2024 Summer of Soccer - Euro's, Copa America, Olympics, WCQing (5 Viewers)

[NewlyRetired]

Sounds like the field was much worse than it appeared on tv (and it did not look great on TV either). This is a really bad look considering this was suppose to be a dry run for the WC to see how the fields would do when installed over the turf.

Argentina slams Atlanta field: 'Better that we won'

The Argentina national team slammed the pitch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the inaugural match of the 2024 Copa América, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez calling the newly installed grass surface a "disaster."

www.espn.com

Infantino was at the game last night.

I don't know the wording of the contracts but I wonder if FIFA can threaten Atlanta that they are going to choose another venue for WC 2026 if Atlanta does not get this figured out. Atlanta is scheduled to host 8 games, including a semi final.

 

[Deamon]

Have a feeling well have all 4 teams on 3 points by the end of today. Don't remember that ever happening, although it must have.

Yes it will be like this for sure. Will be SHOCKED if Belgium doesn't win this game.

That will lead to quite the amazing final day, where belgium/ukraine winner advances and slovakia/romania winner advances

 

[El Floppo]

Have a feeling well have all 4 teams on 3 points by the end of today. Don't remember that ever happening, although it must have.

Yes it will be like this for sure. Will be SHOCKED if Belgium doesn't win this game.

That will lead to quite the amazing final day, where belgium/ukraine winner advances and slovakia/romania winner advances

Or... All 4 teams end up on 4 points.

 

[massraider]

That will lead to quite the amazing final day, where belgium/ukraine winner advances and slovakia/romania winner advances

That would be a lot of fun

 

[Deamon]

Have a feeling well have all 4 teams on 3 points by the end of today. Don't remember that ever happening, although it must have.

Yes it will be like this for sure. Will be SHOCKED if Belgium doesn't win this game.

That will lead to quite the amazing final day, where belgium/ukraine winner advances and slovakia/romania winner advances

Or... All 4 teams end up on 4 points.

True, that would be wild. And be Belgium+Romania going through (Unless Belgium wins by 3 today)

 

[guru_007]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

 

[Deamon]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

Either way, if it ends up with all 4 teams at 4 points, Ukraine would be in last place and eliminated.

 

[massraider]

Polish kits are sharp

 

[El Floppo]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

 

[McBokonon]

This tourney is so much fun. Austria/Poland a great game so far.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Euros > World Cup

 

[massraider]

That was an entertaining first half, from first minute to last.

Austria don't F about.

 

[Deamon]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

I would put all my money on Belgium winning today.

If you feel so confidently, why aren't you betting BIG on it? Odds are VERY high for Belgium, you will make a small fortune if you are right and aren't lying about wanting to put money down.

 

[Yo Mama]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

I would put all my money on Belgium winning today.

If you feel so confidently, why aren't you betting BIG on it? Odds are VERY high for Belgium, you will make a small fortune if you are right and aren't lying about wanting to put money down.

Belgium doesn’t play today. You’d lose all your money.

 

[Deamon]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

I would put all my money on Belgium winning today.

If you feel so confidently, why aren't you betting BIG on it? Odds are VERY high for Belgium, you will make a small fortune if you are right and aren't lying about wanting to put money down.

Belgium doesn’t play today. You’d lose all your money.

Well then, don't I feel like a fool.

 

[guru_007]

Euros > World Cup

I agree 100%
But, take this with a grain of salt because I pretty much hate international soccer as the quality of play is well below club level. And I also believe that out of the top 32 country teams in the world, 24-28 of them are in Europe so World Cup quality is diluted even further.

 

[massraider]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

I would put all my money on Belgium winning today.

If you feel so confidently, why aren't you betting BIG on it? Odds are VERY high for Belgium, you will make a small fortune if you are right and aren't lying about wanting to put money down.

@cstu we need a bookie here. Give us a hand will ya?

 

[Deamon]

I would be shocked if Belgium won by 3 today.

I will put money down on Belgium not winning today. All my money

I would put all my money on Belgium winning today.

If you feel so confidently, why aren't you betting BIG on it? Odds are VERY high for Belgium, you will make a small fortune if you are right and aren't lying about wanting to put money down.

