Beelzebub 2,508 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Croatia deserve a standing ovation played 2 games that went down to the wire yet have recovered really well today after a not so great first half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I must say its nice to see a non traditional football nation in the final for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadLinesman 5,938 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, BartraPique1932 said: Knew you were born in 2010! Btw, England hasn't scored a single goal from open play. Yes we have. Deli Alli scored a backpost header from a Lingard assist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burning Gold 599 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, BartraPique1932 said: Knew you were born in 2010! Btw, England hasn't scored a single goal from open play. Try again mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverted 1,776 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 England have only faced two teams with any ability in centre midfield, and lost to them both. I think the assessment needs to at least incorporate a bit more scrutiny with England. It’s brilliant being well prepared and pragmatic, but you can’t win a World Cup literally on set pieces and physical strength alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ 3,613 Posted July 11, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted July 11, 2018 Man of the match is surely Perisic? He was their most lively player in the second half followed by the way Modric got into rhythm and just ran the play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairy In Boots 607 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Same old same old really, a few positives. Pickford, tripper, Maquire & stones bode well for next time. A bit more of the same with square pegs in round holes ie Young & Walker. Ali, Lingard & Sterling aren’t world class will never really be, neither are the fringe players really. Southgate has to grow as a coach needs to be more ruthless but probably didn’t have the players in fairness to him. Just to wasteful bereft of composure & lack of skill in the last third. I don’t buy the tiredness bs either Croatia have had it worse than us. Its an improvement in the National ethos but it will be a good 5-6 years before the skilful youngsters come through and replace cack like Ali Lingard & Sterling. Vardy done now plot for 2020 maybe can Ashley Young to and Walker as wing back and promote a genuine centre back. Loftus cheek should have been on for Lingard, I’d can Sterling to he’s basically Gabby Agbonlahor & Darius Vassal quick bit no football brain at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo 8,190 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, BartraPique1932 said: Knew you were born in 2010! Btw, England hasn't scored a single goal from open play. But they did make it out of their group. Weren't you fucking favourites too? England were hoping to win maybe one knockout game at best. 5 minutes ago, Dalmore said: sing along with me: not coming home NOT coming home NOT coming! IT'S NOT COMING HOME! Congrats to Croatia. Totally deserved. I hope this golden generation ends up lifting the trophy. At least we fucking qualified Well done to Croatia, they've been one of the best teams in the tournament and I hope they go win it now. We were fucking shite today, but the lads did well. It ended up being wankers from City (Sterling being wasteful, Walker being a "defender," and Stones turning off when it mattered most) that undid us ultimately, nobody would have expected that. I think this England side surpassed everyone's expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6666 1,310 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Can't believe how shit we were since Croatia equalised. Even I started to think we were actually good after beating Tunisia, Panama and Sweden during regular play. First real test and we're out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Profesor 1,457 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Batard said: So many hilariously bad moments of defending from England, Kane didn’t look fit at all and that team barely created anything at all. I fancy our chances against Croatia on Sunday. Especially against that centreback pairing Agree. I think Croatia is a better matchup for you than England. The croatian defence will have trouble to keep up with Mbappé and Griezmann. And they´ve also played 90 minutes of overtime, it´s like Croatia played one more game than France. TVs here will replay Thuram goals one million times until Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion 252 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Thought England could win this game easily after that early goal. Great determination from Croatians, they fully deserved the win. Also...That guy, Modric, is fking brilliant, one of those players I love watching them play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ 7,664 Posted July 11, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted July 11, 2018 Disappointed today but thanks to this team for the last few weeks. Been class to follow through the tournament. The better team won, we paid for not getting the second goal when we were on top, nothing against Croatia. Not to be bitter but I thought the referee was poor. I'm not saying it decided the game at all but it's disappointing after a generally high standard of officiating through the tournament. Best thing for us is that 90% of these players will still be around in 2-4 years with a bit more development and experience behind them, possibly with more young stars to improve the squad further. Next time it's coming home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Artful Dodger 1,831 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, Cannabis said: Who remembers Portugal's draw in 2016? Nobody. Football remembers the winners, the facts. I'd rather win the final against Afghanistan than lose against a top team like Brazil. This squad has achieved on par (if not more than what other English teams have) and they're all babies. Loads of people. Mainly so people can counteract the Ronaldo is better because he won an international trophy argument... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefreeluke 722 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 On 6/29/2018 at 22:29, carefreeluke said: My biggest worry though is what is going to happen when that base of the back five finds itself under significant pressure which was also a big part of Chelsea's downfall as well. At the moment, the system England play has its roots in the back five, not only in terms of defence but in terms of build up play as well. Southgate has even admitted that the change came because it would allow England to play out of the back with more ease and insurance. At the moment for the most part we have an overload in that area of the pitch, even with some pressure we always have an extra player free which is what Southgate was alluding at. That combined with the movement in front allows us to transition and it's like a ripple effect which spreads confidence to the rest of the team, this is the system's descent and origins. What happens when the opposition attack those origins at source? This is the difficulty Chelsea had and like I say it was one of the reasons for our downfall, with of course Conte's politics not helping as well. Henderson has a key role as well as he's often tasked with the duty to drop deep and start attacks, Henderson has his moments but he's not