Joao Pedro's injury history doesn't look as horrific as I was expecting tbh, per Transfermarkt at least

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/joao-pedro/verletzungen/spieler/626724/plus/1

40 appearances last season for Brighton

comment by The Duality of Van (Dijk) (U21747)
posted 22 minutes ago
Joao Pedro's injury history doesn't look as horrific as I was expecting tbh, per Transfermarkt at least

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/joao-pedro/verletzungen/spieler/626724/plus/1

40 appearances last season for Brighton
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Good at pens as well

In other news:

We have the most clean sheets in Europe's top-5 leagues with 12, Inter next with 11. 60% of our games have ended with a clean sheet

Slot

comment by Fred Slot (U3979)
posted 1 hour, 37 minutes ago
I just don't understand either decision. Why in 6 countries across 2 continents? Why not just pick one region?

And then Saudi is just all about money, and considering it'll come 12 years after Qatar, just feels very samey.
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Why hold it in one region instead of 6 countries across different continents?

Look how many Europe has hosted. I'm pretty sure it never felt "samey".

There are not too many World Cups in can remember when the English didn't complain about the hosts getting it.

2002 - they eat dogs.
2010 - there's gonna be muggings and beatings in the streets
2014 - as above
2018 - racists will attack everyone
2022 - gаys and people drinking alcohol will be sent to prison

Similar story for Euros.

The fact of the matter is the countries are not chosen based on safety and how close they are to Western laws. The countries best suited to hosting aren't necessarily those chosen either. They try to choose countries where the World Cup can potentially improve the country, who haven't hosted before or haven't hosted in a long time. Where football isn't as successful to potentially improve the infrastructure and therefore the quality.

Isn't it time people finally understood this? Yes English football is successful, yes the infrastructure is there, yes it would likely be safer and more inclusive but that's funnily enough the reason why other countries get preference as football has a worldwide audience and the potential to bring positive change.

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 16 minutes ago
There are not too many World Cups in can remember when the English didn't complain about the hosts getting it.

2002 - they eat dogs.
2010 - there's gonna be muggings and beatings in the streets
2014 - as above
2018 - racists will attack everyone
2022 - gаys and people drinking alcohol will be sent to prison

Similar story for Euros.

The fact of the matter is the countries are not chosen based on safety and how close they are to Western laws. The countries best suited to hosting aren't necessarily those chosen either. They try to choose countries where the World Cup can potentially improve the country, who haven't hosted before or haven't hosted in a long time. Where football isn't as successful to potentially improve the infrastructure and therefore the quality.

Isn't it time people finally understood this? Yes English football is successful, yes the infrastructure is there, yes it would likely be safer and more inclusive but that's funnily enough the reason why other countries get preference as football has a worldwide audience and the potential to bring positive change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 6 hours, 52 minutes ago
There are not too many World Cups in can remember when the English didn't complain about the hosts getting it.

2002 - they eat dogs.
2010 - there's gonna be muggings and beatings in the streets
2014 - as above
2018 - racists will attack everyone
2022 - gаys and people drinking alcohol will be sent to prison

Similar story for Euros.

The fact of the matter is the countries are not chosen based on safety and how close they are to Western laws. The countries best suited to hosting aren't necessarily those chosen either. They try to choose countries where the World Cup can potentially improve the country, who haven't hosted before or haven't hosted in a long time. Where football isn't as successful to potentially improve the infrastructure and therefore the quality.

Isn't it time people finally understood this? Yes English football is successful, yes the infrastructure is there, yes it would likely be safer and more inclusive but that's funnily enough the reason why other countries get preference as football has a worldwide audience and the potential to bring positive change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"2010 - there's gonna be muggings and beatings in the streets"

I'm not gonna lie, I was looking to rob a lot of foreigners during the 2010 world cup. Easy money

You will see complaints about Mexico but not the US no doubt.

I’m sure the awarding of major football tournament to Russia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia by the historically and demonstrably corrupt organisation FIFA is all perfectly above board myself.

They’re just trying to develop the game. When will the arrogant English fans understand this?

Why is this a coronation, not a contest?

Official confirmation of a Saudi World Cup came at a 'virtual' meeting of Fifa's Congress on Wednesday afternoon.

But that has seemed like a formality for more than a year. In October 2023, it emerged the Saudi bid would be unopposed after Australia - the only other potential candidate - decided not to enter the running, hinting that it was futile to do so after being given less than a month by Fifa to mount a challenge.

Fifa has defended a fast-tracked process that many argue was lacking in transparency and accountability. But critics believe it effectively paved the way for the Saudis, by decreeing that the 2030 World Cup would be staged across three continents (Spain, Portugal and Morocco are co-hosts, with the first three matches in South America). That meant that under its rotation policy, only bids from Asia and Oceania were considered for 2034.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia and Fifa, under president Gianni Infantino, have developed a close relationship. The country hosted Fifa's 2023 Club World Cup, and the governing body has a lucrative sponsorship deal with Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco.
——————————

Nothing to see here.

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 9 hours, 21 minutes ago
There are not too many World Cups in can remember when the English didn't complain about the hosts getting it.

2002 - they eat dogs.
2010 - there's gonna be muggings and beatings in the streets
2014 - as above
2018 - racists will attack everyone
2022 - gаys and people drinking alcohol will be sent to prison

Similar story for Euros.

The fact of the matter is the countries are not chosen based on safety and how close they are to Western laws. The countries best suited to hosting aren't necessarily those chosen either. They try to choose countries where the World Cup can potentially improve the country, who haven't hosted before or haven't hosted in a long time. Where football isn't as successful to potentially improve the infrastructure and therefore the quality.

Isn't it time people finally understood this? Yes English football is successful, yes the infrastructure is there, yes it would likely be safer and more inclusive but that's funnily enough the reason why other countries get preference as football has a worldwide audience and the potential to bring positive change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And if you believe al that then you’re just naive.

comment by Robbing Hoody - keepy up arbiter. Don’t ... (U6374)
posted 25 minutes ago
I’m sure the awarding of major football tournament to Russia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia by the historically and demonstrably corrupt organisation FIFA is all perfectly above board myself.

They’re just trying to develop the game. When will the arrogant English fans understand this?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Take Qatar for example. The importance of developing the game in country smaller than Birmingham was SO important to FIFA that they were willing to shut down all the major league because it’s so impractical to hold it there during the usual months. All above board. Just development. They certainly haven’t engineered this process to ensure SA won it either.

Are they another very cash rich country in the Arabian peninsula? Sure, but it’s just about development.

And if you believe all that, you need to take your head for a sh!t.

I'm sure in 94 when it went to the US, it was solely because they wanted to expand the game

Why is this a coronation, not a contest?

===========

We felt that if we put an EOI in for the 2034 men’s World Cup, it may mean that we couldn’t allocate the right time see and resources to the [bids for the] 2026 Women’s Asian Cup and the 2029 Club World Cup, so we didn’t go for it,” Johnson said. “We felt that the Saudi bid was strong and when [they have] got the backing of our confederation, the numbers are stacked against us.”


https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/nov/09/saudi-arabia-fifa-world-cup-2034-football-australia-bid-response

Pretty sure ‘94 was won through a traditional bidding process wasn’t it?

comment by Robbing Hoody - keepy up arbiter. Don’t talk to me unless you can do ten (U6374)
posted 26 seconds ago
Pretty sure ‘94 was won through a traditional bidding process wasn’t it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty sure there's bids for every world cup and bribery behind the scenes for every host nation

I’m just dealing in known facts, but if you’re saying Saudi have won it by bribing the officials in a corrupt process then fair enough.

comment by Michael Edwards FC 2.0 loading…{Proud owner of the 5 000 000th comment} (U2720)
posted 2 minutes ago
I'm sure in 94 when it went to the US, it was solely because they wanted to expand the game
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There are perhaps a few similarities

"The United States was not a country where soccer was a nationally popular sport at the time. The North American Soccer League, which was established in 1967, folded in 1984.

The tournament changed the face of soccer in the United States, and led to the announcement of MLS in 1996.

There was some initial controversy about awarding the World Cup to a country where soccer was not a nationally popular sport, and at the time, in 1988, the U.S. no longer had a professional league; the North American Soccer League, established in 1967, had folded in 1984 after attendance faded."

Credit to Yandex search

comment by Robbing Hoody - keepy up arbiter. Don’t talk to me unless you can do ten (U6374)
posted 32 seconds ago
I’m just dealing in known facts, but if you’re saying Saudi have won it by bribing the officials in a corrupt process then fair enough.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And the facts is Australia pulled out their bid, therefore Saudi won by default

A country without a professional football league, and probably the worst human rights record since world war 2 hosted the world cup no problem.

We’ve seen a significant impact on the Qatari game from the World Cup tbf, with average attendances reaching nearly 4000 now.

My point is everyone knows it's sham...but they pick and choose when to be offended by it

comment by Michael Edwards FC 2.0 loading…{Proud owner of the 5 000 000th comment} (U2720)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Robbing Hoody - keepy up arbiter. Don’t talk to me unless you can do ten (U6374)
posted 32 seconds ago
I’m just dealing in known facts, but if you’re saying Saudi have won it by bribing the officials in a corrupt process then fair enough.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And the facts is Australia pulled out their bid, therefore Saudi won by default
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, apparently they felt the fast tracked process meant a bid wasn’t really possible. Some are saying tye whole thing was engineered to make sure Saudi Arabia, with close links to FIFA and Infantino, got a free hit.

It’s just about development anyway, hopefully we see a similar bump in attendances as we did in Qatar.