Ronaldo not on the field, what do we think of that? It seems like they play much better without Ronaldo. There is quite a bit of quality in the field at Portugal in this way. Few countries can really compete with that. And Switzerland turns out to be a size too small. The 2-0 lead is a good reflection of the game, in which Switzerland did not really have a single decent chance. Portugal is with one leg in the quarterfinals, and will smell opportunities since Morocco is the opponent there. I think Portugal will make it to the semi-finals and then go out there against France/England. But we are not there yet. They will not give away the 2-0 lead tonight.

For example, it seems that England is having a very difficult time against Senegal, and so they score 2 goals in a few minutes and are suddenly 2-0 ahead at half-time. The 2nd half has started again, but I think this game has been played with this score. England and France may prepare themselves for a mutual confrontation. At the World Cup 4 years ago, we had a bizarre match between Argentina and France, which France eventually won 4-3. I think England and France have good teams, but France have better players and I think that will be the deciding factor.

The championship is difficult to estimate. You can, however, see who has the best draws based on the schedule. Argentina - Netherlands is a completely different game than England - France. And they also have quite difficult opponents tonight with Poland and Senegal. You can also lose on a bad day. Croatia has also played quite well so far, which is a dangerous outsider for the title. There are also a few favorites, but you should not write off a country like Portugal. And they also became European champions a few years ago. Brazil showed the best game, but we cannot count the last game because a number of basic players did not participate and because they had already qualified by then. Spain also has to watch out for Morocco, which now has some great players in its selection.

Benzema has also had to play in Ronaldo's shadow for years at Madrid. That was the first striker and most balls were all played to Ronaldo as well. It has also brought Madrid many successes, but Benzema also appears to be of a very high level. Too bad he's injured now, last year he single-handedly shot Madrid to the CL title. They will also need him in the league, but he may have to miss 1-2 games when the league starts again. Of most teams, Madrid should be able to win without Benzema normally.

Speaking of transfers, there are some players at the World Cup who have made a big impression. What about the goalkeeper of Cameroon, who kept a fantastic match. What many people have missed is the rescue of goalkeeper Noppert of the Netherlands yesterday in the match against the USA, who already had a great chance after 2 minutes, but who were unable to make it. Dumfries was really really good yesterday. He is currently playing for Inter Milan, but I wouldn't be surprised if bigger clubs would come forward now. He would certainly not look out of place at Real Madrid and he fits perfectly into that game image with counters due to his speed and aggression.

The gap from Arsenal to Manchester City is secretly already 5 points. I actually like it quite a lot. Newcastle is also only 2 points behind, but they have played a game more. I don't think Newcastle can hold on to this 3rd place. And whether Arsenal can continue to maintain the high level is also the question. Brighton in particular would not be thought to be in 7th place after 14/15 rounds. United 11 points behind Arsenal, it's almost impossible to close that gap. Arsenal's next game is at home against fellow townsman West Ham United. We shouldn't expect miracles from this either.

There are clear favorites from both games today, but it can be said that both Senegal and Senegal are dangerous opponents. Very sad for Senegal that Mane is not there, that can make the difference in such matches. But Poland will enter mt Lewndowsky, although I think Poland's midfield is too weak to serve him at his beck and call. I suspect that France and England will win quite easily, but they have to watch out. Senegal is physically a very strong team and is number 20 in the current world ranking for a reason. France and England both have many stars, but if underestimated, things can go wrong tonight.

The damage is still manageable. And you are never too late to finally stop gambling. It may be a lot of money, but it's good to face reality. A good first step is the realization that you have a gambling problem, only when you realize that you can tackle the problem at the core. And hope that you don't get a relapse, otherwise you will end up in a negative spiral that you can hardly get out of. The time you have been addicted to gambling is approximately the time it takes you to get out of it. And that is a very difficult task sometimes.

Much has been said and written about the KYC, but in the end it is beneficial to apply it to prevent minors from starting gambling. When you talk about crypto, there are still some platforms that don't use it. In theory, a minor could also play on that, although I don't know off the top of my head which gambling sites allow gambling without performing a certain KYC. Yet you don't hear much about gambling among minors. After all, what minor has a significant budget for gambling?

