Mike

@GenghiskhanJR @EricBalchunas Agreed - I think VAR is the problem

@Hatter9 @EricBalchunas point of my original reply is that these rules exist because we tried the game wzout them and it sucked. we were taught that long time ago football was played with no offside & it sucked. I never looked into the history that close and I started by saying I dont know when :)

Have they ever tried removing the offsides penalty in soccer? I'm prob gonna get skewered but it seems like that rule holds back the game from being more exciting w more shots on goal, actual goals and creative strategy vs this war of attrition type play. They should try it IMO.

@GenghiskhanJR @EricBalchunas Though I was not aware that Sheffield rules had no offside rule, thanks for the info - though the complaints about it listed I. That screenshot answer the original question quite well.

@Hatter9 @EricBalchunas there was absolutely no offside football. I didn't realize it was the 1800 but it was a thing

@eff_hey But they did not scrap penalty shoutouts, which was and is the worse aspect of the sport.

"possibly the worst World Cup game ever" the median game at Italia '90 was so legendarily bad that FIFA overhauled two different aspects of the sport in response

@AvonandsomerRob They can beat anyone - but I would bet on Mexico at the Aztec.

I'm afraid England are about to come to a sticky end in the World Cup, sooner rather than later. You're being very optimistic to think England can beat Mexico at the Azteca in R16. You're nuts if you think they'll beat Brazil in the QF. You're certifiable if you think we can beat the Argies in the Semis. I'd have preferred Portugal with the geriatric Ronaldo, and Spain are nothing special.

@rationalhumanis I agree with you, but to the original point - VAR has made football less entertaining. Benefit of doubt, for offside, used to be given to the attack and it worked well enough. And watching a ref watch a playback for 5-10 mins is not entertaining, either for offside or pens.

We have three sports leagues in the US that each make far more revenue than any soccer league anywhere in the world. We have dozens of stadiums that are far beyond the best venue in most countries. Sports as entertainment is something we unquestionably do better than anyone else in the world. So when US sports consumers give feedback, you would think people would listen, right? It's like French people commenting on your food or Germans talking about your engineering quality. Nope! Just more Euro-snob bullshit. The bottom line is soccer is a worse product than American football or basketball. That's why we don't watch it. We have options.

@husendaoud @BCNOgi This does not solve the problem of 3rd placed teams qualifying - if you only had the top 2 qualifying from a 48 team tournament you would have 24 teams through - the question is how to whittle those down to 2 for the final?

@Hatter9 @BCNOgi x.com/i/status/20710…

I think I just witnessed blatant matchfixing. Algeria scored which meant they would've faced Spain and Austria were eliminated. Then they let Austria score 30 seconds later so they could face Switzerland instead. Nuts.

@GenghiskhanJR @EricBalchunas From 1866 to 1925 it was 3 players, but the original 1863 rules (the first set to completely ban handling the ball for outfield players) had the rugby-style offside rule. So there has always been offside in football - both Rugby and football having evolved from a common ancestor)

@Hatter9 @EricBalchunas depends on which version you are referring to.

@jaraparilla Just get rid of it

Maybe the solution to VAR is to have a more human "margin of error"? So if a player's toe is 1mm offside, that's not enough to overturn the referee's decision (because no referee could be expected to detect that). VAR should only overturn decision that are CLEARLY wrong.

@jtheleast And 10 German Bombers

@jtheleast I dislike this song intensely - particularly since fans started singing it. Two World Wars and One World Cup is far superior.

Never understood this line. This came out in 1996. This implies the "hurt" started, not even in 1970 when we failed to defend the World Cup (which is still a bit melodramatic) but in 1967, when we still held it! How does that work?!

@GenghiskhanJR @EricBalchunas Offside has been in the rules since the first set in 1863 - used to be much stricter (same as the rugby one - where all team-mates had to be behind the player kicking the ball forward).

@EricBalchunas I don't know if it was 70 or 80 years ago there used to not be one. the game was basically ping pong or tennis match of long balls end to end. no taking on players one on one no Messi skills in tight spaces. imagine NFL but you can't tackle the player only the ball. its boring.

@EricBalchunas Wasn’t like this before VAR - benefit of doubt was given to attacking team. VAR is the problem

Case in point. My lord this would infuriate me if I was a Colombia fan.

@CarolRadull Egypt

Predict the African teams heading to the Ro16.

@PabloAnalista5 Mexico will destroy Ecuador - 3-goal margin

Mis pronósticos para dieciseisavos: 🇿🇦 Sudáfrica 0-2 🇨🇦 Canadá 🇧🇷 Brasil 3-1 🇯🇵 Japón 🇩🇪 Alemania 3-0 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇳🇱 Países Bajos 2-1 🇲🇦 Marruecos 🇨🇮 Costa de Marfil 2-1 🇳🇴 Noruega 🇫🇷 Francia 3-0 🇸🇪 Suecia 🇲🇽 México 2-1 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Inglaterra 3-0 🇨🇩 RD Congo 🇧🇪 Bélgica 2-1 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇺🇸 Estados Unidos 3-0 🇧🇦 Bosnia 🇪🇸 España 2-0 🇦🇹 Austria 🇵🇹 Portugal 2-1 🇭🇷 Croacia 🇨🇭 Suiza 1-0 🇩🇿 Argelia 🇦🇺 Australia 2-1 🇪🇬 Egipto 🇦🇷 Argentina 3-0 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde 🇨🇴 Colombia 2-0 🇬🇭 Ghana ¿Cuál creéis que falla? 👀

@faisalislam France and Argentina

England have had a great group stage. Single best result of the entire group stage, beating 11th best fifa-ranked team 4-2. (Only Ecuador- Germany rivals but that was dead rubber for Germany) No goals conceded since half time first game. Ghana are a good side and a great defensive side. Panama are far better than in Russia. This was a tough group. Clearly we will labour in the next match, and if successful, Mexico at altitude in the Azteca is ominous… but too much moaning!

@KayLFC05_ The strongest host in the tournament, if they beat Congo, followed, if they win, by Brazil? Them Argentina if they win that?

England won’t have a better chance to reach a World Cup final ever again

@GerryHassan 36th now

Scotland are out the #FIFAWorldCup. As important is our long-term decline which is obvious on the field compared to others. In a World Cup of 16 Scotland were ranked by FIFA 9th in 1974 & 11th in 1978. Now in a tournament of 48 we are 34th & still cant get out of the group stage.

@husendaoud @BCNOgi You would use a second round group stage to produce 8 teams from the remaining 24 if 3rd places did not qualify (similar to the 1982 format)?

@BCNOgi Letting 3rd place teams qualify was a very bad idea by Fifa

@JamesMelville And Euros also - never experienced KO football in any shape or form

It looks increasingly likely that Scotland will be going home before the postcards. Scotland is on the brink of holding the sole record for the most group stage eliminations in World Cup history with 9 group stage exits. Scotland have never qualified from the group stage.