Pre-World Cup Friendlies

[Dewali]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

[nikola22]

I also have a little savings just to be able to bet on this World Cup. Tomorrow, when Mexico plays against South Africa, I'm not sure what to bet on. African teams play very well. On the other hand, Mexico always has a very easy qualifying round. This time, since they're hosting, it's very likely they'll win, because of being the home team and all that. But South Africa is eager to win and make history. Tomorrow will be one of the most-watched matches of the World Cup.

normally, a match between Mexico and South Africa would look like a match between teams of comparable strength. but it's worth noting that Mexico is playing at home at Estadio Banorte and this fact offers a huge advantage in terms of crowd support. furthermore, referees sometimes are more favorable to the tournament hosts so Mexico has a better chance of winning. but that doesn't mean South Africa will simply give up and we'll see a tough match.

[Cointikka]

normally, a match between Mexico and South Africa would look like a match between teams of comparable strength. but it's worth noting that Mexico is playing at home at Estadio Banorte and this fact offers a huge advantage in terms of crowd support. furthermore, referees sometimes are more favorable to the tournament hosts so Mexico has a better chance of winning. but that doesn't mean South Africa will simply give up and we'll see a tough match.

Mexico is the favourite to win tomorrow's match. They are playing in their home ground, which is a big advantage. I agree on that point. But I also feel they have a slight upper edge over South Africa. In their last 9 appearances, Mexico has failed only once to get out of the group stage, and that was at the last World Cup. This time, they will play differently and will not repeat the mistake of taking any match lightly.

[L E G E N D A R Y]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

Everyone got their choices and reason, there are some persons that who are very much interested in pre- friendly match due to one reasons or the other and just as you said, Spain is your favourite and your reason on that, but some people likes pre- friendly match before the tournament kick off, this enables to know the team they are rooting for, especially for those that don't have any favourite. Also, it helps them to be more informed and this also helps the players to prepare themselves very well.

[Daniel91]

Ronaldo won't contribute much in the World Cup, i don't want people to place so much on him, he can't deliver like he used to, age is a major factor and it has catch up on him, we saw how today's game went against Nigeria, still one of the greatest, but not as effective like he used to.

Looking at Portugal performance today, i don't think they can survive winning the world cup, it is a dream actually, football might happen, but it is quite obvious the difference in squad depth between them and other countries.

Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the young and energetic player we used to know, so we don't expect him to be the one to carry the Portugal team in thus world cup, but I think he still has something to offer to his team, which I think is his experience and motivation.  He might not have looked his best in the game against Nigeria,  but we should not also forget that it's just a friendly match, I think Portugal has a good squad and we should not just write them off. It's definitely going to be a different ball game when the tournament starts.

I think that currently Ronaldo is more important for the Portugal team as a legend and a charismatic player who can help the coach in leading and motivating the team than as someone who can make a greater contribution on the field.
Already at the last World Cup and European Championship it was clear that Ronaldo is no longer at the level he used to be, that he is slower and less efficient than in his younger days, and therefore I believe that the coach will use him less in the game and that he will be more of a support in the background.
Personally, I still think that it was a mistake to use Ronaldo too much at the World Cup in Qatar because Portugal played better without him in the game at that World Cup.
The Portugal coach will have to do what is best for the team and the result even if it means having to explain to Ronaldo that he will not play.

[Zigabel]

Ronaldo won't contribute much in the World Cup, i don't want people to place so much on him, he can't deliver like he used to, age is a major factor and it has catch up on him, we saw how today's game went against Nigeria, still one of the greatest, but not as effective like he used to.

Looking at Portugal performance today, i don't think they can survive winning the world cup, it is a dream actually, football might happen, but it is quite obvious the difference in squad depth between them and other countries.

Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the young and energetic player we used to know, so we don't expect him to be the one to carry the Portugal team in thus world cup, but I think he still has something to offer to his team, which I think is his experience and motivation.  He might not have looked his best in the game against Nigeria,  but we should not also forget that it's just a friendly match, I think Portugal has a good squad and we should not just write them off. It's definitely going to be a different ball game when the tournament starts.

Portugal has some other young and talented lads who can get them competing well at the world cup, one of the best midfielders in the world now in the person of Bruno Fernandez is from Portugal and is enlisted to play for the team, so it's looking like even without Ronaldo, the team has got something to offer, age is no longer on his side and it is taking gradual effect on him but he is still vibrant as at now because of the level of discipline he has subjected himself to training, he also has a dream goal number he is chasing, all of this could fuel his performance some more, so we may not expect much from him but if he does much don't expect less either, he still looks capable of some magical performances, maybe a few but he most likely can gwt it done.

