Posted July 12, 20187 yr So the third place match play-off takes place between Belgium and England, A repeat of their group game. A game that nobody wants to play. The game is live on ITV. Please use this thread for speculation, pre and post match chat on the England game. How do you see this going?
July 12, 20187 yr No interest. Croatia was the only good team we played and they played so poorly in the first half that we SHOULD have gotten through just from that. I am disappointed they didn't make it through their easiest way to a world cup that was possible, but am unsurprised. Belgium 3-0
July 12, 20187 yr Yeah think the players will be flat & they had one days fewer rest so Belgium will probably win comfortably unforch.
July 12, 20187 yr Did England beat Italy in 1990? To be fair you'd probably want to come third!! 2-1 England!! Why does itv get this too??
July 12, 20187 yr I think the English fans would like them to win this and go out on a high, and get revenge on Belgium for their defeat in the group stage, for me an England win. Gareth will most likely rest Kane for the match and use the subs that haven't played, in the end it be more of a Premier League match Final result 2-1 England in normal time
July 12, 20187 yr Yeah, I think it will be a nice tribute for England’s memorable achievement of getting to the semi-finals anyway. We’ve used 1966 and, to a lesser extent 1990, as a benchmark of achievement for so long, it’s nice to have a good modern day result that England teams in 4, 8 and 12 years’ time can aspire to matching or beating. Will be interesting to see how many of this year’s squad will be present in the 2022 team, if England qualify. Surely three or four you would think. Taking this from the UK Chart forum: I think almost everyone in this year's World Cup squad will be present in 2022, England had one of the youngest squads in the tournament and by the time the next World Cup comes around most of these players will be at their peak. It's only maybe Gary Cahill and Ashley Young that might not come back but I wouldn't be surprised if they still wouldn't have retired from international football by then. England have a really good youth squad as well that won the U-17 & U-20 World Cups last year and some of those players have already broken through into the first teams of Premier League sides. The problem for England is that other countries will improve as well and traditionally big teams like Italy and Holland that didn't qualify this time will be stronger in 4 years time, Germany will probably rebuild their side as well so this kind of opportunity that England got this year might not come around for a long time.
July 12, 20187 yr That's the most gutting thing - it felt like it HAD to be this year as it was a golden chance. By the next time there's no way on earth the likes of Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Argentina etc. will all do as crap as they did this time & yes there could still be plenty of shocks but we had all of those teams far out the way this year and still couldn't make the final.
July 12, 20187 yr That's the most gutting thing - it felt like it HAD to be this year as it was a golden chance. By the next time there's no way on earth the likes of Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Argentina etc. will all do as crap as they did this time & yes there could still be plenty of shocks but we had all of those teams far out the way this year and still couldn't make the final. To be honest I can't see the Netherlands and Argentina getting much better - both sides seem to have a pretty crap core at the moment and unless they have a massive wave of new youth come through in the next few years, I doubt they'll challenge.
July 12, 20187 yr Why does itv get this too?? I don't think the Beeb wants it to be honest. They have Wimbledon coverage. The match is a waste of time as Piers Morgan was saying on ITV this morning but all teams are contracted to play in it or be banned from the next WC. Edited July 12, 20187 yr by Crazy Chris
July 12, 20187 yr Taking this from the UK Chart forum: I think almost everyone in this year's World Cup squad will be present in 2022, England had one of the youngest squads in the tournament and by the time the next World Cup comes around most of these players will be at their peak. It's only maybe Gary Cahill and Ashley Young that might not come back but I wouldn't be surprised if they still wouldn't have retired from international football by then. England have a really good youth squad as well that won the U-17 & U-20 World Cups last year and some of those players have already broken through into the first teams of Premier League sides. The problem for England is that other countries will improve as well and traditionally big teams like Italy and Holland that didn't qualify this time will be stronger in 4 years time, Germany will probably rebuild their side as well so this kind of opportunity that England got this year might not come around for a long time. I'd be surprised if Cahill, Vardy, Welbeck, Young, Delph, Pope will be in the squad. Then again for me question marks over Maguire, Rashford and Loftus-Cheek. All depends who plays for their clubs and who kicks on. Got to remember if fit Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gomez would have made this squad, in place of probably Jones, Lofus-Cheek and Welbeck. Major problem with 2022 though is it will be mid-season and absolutely baking.
July 12, 20187 yr Bloody hell I forgot Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain weren't in the side. Maybe that extra midfield strength would have made the difference for us...
July 12, 20187 yr I wonder if the cup being mid season may be better as the players will be in full season swing and not after the end of a long hard arduous league campaign.
July 12, 20187 yr Would be nice to see England snatch this one, even if only to prevent 3 Lions falling 1-93 or similar :P That's the most gutting thing - it felt like it HAD to be this year as it was a golden chance. By the next time there's no way on earth the likes of Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Argentina etc. will all do as crap as they did this time & yes there could still be plenty of shocks but we had all of those teams far out the way this year and still couldn't make the final. Will Italy recover though? They've not qualified after getting kicked out at the group stage in two consecutive contests - Honduras have done the same and no-one was exactly surprised they didn't make it.
July 12, 20187 yr Will Italy recover though? They've not qualified after getting kicked out at the group stage in two consecutive contests - Honduras have done the same and no-one was exactly surprised they didn't make it. Of course Italy will recover, the big top teams always go through peaks and troughs, all depends on the players coming through at the time. Usually not qualifying or leaving early is a recipe for the country to then start a blueprint again e.g. what Germany did after Euro 2000 I think. Got to remember the World Cup is expanded for 2022, so I think Europe have 4-5 extra places.
July 12, 20187 yr Got to remember the World Cup is expanded for 2022, so I think Europe have 4-5 extra places. Isn't it 2026 when it gets expanded?
July 12, 20187 yr Isn't it 2026 when it gets expanded? Yes you're right - I got ahead of myself. Still, I think achieving anything in Qatar will be extremely difficult.
July 12, 20187 yr Europe only get 3 additional teams in 2026. Europe 13 --> 16 Asia 4 --> 8 Africa 5 --> 9 CONCACAF 3 --> 6 South America 5 --> 6 Oceania 0 --> 1 Intercontinental Playoffs (no Europe) 2 = 48.
July 12, 20187 yr South America get almost half the continent to qualify? Bit lop-sided! Be good to see a lot more African teams involved.
July 12, 20187 yr Author Did England beat Italy in 1990? To be fair you'd probably want to come third!! 2-1 England!! Why does itv get this too?? We finished fourth in 1990 we lost to Italy. ITV have normally shown the third place play-off since 2002, I think.
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