2026 World Cup

[dirty harry]

Having the Gordon/Rashford combo was working every game basically

Today he didn’t do it only because he completely changed up his tactics in the biggest game

Working? All of Englands wingers had been atrocious.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Have an extra early evening drink for me @Cruz_del_Sur

VAMOS

 

[mackerzz]

Working? All of Englands wingers had been atrocious.

Gordon has been good, but yeah the rest have been ****

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Working? All of Englands wingers had been atrocious.

I mean until the changes the wingers where finding space behind Argentina it was a clear tactic that was working

saka would’ve found acres around them

Literally our goal was the two wingers working

Throughout the comp the majority of our attack has been our wingers holding defenders

Lets be real outside of one game Kane has had a poor competition imo

Bellingham is who we need to build around

 

[Welsh Exile]

The time and space Macalister was afforded when he hit the post was criminal.

 

[dirty harry]

I mean until the changes the wingers where finding space behind Argentina it was a clear tactic that was working

saka would’ve found acres around them

Literally our goal was the two wingers working

Throughout the comp the majority of our attack has been our wingers holding defenders

Lets be real outside of one game Kane has had a poor competition imo

Bellingham is who we need to build around

I couldnt disagree more, Gordon, Rashford on the left, compiled by Spence not having a left foot allowed the wingers to offer next to nothing. Saka and Madueke had the same issue on the right.

Rogers was never going to be the answer, i thought at one point after the goal Rogers and Gordon would be replaced with pace.

Kane i agree, some goals, but he hasnt been great, his and Bellinghams goals came against poor defenders in reality, Mexico and Norway should have been warning signs.

I think Tuchel was right against Norway, England were poor, and Bellinghams attitude in response showed him up a bit.

Still it was a decent tournament, made the final weekend which has to be a success for this England side, Imagine if England selected an experienced English manager, with pedigree, and without fear of ego...

Trent, Foden, Palmer, Hall, Wharton must have been watching through fingers...

One player i wanted selected was Bowen, that guy has a heart of a lion and all the skills to play int football.

I feel like this is a tournament missed for England

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Feel like England went too defensive too quickly imo. Tuchel has been perfect with his decisions up to now, but not in this game

Not sure i agree. Problem wasnt going defensive, per se. I think the problem was more relinquishing, completely, any desire to attack. I mean, people were complaining about Paraguay, but this wasnt that different. You've got (easily) the 3 fastest players on the pitch. Leave 2 to counter. Having Kane and Bellingham defending on the box, other than in a set play, is mental.
You keeping two fast players out forces us to keep two, too, and yours are faster. Instead of defending with 11 you defend with 9, but you force two of us not to attack and create tons of space. This is not groundbreaking material and it is 10000% tuchel's fault.

And whaty the **** was with Pickford sending the ball to the area like that. This was planned (look at every kick off). I can understand this if you are tired, ran our of ideas or something, but this was instructed by the coach. You know why we go to ridiculous lengths and time to centre from the side? Because centering from the front is reasonably easy to defend and very difficult for the attacked to aim.
I really, really cannot wait for Tuchet's press conf.

Anyways, good game peeps. Re on Saturday, dont forget!

 

[BrokenWing]

Lets be real outside of one game Kane has had a poor competition imo

Spends too much time too deep taking the ball off the centre halves and he isn’t quick enough to then make up the space.

There was a brief period where they actually sorted it and players would run beyond him but it seems to have stopped in recent games.

Pointless having wingers hugging the touchline when your striker is still not out of the centre circle.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I would have said this time yesterday that Spain will be strong favourites against either team tonight.

Not so sure now, how do you beat a team that refuse to be beaten. I can't wait!

 

[OllyM97]

I would have said this time yesterday that Spain will be strong favourites against either team tonight.

Not so sure now, how do you beat a team that refuse to be beaten. I can't wait!

