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.

 

[jstar]

They didn’t, even if theoretically they would. Don’t forget there were 12 groups and also the number two and three often did not meet one of the fab four in the next round. So they can make that chance very small. Course statistics anyone?

 

[Balifrog]

Quite a bit of money being "distributed" by FIFA...

2026 FIFA World Cup Prize Money: Here's Exactly How Much Every Team Can Earn

FIFA is awarding a record $871 million in prize money at the 2026 World Cup. Here's the complete payout breakdown, including what every team is guaranteed.

www.si.com

 

[snpark]

Quite a bit of money being "distributed" by FIFA...

2026 FIFA World Cup Prize Money: Here's Exactly How Much Every Team Can Earn

FIFA is awarding a record $871 million in prize money at the 2026 World Cup. Here's the complete payout breakdown, including what every team is guaranteed.

www.si.com

Has it changed much since #246 ??

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

 

[pantaiema]

The risk of becoming the coach/trainer in the world cup in a county where nationalism is very strong. Example South Korea

South Korea’s World Cup squad's former head coach Hong Myung-bo faced furious fans in Seoul

South Korea’s World Cup squad's former head coach Hong Myung-bo faced furious fans in Seoul after the team's exit at the group stage. CNN’s Gawon Bae explain...

www.youtube.com

Peche Football | Soccer Content & News on Instagram: "What Happened After South Korea’s World Cup Exit 🚨 The South Korea national team landed back home at 4 a.m. hoping to avoid the backlash after their World Cup exit, but hundreds of cameras were a

21K likes, 87 comments - pechefootball on July 7, 2026: "What Happened After South Korea’s World Cup Exit 🚨 The South Korea national team landed back home at 4 a.m. hoping to avoid the backlash after their World Cup exit, but hundreds of cameras were already waiting. Losing 1-0 to South...

www.instagram.com

 

[jstar]

Yeah, so far 13 of these coaches were fired or quit during this FIFA World Cup. Many of them are not very popular. Now the contracts are often shorter than for teams and often depend on big tournaments.

 

[El_Goretto]

I'm kinda over it to be honest and not so motivated to watch live. For one, the games being in the middle of the night doesn't help. But I can't help but think this is all being manipulated. Very inconsistent referring, obvious favoritism. It's not enough to put teams like Argentina at an advantage (I know France also benefitted) as explained by @jstar, but I feel that they're really pushing for them to get to the finals at all cost.

I don't even have the motivation to stay up for France vs Spain Wednesday morning. I might make an effort for the final if France makes it.

Another bummer over the weekend, did anyone watch the UFC? What a joke!

 

[Balifrog]

Watched the Spain vs France game.

2 - 0 for Spain, well deserved. They dominated the game with the same tactic as in the Spain / Belgium game .."attack, attack, attack.."

Good the world cup is over soon because breakfast with JD coke at 03:00 am several days in a row is a bit harsh...

 

[jstar]

Tonight the semi-final between England and Argentina in the World Cup of course.

Thousands of Argentines will attend the game but one group will have to follow the game at home: parents who owe their ex-partner alimony.

It’s a kind of interesting concept. The Argentine government has handed over a blacklist of 13,000 defaulters (almost exclusively men) to the organizers of the World Cup. As soon as the ticket of someone at the stadium gate is scanned, the system automatically refuses entrance if the person is on that list.

In the South American country itself, this measure has been successfully implemented for almost 1,5 year but only in the capital Buenos Aires.

A parent who is more than two months behind in paying alimony can be included in a special register for defaulters. Those black listers also can’t visit concerts, open bank accounts and get credit cards etc.