Euro 2016

[PremierAndrew]

This is easily the best team England have had since 2006. If they had a better right winger and a decent centre back alongside Smalling, they'd be real contenders.

 

[gooner]

An excellent read on the Xhaka brothers playing against each other today.

Five of Switzerland’s 23-man squad have Albanian heritage. Ten of the Albanian squad were born or raised in Switzerland. Rarely can an international fixture have been contested between two such homogenous sides.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/06/10/euro-2016-brothers-granit-and-taulant-xhaka-line-up-for-opposing/

 

[jsem94]

Switzerland barely won. Sommer my MOTM. Commanding, strong in the air despite his size and was there when called upon.

 

[Brullnux]

Wales won, but it was close. BBC football commentators are terrible. They have the same grasp of the rules of football (which are fairly simple, especially the most important ones) of a 10-year-old kid who justifies every tackle after taking someone down by 'I got the ball'. Sure you may have got the ball, but you also razed the player. Thus, it is a foul.

Embarrising scenes in Marseille too

 

[BigMac]

Stupid ref, nowhere was that a foul. Nice strike from Dier, though.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Wales won, but it was close. BBC football commentators are terrible. They have the same grasp of the rules of football (which are fairly simple, especially the most important ones) of a 10-year-old kid who justifies every tackle after taking someone down by 'I got the ball'. Sure you may have got the ball, but you also razed the player. Thus, it is a foul.

Embarrising scenes in Marseille too

The English have always been known as being the most rowdy fans, with perhaps the most hooligans in the world and even if these aren't the 60's, 70's, and 80's, there will always be skirmishes involving England fans. The Russians aren't exactly fairies either. They've had their fair share of trouble, domestically and internationally.

I guess the French police were ready to foil a terrorist attack, but not to spoil a bunch of drunk goons.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Stupid ref, nowhere was that a foul. Nice strike from Dier, though.

Yeah, a very generous free kick given, but you are right, a nice shot from Dier. He almost made an own goal and had been timid a few times, but that did his confidence some good.

 

[Brullnux]

Awful from England. Absolutely awful. You are winning 1-0 until the end in a game that should've been won a very long time ago, switch off completely out of arrogance, thinking that the game was over. The commentators in England thought the same. But that is stupid arrogance. You know that in a tournament every chance you create counts, and England had so many but converted one. Russia played terribly, England dominated throughout and yet it finishes 1-1. This is not a team that will win a tournament. Teams that win tournaments win these matches. They win them comfortably. Hypetrain: derailed.

 

[jsem94]

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

 

[The Hitch]

Sad gimmick expanding to 24 teams. Anything for money.

 

[BigMac]

Re:

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

Joe Hart was not to blame. He was positioned correctly as he didn't know how that header would turn out. It could have been tense aimed at the nearest goal post and he would have saved it, but unfortunately for England it was boxed perfectly on the far side. Bit of a gamble for the goalie in this situations, really. If anything, the ones to blame are England's midfield for allowing that second ball to happen and Berezutski himself for scoring such a great goal.

 

[fatandfast]

Wow that was the best 3 minutes of extra time I have seen in a while. Both teams really stunned.

 

[BigMac]

What happened in Marseille anyway? Just saw a video of a guy being hit with a chair sucker-style but there was no story attached.

 

[gooner]

Re: Re:

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

Joe Hart was not to blame. He was positioned correctly as he didn't know how that header would turn out. It could have been tense aimed at the nearest goal post and he would have saved it, but unfortunately for England it was boxed perfectly on the far side. Bit of a gamble for the goalie in this situations, really. If anything, the ones to blame are England's midfield for allowing that second ball to happen and Berezutski himself for scoring such a great goal.

Wilshere was at fault, completely left Berezutski run off him for the header.

 

[Cannibal72]

Re:

Awful from England. Absolutely awful. You are winning 1-0 until the end in a game that should've been won a very long time ago, switch off completely out of arrogance, thinking that the game was over. The commentators in England thought the same. But that is stupid arrogance. You know that in a tournament every chance you create counts, and England had so many but converted one. Russia played terribly, England dominated throughout and yet it finishes 1-1. This is not a team that will win a tournament. Teams that win tournaments win these matches . They win them comfortably. Hypetrain: derailed.

I know that by the bolded you mean 'matches that you dominate', but the fact is that in these matches - that is the group stages - making every chance count really doesn't matter that much. Most good teams warm up as the tournament progresses; England are still overwhelmingly likely to make it out of the group, and (especially if they win on Thursday) those dropped two points won't matter very much. Some examples:

2014 World Cup: Germany impress against Portugal, but are limp in drawing with Ghana and struggle to close the game down against the USA. Argentina are not especially good across the group stages, requiring Messi's brilliance to break an interminable deadlock against Bosnia, dominating against Iran, wasting many, many chances until the 92nd minute, and then playing a fairly evenly matched game against Nigeria.

