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Islandgirl1444 t1_ixvykmx wrote

Good game to watch. Denmark held their own against the power of France.

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minos157 t1_ixw5xtr wrote

France looks good again, but without Kante I'm not sure they'll repeat. From the looks of things the tournament is really up in the air with no one team truly standing out above the rest yet, which is awesome.

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asspickle1 t1_ixwat8u wrote

don’t know much about soccer/football, could one player really mean the tournament for them?

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TheLightningPanda t1_ixwemct wrote

It can make a pretty big difference, not necessarily in a vacuum but some players can do a lot for advancing the ball and some have a very strong ability to create chances that others can’t do. When a single goal/moment can change a game, having a player that can create that goal or moment is key.

I don’t know what sports you follow, in terms of basketball it would be akin to losing a niche role player, like Andrew Wiggins in the finals. He’s not their best player, but he was insanely key in their success. In the NFL it would be like losing an o-lineman or two, it just hurts your chances to repeat if your game plan is focused around running behind those o-lineman.

I could also be talking out of my ass, but my understanding is he’s a huge deal in France’s general game plan.

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fordyford t1_ixz9a8x wrote

I would argue that he was absolutely their best player - not their most spectacular by any means, but such a crucial lynchpin to their team.

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minos157 t1_ixwggxt wrote

As the other reply said it's not a yes or no and very dependant on why said player is important.

In this case Kante was an absolute beast of a holding midfielder last world cup for France. He basically dominated the midfield and gave France WAY more possession as a result.

Without him they are allowing more chances for opponents which will lead to more goals against which I think will ultimately cost them the competition, especially if it plays out how I think it will where they face Belgium or Brazil at some point on the way through the knockouts.

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Raphelm t1_ixwhwt5 wrote

Ugh, yes, I love Kanté. I don’t know how he manages to be everywhere like that, it’s like he has a twin. And he seems to have the most gentle soul, all shy and discreet despite being a beast on the field. It’s his absence I was the most disappointed to hear.

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minos157 t1_ixwiuz4 wrote

After that world cup, I don't know why Chelsea didn't just shove him into the exact same role and build a tactic around him.

It's similar to how I questioned why Belgium played KDB as a defensive midfielder at that world cup......

Lots of questionable coaching choices in soccer lol

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the_real_rs t1_ixwqe8w wrote

Just an fyi but I think Chelsea used Kante just fine post World Cup 2018, they won the Champions League in 2020. As a Chelsea fan I can say that Kante’s biggest issue is that he’s missed 50% of all possible minutes since 2019.

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minos157 t1_ixwu9md wrote

Oh wait, I had my years mixed up. Fair point!

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Iola_Morton t1_ixx8jrz wrote

It wasn’t just Kanté. Pogba was his perfect partner in that midfield

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mikmik555 t1_ixxi8d2 wrote

Well Kante is injured and so are many other players in the team. The team is made of people from the bench and still holding on. So…

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minos157 t1_ixy7gey wrote

Not to discount Denmark, who I think is a dark horse this year, but France is in a pretty easy group (by world cup standards).

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mikmik555 t1_ixyil7i wrote

Dark horse? Denmark was in the semi-finale of the EuroCup last year. It’s not an easy team. They are 10th on the FIFA ranking right after Portugal.

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minos157 t1_ixyu3o0 wrote

They were tenth headed into the tournament. That makes them a dark horse, not a predicted winner or favorite.

A dark horse is a team that's good but not expected to win, Denmark fits that bill. If everyone came out of groups seeded by FIFA ranking there would.be nine other teams who would be predicted to win before Denmark.

Not sure how that doesn't make them a dark horse. It's also why I specifically called it out, to showcase that while I'm calling it an easy group, I was not discounting the talent of Denmark.

You'd have been better off reading my comment instead of being offended by it.

0

JJJeeettt t1_ixyqdpm wrote

Belgium is nowhere close to where they were 4yrs ago. And it already wasn't good enough.

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minos157 t1_ixyu8gi wrote

Sure, but they have the ability to score and I still think they are a favorite to go deep.

