Colombia v England - Tues 3rd July 7pm

blackpool72 said:

I doubt any manager actually says go out and lose.
But by picking your reserve side to play a 1st team game speaks volumes.

But Belgium made more changes than we did. Every single manager in that position would have done the same. Our players will have had a week off before the Columbia game.

We’ve fucked it!!! I’d rather of beaten Japan and lost to Brazi than loose to Columbia! Should of kept the motivation going within the camp

I believe that England will lose to the first good team they play. I'm just really, really unsure if Colombia are a good team. They were good in the first game despite playing basically all of it with 10 men. They were excellent in the second game, even if Poland were dreadful, but then yesterday they looked so average.

Peckerman is a good coach (he helped shepherd through the golden generation of Argentinian players that we're seeing the tail end of) who has been here and done it before. They're quite "old fashioned" circa like 2008-12 in that they play with a 4-2-3-1 "broken team," defend with six with the back four plus two holding players, and then attack with four. Urribe seemed to go box-to-box a bit against Senegal, but not terribly convincingly.

For those saying they are going to go out and attack England, I really don't know about that. They really got to Poland on the break. And Senegal were more than happy to sit back and let them have the ball, which is part of what made them look so ponderous and slow. Careful, considered build up does not look to be their forte, they seemed to want to hit teams more on the counter with the pace and creativity of Quintero, Cuadrado, Falcao, and James (if fit).

I think this is an uncomfortable match-up for England. Colombia's 4-2-3-1 means that England's three center halves will have one forward to mark (part of what saw the back 3/5 formations go out of style in the mid-'00s). Quintero is very good at buzzing around between the lines, he's been one of the breakthrough players of the tournament for me, and I think he'll find a lot of joy exploiting the space between England's midfield and defense. If James is fit to play any part, the movement and interchange of those two would be incredibly problematic.

The same Falcao that couldn't hit the back end of a donkey with a banjo at Chelsea or Man Utd?

Come on people, a bit of confidence eh?

Comfortable win, on to the 1/4 finals.

We have a dodgy goalie and a poor defence, it will depend whether we score more than them.

lancashire lad said:

We have a dodgy goalie and a poor defence, it will depend whether we score more than them.

That’s how most games work to be fair

Both Southgate and Martinez managed teams who got relegated from the Premier League (Boro and Wigan)...

lancashire lad said:

We have a dodgy goalie and a poor defence, it will depend whether we score more than them.

This.

Think if we go 1 down we might be in trouble. Need to score first.

JohnBoyUK said:

The same Falcao that couldn't hit the back end of a donkey with a banjo at Chelsea or Man Utd?

Come on people, a bit of confidence eh?

Comfortable win, on to the 1/4 finals.

And the same one who was brilliant for Porto and Atleti before that, and has been brilliant for Monaco for a while now.

killerandflash said:

SDAddick said:

I believe that England will lose to the first good team they play. I'm just really, really unsure if Colombia are a good team. They were good in the first game despite playing basically all of it with 10 men. They were excellent in the second game, even if Poland were dreadful, but then yesterday they looked so average.

Peckerman is a good coach (he helped shepherd through the golden generation of Argentinian players that we're seeing the tail end of) who has been here and done it before. They're quite "old fashioned" circa like 2008-12 in that they play with a 4-2-3-1 "broken team," defend with six with the back four plus two holding players, and then attack with four. Urribe seemed to go box-to-box a bit against Senegal, but not terribly convincingly.

For those saying they are going to go out and attack England, I really don't know about that. They really got to Poland on the break. And Senegal were more than happy to sit back and let them have the ball, which is part of what made them look so ponderous and slow. Careful, considered build up does not look to be their forte, they seemed to want to hit teams more on the counter with the pace and creativity of Quintero, Cuadrado, Falcao, and James (if fit).

I think this is an uncomfortable match-up for England. Colombia's 4-2-3-1 means that England's three center halves will have one forward to mark (part of what saw the back 3/5 formations go out of style in the mid-'00s). Quintero is very good at buzzing around between the lines, he's been one of the breakthrough players of the tournament for me, and I think he'll find a lot of joy exploiting the space between England's midfield and defense. If James is fit to play any part, the movement and interchange of those two would be incredibly problematic.

The mobility of England's centre backs is the key to combat this. If you 3 stoppers, then yes they'd be marking just 1 player, but as Maguire and Walker have a license to roam forward, and combat any floating midfielders

I'm not sure they're attackers are especially fast, Falcao may be sharp in the box, but he isn't going to outsprint our defence in a break.

No Falcao won't outsprint say, Kyle Walker, but it's a quickness of thought and movement that I'm more concerned with.

And agree, England's center backs getting forward to both help keep the ball and to break up service into the front four will be crucial. I just...don't fully trust any of the three of them with their reading of the game. Basically, I think all three have a mistake in them.

If Colombia sit deep and let England have the ball, it's exactly the kind of situation where England have struggled so much in recent tournaments. But going on the Tunisia game, I thought Southgate had them playing with real tempo and good movement, with one or both of the forwards dropping off and the attacking midfielders (and wingbacks even) looking to run beyond them. Dele Alli will be key in this. For as good as RLC can be, he's still raw and unpredictable, in both a good and a bad way, and I think he's better suited to coming off the bench (if Alli is fit). Because England don't have a natural playmaker (either a 10 or a 6), it's that movement that is so crucial to breaking teams down. And I think Southgate has set them up far better, and that they look to have far more ideas, than in recent years.

I think this is a solid, very young and inexperienced England side. If they go out to Colombia it will (hopefully) be because Colombia have a good game plan and some very good, experienced players who have been playing together in the same system for ~5 years. I think it's entirely possible that England will go through, but even if they don't, I think they can hold their heads high. I've seen more from this England team to make me feel like the future is bright, like they're headed in the same direction and that there is real long term planning and coaching, than I have for a long, long time.

ValleyGary said:

High press Colombia and they will panic more on the ball than our back 3 will. Our press against Tunisia was fantastic for the first half hour. More of the same and this mob will give us chances.

Yeah agree with this. Not looked at the post match Belgium thread but what I learnt from that game was there is no place in the starting side with its current shape for Dier, Jones and Rashford. Rose gives us better balance than Young and TAA can be trusted. Now worried about Pickford.

IF we get through the next round then Southgate is a clever manager who did a sting on Belgium.

If we lose then Southgate should be put in the stocks and if you throw a ring on Gareth's nose you win a goldfish.
They would need a lot of goldfish if that senario came about.

Pickford seems to have a problem catching, keeps pushing the ball back out in front of him, Been lucky to get away with it so far.

EveshamAddick said:

Pickford doesn't look like a real goalkeeper, his positioning is all over the shop, he looks small (though apparently 6' 1") and generally unathletic.

We all got carried away after spanking a poor Panama, but my god that Belgium game was a return to business as usual for England playing tournament football. Like Charlton in recent years, no strength in depth, and probably only Kane is truly world class.

I know I predicted failure to get out of the group, but I can't see a win against Colombia.

I wish this site had dislike buttons. Ffs