler Adams, which won't happen, I just don't see how.

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/belgium-potential-usmnt-clash-in-world-cup-round-of-16/

Side note: I'm so thankful for this tournament AND this thread. It keeps my mind off the horrors of Trump, which I can do nothing about and like everyone else am a victim of.

sluggo said:

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concordtom said:

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sluggo said:

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Is this real or an agent pushing up his value? Who knows. Anyway, the article below say Poch is talking about staying longer. I think it would be great, but club coaching is more prestigious and pays more, so I figured he would be gone the day after the Cup. Being a national team coach is really a part-time job.

Poch was let go by Chelsea who still had to pay him. So he took the US job with Chelsea picking up much of the tab. And he has done a wonderful job. And in 2030 the US could seriously compete for ... I am not sure, but more. Maybe he is having fun an wants it to continue.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49188769/mauricio-pochettino-positive-talks-new-usmnt-contract-sources

---

How much do the two job segments (National vs top club) pay?

I would think the National job would be a better job, lifestyle wise. You get to spend lots of time scouting in between. But it probably pays much less.

---

National team coaches for big countries are typically 3-6 million, maybe up to 10 if the country is desperate. Club coaches for rich ambitious clubs usually start at 10 and go over 20 for the biggest names.

Sure national coaching is an easier job, and even with that, Poch phoned it in for months. (Rumors are that he called in Tiim Tillman, Malik'Tillman's less good MLS brother, when he thought he was calling in Malik.) It is less prestigious, a job for coaches trying to rehab their careers or older coaches.

It is unclear where Poch stands in the coaching hierarchy. After his success at Tottenham he was at the very top. Then he went to PSG whose only goal was to with the Champions league and in two years did not. Then he went to Chelsea for a year and stabilized their chaos but was let go. He is not a super technical coach like Arteta or Guardiola and he is not young. But I think he is great at the emotional side of the game and just fine technically.

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Thx!