World Cup 2018 thread

[RadioactiveWaste]

I think I might just join #teamnarcos for the 16.

I've been so turned off the "half of the draw" pish when the fact is at least 12 of them are teams I'd regard as capable of beating England.

[Day]

What are we supposed to do today then with no games on, play guess who’s wearing the number 46 shorts at Moor Farm today?

 

[Van der MoodHoover]

Point is that we keep getting mixed messages from Southgate and he’s in danger of turning Snakey by saying one thing and doing another.

talks about wanting to build connections with the fans. No better way to turn them off than with half arsed performances.

talks about building and being in a process. Then chops and changes.

talks about wanting to improve gradually. Then changes up a winning core.

talks about players who bring something different. Then tries and fails to get them to play the same way as the rest.

[Angry Ram]

14 minutes ago, David said:

What are we supposed to do today then with no games on, play guess who’s wearing the number 46 shorts at Moor Farm today?

 

Have you tried walking the dog.. I might have to work this afternoon ffs, not happy.

[Day]

2 minutes ago, Angry Ram said:

Have you tried walking the dog.. I might have to work this afternoon ffs, not happy.

Not yet, saving that for when Loose Women comes on

[Angry Ram]

2 minutes ago, David said:

Not yet, saving that for when Loose Women comes on

So many ways I could take this...

Loose women.... Hmmmmm

Loose women comes on.... Hmmmmm

You only take the dog out once a month !!!!

[SaintRam]

The next England game is on ITV so I will be watching with a muted TV thanks to the 'insights' of Mr. Hoddle, and we will almost certainly lose, having only won one ITV World Cup match in 20 years.

[Curtains]

4 minutes ago, SaintRam said:

The next England game is on ITV so I will be watching with a muted TV thanks to the 'insights' of Mr. Hoddle, and we will almost certainly lose, having only won one ITV World Cup match in 20 years.

We ain’t going to lose we are playing our better players ie THE FIRST TEAM 

[Gaspode]

I can't be the only person who thinks Columbia will be a tough game can I? All this talk of an easier route to the Semis is cobblers if we lose on Tuesday. I'd have much rather faced Japan in the next round (even if that meant Brazil in the quarters...). Not saying we will lose, but Columbian trickery up against our defence puts a lot of pressure on our front-line to score a hatful....

[SaintRam]

2 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

I can't be the only person who thinks Columbia will be a tough game can I? All this talk of an easier route to the Semis is cobblers if we lose on Tuesday. I'd have much rather faced Japan in the next round (even if that meant Brazil in the quarters...). Not saying we will lose, but Columbian trickery up against our defence puts a lot of pressure on our front-line to score a hatful....

Colombia were my pick to win the tournament before it started. So, no, I certainly don't think it will be easy.

 

[Sexydadbod]

The outcome on England-Colombia really depends on the fitness of James. If he’s fit then Colombia will have a great chance, but if not, I make England favourites because there would be too much pressure on Quintero to produce the creativity for Colombia.

Stones went off injured yesterday. I was not his biggest fan but if he misses the game, he’d be a miss for England because of his ability to bring the ball out from the back. He looks to have more of a chance of making the game than James.

[AdamRam]

1 minute ago, McLovin said:

The outcome on England-Colombia really depends on the fitness of James. If he’s fit then Colombia will have a great chance, but if not, I make England favourites because there would be too much pressure on Quintero to produce the creativity for Colombia.

Stones went off injured yesterday. I was not his biggest fan but if he misses the game, he’d be a miss for England because of his ability to bring the ball out from the back. He looks to have more of a chance of making the game than James.

Southgate said the Stones sub was planned anyway and there was no injury to be concerned of ?

Any game at the WC knockout stages is going to be difficult, Colombia were good against Poland, but yesterday only managed a few shots throughout the game.  If we play to our potential we should go through, however given we are awful at knock out games anything can happen.

[Sexydadbod]

4 minutes ago, AdamRam said:

Southgate said the Stones sub was planned anyway and there was no injury to be concerned of ?