In itself, they were two easy victories for both the Netherlands and Argentina. I expect a little more from tomorrow's matches, then we will see France against Poland and England against Senegal. The winners of these matches then play each other in the quarter finals. Yes, France - England is a beautiful poster, a match that could have been the final. I can say that France is the favorite to beat England, but every game is determined by small details. The disadvantage of England is that they have a mediocre and rather inexperienced trainer. In that respect, the Netherlands does have a top coach in the person of Louis van Gaal.

Newcastle's wild plans seem to be coming true for the most part. And last year they were in the relegation place for a while. I think they were able to attract reinforcements back then and partly because of that they have climbed up the rankings. They have a strong team, but the quality and level cannot be compared to that of Arsenal. I think they just brought in good/decent players and that's enough for now. But they will certainly want to attract many more players and compete for the championship in a few years. The club is the richest club in England, and perhaps worldwide.

Juventus had a mediocre start, but has recovered somewhat. They do have the team to fight back to victory in the competition, but then they are not allowed to make any mistakes. Napoli makes almost no mistakes and is also undefeated. I don't see them giving away many points for the time being. The advantage in the top of Italy is that it is quite wide, so in itself you could still get matches in which Napoli faces a defeat. And we shouldn't write Inter Milan off for the title either, but they miss Lukaku.

Gakpo is currently associated with many top teams. Barcelona will probably like him too. What can we expect from Seville's 2nd half of the season? They are even more likely to be in the relegation spot than in European football, which is bizarre when you think about it. They still have enough time to repair the damage, but will they succeed? Their first half of the season was by no means incidental. I'm afraid it can continue like this and then you won't even end up in the first 10 teams.

Too bad about Uruguay, but very nice for South Korea. And they can now play against Brazil, which can be a very tough match for the Koreans. Portugal has then drawn a lot better, although the number 2 from the group of Brazil will only be announced tonight. The eighth finals will start tomorrow. The Netherlands will probably beat the USA quite easily, and Argentina will probably have even less trouble beating Australia. That is a big difference in strength between the last two countries mentioned.

Arsenal and United are not as favorites as we thought at the beginning of the tournament. This is mainly because a number of strong teams have now been added. I also see Juventus coming to an end and Barcelona is always one of the favorites in my opinion. They could probably have gone far in the Champions League as well. Barcelona only drew poorly, but they can also see that as a sporting challenge at the club. I think they have a great sense of honor there and they want to become champions by beating all the best teams. Barcelona - Arsenal would be a nice final.

They certainly didn't do their job flawlessly. If the VAR intervenes, I think they should also make a decision on the spot what the referee should do. Now the referee is called aside and the referee has to make the decision himself. Wouldn't you make it much more logical if the VAR would also make the decision right away? Now the entire responsibility of the choice is placed on the umpire's shoes. But good decisions have also been made in themselves. Argentina's penalty yesterday was not a penalty, so that was strange. We are and will always be people who make mistakes.

Ferrari has actually also built a much bigger name with racing than Red Bull. Nevertheless, Red Bull has also achieved modest successes in the past. But you never see Red Bull cars driving on the highways, I don't think they exist either? Ferrari is better known to the general public than Red Bull, but has a lot of problems to solve before the start of the new season. If they don't get that right mechanically, it could well be another disappointing season. I expect Hamilton to be able to fight for the title again with Verstappen like 2 seasons ago.

The matches all seem to be far away, but they are also creeping closer again. I hope we will see great games, and that Benzema and Mane will both be there again. I don't know how serious the injuries of both players are. But Liverpool also has something to put right after losing the final against the same Real Madrid last year. Real Madrid are currently in a better phase with football, but Liverpool could flourish again in the new year.

At the moment, Spain and Germany are both ahead. Germany started the tournament badly due to a defeat against Japan, but now seems to qualify for the next round. Costa Rica won the previous round against Japan, otherwise it would have been done for Germany. But Germany is a team to be reckoned with, many of the best teams in the world have players. I think Germany is not much worse than Brazil for example. Spain is also good, but lacks a lot of experience due to the youth in the team. That can turn out good and bad.

Another 0-0 score on the board after 35 minutes of play. But Cameroon - Serbia was also 0-0 after 30 minutes and after 90 minutes we had even seen 6 goals. I don't think there will be many goals in this match. It is striking that Luis Suarez is not participating today. He was a bit overweight, but at this level that can make all the difference. He plays in a local league in South America, but maybe he shouldn't have been taken to this tournament. He no longer has the level and is also starting to get old.