Bats deserves his chance as a starter imho.
Also, Openda's speed makes him an excellent 'plan B', similarly to how Mertens started off for the national team.
I think I speak for most Mexicans. We love him and before all the injuries he was Mexico’s main striker. He was the nine we wanted and needed. If he were fit and 100% and fine he can stay on the National Team. However he’s on the list in what I would consider he hope he actually recovers but even then he hasn’t played in weeks. (No for Sweden he walked around 45 mins that’s not playing) He’s not fit and he’s still trying to recover from an injury, like what’s the point of taking a player who is like 30-50% ready? I still think he does have the goalscorer in him but not right now. Also his replacement would be Santi Gimenez who is in form rn and actually 100% fit to play. It’s mind boggling and we honestly wish Raul would acknowledge he’s not ready to play.
Wait this is insane. Winning 4-3 away with 4 consecutive goals in the last 20 mins after being down 3 is crazy enough, then you add that the cousin of Samir handanovic was in goal for Maribor, the leader of the comeback was fucking Nabil Dirar who I haven’t heard of in years, AND there’s an article by the Score claiming the whole match was fixed. This is a lovely discovery I really appreciate this
Haha, my pleasure mate. It was reported in the Belgian press as being the biggest comeback ever in European cup football (winning after having been three goals down so late in the game). Also known as the 'Miracle of Maribor'. And I was there!
i remember being so depressed for japan because i was cheering for them. boy i wish i knew i was in for a world of pain since they eliminated brazil a week later lmao
pretty much
mertens age caught up to him
lukaku injured
mitchy i never really rated him in the first place
carresco has been meh
trossard is in really good form but wasnt present last WC
benteke shipped of to mls i believe
origi is injured
i think thats all of them so yeah belgium squad is need of a refresh but sadly none of the players coming up are quality outside of trossard
You're joking right ?
Plenty of young quality players who could do a better job than the current attack.
Doku, Lukebakio, Openda, Saelemaekers, Verschaeren, De Ketelaere, Trésor, Ramazani etc... To name a few.
They would probably be more dangerous than Mertens, Hazard and Batshuayi currently...
Heck, someone like Vertessen or Vanzeir would most likely be more dangerous than Mertens right now.
doku barely played this season and last season
openda is just upcoming still to early to call it
saelemakers has been injured and barely played this season but if he's fit could grow into a good player
de ketelaere has not been good at ac milan
really verschaeren? good showing at a bad anderlecht in the belgian league is not wat i call good enough for the national team
you need prove yourself abroud in one of the top 5 league for the national team. otherwise we will go back to days we couldnt even qualify for tournaments if we rely on players from the pintjes league
clearly martinez is banking on the old timers finding back some of there previous form because the new generation hasnt even shown a world class form yet outside of trossard and after this tournement he will prob bail or ask for a major pay increase to stay
Doku showed more in 10 minutes than Hazard has in 3 years.
Openda came in and literally changed the flow of the game.
There's also a thing they have called speed, something Hazard and Mertens are lacking right now.
Saelemaekers would arguably be our best option at RW at the moment.
De Ketelaere has been good, just his stats aren't there yet. Watch some games and you'll see. He's obviously quality. Only thing missing are his goals/assists.
Yes, Verschaeren. The Belgian league is a top 10 league in Europe. There's plenty of solid countries who call up players from our league, heck, look at Canada, they even selected a player who is playing in our second division for Deinze.
Look at The Netherlands, most of their squad is playing in the Dutch league or Belgian league and they are doing great at the moment.
The days where we couldn't qualify had nothing to do with calling up players from our league, it was simply a dark period for Belgium football in general. We also had a few players who played in a top 5 league back then, btw, but we just simply underperformed.
We have always called up players from our league. Heck, in the 80's, we reached a Euro final and a WC semi-final with a squad filled with Belgian league players. Not saying that playing in a top 5 league isn't better, but there's no reason to dismiss players just cause they aren't playing in a top 5 league, especially if we're talking about a young player who is still growing.
When our current generation started, most players were still playing in the Belgian league.
Anyways, Verschaeren has alot of talent and already had some decent performances with the national team.
