FIFA World Cup 2026

Persian Gulf said:
yeah, why not? he's in the squad. Rouzbeh Cheshmi might be back from injury for that game too, which is really useful for some rotation in defence/midfield.
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Really? I didn't know he was in the squad. Rouzbeh Chesmi can help our defense and make a difference.
 
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ShapurII said:
Really? I didn't know he was in the squad. Rouzbeh Chesmi can help our defense and make a difference.
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Yeah, the videos of when all the players kiss the Quran and Taremi told him 'Dennis, do you know what this is? This is Quran', went kinda viral lol. Dennis has been on the bench for these two matches.
 
Master Chief said:
"Bad finishing" takes due credit away from good defending. So this illustrates the exact flaw with xG I mentioned earlier.

35-40 shots, high xG...sure. But now tell me if every time Spain shot, was it the inherent weakness of their shot that resulted in no goal OR was it the striker being forced into an awkward angle/rushed shot/awkward physical position by an excellent defender that caused no goal to be scored?

xG doesn't make that distinction.

So Cape Verde may have defended excellently to force that draw (rather than Spain making errors in front of goal) and a brilliant defensive team is just as praiseworthy as a brilliant offensive team. In fact, brilliant defenses often win tournaments! Italy, Germany traditionally typify this approach to tournament football.

I do have my opinions on why Spain didn't win that match and I feel it was fundamentally due to unavailability of star players and heroic CV defending rather than any errors by Spain in front of goal. In other words, credit is due to Cape Verde!

Iran today were quite similar - they forced Belgium to scuff shots and/or not have a clear route to goal and their goalie did the rest.

Btw, xG for Spain in that game was 2.03 and for Belgium today was 1.82, which isn't a huge difference. Both games played out similarly even if one looks at just the stats.
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I agree that the XG model is not a perfect model (which statistical model is perfect - I would like to know that) otherwise you would have bookmakers who would go broke within mere days. There are too many variables in football and sports to create a flawless statistical model.

However the XG gives you a good indicator and it is used on the highest level extensively for a reason by analysts, managers and players (to improve their shooting positions etc.) alike.

I don't take anything away from Cape Verde. I watched their game against Spain and they defended incredibly, their goalkeeper had the game of his life and Spain was lackluster compared to their potential and how they usually play. They were much better against KSA today. Yamal (their best player) being back also helped them greatly. Much quicker ball circulation, much more direct and they had something to prove after being heavily criticized in the media. So they bounced back.

The difference, quite a big one, is that Belgium played with 1 less player for 1/3 of the game (a huge disadvantage) and generally speaking Spain is a far superior team to this version of Belgium. No two ways about it.

Also Cape Verde is far, far better than what their pedigree shows. So far Uruguay is having a hard time against them as well. Still very early but it shows that they are a very well-drilled team defensively.

The KSA-Cape Verde game will be a 50/50 game.

Very athletic team as well which is typical for most African teams. Most of their players play in Portugal which is a league famous for their shithousery. They know every dirty trick in the book. Time wasting, provocations, tactical fouls etc.
 
Persian Gulf said:
Yeah, the videos of when all the players kiss the Quran and Taremi told him 'Dennis, do you know what this is? This is Quran', went kinda viral lol. Dennis has been on the bench for these two matches.
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I wonder why Dennis Eckert didn't play today. I mean he plays in Standard Liege after all..
 
PakAl said:
Spain dominated them, controlled the game but only could not finish it off. If they play again Spain will trash them. Cape Verne had only 29 passes in Spain half meanwhile Spain had 600 passes in Cape Verne half. This is why Spain won 4 - 0 against Saudis.
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It looked more like a practice match for the Spanish.
 
Persian Gulf said:
What? In the past three months, Spain have failed to beat Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and Cape Verde.
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I love Spain. I have always been a fan of the Spanish team and Spain as a country, but it's not like they have had a good record in recent world cups either.

They were eliminated in the group stage in 2014. They ended up 4th in their group. They were eliminated in Round 16 in 2018. And they were eliminated in Round 16 against Morocco. Not a great record in recent world cups.
 
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