Norway vs France

Minutes silence for the managers mum.....walofs

hits the bar after 23 seconds.

evening all

0-1, great strike Dembele.

that was quick

Easy prey for those attacking monsters.

i saw the price shortened before K0, as short as 1.54 , early doors was 1.9

1.63 to 1.43 on news of Norway resting the whole lot.

4 shots on target in the first 8 minutes...that's a tournaments worth for the Sweats

Jun 26, 2026 -- 8:10PM, Des Pond wrote:

1.63 to 1.43 on news of Norway resting the whole lot.

SP was 1.43? when was t 1.92, when i looke was > 1.6 , 1.55 is but highets matched was 1.9

0-2, easiest money for a long time.

tghat what you get when youve got a proper 2 footed player out wide

wow

BANG-BANG-BANG! Dembele hunting down Mbappe! Also France on themselves+BTS

still need to defend better.

Any other side has to. With their deadly firepower, France can simply outscore.

Fair play to the Norway 2nd string, having a go and not doing badly all told.

The disappointment in Mbappe's face when Dembele got the goals, couldn't hide the envy.

Conceding a goal to Norway 2nd XI is not a good sign

Lookin' like a good game. Was wanting to get on goals here but that ship has sailed.

WOW

D3MB3L3

"Conceding a goal to Norway 2nd XI is not a good sign" not a good sign for middling-weak sides. Again, France can just step it up and outscore.

How many does he score against Sweden next?

Ok, I think France win this tournament.

Jun 26, 2026 -- 8:29PM, mesmerised wrote:

The disappointment in Mbappe's face when Dembele got the goals, couldn't hide the envy.

similar to Ronnie Rapist's disgust at Bale's overhead in champions league final

Mbappe being outshone here is good for France going forward.

come on Mbappe, no need for that.

Norway doing their best Scotland impersonation there.

Norway keeper having a good game even if he's conceded 3

Olise needs to brush up on his right-foot finishing.

Surely dreads must weigh you down and slow you down in full flow, can't be good for aerodynamics

mesmerised26 Jun 26 20:29Joined: 10 Nov 10 | Topic/replies: 39,497 | Blogger: mesmerised's blog
The disappointment in Mbappe's face when Dembele got the goals, couldn't hide the envy.

Well Mbappe got assists for the first two goals, serves him right

not the best defending from Dembele there

Dembele's scored more goals in 45 Mins than Kane touched the
ball against Ghana.

what's with the Rugby style gain territory kick off?. Seen Morocco doing this as well.

puts pressure on the opposition to defend deep in their own half

well played Bobb. you young roister doisterer you.

Larsen is an absolutely donkey

SHYTE

Will these absolute thick players ever learn , pathetic dancing and stopping , just run up and whack it .

I'm convinced England would beat France, they actually let you play and run into acres of space

Pathetic effort. Almost as bad a Eze's in CL.

"Blackadder" reference there. one for the Gen Z among us.

A 10 year old kid would have done better

I thought it was an old person's joke Des

One thing a penalty taker has is momentum and speed , then they stop and give all that up . managers should simply say to them if you do it , its the last penalty you take .

Jun 26, 2026 -- 9:16PM, Des Pond wrote:

"Blackadder" reference there. one for the Gen Z among us.

Gen Z are 14 to 29 years old though. ]

A good example of how you should take a penalty, is Didier Drogba's penalty in the Champions League final against Bayern, he took it in nano seconds with bare minimum run up, giving Neuer no time to think.

Yes, mes. And I am an old person. You, on the other hand, are a mere fledgling, although maybe not as young as you like to make out.

France is very black.

Do you lean on the sink for support when brushing your teeth Des?

I remember Euro 96, that's the first tournament, just about old enough to remember Gazza being the length of a hair away from toe poking it in.

Irony, dear boy, Irony.

When pens don't go in with short Drogba type run up. "He should've took a longer run up". The run up is irrelevant. It's the execution that counts.

no. i just take them out and rinse them.

Short run ups don't let keepers have time to have a good guess at which way you're going by judging the way their body is shaping up, it's what they look at most

If short run ups were guaranteed the best way, don't you think it would be the only way by now?

Very practical Des

top corner, if your aim is good enough, and put laces through it. make up your mind before you hit it.

Players are thick dblurmunney, they want to do it their way, including chipping it down the middle and looking an absolute mug when the keeper stands still and catches it

Always think hitting the ball hard into any corner
is the best way to go.

Every player is diff. Some clearly execute better with long run up, while others do with short run up. Some players are now expert at watching keeper indicate which side he's about to dive, so they can slot into empty side.

Any penalty aimed 4/5 feet off the ground and 4/5 feet inside the post, with a reasonable amount

of pace would be impossible for a goalie to save even if he guessed right. Gravity cannot be defied.

