England

[triggs]

Would like to get Japan if possible.

 

Can see us losing to either Senegal or Colombia.

 

I didn't watch Colombia today but they looked like crap against Japan, leading me to believe Poland are just that bad. Also Senegal while athletic are incredibly naive as today's game showed.

 

If we are as professional as i think we are neither of them concern me personally, if anything i think Japan are the best of the 3 so far.

They were down to 10 men for 80 something minutes and their best player wasn't playing

[Mole_Toonfan]

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

[triggs]

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

Playing with 10 men for almost the whole game is an absolutely massive disadvantage. It is a perfectly valid excuse

[Mole_Toonfan]

I've seen plenty of good teams go down to 10 men and not look as bad as they did, besides if they don't beat Senegal they aren't going through anyway

[54]

Southgate hasn’t grown on me yet. He’s coached them well on set pieces so far, though he still needs to get them to keep their concentration and the movement in the middle a bit. At the end of the day I still feel like he’s taken a few players because of their name or club they play for instead of taking a couple of players who would fit in better, even if they are back up players.

 

I also sense that the country is at risk of running away with themselves again. Ok we have had a very good start, but we have played arguably 2 of the worst teams at the tournament. Ok there isn’t a team who I massively fear as I did in previous competitions, however it’s often ourselves we have to fear the most.

I completely disagree with all of this, I feel every that has been selected due to the system that Southgate wants and there is a reason for them to be there, not just because of there name.

 

You say he needs to get them to keep there concentration but the goal against Tunisia was a penalty that arguably shouldn't have been given and today we were 6-0 up and it's natural for people to lose concentration in order to conserve energy. Just look at Belgium yesterday.

 

As for the country getting ahead of themselves, I don't see that at all, all this it's coming home is just banter and people enjoying the fact that England are playing well, and even if its not, it's not often as England fans we get to celebrate, so I don't really care if people get carried away a bit.

[triggs]

I've seen plenty of good teams go down to 10 men and not look as bad as they did, besides if they don't beat Senegal they aren't going through anyway

When have you seen a team get a red card in the first 5 minutes and look any good? Their whole system of the three behind the striker which is the making of their team wasn't there against Japan

[Guest firetotheworks]

 

 

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

 

It kind of is like. I doubt you'd be saying this if you'd watched them tonight, they're definitely good like.

 

Tbh I think England could give anyone a game, in terms of winning or losing though, it's a tough one to call, but Columbia would be the last team from that group I'd want us to play.

[Mole_Toonfan]

 

 

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

 

It kind of is like. I doubt you'd be saying this if you'd watched them tonight, they're definitely good like.

 

Tbh I think England could give anyone a game, in terms of winning or losing though, it's a tough one to call, but Columbia would be the last team from that group I'd want us to play.

 

At the same time i doubt you and others would be saying they are good after the Japan game, it works both ways.

 

[triggs]

 

 

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

 

It kind of is like. I doubt you'd be saying this if you'd watched them tonight, they're definitely good like.

 

Tbh I think England could give anyone a game, in terms of winning or losing though, it's a tough one to call, but Columbia would be the last team from that group I'd want us to play.

 

At the same time i doubt you and others would be saying they are good after the Japan game, it works both ways.

I would. One game where they were missing their best player and down to ten men for 85 minutes doesn't change anything

[Guest firetotheworks]

 

 

That's not really an excuse to look as average as they did, even when James came on he didn't look good. If they look good against Senegal then fair enough but i really don't think they are as good as some here do.

 

It kind of is like. I doubt you'd be saying this if you'd watched them tonight, they're definitely good like.

 

Tbh I think England could give anyone a game, in terms of winning or losing though, it's a tough one to call, but Columbia would be the last team from that group I'd want us to play.

 

At the same time i doubt you and others would be saying they are good after the Japan game, it works both ways.

It doesn't really. They played with 11 players and James Rodriguez in this one, imo you can't judge a team on one match played with 10 men and without their best and most influential player, if you're going to judge them, you judge them on how they'll always line up.

 

[Guest]

As great as Colombia were today, I think we'd do them in the Second Round. They've got a great front 3 or 4 but Poland were so easy to play against. They'll not be able to play with that sort of freedom when we've got pace and look dangerous going forward ourselves.

[Guest firetotheworks]

One swallow doesn't make a summer and all that but I thought they looked pretty solid at the back and was really, really impressed with Mina. You would hope that Kane normally gets the better of Sanchez in training though. Still, overall I'd be much more confident with us up against Senegal or Japan.

 

[Yorkie]

You could go crazy thinking about the permutations ahead of us. Just keep winning, it's fun. Absolutely loved that first half today; we've smashed minnows before but today obviously felt different because of the context. It was pretty special imo, cracking day.

