rgk_lfc

They are not even testing the goalkeeper.

Southgate's calmness and temperament helps him. In the Premier league, against some of the traditional rivals, Pickford goes into this chest thumping, trash talking mode, gets caught up in the emotion of the occasion - often that is when he has these blunders. I think Southgate has asked him to calm down, focus on saving goals and his game, not get too high on emotion which has helped his game immensely.

England are effortlessly upping the performance levels as the tournament progresses. Winners of tournaments are not often the ones whom dominate from the start but the ones who peak at the right time. Southgate, every decision, every substitution seems to be the right one. He now has Grealish, Sancho, Foden fresh for the semi-finals and finals if needed.

I am saying this with the benefit of hindsight but I think Southgate's use of Grealish and Saka is smart. Saka is not at the same level as Grealish but he is a very good, tactical player in his own right. Southgate kept things compact till 60-65th minute and Saka helped with that. When the opposition defense tires a bit and space opens up, unleash Grealish. Not a bad strategy against a team like Germany. I don't think it would have worked against the great Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, French , Spanish defenses of 2000-2010 but it is a very good strategy against current top international teams where the quality of defense is a bit on the poorer side. A bit more conservative than what I would have liked but cannot argue with the results.

I so so wish he doesn't take up the Everton job. But he wants to work and wants to stay near his family. Cant fault a man for taking up a job for those reasons. Obviously, he wont get hired at United and LFC job is not going to be open to him for a long time. He did an impressive job with you guys and it is not like premier league clubs were lining up to offer him a job after that. Cant expect him to wait for an ideal job which is not coming.

I hope UEFA takes notice and realize how much more enjoyable football is when there is some level of equity. The CL and Europa league will be absolute belters of a competition if well run clubs all over Europe have a shot of winning it rather than watching the same oil rich or traditionally big clubs reaching the semi-finals. The knock off will be huge. Players like Mahrez, Kante, Grealish, Van Dijk (yes, I know) will not have to leave their clubs in search of medals.

I know his style is not pretty but why change something which is working. No goals conceded against teams which scored 2 against Holland, 3 against Spain, 4 against Portugal. Tournament football is all about results and as of now Southgate is delivering big time.

I know my original post wasn't clear. Not trying to argue that. But I was talking in the context of this tournament only. I honestly dont watch a lot of European football. So I have no clue how he is doing otherwise. I guess he is doing great as he is linked to Real Madrid. I watched him during the World Cup where he looked like a genuine exciting and dynamic talent. Now when I watch him in the Euros he looked a bit meh. No dribbling anything. All he was trying to do was use his pace and win penalties.

I meant in this tournament he has looked like a kick and run merchant. If anyone watched Mbappe for the first time in this Euros, they would be wondering what the fuss was all about. In the next two sentences, I have said that one possibility is the lack of clarity in tactics from Deschamps. Pogba has looked good. Griezmann at times has looked good. Everyone else including the player I thought deserved the Balon d'or this year - Kante - has looked very ordinary.

Not exactly writing him off, but he seems to have regressed since the World cup. Not quite sure what happened to his dribbling ability, he looks like a kick and run merchant now. A lot of it could be due to Deschamps being clueless this tournament. With the exception of Pogba, noone seems to have displayed their true potential. Shocking how easily the swiss walked through a midfield with Kante.

They were checking for VAR if Sommer had his feet on the line.

Not sure the problem is with Benzema. The entire French defense and midfield look confused with this new formation. Swiss are breaking into France's half with ease.

If that Mbappe free kick had gone in, would that goal be disallowed using VAR? Because the incident which lead to that freekick , the handball should have been overturned by VAR?

One of the best coaches in Europe now - Gasperini.

So much better than the Belgium Portugal game.

Not trying to downplay Lippi's, Conte's, Del Bosque's, and Mancini's achievements, but I think having a national identity in the style of play whether it is catenacchio or tiki-taka helps in this regard. I remember reading somewhere that in 2005, Germany also instituted a centralized philosophy in player development and education at the national level which all Bundesliga clubs participated in. One of the reasons why England managers role is so tough is because clubs develop players and the style of play varies from club to club and sometimes within the same club for successive managers. Maybe that is one of the reasons premier league is so popular.

I dont think you need to be an elite level tactical coach to be successful at the international level. Low, Santos, Deschamps are not exactly tacticians of the order of Rafa or Pep. You need to be lucky with the quality of players available on hand. You also should be able to drill the available talent into a simple and effective system within a week or two of practice.

You think Belgium have another gear in them without Hazard and KDB? It was an impressive victory for them. Portugal are a very difficult team to get past in the knockouts. But I think without their main creative players, Italy hold a little bit of an edge.

During the game, the camera panned to their bench and stayed there for a few seconds. I was wondering if I was the Dutch manager whom would I like to bring on to salvage this. Honestly, my first thought was Ruud Van Nistelroy.

Renato and Moutinho have done a very good job of controlling the midfield. Kante not upto his usual superhuman levels.

According to this: https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-european-championship/story/4404465/euro-2020-bracket-and-fixtures-schedule Semifinal is winners of Match 47 (Italy or Austria vs. Winners Match 40) vs Match 48 (England?)

Get past the opponent in the second round at home and it should be a relatively easy QF. Semi-final is going to be tough but it is at home. Second Round England vs runners up of Group F (most likely Germany) at London Quarter Final Vs winner of (Sweden vs. 3rd in A/B/C/D) at Rome Semi-Final Italy or Austria vs. Winners (Belgium vs 3rd in A/D/E/F ) at London

The football was not pretty but comfortably came first, clean sheets in all games. The tactics might not look all that convincing but cannot argue with the results. Got the job done. At one point, the commentator was pointing out that Southgate's approach is to be pragmatic than adventurous as he believes that is the way to win the trophy. While I hate evaluating a manager based on one game, the next game is going to define Southgate's reign. Give a good account of themselves and he will get a lot of plaudits. If it is a Scotland game type performance, he will be criticized.

Roberto Mancini substituting goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for Salvatore Sirigu late in the game vs Wales had social media laughing, but the reason is much more than a gag ? Mancini was part of Italy's World Cup squad in 1990 but he didn't play a single minute on home soil, something he says is the biggest regret of his career ? As a result, he's made it his personal mission to give all 26 players a game this summer. So far, 25 have played ? .. https://www.facebook.com/SPORTbible/posts/4493524970793000

Thank you for the insights. Just curious, has Italy been moving away from their traditional style even before last 3-4 years. Italy were impressive in Euro 2012 under Prandelli - very technical and attacking. Reached the finals where they got mauled by Spain but their performances before the final was very good including a landmark win over Germany. Under Conte in 2016, again they did not look like a traditional Italian side. Their results were - defeated Belgium 2-0, defeated Sweden 1-0, Ireland 1-0, Spain 2-0. They lost to Germany on penalties in the quarter final. A string of impressive performances. Also, was wondering, if this change happened organically or did the Italian federation provide some guidance or incentives. I remember in the early 2000s Germany decided to revamp the way they developed footballers and all the clubs in the Bundesliga bought into the system. Same with France. If the FA is serious about England making a mark at the international level, they should also think about this. Look at ways to commit to a common playing style across all clubs. English players have their strengths - the pace, physicality, ability to take quick decisions on the ball. Develop a playing style which maximizes this strength and promote it among all clubs. Start providing more opportunities to coaches like Howe, Graeme Jones rather than PFMs like Bruce, Pardew.