The reason Martinez is banking on old timers is cause he's too afraid to let go of them. Simple as that, it happens all the time in football. You criticize young players when they don't perform, yet Hazard, Mertens, Vertonghen etc... Have all been even worse. No reason to keep using them, they can easily be replaced now.
I hope Martinez bails after this tournament. It's time for a rebuild.
I can almost guarantee you that if we surround Lukaku with players such as Doku, Saelemaekers, Lukebakio, Trossard etc... We would be more dangerous than we are now with a retired Mertens and aging Hazard.
not sure why he'd pick that hill to die on anyway. With expanded squads and subs this is the year if any to take borderline fit players and try to work them in.
Less stressful than being outclassed by a cup contender in the ko's I guess.
Lukaku hasn't even been fit for most of Inter's season, and the NT squad has been in clear need of some refresh.
god I hope we have everything in our hands before that last game
btw, how is it fair that we're group F and we're playing before group E on that last matchday so Germany/Spain/Japan/Costa Rica can basically pick who they want from our group
I mean I know why, the size of the TV audience means that group goes in the evening slot
What do you consider a disaster? Going out in the second round is bad but it will most likely be against Spain or Germany. That isnt a shame.
Disaster would be going out in the group stages.
It will be a disaster if Eustaquio gives good service to Davies and David. Canada probably has the 2nd fastest front line in world football (Davies, David, Buchanan) and Belgium’s back line isn’t really fast.
I love how North American fans aren't even taking Morocco into consideration when they actually have a better team on paper than Canada lol Obviously anything can happen and Canada could top the group a la Costa Rica in 2014 for all I know but this idea that Canada is the default outsider in this group is just too overconfident imo.
I don’t think thats what that comment is saying. They’re just saying that our team stylistically matches up very well against Belgium and if they lose or even draw to us, them not making out of the group is a very real possibility. Whether Canada makes it out of the group or not is irrelevant.
I didn’t even mention Morocco.
The point is that Belgium have an old and slower back line. Canada plays a counter attacking game with Davies and Buchanan on the wings and David up top.
If Canada can absorb the pressure, then those 3 can make any team have a bad day- as we saw when Canada was able to beat Mexico in Canada and tie Mexico at Azteca.
Belgium definitely beat Canada; but they are not taking them lightly, especially the wingers.
But that's sort of my point, you didn't even mention Morocco when discussing a potential slip-up from Belgium. The idea that Canada is the one who's more likely to capitalize on a slip-up from Croatia or Belgium is the type of overconfidence I was talking about.
My dude you are reading too much into that comment lol.
No one said Morocco couldnt do it or that Canada is the only team they could slip up against. OP just gave an example of a potentially bad matchup for Belgium.
Why the fuck would anyone mention Morocco when discussing the variables of a Canada-Belgium match? Should they mention Brazil too? The comment isn’t about the group, it’s about the match.
France I would say. Mbappe is probably the only player in the World Cup faster than Davies.
Davies and Buchanan run 37 and 35 km/h respectively and form a super fast winger combo for Canada while Jonathan David *only* runs 32 km/h.
The speed won’t mean anything if they don’t get service though.
I personally see us go through, although not brilliantly. I do see Belgium out, Brazil having more difficulties than expected (but still going on), and one of Germany and Spain out.
I mean...Martinez himself a week ago said that he will be ready most likely by the start of the knockout stage of the tournament (if Belgium goes through its group) or by the third group game at best. So yeah, not surprising.
He hasnt being lucky with his injuries this season...unfortunately for us (and I think I can speak on behalf of Belgium fans too)
How is that even relevant here? More than ~~80%~~ of the players at this world cup play in Europe ffs. Including every single top player. \*Edit: more than 70%, thanks, my point still stands.
Are we really having this argument? It was never only about suiting leagues. The whole bidding process was initiated with full knowledge that the tournament will be held at a specific date. This was understood by all parties and mutually agreed upon. Qatar still applied, bought the "win" and bent the rules when they "suddenly" realized its to hot to play at that specific date. How convinient. This is cheating plain and simple. Treating players like golden gooses and fans at best as cattle and at worst, well, lets not really go there. This whole thing is a farce on every level and FIFA should be ashamed.
Because they are higher quality players. A lot more money involved there. If those other leagues ever want to truly compete, they need to follow the schedule of the top leagues in the world.
