The Socceroos have defeated Denmark, thanks to a brilliant counter-attacking goal by Matthew Leckie, securing themselves a spot in the knockout round of the Qatar World Cup.

The Socceroos’ $58 million dollar squad have beaten Denmark’s $545 million squad to book themselves a ticket into the World Cup round of 16.

Denmark’s squad being almost 10 times more expensive than Australia’s, and ranked number 10 in the world (Australia is ranked 38th), this is yet further proof anything can happen in football.

The game started with Denmark applying all the pressure. But they didn’t take their chances and the Socceroos defended well, with some last minute heroics keeping the score 0-0. We even had a little attacking run of our own at the end of the first half.

What a result @Socceroos

— Chris Towers (@ChrisTowers_88) November 30, 2022

In the second half Denmark came at us again, but an excellent 60′ goal by Matthew Leckie, just as Denmark were about to put a couple of substitutes on, proved decisive. Australian Twitter users have already begun to express their delight.

So proud of the #Socceroos You did so well and we proudly watched at 4am. Well done guys.

— Ali (@PinkMagicAli) November 30, 2022

The runner up of the Socceroos’ Group D will play the Group C winner. At this stage, this looks likely to be Lionel Messi’s Argentina, provided they beat Poland at 6am on Thursday morning. If they don’t beat Poland then Australia could also feasibly play Poland or Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 (depending on how their results go).

• The Controversial Plan To Improve The Socceroos
• Denmark’s $545 Million Squad Is 9 Times More Expensive Than The Socceroos

The post Socceroos Do The Unthinkable, Advance To Round 16 Of World Cup appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Denmark arent’ even that much of a titan in football (they are the number 10 ranked team in the world). But they still have the financial firepower to hose Australia off 9 times over.

According to Transfermarket.com, Denmark’s World Cup 2022 squad is worth €353 million ($545 million AUD). Australia’s squad, on the other hand, is worth an estimated €37.3 million ($58 Million AUD). If the statistics are correct, Denmark’s squad is almost 10 times more expensive than Australia’s.

Ouch.

Before you get too disheartened, have at this: all Australia needs to progress (provided Tunisia do not beat France) is a draw. After our landmark win over Tunisia on Saturday night, we are in a rare position: one where we might actually make the last 16 of a World Cup.

The only thing standing in our way is Denmark’s $545 million squad (the number 10 ranked squad in the world by FIFA). And judging by the Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand’s recent press conference, they are not taking the Socceroos lightly.

“They have really some strengths in the team, individually but mostly as a team – just like we do,” Hjulmand said. “We also define ourself as a very strong unit and a team that works very well together.”

“It’s a well-organised football team with strength in the organisation and the way they work together. They attack together, they defend together, and they stick to a plan. They have some quality players with some strengths we have to be sure we are aware of, both with the young players but also the experienced players. We know this – we met them four years ago as well.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Optus Sport (@optussport)

As for the future of soccer in Australia, there are various initiatives in the works to grow the sport. One proposed way to improve the level of the A-League, for instance, is the introduction of a domestic transfer system.

This idea has divided opinion among stakeholders. According to Optus Sport, the CEO of Football Australia, James Johnson, “believes this reform will create a free market that allows Australian football to tap into a global marketplace worth $8-10 billion.” The PFA and APL are not convinced, however, “citing concerns that players could be priced out of the professional game and competitive balance,” Optus Sport reports.

The main drawback feared is that it could make the A-League less competitive (some clubs would inevitably do better than others and then money and talent would pool at the top) and potentially put some current players out of a job or get replaced.

For the moment, then Australia remains a very small fish in a transfer market worth up to $10 billion. To put that into perspective, while, in 2021, countries like America and Japan had a transfer spend of $159.9 million and $31.2 million respectively (and had 37 and 24 players respectively at tier one clubs), Australia had a transfer spend of $0 (and four players at tier one clubs).

