Macca

Game tonight is a beauty! 65 minutes in ... Serbia 3 Cameroon 3

We should have kept the best bets up on the racing thread, DZ At least you would have picked more than a few winners because you know your horses!! You've done a Super-Chautauqua in the NFL tipping comp haha ... if it's any consolation DemonDave is keeping you company (sorry Dave!) It's a tough comp but this year would break a man! It's like Neeld years ... no wins in sight!

Japan losing tonight opens the door for Germany ... but Germany will need to defeat Spain later this morning to stay in touch If that happens all 4 teams in Group E (Spain, Costa Rica, Germany & Japan) would all be on 3 points with 1 game remaining in that group for all 4 teams 6am later this morning - Spain vs Germany ... should be a cracker of a match As for the Aussies ... a draw against Denmark on Thursday morning (2.00am) and we're through to the round of 16 (which would be some achievement when considering the make-up of our team)

We're just wild about Harry!

Part one of the equation complete! That was tense!

Yeah, you're right No hard feelings, ht Socceroos!

Socceroos take the early lead!

Anyway, we need the Socceroos to play inspired football tonight with lots of inspirational moments Unless that happens we're all going to be uninspired as a result And we don't want that, do we? hardtack here especially needs inspiring. He's in dire need of the inspiration

Now you've resorted to facepalms You're the one who put your foot in it

Perhaps you don't have to tell the world what you don't like. You know, less is more You actually said ... "I've found most games to be uninspiring" To a soccer fan that is going to get a reaction ... so you got a reaction. Deal with it As for other people's opinions ... I often agree but not when the opinion is biased or nonsensical (or full of hate) Your appraisal that the world cup games are uninspiring sounds quite ridiculous in all reality ... the games have nearly all been quite enthralling I'm guessing you've hardly watched many games at all ... but the strong opinion is there for all to see

For those of who aren't 'uninspired' by the world cup, the England/USA game this morning was fascinating! A nil-all draw but the Americans really took it up to England and dominated a lot of the match. Unlucky not to snare the 3 points. It was a good nil-nil! And the Netherlands fell away 3/4's of the way through their game against Equador and we're lucky not to lose the game But both England & Holland sit on top in their groups and both should advance to the 2nd round. Unless ..........

It all evens itself out ... whinging about referees or umpiring decisions is one of the more pointless things anyone can ever do. In any sport Flopping & ducking in footy is far worse than diving might be in soccer. And there is way less diving these days anyway But how would you know? You told us that you don't watch the sport Hey HT, you started the whinging when you said that the world cup is uninspiring Is it uninspiring to you because you don't like soccer? For true soccer fans, it is anything but uninspiring. You're on your own on this thread (unless another hater joins in)

Who cares about all that stuff anyway? You take the good with the bad and get on with it You sound like all those hundreds of 1000's footy fans who can't stop moaning about umpiring decisions We are a country of whingers ... worse than the poms And your lack of knowledge on diving is astonishing. You obviously don't watch a lot of soccer. You're out of touch, HT

Diving has always been part of soccer but there is way less of it these days anyway. VAR can red card players for diving these days. And leagues like Serie A retrospectively ousts the divers I watch a fair bit of soccer and there is nowhere near the amount of diving going on As per AFL, what about all the flopping and playing for free kicks in that sport? It's as bad as it's ever been and getting worse

Really? Uninspiring? Did you watch Brazil play the other day? Or the Dutch a few days ago? I find soccer to be a much better game than footy to watch. Open, clean skills and easy on the eye And it's the world cup where there's a lot riding on each game. So the tension and anticipation is also a huge factor

The Chiefs are at home, DS You'll have pick another team along with the Bills (who won!) and Ravens

Bills Bucs Ravens

@layzie@Dee Zephyr@Go the Biff@Clintosaurus @JV7@DeeSpencer@Dappa Dan@titan_uranus @Dr. Gonzo @Gorgoroth @DemonDave Leaderboard Tipping Comp 5 - Go the Biff 4 - DeeSpencer, Gorgoroth, titan_uranus, Clintosaurus, layzie, Macca 3 - Dr.Gonzo 2 - JV7 0 - TWSRN! Just the 1 point on offer this week but all points are vital (bonus point on offer as well)

I'm not confident, more so observing what can happen in the sport. We just have to defend well and score once or twice in 2 games. We don't have to play great No one gave us much of a chance of even making the world cup as Peru were hot favourites in the last phase and we limped through the group stages in Asia

France were always going to beat us comfortably if they were switched on (and they were) But we can gain points against Tunisia & Denmark if all goes well Lets assume that France win all their 3 encounters (and they should) ... if we got a win and a draw from our remaining 2 games we'd advance to the knockout stages It's a big ask (as we're just an average outfit) but it's soccer and in soccer, upset results can and do happen

I'm loving the SBS coverage and all things Qatar World Cup The best of the best on show! Denmark/Tunisia on later (so we're hoping for a draw) ... although, it would take a minor miracle for the Oz to advance to the 2nd round But ya neva know! Australia vs France 6.00am tomorrow

Leaserboard Tipping Comp 5 - Go the Biff 4 - DeeSpencer, Gorgoroth, titan_uranus, Clintosaurus, layzie, Macca 3 - Dr.Gonzo 2 - JV7 0 - TWSRN! n.b. There are still a total of 14 points on offer and that doesn't include bonus points Week 12 - 1 point Week 13 - 2 points Week 14 - 1 point Week 15 - 2 points Week 16 - 2 points Week 17 - 3 points Week 18 - 3 points So those trailing don't have much ground to make up and in theory, a total of 4 points (including a bonus point) are on offer in both weeks 17 & week 18) Time to get creative for the backmarkers? Maybe, but a strategy could also be to keep in touch and then pounce

Well the Eagles/Colts match was very nearly the trap game! And now most are relying on the Chiefs & Niners 🤞... apart from Clint & Gonzo I'd imagine!

Don't forget your tips @DeeSpencer@Dappa Dan(if you're out there somewhere!) My tips ... Chiefs Niners Cinci

@layzie@Dee Zephyr@Go the Biff@Clintosaurus @JV7@DeeSpencer@Dappa Dan@titan_uranus @Dr. Gonzo @Gorgoroth @DemonDave Leaderboard Tipping Comp 3 - Go the Biff 2 - DeeSpencer, Gorgoroth, titan_uranus, JV7, Clintosaurus, layzie, Macca* 1 - Dr. Gonzo 0 - The Backmarkers *Denotes 1 bonus point awarded 2 points on offer this week (plus a bonus point if you're the only winner for the week Thinking caps on! We need to lift! (like the Demons of '21) On a brighter note, there's a million of us in line for a (virtual) silver medal! By the way, I can see at least 1 trap game amongst the favoured road winners. Buyer beware!