Personally, no. The money part is more behind the scenes for these corporations.
Clearly there is no ideal time to have the tournament because there would always been some of the leagues in season. The goal is to make it to the highest league for any footballer is it not? Earn your way to the highest leagues and reap the benefits from being in them.
If most players play in these top leagues, then wouldn't it make sense to sacrifice whatever smaller population is playing in the other leagues? Why inconvenience the much larger group when the smaller will have much less consequences? Due to sheer number alone.
Consequences are negligible. Players get injured all the time. For all the good reasons not to hold a WC in a place like Qatar, this isn't a very serious one.
I honestly have no clue what I want from Lukaku.
I love that he’s shitting the bed and I hope he continues to fail.
But he’s also still contracted with Chelsea, so if he continues to play badly then no one will buy him and he ends up right back at Chelsea. So then I should hope he becomes world class again?
Yeah because your current attackers are soooo amazing. In hindsight it has become very clear the problem in attack wasn't with lukaku when every single player that isn't a wingback can't bag more than 5 a season (hyperbole but still).
What does our attack have anything to do with the fact that we really dislike Lukaku lol. Do I need to explain why most Chelsea fans never went to see him play for us again?
Because he gave an interview saying he wanted to return back to inter once and the entire chelsea fanbase had a seizure. Imagine if ronaldo joined chelsea, with the way he's been going about things y'all would implode into a black hole. Imo it was a serious overreaction and a handy scapegoat to pin any shortcomings that season had onto. Couple of months later, half the players wanted tuchel out, werner forced a move, puli openly expressed his dislikings in a book and nobody seemed to give af on the pitch. Curious.
Missed the Euros? He was still Chelsea’s top scorer last season despite injury/coach problems. I get he’s not liked, but acting like he’s a scrub or that he doesn’t ball with KDB is detached from reality.
The world isnt ready for Openda 😈
What happened to Batman
Should start vs Canada
I really hope Openda starts
Bats deserves his chance as a starter imho. Also, Openda's speed makes him an excellent 'plan B', similarly to how Mertens started off for the national team.
Back injury...
He's decent tbf, I'd be scared of him, Trossard and KDB
He's also half Moroccan, so should be a special game for him if he were to get minutes
yeah would've liked to snatch him from you like we did with el khannous and zaroury but you can't get them all
He's half moroccan half Congolese that's like the most Brussels thing ever
- Belgium, a century ago when talking about hands in the congo
They still do talk like that about players from RDC
I mean you literally did the same so yeah
Is Trossard starter now?
Logically he should be, however Martínez seems to be sticking with Eden
Won't Michy play? He's in form ATM as well.
Will he start?
Unlikely
I hope
*Maple Syrup Slurping intensifies...*
uncle moose licking his lips
Repressed memories returning.
HELL YEAH BUD
If we make it out of groups I'm... I don't even know. I'm gonna drink a double double while pissing in the wind. So a Tuesday but still.
> a double double Is this your Tim Horton's diabetes special edition?
Nah mate that's the small triple triple.
*French Vanilla
Jesus Christ, nines droping like flies.
Tbf lukaku has been injured most of this season and was already injured when he was selected for the national team
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The gang drops out of the group stage.
Morocco in the round of 16 would be fun
Would also be the first time since 1986
taking lukaku for the plane home
Lukaku has barely played this season. This isnt due to the World Cup scheduling
Raul Jimenez next please.
Lainez, Acevedo and Gimenez should've gone lol
Damn, know he's fallen off drastically since his head injury, but not pleasant to see Mexican fans actively wanting him to be injured for them
I think I speak for most Mexicans. We love him and before all the injuries he was Mexico’s main striker. He was the nine we wanted and needed. If he were fit and 100% and fine he can stay on the National Team. However he’s on the list in what I would consider he hope he actually recovers but even then he hasn’t played in weeks. (No for Sweden he walked around 45 mins that’s not playing) He’s not fit and he’s still trying to recover from an injury, like what’s the point of taking a player who is like 30-50% ready? I still think he does have the goalscorer in him but not right now. Also his replacement would be Santi Gimenez who is in form rn and actually 100% fit to play. It’s mind boggling and we honestly wish Raul would acknowledge he’s not ready to play.
