Tuesday 10 July 2018

2018 FIFA World Cup Match 61: France - Belgium (discussion)

Let's discuss here the performance of Andrés Cunha s in France - Belgium. Good luck to the officiating team! 
Match #61
Saint Petersburg, 10 July 2018 20:00 CET
France - Belgium
Referee: Andrés Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Fourth Official: César Ramos (MEX)
Fifth Official: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR1: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
AVAR 3: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

172 comments:

  1. A surprising appointment, let's hope Cunha rises to the occasion!

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  2. I just thought... people are saying this was the "hard" semifinal but given the number of teammates and friends between the teams, perhaps Cunha will have an easier game than Cakir.

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    1. Then if Belgium and England reach the final,, final game will be easier than semifinals for referee

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  3. Poor César Ramos forced to wear half sleeve shirt today! 😪

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    1. At first I thought you were referring to the weather which was surprising because it's 61F, which isn't so bad... then I realized it's Ramos, and he loves his long sleeves. :)

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    2. Maybe to be consistent with Cunha's kit... Cunha doesn't like long sleeves at all :D

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    3. He had to sacrifice his customary Long Sleeves to ensure a uniform look amongst the crew.

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  4. The Belgium commentator said that AR2 Espinosa is The Godfather of Goal Line Technology.

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    1. I hope we have a GLT incident on Espinosa's side this game. It would be a nice closure to his story to come full circle like that :)

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  5. 14 minutes played without a single foul whistled by Cunha... Wow!

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    1. *whistled* is the key to this stat, there's been at least one advantage given

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  6. Cunha got caught dodging Pogba's dribble on that play where Pogba passed the ball through to Mbappe; if Mbappe got onto the end of that and the defender challenged him, Cunha would have been in a very difficult position to view the play.

    Not blaming him outright though, as he had to get out of Pogba's way and that left him with nowhere to go. Very challenging situation to develop good positioning from.

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  7. First foul whistled at 17' mark... Is that some kind of a record??

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    1. As I remember Spain-Germany 2010 semifinal Kassai whistled the first freekick after 27 mins :)

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    2. The match ended without a YC as well if I remember correctly... Isn't it??

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    3. Exactly, the disciplinary control was absolutely built up. :)

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    4. From there to the lows of 2017... Unbelievable!

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  8. Damn what is wrong on this wc,,we can't watch replays correctly,,

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    1. Replay is no issue. I want to see tempo and passion. Too many boring matches that look like friendly games.

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    2. Without southAmerican countries its impossible

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  9. His positioning requires improvement he is getting in the way of players and passing lanes

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    1. Agreed. He looks a little unagile. But let's be clear, these picky criticisms we are finding for these referees are not really serious issues in the grand scheme of things.

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    2. I just wanted to say that I don't like the want he runs and position himself.

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  10. Mr.soham ,is it the best way of warning a player?

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    1. It evidently worked well for Cunha in the Spain - Iran game.

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    2. Cunha changes his approach based on games so I'm sure he devises the style based what is most likely to work in a particular game!

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  11. Another missed tight offside?

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    1. No, it was the correct call, Belgium's right back kept him on! The camera angle had me fooled too until the commentator mentioned the right back. Excellent decision.

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  12. Excellent onside call by AR1 Taran, Belgium's right back kept Mbappe onside.

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  13. He gave Hazard an "advantage" on that play. But there was no better advantage for Hazard and Belgium than actually whistling for a foul.

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  14. Nice advantage in 39‘ almost leading to a goal.

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    1. The fouled player was complaining about the advantage as though he wanted a free kick.... and then his team goes and nearly scores and wins a corner. I wish Cunha just looked back at the player and gave him a little wink ;)

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  15. 43': promising attack? YC?

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    1. Rather yes, but there were some Belgian defenders who obstructed the way to the goal. So, no YC is okay in the overall context.

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  16. No yellow there for Dembele? Meh, I guess it's consistent with how the rest of the tournament has been called as far as stopping promising attacks go...