As for the heavy weight countries like France, Spain, Germany and England, you can only imagine the transfer spend they would have racked up in 2021…

This is all to say that if we beat Denmark tonight, we can all gives ourselves a very well deserved pat on the back…

• The Controversial Plan To Improve The Socceroos
• Why The Socceroos Could Actually Smash France

The post Denmark’s $545 Million Squad Is 9 Times More Expensive Than The Socceroos appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

“Never go full Tony Stark” might be good advice. But Dan Bilzerian isn’t really one for conventional wisdom. To that (hopefully not grisly) end, Bilzerian appears to have traded his private jet (at least temporarily) for a jetpack, preparing to blast off Tony Stark style in a recent video…

Guns. Weed. Muscles. Clown cars. Poker. Dan Bilzerian is known for many things, but he’s never been a superhero in a Marvel movie. Though his cinematic debut may still be a long way off, his life may as well be a movie. And The Instagram Capitalist appears to be living more and more like Tony Stark. Not only did he recently stay in a Tony Stark esque $20,000 a night home, but he now appears to have got his mitts on a jetpack.

Bilzerian shared a video with his followers recently, showing them a video of himself walking around with a bizarre kind of contraption strapped to his arms, which appears capable of pushing out air, enabling the user to hover around like an ungainly bird. Bilzerian then posted a follow-up video of a figure actually doing the jetpack antics, with a private jet in the background, though it is not evident whether it is him or somebody else.

WATCH: Dan Bilzerian’s Wild ‘Jetpack’ Experiment

In other Bilzerian news, the self-styled playboy recently spoke with Youtuber Adam22, where he revealed the one thing he hasn’t yet ticket off his bucket list.

Adam22 asked Bilzerian: “When I look at your life, you’ve pretty much done all that you can do. What are the things that stand out to you [and that you] really wanna tick off?”

Bilzerian replied: “I want to become a billionaire. That’s the last real thing on my bucket list.”

Bilzerian added: “It’s not really about the money, because in fact I’ll probably just give most of it away.”

RELATED: What It Costs To Have Your Own Private Jet Like Dan Bilzerian

“Or maybe I’ll even downgrade [my life]. Actually that was one of the things I wanted to do if I became a billionaire – go work at Walmart for like six months, live in a s****y apartment and just like completely reset.”

“I’ve been meaning to do that for a while. That’s kind of the last mountain that I want to climb.”

Well, that’s not the answer you might have expected, but there you go.

• Dan Bilzerian, Modern Gandhi, Reveals His Secret To A Happy Life
• Dan Bilzerian Confirms He Is Not A Married Man With Wild Mykonos Photo

The post F*ck Private Jets: Dan Bilzerian Is Cruising Around With A Jetpack appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

We’ve had towers that look like penises and buildings that look like bread baskets, but did you know Qatar has a stadium that looks like a vagina?

Australia is set to take on Denmark tonight at 2am AEST. The much anticipated World Cup clash, with both nations vying for a place in the final 16, is to take place in a stadium that some people think looks like a vagina.

When it was first unveiled, The Guardian journalist Holly Baxter said the accidental resemblance was “most gratifying” and that “with its shiny, pinkish tinge, its labia-like side appendages and its large opening in the middle, the supposedly innocent building was just asking for trouble.”

Cosmo’s sex and relationships editor (at the time) Anna Breslaw, for her part, said: “I’m no expert, but I think those are labia.”

The Al Wakrah stadium was built by the late Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid, who hit back at critics who said her stadium looks like a vagina, calling the claims “ridiculous.”

At the time, she said: “It’s really embarrassing they come up with nonsense stuff like this. What are they saying? Everything with a hole in it is a vagina? That’s ridiculous.”

She added: “If a guy had done this project there wouldn’t have been the same level of criticism.”

Aecom, the design firm that won the Al-Wakrah contract with Zaha Hadid, said the design was based on a traditional Qatari dhow boat.

The Al Wakrah stadium has 40,000 seats and air-conditioning. The air conditioning works by pushing cold air through 100 ventilation units into the stadium. The stadium also has a 92-metre retractable roof to give players and fans shade.