@cstu we need a bookie here. Give us a hand will ya?

I didn't know he was doing the whole "I bet they don't win today because they don't play today" act.

Still super jet-lagged from a month in Europe, I clearly don't even know what day or time it is

 

[El Floppo]

Euros > World Cup

 

[NewlyRetired]

Euros > World Cup

Lets ask a Euro legend

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GQDHjQwXEAAtYxS?format=jpg&name=large

I have no love for the 48 team World Cup though. 32 was near perfection for me (and for billions of others)

 

[NewlyRetired]

Mbappe available as a sub today.

 

[TripItUp]

Euros > World Cup

I love the South American angle in the WC. Put those snobby *** Euros in their place from time to time.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Euros > World Cup

The Euro used to be super intense right from the get go when there were only 8 teams, which was into the 90's. Those teams had to be ready to play the moment they touched down in the host country. Even when it went to 16 it could be a "blink and you're out" situation depending on how the groups shook out. Now that its 24 there is a bit of an ease into it feeling similar to a world cup. Even if you lose to Slovakia in your first game you can still advance without needing a miracle. Like the world cup, depending on the time zones, I usually don't really feel like I'm really following the group stages very well because I can't even watch half the games in any meaningful way. On balance, the way the tournaments are now run, I think I prefer the big one where you have the South Americans, Africans and Asian nations all thrown together with the Euros.

One interesting fact I saw recently is that only 8 different countries have won the world cup whereas 10 have won the Euro despite far fewer participating countries, although that includes three countries that no longer exist.

 

[massraider]

Euros > World Cup

I love the South American angle in the WC. Put those snobby *** Euros in their place from time to time.

But the only good South American teams are the snobby ones!

 

[TripItUp]

But the only good South American teams are the snobby ones!

I'll take them over the f'ing French and Germans primadonnas.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The color and diversity of the teams and the fans is unparalleled in the WC.

Teams from Africa, Concacaf and Asia may not be as good on paper as some of the second tier Euro countries but they add so much flavor and entertainment value to a short form tournament.

And for me it is always about entertainment first. I could care less who is .1% better technically. I want flare, passion, excitement, uninhibited South America female fans.....

 

[B Maverick]

I want flare, passion, excitement, uninhibited South America female fans.....

 

[B Maverick]

How did France miss????

 

[B Maverick]

What's worse in this game?

Landon on the commentary
Anthony Taylor as the ref
Or the finishing

 

[B Maverick]

Anthony Taylor as the ref

Griezeman pulling on Shouten's shirt. Griezeman dives. Shouten booked.

 

[massraider]

It's great how every player turns into Mr Bean when they shoot the ball

 

[massraider]

Landon on the commentary

This is really tough. Donovan is painful.

 

[guru_007]

Is Malen hurt? Cause Ake is just waste of space out there. Dutch midfield can't get a thing going, it's all about the counter for them. M'Bappe will come on at 60' and score a brace.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

griezmann having a tough one today…

 

[BlackCrowes]

Griezeman has had better days

 

[guru_007]

that's coming off

 

[Major]

I know much has been said about how much we hate Donavan and Lalas but on the opposite side of the spectrum, Ian Darke is the man. Always have enjoyed his commentary and presence in the booth.

 

[B Maverick]

I know much has been said about how much we hate Donavan and Lalas but on the opposite side of the spectrum, Ian Darke is the man. Always have enjoyed his commentary and presence in the booth.

And somehow Landon is making him worse....

 

[NewlyRetired]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GQoA2PDXIAECrSl?format=jpg&name=large

 

[TennesseeJed]

I know much has been said about how much we hate Donavan and Lalas but on the opposite side of the spectrum, Ian Darke is the man. Always have enjoyed his commentary and presence in the booth.

And somehow Landon is making him worse....

Its funny - I was listening to this in the car today - and Donovan is not up to speed - but this was still miles better than Strong/Holden last night.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Maignan never gets to that ball whether or not Dumfries is standing there. I don't think he's even gotten back on his feet from the first save before it hits the net behind him.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Maignan never gets to that ball whether or not Dumfries is standing there. I don't think he's even gotten back on his feet from the first save before it hits the net behind him.