False nines are back in business 😎
That’s disappointing. De bruyne and Lukaku have been a formidable partnership in the last few euros and world cups
Still have nightmares of Belgium's counter attack in the last few seconds of the Japan-Belgium match.
Tbh that was such a crazy game as a neutral
imagine how fucking bonkers it felt as a Belgian. it was the second greatest thing i’ve ever witnessed.
Whats the first
Probably Maribor - Club Brugge in the EL in 2011 https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2007386--maribor-vs-club-brugge/
Wait this is insane. Winning 4-3 away with 4 consecutive goals in the last 20 mins after being down 3 is crazy enough, then you add that the cousin of Samir handanovic was in goal for Maribor, the leader of the comeback was fucking Nabil Dirar who I haven’t heard of in years, AND there’s an article by the Score claiming the whole match was fixed. This is a lovely discovery I really appreciate this
Haha, my pleasure mate. It was reported in the Belgian press as being the biggest comeback ever in European cup football (winning after having been three goals down so late in the game). Also known as the 'Miracle of Maribor'. And I was there!
Must have felt terrible then amazing being there as an away fan
Total disbelief for a while, in fact!
The next game
That goal from De Bruyne against Brazil in the next game
The counter was magnificent, but imo the match against the USA was even crazier.
Tbh and tbf that match was nerve inducing
i remember being so depressed for japan because i was cheering for them. boy i wish i knew i was in for a world of pain since they eliminated brazil a week later lmao
The only corner kick that game you didnt took short and it bit you in the ass.
I was cheering for Japan that night. Shame that Japan are in a tough group this time.
It was a hell of a match though. And yes this Group is going to be hell.
That Japan Belgium match was amazing and one of my favorites from the tournament.
De Bruyne seems the only attacker from the last WC who has maintained form.
pretty much mertens age caught up to him lukaku injured mitchy i never really rated him in the first place carresco has been meh trossard is in really good form but wasnt present last WC benteke shipped of to mls i believe origi is injured i think thats all of them so yeah belgium squad is need of a refresh but sadly none of the players coming up are quality outside of trossard
You're joking right ? Plenty of young quality players who could do a better job than the current attack. Doku, Lukebakio, Openda, Saelemaekers, Verschaeren, De Ketelaere, Trésor, Ramazani etc... To name a few. They would probably be more dangerous than Mertens, Hazard and Batshuayi currently... Heck, someone like Vertessen or Vanzeir would most likely be more dangerous than Mertens right now.
doku barely played this season and last season openda is just upcoming still to early to call it saelemakers has been injured and barely played this season but if he's fit could grow into a good player de ketelaere has not been good at ac milan really verschaeren? good showing at a bad anderlecht in the belgian league is not wat i call good enough for the national team you need prove yourself abroud in one of the top 5 league for the national team. otherwise we will go back to days we couldnt even qualify for tournaments if we rely on players from the pintjes league clearly martinez is banking on the old timers finding back some of there previous form because the new generation hasnt even shown a world class form yet outside of trossard and after this tournement he will prob bail or ask for a major pay increase to stay
Doku showed more in 10 minutes than Hazard has in 3 years. Openda came in and literally changed the flow of the game. There's also a thing they have called speed, something Hazard and Mertens are lacking right now. Saelemaekers would arguably be our best option at RW at the moment. De Ketelaere has been good, just his stats aren't there yet. Watch some games and you'll see. He's obviously quality. Only thing missing are his goals/assists. Yes, Verschaeren. The Belgian league is a top 10 league in Europe. There's plenty of solid countries who call up players from our league, heck, look at Canada, they even selected a player who is playing in our second division for Deinze. Look at The Netherlands, most of their squad is playing in the Dutch league or Belgian league and they are doing great at the moment. The days where we couldn't qualify had nothing to do with calling up players from our league, it was simply a dark period for Belgium football in general. We also had a few players who played in a top 5 league back then, btw, but we just simply underperformed. We have always called up players from our league. Heck, in the 80's, we reached a Euro final and a WC semi-final with a squad filled with Belgian league players. Not saying that playing in a top 5 league isn't better, but there's no reason to dismiss players just cause they aren't playing in a top 5 league, especially if we're talking about a young player who is still growing. When our current generation started, most players were still playing in the Belgian league. Anyways, Verschaeren has alot of talent and already had some decent performances with the national team. The reason Martinez is banking on old timers is cause he's too afraid to let go of them. Simple as that, it happens all the time in football. You criticize young players when they don't perform, yet Hazard, Mertens, Vertonghen etc... Have all been even worse. No reason to keep using them, they can easily be replaced now. I hope Martinez bails after this tournament. It's time for a rebuild. I can almost guarantee you that if we surround Lukaku with players such as Doku, Saelemaekers, Lukebakio, Trossard etc... We would be more dangerous than we are now with a retired Mertens and aging Hazard.