Euro 2012: Spain and Italy draw 1-1: Italy go on to 1-1 draw against Croatia. Spain otherwise impressive in group stages, to be fair.

2010 World Cup: Spain famously get beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in their opening match.

In summary, it's absurd to suggest that England's chances of doing well are over because Adam Lallana was terminally incapable of FINDING THE GOAL in one 90-minute game. England are unlikely to do well, but today's performance was very positive, not negative.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

What happened in Marseille anyway? Just saw a video of a guy being hit with a chair sucker-style but there was no story attached.

A really sad state of affairs featuring drunken English yobs, Russian yobs and local yobs in close proximity. 3 days of trouble.

Apparently Vardys wife was caught up in the mayhem inside the stadium when Russian fans charged on the England fans (which included women and children) at the full time whistle.

I have friends who have gone to Marseille for the match and are not trouble makers in the slightest, they are extremely critical of local police and how they've dealt with the incidents.

 

[jsem94]

Re: Re:

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

Joe Hart was not to blame. He was positioned correctly as he didn't know how that header would turn out. It could have been tense aimed at the nearest goal post and he would have saved it, but unfortunately for England it was boxed perfectly on the far side. Bit of a gamble for the goalie in this situations, really. If anything, the ones to blame are England's midfield for allowing that second ball to happen and Berezutski himself for scoring such a great goal.

Wilshere was at fault, completely left Berezutski run off him for the header.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear here. England's only goal, scored by Dier, was the fault of the Russian keeper who couldn't protect his half of the goal. The shot was nearly straight at him. Diabolical. He was even in the air jumping as the ball was struck.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

What happened in Marseille anyway? Just saw a video of a guy being hit with a chair sucker-style but there was no story attached.

A really sad state of affairs featuring drunken English yobs, Russian yobs and local yobs in close proximity. 3 days of trouble.

Apparently Vardys wife was caught up in the mayhem inside the stadium when Russian fans charged on the England fans (which included women and children) at the full time whistle.

I have friends who have gone to Marseille for the match and are not trouble makers in the slightest, they are extremely critical of local police and how they've dealt with the incidents.

Unfortunately both England and Russia have a history of hooliganism and drunkards causing trouble domestically and abroad. Plus, as you said, the local police didn't seem to do a good enough job and add to the fact local troublemakers/hooligans/goons getting involved, an underprepared police force and what you see is what you get. The last two or three days plus the non separation of the two fan bases inside the stadium. The French were asking for this.

 

[gooner]

Re: Re:

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

Joe Hart was not to blame. He was positioned correctly as he didn't know how that header would turn out. It could have been tense aimed at the nearest goal post and he would have saved it, but unfortunately for England it was boxed perfectly on the far side. Bit of a gamble for the goalie in this situations, really. If anything, the ones to blame are England's midfield for allowing that second ball to happen and Berezutski himself for scoring such a great goal.

Wilshere was at fault, completely left Berezutski run off him for the header.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear here. England's only goal, scored by Dier, was the fault of the Russian keeper who couldn't protect his half of the goal. The shot was nearly straight at him. Diabolical. He was even in the air jumping as the ball was struck.

I know what you meant. Just adding to BigMac's opinion of who was at fault for Russia's goal.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

GK error was the cause of England's only goal. Poor lineup too IMO. But they will improve.

Joe Hart was not to blame. He was positioned correctly as he didn't know how that header would turn out. It could have been tense aimed at the nearest goal post and he would have saved it, but unfortunately for England it was boxed perfectly on the far side. Bit of a gamble for the goalie in this situations, really. If anything, the ones to blame are England's midfield for allowing that second ball to happen and Berezutski himself for scoring such a great goal.

Wilshere was at fault, completely left Berezutski run off him for the header.

Hodgson was to blame for being a coward.
He has a striker brimming with confidence, and he refuses to use him, instead bringing on midfielders. Bleh.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Awful from England. Absolutely awful. You are winning 1-0 until the end in a game that should've been won a very long time ago, switch off completely out of arrogance, thinking that the game was over. The commentators in England thought the same. But that is stupid arrogance. You know that in a tournament every chance you create counts, and England had so many but converted one. Russia played terribly, England dominated throughout and yet it finishes 1-1. This is not a team that will win a tournament. Teams that win tournaments win these matches . They win them comfortably. Hypetrain: derailed.

I know that by the bolded you mean 'matches that you dominate', but the fact is that in these matches - that is the group stages - making every chance count really doesn't matter that much. Most good teams warm up as the tournament progresses; England are still overwhelmingly likely to make it out of the group, and (especially if they win on Thursday) those dropped two points won't matter very much. Some examples:

2014 World Cup: Germany impress against Portugal, but are limp in drawing with Ghana and struggle to close the game down against the USA. Argentina are not especially good across the group stages, requiring Messi's brilliance to break an interminable deadlock against Bosnia, dominating against Iran, wasting many, many chances until the 92nd minute, and then playing a fairly evenly matched game against Nigeria.