When the World Cup is over, the top level of the stadium will reportedly be taken apart and shipped to the developing world.

Hadid’s other works included the Aquatics Centre at the 2012 London Olympics, the MAXXI Museum in Italy and the Guangzhou Opera House in China.

RELATED: World Cup Fan Shows FIFA How It’s Done, Creates His Own VAR

As for tonight’s game, Denmark come into it the betting favourite. However, after only taking one point from their last two games, and with Australia on a high after beating Tunisia, the Danes are feeling the nerves.

At a recent press conference, Denmark Manager Kasper Hjulmand said: “With football you can multiply your feelings by 10, and the fear of losing is very, very much involved. How can we best handle that? These considerations you have to make.”

“Of course there’s pressure. But we are very solid and a very good group. We are never alone – we do things together. We win, we lose, we fight … but we are together.”

• ‘Bonkers’ Video Proves Why England Fans Are The Best In The World
• Viral Footage Emerges Of ‘Entire Plane’ Watching The World Cup

The post Australia vs. Denmark Clash To Take Place Inside ‘Vagina Stadium’ appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

A hilarious video has shown yet again why English fans are known as the World Game’s most boisterous, with scenes of supporters sliding along tables on their stomachs, dancing on table tops, taking their tops off and necking beer while lying down.

If this is what they’re like when they qualify for the round of 16, can you imagine what it’s going to be like if they win the final? England beat Wales 3-0 last night, with the Welsh putting on a poor performance, culminating in Gareth Bale getting only seven touches of the ball and then getting subbed at half time.

WATCH: England fans go bananas after beating Wales

Wales had possession just 26% of the time in the first half, but at least kept the score at 0-0.

England scored 3 goals in the second half, however, to pin themselves as numero uno Group B. They will play Senegal in the next round.

Footage of English fans celebrating, posted to TikTok by LADBible, have shown why English fans have such a reputation. The video shows one man “swimming” along a table on his stomach (and trying to drink a beer while lying down), others dancing around with their tops off (and singing “Freed from desire”), spraying each other with drinks and generally having a whale of a time.

Turns out those cheeky “you’re going home in the morning” chants were right.

On TikTok, people were quick to remark on the fans’ passion (and some England fans even chimed in themselves). One wrote: “I’m a simple English fan. Beer and free from desire and that’s it!!!”

Another wrote: “Let’s see if this is how they’ll be like for the final.” Further comments included: “Back to booing their own next game” and “#itscominghome COME ON ENGLAND!”

RELATED: ‘Excuse Me, Where Is Messi?’ GOAT Fan Rant Goes Viral

More keyboard patters included: “class,” “HARRY KANE” and “You guys are on a different level babe.”

Not everyone was stoked. One grouch called the scenes pathetic, writing: “Grown men. I’m English and you beat Wales ffs a rugby nation. Bore off.”

Another said: “scotland party better.”

Let’s see if Australia can match these scenes tonight when we take on Denmark for a place in the final 16 for the first time since 2006.

• Viral Footage Emerges Of ‘Entire Plane’ Watching The World Cup
• World Cup Fan Shows FIFA How It’s Done, Creates His Own VAR

The post ‘Bonkers’ Video Proves Why England Fans Are The Best In The World appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

For the uninitiated, paying big bucks for rare or unusual license plates might seem completely ludicrous, but it’s definitely a ~thing~… Especially in Dubai, where some plates – like this one that was recently spotted in the wild – are worth millions.

A recent video shared on TikTok shows a Rolls-Royce Cullinan (a car which already costs at least US$350,000) rolling down a highway in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city wearing license plate #1 – which is easily one of the most expensive number plates in the world.

Dubai #1 was reportedly purchased at auction back in 2008 by billionaire businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri for the princely sum of 52.2 UAE dirham (~US$14.3 million), setting the record for the most expensive license plate of all time.

While there are other plates that have either sold or been valued higher, we have no doubt that accounting for inflation, Dubai #1 would remain the most expensive license plate in the world. It’s a lot of money for a piece of aluminium…

WATCH a $14 million license plate stun traffic in Dubai below.