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JJJeeettt t1_ixz3s55 wrote

Just checking in. Do you still think that?

BTW, I'm Belgian. Our team doesn't deserve its FIFA ranking. At all.

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minos157 t1_ixz51wn wrote

I mean yeah now my thoughts are of course different lol

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kharjou t1_ixz08k3 wrote

Who's the player who can score? Eden "big mac" hazard or romelu "bench warmer" lukaku?

They have a great goalkeeper and de bruyne is nuts but they have average forwards

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__JO__39__ t1_ixws9vs wrote

I genuinely think if Brazil lost Casemiro their chances would drop to something very close to 0. Even though his replacement is a decent player, I think there is no defensive midfielder at his level currently and they would lose all the defensive security that allows them to play such attacking football without being suicidal.

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UnderThat t1_ixwvev1 wrote

Thing about France is, they always try and walk it in.

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TheWholesomeBrit t1_ixyb654 wrote

I'm a Chelsea fan, Kante plays for Chelsea. He's incredibly key, BUT, he's not as good as he used to be, so I don't think he's as important anymore. They miss him, clearly, but even if he was back I don't think he would be the shining light they would hope he is.

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ShitPostQuokkaRome t1_ixypz5a wrote

It depends on the national team, France looks the strongest one in the tournament even without Kante or Benzema, current Balloon d'Or holder. They simply have too many replacements

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saint-simon97 t1_iy001d3 wrote

Yes and no. Not as much as in say, basketball, but there are players who have an extreme importance either because they're decisive in their roles (eg players like Messi, Mbappe, etc) or because their replacements aren't good enough.

Don't think this applies to Kante personally but yeah.

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kharjou t1_ixz0heq wrote

Rabiot is doing amazing. Tchouameny is not as good tho. But griezmann is insane right now. Idk if you wat hed the match vs denmark but DAMN his performance was impressive. He was everywhere

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minos157 t1_ixz4zzd wrote

I still think France can win it, I just don't think it will be as obvious as it was last time. Griezmann is indeed playing out of his mind!

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kharjou t1_ixz732j wrote

As a french fan I'm mainly worried about how unbalanced the skill level is. Kunde/pavard are not good enough to deal with world class players. Tchouameny is also not there yet. But at the same time watching griezmann, dembele, hernandez, upamecano , mbappe and rabiot at their current level is a pleasure. Its like we have an insane left side... and then deschamps just tries to stop the right side from sinking.

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julesthemodest t1_ixwl0i0 wrote

Missing Benzema too

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minos157 t1_ixwnj3b wrote

True true. I always forget he's french for some reason. In my brain I always think he's Belgian...

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saint-simon97 t1_ixzzva1 wrote

Kante was there in the Euros and they were bad. I think Benzema is definitely a bigger miss.

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kamilo87 t1_ixvv8me wrote

It’s nice to see them qualifying for the next round after so many “Holders” missed that chance in the last World Cups. Also Denmark wasn’t easy and they were able to complete that game.

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getyourrealfakedoors t1_ixvv79x wrote

Odd phrasing

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bobby_zamora t1_ixwl2p0 wrote

Why?

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Yung_Corneliois t1_ixwrg4y wrote

“First team to qualify for last of 16”

Not sure about how it said in other languages but in English I’ve never heard of “last of 16” makes it sound like they were the last team to qualify for the round of 16.

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bobby_zamora t1_ixwu2rg wrote

It says "last 16" not "last of 16". Last 16 is the most common way in English to describe the round before the quarter finals.

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Yung_Corneliois t1_ixwuca5 wrote

I’ve never heard of that in my 27 years of existing. Maybe Final 16 but not Last 16. It’s not wrong, there’s just better ways to say it is all.

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bobby_zamora t1_ixx0fhf wrote

I think you're probably just American. This is the British way of saying it.

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Yung_Corneliois t1_ixx1ucg wrote

So it seems. Because we also don’t say “holder” we would say defending champs.

0

ThunderBobMajerle t1_ixvotyx wrote

What’s Holders?

