Day 5: Hungary vs Portugal | France vs Germany

marktan said:
Why is every white Brit commentator so negative towards Pogba? Constantly slating him despite him having a great game. Never mention anything good he does, but highlight every small little negative
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Lazy punditry, he's one of the easiest targets around. He is such a conundrum though, being both inspiring and frustrating to watch. He does loads of great stuff in all areas of the pitch where you wonder how he does it but then, moments later, he'll lose the ball or try a trick that unnecessarily slows the play down. There was that moment in the corner (after the Mbappe skill) which really summed Pogba up. He got the ball, feinted a few times and then went past his man with a lovely bit of skill but instead of putting the ball into the box, he stopped, came back and tried the same thing again and lost the ball.

Mbappe was poor for me, couldn't time his runs right and should've been experienced enough to get Hummels sent off or got a shot away in that one on one. He had the beating of all their defenders all night if he'd watched the line better.
 
GhastlyHun said:
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.
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Yeah, it did look like a negative set up to be fair. Maybe he'll open up a bit against weaker opposition and play one of Gundogan or Kroos in a more advanced role, or play Muller as more of a 10 with the midfield pushing up?

Or is this just the way Löw will set up no matter what?
 
marktan said:
Why is every white Brit commentator so negative towards Pogba? Constantly slating him despite him having a great game. Never mention anything good he does, but highlight every small little negative
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Feels like they want to give him more reasons to just feck off from United and close the chapter on England for good.
 
I was disappointed by France. With their team they should try to close the game not sit back. In the knockout games this will be really risky. I also found their „press“ super ineffective. I dont think France won a single ball in Germanys half. While I agree that is definitly a good start in the tournament to win your first game in Germany vs Germany, I believe they made Germany look much better then we are.

Also löws super late changes are a show of his skills…. seemed like he was trying to take time from the clock!
 
tomaldinho1 said:
Lazy punditry, he's one of the easiest targets around. He is such a conundrum though, being both inspiring and frustrating to watch. He does loads of great stuff in all areas of the pitch where you wonder how he does it but then, moments later, he'll lose the ball or try a trick that unnecessarily slows the play down. There was that moment in the corner (after the Mbappe skill) which really summed Pogba up. He got the ball, feinted a few times and then went past his man with a lovely bit of skill but instead of putting the ball into the box, he stopped, came back and tried the same thing again and lost the ball.

Mbappe was poor for me, couldn't time his runs right and should've been experienced enough to get Hummels sent off or got a shot away in that one on one. He had the beating of all their defenders all night if he'd watched the line better.
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He’s a polemic player by style. Tonight was classic Pogba, lots of quality but also lots of possession turnovers, some in bad positions. If you focus on the positives then he’s a god but if you take a dim view of him then there’s plenty to pick apart. Having Kante alongside him is big for France because he negates a lot of the rough you get with Pogba. Having a top class back line obviously helps too.
 
Can German fans explain the tactics to me? Honestly I’m flabbergasted watching that. Muller and Havertz as wide players, players who both are central focal point player. Kimmich forced out wide. Gnabry alone centrally against the most solid CB/CM pairing there is. What on earth was that?
 
SirAnderson said:
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.
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Germany not too long ago lost to Macedonia, lost 6-0 to Spain, were dreadful in the 2018 world cup... thought it'd be like that with Low still there and him finally leaving only after the tournament. But it was very decent for them, don't think they were poor, France is the strongest team in the world and with their set up they are very hard to play. Germany had good positions and had 2 solid chances with Gnabry and Gundogan in the first half, and it was definitely a game of slim margins. Think if they had a decent #9 it would be a whole different story, but that'll be Germanys and Spains downfall.
 
marktan said:
Why is every white Brit commentator so negative towards Pogba? Constantly slating him despite him having a great game. Never mention anything good he does, but highlight every small little negative
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WHy mentioning the skin color? Insinuating something, man?
 
TheReligion said:
Thoughts;

France obviously have plenty in the tank but wasn't as impressed with them as I thought I would be by full time. Looked solid at the back but conceded all the possession to Germany and seemed content to try and hit them on the break. Kind of expected a bit more control from them if I'm honest.

Germany; felt they were unfortunate not to get a point given the areas they found themselves in second half and on another day they get it back to 1-1 and we have a bit of pressure on the French and a game on our hands. Definitely lack creativity and that player with a bit of magic. Think they'd better suit a 4-3-3 with wide forwards.
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France aren't a possession based side and have always conceded possession in preference of solidity. They'll dominate against poorer sides, but against the bigger tes, their confident in their shape and counter.
 
Isotope said:
WHy mentioning the skin color? Insinuating something, man?
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I don't know. Pogba tends to get 10 seconds of praise followed by 10 minutes of critic/negativity.
I thought he along with Kante and Griezmann was good tonight, especially as a first game.
 
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Deery said:
Hard to pick one really when you think about a lot of solid performances..
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I guess since they played very defensive football, the award should go to a defensive player like Kanté who also was very good. But I was really impressed by Pogba today.
 
Here's an unpopular opinion.
Mbappe is a modern day Theo Walcott/Dany Well back.
 
Please tell me we have the gif of Chad Road Runner Mbappé vs Virgin Will.E.Coyote Hummels
 
FrankDrebin said:
I don't know. Pogba tends to get 10 seconds of praise followed by 10 minutes of critic/negativity.
I thought he along with Kane and Griezmann was good tonight, especially as a first game.
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Agreed about Pogba and Griezman were good, especially Pogba just looked world class. Said it since the last WC, Pogba was (almost) the sole creativity on that France team.
 
TheReligion said:
Thoughts;

France obviously have plenty in the tank but wasn't as impressed with them as I thought I would be by full time. Looked solid at the back but conceded all the possession to Germany and seemed content to try and hit them on the break. Kind of expected a bit more control from them if I'm honest.

Germany; felt they were unfortunate not to get a point given the areas they found themselves in second half and on another day they get it back to 1-1 and we have a bit of pressure on the French and a game on our hands. Definitely lack creativity and that player with a bit of magic. Think they'd better suit a 4-3-3 with wide forwards.
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In a way it is quite nice to see the best team in the world (imo) sit back a little. Everybody seem to think the only way to win is to play a high line and to dominate.
 
A-man said:
In a way it is quite nice to see the best team in the world (imo) sit back a little. Everybody seem to think the only way to win is to play a high line and to dominate.
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You make it sound like it's something rare.
We won the WC by parking the bus like this during the knockout stage.
 
VorZakone said:
Much better than those 2 but not quite the superstar I expected him to become.
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Seems people quickly forget he scored 3 against Barcelona and 2 against Bayen in the champion's league 2 months ago. Benzema, who's a top class forward, was even poorer tonight.
 
Oly Francis said:
Seems people quickly forget he scored 3 against Barcelona and 2 against Bayen in the champion's league 2 months ago. Benzema, who's a top class forward, was even poorer tonight.
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Both were better than Griezmann.
Hard to do much when your manager parks the bus after going up 1-0 and doesn't even ask the players to press.
 
France was comfortable all night albeit being in second gear. Germany was shit scared of Mbappe and so always played safe. Thought they will take the advantage of France 's right side but Germany was toothless. Should have started Gnanbry and Sane in each wings and went for it.
 
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