particularly a player I trust playing under pressure. What happens when teams cut off the passing options, push high and play aggressively? That back five and Henderson have had some trouble playing out already and they haven't been put under significant pressure yet. This could ultimately be where we live and die. And it will be case of whether Southgate and the team have answers to that. I just watched back the Tunisia game today as I missed it because of work (luckily on the night, saw the last ten minutes and Kane's winner) and Keown (of all people) made an interesting comment towards the end of the game in which he said the system almost looks 'manufactured'. And watching Chelsea for the past two seasons (and this England team is very similar to Chelsea by the way), Keown is bang on the money there. The comments I've just made contradict what I opened this post with. England need a system, they need instruction, they need a playing style, don't get me wrong. However, any system is going to come under pressure at some point and good teams will find the answers and overcome the difficulties. Will England be capable of this? That's the million dollar question and I'd be very surprised if they do. Outfootballed most of the game, we were reduced to long balls from midway through the first half. Our players had many opportunities to bring it down and play but chose instead to kick it long, with Stones really being the only to show some personality and courage on the ball. Being under pressure doesn't been you have to get rid and my worries were true. @DeadLinesman sums it up perfectly we went back into Allardyce football. I thank Southgate and the players, I saw passion and it's a very young team that have done us proud. However, we must learn from this from a footballing point of view. Croatia were brilliant and taught us a footballing lesson, the way they moved the ball second half was an example to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverted 1,776 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Cannabis said: There will be a national holiday declared in Wales and Scotland tomorrow so at least we've made some folks happy. Not really. I’ve just watched an exhausted team representing a tiny nation of 4 million people put in an incredible effort to get to a World Cup final, and instead of seeing their celebrations I’m forced by a bunch of English TV directors to watch Jesse Lingard dab his tears away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub 2,508 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 In the first half Croatia looked fatigued, in the second England look fatigued. Eng haven’t been able to keep up that pressing in this half & Croatia have gotten their ball players more involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machado 1,710 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 5 minutes ago, Cannabis said: Who remembers Portugal's draw in 2016? Nobody. I'm not sure about that. I get the idea that we're constantly reminded of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero 5,267 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 8 minutes ago, Cannabis said: Who remembers Portugal's draw in 2016? Nobody. Football remembers the winners, the facts. I'd rather win the final against Afghanistan than lose against a top team like Brazil. This squad has achieved on par (if not more than what other English teams have) and they're all babies. Right. But to say this is the best England team you've witnessed, is a bit far fetched. We won the CL in 2012 with the worst Chelsea side in the Roman era. For me, this is the same England. Just had a golden path to the final, yet your true selfs were exposed when up against a well drilled and quality side. I'm honestly glad I won't have to see the sight of Lingard, Henderson, and Alli lift a world cup trophy when you compare the vast difference in quality and character to those wearing the England kit in 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 2,206 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Beaten by the better side. Nobody expected anything of this England team and we've just lost in extra time of a semi final. A young side with a lot of potential as it is, let alone the youth team players to come through. Things look bright for us. Southgate has played this tournament brilliantly, his focus on set pieces has made us a lot better than we thought we could be. Easier run or not Colombia and Croatia are not easy games. Weve also won a penalty shoot out, so much to build on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panflute 670 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Unbelievable. Modric is indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadLinesman 5,938 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Inverted said: Not really. I’ve just watched an exhausted team representing a tiny nation of 4 million people put in an incredible effort to get to a World Cup final, and instead of seeing their celebrations I’m forced by a bunch of English TV directors to watch Jesse Lingard dab his tears away. Yes, because they’re going to to show the viewing public Croatia’s celebrations...... Just now, Cicero said: Right. But to say this is the best England team you've witnessed, is a bit far fetched. We won the CL in 2012 with the worst Chelsea side in the Roman era. But do you celebrate winning a Champions League or a really good team that won fuck all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverted 1,776 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Just now, Cannabis said: You basically live in England, why the hell wouldn't they show the English players? Jesus wept. Last I checked I don’t live in a country where people trash fucking ambulances when we win a football game, love the Tories and vote for Brexit. Doesn’t feel much like England. But nonetheless as usual we’re forced to fucking breathe in your 2nd-hand misery rather than enjoy the aftermath of a brilliant game of football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burning Gold 599 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I don't know what Southgate's contract is, but he should absolutely get at least the Euros. That said, I think there was something wrong tactically with Harry Kane, one of the best strikers in the world, playing so deep and Sterling, who had a terrible World Cup (despite embarrassing claims to the contrary), and more importantly isn't and never will be a striker, playing ahead of him. It's impossible to be too down-heartened though, after a World Cup in which we had no expectations but have enjoyed so many positives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 2,206 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 The one position that for me is really up for grabs is centre mid. Henderson has played well and has some good long range balls but he can't control a game, neither can Dier. Both are supporting midfielders, support a more creative lynchpin type midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairy In Boots 607 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Inverted said: Last I checked I don’t live in a country where people trash fucking ambulances when we win a football game, love the Tories and vote for Brexit. Doesn’t feel much like England. But nonetheless as usual we’re forced to fucking breathe in your 2nd-hand misery rather than enjoy the aftermath of a brilliant game of football. Weird world reveals himself I see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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