Other Games - 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Edition (+ warm-up matches): Villa-watch

[Dave]

Had a game with the Trionda ball tonight. Definitely balloons around quite a bit.

[Small Rodent]

Dull game.

I wanted Bosnia to win because a friend of mine had the balls to be part of the team to arrange and travel to Sarajevo during the war for a Bruce Dickinson gig.

On request from fans under siege.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I have the sound off

Good call, they're playing I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) during the hydration break.

How can they play that dirge when you have Canada's most famous personality with 'I'm like a bird'?

I'm not sure she's their most famous personality, but she's definitely the greatest singer-songwriter to come out of Canada.

Leonard Cohen and Neil Young would disagree, and so would I.

Don't give him the bite he was crying for, FFS.

You're overthinking it. I was struggling to come up with any name from Canada who wasn't a politician, music wise they certainly beat anything to ever come out of Australia.

As for the game, I'm happy Canada got a point, lovely people and they've fully embraced the true spirit of the World Cup unlike those south of the order. Now go beat Qatar, score a few and live the dream, as Nelly Furtado said 'all good things' happen for a reason.

[Hillbilly]

I’m not letting that drive-by on Australia pass. When Canada produces someone as awesome as Kylie then we can have a fair fight.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Kylie. Born in Australia, made in Britain.

Edit: You win, I recall Agent Provocateur.

[Brazilian Villain]

I’m not letting that drive-by on Australia pass. When Canada produces someone as awesome as Kylie then we can have a fair fight.

Australia has AC/DC, Canada has Bryan Adams. It's not even close for poor Canada.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I’m not letting that drive-by on Australia pass. When Canada produces someone as awesome as Kylie then we can have a fair fight.

Australia has AC/DC, Canada has Bryan Adams. It's not even close for poor Canada.

That's a win for Canada down here. Bryan Adams is massive here, in fact I'm pretty sure the only place he's toured in the last 20 years is here.

According to AI: Bryan Adams' enduring success in Portugal stems from his formative childhood years spent living in Cascais, which fostered a deep personal connection with the country. This affinity, combined with his globally cherished 80s rock anthems, ensures massive, sold-out arena tours across Portuguese cities.

How fucking sad is that?

[PeterWithesShin]

Midnight Oil.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Hunters & Collectors

[pauliewalnuts]

Arcade Fire are Canadian and great.

Also - Neil Young, The Band (except Levon Helm), Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen.

We had an incredible holiday in Canada last summer. If i could rewind my life 30 years, I'd emigrate there. Probably to Vancouver or somewhere in BC.

What a fantastic, beautiful, civilised country, full of educated, polite people. They're like if you took the best of the British, mixed it with the best of the Americans, sprinkled in a bit of French-ness to make it a bit edgy, and located them on a landscape which is impossibly beautiful and immaculately looked after.

Except for tipping culture. And the inability to say 'about' properly. Those things are bad.

Oh, and the inability in great swathes of the country to buy alcohol in supermarkets.

[Brazilian Villain]

That's a win for Canada down here. Bryan Adams is massive here, in fact I'm pretty sure the only place he's toured in the last 20 years is here.

According to AI: Bryan Adams' enduring success in Portugal stems from his formative childhood years spent living in Cascais, which fostered a deep personal connection with the country. This affinity, combined with his globally cherished 80s rock anthems, ensures massive, sold-out arena tours across Portuguese cities.

How fucking sad is that?

"Globally cherished 80s rock anthems". AI has a way to go yet.

[Brazilian Villain]

Alexi Lalas gives his thoughts on James Corden on US TV. https://x.com/eltonalikaj/status/2065561794240729096

[adrenachrome]

Posted on X by

Russia under the big bad Vladimir Putin during the 2018 World Cup:
- free entry without a visa for all supporters - free trains to travel between the 11 host cities - free local transport (buses, metro, shuttles)
- no dynamic pricing for tickets
- simplified administrative checks
- no discriminatory residency bans
- no seats reserved for supporters taken away - no humiliating searches upon the players' arrival as if they were criminals

[PeterWithesShin]

ITV set and coverage has been better than the Beeb so far.

[cdbearsfan]

BBC set is deliberately cheap to fend off Heil criticism, I think. ITV have actually gone to New York.