[Hanshithispantz]

Columbia were comfortably the better side with 10 men until they tired like (Japan game)

 

We can beat both Columbia or Senegal but I'd prefer Senegal.

[Wullie]

Japan have still got a very good chance of going through like, and a fairly decent chance of winning the group, they'd be the dream opponents despite the fact they're quite a bit better than I expected.

[leffe186]

Stating the obvious, but VAR has been so good for us because it has made corners and wide free-kicks so much more dangerous. The move a couple of years ago to combat the all-in wrestling at set pieces seemed to devolve fairly rapidly into lip service, but VAR has given it a shot in the arm.

 

One reason the US didn’t qualify this year - and often struggle against the smaller CONCACAF sides - is that the opponents often get carte blanche to engage in the sort of spoiling and fouling and general bullshit we saw today. There’s a reason why Panama seemed so amazed that they weren’t allowed to do whatever the fuck they wanted. I am still not totally comfortable with VAR, but if they take the next obvious step and start clamping down on diving then that’s a couple of real footballing bugbears that it will address. It will need a serious commitment for change, which I am not sure we can count on yet given the bizarre decisions to repeatedly not card people for diving (and by people, I obviously mean Neymar).

 

Today was fun. After the Tunisia match I nearly posted some smug bullshit about how you now know how reassuring it is to have Kane up front in your team. Well there’s that smug bullshit. Panama aren’t completely shit, but like a lot of minnows their game involves a considerable amount of snidery. Take that away, and they don’t have a great deal else. I was very encouraged by our right side, and wow, RLC is a fucking unit. Lingard is such a good team player, and it shows the value of having a team that has grown up together. Sterling still flatters to deceive for me, although his pace is a nice counterpoint to Kane. I really like Rashford and Vardy as options.

 

Henderson did well, although the suspicion is that that will come to an ignominious end against a good side. Which brings me to the defence. I still can’t escape the feeling that we have three out of five defenders who don’t look particularly comfortable or convincing in their positions. We’re clearly going to score goals - particularly if the current VAR trend at corners persists - but our defence is going to drop a couple of clangers in every game, and I can see the wheels coming off pretty quickly if things turn sour.

[Guest neesy111]

Keep seeing the panama trying to score after kick off being shared.  What is the exact rule?  I see one outfield England player is just on the pitch still.  Is it all players or just outfield players?

 

Lots of people laughing about it mind without a clue that in a certain situation that would be allowed.

[Guest]

I’m sure there’s a video when everyone goes to celebrate with Tiote during the 4-4, Jonas is standing in the Arsenal half so that they can’t kick off.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Yeah, I keep seeing people mention players not leaving the pitch, but my understanding was that it's because they're in the opposition half, not because they're on the pitch.

[samptime29]

Kane just scores goals. Great to have such a strong striker.

 

Encouraging start no doubt, looking forward to Thurs.

[Guest neesy111]

Yeah, I keep seeing people mention players not leaving the pitch, but my understanding was that it's because they're in the opposition half, not because they're on the pitch.

 

Yeap, if you're in the opposition part then the ref can't kick off.  If not they can, so that 1 England player on the line basically keeps from play from restarting.

[Greg]

Yeah, I keep seeing people mention players not leaving the pitch, but my understanding was that it's because they're in the opposition half, not because they're on the pitch.

 

Yeap, if you're in the opposition part then the ref can't kick off.  If not they can, so that 1 England player on the line basically keeps from play from restarting.

 

This is just not true. Fake news from some tweet the other day.

 

For the other team to kick off all players from both teams have to be in their own half.

 

 

[Greg]

I’m sure there’s a video when everyone goes to celebrate with Tiote during the 4-4, Jonas is standing in the Arsenal half so that they can’t kick off.

 

Yes, this is different because Tiote ran backwards to celebrate in our own half.

[Guest neesy111]

Yeah, I keep seeing people mention players not leaving the pitch, but my understanding was that it's because they're in the opposition half, not because they're on the pitch.

 

Yeap, if you're in the opposition part then the ref can't kick off.  If not they can, so that 1 England player on the line basically keeps from play from restarting.

 

This is just not true. Fake news from some tweet the other day.

 

For the other team to kick off all players from both teams have to be in their own half.

 

 

 

I've got it now.  Makes sense.

[Greg]

 

The IFAB even released a statement because of this.

 

IFAB statement Boudien Broekhuis, Communications & Administration Manager at IFAB:

 

“The Laws are clear: “all players, except the player taking the kick-off, must be in their own half of the field of play” at the kick-off; therefore, the referee clearly cannot and would not (from a fairness perspective) allow the kick off whilst players are off the field celebrating.”