You might be asking yourself: why would someone spend such an insane amount of money on a license plate? Well, they’re actually a surprisingly good investment.

As rare license plate expert Chris Bowden explains, “how many other asset classes do you know that are theft-proof? If someone steals the plate off my car, they don’t own it. I just go with my little folder down to the service centre and I’m good.”

RELATED: Heritage Number Plates Are This Year’s Hottest Investment

Unlike a rare or classic car, car registrations don’t degrade over time, so you can ‘enjoy’ your investment stress-free. They’re kind of the original NFT. That’s before we start talking about how dramatically they appreciate…

Not all registrations are worth a packet, though. Low numbers (especially #1) are always worth plenty, as are plates with repeating digits or that have pop culture significance e.g. 666, 69, 420, 58008 – you get the picture. It also depends on the country/culture: for instance, plates with multiple 8s are worth more in Asian countries.

Interestingly, the top two most expensive license plates in the world aren’t single-digit plates.

The most expensive plate in the world is reportedly California plate ‘MM’, which has been valued at US$24.3 million. Two-character plates are exceedingly rare in the US, especially ones that use the same character – indeed, there are only 35 of them across the entire country. California ‘MM’ also comes with its own NFT, for added security.

The second most expensive plate is UK plate ‘F1’, which is reportedly up for sale for US$20 million. Guess those Poms love their Formula 1… Fun fact: the current owner, Afzal Kahn (an automotive designer and entrepreneur) currently has it attached to his Bugatti Veyron. Must be nice.

UPDATE 1/12/22: turns out the registration in the video is actually Ras Al-Khaimah plate ‘Y1’. Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.

As one of our DMARGE readers pointed out, “unless you are a Sheikh, all number plates are alphanumeric so there are 26 plates of each number combination available… What is more valuable is to collect all letters for your plate combination… As far as I know, nobody can even buy A-Z #1 in Dubai as all of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Cars are #1 without a letter.”

It’s still an unbelievably expensive plate, although maybe not quite $14 million. For reference, a Chinese expat billionaire bought Ras Al-Khaimah plate ‘X1’ for a whopping 8.3 million UAE dirham (~US$2.26 million) last year.

• Australian Car Number Plate Sells For A Record $2.2 Million
• Rolls-Royce Unveils Its First-Ever Electric Car, The Spectre… & It’s A Stunner

The post $14 Million Dubai #1 License Plate Spotted In The Wild appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Ah, the humble man cave. It’s been called the “last bastion of masculinity”, and every man either has one (or wants one). But not all man caves are humble – just check out this positively palatial one this ritzy Melbourne mansion boasts…

From the outside, 3 Grevillea Close in Hillside in Melbourne’s north-west looks reasonably unassuming… Or at least as unassuming as an acre-and-a-half, 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom suburban palace can be.

But if you head around the back, you’ll discover a fully self-contained, double-storey man cave par excellence, with its own kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a whole-ass 1950s American-style diner and bar located on the second storey.

Not only is the mega-shed completely covered in motoring memorabilia and Americana, but it has space for 6 cars, with the entire property capable of housing 12 vehicles. What a party trick.

Speaking of parties, according to the agents, as many as 300 guests have attended special events at the home, which apart from the man cave, also boasts two huge undercover entertaining areas on either side of the house, and tropical gardens with a koi pond, a water feature and Balinese-style hut, The Herald Sun reports.

RELATED: ‘Crazier Than A Quaalude Trip’: Wolf Of Wall Street Mansion Goes Up For Sale

They’re hoping for between $3-3.3 million for the place, which doesn’t seem unreasonable… The only catch? The koi fish and diner fittings are part of the sale, but all the motoring collectibles are not.

