Dolby

[hide] Group Stage January 13th - January 20th, 2023 16 Nations, The 1st-placed Nations from each Group will qualify for the Quarterfinals. The 2nd and 3rd-Placed Nations from each Group will qualify for the Cross-overs. Group A Date & Time (GMT +5:30) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 January 13th 2023, h. 13:00 Argentina 2 0 South Africa January 13th 2023, h. 15:00 Australia 3 0 France January 16th 2023, h. 17:00 France 2 1 South Africa January 16th 2023, h. 19:00 Argentina 0 2 Australia January 20th 2023, h. 13:00 Australia 3 0 South Africa January 20th 2023, h. 15:00 France 1 2 Argentina Group B Date & Time (GMT +5:30) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 January 14th 2023, h. 17:00 Belgium 3 0 South Korea January 14th 2023, h. 19:00 Germany 3 0 Japan January 17th 2023, h. 17:00 South Korea 0 2 Japan January 17th 2023, h. 19:00 Germany 0 2 Belgium January 20th 2023, h. 17:00 Belgium 3 0 Japan January 20th 2023, h. 19:00 South Korea 0 3 Germany Group C Date & Time (GMT +5:30) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 January 14th 2023, h. 13:00 New Zealand 3 0 Chile January 14th 2023, h. 15:00 Netherlands 3 1 Malaysia January 16th 2023, h. 13:00 Malaysia 2 1 Chile January 16th 2023, h. 15:00 New Zealand 1 2 Netherlands January 19th 2023, h. 13:00 Malaysia 1 2 New Zealand January 19th 2023, h. 15:00 Netherlands 2 0 Chile Group D Date & Time (GMT +5:30) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 January 13th 2023, h. 17:00 England 3 0 Wales January 13th 2023, h. 19:00 India 2 1 Spain January 15th 2023, h. 17:00 Spain 2 0 Wales January 15th 2023, h. 19:00 England 1 3 India January 19th 2023, h. 17:00 Spain 2 1 England January 19th 2023, h. 19:00 India 4 0 Wales Top 3 Place 1st 2nd 3rd Nation [/hide]

1) Weather in July/August in Ahmedabad is decent. 2) Jammu and Kashmir is very far from Ahmedabad. The number of terrorist incidents in J&K are at an all-time low. And with the Pakistani economy in doldrums, there is reason to believe that we should not see an uptick in the violence. 3) Do you even have any idea about caste? Please try and read before making such broad and idiotic comments.

But according to the Academic Freedom Index, Afghanistan is better than a number of nations including Singapore.

All South Americans = Messi, Neymar and Marquinhos? There might be personal tension between Neymar/Messi and Mbappe but to portray it as Europe vs South America is sad. Also, so what if Mbappe said those things, you guys won. Martinez was the star of the show. You had your revenge. Don't allocate a special room to Mbappe in your brain. Enjoy and focus on future. Some trolling is fine and honestly adds flavor to the game but it is fast approaching towards farce.

[hide] Knockout Stage December 3rd - December 18th, 2022 Third-Place Match Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 17th 2022, h. 18:00 Croatia 0 0 Morocco Final Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 18th 2022, h. 18:00 Argentina 1 3 France [/hide]

Regarding the penalty. I personally feel that it should not be a penalty as the GK didn't move towards the attacker. But, honestly, it would be given a penalty in 9 out of 10 cases.

[hide] Knockout Stage December 3rd - December 18th, 2022 4 Nations, The Winners of each Semfinal will qualify for the Final. The Losers of each Semifinal will play the Third-Place Match. Semifinals Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 13th 2022, h. 22:00 Argentina 2 1 Croatia December 14th 2022, h. 22:00 France 2 1 Morocco [/hide]

And Santos to CR7 "You mean you will watch them play on Sunday from the bench"

India will not boycott in either case as well. And that is what I was trying to say. Majority of the nations would not boycott the games either way. Whether Russia is there or not.

Lets ask a counter question. Who all will boycott the Paris Olympics if Russia and Belarus athletes are allowed as neutrals? Who all will boycott if Russian and Belorussian teams are allowed as well?

Winner gets ?

