I never said Sterling would become a clinical finisher, where's that come from?
I did wonder why you LOL'd me when Kane missed an open goal from a few yards out and I said he should've scored. I guess you like him a lot which is fine.
There is no doubting he is one of the best strikers in the world, but for whatever reason, he has been poor at recent tournaments for us, other than on penalties. And he's not above criticism just because he's a good player, especially when he's not putting a shift in and everybody else is.
His one good moment was a clever back heel to Sterling in the first half but I can't remember anything else. Let's hope he picks it up a bit.
Could it be because he gives his all to club football and all he's left is fatigue during tournaments? Maybe it's not he doesn't want to give his 100% but he simply cannot?
Kane takes a load of hits to create space for Sterling and Foden, he wasn’t great yesterday, but far rather he was there as he’s such a smart footballer.
also I thought it was excellent defending for that chance that went wide
I never said Sterling would become a clinical finisher, where's that come from?
I did wonder why you LOL'd me when Kane missed an open goal from a few yards out and I said he should've scored. I guess you like him a lot which is fine.
There is no doubting he is one of the best strikers in the world, but for whatever reason, he has been poor at recent tournaments for us, other than on penalties. And he's not above criticism just because he's a good player, especially when he's not putting a shift in and everybody else is.
His one good moment was a clever back heel to Sterling in the first half but I can't remember anything else. Let's hope he picks it up a bit.
Foden was given a job to do and never stopped running and closing down. After a bright start when he gave the young Croatian LB problems, we appeared to attack more down the left where Trippier can't overlap.
We all agree that Kane didn't get on the ball much yesterday and for us to progress in this tournament that will have to change. Sterlings goal from MOM Phillips did cover up two poor efforts on goal when not under pressure he missed by a mile with his right foot in the first half and a woeful effort with his left in the second. Sterling timed his run well for the goal and received a great pass from the Leeds man. Hopefully Kane can prove he's our number one striker against the Scots and then sit out the 3rd game against the Czech Republic.
Just a reminder:
Harry Kane 34 goals in 54 games for England.
Love to sit in on the analysis to find out why he was subdued yesterday ? Rooney was affected by his off field problems at times, hopefully Kane's desire to get away from Spurs and Levy's stubbornness is not on his mind, As well as the health of his friend Christian.
After being also-ran‘s in Championship for so long, yesterday must have been a proud moment for Leeds fans to see there player be MOM for England in a major tournament.
not read all the thread but was there an annoying group of Leeds fans singing Leeds stuff near the mike ... thought i recognised a song but it may have been an England version of it
Kane was targeted by the Croatian defence yesterday, which tends to happen to world class strikers, and we used that to bring Foden and Sterling in behind the backline wherever we could. He might not have been hugely influential on the ball but as long as they were tied up trying to nullify Kane space was created for others, and that's what we exploited. Kane is an intelligent player and that's a tactic we will be using a lot this tournament. He's a world class striker, one of the very best in the world, and recipient of the Golden Boot at the most recent World Cup. And there's talk of dropping him one game into a tournament where he did his job, he just didn't score. I wonder if this happens so much in other countries' media/commentariat. Does there always have to be someone publicly targeted for criticism?
I would be interested to see Modric's passing stats. He was up for it. The issue for Croatia was that there was no space to pass into and that clearly was the idea.
that starting front 3 is likely to be man city's front 3 next year and pep doesn't tend to get it wrong - if we get a goal or 2 up against Scotland i'd like to see Grealish get involved but other than putting a proper left back in, i'd probably leave it as it is for the jocks
We won ,end of,should Grealish have played,Trippier in front of Shaw and Chilwell,a bit odd,Kane,well, one of his mates almost died yesterday.
I’m completely in the dark to football outside League 1, but I wondered if Trippier got the nod for left back because of his throw ins. 2 or possibly 3 decent attacks started from his clever throws. Possibly Shaw and Chilwell don’t have that in the bag?
You've got to remember that penalties don't count when analysing an England striker's goal record, despite them counting all the same and England being notoriously bad at taking penalties
if we are going to give Southgate credit for adapting the tactics to nullify Croatia, the same approach will surely not be the same against Scotland who will present a different challenge. Also, the three points takes an immense amount of pressure off England and I think Southgate will start Grealish and one or two others to get them up to speed in the tournament.
I suspect Trippier got the nod because Southgate didn't want his full backs to get caught out going forwards against a Croatia whose main threat is passing when there is space.
I would be interested to see Modric's passing stats. He was up for it. The issue for Croatia was that there was no space to pass into and that clearly was the idea.
I do agree that Croatia aren't the team they were in 2018, but neither are we.
Our midfield in that semi-final was Henderson, Alli, Lingard and Sterling.
Yesterday it was Phillips, Rice, Mount, Foden and Sterling.
In 2018 we had good 'runners' but nobody that comfortable on the ball. So when they pressed us, we lost it. Now we have a highly technical midfield who can really play.
I am hanging today! Brilliant being in the sun watching England win.
Can’t remember a great deal 😂 but first 10-15 mins I thought we were exceptional. Understanding with the heat that the high press couldn’t be kept up but we have to try and control games a bit better.
I would be interested to see Modric's passing stats. He was up for it. The issue for Croatia was that there was no space to pass into and that clearly was the idea.
65/70 (93%) - more passes than any other player
Interesting stat but I think that was odds on favourite that Modric would be the pass master. Southgate picked the team to negate him by covering all the options when he was on the ball plus when the Croatians received his passes the shots were off target. A good day at the office for Southgate and the coaching staff who picked a team who gave Croatia respect as you would expect from losing Finalists at the WC but who have dropped their level as a couple of their big players have departed the international scene in Rakitic and Mandkovic.