[Shussainshah]

I also have a little savings just to be able to bet on this World Cup. Tomorrow, when Mexico plays against South Africa, I'm not sure what to bet on. African teams play very well. On the other hand, Mexico always has a very easy qualifying round. This time, since they're hosting, it's very likely they'll win, because of being the home team and all that. But South Africa is eager to win and make history. Tomorrow will be one of the most-watched matches of the World Cup.

normally, a match between Mexico and South Africa would look like a match between teams of comparable strength. but it's worth noting that Mexico is playing at home at Estadio Banorte and this fact offers a huge advantage in terms of crowd support. furthermore, referees sometimes are more favorable to the tournament hosts so Mexico has a better chance of winning. but that doesn't mean South Africa will simply give up and we'll see a tough match.

Mexico is the favourite to win against South Africa. They have home advantage and probably referre favor as well. South Africa can't recover from that's 2010 worldcup.  At this worldcup they have very low chance to win any match I think south Africa is not good to beat Mexico in their home grounds. African team are good so far this tournament Sent Off matches but I have feelings they can't take to the next round this is what's its is you already mentioned home advantage and referee favor. So I am also thinking Mexico can top this group and goes to the next round

[BluebloodCXVI]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar.

Well whether the friendlies are interesting to you or not, it doesn't really change the purpose of it and besides, that’s how the World Cup tournament usually begins. These national teams play the friendly matches beforehand so that they can be able to assess their squads, build team chemistry, test their tactics, and also get players to be fit before the main competition starts and perhaps the results may not carry much weight, but that preparation aspect is very important for every team so I’d say the friendlies are definitely important.

What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

It’s fair enough that Spain are your favorites, you know considering the fact that they are the reigning European champions and that they have a squad packed with young talent that are already experienced at a high level. I believe this gives them a strong foundation going into any tournament.
For me personally, i think I'd lean towards Portugal. I feel like their squad has very good quality in almost every field position, they literally got a good mix of experienced leaders and emerging stars, and they've got plenty of players coming off strong seasons at club level like Bruno and Nuno even Vitinha. Sincerely speaking i think the Portugal team has one of the most complete squad in this tournament, I just hope they can find consistency and click as a unit, i wouldn't be surprised to see them go very deep into the tournament.

[Shadiq]

Mexico is the favourite to win against South Africa. They have home advantage and probably referre favor as well. South Africa can't recover from that's 2010 worldcup.  At this worldcup they have very low chance to win any match I think south Africa is not good to beat Mexico in their home grounds. African team are good so far this tournament Sent Off matches but I have feelings they can't take to the next round this is what's its is you already mentioned home advantage and referee favor. So I am also thinking Mexico can top this group and goes to the next round

Mexico are the favourites against South Africa, apart from home advantage and the referee's support. They may not need any advantage to beat South Africa, because Mexico is a stronger team than South Africa. However, we cannot say for sure yet, home advantage is not a thing in international football, especially when there is a big difference in the quality of the two teams.

I am just wondering if the first match is going to be offensive or defensive. Since every match in the World Cup is very important, Mexico will definitely not take too many risks, but will play relatively risk-free football. So the match may end with a scorecard of 2-0 or 2-1 or 3-1.

[Nahl]

England have closed their friendly matches with satisfying result that today England can won over Costa Rica with excellent scores 3-0.
I have to days England formation is a bit different especially from their defensive lines because there are no famous name like Maguire but so far England is still solid
From the records England so far can managed their unbeated records which i think this is good for players mentaly although there are big change from the squad but they look promising.
On world cup 2022 England journey have to stopped at quarterfinal at that time they were lost from France and for the current tournament i wanted to see how far they will go

[Ahli38]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

You should know that pre-World Cup friendly matches aren’t just casual games. It’s in these matches that national teams test their strength against one another. And they also use these friendlies to gauge the capabilities of other national teams. The same goes for fans as they want to see how the national team they support performs. And they want to know too every detail about the players so they can analyze their performance. All fans will definitely follow every match of the national team they like just like the national team you favor. So I personally think that a battle of pride also takes place in pre-World Cup friendly matches like this. And if this match weren't so prestigious then there wouldn’t be any hard fouls. But actually that’s what happened such as in the recent Portugal vs Chile match or even in other national team matches.

[Majestic-milf]

You're right in your assumptions even though you should also remember that some teams don't fancy loosing to some sides due to long time rivalry or team perceptions about another team and fans influence too. Take for instance, even if it's a friendly match, Argentina would never want to loose to Nigeria and same with this Portugal team even though Portugal has not really played against Nigeria as often but again, it will be in records should Portugal loose this game.

Pedro Neto netted the first goal and Adams of Nigeria has replied it already. This is the best game anyone would have played in his ticket, Nigeria to score and nothing more. Unlike your assumptions, everyone is in the game, Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandez. I hope they will be more careful and not picking up injuries because they still have a task that will be starting soon in the world cup. It's 1:1 now and still counting.

