England Discussion

TheLiverBird said:
This annoys me

so are you saying we can simply never, like ever….win a KO against an elite side? Purely because history suggests that’s what happens?


our squad is arguably better

And we are European Finalist who lost on penalties

like Brazil, I don’t see France as scary good

I see them as pretty decent just like us, but our bench goes further
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When you have seen us lose so many KO ties to these sorts of teams over the years it makes you doubt whether it will ever happen
 
If England can keep the game tied up until the 70th minute that has to go in their favour with the options they will have on the bench compared to France to change the game
 
We are often too close to our own teams to have the best perspective. The “we don’t generally win these types of games because we are simply not good enough”…. doesn’t really apply to this England team. Fans are naturally pessimistic (I know I am), but the team itself really needs to believe here, and I will be curious if we get a sense of their belief level in how they open the game.

If you take Mbappe out of the equation I think this England team is better than the French team on the whole. I worry about the line at the back, but this team is really good.
 
Maguire is nowhere near as bad as he’s made out to be

Anyway French fries > chips
 
If you're a fan of United, you're a fan of England no two ways about it.

How can you even criticise England using the English language?
 
I am pessimistic, I think we can do it but will need a France off day or some luck. Think it's more about France because we struggle to impose ourselves on games against big sides.

But still, come on England!
 
AndyMUFC said:
I am pessimistic, I think we can do it but will need a France off day or some luck. Think it's more about France because we struggle to impose ourselves on games against big sides.

But still, come on England!
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Yeah you just think surely one day it will finally be our time after so many years of heartbreak and disappointment in tournaments
 
AndyMUFC said:
I am pessimistic, I think we can do it but will need a France off day or some luck. Think it's more about France because we struggle to impose ourselves on games against big sides.

But still, come on England!
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France in top form beat England in top form.

However, anything could happen
 
Bluelion7 said:
We are often too close to our own teams to have the best perspective. The “we don’t generally win these types of games because we are simply not good enough”…. doesn’t really apply to this England team. Fans are naturally pessimistic (I know I am), but the team itself really needs to believe here, and I will be curious if we get a sense of their belief level in how they open the game.

If you take Mbappe out of the equation I think this England team is better than the French team on the whole. I worry about the line at the back, but this team is really good.
Click to expand...

There's not too much between the two teams. You even play a similar cautious style in possession and you also do similar things in the build-up. Keep three at the back, push the LB way up the pitch and try to cook something from there. The main difference is that France main objective is to keep the ball on the left because Mbappé moves in that area, while England looks for the switch ball toward the weak-side where Saka can finish, Henderson can create and Rashford can come on as a fresh sub. The big question is how will the threat that Mbappé poses affect the effectiveness of your right flank. Yes, you'll probably be the ones more willing to slow things down in the midfield, but that's down to not wanting to lose the ball centrally and have the French running at Maguire.

I get the pessimism, after some harsh defeats, but, as you said, that's a good England team. It's not the dysfunctional side that was trying to play 442 with Gerrard and Lampard in the midfield. And it's better than the team that managed to make Ricardo, of all people, a hero in two shoot-outs. I don't know, maybe it's me. There were people (even Englishmen) laughing at England since the 90s and saying how they bottled their chances. I never understood the ridicule. I have watched both the 1990 and the 1996 SFs against Germany. It's a miracle how the Germans won both these games.

Anyway, i just hope to see a great match between two European powerhouses.
 
TheLiverBird said:
This annoys me

so are you saying we can simply never, like ever….win a KO against an elite side? Purely because history suggests that’s what happens?


our squad is arguably better

And we are European Finalist who lost on penalties

like Brazil, I don’t see France as scary good

I see them as pretty decent just like us, but our bench goes further
Click to expand...
The bench is the biggest difference for sure. As long as Southgate is smart with his subs, England will win this.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
There's not too much between the two teams. You even play a similar cautious style in possession and you also do similar things in the build-up. Keep three at the back, push the LB way up the pitch and try to cook something from there. The main difference is that France main objective is to keep the ball on the left because Mbappé moves in that area, while England looks for the switch ball toward the weak-side where Saka can finish, Henderson can create and Rashford can come on as a fresh sub. The big question is how will the threat that Mbappé poses affect the effectiveness of your right flank. Yes, you'll probably be the ones more willing to slow things down in the midfield, but that's down to not wanting to lose the ball centrally and have the French running at Maguire.

I get the pessimism, after some harsh defeats, but, as you said, that's a good England team. It's not the dysfunctional side that was trying to play 442 with Gerrard and Lampard in the midfield. And it's better than the team that managed to make Ricardo, of all people, a hero in two shoot-outs. I don't know, maybe it's me. There were people (even Englishmen) laughing at England since the 90s and saying how they bottled their chances. I never understood the ridicule. I have watched both the 1990 and the 1996 SFs against Germany. It's a miracle how the Germans won both these games.

Anyway, i just hope to see a great match between two European powerhouses.
Click to expand...

We have took the lead so many times in these games against elite sides but just not managed the rest of the game properly
 
The good thing is, at least one United player will be a World champion.
 
There's no link between supporting an English team and wanting England to do well. United have fans from all over the will have different international alliances.

If I supported a US team passionately and the large majority of those I interacted with when discussing the sport were American, I think it would be a bit odd if I passionately wanted the US to fail at the international level of that same sport.

If American people annoyed me that much I'd struggle to think why I'd support an American team to begin with
 
stw2022 said:
There's no link between supporting an English team and wanting England to do well. United have fans from all over the will have different international alliances.
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We seem to have this discussion every tournament England plays :lol:

I'm old enough to remember the abuse Becks and Phil Neville got playing for England, the 'stand up if you hate Man Utd' chants sung at England games, the rabid hysteria against Ronaldo when Rooney got sent off for stamping on a Portugal player's balls (somehow that was Ronaldo's fault)

So for me it's always been United>>>>>>England. Patriotism can get fecked.
 
Any team news? Biggest decision Southgate has to make since the euros final.
 
There is less than a 1% chance we’re winning this.

maguire and stones is one of the worst CB pairings around and Mbappe will make a mockery of them tonight.
 
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