Euro Soccer

[mudshark]

Of course your lot can win. Apart from Spain it's all been pretty mediocre, and in a final anything can happen.
Romania - Netherlands in a couple of hours. The orange army is highly critical of the Dutch manager as well. It was a shitshow against Austria.
If the Dutch win it's either Turkey or Austria (again) in the next round. If we manage to get throught that ordeal, and England manages to beat the Swiss (which they should), its Holland-England in the semis. My son would like that, so I don't mind either.

[Lord Rother]

Well, that Turkey v Austria game was absolutely fantastic.

2 teams who had only one thought - attack at speed.

Amazing save in the last minute from the Turkey ‘keeper.

The whole thing actually made me a little sad, and angry.

You know why.

[Lord Rother]

Of course your lot can win.

Well, I suppose Greece won it playing incredibly tedious one dimensional defensive football way back when so anything is possible....

The journalist Kevin Garside summed it up perfectly for me after the 1st game.

“And when Southgate intervened his first change was Conor Gallagher, a kind of fast-twitch replica of Rice, a player who runs about a lot but who cannot control a match at this level. So England had two of a kind when the situation was crying out for Kobbie Mainoo or Adam Wharton to put their foot on the ball and look up.

Their absence, plus that of Cole Palmer, was inexplicable in the context of the aimless, guileless plod. The reaction of the players suggested the experience felt as awful as it looked. None had an answer, just vague platitudes about a desire to get better.

Southgate has transformed the England experience in important ways, returned the national team to the centre of things again for the players and the fans.

In three prior tournaments he teased us with the delicious idea that England might just be good enough to win. But in the end we never quite escaped the suspicion that the one thing holding the team back was him.

The players and the FA love him. Of course they do. He is a thoroughly decent man and cares deeply about his flock, but no longer knows how to help them.

The England proposition is in a vastly better place than it was eight years ago when he swept up after Sam Allardyce. For all his leadership qualities, his understanding of group dynamics and sympathetic approach, his management skills have little application on match day when players need energy, direction, a plan and a sense of mission, all of which have been manifestly absent.

The best for which we can hope against Slovenia and beyond, is that the players take ownership of the problem and work it out for themselves.

Freed from Southgate’s suffocating yoke, England might yet do themselves justice, and by extension make the experience something to enjoy not endure, for us as well as them.”

The 3 games since have all been equally terrible. It would take wholesale revolution in the camp to change the trajectory now.

[mudshark]

Yes, I too thoroughly Turkey - Austria. Could have gone both ways.
Holland - Turkey is going to be quite an event. We have about 100,000 people of Turkish descent living in Rotterdam. They're either going to be very happy or very sad/angry come late Saturday night. No matter the outcome of the match, there will be trouble. I'll be staying in my tiny flat. 16th floor. Should be safe.

[Lord Rother]

That was a BIT better from England last night, but not a lot.

BBC pundits were gushing in their praise - not entirely sure whether they were watching the same game I saw.

5 games (incl 2 ETs) - 15 shots on target.

Southgate is so bleedin' lucky, a fantastic trait of course. The game was crying out for fresh energy, just something to change the patterns, but he held off, held off, held off - then Switzerland score and he has to do SOMETHING so throws on the subs. Within a minute that fresh energy opened a tiny bit of space up that Saka brilliantly took advantage of.

But still he leaves the utterly hapless Kane on - until the 109th minute.

But yeah, turgid though it may have been, 3 semi-finals in the last 4 tournaments is no mean achievement.

The Dutch are good in short bursts, but not a great team, also managed by a caution-first bloke.

I can see Wednesday's semi final being a dreadful spectacle.

PS I'd back England to beat anyone in a penalty shoot-out right now.... Southgate's greatest achievement?

PPS Ivan Toney... gotta love someone who can take a penalty without looking at the bloody ball. That was

[ChrisB]

Interesting Gareth Southgate statistic
Against Switzerland yesterday, it was his 100th game in charge
27 games were against top 10 rated teams in the world
Against top rated teams, he has won 6. Yes, 6!

[ChrisB]

Make that 28. Best team won by a mile, sadly. Bellingham dead on his feet after 60 mins, so he takes off Mainoo, giving Jude even more work to do. After we equalised, we sat back until the very last minute when they cleared off the line. Usual totally lacking ideas in midfield, no pace, no idea. We had the best squad, some of the best players, all the luck with results and the draw and we still fail miserably. Spain should have won by 3-1 at least.