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Match The ENGLAND thread

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I think he's right to make Rodgers his man in the middle. Been superb in an England shirt under Tuchel. Palmer and Foden been shit this season.

Be a massive call to start him ahead of Bellingham though. I actually think he’s more creative and more likely to produce something from nothing. But he doesn’t have Bellingham’s character or desire to win.
 
I still like our best 11 and some of the subs/alternatives.

Pickford

James/Livramento
Guehi
Konsa/Stones
O’Reilly

Anderson
Rice/Mainoo
Bellingham/Rogers

Saka/Madueke
Gordon/Rashford

Kane
 
The defenders in the squad are terrible. Lots of players with injury history and fitness will prove to be critical given the weather and scheduling.

Sooner or later they'll come up against a good winger and you'll need a good 1v1 defender. Kyle Walker has typically done this job but who in that squad will be able to lock down an Olise, Doue or Vini Jnr type player?
 
Be a massive call to start him ahead of Bellingham though. I actually think he’s more creative and more likely to produce something from nothing. But he doesn’t have Bellingham’s character or desire to win.
I think he'll play Bellingham box to box with rice and Rodgers as 10. Formidable 3 potentially for me.
 
Palmer's been wank this season and Foden is a consistent disappointment in an England shirt. Maybe you take the former as a wildcard option off the bench but don't think Foden's a big miss at all tbh.

Similarly, don't really feel Maguire's a big miss. Doubt he was realistically gonna get into the team ahead of Guehi, Konsa and Stones who are all better. I'd certainly take him over Chalobah, though, if that's who has got in ahead of him.

Don't feel brilliant about Madueke being in there ahead of Bowen, but he does at least give us a proper 1v1 dribbler in the squad - something Bowen doesn't offer. Think those dribbly guys are important in slower international games where teams sit deep so can kinda get it.

Personally I think I would've taken Gibbs White and maybe Wharton, but Anderson's far better than the latter off the ball and Mainoo has tournament experience and offers something a bit different.

Will give Tuchel the benefit of the doubt for now. But naturally he'll get some shit if the guys he's picked over the big names don't perform. I do prefer this approach to the classic Sven/Southgate approach of just shoving all the biggest names into the 11 and then wondering why they aren't a functional team.
 
Also, why does Alex Scott never get mentioned? Always excellent for Bournemouth who are having a superb season and is highly rated by an exceptional manager. If he played for a Liverpool or a Man United he would be a shoe-in.
 
Also, why does Alex Scott never get mentioned? Always excellent for Bournemouth who are having a superb season and is highly rated by an exceptional manager. If he played for a Liverpool or a Man United he would be a shoe-in.
He did get an England call up late last year and think he was rumoured to be in Tuchel's thinking.

Looking at the rumoured squad, I'm guessing Mainoo's the most likely guy Scott could've come in for? And Mainoo's got a lot more big game and international experience so I kinda get it. Think Anderson and Rice will be the first choice pairing regardless, and Henderson's clearly there in a pseudo-mascot/leadership capacity. Will be worried if the latter gets on the pitch unless it's to help us see out an easy group game and spare the legs of the first 11.
 
The defenders in the squad are terrible. Lots of players with injury history and fitness will prove to be critical given the weather and scheduling.

Sooner or later they'll come up against a good winger and you'll need a good 1v1 defender. Kyle Walker has typically done this job but who in that squad will be able to lock down an Olise, Doue or Vini Jnr type player?

Guehi and Konsa are fine defensively just not wildly good in possession. England are going to be extremely reliant on Anderson screening the defence but more importantly running the game. If Kane and Anderson are good we might even have a chance against Spain or France, either of those two get injured and it’s going to be an uphill battle.
 
Not taking Hall and Wharton is criminal. And what’s Tuchel’s obsession with Dan tossing Burn?

It was probably him or Maguire. Not sure who I’d take out of the two. Maguire for experience of losing tournaments or Burn who he’s had in the squad from the start. I can see why he is going. The one I don’t get is Lewis Hall. Been the best left back for most of the season alongside o’reilly and Luke shaw.

Edit: just saw this, probably explains it.


View: https://x.com/timessport/status/2057575578908205076?s=46
 
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Yeah I fear this squad going out early. World Cup in South Africa vibes under capello.
Think it depends on the draw, really. Suspect it will be classic recent England: we'll beat everyone you'd expect us to beat then lose to the first genuinely quality team we come up against.

Unless we finally see some Kane magic in a big tournament, I just can't see us beating a team like France, Spain or Portugal.

That said, I don't think it will be a Hodgson/Capello disaster either. Tuchel has largely picked functional teams in qualifying and, at times, we've looked good.
 
Think it depends on the draw, really. Suspect it will be classic recent England: we'll beat everyone you'd expect us to beat then lose to the first genuinely quality team we come up against.

Unless we finally see some Kane magic in a big tournament, I just can't see us beating a team like France, Spain or Portugal.

That said, I don't think it will be a Hodgson/Capello disaster either. Tuchel has largely picked functional teams in qualifying and, at times, we've looked good.

I just think they wilt under the pressure and the PL is so competitive it’s hard to get going again. Basically the usual excuses! 😂😂😂
 
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