Welcome to the Bavarian Football Works daily Men’s World Cup match thread! We have reached the penultimate matchday of the tournament. Gone are the unbridled joy and open possibilities of the group stage…what remains, for today, are the two teams that wish they were in the Final, but are not yet allowed to go home.
France looked like the greatest men’s national team the world had ever seen up until being quietly subdued by Spain. England, meanwhile, had a promising start under tournament king Thomas
Tuchel…until tournament collapse Thomas Tuchel re-emerged.
For both teams this will be a chance to wipe away the ugly memories of the semifinals and salvage, in small part, what will be left of their legacy at this World Cup. A chance to go out on high after hitting the lowest of lows, and make crushed — or livid — fans reconsider just how badly things really are. That’s not nothing, for a meaningless match.
France vs. England kicks off at 5:00 PM EDT.
Semifinals results:
Predictions
France 3-1 England.
England has more to play for — Thomas Tuchel is staying; Didier Deschamps is retiring. But France has more horses, especially in attack, and England has been run ragged. Energy levels were low by the end of the semifinals loss to Argentina, which arguably contributed as much or more to the defeat than Tuchel’s interventions — which may have merely tried and failed to stop the skid. While the English don’t seem to have an ability to stay on the ball when it matters, France can squeeze and suffocate and then hit fast in transition. Olise, Mbappé & co. should offer more goals; Dayot Upamecano should clean up on defense, and disappointment supreme will be Coming Home.
Reading and listening
- ✍️ Josimar: Dystopia
- ✍️ ATLUD Insight: The Zen of Soccer in Real Time
- ✍️ ESPN: What’s in an emote? Analyzing 747 gestures during the World Cup group stage
- ✍️ HuffPo: Black Fans Share The Radical Joys And Frustrations Of Watching This Year’s World Cup
Odds and Ends
Sad Mick Jagger:
The England match in a nutshell:
Folks…don’t gamble
How to Watch
TV/streaming: Fox One (USA), Peacock (USA en Español), Find Your Country
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