Guess you’ll have to buy a few Mustangs to fill out the place…

• Australia’s Pet Obsession Is Changing The Way We Work, Date & Buy Property
• 4 Simple Steps To Finding Rare ‘Off-Market’ Property Deals

The post Melbourne Mansion With Secret Car Lover’s ‘Man Cave’ Up For Sale appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Prolific restauranteur Salt Bae has set a wild new record. On Sunday he served 1,356 people at his restaurant in Doha.

The Qatar World Cup is doing Salt Bae’s bottom line wonders. How so? On Sunday, Salt Bae’s Doha restaurant cooked up an absolute storm, with 1,356 people having a chomp at the Doha digs – a record-breaking number for the joint.

WATCH: Salt Bae cooks up a feat for World Cup fans

“1,356 people were served at the restaurant in Doha on Sunday. Here is a new record, thank you all,” Salt Bae wrote at 01:48am.

If people spent an average of $250 per head, the restaurant would have earned 339 thousand bucks in one night. Not a bad innings at all.

Videos posted to Salt Bae’s Instagram story show him preparing his signature meat dishes, while long lines of people queued up to get into the Doha restaurant. Other videos showed World Cup fans passionately eating and talking inside, wearing all sorts of costumes.

In other Salt Bae news, the Turkish titan has recently been snapped with Piers Morgan, “realized that we should open a new @nusr_et Restaurant in Mexico” and hosted the Spanish national soccer team.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nusr_et#Saltbae (@nusr_et)

Just another week in the life of Salt Bae. The 39-year-old is certainly a whole lot more than a meme these days.

• Dubai Restaurant’s $1,000 Gold Steak Is Even More Ridiculous Than Salt Bae’s
• Salt Bae Reveals The Secret To His Insane Success After All These Years

The post Salt Bae Sets Staggering Restaurant Record In Qatar appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Canadian author and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson sparked debate on Twitter last night, criticising Australian flagship airline Qantas’ ‘welcome to country’ message.

Controversy follows Jordan Peterson wherever he goes. His fans claim it’s because he’s clear-headed and society has gone mad. His critics claim it’s because his views are outdated and offensive (but that’s a debate for another time).

We’re here today to discuss his critique of Qantas. Taking to Twitter last night, Peterson wrote: “I could really do without the land acknowledgment propaganda delivered to me by a corporate behemoth @Qantas. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. Stick to (1) flying and (2) making money. I don’t want or need moral lessons from you or any other corporation.”

I could really do without the land acknowledgment propaganda delivered to me by a corporate behemoth @Qantas. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. Stick to (1) flying and (2) making money. I don’t want or need moral lessons from you or any other corporation.

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) November 28, 2022

One Twitter user agreed, writing: “Unless the land is being given back, ‘land acknowledgments’ always sound to me like taunts.” Peterson replied: “Precisely. Hypocritical to the ultimate degree ‘we’ll keep the land but please like us because we’re so nice.'”

Underneath Peterson’s thread, one Twitter user wrote: “With the greatest respect, this issue is way beyond your domain of competence. Recognition of Traditional Owners is a practice widely accepted across the Australian political spectrum. It is not propaganda. There are some issues you as a visitor should leave alone.”

Another, Sydney-based entrepreneur Matthew Browne, said: “Whilst I believe acknowledgments have become an overused / box ticking exercise for many organisations, I personally think a welcome to country when arriving in Australia from overseas is one of the most appropriate and respectful occasions for our national carrier to use one.”

Another social media user asked: “Can you explain this? I’m not for or against it, but it’s a acknowledgement of this country’s history and traditional owners. It respects history. Is there something inherently bad about that?”

A truly fascist vision: “everything will be integrated… governments, media and the general corporate world employing big data”: the ultimate vision of a top-down centralizer. Reject this “tsunami” of “progress.” https://t.co/bbtiBQfQRa

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) November 28, 2022

Another said the acknowledgement is simply the first step to more substantial structural action, writing: “Acknowledgment could [be] step 1.”

Some Twitter accounts lent their support to Peterson, with one writing: “YES I’m so glad someone finally said it! I can’t stand it. I am paying you to fly me from Sydney to Brisbane, not push your PC nonsense.”

