Servus Syndicate
Members,
I’m fine.
Really. I assure you. Just fine.
In all
actuality, I’m more than fine. I’m doing fantastic. We finally all got to
witness some of that colorful passion from the fans in the stands today;
something that was sorely needed in this tournament. I wouldn’t go so far as to
say that the Ruskies are putting forth a drab or colorless affair, but there’s
been something of a corporate feel to matters from the onset. I suppose we’re
all still getting comfortable with Russia.
Swarms of
ardent Mexican fans welling up with tears of joy put an end to that. We needed
it. The fact that it came at the behest of an ultimately meaningless German
loss doesn’t trouble your friendly bookie. We’re just getting started. We’ll
get used to Russia. Plenty of spirited drama yet to come.
If you’re
just tuning in to this Syndicate Chapter, we’ve unveiled a kind of cool new
feature in the Dailies this year. Sine more wonkish among you love to exchange
lineups, formations, and armchair analysis with me, your friendly bookie’s
actually going to “draw it up” (our parlance) in every last daily for this
chapter, hopefully getting to the actual tactics utilized by ALL 32 teams. We’ve
always done this, but not on this comprehensive live scale. It’s generated some
really fun discussions—along with some sleep deprivation—thus far.
American
bettors still sore over not having a team at least find themselves with something
to argue with their friendly bookie about. Note that real football fans talk
tactics with their OWN eyes tell them. Turn the TV analysts off as soon as the
match is over and send me your thoughts. They’re doing a really half-assed unemotional
job this time anyway.
If you’ve
missed it, we’ve covered the following teams thus far.
Day One—Russia 
Day Two—Spain/Portugal 
Day Three—France/Argentina 
Day Four—Germany
Join a really
fun conversation….or just stick with the bets, riffs, and calls.
Apropos
Lines, let’s get you through Wednesday. Your friendly bookie’s imaginary special
guest to help him present? Why it’s none other Rafa Marquez! I think that was
beyond awesome how Osorio put in the grizzled old captain to take the armband
on to a delicate lead against the reigning World Champs in the 74th.
I got chills.
That’s what
football’s all about, gentlemen. One leader passes on to another. Way to finish
the job, Rafa!
Aw…what the
hell? We can have two guests. I’ll also invite along the girl from the Serbia
vs. Costa Rica Match. She did a fantastic job of mimicking my facial
expressions as my beloved Nationalelf ran out of gas/time.
You said it,
sweetie. What a shocker!
Monday, June 18th
Sweden vs. South Korea
vs. 
Group Stages make fast work of your precious time. At this
point in the tournament all of us harbor some regret over time wasted on a
boring match, an uninformative interview, or a headache inducing highlight
reel. My example happens to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s appearance on “Copa Tonight”.
Christ I’d like those eight minutes of my life back. The self-declared nobleman
he had all the charm of a bored teenager in Civics Class.
Baron von Zlatan has actually publicly stated that the World
Cup will inherently suffer from his absence; going so far as to suggest that it
may not even be worth watching. He went even further here, hinting that he might
not even attend this match. Evidently his promotional tour with Visa takes
precedence.
To be honest I’m not sure I blame him. This godawful Swedish
side isn’t necessarily so godawful that they’ll grant our darling Taeguks a
victory. They’re a bunch of towering Nordics capable of quickly collapsing the
midfield with a 4-5-1 compress. Sound familiar? They’re an even more dull and
tedious version of the Icelanders! It’s humdrum football without the
Thunderclap.
Height’s also an issue. Politically incorrect yet sadly
relevant. The ability to win aerial challenges for the ball on set pieces makes
a huge difference in tight contests. It’s a bit of a mismatch. Can’t bet on the
Asians over the Scandinavians there.
Our Tigers of Asia will have to roar with all the ferocity
of Heather Cho once she found out she had to open her own bag of macadamia nuts
to have a prayer.
I’ll project Emil Forsberg and Heung Min-Son trade early
goals…if we’re lucky enough to see any goals at all.
THE
LINE: Pick em’
Belgium vs. Panama
vs. 
Christ is this going to be fugly. Poor Panama. It’s a fabulous
opportunity for my chosen favorites to hit the ground running. Perhaps the most
prominent criticism of Spanish manager Roberto Martinez (apart from the canard
that he’s too much of a “player’s coach”) concerns his tendency to play “too
traditional”. To that I say…so what. Go ahead and be traditional, Roberto! Show
us your best lineup! Put them out there and let em’ play!
Developmentally obsessed managers like Didier Deschamps,
Hector Cuper, Oscar Tabarez, and Jorge Sampaoli are killing this tournament
with their “safety-first” opening match strategies. They wish to be lauded as prudent
and discerning cool-heads who are presciently planning for a deep tournament
run. I fully understand the need to rest some of one’s better players for the
long-haul, but they run the risk of not getting their stars the much-needed
confidence and acclimatization to succeed in what is actually a rather short
competition.
