BruceVC

@rjshae I see the US game was in Seattle. The vibe and excitement must have been amazing, especially after the win? 2-0 against Australia with Oz scoring an own goal but the US is through to the next stage like Mexico Like I mentioned its always better to see hosting countries progress as far as possible

Yes, it doesn't align with Netanyahu or the Israeli far-rights objectives of how to secure Israel But these objectives were never achievable unless the US was deeply committed to a military conflict and there is no real political appetite or convincing reason in the US for that But Israel will have no choice but to go along with this peace deal because the US has the real influence on them and needs US support on several levels Its not just Israel who would be opposed to this deal, hardliners in Iran and within Hezbollah would also not want it but they also will need to go along with it

This is a big geopolitical development because of the decades long bastion of socialism that Cuba is or was Finally the Cuban state will be moving away from its failed model of socialism and adopting different degrees of privatisation and free market economics Yes US sanctions had a huge influence on this prudent decision but this should have happened 30 years ago when the Cold War ended. Finally the people of Cuba may have a future or at least live in a functional country https://www.reuters.com/world/ameri...omic-reforms-amid-us-stranglehold-2026-06-18/ "HAVANA, June 18 (Reuters) - Cuban lawmakers unanimously approved sweeping reforms backed by the Communist Party and former leader Raul Castro that would privatize a vast swath of the country's socialist economy in a bid to survive punishing U.S. sanctions. The ‌measures, if implemented as passed, would represent the single largest change to Cuba's socialist model since former leader Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and a major shift towards a market economy. The reforms open the door to private real estate development on the Caribbean island, propose to transform state-owned businesses into private commercial ventures with shares and equity stakes and would allow private banks to enter Cuba's once state-dominated finance sector. They would also allow the "sale of state-owned properties to national and foreign legal entities and individuals, including Cubans residing abroad," according to a televised presentation to lawmakers - a major change in a country where the state has long held control over land and industry."

I completed all Kings Quests from 1-6 It was fun. I did use guides for about 30% of most of the games because I didn't have the interest to spend hours trying to find some random Island or somehow know a whale is suppose to swallow you so you can find a critical item But as I mentioned a great nostalgic experience Im now playing Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. Its an adventure, mystery game with a horror Lovecraftian theme Im enjoying it, it took a bit of time to understand how Holmes is suppose to find evidence and progress the story around clues but now I understand all that Im making progress on the dark narrative Its the first Sherlock Holmes game I have ever played

Some interesting games yesterday South Africa vs Czech 1-1. An uninspiring game from both sides but at least we get a point Comprehensive wins for both Canada and Switzerland, Canada scoring 6 goals. Not bad Mexico and Switzerland are the first 2 teams to qualify for the next stage

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil Oil price as expected is dropping nicely, it was down to $76/barrel Its dropping quicker than I expected and the world may get relief from gas\petrol price pressures sooner than expected. Big news for Trump who needs this for Midterms voting sentimen It shows how much the oil price volatility was more about speculation and risk sentiment than supply chain realities because the Straits are open but there is still backlogs around shipping But good news for everyone except for Russia. Global economic collapse averted 👍

Yes, in summary this whole war and this current MOU has achieved one main goal Iran wont get nukes and try to enrich Uranium. Its the same outcome that Obama and the JCPOA reached After all the dust settles if the MOU maintains that's what this fundamentally means from an American objective perspective. So Trump leaving the JCPOA and deciding to attack Iran was unnecessary and a pointless endeavor

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmqzr6p9mo The real MOU is now publicly available. I would encourage everyone who has a genuine interest in the truth about the terms of the current peace deal to read the link above As expected there is lots of SM and general fake news about what the US and Iran agreed on Both sides have had to make concessions and no one gets everything they want. But in summary the main points are both the US and Iranian blockages will be lifted Iran will not be controlling the Straits Iran has agreed to not develop Nukes and stop enriching Uranium Iran will get sanction relief from the US The $300 billion is a reconstruction fund that the US will control but the US doesn't have to contribute towards Each of these points is explained and clarified in more detail in the link I posted And these points will be implemented and measured over the next 60 days Netanyahu will probably be unhappy with this outcome because several of the original Israeli goals have not been ostensibly achieved and this included some of what the US also wanted but this changed over time as a quick win became unachievable . This includes regime change in Iran Iran no longer having ballistic missiles Iran no longer funding its proxies But none of these were realistic goals that could be reasonably achieved or effectively monitored Lets see how things unfold over the next 60 days

England v Croatia was the best game so far of the WC, both teams can be proud of there performance. Where have we seen 4 goals been scored by halftime? The 2 goals Croatia scored were very impressive and there goalkeeper needs a medal, he stopped a lot of attempts But England deserved to win, when they got the 3rd goal early in the second half they were dominant going forward Definitely an exciting game where both teams performed ⚽

Some US FIFA humor

I had to post this, despite how the fan was honest he couldn't speak English I thought it as brilliant. He made his point fine and it was easy to understand the overall sentiment and support for Japan Its an example of the global reach of the WC. Ignore the negative comments, they miss the point and they condescending

Sure but this is similar to what I mentioned to @Malcador England invented football but they havent won in 60 years This seems like the perfect time to get behind England in this WC, I can count on your support Gorthfuscious? 🥳🥳

Im enjoying the expanded teams. It creates more global excitement and interest and it becomes more inclusive It allows a team like Cucacoa to qualify and they have never played on the global WC stage. And as I mentioned previously they had to still qualify in there region which requires skill and commitment I understand the criticism but I think the positive outweighs the negative?

