Reply With QuoteGreat game this.
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Ronaldo probably fitter than most, the shape he keeps himself in.Originally Posted by life on mars
Great game this.
The inability of Portugal to cross the ball is telling .
Really??? Don't think I will bother to stay up for extra time. Am I the only one who doesn't rate Mbappe....or Kroos for that matter.
You maybe in the minority .
Freaky fit
As is Pepe.
Very driven dedicated people .
Youngsters should take note .
After watching today's Q/F matches, thinking of England being favourites for the Euros is like Accrington Stanley being made favourites to win the Champion's League.
France into a semi final scoring only 2 goals !!!!!
Plus whatever the score was in the Belgium game
(Wasn’t one an own goal as well ? )
England are not favourites. Spain are, followed by France, who were poor against Portugal and have looked nothing special throughout the tournament and yet are in the semis.
They definitely were before the tournament started and some bookies still had them there once they realised how relatively easy their path to the final was.
The point I was trying to make is that the football we witnessed from Spain in particular and Germany is so far removed from the so called football England play that it is hard to imagine why England were ever rated so highly. Yes hindsight is a wonderful thing but seeing how these other teams pass and move makes you realise how over-hyped English footballers are.
Its not the English footballers that are over-hyped. Its the chances of a national team that is hamstrung by an ultra cautious manager and an unreasonable weight of expectation.
Kane was comfortably the top scorer in the Bundesliga this season. Foden was the player of the year in the multi-national Premier League. Bellingham was one of the stand-out players for the European champions. The England squad is full of top-class talent and many of the players in it would walk into most of the other top European sides. The biggest problem is the manager doesnt really know what to do with them.
They were favourites for 2 reasons - the volume of bets placed on them is disproportionate to the other countries and bookies want punters to bet on others.
Being on the 'easier' side of the draw, the better teams on the other side of the draw would knock each other out.
The ‘harder’ side of the draw was brutal. Four teams that are would be finalists, little wonder the approach was so cagey. Over cautious, wary that one dropped bollock and you’ve conceded. Not one of the teams were that much better than the other that they’d be in the slightest bit cavalier. Interesting, damage limitation football rather than an ‘up & at ‘em’ approach. Understandable I s’pose.
Anyone else think that watching the Portugal/France game last night was like watching 10 v 11?
As good as we all know Ronaldo has been, he was absolutely useless last night (as he has been all tournament)
Cant remember him contributing anything of note to the game.
Theres something sad about watching a once great sportsman dying on his arse.like a boxer who takes on one fight too many.
Its difficult, as Portugal may have won last night if theyd played a different striker from the start, but as country and squad, dropping Ronaldo was always gonna be the big issue.
We would have felt the same if it were Bale in that position.
To be a winner, you have to have a ruthless streak, as well as the talent. I feel England will go down the same route as Portugal, with the Southgate issue.
They have the squad, the draw and the climate to take this tournament by the scruff of the neck, but in Southgate, they have a manager who is pathetically weak and scared of his own shadow.
My feeling is that if Portugal and England had been a bit braver, one of them could have lifted this trophy. I know England are still in it, but Ill be amazed if they win it with Southgate in charge.
It’s difficult, as Portugal may have won last night if they’d played a different striker from the start, but as country and squad, dropping Ronaldo was always gonna be the big issue
As Splott Parker pointed out, if they’d dropped Ronaldo, he’d taken his ball home
i thought it was a boring match too
Like most of this Tournament I've paused the TV and played back/fast forwarded later. It's pretty dull and tedious and predictable. You may be watching some of the best footballers on the planet but that doesn't necessarily result in exciting football. They're all coached to ridiculous levels - set piece defending coach, set piece attacking coach, etc, etc. PL, although better, is becoming the same..
Spain look so good but have they peaked to soon? They’ve lost a few players for the semi from the German game. You just get the feeling that France will turn it in on at some point after being pretty woeful, barely scoring and boring to watch.
He should just tell them…go and do what you want, they would probably rip everyone apart
Some top quality defending last night, and some tremendous goalkeeping performances in this tournament. How any City fan who endured last season, can complain about the quality of these Euros, is beyond me. Each to their own though 👍
I'm not disputing the quality, it's just been boring, the two don't necessarily equate. Having said that, last season was boring minus the quality..
Every team are playing the same way, down either wing, playing short balls in little triangles and then when they get into a position to cross the ball, there’s no f uck er in the box !!!!!!
So they go back to the goalie and try the other side.
The amount of times I’m shouting “get it in the f uck ing box”, the Mrs eventually said “I’ll put you in a f uck ing box in a minute”
I may be in a minority here but I'm loving the skill levels shown in nearly all the games, even by the 'lesser' teams. Yes there are times when I wish they would cross the ball more often when the opportunity arises but you have to admire the passing, movement and creativity shown.
I know I'm knocking England again but their passing is so predictable and easy to defend against. Compare them with the really top teams and the gulf in this facet of the game is huge.
With a few exceptions I do not buy into the concept that most of the English players would walk into other teams. They're decent footballers but no more than that.
Watching the knockouts so far I don't think England have much to be scared of.
Spain have impressed me the most.
England due a performance where everything comes off for them, actually think they will cruise today and then go back to struggling on.
The game has changed, though. There's much more of an onus on keeping possession - if you have the ball the other team don't and can't do anything with it.
I did an analysis on here a while ago where I noticed that teams were crossing the ball less often and shooting from distance less often, but there was a reason for that. Shots from outside the box are least likely to find the back of the net, so are more likely to be wasted opportunities and, I think at least, teams would rather keep the ball and look for a better opportunity than waste a shot from distance. Similarly with crosses into the box. Cut backs and clever passing in and around the area leads to better scoring opportunities than a hopeful cross.
I'm aware that most people who use this board have been watching football for years and many still yearn for days of yore when the game was more physical, when there was a target man up front and teams tried to get the ball forward quickly most of the time, even if it usually meant the ball came straight back. Those days have gone and I think people need to realise that.
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