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Post by ando on Nov 9, 2022 20:10:09 GMT
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be played from 20 November to 18 December in Qatar. It will be the 22nd edition of the competition, and the first played in the Arab world. The draw for the World Cup group phase took place in Doha, Qatar, on April 1 2022 to set the stage for the tournament. A total of 32 teams compete in the World Cup and 31 must qualify for the tournament, with Qatar qualifying automatically as hosts. AFC (Asia) have an allocation of four or five teams* competing in the World Cup finals.
CAF (Africa) are allocated five teams, with CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) having three or four.
CONEMBOL (South America) have four or five teams competing.
UEFA (Europe) have the most teams able to qualify, with 13 spots.
OFC (Oceania) have zero or one spot.T h e O p e n i n g S c h e d u l e
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Post by ando on Nov 9, 2022 20:23:54 GMT
Gotta confess, I rarely watch football (soccer) in between World Cup tournaments but become a rabid fanatic during the competition - and not necesarily for the U.S., though I do root for my home country. I tend to gravitate to the same ones - Germany, Brazil, Mexico - as they usually produce great teams and are in the most competitive matches. The best matches, imo, are teams that come from out of the blue to dominate the frontrunners. FOX Sports is covering it in 3K (4K on their app) and Telemundo will air the games in Spanish, which actually isn't a bad secondary option for teams that don't rate FOX's attention (franly, Telemundo has had better coverage over the years). Can't give you the spread but I am fairly certain that the U.S. team is fairly long shot. Got any other favorites?
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Post by ando on Nov 9, 2022 23:06:39 GMT
USMNT just announced the team.
The Forwards -
The Defenders -
The Omissions -
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Post by ando on Nov 13, 2022 6:40:55 GMT
Not sure if FOX will make the ratings killing they expect from airing the World Cup during the holiday season but they’re certainly pulling all the stops -
Tubi will have the matches On Demand for free after they air live on FOX though, honestly, I can’t remember if I’ve ever watched a replay of any soccer game. 
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Post by ando on Nov 14, 2022 5:46:47 GMT
The United States has participated in every World Cup since 1990 until 2014, but they did not qualify for the 2018 competition for the first time since 1986 after a loss to Trinidad and Tobago. They returned to the World Cup by qualifying for the 2022 edition.
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Post by ando on Nov 15, 2022 6:28:33 GMT
Interesting tactical preview of Group B -
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Post by ando on Nov 20, 2022 8:40:40 GMT
Astute ranking of all 32 teams a few hours before the event -
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Post by ando on Nov 20, 2022 16:37:08 GMT
1st match of the event on now.
 Wow. Qatar's not looking good. Ecuador's dominated the field and scored twice, one goal taken away for being "offsides". Kind of expected. They're in Qatar. And judging by their performance so far the host team's gonna need some help.
1-0, Ecuador, nearing end of 1st half.
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Post by ando on Nov 20, 2022 16:41:49 GMT
 Ecuador captain, Enner Valencia, just head butted a second goal into the net for the 2-0 lead over Qatar. Nice.
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Post by ando on Nov 20, 2022 18:29:41 GMT
Ecuador prevailed. But Qatar is not a good team. Full opening game highlights.
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Post by ando on Nov 21, 2022 15:34:54 GMT
 Just caught the end of this one, apparently well after England’s dazzling display in the 1st half was over. Ah well. The earlier picks are turning out as expected so far.  Senegal vs. Netherlands at 11:00 am (EST) next… |
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Post by ando on Nov 21, 2022 18:10:33 GMT
Very competitive match between Senegal and Netherlands which ultimately came down to this play -
Cody Galpo’s head strike into the net changed the momentum and Netherlands went on to win it, 2-0. Very good match.
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Post by ando on Nov 21, 2022 18:15:05 GMT
 USA vs Wales in 45 minutes… |
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Post by ando on Nov 25, 2022 9:10:51 GMT
Getting ready for the match with England today…
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Post by ando on Nov 27, 2022 15:46:11 GMT
Getting ready for the match with England today… It was the second draw for the US team vs. England (13 minute highlight reel below). But we have to actually BEAT Iran on Tuesday (2pm EST) in order to move forward in the tournament. Cross fingers!
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