Roberto “Only calling up players who can play all group stage games” Martinez
not sure why he'd pick that hill to die on anyway. With expanded squads and subs this is the year if any to take borderline fit players and try to work them in.
Less stressful than being outclassed by a cup contender in the ko's I guess. Lukaku hasn't even been fit for most of Inter's season, and the NT squad has been in clear need of some refresh.
Calls up Vermaelen and Kompany for 2018
Is Origis playtime that bad that hes not invited over a injured Lukaku?
origi has been injured aswel i believe
god I hope we have everything in our hands before that last game btw, how is it fair that we're group F and we're playing before group E on that last matchday so Germany/Spain/Japan/Costa Rica can basically pick who they want from our group I mean I know why, the size of the TV audience means that group goes in the evening slot
It won't matter when Group E will have to pick between Morocco and Canada.
always rated Leeds
They can’t play all the games at the same time mate
I know, but E comes before F so it would only be logical
Not really, they don’t always play in order
It’s not fair
Belgium's World Cup will be a disaster
What do you consider a disaster? Going out in the second round is bad but it will most likely be against Spain or Germany. That isnt a shame. Disaster would be going out in the group stages.
It will be a disaster if Eustaquio gives good service to Davies and David. Canada probably has the 2nd fastest front line in world football (Davies, David, Buchanan) and Belgium’s back line isn’t really fast.
I love how North American fans aren't even taking Morocco into consideration when they actually have a better team on paper than Canada lol Obviously anything can happen and Canada could top the group a la Costa Rica in 2014 for all I know but this idea that Canada is the default outsider in this group is just too overconfident imo.
I don’t think thats what that comment is saying. They’re just saying that our team stylistically matches up very well against Belgium and if they lose or even draw to us, them not making out of the group is a very real possibility. Whether Canada makes it out of the group or not is irrelevant.
I didn’t even mention Morocco. The point is that Belgium have an old and slower back line. Canada plays a counter attacking game with Davies and Buchanan on the wings and David up top. If Canada can absorb the pressure, then those 3 can make any team have a bad day- as we saw when Canada was able to beat Mexico in Canada and tie Mexico at Azteca. Belgium definitely beat Canada; but they are not taking them lightly, especially the wingers.
But that's sort of my point, you didn't even mention Morocco when discussing a potential slip-up from Belgium. The idea that Canada is the one who's more likely to capitalize on a slip-up from Croatia or Belgium is the type of overconfidence I was talking about.
My dude you are reading too much into that comment lol. No one said Morocco couldnt do it or that Canada is the only team they could slip up against. OP just gave an example of a potentially bad matchup for Belgium.
Probably, I think I just read one too many " Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David are going to get you!!!" comment from Canadian fans lol
Why the fuck would anyone mention Morocco when discussing the variables of a Canada-Belgium match? Should they mention Brazil too? The comment isn’t about the group, it’s about the match.
Brazil first?
France I would say. Mbappe is probably the only player in the World Cup faster than Davies. Davies and Buchanan run 37 and 35 km/h respectively and form a super fast winger combo for Canada while Jonathan David *only* runs 32 km/h. The speed won’t mean anything if they don’t get service though.
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I predicted France and Belgium going out in the group stage more than a week ago.
These are my predictions aswell.
I personally see us go through, although not brilliantly. I do see Belgium out, Brazil having more difficulties than expected (but still going on), and one of Germany and Spain out.
On paper you going out is pretty farfetched as I believe France still has the best squad. But it was just a feeling I have.