Spain will win 3-0 - it won’t be a contest. They are miles superior all over the pitch. They will ruthlessly and clinically pull them apart like we should have done tonight after going 1-0 up. The Argies will be chasing shadows for 90 minutes getting nowhere near them.

 

[Welsh Exile]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c935pgr4dklo

 

[TRF_Olyy]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c935pgr4dklo

Anything to distract from their currency being (literally) worth less than the paper it's printed on, I guess - it's no wonder all their politicians are whipping everyone up about it

 

[mackerzz]

Anything to distract from their currency being (literally) worth less than the paper it's printed on, I guess - it's no wonder all their politicians are whipping everyone up about it

I know fk all about Politics, but isn't the current Argentinian President/ Prime Minster guy doing a good job?

But yeah lmao, i just had a look at what the Peso is worth compared to the NZD. $1 NZD is ₱861.73 lmao

 

[OllyM97]

We must be the only national team in any sport that loses big games in the exact same way for decades and yet never learns their lesson. Don’t give me any of this b******s about Argentina’s spirit or “never knowing when they’re beaten”. We had them on toast yesterday when we went 1-0 up. For 55 minutes they had offered absolutely nothing. They were there to be put to the sword - and then, what do we do, we start getting deeper and deeper and just invite pressure. The way we sit back on a lead, you would have thought we had Prime Maldini, Cannavaro and Baresi at the back - spoiler alert, we don’t. That was a complete bottle job and it’s on Tuchel, his subs were appalling. Apparently between Gordon’s goal and full time, we had 12% possession. 12% of possession in 40 minutes of football, that is an utter embarrassment.

 

[Demfad]

I think Declan Rice is England's most important player. Both times he has been recently substituted (Norway and Aregenting both fatigue) there followed a major drop off in England's ability to defend higher up and hold possession.
International football is not like League football where teams learn off eachother over a season. A factor in International football is the ability of a good possession based team to eventually shrink the match into the final 25 metres. England didn't help by taking off the fast counter attacking guys but even France struggled to pass out of Spanish pressure in the other semi.
Portugal were able to pass out of trouble against Spain, but again thats an exception of good possession play and familiarity.
Teams who have less ability in possession (not Spain or Portugal) need to practtice how to transition out of possession starvation or a high press from a high possession team. If France could have done this then Spain would have had to abandon the press and more balls would have gone to their dangerous forwards.
If England are to break the cycle they should not crucify this coach. Rather allow him learn the lessons.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I'm curious about one thing and thought I d ask: isnt it blatantly obvious that, against Argentina and especially Messi, saying anything even remotely provocative or banter-filled is counterproductive?

It's not really a secret some players/teams work better when cornered or feel insulted. We knew this with Pele. You simply did not want to make him angry. it fueled him and made him even better. Messi is the same, if not an even clearer example. Mourinho, van Gaal, and others have all seen it firsthand. Some Arg coaches used to cover the walls of dressing rooms with the front pages of newspapers talking **** before an important game.

It s really not that complicated, is it? If you re facing Arg, just say something like: "They re a great side, and we enjoy measuring ourselves against the best, so it should be a fun contest."
henry has told the story 4324321 times about how Messi reacted when he got angry at trainings during his spell at barcelona. it's a rather well documented messi trait. Why poke the bear like that?
Why give them extra motivation? Scholes calling them pussycats, neville saying calling out Romero and Martinez, cant recall the other one who said that man for man (as if that mattered in a team sport!) England was aeons ahead and that other than maybe (ha!) Messi no other Arg player would make it to the Eng squad.

Is the pressure to say something like that so big? Dont they see the crystal clear trend? Or is it just stupidity?

 

[Welsh Exile]

I'm curious about one thing and thought I d ask: isnt it blatantly obvious that, against Argentina and especially Messi, saying anything even remotely provocative or banter-filled is counterproductive?