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bbwolff t1_ixvupyo wrote

Weird way of saying defending champions

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Blackluster182 t1_ixvwr9r wrote

They hold the cup.

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minecraft_lover_18 t1_ixw5lm7 wrote

Like, 24/7?

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Blackluster182 t1_ixwb9zc wrote

Yes as in they hold it in their possession 24/7 probably not literally held by a human though at least I hope not and well except for when FIFA want it back I assume.

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J1mjam2112 t1_ixw6ifl wrote

It’s actually a very common phrase, at least in the UK. But I can understand it not being obvious if you haven’t heard it before.

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kbRED96 t1_ixvvlcx wrote

Wc curse broken❤️😌

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Falconflyer75 t1_ixx0j3r wrote

So the team that began the European champions curse could be the team that breaks it

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stxrxer t1_ixxmcsp wrote

Let’s hope they don’t peak too early, but that said, they look solid and are still the team to beat, and they look sharper at this point than they did in the Euro.

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HarmyG t1_ixxq02o wrote

Great, now they have little reason to be competitive in their next match.

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Despicable2020 t1_ixyjtl1 wrote

Still very much favorites in my eyes

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deck4242 t1_ixzcdv9 wrote

A back to back would be a surprise, didnt happend in like 50 years

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Dan19_82 t1_ixvy95x wrote

Technically yes, realistically not the first. Wales would have to beat England 4-0 to have a hope of stopping them from qualifying. Pigs would also have to grow wings and take to the skys.

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DaleDarko23 t1_ixw0vav wrote

But there's still a chance so England haven't actually qualified yet.

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Dan19_82 t1_ixwanvs wrote

Wow did you just describe my own post to me?

−15

8lackJack8lack t1_ixw1727 wrote

Well aCktUaLly...

There's no result that can knock england out.

They can only go as low as 2nd.

−36

blockkiller t1_ixw2fvt wrote

If Wales beats England by 4-0 and USA-Iran has a winner then England is eliminated.

The chances are slim but not impossible.

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darthnilloc t1_ixw22pk wrote

It's possible isn't it? USA vs Iran ends in a draw and Wales beats England 7-0. Obviously never going to happen, but technically possible.

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DaleDarko23 t1_ixw7hsz wrote

What if Wales beat England 4-0 and Iran win. Iran qualify top with 6 points, Wales qualify second with 4 points on goal difference, England third with 4 points and USA bottom.

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cofeyelbat t1_ixwal6e wrote

Why 4-0? I though any win was 3 points, tie 1 point, and loss 0 points? Is there a difference in points the more you score?

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Toad364 t1_ixwaupq wrote

If there is a tie on points, goals become the tie-breaker

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HamTillIDie44 t1_ixwj9ju wrote

This French team won’t hold against Brazil, unfortunately. Their attack is great but Brazil has a way more formidable attack. Likewise, France’s defense is horrible but Brazil’s is world-class.

If France meets Brazil on their way, they’ll get destroyed.

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BretonDeter t1_ixx7efs wrote

Wait you really think Brazil's attack is way more formidable than mbappé dembelé giroud ans griezmann lmao?

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HamTillIDie44 t1_ixx93mt wrote

Mbappe - vini (Mbappe wins by a small margin)

Dembele - Neymar (dembele who? 😂)

Giroud - everyone (Giroud would be on the bench for Brazil)

Griezmann - Rodrygo/rafinha/richarlison/Jesus (way better players)

−7

BretonDeter t1_ixxaage wrote

No fucking way you actually think that, you must be out of your goddamn mind lmao

Vinicius is good but he isn't even in the same league as Mbappé

Neymar is injured and Dembelé has had 2 first games that put all wingers of the WC to shame

Giroud is underrated but he makes others shine and opens up the game in huge ways, he's also France's top scorer of all time

Griezmann is the best attacking midfielder of the world cup rn, and it's not even close

France also has bundesliga's second top scorer on the bench

Idk if you've been paying attention, but offensively no team in the tournament even comes close to France's level of offensive play, and I've watched all of the big nations' games pretty much

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HamTillIDie44 t1_ixxaod3 wrote

We must watch different sports. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

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