Michael vs Michael. 🎯 What a great game.

[Balifrog]

My prediction hope. France beat Norway in the final.
3-1
Bappy and Hailey to get 1 each. Bappy to end up with the shoe thing

We're not there yet...

And je suis un rosbif

I watched England - Mexico and of course stood for England

 

[jstar]

Just like in Qatar, FIFA has decided that Argentina must play the finals and preferably win.

 

[jstar]

The Tour de France is already on day 6.

They head into the Pyrenees and on the menu is a tough mountain stage featuring the Col d'Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet.

The question is not if but when Tadej Pogacar will crush the competition.

 

[Balifrog]

Very good game, fair, no agressivity

France 2 - Moroco nil

Happy frog !

 

[jstar]

Norway in the run-up to the quarterfinals against England ;

After just one night, the selection ‘fled’ the Dalmar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale (Miami). The players complained about noise pollution, partly caused by a construction site near the luxurious five-star hotel. But there was more, because the Norwegians could not use a meeting room that was booked exclusively for them. In addition, they raised questions about the hygiene in the hotel. I wonder what was the reason.

Norway submitted an application to FIFA. And barely two and a half hours later the players were able to move into another hotel. "Our request was received with great understanding by FIFA, The move was chaotic, but now we are in our place. I only see happy faces because it was mainly the players who were pushing for a move to another hotel." according to a spokesperson of the team.

 

[jstar]

871 million US dollars, or about 744 million euro. That's the dizzying record amount of prize money that world football federation FIFA has provided to distribute among all participants in the World Cup.

How much each country gets depends on the performance.

Distribution of prize money World Cup 2026

World champion €42.7 million

Losing finalist €28.2 million

Third place €24.8 million

Fourth place €23 million

Quarterfinals (Pace 5 to 8) €16.2 million

Eight finals (Places 9 to 16) €12.8 million

Sixteenth finals (Places 17 to 32) €9.4 million

Group stage (Places 33 to 48) €8.5 million

 

[jstar]

He had a lead of almost eight minutes on Tadej Pogacar and co, but Torstein Traeen (30) has lost his yellow jersey in the Tour de France again. The Norwegian fell in the descent of the Col du Tourmalet after a collision with a teammate. He broke a rib.

The question is not if but when Tadej Pogacar will crush the competition.

As expected…

 

[jstar]

What a coincidence right, that the 4 countries who are high in the FIFA world ranking play the semi-finals?

Well not really. Because France, Argentina, Spain and England had a protected status in the draw.

The numbers 1 to 4 of the world ranking, as FIFA had determined just before the draw in Washington at the end of last year, could not meet each other earlier than in the semi-finals. With that, the World Football Association used a trick from tennis, where the number 1 and 2 of the world ranking are put in such way in the schedule that they can only meet each other in the final.

So that approach now results in a battle between the 4 best countries in the world. France is currently number one in the ranking, ahead of Argentina, Spain and England.

The four contenders escaped playing each other and had -on paper- a not too heavy program.

Argentina had it the easiest so far. The reigning world champion was the only one of the four half-finalists who did not play a match against a country from the top 10 of the FIFA tanking. Switzerland, which was beaten 3-1 in the quarterfinals after extra time, was theoretically -as number 14- the toughest opponent of Messi and co.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

It's different from tennis, because they still have to come top of their qualifying group.