It's not really a secret some players/teams work better when cornered or feel insulted. We knew this with Pele. You simply did not want to make him angry. it fueled him and made him even better. Messi is the same, if not an even clearer example. Mourinho, van Gaal, and others have all seen it firsthand. Some Arg coaches used to cover the walls of dressing rooms with the front pages of newspapers talking **** before an important game.

It s really not that complicated, is it? If you re facing Arg, just say something like: "They re a great side, and we enjoy measuring ourselves against the best, so it should be a fun contest."
henry has told the story 4324321 times about how Messi reacted when he got angry at trainings during his spell at barcelona. it's a rather well documented messi trait. Why poke the bear like that?
Why give them extra motivation? Scholes calling them pussycats, neville saying calling out Romero and Martinez, cant recall the other one who said that man for man (as if that mattered in a team sport!) England was aeons ahead and that other than maybe (ha!) Messi no other Arg player would make it to the Eng squad.

Is the pressure to say something like that so big? Dont they see the crystal clear trend? Or is it just stupidity?

You can’t control the media though. It’s not like Tuchel or any England players were saying that. In fact I’m sure they’d be saying the stuff they should be saying like how great a side they are.

I’m sure it’s the same in some sections of the Argentinian media is it not?

Mind you, I know what you mean. There was a moment after Anderson fouled Messi where Messi curled his bottom lip and raised his eyebrows as if to be like “oh ok, you want play like that do you, let’s ******* go” and I said to my boy you don’t want to **** Messi off, he might actually stop walking and put some effort in” (joke).

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

We must be the only national team in any sport that loses big games in the exact same way for decades and yet never learns their lesson. Don’t give me any of this b******s about Argentina’s spirit or “never knowing when they’re beaten”. We had them on toast yesterday when we went 1-0 up. For 55 minutes they had offered absolutely nothing. They were there to be put to the sword - and then, what do we do, we start getting deeper and deeper and just invite pressure. The way we sit back on a lead, you would have thought we had Prime Maldini, Cannavaro and Baresi at the back - spoiler alert, we don’t. That was a complete bottle job and it’s on Tuchel, his subs were appalling. Apparently between Gordon’s goal and full time, we had 12% possession. 12% of possession in 40 minutes of football, that is an utter embarrassment.

Mexico, Colombia...
Until 2010 you could argue the same thing about Spain. We would make fun of them when they called themselves the red fury.
All talk and no trophies to show for. Your time will come. Chin up!

 

[Welsh Exile]

As a Spurs fan I’m very happy that Romero is increasing his value with decent performances. We’ll surely have some buyers for him now. Can’t wait to get that prick out of my club.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

The only way I see Argentina being equal or less to France vs Spain is them being emotionally spent.

They're far more than the sum of their parts (which is mental to say when Messi is one of those parts).

 

[Groundhog]

Yeah, think England lost that more than anything and Tuchel will be hammered. Stuck 9 men behind the ball way too early and then invited a very good team just to have free crosses and ping shots from outside the box. I had absolutely no doubt Argentina would equalise within the 90 and even if that went to added time, there's no way that English team hangs on for 30 minutes set up that way. Like I think anyone with eyes can see Argentina all tournament have had loads of quality going forward, but have been porous as sin at the back. Why would you sit back and let a team like that have the ball.

 

[BrokenWing]

I think Declan Rice is England's most important player. Both times he has been recently substituted (Norway and Aregenting both fatigue) there followed a major drop off in England's ability to defend higher up and hold possession.
International football is not like League football where teams learn off eachother over a season.

He was utterly useless against Norway

He had been ill and really shouldn't have played.

Ambled around the pitch and kicked every set piece into the first defender.

 

[Demfad]

The only way I see Argentina being equal or less to France vs Spain is them being emotionally spent.

They're far more than the sum of their parts (which is mental to say when Messi is one of those parts).

Spain are also far more than the sum of their parts and Spain are far stronger than Argentina.
Argentina had great difficulty passing the ball up the pitch against England. Against Spain it will be a lot harder and Argentina will not be able to secure the territorial dominance they need to score goals.
If Spain go ahead there wont be a way back for Argentina. The performance against France was significantly better than any other teams performance in this tournament. They have won the European Champs and have champs pedigree.

