The Euro 2024 Thread

[Squeak]

Really? I've enjoyed it, Spain bossing it, Italy doing Italian things.

It's the sly stuff I don't like... too many fake head injuries, slyly kicking the ball away at free kicks and making it look an accident, little bits of embellishment.... but other than that, the game is fine but just being ruined a little for me. I know Italy are famous for it so I'm not surprised. Have to say, the ref is annoying me... couldn't read a Jack and Jill book.

 

[Del Woppio]

 

[jd1981]

View attachment 10741

iPhone doesn’t allow until it’s below 80%, Gaz would complain

 

[jd1981]

View attachment 10741

Eats a chicken Korma when going out for a curry

 

[Dire Wolf]

Wears a cycle helmet on an exercise bike.

 

[jd1981]

Puts his seatbelt on, on a coach trip

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

 

[jd1981]

View attachment 10742

Ha ha

 

[ROVERT47]

Carvajal is such a twat.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Croatia need to beat Italy or they're done

Italy can't really afford to lose as you're in real danger in 3rd on 3 points and negative GD

 

[jd1981]

Italy will happily shithouse a 0-0 and go through

 

[ROVERT47]

I’d like to think England can still find some sort of form/plan from now on but I can’t see any further than either Germany or Spain at the moment.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I’d like to think England can still find some sort of form/plan from now on but I can’t see any further than either Germany or Spain at the moment.

I'd hold off on Germany for now, Scotland totally froze and Hungary may well be the worst team in the tournament, so hard to judge

 

[Sniffer]

I think that If we win our group we can’t meet them until the semi’s and they’d have to get past France to be there.

 

[Del Woppio]

We're still in the mix to win it. Nobody will find us easy to beat, we are pretty well organised and don't give up many chances, and when there's only an odd goal in any game then that's not an awful position to be in when the QFs come around. I do think that if you were to take everybody's best eleven and best 5 subs, you'd pick ours on paper, and though we're clearly not going to approach any game like that it may be enough, and we won't be arsed about entertainment if we're holding the trophy.

 

[Del Woppio]

Incidentally, on the trophy, I heard some radio presenter or other talk about England's "58 years of hurt" and thought to myself 'that's not right' and started counting up from Euro 96. Euro 96 was 28 years ago. Fuck off.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

All felt very World Cup 2006 today as JD said. You've picked all your big names but not worked out how they all fit together, and we moved the ball so so slowly.

Much like at 2006 we won't concede many along the way which always gives you a shout of going a fair way but you do need more than that to win it.

Kane looks caught between two stools, not dropping in to the pockets like he has done for most of the last 2-3 years but also not sticking right up front and occupying the centre halves. If he gets a chance he's got a high probability of scoring but again it's not enough, or Italy would still be picking Pippo Inzaghi.

Wharton should allow us to move the ball quicker and crucially he always looks for the forward pass (plus he's actually, y'know, a CM rather than a RB who can't defend that we're trying to shoehorn into the team), Gordon would mean that we have a quick, direct threat on both flanks like Spain did tonight. Not saying they would be transformative changes necessarily as we might still be stodgy as all hell, but they would help solve two key problems from the last two games.

That's the worst I've ever seen Declan Rice play for anyone and it now transpires Shaw still isn't training properly...how did we put ourselves in that position? There are left backs around, not world beaters, but at least an alternative to Trippier (defending has been fine but through no fault of his own, he's a black hole of possession in open play on the left) or Gomez (a clunking right footed CH, no, you're ok ta).

I can only hope the Kalvin Phillips comments were a deflection tactic because they're nonsense. I mean if you DO think he's that important and we have literally no-one else who can do what he does (rubbish of course, even at his absolute best he's always the weakest player technically in an England team) then pick him and say that he's your man and you don't care whether he is or isn't playing at club level, so long as he's fit. He isn't injured! Of course given that he's hardly played for anyone since the World Cup 18 months ago then you have had ample time to solve that particular conundrum so no sympathy.

It's all quite concerning, it's salvageable but we're now trying to find solutions on the job which shouldn't be the case when all our key players are fit and have played well all season.

 

[Sniffer]

Southgate has had six years to work a method of getting us up the pitch when under pressure but we’re as bad at it now as we were in 2018. We may as just leave Saka up wide and go long over the top to him as at least we’d be in a better position territorially and then try and pin the opposition back.
We need a player in the midfield just to receive the ball and knit the play together and Wharton looked like he could do that in the bits I’ve seen of him but he’s not getting a look in.
I agree we can still go far though but it will be quite turgid stuff rather than tearing sides apart with free flowing football.
We’ve been very good at beating lesser nations but quite average against the better sides and I don’t see that changing whilst Southgate is still in charge.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Incidentally we haven't won all our group games since the 1982 World Cup, which is fairly shocking.

1986: Portugal L 0-1, Morocco D 0-0, Poland W 3-0
1988: Ireland L 0-1, Netherlands 1-3, USSR L 1-3
1990: Ireland D 1-1, Netherlands D 0-0, Egypt W 1-0
1992: Denmark D 0-0, France D 0-0, Sweden L 1-2
1996: Switzerland D 1-1, Scotland W 2-0, Netherlands W 4-1
1998: Tunisia W 2-0, Romania L 1-2, Colombia W 2-0
2000: Portugal L 2-3, Germany W 1-0, Romania L 2-3
2002: Sweden D 1-1, Argentina W 1-0, Nigeria D 0-0
2004: France L 1-2, Switzerland W 3-0, Croatia W 4-2
2006: Paraguay W 1-0, Trinidad & Tobago W 2-0, Sweden D 2-2
2010: USA D 1-1, Algeria D 0-0, Slovenia W 1-0
2012: France D 1-1, Sweden W 3-2, Ukraine W 1-0
2014: Italy L 1-2, Uruguay L 1-2, Costa Rica D 0-0
2016: Russia D 1-1, Wales W 2-1, Slovakia D 0-0
2018: Tunisia W 2-1, Panama W 6-0, Belgium L 0-1
2021: Croatia W 1-0, Scotland D 0-0, Czech Republic W 1-0
2022: Iran W 6-2, USA D 0-0, Wales W 3-0
2024: Serbia W 1-0, Denmark D 1-1, Slovenia TBD

 

[The Bear]

More entertainment than the entire England game.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803896563921572057