Probably not - but the goal was disallowed on the pitch - there was not clear and convincing evidence that was wrong.

I think if the goal had been allowed originally, it would have stood after VAR.

But, the on-field call stands.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

It seems like I've seen a dozen or more goals in the last 10 years where an attacking player is charging toward goal, way offside, when a shot goes in. But they are deemed "passive" even though their run clearly put the GK in two minds. This goal was no different for me.

 

[B Maverick]

Maignan never gets to that ball whether or not Dumfries is standing there. I don't think he's even gotten back on his feet from the first save before it hits the net behind him.

Probably not - but the goal was disallowed on the pitch - there was not clear and convincing evidence that was wrong.

I think if the goal had been allowed originally, it would have stood after VAR.

But, the on-field call stands.

That's a hard call for the AR to make. At his angle he can not know for sure how far apart the attacker and the keeper are. And the GK's feet didn't look like he was in any position to dive for the ball. Which he can't see either. I would have at least liked an attempt at the ball by the keeper. Courtesy dive maybe?

But at the end you are probably right that it would not have been overturned for either call had it been made on the field.

 

[B Maverick]

It seems like I've seen a dozen or more goals in the last 10 years where an attacking player is charging toward goal, way offside, when a shot goes in. But they are deemed "passive" even though their run clearly put the GK in two minds. This goal was no different for me.

That seems to be the biggest issue to me for refs in general and VAR. Consistency not only from ref to ref, but also play to play in the same game. Way to often calls are made differently despite being mirror images, without any explanation as to why.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Maignan never gets to that ball whether or not Dumfries is standing there. I don't think he's even gotten back on his feet from the first save before it hits the net behind him.

Probably not - but the goal was disallowed on the pitch - there was not clear and convincing evidence that was wrong.

I think if the goal had been allowed originally, it would have stood after VAR.

But, the on-field call stands.

That's a hard call for the AR to make. At his angle he can not know for sure how far apart the attacker and the keeper are. And the GK's feet didn't look like he was in any position to dive for the ball. Which he can't see either. I would have at least liked an attempt at the ball by the keeper. Courtesy dive maybe?

But at the end you are probably right that it would not have been overturned for either call had it been made on the field.

I didn't see when the flag first went up but from the replay it looks like maybe it was after he conferred with the referee.

Dubz

dubz.co

 

[NewlyRetired]

Outside of the US, the team I am most interested in following this summer is Colombia.

They have not lost since Feb of 2022. 23 matches, including wins over the US, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany.

 

[Desert_Power]

Euros > World Cup

I think the 3rd place stuff is pretty lame these days, but the level of play in the Euros just is so consistently high. A lot of WC groups end up feeling like snoozers.

 

[NewlyRetired]

============================

Thursday’s Argentina-Canada Copa America opener averaged 1.06 million viewers on FS1, up 98% from the first Copa America match in 2021, a Sunday afternoon Brazil-Venezuela match on “big FOX” (534K).

Shifting to the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, group stage action was averaging 1.04 million as of Wednesday morning (11 matches), up 26% from the same point in 2021 (825K). That figure excludes Wednesday’s Scotland-Switzerland match on FOX, for which figures were not immediately available. (Fox Sports has carried three fewer matches than ESPN did at the same point in ’21, as it sub-licensed some matches to the streaming service Fubo, which is not Nielsen rated.)

 

[NewlyRetired]

============================

Thursday’s Argentina-Canada Copa America opener averaged 1.06 million viewers on FS1, up 98% from the first Copa America match in 2021, a Sunday afternoon Brazil-Venezuela match on “big FOX” (534K).

Shifting to the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, group stage action was averaging 1.04 million as of Wednesday morning (11 matches), up 26% from the same point in 2021 (825K). That figure excludes Wednesday’s Scotland-Switzerland match on FOX, for which figures were not immediately available. (Fox Sports has carried three fewer matches than ESPN did at the same point in ’21, as it sub-licensed some matches to the streaming service Fubo, which is not Nielsen rated.)

This was a fantastic number on FS1 for the Copa opener as the game was also on Univision at the same time. Numbers for Univision have not yet been released.