I only check this thread for the Fox News posts so keep them coming

Cody Gakpo is on fire and the defense is still one of the best in the world. Going to be tough, but if we can keep playing the way we have in the midfield we have a shot against anyone.

I’m fearful that Greg has a talk with Robinson and dest and stops them from playing so aggressively. They set up pulisic and weah, imo. We need to just be a balls out team. Only 1 team is winning this tournament.

Yeah gakpo is insane. Never heard of him prior to the World Cup. He’s really good.

There will be no slowing Dest down this game. This game is his moment playing against his childhood country. I think Tyler Adams ability to cover the whole field will be enough to allow our fullbacks to continue doing what they’ve been doing. No need to get too aggressive early though in a knockout stage game. I think we have enough depth and substitutes to be dangerous in the knockout stages. I worry about how and when they’ll be used, but we have the depth there. Hoping to see more Reyna and Scally! I think West and Dest will continue to be subbed out every game with the yellow card accumulation and their fitness in question coming into the tournament. Aaronson is the perfect one to takeover and create more opportunities, but the Shaq Moore nonsense must stop. ****ing free Reyna and Scally!

Ake, Van Dijk, and Timber/De Ligt are a very strong back 3. Dumfries who's at Inter is very good. De Jong and Depay play together at Barcelona and are great. Bergwijn has a lot of pace. Gakpo is always a threat. Honestly, apart from the usual favorites they seem like a team you might pick who could win the whole thing.

From ESPN Article about why Netherlands can win it all and why they won’t:

Why they will win it all: They turn you over. Louis van Gaal's Dutch team is active. They lead the competition with the fewest passes allowed per defensive action (9.3) and despite leading for the majority of each group stage match, they started 29 possessions in the attacking third to opponents' 17. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong leads the team in ball recoveries, but the pressure is a full-team effort: Netherlands have commanded 57% of overall touches in the attacking third with a 57% possession rate.

They've got the raw defensive talent -- Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake, Jurrien Timber, Matthijs de Ligt -- to safeguard them while pressing heavily (goalkeeper Andries Noppert has been excellent, too), and they put the ball in more dangerous areas than opponents.

Why they won't: No creativity. For such an active team, the Dutch sure are stolid in attack. Despite all that possession in dangerous areas, they managed just 10 shots worth 0.7 xG against Senegal and two worth 0.1 against Ecuador; they were fortunate to win the former match and draw the latter, and if Cody Gakpo hadn't scored with his only shot in each match, they wouldn't have.

Gakpo, the increasingly sought-after PSV Eindhoven attacker, has scored three goals from four shots worth just 0.3 xG. The rest of his teammates have scored just two goals from 21 shots worth 2.5. They neither create high-quality or high-volume shots -- they averaged just 0.3 big chances created ("a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score," as defined by Stats Perform) in the group stage; only two teams averaged fewer, and that will eventually become a clear issue if it does not change.

This makes their matchup with the United States an interesting one: the teams have a lot of the same strengths and same weaknesses.

Eh.. that’s a stretch. Upsets are possible but we probably don’t have anyone who would get into their starting 11.

I thought it was funny too

Saying that they have the same strengths and weaknesses is not comparing the talent level of the rosters. It’s simply saying that they have the same issues we have in finishing chances. They also like to press high with a lot of trust in their back 3 so I think Carter Vickers will get the start again and I almost wonder if that’s why Berhalter started him last game was to get him some playing time for this match. Zimmerman was looking a little shaky with some of his touches and passes on the back line and that weakness would get eaten alive by this Dutch team. The midfield battle will be key, but I don’t think anyone can really complain about how West, Adams, and Musah have looked so far and I think they can definitely hold their own against a solid Dutch midfield. Hopefully Ream can control our back line and get some good passes away to break their high press a few times for some good counter chances. I think it will definitely be a great match.

Watch out . . . Pointing out when a certain side gets political means YOU are getting political which will get you banned.

Morocco up 2-0.

So now its inevitable, this Croatia/Belgium game can be considered a knockout game for both teams.

Wouldn't Belgium need a win?

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Yeah, but then Croatia is eliminated. So in a sense it’s a knockout game for either team, win or go home except Croatia can tie and move on.

I thought the point of making up stuff was to help get over being butthurt by making other people seem irrational. Not sure what other purpose it serves if it doesn't help the raging case of butthurt months later, but still doesn't make it any truer outside the comfort of your own noggin.