June 25, 20241 yr I only watched the first half so I'll only comment on that. They were extremely crap. Managed to squeak out of an easy group by winning 1 match out of 3. We can only look at the positives though - we're in the bottom half of the draw and will avoid the bigger nations until the final (France / Portugal / Germany / Spain). Worst case is facing Italy in the Quarter Finals However whoever we get in the R of 16 is going to test the team far more than any of the group stage matches. If I worked this out correctly then we either get the Netherlands from Group D or one of Romania / Belgium / Slovakia / Ukraine from Group E (all tied on 3 points). None of those teams are going to be push overs. Whilst it will work in our favour being a 24 team tournament I do think it should either go back to 16 teams or extend to 32 teams with only the Top 2 teams going through - this best losers crap rewards some very mediocre outfits with knockout places they don't really deserve. Edited June 25, 20241 yr by DoBelieveTheHype
June 25, 20241 yr Indeed. Assuming the likely scenarios of Portugal not losing to Georgia and the eventual 3rd placer in Group E not losing badly enough to get knocked below Hungary's goal difference - we're playing Netherlands unless Czechia beats Turkey in Group F, in which case we get to play Group E's 3rd placer, which could be any of them at this point. Netherlands haven't been impressive either but you wouldn't count them out.
June 25, 20241 yr I figured this would be a snoozer, I see I made the right choice not watching :lol: We're very lucky our group was one big stalemate (one win in the whole group is crazy, must not happen often) as this is easily the weakest we've ever been under Southgate, one can hope we'll wake up now x Denmark and Slovenia were equal im everything except for their FIFA ranking (obviously). Even the fair play rule brought no decision on who came 2nd and who 3rd :lol: Now that is one thing I haven't seen a lot
June 25, 20241 yr Denmark and Slovenia were equal im everything except for their FIFA ranking (obviously). Even the fair play rule brought no decision on who came 2nd and who 3rd :lol: Now that is one thing I haven't seen a lot It was fair play that put Denmark above Slovenia by the looks of it. Slovenia had 1 more yellow card (which was awarded to their technical director in their opening game)! If they had played against each other today, it would have actually been decided by a penalty shoot-out. They’d both be trying to lose to avoid Germany. :lol:
June 25, 20241 yr It was not good but it kinda forced Southgate into certain things he obviously wasn't going to do otherwise. Palmer looked a threat. Mainoo you saw a few glimpses of the differences he can bring, the left side is obviously severely hampered by Tripper but Luke Shaw is finally training properly. So this easy side of the draw could buy him more time too. Now we just need Southgate not to go back into his mundane ways. Palmer, Mainoo and maybe Gordon have to start. There are no amazing teams in this tournament, maybe Spain but they're over-reliant on a 16 yr old
June 25, 20241 yr It was not good but it kinda forced Southgate into certain things he obviously wasn't going to do otherwise. Palmer looked a threat. Mainoo you saw a few glimpses of the differences he can bring, the left side is obviously severely hampered by Tripper but Luke Shaw is finally training properly. So this easy side of the draw could buy him more time too. Now we just need Southgate not to go back into his mundane ways. Palmer, Mainoo and maybe Gordon have to start. There are no amazing teams in this tournament, maybe Spain but they're over-reliant on a 16 yr old Part of the problem is Southgate doesn't know his best team andf he's trying to figure it out. I feel he kind of knows how he wants to play (solid defensively, win the game on set pieces or high percentage opportunities) - but we have players who don't play this style at all so not really sure it does us any favours. He brings on his subs too late (classic Southgate) and is reactive rather than proactive. I also don't want to see Bellingham in that #10 role either. Not even sure he's that good at it. Think people forget he basically played up front for Madrid!
June 25, 20241 yr Part of the problem is Southgate doesn't know his best team andf he's trying to figure it out. I feel he kind of knows how he wants to play (solid defensively, win the game on set pieces or high percentage opportunities) - but we have players who don't play this style at all so not really sure it does us any favours. He brings on his subs too late (classic Southgate) and is reactive rather than proactive. I also don't want to see Bellingham in that #10 role either. Not even sure he's that good at it. Think people forget he basically played up front for Madrid! Yeah he has become a more technical version of Deli Ali almost, he was looking a world-beater in central midfield then was forced to play further ahead due to Madrid having limited attacking options but an overload of midfielders got a load of goals and suddenly now he's a second striker? But he will work better in a team that stretches the other team and creates space when its all camped in one area you need guile and creativity and it doesn't help him. Its hard for anyone to really look good in that team so it is hard to judge fully. I felt like the second half was the right direction though, Southgate just has to build on it not go backwards
June 26, 20241 yr It was fair play that put Denmark above Slovenia by the looks of it. Slovenia had 1 more yellow card (which was awarded to their technical director in their opening game)! If they had played against each other today, it would have actually been decided by a penalty shoot-out. They’d both be trying to lose to avoid Germany. :lol: https://www.uefa.com/euro2024/statistics/te...&order=desc The uefa website has them both at 6
June 26, 20241 yr https://www.uefa.com/euro2024/statistics/te...&order=desc The uefa website has them both at 6 That page is only counting cards given to players. They confirm that it’s disciplinary points that separate the teams here: https://www.uefa.com/euro2024/news/028e-1b2...roups-qualifyi/
June 26, 20241 yr Yeah it was poor play... in fact they've only been really good for the first 25 minutes of their very first game. The rest of the time it feels like there is no threat or urgency at all. Just endless passes that fizzle out to nothing.
Create an account or sign in to comment