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

[olaftab]

The Irish TV pundits are seriously unimpressed with Marsch's post-match antics, they think he's being a bit of a tit.

He's always been a massive tit.

[Dogtanian]

The Irish TV pundits are seriously unimpressed with Marsch's post-match antics, they think he's being a bit of a tit.

He's always been a massive tit.

Jesse Marsch needs to sod off and come come back when he learns how to spell his own name properly.

[Mister E]

Stones was poor; Rice surprisingly off it; Gordon anonymous.
Substitutions were well-timed and made a big difference.
Croatia pressed us hard in the first half and we weren't very good at breaking it.

The left hand side of the team improved massively with Rashford and latterly Guehi coming on - for me O’Reilly was the weakest of the whole back four, thought he was v poor

I like O'Reilly but I would have liked Lewis Hall or Mitchell (CP) to have gone as LB back-up. As you say, the Cit£h player had a poor first half cetainly, and Tuchel played 2 attacking fullbacks which left the CB exposed.

[paul_e]

Stones was poor; Rice surprisingly off it; Gordon anonymous.
Substitutions were well-timed and made a big difference.
Croatia pressed us hard in the first half and we weren't very good at breaking it.

The left hand side of the team improved massively with Rashford and latterly Guehi coming on - for me O’Reilly was the weakest of the whole back four, thought he was v poor

I like O'Reilly but I would have liked Lewis Hall or Mitchell (CP) to have gone as LB back-up. As you say, the Cit£h player had a poor first half cetainly, and Tuchel played 2 attacking fullbacks which left the CB exposed.

*Enable nerd mode*

I think they just need to play to instruction better. I've babbled on about 325 in attack a few times on here but it's really is how virtually every top side tries to play. So with England and how they're setup you need 1 full back to largely sit in as the 3rd defender (and they can alternate on this), which they're both good at, the other needs to be ready to step into midfield. That allows Rice to push into the inside left channel where he likes to drift without leaving us exposed on the counter. Our problem in the first half was that both full backs were stepping into those midfield-ish roles and pushing Anderson back which meant when they countered and we were getting back into our defensive shape we were getting caught in a 505 sort of shape and they had loads of space in front of our defence. 2nd half we didn't really le them make those breaks but Anderson and James positioned themselves better as well and were much smarter in how they played the transition.

[rob_bridge]

Considering what 4 weeks work all told seems to be moving at a good old pace.

[Somniloquism]

The ITV highlights of the Canada match seems to broadcast the sound of the snap of the leg. Made me think of the description of Cropley's injury at the time.

Edit: Just checked the BBC ones and they mute at that point.

[Dave]

Yeah, I heard the same thing this morning so I guess they must have edited that out since.

Nasty stuff.

[Dogtanian]

The ITV highlights of the Canada match seems to broadcast the sound of the snap of the leg. Made me think of the description of Cropley's injury at the time.

Edit: Just checked the BBC ones and they mute at that point.

I think I watched the BBC ones this morning.

Reminds me of Half Life 2 when you jumped off a building that was too high and heard your legs crunch under you as you landed. 

[paul_e]

Awful injury, not often you see the player who committed the foul look that distraught. The weird bit is that it was obviously a horrible break, even without the massive crack you could just see from the reaction of everyone that it broken but the commentators were still talking about 'hopefully not that serious' as he was being stretchered off, I'm not sure what they were thinking really.

[Somniloquism]

I suspect they were meaning a clean break, ie not one with too many complications. I would question it being a red though? Did they send the ref to the screen to review it as he gave a yellow. Real time it look like the Qatari, whilst catching the standing leg, was also off balance as well and didn't seem to be much in it to them upgrade apart from the result of the challenge. Maybe highlights, (if shown) told a different story.

[Concrete Tom]

I suspect they were meaning a clean break, ie not one with too many complications. I would question it being a red though? Did they send the ref to the screen to review it as he gave a yellow. Real time it look like the Qatari, whilst catching the standing leg, was also off balance as well and didn't seem to be much in it to them upgrade apart from the result of the challenge. Maybe highlights, (if shown) told a different story.

I thought in real time it was reckless rather than dangerous so a yellow would suffice. The referee (initially) agreed.

But then the on field team upgraded to a Red.

Did they do this themselves? In which case the referring was based upon outcome rather than intent. Or, did VAR have a word without sending the ref to the screen? If so, an interesting and potentially worrying precedent may have been set.

Hope the player involved recovers fully in the shortest amount of time.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I haven't seen Canadians this happy since Quebec voted No in the 1995 Secession Referendum.

more recently, January 6th, 2025 when Trudeau said he wouldn't be seeking re-election.

[PeterWithesShin]

Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi will stand trial for rape, French prosecutors have confirmed.

A woman accused the Paris St-Germain defender of raping her at his home in the French capital in 2023, when she was aged 24.

The public prosecutor's office in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris, began a preliminary investigation in March 2023.

An investigating judge ordered a trial in February 2026 and French media report that Hakimi, 27, failed with a recent appeal to have the trial dismissed.

Hakimi, who is set to lead his side out for their second World Cup fixture against Scotland on Friday (23:00 BST), has consistently denied the accusations.

"The justice system looked me in the eye and said, 'If you weren't famous, there would never have been a case,'" Hakimi wrote on social media on Friday.

"I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that maintaining my dignity, being patient, and trusting in the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.

"Today, a story that isn't mine is being told at the expense of my family, my life, and above all, the truth. I sometimes feel like I've become an easy target.

"I've been waiting for this trial since day one. And now I'm eagerly awaiting it. Finally, I'll be able to speak."

Rachel-Flore Pardo, the plaintiff's lawyer said in a statement: "After more than three years of legal proceedings, and after my client was, in her view, defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi's defence, this decision brings her relief and hope.

"Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have the right to a trial.

"Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the wall of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including in the world of men's football."

A date has not yet been set for the start of the trial.

All three of Morocco's group stage fixtures are being held in the United States, where the team are currently based.

But should Morocco progress to the knockout stages, Hakimi could face difficulties in entering Canada or Mexico if their matches are scheduled outside the United States.

Last week, Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey missed his country's opener against Panama after being denied entry to World Cup co-hosts Canada.

Partey, 32, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022.

He is due to stand trial next year.

Canada's government website states that they can deny entry to any person that has "committed or been convicted of a crime".

The World Cup is being held across all three co-host countries until the quarter-final stage, when it will be held exclusively in the US.

Hakimi, who has won 97 caps for Morocco, made his international debut in 2016 at the age of 17.

He was a key figure in the Morocco side that became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2022.

The defender joined Paris St-Germain from Inter Milan in 2021, and has won 13 pieces of silverware during his time at the club - including back-to-back Champions League titles in the past two seasons.

[ChicagoLion]

Is that 3 alleged rapists at this World Cup?

[exigo]

Is that 3 alleged rapists at this World Cup?

Does that include the one handing over the trophy and standing in the middle of all the photos?