Any game at the WC knockout stages is going to be difficult, Colombia were good against Poland, but yesterday only managed a few shots throughout the game.  If we play to our potential we should go through, however given we are awful at knock out games anything can happen.

He sustained a calf injury according to reports but you are right the substitution was planned anyway , he should be fine for game on Tuesday.

South American teams like Colombia rarely sit back and defend which might actually suit England as they can break with speed on the counter attack 

[Jourdan]

Making eight changes and losing the game without really being competitive was not a good look. It made a mockery of the competition and it made a mockery of paying and travelling fans.

It showed that outside of the first XI, we don’t have anyone ready to perform on the world stage. It was such a laboured, uninspiring and disjointed performance, far more familiar to what we are used to seeing from England. Reserve team v reserve team albeit, we were still comfortably second best.

If we are trailing to Colombia after 70 minutes or god forbid someone gets injured while doing their ironing at the team hotel, did any of the starters last night suggest that they could make a difference?

For me, 2-3 changes would have been acceptable. 8 changes was only going to be disruptive and result in a team playing like strangers.

Of course if we beat Colombia, it’ll be quickly forgotten about. But personally I think it might be difficult for Kane and the boys to adjust from playing Panama and having nine days’ rest, to suddenly playing Colombia in a high intensity knockout game. 

We have the ‘ideal’ draw to progress to the semis and beyond but it’s going to take a big performance against Colombia to restore the feel-good factor and the belief that we can actually do it.

It’s too easy to assume that bringing back Kane and 6-7 others will instantly lead to better performances and better results. This is football and rarely is it ever that smooth. I think those first team players would have benefitted from beating Belgium as a way of progressing through the gears, because even Belgium Reserves are a stiffer test than Panama or Tunisia.

As it is, we are going to have to be at it from minute 1. Let’s hope the tinkering has paid off and not derailed our momentum.

[RadioactiveWaste]

Pablo Escobar > Arthur Daley

I'll be shocked if England are in the QF.

Unless England start fast and grab at least 2 early goals think it'll be very difficult, especially later in the game as England always fade badly (been doing it for years, look unbeatable in the first twenty, hopeless in the last twenty, and two weeks off in January will not change that)

[cannable]

14 hours ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said:

Pretty sure people thought the same when we avoided Portugal and got Iceland.

Wales didn’t play Portugal until the semis, they played Northern Ireland.

We had the harder half of the split in Euro 2016.

[ViewsFromTheMiddle]

24 minutes ago, cannable said:

Wales didn’t play Portugal until the semis, they played Northern Ireland.

We had the harder half of the split in Euro 2016.

https://www.squawka.com/en/news/how-england-can-avoid-drawing-cristiano-ronaldos-portugal-in-the-last-16-of-euro-2016/704764#0Uz63zj2ZEXFAk8h.97

[Bob The Badger]

I was just reading an article looking at the next stage and offering predictions.

The guy who wrote it predicted we'd draw 2-2 and then win on penalties.

I nearly pissed my pants laughing.

Us winning on penalties, at the World Cup, with our reputation. What was he thinking of?

 

[Posh Ram]

I can see the logic to rotating. Realistically all of our hopes lie on Kane's finishing and Trippier's set pieces so if they'd played yesterday and got injured, we'd struggle whether playing Colombia or Japan.

Don't think anyone did enough to break into the first XI yesterday, other than maybe Rose (offers more width than Young). Delph could get a start as well if we play two defensive midfielders. Thought Dier was appalling.

[SaintRam]

14 minutes ago, Bob The Badger said:

I was just reading an article looking at the next stage and offering predictions.

The guy who wrote it predicted we'd draw 2-2 and then win on penalties.

I nearly pissed my pants laughing.

Us winning on penalties, at the World Cup, with our reputation. What was he thinking of?

 

I believe unless things have changed since I've heard this, that we have the worst record in penalty shootouts worldwide out of countries that have competed in like... 3? or more. Something like that anyway. No-ones lost more than us, for sure.