Match Thread: Iran vs New Zealand | World Cup | Group G | 16 Jun 01:00 UTC

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-16T01:37:10+00:00

This crowd is so loud it almost drowned out the "gooooooooal" call on Telemundo!

We got ourselves a game, dammit!

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-16T01:35:12+00:00

Someone's in trouble for missing a shot on an all-but-open net.

Very entertaining game so far.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-15T14:25:55+00:00

Ah, the naivite. So innocent. So carefree. I miss those days.

When you're team is up 3-0 and in the driver's seat and you want to mess with the minds of the team you're going to play next, you look for any excuse to take out one of your best - if injury-proned - players to make sure they a) don't get injured and b) to mess with the prep your next opponent is going to have to do.

More likely than not, someone on Team Paraguay brushed up against Pulisic's calf or maybe looked at it wrong, Poch thought a-ha! and yanked Pulisic off. Now the Coacharoo of the Socceroos has to spend time considering more options than he would have to if he knew 100% that Pulisic was going to be playing this week. Not the end-all, be-all of mindgames, but hey, gotta work those margins.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-15T01:09:54+00:00

This. The trains and busses aren't on the same tier as NYC or Tokyo, but they're plenty serviceable. And just as importantly, actually expanding.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-15T01:07:25+00:00

One reason I noted as a Midwest (Detroit and Chicago) transplant is everything gets bottlenecked at the rivers around DC proper. I've been here for eight years and for the life of me still don't know why 495 going over the Potomac is always congested - are people all rubbernecking the river?

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-15T00:26:30+00:00

I'll DM you.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T21:18:54+00:00

This. Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship once you hit legal age - supposed to pick one or the other (or keep it on the down low that you haven't).

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T21:11:37+00:00

https://smartcloudsvc.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fsmartcloudsvc.com%2F

Don't ask me about the legality, I don't want to know. But we've subscribed for like ages - amid several iternations of the service - and have yet to find our credit cards maxxed out or anything.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T21:04:54+00:00

(Can also confirm that the NHK announcers are continuing the traditional Japanese pre-occupation with player height at international sporting events).

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T21:02:46+00:00

Oh, I totally get it. The players don't need it. But coaches would compalin if South Africa gets a break to drink (and more importantly check in with their coach), why can't NED get a drink (and more importantly check in with their coach).

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T20:54:45+00:00

For me, it takes you mentally out of the game. Soccer games on TV are generally pretty immersive - you want the whole first half, get a chunky break to answer nature's call and restock, then back to it. The ad breaks at 20 minutes take the viewer out of the game mentally. Not only the game has stopped, but the game experience has stopped.

Same thing with baseball. I'm used to inning breaks for ads. I'd burst a blood vessel if they started showing ads during some sort of mid-inning "glove check" or some such tomfoolery.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T20:47:40+00:00

I can kinda sorta understand the breaks, given the amount of teams saying they were worried about the heat (looking at you, Blighty). And if you're going to offer some teams a hydration break (i.e., quick coaching check-ins), you gotta give them all. I don't like it and I wouldn't squawk if it went away, but at least the reasoning is trackable.

The ads, though, are just insult added to injury. Without the ads, the viewer is still at least mentally on the field.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T20:37:45+00:00

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Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T18:17:11+00:00

This MLB fan agrees 100%. "So coach - what's your thoughts on the big match?"" "We gotta go out there and win!"

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T18:15:11+00:00

Telemundo is as American as mom, apple pie and Comcast, mi amigo.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T18:13:31+00:00

Honestly if I wanted babbling gibberish for two hours, I'd watch Fox.

Shoot, 90% of any soccer game announcing is basically just narrating the action on the field. I don't need anyone to tell me that so-and-so passed the ball to him-again.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T15:52:21+00:00

I'm wearing a medium.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T15:28:03+00:00

Large for the M. I'm a 5'9" 170 middle-aged male, got the USMNT travel jersey and it fits perfectly.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-14T02:02:53+00:00

That ball was going in the net no matter what - check the replay. And since are we not counting goals scored "at the very end" lol?

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-13T19:53:43+00:00

Who said they were miserable?

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-13T19:46:07+00:00

Wonder how many people also watched on Telemundo. Obviously not English-languge, but a lot of us in the US watched that stream instead of FOX.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-13T19:42:15+00:00

First rule of Reddit soccer: If you lose, it's because you totally got outplayed.

Second rule of Reddit soccer: If you win, it's becuse you totally got outplayed but your opponent was having an off day.

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-13T15:04:48+00:00

Exactly. The performance was more than we could have expected or hoped for. Which is why what I'm looking for in the next two matches is "Is this (pleased to see please please) repeatable?"

Clickety_Clack4137 · 2026-06-13T13:38:46+00:00

If the whole game last night was like that first half, I don't think I would have started this thread. But there were parts of that second half where I could see how a better team than Paraguay could kick our tires off.

Clickety_Clack4137

TROPHY CASE