The official 2018 World Cup thread

[siablo14]

They looked normal.

Senegal got easy work tomorrow?

[Mr Ehrmantraut]

LMAO at blaming the heat....' its in the high 20's' i hope Tunisia score in the last minute tbh

Delete your account you pieceof ****.

With a class act like Harry Kane at the helm, I think they may go far in this tournament!

Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaane.

[Beercules]

They looked normal.

Isn't that bad

[Sparked_26]

They looked normal.

Looked better than we have.

We’re very streaky. For 30 mins we were definitely quite impressive.

The issue is Lingard and Sterling aren’t that good.

Apart from strangely Peru I think that’s the most chances anyone has created thus far.

Finishing was appalling. The big boys would have won maybe 5 or 6 -1.

Can’t say England were unlucky. Lingard and Sterling are extremely unlikely to take any chances. They lack quality.

In contrast to the Mexicans who couldn’t find the final pass. England actually could but their heads went when faced with goal.

Instead of Kane.

Kane is a world class striker.

Vardy/Kane would be my choice vs Panama

[Szef]

I'm just joking. England is actually one of the teams I'm rooting for, even made a bet with Shoulder Roll that they will win the whole thing.

They looked good in the first 20-25 minutes but you can tell this team lacks experience and a real leader, a guy who wouldn't be afraid to tell Sterling that he played like an amateur today. They need a Steve Gerrard. Or a John Terry. Is Harry Kane that guy? Doubt it, but we'll see.

The other thing is the formation. England's defense is decent, but I don't think it's decent enough to pull 3-5-2 off successfully. Don't even get me stared on the lack of firepower.

[Sparked_26]

This is why football is great tbh.

Nothing can touch the euphoria of a last minute winner. Absolutely nowt.

[Szef]

This is why football is great tbh.

Nothing can touch the euphoria of a last minute winner. Absolutely nowt.

That was awesome.

[BodiesInFlight]

Kane should have been on corner duty. Rookie mistake by Gareth there.

[TheBigLug]

The issue is Lingard and Sterling aren’t that good.

I'd rather see Rashford in for Sterling. Rashford can beat players around the box, even in tight spaces and force corners or loose balls. Definitely effective and i don't think any defenders will enjoy playing against him. He's a handful. I had no problem with Sterling starting though, he had a great season for Man City, but playing for England he doesn't have Silva and De Bruyne around him, so it's up to him to be one of the main creators, and he isn't.

I'd put Loftus-Cheek in for Lingard too. I don't mind Lingard though. I just think Loftus-Cheek has more of a presence. Lingard can go missing in the game.

Alli looked to be struggling tonight with some sort of injury, but he still has to start if fit. Early in the game, you could see the quality of his passing. A lot of countries have struggled with quality with their final ball around the opponents box, but Alli can definitely do that.

one thing i'm confident in is that Kane will score goals. He had 2 chances tonight and scored both. He's deadly as a finisher. If all those chances we missed had fallen to him instead of others, we'd have been out of sight in the first half.

[Sparked_26]

I'd rather see Rashford in for Sterling. Rashford can beat players around the box, even in tight spaces and force corners or loose balls. Definitely effective and i don't think any defenders will enjoy playing against him. He's a handful. I had no problem with Sterling starting though, he had a great season for Man City, but playing for England he doesn't have Silva and De Bruyne around him, so it's up to him to be one of the main creators, and he isn't.

I'd put Loftus-Cheek in for Lingard too. I don't mind Lingard though. I just think Loftus-Cheek has more of a presence. Lingard can go missing in the game.

Alli looked to be struggling tonight with some sort of injury, but he still has to start if fit. Early in the game, you could see the quality of his passing. A lot of countries have struggled with quality with their final ball around the opponents box, but Alli can definitely do that.

one thing i'm confident in is that Kane will score goals. He had 2 chances tonight and scored both. He's deadly as a finisher. If all those chances we missed had fallen to him instead of others, we'd have been out of sight in the first half.

Yeah Kane just has that ability to relax in front of goal.

I'd play Vardy ahead of Rashford tbh. Rashford isn't a good finisher himself. Yet. He might improve. Someone like Diego Costa isn't really a natural finisher but he plays percentages and will smash a ball if an angle is tight or dink a ball if a keeper is close.

The amount of times England couldn't get a clean connection on the ball was wild.

Lingard has a very good attitude to the game. His finishing tonight was haywire though. I just don't have any faith that he will score given the chances.

Both him and Sterling do put themselves in there though. But I am struggling to think of a worse finisher than Raheem Sterling.

I think Alli's short comings are more apparent at International level where possession is vital. He just doesn't seem too aware of his positioning or players around him a lot of the time when a defence is set and the play isn't broken.

He loses the ball more than any other England player imo. Someone like RLC might not be a goal threat but in real terms he is just point blank a better footballer than Delle Alli. More aware of the game around him, can carry the ball better, has greater physicality. RLC's draw back is that he gasses.


I'd start him every game and take him off on 70 mins and sub him with either Delph or Sterling depending on the game situation.


Lingard should still start I think. He was extremely wasteful and I don't really have any confidence in him in front of goal but he is a trier and plays with great heart and makes excellent runs from deep beyond Harry Kane.

Delle Alli has fleeting moments of inspiration. I just don't particularly rate him.