Good to see NZ get a point, interesting how no one in your group has got a win Its wide open for who can progress. I will predict definitely Egypt

So now its the English fans who are the problem, how are they more obnoxious than other fans? Can you be specific Its strange how I come across all this rejection and dislike of England winning the WC on various forums but I cant get a consistent answer about why so many people dont want England to win? And yet so many people love the English League I dont see the difference between English fans, the team or the press compared to other similar countries? But I dont follow football extensively so Im probably not aware of something historical

How is the current England team unlikeable, can you be more specific? Nice Swedish victory against Tunisia, you must be happy Something else about Sweden, what happened to @Azdeus ...is it just me or has he been very quiet lately?

Several interesting games, I only watched the Netherlands vs Japan because of the times they were played Japan is not some B rate team like Curacoa or South Africa but I still expected Netherlands to win and they should have They got complacent after there second goal, you see how aggressive they became in the last 8 minutes after Japan scored. They should have played like Germany and not just started thinking " we won this game lets just defend " But well done to Japan, the fans on both sides at least will be happy with the single point Sweden crushed Tunisia which was an excellent outcome for them Also Germany annihilated Curacao which was to be expected but the real story here is that Curacao was able to qualify and thats the best part of this larger and expanded WC I am embarrassed to admit I had never heard of Curacao I looked them up, its only got a population of 150k and its an autonomous country that is part of Netherlands The point being its an incredible achievement just qualifying for the WC and they did this by beating Barbados, Aruba, Saint Lucia, and Haiti in the regional competition So just scoring a single goal against a country like Germany is already making history for them And its a nice story to hear about even if they don't progress ⚽

The last time England won the WC was 1966 Considering how the professional , modern reality of football was created in England and the global popularity of the English League dont you think 60 years is long enough for England to win the WC again? Who would you think deserves it more considering the winners over the last 60 years? And Im talking about those countries who could realistically win it

We must definitely all get behind England to win once our main teams are knocked out. Out of the 4 teams you mentioned you right about England being the most likely to progress And I see Morocco and Brazil ended up 1-1, I never would have thought that. Well done to Morocco They now the African favorites Al JazeeraVinicius drags low-key Brazil level against dominant Moro...Vinicius Jr individual effort lift Brazil's struggle in team's 2026 tournament opener against Africa champions Morocco.

This is really cute and endearing 🦆 We should post more WC animal clips like this

The game was too late for me to watch, it was at 2 am but I have watched the highlights when I woke up A resounding win by the US and an excellent start to the WC, hopefully they will continue the momentum and they really can win against both Turkey and Australia. The US is in a good group with no serious opponents I always like to see the host country at least getting out the first group because of the positive influence and excitement for the hosting country And good to see Canada not losing for the same reason. At least both Bosnia and Canada both get a point @Malcador You should be happy, I would take a draw over a loss anytime and you should be able to beat Qatar? Which puts you in better position to progress

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/11/us-house-fisa-surveillance-law Trumps appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of intelligence as led the House to reject an extension to a surveillance law Interesting how 19 Republicans voted with the Dems "The measure failed in a 198-218 vote, after Democrats announced they would block the move to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) in protest of Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte, a major Republican donor, as acting director of national intelligence. Republicans attempted to pass the extension using a fast-track process that required a two-thirds majority vote to succeed. They fell well short of success, with 19 members of their own party opposing the bill, in addition to most Democrats."

I enjoyed the opening ceremony, the pageantry was well done even if I didnt understand any of the singing I am looking forward to the ceremonies in the US and Canada today. And the stadium was packed. Not sure how realistic the whole " empty stadiums " concern is going to be. But this was the first game in a hosting country so you would expect it to be full I didnt think SA would win, we ranked 60th and Mexico is 15th and they had home ground advantage and they booed SA at every opportunity ...is that normal now in home grounds? But the game was worst than what I expected because of the 2 red cards. I also am not expecting SA to get out the first group but I will still support them and the overall WC as an event ⚽

How is the US still occupying Iraq now? And the invasion of Afghanistan was about 9/11 and destroying AQ It wasnt the same reason as the invasion of Iraq

Yeah, FIFA has systemic and constant issues around corruption and things it says and does And Infantino has just continued the legitimate criticisms towards FIFA But the WC is always such a great event. You have to try to ignore the politics and just see it as a grand sports event. It still is the worlds most popular sports event despite FIFA and how they run things