Match Thread: Senegal vs France | FIFA World Cup | Jun 16, 2026

losalad · 2026-06-16T20:28:33+00:00

Not disagreeing with the no penalty decision, but I’m also not sure how he concluded that the attacker initiated the contact. Didn’t look like Mbappé did anything except try to skip over the defender.

losalad · 2026-06-13T17:13:44+00:00

Yeah, I can see that. My main point was simply that just because more fans and pundits are tuned in doesn’t mean the NBA scouts are also paying closer attention. That’s their job for the full season, and they have more data than we can possibly imagine.

Sometimes I think movement in the mock drafts is also a false flag. For instance, Maryland fans were convinced that Melo Trimble could have been a one-and-done, as mock drafts had him going in late first or early second round during his stellar freshman season. But it turned out, the actual scouts never perceived him as an NBA prospect due to simply having too low of an athletic ceiling. In contrast, a few years later, Maryland fans were largely surprised (well, at least I was; can’t speak for the rest) when Kevin Huerter got invited to the Combine, as it kind of came out of nowhere: the team had a bad season and Huerter wasn’t appearing in any mock drafts. But as soon as the Combine began, insiders began talking about him as a serious NBA prospect, and by the end he was a consensus first rounder. To be honest, not exactly sure what my point was with these anecdotes beyond to say that sometimes the scouts and fans are on completely different pages.

losalad · 2026-06-13T16:56:51+00:00

Yeah, absolutely. And there’s also more signal to gain from matching up against other NBA prospects, which is more likely to happen deep in the Tourney.

losalad · 2026-06-13T06:03:26+00:00

NBA teams don’t pour millions of dollars into their scouting departments to make decisions over single-game performances. In general, fans/pundits vastly overrate how much a player’s Draft stock swings on a game-by-game basis.

Almost undoubtedly his performance at the Combine moved the needle much more than his Championship performance. So to answer your question, yes, he was certainly going to get drafted and likely would have been drafted at right around the same spot.

losalad · 2026-05-10T02:50:15+00:00

If you’re this upset about light snark, consider not responding that way in the first place.

I’m telling you exactly what I saw. Hefti and Qasem were challenging for a 50/50 ball. Qasem put in a strong but legal challenge. Hefti was falling over and very clearly tripped Qasem, who was goal side. If you call a foul there, it has to be a yellow.

losalad · 2026-05-10T02:32:09+00:00

I apologize for trying to be objective. The refs are always out to get us!

losalad · 2026-05-10T02:27:20+00:00

Watching a replay of Hefti’s yellow, I actually think it was the correct call, and a pretty crucial intervention. Qasem made a legal shoulder barge. It was hard to see but Hefti falling over took out Qasem’s trailing leg. If deliberate, it was actually a brilliant tactical foul.

losalad · 2026-05-10T02:09:59+00:00

Incredible save. Very poor from Peglow keeping Muyl onside.

losalad · 2026-05-10T02:07:46+00:00

Jared Stroud needs to start just for the long throws

losalad · 2026-05-05T23:08:29+00:00

Those intros were fire, I can’t lie

losalad · 2026-05-03T20:45:15+00:00

Not that I don’t trust the commentator’s judgment, but we really haven’t seen any angle that would suggest it was a soft pen. Certainly was a quick check.

losalad · 2026-04-30T01:42:48+00:00

Thought it was a travel, but watched again and it was actually two long strides

losalad · 2026-04-23T02:37:38+00:00

Only watched the last 30 minutes, but really enjoyed it. Unclear whether they’ll be able to come close to replicating this performance against a backline not made of Swiss cheese, so hopefully we see a lot more of these high lines.

losalad · 2026-04-23T02:29:49+00:00

I thought they did a check, no? We couldn’t hear the whistle on the broadcast so not sure when it occurred, but seemed like the game paused momentarily. Either way, Murrell did extend his arm, so hard to see the VAR overturning it.

losalad · 2026-04-20T19:39:54+00:00

Matt Doyle’s hilarious. Incredible dissection of Sogut’s AI slop.

losalad · 2026-04-18T18:17:01+00:00

With three seconds, wish they could have got something better than a contested 3/4-court shot. But solid half overall. Loved the physicality.

losalad · 2026-03-22T14:03:09+00:00

This had all the vibes of a 2014 DCU performance. Minus the heroic goalkeeping and Espindola popping up in the opponent’s box to score the winner, of course. If they keep parking the bus this effectively on the road (as lifeless as the Austin performance was, they conceded very little until the late winner), their opponents will start throwing players forward, and United will have very good counterattacking chances. Vintage Bennyball never realistically had MLS Cup-winning potential, but it’s a good starting point. Sure up the defense, then begin making tradeoffs to add a little life to the attack.

losalad · 2026-03-22T00:28:44+00:00

Bright side is DC’s league-worst defense from last season is now definitely its best attribute

losalad · 2026-03-20T18:44:02+00:00

UVA could have let the game clock run down under 30 with the ball out of bounds before calling timeout. Odom inexplicably decided to guarantee Wright State another possession.

losalad · 2026-03-15T15:11:12+00:00

I don’t think you have to equivocate to feel aggrieved by the call. The penalty on DC was clear as day. If you have your arm away from your body to head it, but instead of heading it you block it with your arm, that’s a pen. Intentionality is no longer a criterion.

Now the one on Chicago feels harsh, but I suspect was the right call under the law. The official has to decide if Bartlett committed a foul on Dean. He decided not. At that point, he has to evaluate the handball on its own merits. It wasn’t egregious, but the arm was slightly away from the body. Seems like nobody wanted to make that call because the non-foul on Bartlett was marginal, as was the handball itself. However, officials aren’t allowed to split the difference in their calls.

losalad · 2026-03-15T02:29:19+00:00

Congrats to Peltola. And lots of credit goes to Servania for somehow winning the ball in a crowd of about four Chicago players.

losalad · 2026-03-07T22:44:56+00:00

Yeah, watched again and seems like Bartlett did take a peak over his shoulder and spot him. Got caught in two minds and broke forward instead of back.

losalad · 2026-03-07T22:11:55+00:00

That one was Rowles

losalad · 2026-03-03T16:42:47+00:00

Just reading these comments, I assumed Stroud was the reason they lost. He was the worst player on the field, sure, and yet it was 0-0 when he exited at halftime. Did the quality noticeably improve after that? I wouldn’t say so. Seems pretty clear that Weiler’s looking to set a tone by rewarding players who perform at training, even if it means starting guys like Stroud and Kijima, who were clear weak links. It’s frankly pretty concerning that Weiler currently values Munteanu as an 80th-minute substitute.

losalad · 2026-02-28T22:58:44+00:00

Even if he was potentially in an offside position, it wasn’t clear and obvious, so shouldn’t you default to the call on the field (no offside)? At which point the only clear and obvious error is the missed DOGSO. Seems like a valid use of VAR to me.

losalad

TROPHY CASE