Correntin Tolisso and Maxi Meza? Lucas Biglia and Amr Wadr?
Benjamin Pavard AND Lucas Hernandez? Really? Is this amateur hour? You guys are
pissin on your own feet. What’s wrong with starting you're A-Team and subbing off
the veterans early.
Martinez should go all in, flanking Lukaku with Hazard and Mertens.
Place de Bruyne directly behind them and tell him to keep close. Get out to a
3-0 first half lead and give Mertens and Lukaku the rest of the night off.
That’s how it’s done.
THE
LINE: Belgium + 4 Goals
Tunisia vs. England
vs. 
No one knows quite what to expect from St. George other than
the fact that Mother England will unfailingly get motherfucked in the
knockouts. It might not even take that long as Southgate’s players face a stern
test in their opening match. Assuming the lineups I projected in the group
stage holds, I have grave concerns about how Dier will be able to free himself
up from those pesky gnats Ben Amor and Ferjani Sassi. Srafi and Sliti might be
able to muzzle Vardy.
There’s also this dreadful foreboding about the butterflies
in Jordan Pickford’s stomach. We’ve already seen many inexperienced keepers
spill and gaffe. Shades of Robert Green’s goof against the Americans may be
unfairly influencing my thinking. Keepers are still notoriously sensitive
creatures. Oversights and mistakes snowball. Hard to trust a backstop with only
three international caps.
Naturally the Lions still have an über-talented team that
should pass through the depleted injury-ridden Eagles of Carthage without much
difficulty. The English can’t escape the pressure their historical woes place
on them, but Carthage captain Wahbi Khazri is under even greater pressure to
lead a team he has oversold.
Kane breaks through with a brace. Lingard sets up the first
with a threaded through ball and another comes from a late penalty.
THE
LINE: England + 2 Goals
Tuesday, June 19th
Columbia vs. Japan
vs. 
This one’s extremely hard to handicap. Such contrasting
styles do not clash often in competitive international football. Further adding
to the confusion is the JFA’s recent managerial change. No one anticipated that
the Spanish FA would “one-up” the recent firing of Vashid Halihodzic weeks
before the tournament, relegated this equally surprising move to the back
recesses of our memories.
Tour friendly bookie essentially wrote the prospects of his “Spiritual
Homeland” off in the preview. I strongly disagree with the jettisoning of
promising young players like Yosuke Ideguchi, Takuma Asano and Yuya Kubo. The
plan of new manager Akira Nishino is clearly to stick with the Old Guard;
nothing but a bunch of declining stars and paper tigers.
Falcao and Rodriguez need time to adjust to their new
arrangement. Luckily, they can take all the time they need against an offense
expected to remain a level below anemic.
THE
LINE: Columbia +1 Goal
Poland vs. Senegal
vs. 
The most well-balanced of all the African teams stands a
chance if they can manage a draw here. Not impossible. Koulibaly is not only a
first-rate defender, he’s also one of the rare centerbacks who can make a
significant impact on the counter. Behind Kouyate, Gueye, and Diouf he can
press forward and compete with all the Polish defenders aerially. No need to
worry about keeping it tidy behind him as Sabaly and Gassama close ranks well.
When bulding the Terrangan Lineup in the Preview Section,
your friendly bookie had to contend with the fact that Aliou Cisse brought NINE
natural strikers with him to Africa. He’s obviously planning on directing his
midfield to play every bit as scrappy as his forwards. It’s a brute force
approach. They intend to power through the group with the streaking Mané
leading the charge.
As we saw in qualifying and the 2017 African Cup of Nations,
the goals can come from many sources. Poland’s jugular lies on the left. If
they can pierce it early, they’re well on their way to claiming a scalp.
The aging Polish lineup will tire out if they have to play
catch up. Smuda may have already worn through some aging legs with some
questionable deployments in the friendlies. The Polish FA demands FIFA Ranking
Results. Should we behold a weary looking set of Eagles in the opening match,
we’ll have the PZPN to blame.
Very much wish I could set an “Upset Special” here, but the
semi-circle movement of Milik around Lewandowski will simply be too strong. The
Bayern Superstar will get too many chances. It’s unreasonable to expect that he
won’t eventually convert.
THE
LINE: Poland +1 Goal
Russia vs. Egypt
vs. 
Back down to earth for the hosts after that high-flying
opener. Cherchesov was essentially gifted his best lineup thanks to the Alan
Dzagoev injury. He now has Golovin confident enough to assume the lead striker
role with Cheryshev backing him up. Unfortunately, that creates too much of a
gap for Mohammed Salah—who WILL start—So I’ll project Dzyuba alone up front in
a counter-minded 4-5-1. The Pharoahs have their backs against the wall, so they’ve
little choice but to put slot the Liverpool man in. If he can’t go, they’ll sub
him off early. They nevertheless have to try.
Cuper’s strategy in Uruguay match unfolded exactly as I
predicted in some ways, although Mohsen was the one who moved up front. Warda replaced
Salah on the right, eventually making way for our boy Kahraba and then Sobhi.
None of those guys furnished anything truly memorable.
The Trademark Egyptian 4-5-1 Phalanx put in some fine
defensive work, but it took Elneny and Trezeguet out of the attacking equation.
Tarek Hamed was also found back helping Hegazy and Gabr instead of creating
anything. The whole offense hasn't even had a chance to get going. They’ll have
to continue to shell up now that they don’t have a steady keeper in-between the
pipes.
This match won’t be terribly exciting. A nil-nil draw will
suffice just fine for both sides and it might be what we see. I’ll still pick
the Sbornya with the dramatic late-game winner. Their over-achieving run will
continue. Still more heartbreak for the Egyptians.
THE
LINE: Russia +1 Goal
Wednesday, June 20th
Portugal vs. Morocco
vs. 
Don’t let all the talk surrounding Ronaldo’s historic hat
trick fool you. Fernando Santos was lucky to escape with a draw following that
torrid lineup selection and even poorer time management down the stretch. Even
CR7 can’t carry this entire team on his shoulders. Santos will have to be
braver to gain a much needed three points here, irrespective of how inferior
the opponent here seems.
Joao Mario and Andre Silva should start. They’ll be needed
this bookie anticipates Herve Renard will return to his traditional 5-3-2 after
a brilliant, if not especially exciting, attempt to outmanouevre Quireoz with a
3-4-3. The chess match that we all expected Iran vs. Morrocco to be is
misleading. El Kaabi, a.k.a the kid who came from nowhere to rack up ten goals
for the international side in five months, will play better. So will Belhanda
and Benatia. Bouhaddouz will seek to atone for his costly mistake.
Your friendly bookie still likes this Moroccan side very
much. Mendyl and Dirar weren’t even used in that odd-looking three-man-defensive
front. Renard gambled on stealing a late three points from an old nemesis and
it blew up in his face. Now he’ll get back to playing his team’s brand of
football, and it will surprise people.
I’d have zero problems rolling this down and making it a
pick, gentlemen. If you’re placing your bets elsewhere, consider backing the
Lions of the Atlas in a surprise upset.
THE
LINE: Portugal +1 Goal
Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia
vs. 
If you think you’ve seen the worst of what the Saudis have
to offer, you’re sorely mistaken. While the result won’t be as lopsided, their
tournament dies here. Lord, they’re bad. It’s too late to teach these falcons
the fundamentals. Their wings are already clipped. Grade-School level
challenges. Eight second possession spells. Shrinking away from the ball like a
shriveled….nevermind.
Bin Salman is already on a flight home to triple the Russian
oil export prices. The only decent players on this team—apart from Al-Sahlawi—are
the two centerbacks…who are about the run straight into Luis Suarez and Edinson
Cavani. The Uruguayan pair typically drive up the middle to score their goals. Getting
a sense of what’s about to happen?
The middle finger to the House of Saud. Down it tumbles like
a house of cards.
Thanks for playing, guys. I’ll go ahead and get to work on
your 2019 AFC section.
THE
LINE: Uruguay +3 Goals
Iran vs. Spain
vs.
“Team Melli” can revel in their first World Cup victory all
they wish. It will likely be their last for quite some time. They match up
horribly against the Spanish. Though I still maintain that Jahanbaksh, Azmoun,
and the as of yet unused Ghoochannejad are serviceable attackers, one doesn’t
really see them troubling Ramos and Pique that much; not given the way they
played on Friday. My overall hunch that Quieroz’s midfield just wasn’t very
imaginative proved correct. Hajsafi and Shojoei couldn’t figure out one another’s
roles and positions the whole
The “Rudderless La Roja” has this bookie eating his words….for
now. I still maintain that larger issues will crop up as the tournament
progresses. The Spanish System, resplendent as it may be, isn’t very difficult
to figure out. It took even a subpar armchair analyst such as myself all of ten
minutes or so. Costa’s brace doesn’t mean he’s significantly matured as a player
in any way. We should see some cracks appear here, but not enough to make much
of a difference yet.
Simply enjoy watching Isco and David Silva. I will. Can’t
wait for this one. They’re far from finished. Something big is in store from
them.
Might as well get to work on Iran’s 2019 AFC Section too.
THE
LINE: Spain +2 Goals
GENTLEMEN, ENTER YOUR WAGERS
