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Group D - Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Scotland

Who will qualify from the group?


  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

Furball

Evil Scotsman
Good old Steve Clarke waiting 2 games and 80 minutes to bring on our best right back instead of playing his useless pal from Kilmarnock.
 

Tangles

International Vice-Captain
England have sat back 2nd half and Grealish going off was an indicator of even more game management.

I don’t get the point of Kane playing this role. He ends up drifting into spaces where Sterling and Grealish want to occupy. His one good chance he didn’t convert and that’s the one trait he brings others don’t.
 

Uppercut

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Not sure this England performance has been any better than before. They just made the one moment of class count.

Set piece delivery has been universally atrocious. Not great since it's usually one of our better chances for a goal.
If that Stones header went in you’d have played the exact same game 3 times.

The defence gives you a chance against anyone tbf. I don’t mean to be constantly negative about England but I just can’t really get over the pre-tournament favourites tag.
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
Hard to score against, don't really get you out of your seat. But it'll do.

Commiserations to the Scots going out so soon after winning the Euros, Confederations Cup, World Cup and Nobel Prize on Friday night. You'll always have that 0-0 though.
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yeah just incredibly dull rather than actively bad.

I guess it is at least in part because of the capacity percentage allowed but the atmosphere feels so flat compared to other teams that are hosting matches. Obviously Denmark has been a special case but Italy have really felt like a home side in a major tournament. England's games feel a bit like qualification matches.
 

MW1304

Cricketer Of The Year
If that Stones header went in you’d have played the exact same game 3 times.

The defence gives you a chance against anyone tbf. I don’t mean to be constantly negative about England but I just can’t really get over the pre-tournament favourites tag.
The defense was exposed a fair few times in that second half. Somehow with two deep central midfielders we'd left gaps everywhere.

Czechs were dreadful, but a stronger attack would find a way through I'm sure.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
We’ve been exactly what I expected, light years from being good enough to win the tournament.
Bookies in the UK usually have odds set by a lot of jingoistic betting. No idea what odds foreign bookies had.
No expectation if we have to play Germany or France, but that might be based more on watching 50 years of failure rather than current possibilities.
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
Yeah just incredibly dull rather than actively bad.

I guess it is at least in part because of the capacity percentage allowed but the atmosphere feels so flat compared to other teams that are hosting matches. Obviously Denmark has been a special case but Italy have really felt like a home side in a major tournament. England's games feel a bit like qualification matches.
Should be better next week with half capacity and knockout tension. 5pm KO a downer though
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
For me, the problem wasn't so much the dullness (which doesn't bother me so much) as the inability to retain possession for much of the second half, and better teams will punish us for that. I don't know whether that was due to Rice coming off, or whether that was coincidental. The plusses were Saka being much better than I had realised and most of the back four playing well; Shaw the exception, and I wonder whether Trippier will return next time. I thought Grealish was increasingly anonymous in the second half, so I wouldn't blame Southgate for taking him off.
 

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
If Mount can’t play for the last 16 we will move to 343 with Sterling, Kane, another (not Sancho) as the front three. At every decision point Southgate chooses the negative/conservative/defensive option. Would never be happier to be proven wrong, we aren’t good enough defensively to just be able to sit back.

Seemed as if Sara and Grealish got an earful at half time for being to progressive.
 

Uppercut

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For me, the problem wasn't so much the dullness (which doesn't bother me so much) as the inability to retain possession for much of the second half, and better teams will punish us for that. I don't know whether that was due to Rice coming off, or whether that was coincidental. The plusses were Saka being much better than I had realised and most of the back four playing well; Shaw the exception, and I wonder whether Trippier will return next time. I thought Grealish was increasingly anonymous in the second half, so I wouldn't blame Southgate for taking him off.
Yeah this is the thing. All properly good defensive teams now are good at retaining the ball.
 

Red_Ink_Squid

Cricketer Of The Year
If Mount can’t play for the last 16 we will move to 343 with Sterling, Kane, another (not Sancho) as the front three. At every decision point Southgate chooses the negative/conservative/defensive option. Would never be happier to be proven wrong, we aren’t good enough defensively to just be able to sit back.

Seemed as if Sara and Grealish got an earful at half time for being to progressive.
If Mount can’t play for the last 16 we will move to 343 with Sterling, Kane, another (not Sancho) as the front three. At every decision point Southgate chooses the negative/conservative/defensive option. Would never be happier to be proven wrong, we aren’t good enough defensively to just be able to sit back.

Seemed as if Sara and Grealish got an earful at half time for being to progressive.
I actually wouldn't hate us playing a 343 in theory because you'd think it'd at least force the wingbacks to get forward. I've banged the drum a few times in this thread already but the few spells we've been dangerous so far have generally coincided with the full backs getting forward in support, as they did for the first 30 minutes or so of both this and the Croatia game.

We'd probably just turn it into a flat back 5 though.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
The frustrating thing for me is that England, regardless of expectations in terms of results, finally have a squad of players who are capable of playing (whether defensively or otherwise) in a non turgid/ploddy/stodgy/dour way. And they still play in a turgid/ploddy/stodgy/dour way.
 

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