Good win for England. harder games to come. I expect Iran to run Wales much closer. USA are unpredictable, but England should top this group easy
Printable View
Good win for England. harder games to come. I expect Iran to run Wales much closer. USA are unpredictable, but England should top this group easy
6-2 FT
:lol:
Far tougher tests to come of course but for building momentum you couldn’t have asked for more.
I thought we looked very good going forward albeit against weak opposition. Saka, Bellingham were the standout performers, though I thought Rashford did well when he came on.
As others have said, it's against the stronger opponents that we may come unstuck, more to do with our defence, because I think our Midfield and forward line is up there with the likes of Brazil, France and Argentina.
It comes down to Maguire being shitQuote:
Originally Posted by selassie
I think White and Tomori would have been the best centre back partnership
Bellingham….can anyone remember the last time we looked so controlled in the middle of the park
I honestly think we should try and sign him, put him where Xhaka plays.
In terms of being competitive this is a much better game
Senegal I’d argue slightly the stronger of the two sides, looked more comfortable in possession. The Dutch have had slightly better chances
I’m not sure, even though they’re undoubtedly more gifted individually White and Tomori have never played together so I don’t think it could be said with certainty they’d be better than Stones and Maguire. For whatever reason, that partnership works for England so I don’t feel like it needs to be tinkered with at this stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn
We’ve been defensively sound at the last 2 tournaments, mainly because Southgate is a pragmatist and that plays into the strengths of a CB like Maguire who’s a bit of an oaf.
It’s the forward players who’ve let us down at the crucial moments I’d say anyway.
The Dutch have been trying to do that "they want to walk it into the net" thing which I find quite frustrating. Just hit it ffs!Quote:
Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn
I’m not saying anything with certainty I’m just saying that I think they would be better. The problem hasn’t been the lack of attacking ability/talent….it’s the lack of attacking ambition. We have often played a wing back system under Southgate and have played within ourselves…therefore Maguire’s lack of pace has not been exposed. It’s abundantly clear that today that starting with Bellingham rather than a midfield of Henderson and Rice or Rice and Phillips that we are going to be more attack minded which is going to leave us more exposed at times, and we need defenders with more pace back there…In my view.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Yep, but at the same time they’ve actually been quite direct a lot of running from the wing backs and long balls. I just think the lack of a finisher means players like Gakpo are looking to lay it on for someone else rather than take the shotQuote:
Originally Posted by Letters