Euro 2012: Spain and Italy draw 1-1: Italy go on to 1-1 draw against Croatia. Spain otherwise impressive in group stages, to be fair.

2010 World Cup: Spain famously get beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in their opening match.

In summary, it's absurd to suggest that England's chances of doing well are over because Adam Lallana was terminally incapable of FINDING THE GOAL in one 90-minute game. England are unlikely to do well, but today's performance was very positive, not negative.

It was a good performance, but against a very poor team, who struggled to string more than 5 possess together, maybe due to England's pressing but also to just a bad performance.

There is a big difference in drawing to the eventual finalists, or Croatia a very good team, or even Ghana or Switzerland to Russia, or at least that Russia. My problem is partly the lack of ability in the final moments, but also focus. They assumed the game was over, something that England when in the lead often do. They don't close it out, they lose focus. However, when losing, they fight to the last minute. They need to bring the same mentality to when they are winning. Italy of 2006 would've had a solid 1-0 or 2-0, not allowing after they scored Russia to have any shots. Germany would've won that, France of 1998 would've easily won that and Spain of 2008 would've out 3 or 4 past them. Had this been against a good side I wouldn't have been so negative. But it wasn't. If it were Italy playing I'd have had exactly the same reaction.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Re: Re:

Stupid ref, nowhere was that a foul. Nice strike from Dier, though.

Yeah, a very generous free kick given, but you are right, a nice shot from Dier. He almost made an own goal and had been timid a few times, but that did his confidence some good.

Really surprised to see anyone considering that a well taken free kick. It had decent, not outstanding, pace, but its placement was neither impressive nor unpredictable, and there was little to no swerve on it. The goalkeeper made the mistake of assuming that he might take a good free kick. Like Wales' winning goal, if it had been better struck, it may well have not been a goal.

 

[python]

i dont agree with those criticizing england's play yesterday. i found it impressive in terms of quick passing, possession, speed...sure the russians allowed it, but they, in my view, were outclassed. that the score did not reflect the play content is pure random sport plus the russians always fight to the end. they were lucky. i expect them liven up...

 

[Cannibal72]

Re: Re:

Awful from England. Absolutely awful. You are winning 1-0 until the end in a game that should've been won a very long time ago, switch off completely out of arrogance, thinking that the game was over. The commentators in England thought the same. But that is stupid arrogance. You know that in a tournament every chance you create counts, and England had so many but converted one. Russia played terribly, England dominated throughout and yet it finishes 1-1. This is not a team that will win a tournament. Teams that win tournaments win these matches . They win them comfortably. Hypetrain: derailed.

I know that by the bolded you mean 'matches that you dominate', but the fact is that in these matches - that is the group stages - making every chance count really doesn't matter that much. Most good teams warm up as the tournament progresses; England are still overwhelmingly likely to make it out of the group, and (especially if they win on Thursday) those dropped two points won't matter very much. Some examples:

2014 World Cup: Germany impress against Portugal, but are limp in drawing with Ghana and struggle to close the game down against the USA. Argentina are not especially good across the group stages, requiring Messi's brilliance to break an interminable deadlock against Bosnia, dominating against Iran, wasting many, many chances until the 92nd minute, and then playing a fairly evenly matched game against Nigeria.

Euro 2012: Spain and Italy draw 1-1: Italy go on to 1-1 draw against Croatia. Spain otherwise impressive in group stages, to be fair.

2010 World Cup: Spain famously get beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in their opening match.

In summary, it's absurd to suggest that England's chances of doing well are over because Adam Lallana was terminally incapable of FINDING THE GOAL in one 90-minute game. England are unlikely to do well, but today's performance was very positive, not negative.

It was a good performance, but against a very poor team, who struggled to string more than 5 possess together, maybe due to England's pressing but also to just a bad performance.

There is a big difference in drawing to the eventual finalists, or Croatia a very good team, or even Ghana or Switzerland to Russia, or at least that Russia. My problem is partly the lack of ability in the final moments, but also focus. They assumed the game was over, something that England when in the lead often do. They don't close it out, they lose focus. However, when losing, they fight to the last minute. They need to bring the same mentality to when they are winning. Italy of 2006 would've had a solid 1-0 or 2-0, not allowing after they scored Russia to have any shots. Germany would've won that, France of 1998 would've easily won that and Spain of 2008 would've out 3 or 4 past them. Had this been against a good side I wouldn't have been so negative. But it wasn't. If it were Italy playing I'd have had exactly the same reaction.

I don't think that England are in as much trouble as you suggest, simply because sides tend to grow in cohesion and confidence over the course of a tournament, but I'm absolutely with you that England need to bring that mentality to every game, and especially that Russia were atrocious; they were unbelievably poor.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Let's see how well Poland does today. Aside from England drawing with Russia, all the teams I was rooting for won so far.