The two World Cups were the real chances.
The Euros are small fry compared to the World Cup when it comes down to it.
England were 1-0 up and dominating Croatia in a semi-final. Thatās the āreal chanceā.
They had a penalty to go to extra-time against a France team that as it turned out werenāt that great, with a semi-final against Morocco the prize, and missed the penalty.
Thatās a āreal chanceā.
People have already forgotten Euro 2024 existed.
Completely. Italy were a savage bunch of warriors right in it together. Italy do that from time to time. But they struggled for goals. England shat the pot.
Didi summed up Southgateās shortcomings all through the tournament. They got a handy draw and were very fortunate to get to the quarters. I thought Mainoo was having a decent game. Showed for the ball and tried to pass it when he got it or hold on to it if that lumbering prick Rice was hiding. He was hooked because he was easy to hook. Kane shouldnāt have started any of the games. He was unfit. They were playing with 10. He was bringing on Gallagher again last night, for what?
He needs to maybe look at playing some of the wide players deeper and more centrally in a 4-3-3. Palmer seems the most adaptable of them and the cleverest footballer.
Needs to look at all of Palmer, Bellingham, Foden, Grealish as number 8s and pick 2 with Rice sitting in, Saka should have the wide right slot. They have to go with a Gordon or Rashford wide left and try to replicate the Son/Kane pace in behind dynamic as I donāt think Kane is going anywhere.
Playing these lads centrally and further back could be ugly in a few qualifiers but theyāve got to give it a go and stick with it.
I dont think either world cup presented a realistic chance for England to win a tournament.
But 1 nil up is still a great chance. The problem is the air is waaay too thin for them at that level. They face teams that have much better skill and touch. France would have milled them in the final
Gallagher was coming on to try and run over the Spanish but they had resettled and could go all night at the tempo. The tournament was lost coming in really, no settled combinations in midfield or anywhere really.
France probably would have beaten them in the final in 2018 but reaching a World Cup final would have represented a bigger leap for England than Southgate ever made with them.
They absolutely had a realistic chance of winning 2022.
They absolutely fucked it away that night, Italy were no good
Iād argue how much they were dominating Croatia too in 2018.
I think itās a very outside shot. Euro 2020 is the only tournament I can ever recall where you could say England could reasonably be called the best team of the tournament
Is Mainoo not just another one of these lads that wants to run around at a hundred miles an hour in midfield. Maybe with a bit more quality
This should be goodā¦
I do think people also under estimate the pressure that comes under these teams when they are trying to break ducks like Englands one.
New Zealand in 2011 fell in with the help of a ref in 2011.
Dublin v Kerry had the help of Kerry meltdown and still they needed a late free to win it.
Limerick in 2018 destroyed Galway but only hung on in at the end.
Iām sure thereās plenty of other examples in sports.
Youād have steered them home yourself that night, they just needed to keep going. None of those Italy players have gone on to much bar maybe a few at Inter.
Point for next year, PSG probably have one of the best midfields in Europe with Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha plus that kid Bercola on the left who looked a machine for France.
France and Spain were the two best teams at Euro 2021. The football France played in the second half against Switzerland was the best they ever played under Deschamps. It was Harlem Globetrotters stuff. But Deschamps letting France off the leash also led to their undoing - they became cavalier and thought they had the game won and conceded two silly goals and got done on penalties. Itās why he went back to deathly dull football in the tournaments afterwards. England were probably the fourth best team in that tournament.
England were all over Croatia in the first half in 2018. They should have had the game put to bed by half time.
I remember when he was manager for the 2010 World Cup and BBC speculation about who the goalkeeper would be for their opening game. How do you go into a World Cup without knowing who your goalkeeper is?
And then he picked the wrong one.
Yep. It boils down to not having Kalvin Phillips available. He could have taken care of the Spanish 2nd string midfield.
Naw but he probably had a settling effect on Rice and was pretty comfortable on the ball a couple of years ago. They werenāt winning anyway.