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Put £10 on and thank me later
Seems like the Euros never go according to plan
And I know this, if any other country had England’s attacking options they’d be hot favorites.
Geoff Hirst
Geoff Hurst isn’t celebrated in this country at all, bar West Ham fans
Any other racists ‘we’ celebrate?
For what it’s worth Vince, my mum is Scottish and I have lots of family up there still, and some of the most racist people I’ve ever met have been Scottish
Went to a Celtic v Barcelona friendly in Dublin maybe 5 years ago. Iffy Ambrose scored an own goal and I’ve never in my life at a football match heard so much racism aimed towards one man from the Celtic ‘fans’
Again I’m not saying all Scottish people are racist, just an idiotic minority, but maybe get off your high horse on the matter, Scotland isn’t exactly a diverse country is it
Two best teams in the competition easily, us and Belgium next imo.
Belgium and England have average managers though.
I don't think Portugal are that good on paper, especially if you take out Ronaldo. Felix is a gifted young player but has hardly set the world alight since moving to Atleitco. Bernardo Silva is a great little player but he's been outshone all season by the likes of De Bruyne, Foden and Gundogan. Jota is a Liverpool squad player that had a bit of a purple patch. Bruno Fernandes is obviously a very good player but nowhere near as good as some, mostly United fans, try to make out. When he's shit, he's really, really shit. You can't argue with the two centre-backs Pepe and Diaz, and they have some cracking full-backs too. But if Ronaldo isn't outstanding, and to be fair he usually is, then I don't see them on the same level squad wise as the likes of France and one or two others.
One thing they do have though is bags of experience. And the other thing they have is Ronaldo, who's a freak.
One thing they do have though is bags of experience. And the other thing they have is Ronaldo, who's a freak.
Andre silva has scored 25 & 28 goals for frankfurt past two years, no Ronaldo but a more than adequate replacement.
Short on wc cmf but a good balanced squad Portugal - Detailed squad 2021
Always weary about players that score loads in Germany if they haven't done it elsewhere. Luka Jovic had a great season a couple of years back for the same club but then did nothing in La Liga. The Bundesliga is entertaining, and has one of the world's elite clubs. But the defending there on the whole is absolutely farcical. Tammy Abraham would score 25+ playing for one of the better clubs in Germany.
I really dont think this England squad is anywhere near as good as some people are making out.
Some great young players going forward yes, but players in the main yet to start putting out elite numbers (Sancho aside who has yet to show it in an England shirt).
We don't have real pace to get beyond teams (Sterling and Rashford both out of form) which is a big problem with Kane dropping deep.
Our fullbacks are very good too but centre half and gk looks a bit suspect. At centre mid we have some decent ish players and I'm sure Bellingham will be a top box to box player in future but we will get out passed by other decent sides.
I hope im wrong but the safest bet is out in the first knockout round
Some great young players going forward yes, but players in the main yet to start putting out elite numbers (Sancho aside who has yet to show it in an England shirt).
We don't have real pace to get beyond teams (Sterling and Rashford both out of form) which is a big problem with Kane dropping deep.
Our fullbacks are very good too but centre half and gk looks a bit suspect. At centre mid we have some decent ish players and I'm sure Bellingham will be a top box to box player in future but we will get out passed by other decent sides.
I hope im wrong but the safest bet is out in the first knockout round
Rydyn ni'n mynd i'w ennill, mae'n dod adref
Mount is a brilliant player. Rice better than some seem willing to give him credit for. Bellingham will be better in the future obviously but is still a good option and more than capable despite his age. Henderson a fine player if match fit, and the captain of what's been one of the two or three best clubs in the world over the last few years. If you think those are only "decent-ish" then I'm genuinely gobsmacked.
Even though Rashford and Sterling aren't in top form they haven't suddenly lost their pace, especially the latter. At least one of them, probably Sterling, will start. Grealish and Foden aren't exactly slow either, especially when running with the ball. I think you're just nitpicking to an extent. You could probably do that with every squad in the tournament with the exception of France. Pickford for England is very different to the one that often turns out for Everton. He was also Everton's best player for the last couple of months of the season.
We have a far more talented squad now than we did in 2018, where we could have easily have made a final had we not run out of gas. We had no Foden. No Mount. No Grealish. No Sancho. No James. No Shaw. No Bellingham. I don't think Croatia were so much better than us at all, just smarter, more experienced. But we could and should have put that game to bed by half-time. There was only one team in it for the first 45. Sure, we had a fortunate draw then, but with home advantage there's no reason at all England can't aim for another similar performance to that a few years ago in the World Cup. Of course, we could face a team like France or Portugal the next game after the group stage if we progress and get put out. But a few good teams will be put out earlier than they would have hoped.
If you genuinely think England lack pace, which to me is crazy, just wait until you see Croatia on Sunday...
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The thing about Portugal is that whenever we're one of the favourites we fuck up big time. When we're underdogs or not seen as one of the strongest teams, we outperform. This has been going on for over 20 years now, in qualification matches, Euros, World Cups, etc... Since Portugal became much more competitive, Euro 96 onwards basically.
So if Portugal are one of the top 2 favourites (!) then I would not be surprised if we finish last in our group, losing all 3 games, that's how it usually goes. But because we are in the group of death, with 2 better teams than us, or at least equal to us, we are favourites and not favourites at the same time. Hard to say how this will pan out... The talent is there, the arrogant/humble bipolar mentality too.
As long as Ronaldo stays fit you'll be just fine. He's almost a cheat code. I'd actually fancy England's chances against Portugal without him, being at home, so to speak. Games between England and Portugal are usually extremely close anyway, even if in the end we do come up short even if it's only on penalties.
Unpopular opinion, but I think sometimes Ronaldo makes the team play a lot worse. He's too much of a "ball magnet", teammates always looking to pass him the ball, even when there are much better options around... Everything revolves around him, and that makes the team as a whole suffer, even if he does have those moments of brilliance.
I think France must be very strong favourites. They have the team that won the World Cup but brought Benzema in for Giroud.
It would be a very German thing to sneak out of the group and upset the odds though.
I think England could reach the Final but only if we avoid France en route.
France are such strong favourites. Quality everywhere. Dare I say it but perhaps their biggest weakness is their goalie.
:llorisunsure:
France are such strong favourites. Quality everywhere. Dare I say it but perhaps their biggest weakness is their goalie.
:llorisunsure: