England

[mrmojorisin75]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

[Cf]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

 

But yesterday’s game wasn’t competitive. Belgium fielded their B team like us.

[mrmojorisin75]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

 

But yesterday’s game wasn’t competitive. Belgium fielded their B team like us.

Okey doke. My belief is it'll be a mistake long term but who knows.

[The College Dropout]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

 

Aye but also Belgium didn't treat it like a competitive game either.

 

Colombia is a real test. Could easily lose.

[mrmojorisin75]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

 

Aye but also Belgium didn't treat it like a competitive game either.

 

Colombia is a real test. Could easily lose.

Right, the point being all we've learned is that our b team is quite a bit poorer than theirs. Maybe it's a personal thing but for me this team look like they'll struggle against better opposition because we'll not dominate the ball and don't have a particularly good defence.

 

Had we played most of the first team and went and dicked Belgium b I'd have felt a lot better about what's to come.

 

I think we'll beat Colombia because we'll have too much pace and movement for them, and then draw is kind to us so anything can happen I guess.

[The College Dropout]

i have a feeling he'll regret that myself - he's spent a year steamrollering s**** teams and did it again in the first two games

 

first good team he comes up against competitively and he rests so many players so now he doesn't know if his gameplan will work against better teams or not...at least if he'd have played the spine of his team and we'd dominated a second string belgium it'd be something, as it is all he really learned is that his second string isn't good enough, which we all knew when the squad was picked anyway

 

also has dier always been that bad at DM?  he was f***ing awful

I know they're friendlies, but weve played Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Holland in the last year. Only losing to France.

That's why I said competitively on purpose. Different game entirely imo.

 

But yesterday’s game wasn’t competitive. Belgium fielded their B team like us.

Okey doke. My belief is it'll be a mistake long term but who knows.

 

I agree with this.

[Mole_Toonfan]

It's only a mistake if we lose to Colombia tbh, the rest of the draw is significantly easier. Also as i've already said if you can't beat Colombia you don't deserve to be in the quarter finals anyway.

[Anderson]

Mental that people can't get their head round it.

 

While Colombia is undoubtedly a harder game than Japan, and it's entirely plausible they might beat us, it at least offers a realistic possibility of making the semis. Meanwhile we'd probably make it past Japan, aye, but we'd just end up becoming burdened with the prospect of once again getting knocked out in a QF at the first sight of quality opposition. I'd also fancy our chances against any of the bigger teams the further we go, if we manage to get past that QF that should be a massive weight off the our back, just a SF appearance would have been considered a massive success a couple weeks back.

[SimplyAnth]

What if he played a full strength team and they got beat by the Belgium B team? Momentum and confidence would only work if we won.

[samptime29]

Was so pissed on Thurs, can barely remember the game.

 

Becoming a temporary alcoholic during the World Cup. Come on England!

[Anon]

He obviously can't come out and say he wasn't playing to win but I honestly don't think he cared about the result either way - lose and get an easier draw, win and his 2nd string have probably given him something to think about.

[ohmelads]

Not convinced about the easier side of the draw. On paper I see a harder last 16, easier quarters, harder semis (Spain have looked the most talented side so far).

 

We should only be thinking about the next game, and that's what I think both coaches did. I can sympathise with the decision to rest players because, as SimplyAnth mentioned above, you could put our your best team and still lose, with the added risk of injuries and suspensions to your best players. I don't think either manager was plotting routes to the final. They were simply thinking about the next game with the added benefit that if you do go far, you've given backup players minutes and kept players fresh.

 

I'm disappointed we didn't win and I think we could've made 4 or 5 changes to protect the obvious key players without going for 8 swaps. Time will tell I suppose.

[Infinitely Content]

Not convinced about the easier side of the draw. On paper I see a harder last 16, easier quarters, harder semis (Spain have looked the most talented side so far).

 

We should only be thinking about the next game, and that's what I think both coaches did. I can sympathise with the decision to rest players because, as SimplyAnth mentioned above, you could put our your best team and still lose, with the added risk of injuries and suspensions to your best players. I don't think either manager was plotting routes to the final. They were simply thinking about the next game with the added benefit that if you do go far, you've given backup players minutes and kept players fresh.