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  17. Is this semifinal really? Another boring game

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    1. This is far from boring. Excellent pace, 1 great chance on each side and few more attempts, and on the other great defensive covering by both sides

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    2. Yeah I don't think this game's been boring. From a referee standpoint year a bit boring, and there haven't been many clear-cut chances, but both teams are playing really well and having good build-up play

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    3. Well now we can see hot game

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  18. Not the highest requirements for Cunha in the first half. He did well and without major mistakes.
    Positive: advantage play, fast movement
    Improvable: positioning near penalty area

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  19. Well not so hard game for Cunha. Maybe missed YC but Ok. Can anybody answer me who will be the favourite to be main referee in final if that is France England.

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    1. I think Alireza Faghani has good chances. Also Sandro Ricci and maybe even Nestor Pitana in my opinion could be possible

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  20. 54’ : Dembele had to be booked. That’s enough ! Bad card management by Cunha, too easy way of refereeing...

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    1. In my opinion for a BAD card management you should miss at least 3 cards. Not just one. Anyway, yes it seems a missed YC

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    2. Well I think at this toornament we saw so many possible YC for SPA not given...So I would not call this a bad management and as long as the game stays calm everything is fine

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    3. Bad management on this action guys. Please note this is the same player than from 43’ mn so clear card here...

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  21. Good yellow for Hazard to take, France could've had a 2-on-1 counterattack. Easy yellow for Cunha, and with Belgium pressing forward in need of another goal you might see a few more similar plays like that. France is so dangerous on the counter.

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  22. I see Ramos has donned the FIFA jacket, hiding his forearms from the vicious light again.

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  23. Replies
    1. Looked to be a promising attack to me (though admittedly it was tough to tell because the television operator decided to go for a close-up at the worst possible time...)

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  24. Still not demanding for Cunha, but I must say that he does very well. Collina and Busacca will be happy if nothing happens in the last minutes of the game.

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  25. And where is yellow for witsel???

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  26. Missed YC in '74 for Witsel

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  27. For me clear YC for Witsel missed after hard foul on griezmann

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  28. And now for Fellaini..m.Stop with the leniency.

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  29. WoW WoW WoW, this osn’t YC for pulling ?! Come on...

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  30. Replies
    1. Clear foul,how he missed it

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    2. I think it was a foul but Giroud touched the ball so slightly, I can understand Cunha‘s decision to play on

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    3. I guess anybody can force themselves to see something, even when there is nothing ("slight touch of the ball") to see.

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  31. What a mistake in very promising position not to give foul for Belgium.

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  32. how it cannot be a foul???

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  33. First mistake, no Free Kick for Belgium after foul on Hazard “79

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  34. Foul or no for you guys on Giroud on Hazard? Giroud gets a VERY tiny touch of the ball and a big chunk of Hazard's leg... acceptable decision but it could go either way, what do you guys think? Cunha was in excellent position.

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    1. He was and because of that his mistake is even bigger. How could he miss that?

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    2. Touch? I've seen multiple teplrep from multiple angles and haven't been able to to see the slight touch that some of you claim.

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    3. Look closely again Sheriff, he just very slightly nicks the ball.

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  35. What a miss by Cunha. Unbelievable.
    On that level , in a sf of WC....
    Foul detection beyond all expectations in a easy match.

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    1. What's so crucial here to be unbelievable?

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    2. Are you expecting to see crucial mistakes in all WC matches? And be happy if game ended without crucial mistake?
      I think that we must expecting top class referring.

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    3. Unbelievable is that ref can't detect clear foul from 3 meters.

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Are we watching the same match?

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    2. We we have GLT so no worried about missed goals with the Uruguay crew 😉😉

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    3. And penalties for handling...

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    4. Yes sorry I exaggeraded a bit because of Mbappé things. Overall a solid performance.

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  37. easy game but the only challenging scene, he missed. he is lucky that the game was so easy. He was also awful in SPAIN-IRAN.

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    1. Clearly FIFA is of a different opinion than you

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  38. As a referee you look rediculous trying to "sell" a call that you clearly missed. Cunha with a great and clear sightlines, missed Girouds clear foul. And as such deprived Belgium of a promising free kick from a great position on the pitch.