[hide] Knockout Stage December 3rd - December 18th, 2022 8 Nations, The Winners of each Quarterfinals will qualify for the Semifinals. Quarterfinals Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 9th 2022, h. 18:00 Croatia 0 2 Brazil December 9th 2022, h. 22:00 Netherlands 1 2 Argentina December 10th 2022, h. 18:00 Morocco 0 3 Portugal December 10th 2022, h. 22:00 England 1 2 France [/hide]

[hide] Knockout Stage December 3rd - December 18th, 2022 16 Nations, The Winners of each Round of 16-Matches will qualify for the Quarterfinals. Round of 16 - From Group E to H Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 5th 2022, h. 18:00 Japan 1 2 Croatia December 5th 2022, h. 22:00 Brazil 2 0 South Korea December 6th 2022, h. 18:00 Morocco 1 3 Spain December 6th 2022, h. 22:00 Portugal 2 1 Switzerland [/hide]

Deccan Herald is a regional mid-sized newspaper. And as far as I know, it is decent. Nothing extraordinary but not conspiracy theorist as well. Regarding the article you shared, DH is simply reposting the article by AFP, which I gather is a French news agency.

[hide] Knockout Stage December 3rd - December 18th, 2022 16 Nations, The Winners of each Round of 16-Matches will qualify for the Quarterfinals. Round of 16 - From Group A to D Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 December 3rd 2022, h. 18:00 Netherlands 2 0 United States December 3rd 2022, h. 22:00 Argentina 2 0 Australia December 4th 2022, h. 18:00 France 3 0 Poland December 4th 2022, h. 22:00 England 3 0 Senegal [/hide]

I am ready to take credit.

[hide] Group Stage November 20th - December 2nd, 2022 32 Nations, The Top 2 Nations from each Group will qualify for the Round of 16. Group A Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 20th 2022, h. 19:00 Qatar x x Ecuador November 21st 2022, h. 19:00 Senegal 0 2 Netherlands November 25th 2022, h. 16:00 Qatar 0 2 Senegal November 25th 2022, h. 19:00 Netherlands 3 0 Ecuador November 29th 2022, h. 18:00 Ecuador 1 2 Senegal November 29th 2022, h. 18:00 Netherlands 5 0 Qatar Group B Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 21st 2022, h. 16:00 England 1 0 Iran November 21st 2022, h. 22:00 United States 1 1 Wales November 25th 2022, h. 13:00 Wales 0 0 Iran November 25th 2022, h. 22:00 England 2 1 United States November 29th 2022, h. 22:00 Wales 0 2 England November 29th 2022, h. 22:00 Iran 0 1 United States Group C Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 22nd 2022, h. 13:00 Argentina 3 0 Saudi Arabia November 22nd 2022, h. 19:00 Mexico 0 1 Poland November 26th 2022, h. 16:00 Poland 2 0 Saudi Arabia November 26th 2022, h. 22:00 Argentina 2 0 Mexico November 30th 2022, h. 22:00 Poland 0 2 Argentina November 30th 2022, h. 22:00 Saudi Arabia 1 2 Mexico Group D Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 22nd 2022, h. 16:00 Denmark 2 0 Tunisia November 22nd 2022, h. 22:00 France 2 0 Australia November 26th 2022, h. 13:00 Tunisia 1 1 Australia November 26th 2022, h. 19:00 France 1 2 Denmark November 30th 2022, h. 18:00 Australia 0 2 Denmark November 30th 2022, h. 18:00 Tunisia 1 3 France Group E Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 23rd 2022, h. 16:00 Germany 2 0 Japan November 23rd 2022, h. 19:00 Spain 3 0 Costa Rica November 27th 2022, h. 13:00 Japan 1 1 Costa Rica November 27th 2022, h. 22:00 Spain 2 1 Germany December 1st 2022, h. 22:00 Japan 0 2 Spain December 1st 2022, h. 22:00 Costa Rica 0 2 Germany Group F Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 23rd 2022, h. 13:00 Morocco 0 2 Croatia November 23rd 2022, h. 22:00 Belgium 0 2 Canada November 27th 2022, h. 16:00 Belgium 1 1 Morocco November 27th 2022, h. 19:00 Croatia 1 2 Canada December 1st 2022, h. 18:00 Croatia 2 1 Belgium December 1st 2022, h. 18:00 Canada 2 0 Morocco Group G Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 24th 2022, h. 13:00 Switzerland 1 1 Cameroon November 24th 2022, h. 22:00 Brazil 2 1 Serbia November 28th 2022, h. 13:00 Cameroon 0 1 Serbia November 28th 2022, h. 19:00 Brazil 2 0 Switzerland December 2nd 2022, h. 22:00 Serbia 1 0 Switzerland December 2nd 2022, h. 22:00 Cameroon 0 2 Brazil Group H Date & Time (GMT +3) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 November 24th 2022, h. 16:00 Uruguay 0 1 South Korea November 24th 2022, h. 19:00 Portugal 2 1 Ghana November 28th 2022, h. 16:00 South Korea 1 1 Ghana November 28th 2022, h. 22:00 Portugal 2 0 Uruguay December 2nd 2022, h. 18:00 Ghana 2 0 Uruguay December 2nd 2022, h. 18:00 South Korea 1 2 Portugal Top 3 Place 1st 2nd 3rd Nation :ARG :GER :BRA [/hide]

