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Thursday, July 05, 2018 - 21:15 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Quick Ins And Outs

Spain are out. I finally remembered why I had never fancied their all-conquering 2008-2012 vintage, when it became clear that they were never actually going to run at Russia, even in extra time when the hosts were basically dead on their feet. Smashing the previous pass record by nearly 10% is one thing, but why not just have a go at it? Then again, had Mr. Shakira not sneakily raised his hand back up defending a cross, they could well have coasted all the way...

For all the talk about the brackets being unbalanced, there don't seem any clear favourites to me - yes, Mbappé was outstanding for France, but they also conceded three against Argentina, and Uruguay are looking deceptively clinical; as one fella put it, they're "...very pragmatic, defensively strong, lethal on the counter, technically excellent, and (with) a very healthy dose of cynicism". Suárez might not be a good ethical role model, but as an all-round forward, I can't see many others that a defender would rather not face.

With Ronaldo and Messi possibly having made their World Cup bows (if not without their supporters bringing their rivalry offline), Neymar would probably be one of the few fitting that description. Again, however, while this Brazil team doesn't have obvious weaknesses, they just lack that extra pizzaz, and Neymar continuing with his best impression of a seizure patient has made it very hard to root for them...

The true stars of the Round of Sixteen were perhaps Japan, who took an entirely-deserved two goal lead against Belgium, with only forty minutes left to play. It was only then that the Belgians remembered that they were like a head taller than their opponents (as foreshadowed by the Japanese coach), and began to play to their strengths by bombarding the box. Given that their official Twitter account tagged WWE wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura rather than former United star Shinji Kagawa, one might rightly suspect that they hadn't done their homework. In any event, Japan's poor psychic octopus has committed sashimi for the dishonourable failure.

Which brings us to our new champions - England. Almost the antithesis of Spain in their largely-uncalculated and direct style, they were entertaining in an unassuming way, but no less dangerous for it. With technical, possession-based sides, one could try to pack the defence before they set up their patterns and reverse flicks and whatnot. But what when England just pumps it at Kane or Vardy, with three or four others converging in the general area?

Perhaps they might not know exactly what they want to do, but this means that the opponents can't know either. They might not have many true household names, unlike the days of yore, but they have exhibited excellent team spirit and understanding, and just as importantly, are no longer automatic losers at penalties. Maybe, just maybe...


In: Level 40

Achieved today at 4:50 p.m., with a Great Throw on a Weedle making the 20 million XP threshold, right on time for a planned level cap increase. Granted, the truly hardcore players have hit that multiple times, but it's still been a very satisfying two-year long journey.


Out: oBike

Right on the tail of Uber's exit, another transport provider is headed for the exit, with bike-sharing firm oBike blaming parking legislation for making its business model non-viable. Users were more concerned about their S$49 deposit, which now seems unlikely to be refunded. Oh, and remember oBikeCoin, presented as an example of a dubious application of blockchains? No? Well, a disgruntled cryptobro has done some digging, which has since been picked up by mothership. On the other hand, this might also be understood as another example of how entrepreneurship isn't all it's cracked up to be, when all one's work can be killed by a single governmental directive.



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