ScottDaYid
Vital Football Legend
Spain Argentina was also going to be the worst final out of the 4 possible outcomes.
As good as Spain are they ain't an exciting team to watch, and Argentina are Argentina.
The World Cup 2026
- Thread starter Walthamstow wanderer
- Start date
Spain Argentina was also going to be the worst final out of the 4 possible outcomes.
As good as Spain are they ain't an exciting team to watch, and Argentina are Argentina.
Niall D
Vital 1st Team Regular
Yup in our player ratings this season,
the WC winner averaged 5.7
Whilst the other utilised here there and everywhere (to his credit) averaged 6.
Probably why m.
ScottDaYid
Vital Football Legend
Porro is a very good RB, always has been since he arrived.
I've seen quite a few posts saying how were we so bad last season with a defence of Porro, Romero, VdV, Spence. Who all impressed at the WC.
I expect them all to improve for us this season, Romero aside who I hope has left before he returns to England.
Has to be one of the worst WC finals ever and probably one of the worst matches I have ever watched and I go to alot of League of Ireland games which is not of a very high standard.
Spursex
Alert Team
The Argentines behaviour before during and after the final whistle has been a disgrace to the game we love.
But I bet FIFA do sfa of anything to deal with it. Oh, they might make a scapegoat of just one of the dirty buggers, but the team will get away with it.
Niall D
Vital 1st Team Regular
We were bad(in the league) last season and indeed the season before Scotty hence finishing 17th both seasons.
We flirted with relegation on both occasions.
Our defence was found wanting, and Porro played his part.
I give Spence some leeway as he, was very much a'insert 'player.
Don't forget Romero won the WC in 2022, he was still a headcase for us.
steveperryman
Vital Football Legend
FIFA allowed this to get out of hand & it backfired on them terribly. What was mean't to be their big showcase proved to be anything but. Retrospective punishments should be due or they're going to cop a lot more flack.
They (whoever they are) should never allow football to be played in America again. Let them focus on turning other sports into a circus.
stupops
Vital Football Hero
The Swiss commentator David Lemos closed the broadcast by accurately summarizing the problems of this World Cup; he was spot on.
"There is no doubt that this was the most commercial World Cup in history and also one of the most politicized."
"We will not forget the prices that people without great purchasing power had to pay to live out their passion for football."
"In some cases, they couldn't even enter the country because of their nationality, whether they were fans, journalists, or even referees, like the Somali Omar Artan."
"We also remember the unacceptable treatment given to the Iranian national team, which was unable to properly defend its chances during the tournament."
"And then there's the case of Folarin Balogun. We saw a president boast about calling the FIFA president to get a player's suspension lifted."
"Politics has infiltrated the heart of football, even though FIFA claims to want to keep it above all else. It's clear that this only holds true to a certain extent."
"It was a World Cup in which all matches were played in four halves, and whose final had a break of nearly 30 minutes."
"The crisis has two names: money and power. Today, there is a crisis of trust between many of those involved in football and FIFA."
"In the coming weeks, a lot of money will be distributed to various federations and many football agents, who will be politely invited to remain silent."
"We hope that all of this will be taken into consideration and that it won't happen again."
"There is no doubt that this was the most commercial World Cup in history and also one of the most politicized.""We will not forget the prices that people without great purchasing power had to pay to live out their passion for football."
"In some cases, they couldn't even enter the country because of their nationality, whether they were fans, journalists, or even referees, like the Somali Omar Artan."
"We also remember the unacceptable treatment given to the Iranian national team, which was unable to properly defend its chances during the tournament."
"And then there's the case of Folarin Balogun. We saw a president boast about calling the FIFA president to get a player's suspension lifted."
"Politics has infiltrated the heart of football, even though FIFA claims to want to keep it above all else. It's clear that this only holds true to a certain extent."
"It was a World Cup in which all matches were played in four halves, and whose final had a break of nearly 30 minutes."
"The crisis has two names: money and power. Today, there is a crisis of trust between many of those involved in football and FIFA."
"In the coming weeks, a lot of money will be distributed to various federations and many football agents, who will be politely invited to remain silent."
"We hope that all of this will be taken into consideration and that it won't happen again."
steveperryman
Vital Football Legend
We're in the minority Stu. The money men want 64 teams and even more advertising.
Formula 1 has gone the same way. 25 rounds with the first 7 of 15 in total not taking place in Europe.
Formula 1 has gone the same way. 25 rounds with the first 7 of 15 in total not taking place in Europe.