 

[Demfad]

He was utterly useless against Norway

He had been ill and really shouldn't have played.

Ambled around the pitch and kicked every set piece into the first defender.

England went flat after he was removed. He is their major bridge between defense and attack and their major disruptor of opposition midfield possession.

 

[Demfad]

Yeah, think England lost that more than anything and Tuchel will be hammered. Stuck 9 men behind the ball way too early and then invited a very good team just to have free crosses and ping shots from outside the box. I had absolutely no doubt Argentina would equalise within the 90 and even if that went to added time, there's no way that English team hangs on for 30 minutes set up that way. Like I think anyone with eyes can see Argentina all tournament have had loads of quality going forward, but have been porous as sin at the back. Why would you sit back and let a team like that have the ball.

I think the Mexico siege defence flaterred to deceive a little. Yes, It was an excellent defensive shift but Mexicos plan was to just lob balls in from either side was flawed. The Mexican manager will have taken flack for not also stressing England and probing through the middle as they did when it was 11 v 11. Mexico gave England what they wanted. (Not saying England didn't deserve it, they did)


Unlike Mexico Argentina know how to convert territorial dominance. The issue they had, like France, was not being able to get territory or advanced possession to convert. Once Messi et al had the territorial dominance they were likely to find ways to open it up as they had versus Egypt.
In Tuchels defence he apparently had told the team to look for a second goal. England had started to regress before the water break so maybe he felt Argentinian dominance was coming anyway, or maybe he over estimated the Mexico siege defence which was never going to be enough versus a Messi led siege.

 

[BrokenWing]

England went flat after he was removed. He is their major bridge between defense and attack and their major disruptor of opposition midfield possession.

He is those things. But not against Norway when he was abject. I'd wager England Would've gone flat whether he was there or not, that's what they do.

I do know he wasted every set piece he went near that day.

 

[Welsh Exile]

The Arsenal players were all **** really. Saka was a waste of a space as wasn’t fit. Rice was clearly struggling with something but played nonetheless and Madueke was Madueke. Flatters to deceive. Bowen, Palmer and Foden all would’ve offered more in the wide and central areas in the final third and how the hell was Adam Wharton not taken I do not know. They could’ve done with him last night.

 

[Demfad]

He is those things. But not against Norway when he was abject. I'd wager England Would've gone flat whether he was there or not, that's what they do.

I do know he wasted every set piece he went near that day.

England went flat because they did not have a like for like replacement.
How was the key man in Germany's 2014 win? Lambe? Klose. Nope. Sebastian Sweinsteiger kept Germany's structure all the way through games in the hard matches versus Ghana, France and Argentina.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Spain are also far more than the sum of their parts and Spain are far stronger than Argentina.
Argentina had great difficulty passing the ball up the pitch against England. Against Spain it will be a lot harder and Argentina will not be able to secure the territorial dominance they need to score goals.
If Spain go ahead there wont be a way back for Argentina. The performance against France was significantly better than any other teams performance in this tournament. They have won the European Champs and have champs pedigree.

I think Spain v France was the best performance of the competition too. If it was played on paper Spain win 10/10 times.

I've never seen anything like the belief and refusal to be beaten like this Argentina team have shown.

I think Spain probably get it done but I wouldn't put a cent on it.

 

[BrokenWing]

England went flat because they did not have a like for like replacement.
How was the key man in Germany's 2014 win? Lambe? Klose. Nope. Sebastian Sweinsteiger kept Germany's structure all the way through games in the hard matches versus Ghana, France and Argentina.

Yeah, and if Sweinsteigerhad a 45 minutes as bad as Rice did he would have been dragged off too.

I know it’s not exactly proof, but the BBC match rating had him second lowest after Madueke. I’m clearly not in a minority of people who watched him stink the place out.