This game is fast. Not sure if it’s the camera or what but the Netherlands seem to play with a much higher intensity than us and Croatia did today.
Could be a difficult match up.
Also a different time of the day...
Hopefully see a faster game when we play our last two Group games seeing they'll be at 8pm
Very true. In cooler weather we could look really dangerous.
Am more looking forward to getting the game without that bloody shadow on the pitch, was even more challenging with Croatia in their dark kit but did ruin my enjoyment of the game a bit today
Watching the highlights it was definitely a better performance than I initially thought. We had a lot of good chances and Croatia only really had a Rebic chance that came from 2 unfortunate bounces. If Sterling had been a bit more clinical that game is 2/3-0.
Looking at it more I think this line up was designed as a response to the 2018 semi defeat. It wasn’t overly expansive but it did work.
The only thing worrying me is our pass map. We love the wide areas and that’s unsurprising considering that talent we have. However without our RB/LB pushing on more we really are relying on magic out of Foden/Sterling/Mount to drive forwards.
A decent start, but I’d love to see us with Chilwell and James/Trippier bombing down the wings.
Watching the highlights it was definitely a better performance than I initially thought. We had a lot of good chances and Croatia only really had a Rebic chance that came from 2 unfortunate bounces. If Sterling had been a bit more clinical that game is 2/3-0.
Looking at it more I think this line up was designed as a response to the 2018 semi defeat. It wasn’t overly expansive but it did work.
The only thing worrying me is our pass map. We love the wide areas and that’s unsurprising considering that talent we have. However without our RB/LB pushing on more we really are relying on magic out of Foden/Sterling/Mount to drive forwards.
A decent start, but I’d love to see us with Chilwell and James/Trippier bombing down the wings.
This is what our whole tournament will be like, and it should be. Tournaments aren't won by the most expansive brilliant teams, they're won by the teams who make the fewest mistakes and ship the fewest goals while keeping their best players fit. Southgate is going to continue to play two deeper midfielders, as does every top team in world football. We're not going to see Grealish or Mount playing in that deeper midfield role, and Southgate will revert to a 3 at the back at times against tougher teams. He'll rotate the squad when he can and leave out some of our more exciting players if he thinks they don't suit the game. It might not be the most interesting way of playing but it's probably the most effective way of getting through.
After being also-ran‘s in Championship for so long, yesterday must have been a proud moment for Leeds fans to see there player be MOM for England in a major tournament.
After being also-ran‘s in Championship for so long, yesterday must have been a proud moment for Leeds fans to see there player be MOM for England in a major tournament.
Decent start and we will grow as the tournament progresses.
No matter how you look at it though, despite Trippier having a decent game, there is simply no logic in playing someone out of position when you have 2 exceptional left backs in the squad. I'd understand it if we had no options, but Shaw and Chilwell have been immense of late. It just imbalances the team and restricts the ability to 'whip' in crosses and overlap.
Still, I guess that's why I'm not a football 'coach'.
Comments
also I thought it was excellent defending for that chance that went wide
Foden was given a job to do and never stopped running and closing down. After a bright start when he gave the young Croatian LB problems, we appeared to attack more down the left where Trippier can't overlap.
We all agree that Kane didn't get on the ball much yesterday and for us to progress in this tournament that will have to change.
Sterlings goal from MOM Phillips did cover up two poor efforts on goal when not under pressure he missed by a mile with his right foot in the first half and a woeful effort with his left in the second. Sterling timed his run well for the goal and received a great pass from the Leeds man.
Hopefully Kane can prove he's our number one striker against the Scots and then sit out the 3rd game against the Czech Republic.
Just a reminder:
Harry Kane 34 goals in 54 games for England.
Love to sit in on the analysis to find out why he was subdued yesterday ? Rooney was affected by his off field problems at times, hopefully Kane's desire to get away from Spurs and Levy's stubbornness is not on his mind, As well as the health of his friend Christian.
He won the Golden Boot in the last one ffs.
I suspect Trippier got the nod because Southgate didn't want his full backs to get caught out going forwards against a Croatia whose main threat is passing when there is space.
Our midfield in that semi-final was Henderson, Alli, Lingard and Sterling.
Yesterday it was Phillips, Rice, Mount, Foden and Sterling.
In 2018 we had good 'runners' but nobody that comfortable on the ball. So when they pressed us, we lost it. Now we have a highly technical midfield who can really play.
Can’t remember a great deal 😂 but first 10-15 mins I thought we were exceptional. Understanding with the heat that the high press couldn’t be kept up but we have to try and control games a bit better.
Interesting stat but I think that was odds on favourite that Modric would be the pass master. Southgate picked the team to negate him by covering all the options when he was on the ball plus when the Croatians received his passes the shots were off target. A good day at the office for Southgate and the coaching staff who picked a team who gave Croatia respect as you would expect from losing Finalists at the WC but who have dropped their level as a couple of their big players have departed the international scene in Rakitic and Mandkovic.
The only thing worrying me is our pass map. We love the wide areas and that’s unsurprising considering that talent we have. However without our RB/LB pushing on more we really are relying on magic out of Foden/Sterling/Mount to drive forwards.
A decent start, but I’d love to see us with Chilwell and James/Trippier bombing down the wings.
No matter how you look at it though, despite Trippier having a decent game, there is simply no logic in playing someone out of position when you have 2 exceptional left backs in the squad. I'd understand it if we had no options, but Shaw and Chilwell have been immense of late. It just imbalances the team and restricts the ability to 'whip' in crosses and overlap.
Still, I guess that's why I'm not a football 'coach'.