 

I'm disappointed we didn't win and I think we could've made 4 or 5 changes to protect the obvious key players without going for 8 swaps. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[Raconteur]

Both teams had used all of their outfield players by the end of the match, meaning they all got experience playing a "real" World Cup match. That's got to be of benefit if you have to throw someone on unexpectedly later on in the tournament.

 

As an outsider who was excited to watch this game, and then disappointed by the line-ups, I'd agree with the comment above that about all you can take from this game is that England B is worse than Belgium B. And that will mean the sum total of fuck all when a grand total of 14-15 players will be used for the rest of the tournament.

[morla84]

If our first team is getting beat by anyone's b team then momentum is the least of our worries tbh

[54]

https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/29/gareth-southgate-pressure-belgium-colombia-harry-kane

 

“I think whoever we played we believe we’re capable of beating [them],” said Southgate. “And whoever we play, in a one-off game, is capable of beating us. But we had to make a decision we felt gave us the best opportunity preparing the whole squad for that game, and that’s what we tried to do.

 

 

“Of course, if we don’t win, I understand people would say whatever about the Belgium match as well. But, for me, that was the right thing to do and you’ve got to take decisions you believe are the right ones.

 

“Maybe I have put more pressure on myself, maybe I haven’t. That is the least of my concerns. The most important thing for me is that the players are in the best physical condition for the game on Tuesday. I don’t think, mentally, we lose anything because they know we’ve made changes and they know Belgium weren’t their full team as well.

 

“So, we’re in to big matches where margins will be fine and judgment on me will be extremely harsh. That’s why we’re here. We want to be in those games. To be trying to win a first knockout game for 12 years is exciting. We’ve got the chance to be the team that changes that. It’s one of the reasons why we did what we did [against Belgium], to give ourselves the best possible opportunity of doing that. I wasn’t so comfortable with the love-in in the buildup to Belgium, to be honest, so it’s nice that there’s a little bit of an edge back.”

 

The manager had spoken to Kane, still the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals, to explain the strategy. “I felt the need to sit with him but he was brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said Southgate. “He totally understood, 100% team first. He said: ‘Look, I know everyone says I want the Golden Boot. Of course it’s something I want to do. But the main thing is getting the team through the first knockout.’ He was excellent on that, showed real leadership and understanding of the big picture.

 

“There is something about tournament strategy that’s important. You have to be bold enough to accept that might come with questions at times but, if we believe it’s the right thing, stand by it. We have seen it in other tournaments with junior teams. When they have had an opportunity to play everyone, they have done.

 

“The harmony of the group is really important. You get players going into training knowing they have played in a World Cup. There is a big difference as a player going home knowing you can say that. No matter how much praise I give them for the way they are training, unless you can get them on the field it doesn’t feel the same for a player.”

 

Southgate’s approach has been backed by the players. “Gareth is a top manager and a man of great knowledge, and everything he has done up to now, since I’ve been in the England set-up, has been spot on,” said Maguire. “We are fully behind all of his decisions. He’s a brave manager and he makes big decisions. He fills you with confidence, no matter what decision is made. We trust him as a group and hopefully it’s the right decision in the long run.

 

 

“He and [Roberto] Martínez were both probably looking at the bigger picture and know that the next game is the biggest one of them all. Hopefully it can benefit us. It’s only a good decision if we go and put in a performance in the next game and qualify for the quarter-finals.”

[Yorkie]

Southgate.

[George Bailey]

Very impressed with Southgate and his approach to this WC.

 

Will freely admit I thought he was a bit of a 'yes' man and that was the prime reason for his appointment, but I'm prepared to say I was wrong on that and the lad seems to have the right credentials and aptitude for international management.

 

Fair play to him.

 

Let's hope the players do as well as him and don't let him down.

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

MC Tazo spitting bars for Jordan Pickford.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bks13pWFJyY/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=vepam9sthrww

[54]

Southgate

[Dave]

Might put some brass on us to lose tomorrow.

[Anderson]

ShOuLd'Ve PlAyEd OuR sTrOnGeSt TeAm.

[Stifler]

Might put some brass on us to lose tomorrow.

When we choke it’s going down as our worst exit at the World Cup.

[Shearergol]

Might put some brass on us to lose tomorrow.

When we choke it’s going down as our worst exit at the World Cup.

 

Nah, everyone’s doing it this year, it won’t be remembered

[54]

Southgate you fraud.