Day 5: Hungary vs Portugal | France vs Germany

A 43 year old Klose would have done better than a few of the german forwards today, should have brought him from the stands
 
Happy with the result but really disappointed that we started parking the bus after the goal.

The first 20 minutes were good though
 
There was something really Old School about the match.
Its imperfections made it far more fascinating.

France look special once they get going.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
He's to blame for one being offside. Mbappe was the talent for the other disallowed goal, all him. The pass in the first half was good but the bloody OG was fortunate.
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At the end of the day other players aren’t playing those passes. That’s what he’s tasked to do. If you can create three big chances in a game, and the only thing you’re asking is the fastest player on the pitch to be more conservative in his runs to turn those moments into goals, you’re doing your job very well. Yes you’re relying on your team mates to help make those openings possible, and to convert, but that’s normal. That’s not a Pogba thing. It isn’t a low bar.
 
Jippy said:
Do you think there is a racist smear campaign against him? The same white commentators adore Kate, Mbappe, Varane etc...

Some seem to dislike but I'm sure the hair and persona is a massive part of that.
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No, doubt there's anything racist about it directly, more a weird dislike of him as a person. But it does tend to come from the white commentators and pundits more, the likes of Wright, Jenas, Evra are more likely to praise him.
 
haters gonna hate, but Kante well in shot for the ballon d or if they win the championship and he plays like today.
 
Eckers99 said:
Germany badly lack creativity. Plus France, for all their flair, are one tough fecking nut to crack. Resolute.
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We lack a coach willing to line up and play to create, for starters. Five defenders and Kroos dropping deep on top of that, there's nobody left to get attacks going. This also forces Müller to play in a CF or winger position, both of which work equally ineffectively.
 
Brwned said:
At the end of the day other players aren’t playing those passes. That’s what he’s tasked to do. If you can create three big chances in a game, and the only thing you’re asking is the fastest player on the pitch to be more conservative in his runs to turn those moments into goals, you’re doing your job very well. Yes you’re relying on your team mates to help make those openings possible, and to convert, but that’s normal. That’s not a Pogba thing. It isn’t a low bar.
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It's a low bar.
 
I enjoyed that game a lot for far. Definitely the best of the games I've managed to see despite only having the 1 goal.
 
Not that disappointed, didn't lose as badly as I thought we would. Though that is more to do with France playing defensively than us being really good. I fully expect Hungary to give us a battering on the counter.

Kroos and Gundogan should never play together, hope Goretzka gets back to fitness.
 
Really enjoyed that. End to end. Both teams do look very good.

France are such a joy to watch. Think Germany will have a very good tournament too.
 
bosnian_red said:
I dont think France was unlucky, they didn't create any other chances other than Mbappe being offside twice? Rabiot post I guess. And it was an own goal that separated the 2. Was a very tight and even game IMO, could've gone either way, but definitely much better from Germany than I expected. They had their chances but didn't take them, which you need to against a team with Frances quality defensively and their set up.
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I don't not so sure - Germany were toothless and France were quite comfortable. I think they played within themselves and I had the feeling they had another couple of gears if Germany had have scored.
 
marktan said:
No, doubt there's anything racist about it directly, more a weird dislike of him as a person. But it does tend to come from the white commentators and pundits more, the likes of Wright, Jenas, Evra are more likely to praise him.
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Wright just blamed Pogba for the goal being offside:lol:
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
It's a low bar.
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Try counting the number of times a single player creates more big chances in a game than all of his team mates and the opposition combined, in a game between two of the biggest teams in the tournament. It tends to be quite uncommon, and therefore, a high bar…
 
Thought it was an excellent game tbh.

First round of fixtures has done enough for me to be super excited for this tournament. Pretty rare to have so many countries who are genuinely very good and dangerous sides.
  • France
  • Portugal
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • England
  • Belgium
  • Spain
  • Netherlands
All with some very good squads or performances that will give them huge confidence going forward. Netherlands a cut below the rest IMO but some confidence could go a long way as they have a brilliant midfield duo. Spain and Germany lack a proper goalscorer but will both be very hard to play and beat. Belgium have de bruyne to come back, Hazard might come alive and Lukaku up top. England have loads of attacking talent and a set up similar to France, keep it tight and conservative and let the attacking talent win out (plus they are very good at all set pieces). Italy with a brilliant midfield, good balance throughout and the best manager. Portugal and France both with the 2 most talented starting 11's IMO and the 2 best attacking players in the tournament to be difference makers in Mbappe and Ronaldo (with a brilliant supporting cast in Pogba and Bruno). Looking forward to the knockout phase. Hope all of the 3 big teams in this group make it, definitely not guaranteed.
 
Makelele said:
haters gonna hate, but Kante well in shot for the ballon d or if they win the championship and he plays like today.
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Kante is adored by most of the English press and envied by most of this forum. Haters.
 
Reditus said:
Var has barely made a dent in this tournament so far
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Instructions for minimal use of VAR. So far I think it’s perfect, let them check the offsides and only make the call if it’s a red card situation and let the game flow.
 
bosnian_red said:
I dont think France was unlucky, they didn't create any other chances other than Mbappe being offside twice? Rabiot post I guess. And it was an own goal that separated the 2. Was a very tight and even game IMO, could've gone either way, but definitely much better from Germany than I expected. They had their chances but didn't take them, which you need to against a team with Frances quality defensively and their set up.
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I didn't say it wasn't a tight game, based on the scoreline, it clearly was. Just saying that of the 2 teams, I feel France was more unlucky than Germany.

You could name the chances France had now, that's at least 3 that in a game without VAR could have been 3-0, yet in your previous post, there was literally only 1 real chance you could recall for Germany despite France conceding possession to them for long periods, they just couldn't capitalize on it. Felt like you could have another 90mins and they wouldn't score.

If this is definitely much better than you expected for Germany, then I worry for their prospects in their group let alone beyond it. They were really poor if we totally honest.

But the whole debate here is on the unlucky part. For me of the 2 teams, France was more unlucky not to win by a higher margin than Germany unlucky for not getting the draw.
 
If it cheers anybody up, Toronto Sports Network has a whole segment of Kevin Kilbane complimenting Pogba's game. :)
 
Jippy said:
Wright just blamed Pogba for the goal being offside:lol:
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Tbf he did get his feet a bit muddled there, it is a valid criticism. It's just the selective focus on all his negatives, and seldom ever his positives, that's grating.
Brwned said:
Try counting the number of times a single player creates more big chances in a game than all of his team mates and the opposition combined, in a game between two of the biggest teams in the tournament. It tends to be quite uncommon, and therefore, a high bar…
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Pogba is as crucial as anyone in that French team, they've played without him a couple of times and they lost all creativity in the team. Personally he's the hardest to replace in that team because players like Mbappe, Kanye, Varane all have a good backup option on the bench but there's no one else with the passing range of Pogba to get the attacks going.
 
marktan said:
Tbf he did get his feet a bit muddled there, it is a valid criticism. It's just the selective focus on all his negatives, and seldom ever his positives, that's grating.


Pogba is as crucial as anyone in that French team, they've played without him a couple of times and they lost all creativity in the team. Personally he's the least replaceable player in that team because players like Mbappe, Kanye, Varane all have a good backup option on the bench but there's no one else with the passing range of Pogba to get the attacks going.
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Who is Kante's good back up? It doesn't have to be a comparison. Pogba without Kante is not the same player and becomes a much bigger liability. Kante can't create anything remotely close to the level of Pogba. They're both very important, but no way I'd say Pogba is the least replaceable player and not have Kante included in that.
 
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