DJHazey

We blow anyway and Balogun was never going to make any difference for anyone to get theirs knickers in a bunch lol.

So what? The action of suspending a red card is not unprecedented and in the case of Ronaldo allow to play in two World Cup matches...not qualifying. I have read a lot of anti USA advancing and winning rhetoric in here throughout the tournament and feel like that bias has just been fueled by this. This has made many on the internet start blowing things out of proportions.

How is "unprecedented" when Ronaldo got the same treatment for two World Cup games and countries like Ecuador and Qatar had red cards suspended during qualifying??

Let's face it, the original red card itself was absolutely bogus. The reversal should have been within the first 24 hours and not the day prior to the match which is the only thing mishandled about it.

Hazey's Rankings 24) Algeria 23) Austria 22) Ivory Coast 21) United States 20) Uruguay 19) Ecuador 18) Turkey 17) Mexico 16) Norway I've seen many 'experts' on YouTube having Norway go very deep in the knockout rounds. As much as I want to follow in suit with those predictions and loved watching them dominate the qualifying group over Italy, they just don't have any experience in major tournaments yet plus I question how they will handle the heat. It has been said Haaland never plays well in hot weather months, which could be a key factor. Plus, they have a very difficult group that I see them finishing third, but only just because I think there could be a battle betwene the top 3.

He was very close to running in the Indy 500 twice, 2017 and 2022. He had everything set up in both occasions, but was vetoed by his NASCAR ownder Joe Gibbs in 2017 and sponsorship situations fell through at the last moment in 2022.

Hazey's Rankings 24) Algeria 23) Austria 22) Ivory Coast 21) United States 20) Uruguay 19) Ecuador 18) Turkey 17) Mexico I will be away for the long weekend, so I'm gonna go ahead and post a few. #20 is where I'll put Uruguay. It's funny because the U.S. just beat Uruguay recently in a friendly, 5-1, so having the South Americans ranked just ahead is interesting in retrospect. I'm completely on the fence about Uruguay. If I simply take their name out of it and look at the form and results on paper, I don't expect much more than 2nd place and a quick exit in the knockout rounds, but something is pulling at me to consider them for a longer run. Many predictions have them facing Argentina early in the Round of 32 and losing, but I get the feeling Uruguay would be game for an monumental upset for some reason. #19 is the brick wall known as Ecuador. They only conceded 5 goals in 18 matches of South American qualifying. I can't tell you how hard that is to accomplish. But they only scored 14 goals, so where will the goals come from is the question. Needless to say they'll give everyone in their group trouble with their defense, including Germany. The experts always say defense wins championships, but you have to have attacking talent too, so I don't see a very deep run. #18 is Turkey, who like I said will go for it no matter who the competition is. Sometimes it backfires, like losing 6-0 to Spain in qualifying, but then with a more controlled approach on the return to Spain later, 2-2. Their fans are delirious about this squad and think they are one of the best in the world right now. Hyperbole is the spice of life, but I wouldn't be surprised if we get a quarterfinal run out of them, as I have them winning Group D. This is their best team since the 2002 3rd place finish. #17 is my highest-ranking host team, simply because they will have the best home field advantage. Their best World Cup finishes were quarterfinals at their two home tournaments (1970 and 1986) which only adds to what I just said. 2022 broke up a string of 7-straight Round of 16 crashouts, including the famous 2002 loss to the USA 2-0, which is why Americans still chant "Doc a Cero" whenever we beat them 2-0 in qualifying matches at home, which happens alot. Any match at Estadio Azteca will be tough to navigate for anyone. I've seen alot of predictions have England play Mexico in the Round of 16 and I don't know, on paper I'd pick England because of talent but crazier things have happened in that stadium when 100,000 crazed Mexican fans are against you...in that heat. (The winners of Group A and L face each other in that round in Mexico City, so you might want to lose to Croatia or hope Mexico has a bad group stage lol)

Big blow, I was very emotional yesterday. He was my favorite driver when I was really into NASCAR from about 2008 to 2021. Nobody wanted to win more than Kyle. He was often compared to Dale Earnhardt because of that. He is considered as one of the best wheelmen to ever be in a race car of any kind. Basically the sport's Senna in that regard.

Hazey's Rankings 24) Algeria 23) Austria 22) Ivory Coast 21) United States Yup, that's right. Outside the Top 20 for my home team. Injuries and lineup questions galore, plus our form has been...inconsistent at best the past couple years. We don't really have a big 'home field' advantage because of how far down the list soccer is for importance in this country. It's either "soccer is boring" or racists who think it's a sport for non-Americans have conditioned us not to have as big a following as most other countries in the tournament. It's exhausting. At best the crowds will be split with the other nation's fans. I don't have a ton of faith, I don't know what else to say.

That match apparently will be one of the richest in history in terms of how much of an economic boon it will be to either side who wins and joins the EPL.

I see something like how my scores would go. West Ham will do enough and have a solid lead, in this case 3-1 and at the same time Spurs will be down 2-1 but will get a penalty or something screwy late to find the equalizer and save their season.

Also, I think Turkey will be one of the more entertaining teams in the tournament. They usually go for it offensively and as we saw in their first Spain match, it back fired.

As an American, I wholeheartedly think Turkey wins our group.

Sunday 24th May Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Manchester United Burnley 3-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United Liverpool 3-2 Brentford Manchester City 1-0 Aston Villa Nottingham Forest 1-1 AFC Bournemouth Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Everton West Ham United 3-1 Leeds United

Hazey's Rankings 24) Algeria 23) Austria 22) Ivory Coast While I think this ranking might be a tad too high for the Elephants. I think they can have some defensive lapses, but their athleticism and their ability on the counterattack can match anyone else's in the tournament. I'm kind of getting vibes going into this, like they're this year's Ghana/Morocco, maybe. Meaning they'll take the place of what those African teams did in previous World Cups because they are kind of coming under radar compared to other CAF teams.