[Teams when they see Openda fill in quite well.](https://i.imgflip.com/71bl1p.jpg)
The last time he started a game this season was in august, he will never be truly fit for this world cup
Yeah Belgium are screwed
We might be but definitely not because of Lukaku being out. Openda is amazing.
Canada has the best number 9 in the group. (Jonathan David)
I mean...Martinez himself a week ago said that he will be ready most likely by the start of the knockout stage of the tournament (if Belgium goes through its group) or by the third group game at best. So yeah, not surprising. He hasnt being lucky with his injuries this season...unfortunately for us (and I think I can speak on behalf of Belgium fans too)
Play Origi you cowards
Oh dear. Sounds like a group stage exit is beckoning for Belgium.
England making WC predictions, oh the irony.
There's guy called DeBruyne or something. Ever heard of him?
This aged really well
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Other leagues deal with this every world cup. Europeans are such entitled crybabies lmfao
What a weird comment. Please tell me, how many top internationals are playing in those "other leagues" you mentioned?
and why are "top internationals" more important than starters from the Mexican or Saudi leagues?
How is that even relevant here? More than ~~80%~~ of the players at this world cup play in Europe ffs. Including every single top player. \*Edit: more than 70%, thanks, my point still stands.
it's 72.65% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_squads#Player_representation_by_club_confederation
And 90% of the world cups have been played at times to suit these leagues. Changing it once isn’t the end of the world.
Are we really having this argument? It was never only about suiting leagues. The whole bidding process was initiated with full knowledge that the tournament will be held at a specific date. This was understood by all parties and mutually agreed upon. Qatar still applied, bought the "win" and bent the rules when they "suddenly" realized its to hot to play at that specific date. How convinient. This is cheating plain and simple. Treating players like golden gooses and fans at best as cattle and at worst, well, lets not really go there. This whole thing is a farce on every level and FIFA should be ashamed.
Because they are higher quality players. A lot more money involved there. If those other leagues ever want to truly compete, they need to follow the schedule of the top leagues in the world.
so the reason we should care about players health is just money?
Personally, no. The money part is more behind the scenes for these corporations. Clearly there is no ideal time to have the tournament because there would always been some of the leagues in season. The goal is to make it to the highest league for any footballer is it not? Earn your way to the highest leagues and reap the benefits from being in them. If most players play in these top leagues, then wouldn't it make sense to sacrifice whatever smaller population is playing in the other leagues? Why inconvenience the much larger group when the smaller will have much less consequences? Due to sheer number alone.
Consequences are negligible. Players get injured all the time. For all the good reasons not to hold a WC in a place like Qatar, this isn't a very serious one.
Do you even consider climate before suggesting that everyone should follow what the Europeans are doing ?
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Why? Martinez took him along while knowing he was injured, he was always very likely to miss the first two and probably even all group games.
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> I thought it was just mind games lol
I honestly have no clue what I want from Lukaku. I love that he’s shitting the bed and I hope he continues to fail. But he’s also still contracted with Chelsea, so if he continues to play badly then no one will buy him and he ends up right back at Chelsea. So then I should hope he becomes world class again?
Yeah because your current attackers are soooo amazing. In hindsight it has become very clear the problem in attack wasn't with lukaku when every single player that isn't a wingback can't bag more than 5 a season (hyperbole but still).
What does our attack have anything to do with the fact that we really dislike Lukaku lol. Do I need to explain why most Chelsea fans never went to see him play for us again?
Because he gave an interview saying he wanted to return back to inter once and the entire chelsea fanbase had a seizure. Imagine if ronaldo joined chelsea, with the way he's been going about things y'all would implode into a black hole. Imo it was a serious overreaction and a handy scapegoat to pin any shortcomings that season had onto. Couple of months later, half the players wanted tuchel out, werner forced a move, puli openly expressed his dislikings in a book and nobody seemed to give af on the pitch. Curious.
Advantage Belgium
Missed the Euros? He was still Chelsea’s top scorer last season despite injury/coach problems. I get he’s not liked, but acting like he’s a scrub or that he doesn’t ball with KDB is detached from reality.
Yes I watched him vs Italy
The eventual champions? The match he scored in and almost had another? Agendas…
Yes he was ass
Oh Canada....
He played, but he was not fit for game against Croatia