ChaoticMusings

Magica · Still Here!

World Cup

Vam · Go Outside.

Syl wrote:
Haaland is a one off, he seems to lumber around for an hour, then he moves and he's unbeatable, and that grin....he is unbelievable.

Vam, hope you can have a lie in....enjoy the match, I will.

😂 Actually, for once I can’t. I need to be somewhere at 11am 🤦🏻‍♀️

Social media is boring AF tonight too….cant be arsed - I prefer to be here while trying to stay awake. These time zone differences are brutal 😂

(look away now, Red 😜) But yeah, Haaland….I said right from the off there’s just something almost other worldly about him. He’s nothing like most of the swaggering young footie stars. He’s an ever menacing lurking - and often lethal - presence on the pitch for sure. But it often seems like his mind is elsewhere.

I reckon there must be something to all the yoga/zen stuff he’s into - he always seems so laid back and serene. And that slow grin cracks me up every single time 😂 He fascinates me.

Syl · FIRM BUT FAIR.

Magica wrote:
I like Haaland, good goal scorer and a lovely smile 😃

When his football career is over I can see him starring in something like The Hunger Games...he looks the part for sure.

Syl · FIRM BUT FAIR.

Vam wrote:
Syl wrote:
Haaland is a one off, he seems to lumber around for an hour, then he moves and he's unbeatable, and that grin....he is unbelievable.

Vam, hope you can have a lie in....enjoy the match, I will.
😂 Actually, for once I can’t. I need to be somewhere at 11am 🤦🏻‍♀️
Social media is boring AF tonight too….cant be arsed - I prefer to be here while trying to stay awake. These time zone differences are brutal 😂
(look away now, Red 😜) But yeah, Haaland….I said right from the off there’s just something almost other worldly about him. He’s nothing like most of the swaggering young footie stars. He’s an ever menacing lurking - and often lethal - presence on the pitch for sure. But it often seems like his mind is elsewhere.
I reckon there must be something to all the yoga/zen stuff he’s into - he always seems so laid back and serene. And that slow grin cracks me up every single time 😂 He fascinates me.

'Otherworldly' thats exactly it, perfect description. Something about him fascinates me too. Every long shot of the match I have to watch him, even though most of the time he doesn’t do much.

Vam · Go Outside.

Syl wrote:
Magica wrote:
I like Haaland, good goal scorer and a lovely smile 😃
When his football career is over I can see him starring in something like The Hunger Games...he looks the part for sure.

Red reckons he looks like an obscure mutant species of puffer fish, found the darkest depths of the ocean like in the Mariana Trench.

Maybe Haaland could star in a remake of Finding Nemo! 😂

Guys, thanks for the company But I have to call it a night. Enjoy the match!

Syl · FIRM BUT FAIR.

Night Vam, enjoy it on catchup ... me and OH are staying up to watch it.

Magica · Still Here!

2.am.
Come on England, do us proud!!

Magica · Still Here!

Oh wow, 3 .2.
England played with 10 men, they were brilliant.
Did us proud.
Well done England.

Syl · FIRM BUT FAIR.

What a match...those last 15 minutes were horrendous to watch; I bet everyone was biting their nails...but we did it.

They were brilliant, and a few of those Mexican players were little cheats, imo.

Barksdale · Musing at the Chaos

One of the best England performances I can remember in a long time. They were magnificent.

Norway next which won't be easy, but to be fair Brazil didn't look that great when Norway beat them so I rate our chances. Our backline and midfield pretty much all play in the Premier League so should have enough experience playing against Haaland and Odegaard to know how to contain them.

-- Edited by Barksdale on Monday 6th of July 2026 11:37:10 AM

Date: Jul 6 1:20 PM, 2026

I see Trump has managed to get his player's red card suspension overturned in time for the next match. And there was me thinking Fifa's Trump-arse-licking had ended with them giving him his 'peace prize'...

Date: Jul 6 1:36 PM, 2026

Sports reporting is an art, and I think this piece paints a vivid picture of the England-Mexico game; beautifully written, I think.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/05/sport/world-cup-round-of-16-sunday

Red Okktober · Musing at the Chaos

Well played England - Kane V Haaland coming up next!

That Balogun red card reversal is mental. Actually it's not even a reversal, as the card will stay on his record, he just gets off the auto one match suspension. If he scores the winner against Belgium, it will all kick off.

It won't happen, but Balogun could make a name for himself by refusing to play, in the spirit of the game. Or better still, misses an open goal on purpose.

Vam · Go Outside.

Syl wrote:
What a match...those last 15 minutes were horrendous to watch; I bet everyone was biting their nails...but we did it.

They were brilliant, and a few of those Mexican players were little cheats, imo.

🫪 I couldn’t believe what I was watching early this morning - kept needing more coffee! I don’t think I’ve ever seen England play so well - they were terrific.

In solidarity with you guys (& in the absence of Italia 😢), I’m rooting for an England win on Saturday. And if they play as brilliantly as they did against Mexico, they’ll certainly deserve another big win

But is it wrong of me to want to cheer on Kane, Bellingham….AND Haaland?

Vam · Go Outside.

’Balogun could make a name for himself by refusing to play, in the spirit of the game. Or better still, misses an open goal on purpose.’

😂 I won’t be counting on that to happen either, Red!

-- Edited by Vam on Monday 6th of July 2026 02:30:08 PM

Magica · Still Here!

Syl wrote:
What a match...those last 15 minutes were horrendous to watch; I bet everyone was biting their nails...but we did it.

They were brilliant, and a few of those Mexican players were little cheats, imo.

My stomach was doing somersaults, I kept.looking at the clock. They played well over the 11 mins extra time, I'm sure the ref was on Mexico side!

Yes some cheated. I'm no expert but.I didn't think.Mexico should have got a penalty either!

We played magnificently, defended with 10.men. Oh they did us proud.

If they play.like this against Norway, we will be through to semis!

Maddog · Still Here!

Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a World Cup matchday.

I'm no expert, but this guy is..^^

His opinion is below, and it jives with everyone else I've seen comment..

"Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offense. With both players challenging for ball, the contact from Balogun on Muharemovic, while it looked bad in slow motion, was purely accidental and an unfortunate result from two players challenging for possession of the ball in a normal football movement."

With this much controversy from people who are experts on the game, you knew the orange one would make a call. Unfortunately, he had to add to the controversy by bragging about making the call as soon as the decision was made.

Vam · Go Outside.

Holy shit…this Balogun red card issue is turning into a worldwide scandal - as it rightly should.

As if that greasy old basterward Sepp Blatter’s renowned corruption within FIFA wasn’t demoralising enough. Gianni Infantini is like: “Hold my beer!”

And it just cements my opinion that the Orange Turd fucks up everything he touches. He just HAD to cast his shadow over the World Cup, and make it all about him too 🤬

Vam · Go Outside.

‘he had to add to the controversy by bragging about making the call as soon as the decision was made.’

Well yeah, of course, Dawg. How else can he remind people of his “I alone can fix it!“ bullshit

I’m now gonna stop discussing him, because I’m enjoying this thread too much.

Maddog · Still Here!

Vam wrote:
‘he had to add to the controversy by bragging about making the call as soon as the decision was made.’
Well yeah, of course, Dawg. How else can he remind people of his “I alone can fix it!“ bullshit
I’m now gonna stop discussing him, because I’m enjoying this thread too much.

Everything I read is that it was a dumb call but dumb calls (or non calls, "hand of God" anyone?) are part of the game and teams deal with them and move on. Fixing dumb calls outside of the normal process is also dumb..