Qatar 2022 kill the slave labour World Cup

[jackos]

Painful watch so far. Both teams pretty poor.
We don't need two holding mids against Cameroon. We don't have a decent outball.

Cameroon finished third in group G so we probably don't need to worry too much about them

[Devi]

Painful watch so far. Both teams pretty poor.
We don't need two holding mids against Cameroon. We don't have a decent outball.

However, the way we’re playing, we do need two against Senegal

[Devi]

Painful watch so far. Both teams pretty poor.
We don't need two holding mids against Cameroon. We don't have a decent outball.

However, the way we’re playing, we do need two against Senegal

Especially when one of them scores

[jackos]

Very well taken.

[Trumper]

Well worked goal

[Ponte]

I find it very difficult to celebrate Henderson goals.

[Mustafaster]

Fantastic pass by Kane.

[Terre Harte II]

To each their own, but I like international football, especially prestige tournaments like the World Cup, who earned their legacy over time and moments, not via FIFA hype or UEFA-style cynical money-squeezing (see Nations League). I'll admit annoyance with the international breaks during club season for non-World Cup qualifying or non-continental qualifying weekends, but for the most part? I look forward to international football.

While it has problems and inequities just like club soccer does, it's less susceptible to the whims of the super-rich. I'm the furthest thing from a patriot, but I don't mind that nationality is used as a means to coalesce around a mission. Better that than a bunch of assholes chasing the biggest contract and ending up as agents of scuzzy nation-state on superhero-style club teams like Manchester City.

Specifically to soccer? I hate to get pollyanna, but only in this sport can you have a competition that truly represents the whole world. Where the fuck else are England and Senegal playing on an even keel?

My observation is that the English are far more jaded about their national team than those of other countries are. I'm not sure why that is.

I can only speak from the perspective of following the U.S national team, but supporting it has nothing to do with my-country-right-or-wrong-style-patriotism or as a surrogate for supporting the government, it's just a much more healthy (and fun) way to show pride in your nationality. Maybe it's because we haven't had the history of violence attached to our national team that helps me feel that way, along with the fact that soccer is one of the few sports the U.S. is a distinct underdog, but it's really just about a bit of fun.

If I get rah-rah about a national soccer match, it doesn't mean I'll get rah-rah about supporting a war or a law I don't agree with. I don't see national team as representing any of that. The separation of church-and-state (sport-and-state) is distinct in my view.

When Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the group stage? I was listening to the Guardian Football Weekly and there was much hang-wringing about whether you could get happy about such a large upset when Saudi Arabia as a government represents so many reprehensible things.

I thought Phillipe Auclair put it best. A national team is not a government. People of a nationality aren't a government. There is very likely those on that team and in the stands wearing the colors who both agree and disagree with what their country's government represents, so to lump them in with their government lock-and-stock is unfair. I agree with that.

[Ponte]

Bellingham is proper good.

[Ponte]

To each their own, but I like international football, especially prestige tournaments like the World Cup, who earned their legacy over time and moments, not via FIFA hype or UEFA-style cynical money-squeezing (see Nations League). I'll admit annoyance with the international breaks during club season for non-World Cup qualifying or non-continental qualifying weekends, but for the most part? I look forward to international football.

While it has problems and inequities just like club soccer does, it's less susceptible to the whims of the super-rich. I'm the furthest thing from a patriot, but I don't mind that nationality is used as a means to coalesce around a mission. Better that than a bunch of assholes chasing the biggest contract and ending up as agents of scuzzy nation-state on superhero-style club teams like Manchester City.

Specifically to soccer? I hate to get pollyanna, but only in this sport can you have a competition that truly represents the whole world. Where the fuck else are England and Senegal playing on an even keel?

My observation is that the English are far more jaded about their national team than those of other countries are. I'm not sure why that is.

I can only speak from the perspective of following the U.S national team, but supporting it has nothing to do with my-country-right-or-wrong-style-patriotism or as a surrogate for supporting the government, it's just a much more healthy (and fun) way to show pride in your nationality. Maybe it's because we haven't had the history of violence attached to our national team that helps me feel that way, along with the fact that soccer is one of the few sports the U.S. is a distinct underdog, but it's really just about a bit of fun.

If I get rah-rah about a national soccer match, it doesn't mean I'll get rah-rah about supporting a war or a law I don't agree with. I don't see national team as representing any of that. The separation of church-and-state (sport-and-state) is distinct in my view.

When Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the group stage? I was listening to the Guardian Football Weekly and there was much hang-wringing about whether you could get happy about such a large upset when Saudi Arabia as a government represents so many reprehensible things.

I thought Phillipe Auclair put it best. A national team is not a government. People of a nationality aren't a government. There is very likely those on that team and in the stands wearing the colors who both agree and disagree with what their country's government represents, so to lump them in with their government lock-and-stock is unfair. I agree with that.

I was up for the euros and for Russia, it’s just this one I’m struggling with in general. England being so dull to watch most of the time doesn’t help either. So many good attacking players and we grind out results.

[jackos]

To each their own, but I like international football, especially prestige tournaments like the World Cup, who earned their legacy over time and moments, not via FIFA hype or UEFA-style cynical money-squeezing (see Nations League). I'll admit annoyance with the international breaks during club season for non-World Cup qualifying or non-continental qualifying weekends, but for the most part? I look forward to international football.

While it has problems and inequities just like club soccer does, it's less susceptible to the whims of the super-rich. I'm the furthest thing from a patriot, but I don't mind that nationality is used as a means to coalesce around a mission. Better that than a bunch of assholes chasing the biggest contract and ending up as agents of scuzzy nation-state on superhero-style club teams like Manchester City.

Specifically to soccer? I hate to get pollyanna, but only in this sport can you have a competition that truly represents the whole world. Where the fuck else are England and Senegal playing on an even keel?

My observation is that the English are far more jaded about their national team than those of other countries are. I'm not sure why that is.

I can only speak from the perspective of following the U.S national team, but supporting it has nothing to do with my-country-right-or-wrong-style-patriotism or as a surrogate for supporting the government, it's just a much more healthy (and fun) way to show pride in your nationality. Maybe it's because we haven't had the history of violence attached to our national team that helps me feel that way, along with the fact that soccer is one of the few sports the U.S. is a distinct underdog, but it's really just about a bit of fun.

If I get rah-rah about a national soccer match, it doesn't mean I'll get rah-rah about supporting a war or a law I don't agree with. I don't see national team as representing any of that. The separation of church-and-state (sport-and-state) is distinct in my view.

When Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the group stage? I was listening to the Guardian Football Weekly and there was much hang-wringing about whether you could get happy about such a large upset when Saudi Arabia as a government represents so many reprehensible things.

I thought Phillipe Auclair put it best. A national team is not a government. People of a nationality aren't a government. There is very likely those on that team and in the stands wearing the colors who both agree and disagree with what their country's government represents, so to lump them in with their government lock-and-stock is unfair. I agree with that.

Great post. Its become trendy to dislike England as the EPL has grown in stature, but each to their own. Most Leeds fans I know are massive England fans, and are enjoying us being more competitive than we've been for 50 years.

In Sweden club football is far bigger than the national team for most fans of the big clubs, but that's because they only rarely have anything to shout about.

[dirty leeds]

I'm enjoying it.

[Trumper]

Three classy goals ..what’s not to like?

[jackos]

Absolut class that

[eric olthwaite]

My observation is that the English are far more jaded about their national team than those of other countries are. I'm not sure why that is.

I’m not sure about this. All country’s fans include the tired and cynical and the mental patriot varieties, I suspect.

But I would say that Belgians are probably the least interested, relative to the quality of the team, that I’ve encountered, with Dutch and Italians often not far behind.

[Eddies Boots]

Why complain about the way England play when 3-0 up inside 60 minutes in a knockout game.
They have to win 3 more after this one.
The biggest test is coming next weekend.

[Matt White]

Some moaning about our play need a bit of a sit down. We've managed the game at the back, counter-attacked with precision and shown some some real passages of skill. Top scorers of the tournament to boot. Jeez.

[jackos]

Very good performance from Henderson today.

[Matt White]

We could do with a better LB than Shaw though. He switches off and rarely looks for a forward ball

[Devi]

My observation is that the English are far more jaded about their national team than those of other countries are. I'm not sure why that is.

I’m not sure about this. All country’s fans include the tired and cynical and the mental patriot varieties, I suspect.

But I would say that Belgians are probably the least interested, relative to the quality of the team, that I’ve encountered, with Dutch and Italians often not far behind.

Their lack of interest of course illustrated by the riots the other night after they’d lost to Morocco…