Interpolic

Maybe the plan was to mirror the Germany game and make it a bit of a non-event for 60 or 70 minutes then go for it late on. In which case the early goal actually negated a lot of our preparation. We looked dangerous every time we attacked them early on and should have probed further, whether it was instructions from Southgate or nerves or a lack of intelligence or experience on the pitch that made us invite them on, who knows. It was crap though, really crap.

I don't understand our approach for much of the game tonight. The first 20 minutes we looked like we had their number but then we started holding back. The panic defending started in the first half under minimal pressure and when we held on to the ball we seemed happy to eventually lose it rather than test them. Was hugely safety-first when we had them rattled and as it turns out it was a massive missed opportunity. The second half was just dreadful all round and the trouble with trying to batten down the hatches and hang on to a goal you scored in the 2nd minute is that if you concede then you're fucked. You have zero attacking rhythm to build on and it's not possible to just switch that on when required. I was pleasantly surprised with the upturn in intensity in ET but it was too little too late and psychologically we'd given Italy a huge advantage by then by showing them far too much respect. We had them looking ordinary first half then absolutely invited them back into the game. The momentum was theirs because we handed it to them. I'm not going to criticise Southgate for the late subs as if those 2 were banging pens in in training then it's understandable to go with the knowledge you have. Same with Saka although having him 5th seems shortsighted. Tbh I think it's a waste of time hyper-analysing the penalties, we will have selected our best takers and practised them extensively and that's just the way it goes. One team has to lose. But did we express ourselves anywhere near as well as we can during the 120 minutes, did we impose ourselves on the Italians or did we hand them the initiative? I think it's clearly the latter and that's the disappointment for me. There was a chance in the first half to build on an excellent start but we didn't back ourselves and thought winning ugly was the only way. A risk that didn't pay off. Euro 2020 was a success for us overall without a doubt but the performance tonight leaves a sour taste. A shame as this group of players have shown some real bravery in recent years, they just needed to back themselves tonight (players and manager) and in my view they didn't do that.

This is spot on. We didn't deserve to win tonight which softens the blow slightly. Still devo'ed though. Was a typical England performance in a big game, unfortunately. Dominated early then gave into fear and fucked it.

Unbelievable start and pretty solid since then. Hope Southgate is calming them down a bit, the defending is unnecessarily desperate at times and these lot look vulnerable when we show composure on the ball. Come on.

I'd snap your hands off for a 24 hour postponement tbh.

Basically yeah. I'm embarrassed by those scenes but putting them to the back of my mind until next week.

Hang on, I thought England were the diving shithouses.

Aww thanks

Well I disagree with Southgate’s selection yet again if that's true but fuck it, what do I know

When the wrong stripes are white And the sponsor looks shite That's Castore

If you leave the invading bit out I think what he's getting at is that WW2 is what has added an edge to the fixture with Germany historically. Still probably doesn't need said, but he's not really wrong.

something like this would have been better. The concept of having it in different countries was OK as a novelty, although a bit iffy with the Covid situation. UEFA clearly didn't consider the signficant travel disparity properly though, which is what made this setup a bit unfair.

looks like a shoegaze album cover.

the Brazilians can only dream of getting to a European Championship final.

^ The Italians doing their pre-match N-O browse and spotting Pata's avatar.

Denmark's free kick wasn't a free kick, there was a foul on Kane that should have been a penalty, Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany at their own World Cup. Swings and roundabouts innit.

Wagwan with the raglan

Dislike.

Yeah but that's all Tyldelsey's fault. He started it, society accepted it, Matterface continued it. I'm serious

I read somewhere that it always does, by miles.

I still fucking hate Tyldesley. He genuinely ruins games for me with his relentless scripted smugness. He actually made me laugh with one of his comments about Immobile the other day then he ruined it within minutes and I went back to hate watching him. Put him on a game where some talented players are playing and his self satisfied arse kissing is absolutely unbearable. Matterface seems crap as well but he's got some way to go to rile me up as much as Tyldesley has been for well over 20 years. He did annoy me last night with how determined he seemed to jinx us with everything he said. "As it stands England are going to play Italy on Sunday" or similar, minutes after scoring. Fuck off. I will 100% be watching the BBC on Sunday.

It's an interesting situation with the subs. Southgate doesn't seem willing to take Kane or Sterling off which is understandable so that leaves just 2 attacking positions where we are likely to make changes. And seems as though the pecking order is Grealish > Foden > Sancho > Rashford etc for those 2 subs now. Although Foden might have edged himself ahead last night. Henderson is giving us quite a lot when he comes on imo, I'd arguably start him.

Eh, I thought Gayle signed a new 3 year contract in March?