FIFA World Cup 2026

Celticman98 said:
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CBS Sports Golazo on Instagram: "@michelegrella has made the news in Australia 😭 #fifaworldcup #golazonetwork #usavsaustralia"

11K likes, 939 comments - cbssportsgolazo on June 16, 2026: "@michelegrella has made the news in Australia 😭 #fifaworldcup #golazonetwork #usavsaustralia".
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Yeh, sorry, I was being a little facetious.

I got clickbaited into reading an article along the lines of “Grella writes off aussies” and immediately thought of Socceroo legend Vince Grella.

Instead found out it was some “pundit” who never played for his country.
 
It’s amusing that all the major boot manufacturers thought they’d create a flagship World Cup boot and to make sure it stood out, they made it pink.

They just didn’t account for eachother.

Now there’s a sea of pink boots and it’s impossible to easily tell which brand they belong to.
 
"The Socceroos would face New Zealand in the knockout stage if the Kiwis upset Belgium, and Iran fails to beat Egypt."

PS. The dream lives, would love to see Aus V NZ in a knockout, preferably with the socceroos winning, but if the Kiwis go through then good on them.
 
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Seano said:
"The Socceroos would face New Zealand in the knockout stage if the Kiwis upset Belgium, and Iran fails to beat Egypt."

PS. The dream lives, would love to see Aus V NZ in a knockout, preferably with the socceroos winning, but if the Kiwis go through then good on them.
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I’d love for us to go against the Kiwis in the knockouts, basically a guaranteed win and easy passage through.

Won’t happen though because they suck but it would be nice for the Socceroos to have a easy one.
 
NZ are a side that are very aware of their strengths. Their use of Woods as a target man and to facilitate play around him means they have a clearer awareness of where their goals will come from. Clearer then the socceroos do at present. If we play them, it means they have just beaten Belgium and they will go in confient.
 
Owey said:
NZ are a side that are very aware of their strengths. Their use of Woods as a target man and to facilitate play around him means they have a clearer awareness of where their goals will come from. Clearer then the socceroos do at present. If we play them, it means they have just beaten Belgium and they will go in confient.
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Every team on the planet knows how they use Wood and if they shut him down the shut down the entire Kiwi attack.

We toke them on in two friendlies beat them both times, they might know where chances will come from but it doesn’t mean they will actually get goals.

It’s all hypothetical though since they aren’t going to get past Belgium at all and even by pure luck they did than I’m confident we will beat them easily.
 
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What an end to the Group G games yesterday.
I was watching NZ V Belgium game at first, purely out of interest as I assumed we’d end up playing Belgium. But, once they got their lead, it became a little one sided.

Switched to the Iran vs Egypt game - boy some drama. Late stoppage time winner from Iran (with a very funny celebration). Only for it to be ruled out for offside. And Egypt finish 2nd.

Should be a good game vs Egypt.
Would be a pretty cool moment for a few of the Liverpool fan Aussies playing against Salah. gameplan of Iran and NZ was to shut down Salah and their attack dwindles.

I’m cautiously optimistic we can get this done with the right plan and personnel. Very much a winnable fixture.
 
Senegal desperately unlucky with that penalty call i thought. Defender clearly had better position then the attacker and was swinging at the ball to clear it. If anything, I thought it was an attacker foul on defender.
 
Owey said:
Senegal desperately unlucky with that penalty call i thought. Defender clearly had better position then the attacker and was swinging at the ball to clear it. If anything, I thought it was an attacker foul on defender.
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50/50, i think it should be refs live decision and I think this is the problem with VAR (which has had a few improvements this tournament).

I don't think that’s an “OBVIOUS” error. Ref saw it and deemed it did not warrant a penalty. Likewise, if the referee calls a penalty, I don’t think you can overturn it.

There’s been a few very “soft” penalties awarded or goals overturned (Germany) for minimal contact. When it goes to VAR it’s VERY black and white. Is there contact. Yes. Penalty. Or in Germany’s case, minimal contact the keeper makes the most of - no goal.

Again we come back to consistency. Metcalfe was clipped from behind making a run into the box. Was it accidental - probably. But if you look at it objectively like VAR has done here - there’s contact, and in Metcalfe case denies an opportunity. I think that was a clearer penalty than this one - especially if we are overturning decisions.

Im fine with them not being given/overturned, or them all being given/overturned. But questions arise when there’s a discrepancy.

Edit to add that I think the offside technology/decision making on show has been excellent. Quick decisions. Accurate. Offside is objective - so I’m all for technology in this instance. Same with the corners being overturned - it’s often clear and objective. But penalties, fouls etc are mostly subjective decisions.
 
Same again. Freeze frame makes that look like an awful challenge.

Real speed replay shows him in a tussle, off balance and trying to put his foot down. Comes down on an awkwardly landed Bosnian player.

As for parallels - there’s a freeze frame of Messi with his studs in somebodies calf. Nobody gave that a second look.
 
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