You hit the nail right, bruh. Some big teams see loosing to smaller teams as an insult and I saw the way Portugal tried to up the score the moment Nigeria equalized, because to them it won't sit well with them if the scoreline ended that way and the moment they scored through Concecao, they began flexing in the midfield and as for Nigeria, they didn't look like they wanted to add any more force as they began to make silly mistakes. For me, it was because it's a friendly and nothing competitive, else you would have seen a different Nigeria playing and also their big boys would have all been present.

[Agbe]

Mexico is the favourite to win against South Africa. They have home advantage and probably referre favor as well. South Africa can't recover from that's 2010 worldcup.  At this worldcup they have very low chance to win any match I think south Africa is not good to beat Mexico in their home grounds. African team are good so far this tournament Sent Off matches but I have feelings they can't take to the next round this is what's its is you already mentioned home advantage and referee favor. So I am also thinking Mexico can top this group and goes to the next round

Mexico are the favourites against South Africa, apart from home advantage and the referee's support. They may not need any advantage to beat South Africa, because Mexico is a stronger team than South Africa. However, we cannot say for sure yet, home advantage is not a thing in international football, especially when there is a big difference in the quality of the two teams.

This thread is purely for the international friendlies and not for the world cup therefore let the discussion should boiled down to the friendlies and I believed it was yesterday that all the friendlies matches ended. Nigeria played fiercely against Portugal and the match ended with 2-1 against Nigeria. But the Super Eagles tried to their best and if they played like this in the qualifiers stage, they would qualified in the world cup.

[TopT3ns]

England have closed their friendly matches with satisfying result that today England can won over Costa Rica with excellent scores 3-0.
I have to days England formation is a bit different especially from their defensive lines because there are no famous name like Maguire but so far England is still solid
From the records England so far can managed their unbeated records which i think this is good for players mentaly although there are big change from the squad but they look promising.
On world cup 2022 England journey have to stopped at quarterfinal at that time they were lost from France and for the current tournament i wanted to see how far they will go

Yes, this is a friendly match, but the England squad depth throughout the match against Costa Rica was really good. I was also glad to see that they defended well without their seniors. This success will give them the confidence to face tough competition this year in the World Cup match.

[Akbarkoe]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

Filling time and watching the progress of friendly matches is a form of someone's interest in the world cup, friendly matches will not be taken seriously, but here indirectly see how they play casually, anyway there are no other interesting league matches that can be watched, so it is natural for some people who like soccer to temporarily use this friendly match as their arena to watch.

Ah most of the players are from Barcelona? I remember it, hopefully it will have a great achievement again in the world cup, good luck.

[wakier]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

The league is over, and there no entertainment other than watching the friendlies. While we wait for the new season and the World Cup to begin, at least we have the entertainment of watching football, and I think it's quite entertaining for football fans. We can see the potential of the clubs that performed well, although friendlies don't guarantee true strength, but each club has tested their strengths for the start of the World Cup.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Mexico is the favourite to win against South Africa. They have home advantage and probably referre favor as well. South Africa can't recover from that's 2010 worldcup.  At this worldcup they have very low chance to win any match I think south Africa is not good to beat Mexico in their home grounds. African team are good so far this tournament Sent Off matches but I have feelings they can't take to the next round this is what's its is you already mentioned home advantage and referee favor. So I am also thinking Mexico can top this group and goes to the next round

The World cup is about to start between Mexico vs South africa. As this is the first match, a lot of  spectators will enjoy it. Hopefully we will see an exciting  match today.

Mexico and south africa seem almost as strong to me. With home advantage, mexico can naturally be considered favourites. But I think  the match will be a draw.

It is difficult to say which two teams from group A will qualify for the next round. Mexico, South africa, South korea, all three  teams are likely to be at the top of  the table.

[rdluffy]

It was great participating with you all here in this thread pre competition

In just a few hours the World Cup will begin, and I suggest everyone participate in this World Cup thread starting now

Here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5431360.0 

[Lida93]

As for me I don't see anything interesting about this friendly world cup that every team is participating in. Is just more like warm the get the players ready for the world after the end of club football calendar. What I can say is that Spain seem to b my favourite going to this tournament reason because they are the reigning champion of Europe and the fact that they have on the youngest squad with experience players as an added advantage.

I quite understand the sentiments, it's obvious you aren't interested in the friendlies due to the fact your country ain't participating in the World Cup, be that as it may, the friendlies have a significant role that they play in preparing teams before the main events kicks off, perhaps the friendlies also help to ascertain the level of preparation of the participating teams, for the countries that failed to qualify, the friendlies may also give them a feeling of what the event will look like since they wont be there.