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  39. Foul on Hazard 100%. First serious mistake.

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  40. And now this yc for Kante was little foul compared to Witsel,Dembele or Fellaini fouls

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    1. Balancing with cards, I agree.
      But it's clever decision IMO

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    2. Agree with M...clear disharmony card management...

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  41. So we can eliminate Cunha for final :)

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  42. Don't use the count the fouls tactic when the player yourey cautioning isn't guilty of persistent infringement.

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  43. Come on guys, are you serious? Are you watching a different game? Cunha is far away from losing control and being biased. He‘s doing a pretty decent job with some minor mistakes like everyone does in a football match. Sometimes I have the impression that every small mistake like a wrong corner or a missed foul is treated like a crucial mistake.
    6 minutes of additional time is adequate.

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    1. He is not biased. That missed foul in promising position was his only big mistake. No one will talk about him after the game (as cause for Belgium's loss).

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    2. In a match where every single set play matters. And you deprive a team of a free kick in a promising position. On a play where you miss a clear cut foul. It does matter and it does make a difference.

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    3. A big decision which could have changed a World Cup semi final. You can’t miss a call like that when you’re standing right in front of it, 2 yards away. Sorry.

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    4. Some people have absolutely no common sense on here, it really scares me!. A solid display in Semi final, overall totally in control and he should be very proud! Aye he missed a free kick, so be it, sometimes you can be too close to an incident. saying it is a major error nonsense. If it was in the centre of the park we don't care. No one is talking about Chuna at the end of this match. Well done to him and his team.

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  44. YC to Mbappe OK, but IMHO at least a word to Witsel for his reaction...

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    1. Agreed, I would have gone with yellow to both of them.

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    2. How it’s possible to let Witsel push violently Mbappé as he wanted...No charisma here.

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  45. Perhaps a soft yellow for Vertonghen but I believe in the first half, Cunha had warned Vertonghen for another foul against Mbappe so he can't really complain.

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  46. Good game from Cunha, I'm sure he'll be very happy with how he did! A night to remember for him, in the biggest game of his life.

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    1. Exactly my opinion:) Not a perfect game but he will always have great feelings when he thinks back to this night because overall a good performance.

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  47. So many harsh comments...Cunha on expected level...nobody will talk about the refs. Well done Cunha! Minor mistakes in the game, 8,2-8,3 level.

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    1. Agree about expected level. But clear mess with cards and positioning. Big mistake on Hazard’s foul forgotten. So-so performance.

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    2. Agreed, not sure what everyone here is on about. Not a perfectly polished game, some small areas for improvement, but full control, excellent card management, and no serious mistakes. A very happy night for Cunha! 8.2 IMO.

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    3. Come Soccer Guy...Excellent card management ? What a joke! YC for Kanté instead of clear and obvious cautions forgotten in Witsel and Fellaini. Dembele had to be booked twice...So not an excellent one...please...

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    4. Agree with soccer guy, without that sentance about card managment

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    5. Minor mistakes are missed free kicks on halfway....not missing clear fouls just outside the box in key areas with 10 mins to go in a World Cup semi final when you’re right in front of the foul.

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    6. Hmm you're right Benoit, I was wrong to say card management was "excellent." It wasn't bad though, just average.

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    7. Agree with average. Average performance by Cunha at all :)

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  48. If he didn't lose control he must be thankful Belgium players,,they didn't make any pressure to him ,, especially after hazard position,,,I can't imagine there would be Ramos or mascherano

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  49. Expected level, some mistakes, the biggest the blatant missed free kick for the foul on Hazard. Otherwise fine.

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    1. Biggest miss was the foul hazard made on matuidi

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    2. I share every single word.
      Skill to improve (a lot): positioning

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    3. Agreed, positioning was not great. Management of players I thought was very good.

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  50. Excellent job by Cunha. Excellent job by Collina by assigning him to this game. He definitely knew that Cunha can control this game and he did. He kept his cards in his pocket because he knew he would need them at the end and he did. Another world class officiating

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    1. You guys are way too generous and not impartial.