Others said things like “it started as something nice that was said on occasion… Now every peanut at every event fears repercussions if they don’t say it” and “It’s so tiresome. It’s become like a prayer at any remotely official event in Australia. But one that no-one either really believes or even knows the meaning of.”

Further comments on Twitter included: “If you like Australia, just wait until you go to New Zealand” and “Jordan… what have you become? Id [sic] haved followed you blindly 6 years ago. This stuff doesnt concern you. Youre becoming what ive been saying your not.”

Another few comments were: “It’s a part of efforts to speak the truth, seek justice & move forward” and “I see it as part of the reconciliation process that is ongoing and necessary – not propaganda.”

Peterson’s criticism of Qantas’ ‘welcome to country’ appears to stem from a broader (some would say conspiracy-adjacent) critique that “globalism” and “corporate overlords” are getting too powerful (a critique of society that you also hear from Peterson’s left-wing critics – maybe they just need to all go to Coachella or something and hash it all out?).

“A truly fascist vision: ‘everything will be integrated… governments, media and the general corporate world employing big data’: the ultimate vision of a top-down centralizer. Reject this ‘tsunami’ of ‘progress.'”

Jordan Peterson sounding remarkably like an anarchist…

Another recent Tweet from Peterson was: “I think it’s pretty much time to reject all this: removal of paper towels from public washrooms, ‘save the environment’ towel reuse messages in hotels, C02 footprint indications by airlines. Up yours, corporate overlords. Go away and leave us alone.”

Yet another was: “I preferred my multinationals simply greedy. Now they’re greedy and oh-so-better than their customers. It’s sickening.”

At the time of writing, Qantas has not directly responded to Peterson’s tweet.

During a conversation from earlier this year on the Uncomfortable Conversations podcast, host Josh Szeps also discussed ‘welcome to country’ statements. He explained that it is much more embedded in the Australian cultural ethos than the American one, adding: “I do it because one must and I do it not only because one must but because I hope that it actually achieves something.”

“Whether it does, I don’t know. Well, I do know, it achieves something. It telegraphs something to someone but whether it’s a game that non-indigenous people are playing with each other in order to avoid reckoning with the actual theft of the land that they would rather not reckon with in order to avoid dealing with the real disparities of income and wellbeing that they would rather not deal with.”

“Maybe it’s a precursor, maybe it’s a necessary step on the path towards true racial justice or maybe it’s a distraction. My conflictedness over that is something that is something that is very difficult to talk about in public because you risk coming off as seeming dismissive towards the overall concerns of Indigenous Australians.”

Guest at the time, Tyson Yunkaporta, a researcher, writer, and traditional wood carver who works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University, said of Peterson (when asked by Szeps about Peterson’s championing of grand narratives): “Your Petersons, they’ll take something that has a core of truth to it then they’ll wrap it up in several layers of bullshit and keep spinning it out.”

“Jordan’s right about ‘clean your room and be nice to people,'” Yunkaporta added. “He gives people that gift and young men are so overwhelmed with gratitude. Then they just swallow hook, line and sinker all the other bullshit.”

RELATED: Is Joe Rogan A Public Health Menace Or A Modern Version Of Plato? An Investigation

Yunkaporta also, during another moment in the podcast, told Szeps that there was a lot of “window dressing” in Australia “as though all problems in society are just formed from… ‘bad politics’ and bad opinions that your uncle expresses after a third beer on Australia day.”

They also talked about how the sanitisation and insincere box-ticking of modern society has made extreme ideas and conspiracy theories (on both the Byron Bay left and the Texas right) seem more attractive (as well as Viking fetishes and Echidna dicks).

Not sure how we got there from Jordan Peterson, but there you go.

• Qantas Claps Back At ‘Shonky’ Award, Says It’s Based On Dodgy Stats
• The Truth About Qantas’ Tapegate ‘Scandal’

The post Jordan Peterson Accuses Qantas Of ‘Hypocrisy’ & Propaganda appeared first on DMARGE Australia.