England have actually been half decent despite not having a left side or a striker who wants to play as one. Does make you wonder what they'd be like if Southgate wasn't such a womble.
Semi-finals | Spain vs France | Netherlands vs England
- Thread starter top1whoisman
- Start date
England's best half of the tournament by a country mile.
You're a Dutch fan?
You spelled Koeman wrong.
- Play a never-press, massive gaps between defence and midfield system?
- Completely ignore the opposition wing backs and leave them in acres non stop?
- Hope desperately to hit on the counter while having almost no pace in the entire team?
-Koeman
England not great either, for all the praise. Netherlands have been hideously bad yet they're only level with a penalty non-penalty.
Exactly. Can't get him injured before the new season. Soon no one will give a shit about intl footie again like normal.
He'll score the winner though.
England were excellent there. Totally dominant bar the opening few minutes.
Issue is with the left hand side and no striker presence. Shaw and Toney would fix a lot.
Foden and Mainoo.
Absolute class.
Absolute class.
We've been the better team but nothing to show for it thus far. Shaw for Trippier should happen by 60mins at the latest
Wtf
The Dutch look dreadful but we've failed to capitalise. Surely they will sort it out at HT. Hopefully we haven't missed the chance
Touché
Mainoo so impressive
I so desperately want Mainoo to score. He's been great.
Should be at least 2-1 up
where the feck has this England team been for most of the tournament?
Dutch can work the ball well at times but they're struggling badly in the midfield. Best they can hope for is to nick a goal and hang on for dear life. They're not winning this in extra time or penalties.
Dutch can work the ball well at times but they're struggling badly in the midfield. Best they can hope for is to nick a goal and hang on for dear life. They're not winning this in extra time or penalties.
Playing well. Liking the combinations between Foden and Mainoo.
Thought Foden and Mainoo showed some signs of forming a good understanding there. Those two were the best players on the pitch by some way, to my eye at least. Stockport FC running the show.
That’s just as much as a foul on aKe and should be a pen going by the earlier decision
. Pushed him after he’d played the ball
. Pushed him after he’d played the ball
Mainoo has been fantastic. Seriously impressive. One of the best midfield performances by an England player in ages.
And people think its dirty to wear shoes in the house.
Perfect summary.
"This should be Southgate's most calm half time team talk"
feck off. This is where he should be all at them keeping the levels up. We need to keep it up, the Dutch aren't going to be shite forever.
feck off. This is where he should be all at them keeping the levels up. We need to keep it up, the Dutch aren't going to be shite forever.
Yes!
Veerman, Schouten and Tijani have no business being starting midfielders in a European cup semifinals.
Really good response to the goal and the best we’ve played in some time. Forward passing and tempo for a change.
On the other hand, Kane, aside from the penalty has been useless again. Something seriously wrong with him as he's lumbering about doing barely anything but stinking the place up.
We do miss Frenkie. He is by far our best player.
We can hardly keep the ball at times. Look at Mainoo and how important he is because he doesnt lose the ball. Frenkie plays that role for us... or should.
Good half. England pretty dominant but Netherlands offering a fair bit on the counter.
Shaw and Watkins for Trippier and Kane please
England have been very good! Controlled the ball and made chances, second half it’ll change.
I’d expect the Netherlands to be a lot better organised second half. They looked to have started to actually mark Foden and Saka in the last few minutes. Hope Shaw is fit to come on at 60 minutes as I think he’ll make a big difference (although in fairness to Trippier he’s made a lot of good runs).
Trust me, the Dutch don't have another level in them. Their midfielders were gasping for breath those last few minutess of the first half.
I noticed that. Dixon gave Mainoo a bit of credit eventually, before they both went back to salivating over Foden.Need to get Shaw on to give us a left wing threat. We're playing well. Even with no left wing or striker.