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  51. IMO Cunha absolutely acceptable in a game which got challenging only in the last 20 minutes. Some minor mistakes - nothing crucial at all. Positioning improvable, good and clear communication, foul detection and card management average. Always full control of the match. Good teamwork with AR. No reason for harsh critics - even if some here would have liked to see s.o.else being in charge.

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    1. Perfect analysis. A good performance with some small areas to improve.

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    2. I keep seeing ‘minor mistakes’ being said. Potential game altering decisions are not minor.

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    3. What decision was "potentially game altering?"

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  52. Congratulations to Andrés Cunha, it was an expected level performance in a not so demanding semi final. I'm sure that he, Collina and Busacca will be very happy as there wasn't any controversy and therefore there will be no talk about the referee - that's the most important thing!
    We can talk about some minor decisions, but the overall impression (management, match control,...) was very good. Cunha can look back to a great World Cup if it's his last appointment. There are some (minor) chances for him to be fourth official in one of the last two games.

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    1. Exactly, agree 100%
      People can always find mistakes and zoom in on them.

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    2. There were no major decisions so we automatically zoom in on smaller things like the foul on Hazard.

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    3. You mean the foul by Hazard on Matuidi hopefully. That was the biggest mistake.

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  53. Good game by Cunha. Expected level. But we have to say that this game became easier because of the behaviour of the players. I mean, if Argentina was in the place of Belgium, it could get out of hand. But all in all Cunha can be satisfied with his game!

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    1. But I would argue that if it was Argentina instead of Belgium, a referee like Cunha would change his strategy. As others have mentioned somewhere earlier on this blog, Cunha at this World Cup has shown the ability to enter a game with different strategies.

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    2. Yes that could be the case. Cunha has shown that he is a very good referee!

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  54. Good Cunha overall in a normal difficulty game... Small mistakes here and there but an expected level performance overall... My mark will be 8.3 :)

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    1. He was lucky. The player respected him otherwise it could be different

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    2. As a referee he take calculated risks and sometimes they pay off... So credit where it's due!:)

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  55. And who is more dishonest I can't decide Neymar or Mbappe,,they are great players but they must stop this type behaviors

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    1. There is no comparecment between them and their beheaviour

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    2. Agreed, Mbappe isn't an angel but I think we're forgetting already just how awful Neymar is.

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    3. We can’t blame Mbappé here, that’s a normal behavior in a WC SF.

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  56. VAR Final (predictions):
    Tomorrows team or
    Irrati as VAR
    Gil as AVAR1: an expermeinsed AVAR1
    Astroza or Borsch
    Zwayer (maybe not after Orsato incident) Orsato or Valeri

    Maybe we can see also a full Italien Team and Gil

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  57. Cunha aceptable in one easy match.
    But Cunha is not one of best four referees.

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  58. Not a huge fan of him previously, but solid match today, only the one missed free kick stood out. Other than that, good performance.

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  59. He did well but for me missed foul on Hazard and also missed two YC's for SPA.

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    1. Biggest miss was the foul Hazard made on Matuidi. Clear yellow card.

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    2. You mean the confrontation between Hazard and Matuide after the missed foul on Hazard? That means a missed 2nd YC for Hazard.

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    3. For me it could have been a 2nd YC for Hazard because he hit matuidi with his knee high

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  60. A very poor error at 79' missing the foul by Giroud, which would have given a great free kick opportunity to Belgium.

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  61. for the third place, will be Diedhiou with Conger, and the final will be awarded for Faghani. Maybe Rocchi or Mazic as FO.

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    1. Correct on 3rd place game. That’s the common thought. Faghani is not a referee you want controlling a final. When you bump heads with a player, you can’t control your emotions. Not a man for the final.

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  62. Replies
    1. Why don't you think that?

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    2. I think, Alberto Monty Python should declare his statement as a PREDICTION.

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    3. Sorry, I meant to write "What makes you think that?"

      Out of all names why do you think that a referee appointed as 4th official for a SF will get the Final? @Alberto

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