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

[Behind Bluenose Lines]

I reckon England will win pretty comfortably tonight. Then we'll draw 0-0 against Ghana. Smash Panama. Straightforward 2-0 win in R32. Quarter-final defeat.

You mean It's Not Coming Home?

[Somniloquism]

Miraslaw Klose can't be enjoying this World Cup much.

Neither can Old Man Ronnie who is playing in his 6th World Cup and has only half the goals.

[john e]

I see social media giving Duncan Ferguson some stick for his punditry
I think he’s the best there’s been so far, not scared of being controversial and entertaining

[olaftab]

The Algerian keeper can be rightly proud of his two assists in Leo’s hat trick thus morning.

[olaftab]

Has Smiker left the forum?😂

[Brazilian Villain]

I reckon England will win pretty comfortably tonight.

Same here, Croatia didnt look great against Belgium a couple of weeks ago.

[ADVILLAFAN]

I make England favourites. Croatia have been a great side, but aging now.

[Flamingo Lane]

If only he had chosen to play in the 1978 World Cup, I think Johann Cruyff could have been the GOAT.

[Monty]

Cruyff was a very strange thing, a great player who was also very influential. Most absolute top-level legends are too sui generis to be influential, that's why they're top-level - they're freaks, weirdos, unique. You can't really be influenced by Pelé or Messi, because you just don't have their legs.

Cruyff was actually an influence on how the game was played as well as being an absolute monster on his own terms. But I don't know if he gets to the Maradona level.

[Percy McCarthy]

Much as I love Messi, I think Maradona was better (and the best I’ve seen). Ronaldo isn’t in the conversation for me.

[Chris Smith]

Cruyff was a very strange thing, a great player who was also very influential. Most absolute top-level legends are too sui generis to be influential, that's why they're top-level - they're freaks, weirdos, unique. You can't really be influenced by Pelé or Messi, because you just don't have their legs.

Cruyff was actually an influence on how the game was played as well as being an absolute monster on his own terms. But I don't know if he gets to the Maradona level.

Great player, the first time you saw the ‘Cruyff turn’ it bemused fans and pundits almost as much as the unfortunate Swedish defender.

Massively influential but I put Pele and Maradona above everyone else.

[paul_e]

The whole GOAT thing is near impossible to judge for me, I prefer to say that Pele was the best player of his generation, then Cryuff, then Maradona, then there's a bit of a gap with no one really in the frame until Messi. Even before that you had Puskas and Di Stefano which would be an argument for the first genuine global superstar of the sport.

There's loads of good players before them even but I don't think the idea of a global 'best player' really works much before that as it really relies on TV and commercial flights to become a meaningful discussion.

[Smirker]

Find where I said Sancho is better than Saka and I'll leave.

He should be where Saka is now as he is the better player.

Oh well. At least we haven't paid money for him.

The Sanch 

If I believed that, I would go back and find it. But as you are worse then a conspiracy theorist you will state you meant something else anyway as the exact words were....

Called it.

You have just edited my post. And you've got no excuse as to what it means because it was clarified what I was talking about more than once in the following posts on that thread.

You're a little fibber 

[cdbearsfan]

None of the fourth seeds doing anything against the second and third seeds. Scotland are going to have to scrape another point from somewhere, don't think three will be enough for a best third place spot.

[Somniloquism]

None of the fourth seeds doing anything against the second and third seeds. Scotland are going to have to scrape another point from somewhere, don't think three will be enough for a best third place spot.

You just have to hope the ex-blues player scores a rare goal according to the Beeb.