It seems Fix It For Argentina paid us 1.5 million pounds for the mandatory release of our nine players at the tournament .
I wonder if anyone will ever release the figures on the money they made from the Hydration Breaks .
The only time in modern history the governing bodies have had any consideration to players welfare .
It was weird though that the break was allocated three minutes , the same time given to commercial breaks on the tv .
Even in air conditioned stadiums where the temperature was set at 22 ‘ ,
I watched the Piers Morgan love in with Simon Jordan and John Terry last night , and they were all praising the tournament as one of the best ever . !
Then John Terry revealed that he had been invited to the White House to meet Trump ! WTF
On any subject on this planet would Trump have any interest in John Terry ?
A bloke who doesn’t know what a red card was invites a bloke like John Terry .
I would love that to be explained to me .
The only time in modern history the governing bodies have had any consideration to players welfare .
It was weird though that the break was allocated three minutes , the same time given to commercial breaks on the tv .
Even in air conditioned stadiums where the temperature was set at 22 ‘ ,
I watched the Piers Morgan love in with Simon Jordan and John Terry last night , and they were all praising the tournament as one of the best ever . !
Then John Terry revealed that he had been invited to the White House to meet Trump ! WTF
On any subject on this planet would Trump have any interest in John Terry ?
A bloke who doesn’t know what a red card was invites a bloke like John Terry .
I would love that to be explained to me .
World Cup 2026: Fifa opens investigation into Argentina post-final trouble
Argentina will face an investigation into the ugly scenes at the end of the World Cup final, Fifa has confirmed.
www.bbc.co.uk
Spursex
Alert Team
Believe it or not FIFA did not make a simple penny DIRECTLY from the water breaks..
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and global development head Arsène Wenger clarified that the mandatory, mid-half cooling breaks brought "no additional revenue for FIFA". This is because FIFA sold the tournament's broadcast packages years before deciding to implement the mandatory stoppages.
However, the breaks created a massive financial windfall for the television networks broadcasting the games. But they did because it made for higher Broadcast fees from the rights...
Who Actually Made the Money?
The direct financial winners of the hydration breaks are the independent television networks, who were granted permission to air commercials during the 3-minute windows:
- Fox Sports (USA): Projected to bring in at least $250 million (and up to $500–$600 million) purely from hydration break ad slots. Individual 30-second commercials sold for $200,000 to $300,000 during group stages, skyrocketing to $750,000 for high-profile matches and up to $8 million for the final. This inventory alone paid off over half of Fox's $485 million fee for the entire tournament's broadcast rights.
- Global Broadcasters: Collectively, international networks are estimated to have generated over $1 billion in newly created commercial revenue worldwide.
How FIFA Benefits in the Long Run
While FIFA did not pocket immediate cash from these commercials, the breaks heavily shift the economics of future soccer media rights:
- Higher Broadcast Rights Fees: By proving that live soccer can successfully integrate guaranteed, in-game commercial "pods" like the NFL or NBA, FIFA dramatically inflates the baseline value of its tournament.
- Future Leverage: In upcoming media rights negotiations, FIFA can command significantly higher prices from broadcasters who now know they can monetize mid-game windows.
Before the tournament, ITV executives publicly called the expanded format a "summer Super Bowl" for television advertising. However, UK broadcasting law completely blocked them from using the water breaks for extra revenue: [1, 2]
- Hourly Ad Ceilings: Ofcom limits public service broadcasters to a strict average of 7 to 8 minutes of commercials per hour.
- The Cannibalisation Effect: If ITV inserted ads during the 22nd and 67th minutes, they would legally have to remove ads from halftime or pre-match coverage. [
- The Result: Because it would simply shift existing ad slots around rather than generating brand-new revenue, ITV chose to prioritize the viewer experience and keep the camera on the pitch.
Apparently the red card given to Parades after the final has been removed from the records !!!!!
Greavswasthegreatest
Vital Football Legend
Did you know that thousands of Nazi war criminals fled to Argentina after world war II making so that country was a primary destination for escaping fascists.. Estimates suggest that up to 5,000 Nazis relocated there using secret escape routes known as "ratlines" (appropriate eh!). So my question is they would have married and bred over there.
Is there any correlation between the Argentine football team players both recent and past to being the kin of such bastards, hence their arrogant attitude and criminal qualities on the football pitch.....just a thought ha ha!
Is there any correlation between the Argentine football team players both recent and past to being the kin of such bastards, hence their arrogant attitude and criminal qualities on the football pitch.....just a thought ha ha!
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