This nonsense of trying to outwit the goal keeper with stutter steps is unbelievable coming from

professional players. It can only be put down to one thing: trying to look clever.

An 80 year old with arthritic knees could do better!

But if players all started practicing very short run ups, I would hazard a guess the conversion rate would increase

An 80 year old with arthritic knees could do better! getting my hopes up there.

Norway could've scored 3 or 4 with better finishing. That's my main concern about France winning the thing.

That stadium tannoy noise does my feckin heed in man

Statistically, long run-ups (six steps or more) are significantly better and yield higher conversion rates than short or stuttering run-ups. Have it, mesmerised!
       
Research analyzing thousands of professional penalty kicks reveals the following statistical differences:

Long Run-ups: The International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport analyzed penalties across Europe's top leagues and found that a long run-up is strongly associated with a successful penalty in all locations. Players generate higher, optimal power (approximately 75% of full pace) and maintain better striking accuracy.

Short(mesmerised recommended) Run-ups: The same data shows that short run-ups are not statistically associated with successful penalties. While they are often utilized to try and manipulate the goalkeeper, they limit the player's time to adjust their body, often leading to telegraphed shots or less controlled strikes.

Psychological Factors: Rushing or stalling on a run-up negatively impacts performance. Statistics show that taking more than 4.5 seconds between the referee's whistle and striking the ball (common with complicated, short, or stuttering runs) drops the likelihood of scoring from nearly 90% down to 61%.

Rograin is spot on
Half to 3/4 height plus 3/4 feet inside the post...almost impossible for a keeper to save...easy enough in training, bit harder on the pitch with a big crowd...the keeper looks bigger, the goal looks smaller

Bobb is having a good game

Very interesting DBL. It'salso very unlikely that a player taking a long run up is going to side foot the ball.

Who complied those stats, based on what leagues, what level of play, what period of time etc, far deeper analysis needed rather that cherry picked google searches to get the answer you want

Jun 26, 2026 -- 9:38PM, badjoe wrote:

That stadium tannoy noise does my feckin heed in man

keep thinking I'm waiting for a train.

I imagine most of the data contained larger sample sizes of the longer to medium run up as that's how the majority take pens, far fewer players take shorter run ups

theory is, if everyone started practicing them a la Drogba, given the keeper little to no time to read body languge then the conversion rate will increase

Key Evidence from Research A 2020 study by Mikael Jamil and colleagues analyzed penalties across the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A. It found:Long run-ups (>6 steps): Strongly associated with success in all leagues/countries studied.

Medium run-ups (2–5 steps): Successful in three of the four leagues.

Short run-ups: Not associated with success (performed worse).

This is one of the larger samples examining technique factors like run-up length. Longer approaches likely allow better rhythm, power generation, and consistency while making it harder for the goalkeeper to read the shot early.

Matt le Tiss knew how to take a penalty imo.

Damp squib of a second half...

Mes, trouble is these days, they all want to look cool...roll it in as the keeper dives the wrong way...I would feel pretty cool smashing it in, left right or centre as the goalie floundered

As a France backer, I'm not happy with the chances they keep giving up. Might cost them against stronger teams.

Le Tissier had a great pen record, but I think most of the keepers were s***, bit more sophisticated these days with their analysis.

If players all started shorter runs, that's a massive advantage over the keeper, it's what they have to practice, longer runs up may have performed better statistically but thats in large parts to most players not taking short runs up, it's uncommon. Start practicing them and England might start winning them.

No, Matt Le Tissier did not use a stutter or hesitation in his penalty run-up. Known as one of the greatest penalty takers in football history—converting 47 of 48 professional attempts for Southampton FC—he used a simple, confident, and direct approach.He would take a few steps back, pick a corner, and strike the ball with precision. His method relied on watching the goalkeeper and trusting his technique, allowing him to adjust the placement at the very last second if the goalkeeper committed too early. He was famously against "stutter-step" and flashy run-ups, often criticizing modern players for overcomplicating penalties.

Some top keepers in them days,just as good as todays.

Players almost willing to sell their soul to succeed with a Panenka! So many great ones over the years. But for me, the coolest, most effortless looking, disturbingly nonchalant one that is unlikely to ever be beaten, is Pirlo's in 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXFWmpB-cPQ

I would like to see a penalty aimed at a point 3/4 feet on a diagonal line drawn from the junction

of post and crossbar saved. I doubt it's ever happened since goalies always dive.

On this display France will not win the World Cup.

Great lay price for you, SirNorbertClarke. Go ahead and place your nuts in the vice.

wow

1-4

Good Goal?
Missed it making a tea.

Norway youngsters did alright.

do we have  3hr gap now?!

yes

might go to sleep, its already 1am here

sleep is for the weak

last matches finish 9am ffs

theres  24hr fanzone here but its quite far and probably mad expensoive