I'm so glad Russia LOST and is unable to proceed further in the World Cup.

[C Moon]

Other than that, I wanted Mexico to win—to stick it to Trump, Putin, McConnell and Ryan.
Oh well. I'll take Russia being losers.

[BigmanPigman]

1. I know how much this crushes Putin...

therefore I will celebrate HIS defeat, not the normal and decent Russians who hate his guts and love their country (sounds like the US, doesn't it).

[C Moon]

3. Yeah. I added (but removed) "I feel for the Russian athletes."

I agree: if the country held an honest election, Putin would be ousted.

[TomVilmer]

4. If Russia held an honest election, Putin would be re-elected

Sorry to bust our bubbles, but:

Multiple American polls have found Putin’s approval rating to hover around 80 percent among the Russian public, including a recent study that aimed to adjust for any possibility that respondents have been lying to pollsters out of fear or social expectations.

A world that elects a Trump, would also elect a Putin. We need to change the world!

[BigmanPigman]

7. Much of that is due to the govt controlled media.

They are sort of in between N Korea and the US with Fux Ruse...state sponsored propaganda.

[SunSeeker]

2. Me too! Now I want England to win.

How can can anyone not, after listening to this song?

"30 years of hurt..."

[Byronic]

9. That makes me feel old...

It's 52 years of hurt now.

I love the 'It's Coming Home' memes that are sweeping the internet. England were completely written off by everyone (including their own fans) at the start of the tournament, with the 'it's coming home' used in a completely ironic way. But they are still going...

but my favourite is this one:

[Ron Obvious]

14. It's so old that "30 years of hurt" is now itself 22 years old.

For some reason that make me feel older still.

[syringis]

5. Hi C Moon

Support Belgium !

After all, he called my hometown a "Hellhole" !

[peekaloo]

10. How about a Belgium/England final?

I hope I got the pairings correct. I'm not a big football fan but the Belgium/Japan game was the best match I've seen, so far. Kinda rooting for England though.

[mcar]

12. That's what I'm thinking

Belgium and England seem to have the strongest teams. It'll be a great semi and final round!

[jcgoldie]

16. I think France has been the strongest team

They have pretty much dominated while the two you mentioned have been hot and cold just based on the games I've seen, which is quite a few. I'm rooting for Croatia. I really like that little Modric who may be the player of the tournament and the fact that they only have like 4 million people.

[mcar]

17. I like Croatia too

I don't really have a favorite in the final four. I'm just glad things are shaken up a bit - and that Russia is out!

[syringis]

19. Hi Peekaloo

Why not ?

Besides football, I wish our British friends will find a way to get over that f*cking Brexit !!

I don't want them to leave ! Especially now that we are almost sure the referendum was rigged !

[DetlefK]

6. We shouldn't mix the russian people and the russian government.

Just because you don't like a government, you shouldn't summarily hate on the people.



From the point of view of sports, Croatia was the stronger team. That was visible from the second half to the end. They kept the Russians on defense and won most one-on-one fights for the ball.

And then, when it was decided by penalty in the end, one russian player decided to be too clever by half and shoot a kick that goes not to the middle and not to the corner but to somewhere inbetween. And the other Russian tried to go too hard for the corner: He kicked the ball at a slightly wrong angle, and it missed the goal altogether.



The croatian team was slightly better, and the russian team was too pumped with enthusiasm and made preventable mistakes.

[Ron Obvious]

15. Agreed

The Russians played their hearts out and VASTLY exceeded expectations in this World Cup. Almost nobody in Russia even expected them to get out their group.

This gloating by people who almost certainly don't care about the sport is unseemly.

[jcgoldie]

18. I don't hate the Russian people or hold them responsible for Putin's actions but..

I was rooting strongly against Russia despite their underdog status because Putin is the beneficiary of their success. I have read a couple articles about how Putin's popularity has been partly tied to perceived national sports success. He was widely credited with Russian domination in the Sochi games, then humiliated by the doping scandals that stripped them of participating under their flag last year. If Russia had continued success in the World Cup, Putin would have taken the political credit deserved or not.

[DetlefK]

20. I have a russian colleague...

He said, he cannot watch russian coverage of the world championship. He said, the russian coverage so bloated with nationalism and propaganda, it's ridiculous.

[Achilleaze]

8. republicans haz a sad

their traitoring partner is a loser.

[dembotoz]

11. guess they will not be invited to the white house now

[GulfCoast66]

13. Agreed

All in for France now. 🇫🇷

[Gothmog]

21. From Andrew Janz

Link to tweet