2022 FIFA World Cup - Qatar, November 21-December 18

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Meanwhile, the Belgian squad have had a crisis meeting because the players apparently hate each other. Juicy details are being leaked. Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois "haven't spoken for years", strikers Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi are "not best friends" and Eden Hazard and Leandro Trossard ("everyone in Belgium thinks I should play" but Hazard is actually playing) also don't talk. In an interview, Hazard had apparently blamed the bad results on the old, slow center backs; after the Morocco game, center back Jan Vertonghen implicitly hit back by saying the lack of chances created "was also our fault, or not?" 🍿🍿🍿🍿 I expect this chapter to close after the Croatia game.

https://twitter.com/rtlinfo/status/1597287227008045056

I wonder who deserves more blame in this situation. The manager, who failed to impose control on the dressing room? Or the players, who let their egos destroy the team?

I don't think any of the players who were big megastars ever respected Martinez but they followed his tactics. I think the main issue though is the different backgrounds and attitudes towards the game you have in that squad. I don't think the linguistic cleavage is an issue (it probably doesn't help, but it is not the main issue), but rather there are certain clans and certain differing attitudes. I never understood for example why Hazard was made captain when the guy just doesn't radiate a professional attitude at all...then you remember that the ''vocal'' people in the squad were part of various clans (Kompany-Anderlecht clan vs Verthongen, Alderwereld - Ajax clan). Hazard was actually seen as an inoffensive figure so Wilmots gave him the armband. He's not the real captain though. I imagine someone like Lukaku would also find someone as nonchalant, and well, halfwitted as Batshuayi uniquely irritating. Its little differences like that that make the squad very mixed in terms of social background and overall mentality,

This is honestly a ''golden generation'' that on paper didn't exactly flop (3rd in a WC for us is big) but in practise you could see that, had they had more implication and effort, they could have gone further. Martinez is partly to blame for his byzantine formation and stubbornness sticking with old timers and out of form favorites (including many Anderlecht youth players for what must be a blatantly corrupt reason). However, a team of committed winners would have ousted the guy after Euro 2020 and demanded a bigger personality leading them. Instead they just look not bothered and its time to select people based on their willingness to play and integrate a system.

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Lukaku 🤡

he was injured. he has no rhythm

No excuse for some of the misses - otherwise it's the coach who has to bring on Openda who would have put those away.

Anaway the end of the Martinez era. I hope we hire a meme like Hein Vanhaezebrouck.

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I'm plastered and I cheered Xhakas ball clutching more than any goal

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Loser gets NYC.

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It's actually quite easier to root for the Dutch this world cup more than others. If there's a feel good story from this world cup it's a terminally ill Louis Van Gaal leading a group of young players and Daley Blind to a decent result. Winning it would obviously be the death of us. But Van Gaal is a genuine legend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMtGfvvaqYs

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Quarterfinals Picks:

Brazil defeats Croatia 2-0
Argentina Defeats Netherlands 3-1
Morocco defeats Portugal 0-0 on penalty kicks
France defeats England 2-1 AET

I think you have Morocco wrong and Argentina will not win by as much.

England could do it, but they need a solid 2 half effort.

Pretty much everyone said Spain will beat Morocco too, and Spain came into the tournament as a stronger team than Portugal.

Portugal have more firepower than Spain and Morroco's defense is crocked after that effort. It's a much more difficult game and pre-tournament most people who know something about the game would have ranked Portugal above the tiki taka machine, as good as Spain were in Euro 2020+1.

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Luis Enrique out as Spain Manager.

Got to think the job is Pep Guardiola's if he wants it.

The job has already been given the the now ex-U21 coach.

Guardiola will never get it unless there's a revolution of some kind and suddenly the Spanish FA is full of Podemitos. Right now it's already a Vox-PP circlejerk and Guardiola literally stood on a Pro-Catalan Independence list.