Ohh I am not denying that most likely Qatar has hired fans. It is almost certain that a good amount of Indians (and other expats in Gulf) are being paid by the organizers to party and enjoy.

Football popularity in India can be broken in 2-3 different groups. First, the traditional football strongholds in India: Kerala/West Bengal/Goa and North East. These regions have been the bedrock of Indian football since a long time and Football World Cup is a big deal there. Normally, you would find a lot of Brazil/Argentina fans in these regions. Also, a lot of Indians in Qatar/Middle East are from the Indian state of Kerala which is crazy about football. Second and newer group of football fanatics are the EPL/Champions League watchers in urban areas. I don't have numbers but viewership of EPL in India is quite high. And, in the recent past, I have seen that not only is this new generation consuming football and part of the online fan groups of various clubs, but is also contributing to fan driven data/tactic analysis. And in recent past with ease of following other leagues as well, other European leagues are also getting a foothold in India. And third group would be the followers of Indian football, outside the traditional regions in group 1. Those who follow Indian team and ISL. First 2 groups are excited about the World Cup. But, it is the usual excitement and not insane hype. There is not much media coverage or ad campaigns regarding WC. Normal Indian sports fan is more excited about the India-NZ T20 series but there is still a significant group which is excited about Football World Cup. And obviously, those who are residing in Qatar or other Gulf states, are really excited about the World Cup as for them it is almost like a home World Cup.

These rules are not applicable on European countries like Spain. If India had denied visa to a support staff on such flimsy grounds, by now whole of IOC/European media would be threatening us with ban.

1) I would not say people in India are overwhelmingly pro-Russia but there is a divide in general public. When we compare it to Europe where public opinion is almost unanimous, this divide seems pro-Russia. 2) Legacy issues. Many don’t trust USA as traditionally USA has supported Pakistan over India while Russia has helped India. 3) Some in Indian RW are more averse to US/Europe because of their habit of interfering in our internal matters using NGOs and their overt/covert support to missionaries. 4) Majority would just go with the government stand. In past, we were firmly in Russian bloc. In the present Ukraine conflict, govt has not taken a clear Russia or US stand. There are enough signs in recent past to suggest that India might pivot towards a more hardline stand against Russia. Public sentiment would also shift then. 4) With respect to China, I think apart from a small minority, there is consensus in Indian polity and public sentiment. And no I wouldn’t say that we see them as allies. 5) In fact it is fear of China that is forcing India and US to forge close ties (Quad).

Once again rain deals a huge blow to SA’s chances in a WC

Basically, allot 200-250 quota to host nation? Let Australia use it for Cricket, Japan for Baseball?

Yes, you need atleast 2-3 stadiums to have any meaningful tournament. 6 team tournament would mean 15 + 15 group stage matches followed by 4 semis and 4 medal matches. 38 matches in 3 stadium would also mean each stadium hosting a game everyday for 15 days. Would require one hell of a curator team. Aren’t you missing UK? Olympic Gold medal match at Lord’s would be quite iconic.

Even a 6 team tournament requires 6x15x2= 180 athletes.