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WORLD CUP 2018 - Matchday Thread


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France  1-0  Belgium ... Hard keeping tabs on this, with our U23s playing at Hallam and what have you

                                      Tight game though, 1st half was a better watch IMO and it was decided in the end by a possible own goal from a corner

                                      Rest of the game was ... okay, but definitely nowhere near the pedestal our beloved BBC commentary team put it

                                      Murphy? I thought at one stage he'd got a crush on Mbappe & Matuidi - good players but let's not get carried away

                                      Kiddies are listening

                                      Come on England

 

... and well done Wednesday U23s  :cool:

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The French are either on top of the world, or in the depths of despair.

 

Unfortunately at the moment it's the former.

 

Judging by how the Belgians played against us, and how the French played against them, I think we'd really struggle to bring it home were we to get to the final.

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1 hour ago, stocksyuto said:

So thats it now then the golden boot is Kane’s now pretty much, unless maple or greizmann score like 3-4 in the final, good going by Kane

 

He's been pretty fortunate though hasn't he? 3 penalties, one dropping on his toe two yards out and an utter fluke off his heel? He's obviously played a big part in our success so far, but perhaps not quite in the way we'd expected. In the last couple of games he's been doing the unglamorous work like Atdhe Nuhiu for us without really having a sniff of a goal.

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Croatia  2-1  England ... ugh

                                       1st half - very good

                                       2nd half - very poor

                                       1st period ET - okay

                                       2nd period ET - a shambles

                                       Shots on target  Croatia  7-2  England

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I'm going to be controversial here but England are lucky to make the semis. We've played poor throughout under Southgate and nothing has changed.  We have little going forward bar set pieces, nothing down the wings with pace and zero through the middle.  We to often play it back to the keeper rather than pushing forward.  We were lucky against Tunisia and until we beat Sweden looked lucky to be there. 
Some of that squad are poor asked I know I will be lambasted but that really papered over the cracks.

 

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10 minutes ago, Ethel The Tree said:

Croatia  2-1  England ... ugh

                                       1st half - very good

                                       2nd half - very poor

                                       1st period ET - okay

                                       2nd period ET - a shambles

                                       Shots on target  Croatia  7-2  England

That last stat is the most telling. 

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2 minutes ago, darklord said:

I'm going to be controversial here but England are lucky to make the semis. We've played poor throughout under Southgate and nothing has changed.  We have little going forward bar set pieces, nothing down the wings with pace and zero through the middle.  We to often play it back to the keeper rather than pushing forward.  We were lucky against Tunisia and until we beat Sweden looked lucky to be there. 
Some of that squad are poor asked I know I will be lambasted but that really papered over the cracks.

 

I think I can see what you’re getting at but I don’t agree with most of it. There was too much cute dicking about at the back. I think the build up is there but the finish is missing (and the shots on goal would indicate that). Kane is a natural striker but, keep him quiet and the options are drying up. 

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The reality is...the 1st side we've played with any genuine class, have brushed us aside. 

 

The 1st half was fantastic. High intensity, relentless pressing...but it wasn't sustainable. 

 

As soon as the 2nd half started, Rakitic and Modric started pulling the strings and the writing was on the wall.

 

Nothing to be ashamed of. Our limitations have been there to see throughout...we've just played nobody good enough to expose them. 

 

We'll get better. But it'll still feel like a missed opportunity. 

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20 minutes ago, darklord said:

I'm going to be controversial here but England are lucky to make the semis. We've played poor throughout under Southgate and nothing has changed.  We have little going forward bar set pieces, nothing down the wings with pace and zero through the middle.  We to often play it back to the keeper rather than pushing forward.  We were lucky against Tunisia and until we beat Sweden looked lucky to be there. 
Some of that squad are poor asked I know I will be lambasted but that really papered over the cracks.

 

 

Harsh...but you kinda have a point. 

 

It was said when the squad was selected...we lacked a creator. And it's been our down fall. 

 

Sterling, Alli, Lingard, Loftus-Cheek are runners. We lack a passer to supply these players. 

 

If it wasn't for Southgate's meticulous planning with set pieces, we could have easily gone out in the group stage (let's be honest, we were fortunate to beat Tunisia). And the way the route unfolded for us was unheard of...has a side ever played such a lack of talent on the way to a World Cup semi final?

 

That said, they've dominated large periods of games and played with a real positivity.

 

In 4 years time, a player like Foden at Man City could well be a regular...and he could be a creator we're craving.

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