Most liked posts in thread: England v Italy

What was Southgate playing out there? Seriously!

Letting the youngest player take the last pen is utter nuts.

It's not American football. Rashford and Sancho were set up to fail there. Players need to get into the games and the atmosphere etc.

Southgate too negative for me. If any think he could have took Kane off for Rashford and Italy worry about Rashford's pace.

 

Better side won tonight, no complaints. Southgate bottled it with that team selection and his subs were predictably too late to make an impact. He's a great man but a good coach? Still don't rate him in the slightest.

 

He’s also got a new squad, probably our most talented in decades which helps. He’s hardly turned North Macedonia around or the same players who played in 2016. In internationals you’re dealt the hand and that’s that Southgate is luckier than plenty of England managers before him. I don’t know how anyone can defend bringing two young lads on just to take a penalty, it’s the definition of hanging them out to dry.

 

What is this white? My eyes are bleeding

 

The racist abuse is disgraceful.

As for the game itself, we got what we deserved. We were poor, and much of it lies with Southgate. We were far too cautious, we never got at their centre halves. He got his system, tactics, lineup, subs and penalty takers wrong.

 

One thing about national footy tournaments- Italy,France,Spain,Germany all have their poor efforts but they all manage to win once in a while.
England on the other hand dont.
In the own backyard, with the easier draw they go ultra defensive,leave the creative midfielders on the bench and play Sterling and Kane in our own half as cover.
Net result from those two was no shots on target.
Did well to get it to penalties.
Again.

 

It is all about winning and a winning mentality, Mancini as a manager has won cups and leagues titles in abundance because he sets out and knows how to win, Southgate however despite a career in football has won nothing, And on his obvious fear of the opposition I doubt he ever will

 

I thought Rice was the better of the two CDMs all tournament except against Croatia, yet every time it was him who made way and our performances declined when he went off. As for the penalties if the players got to choose the Grealish and Sterling need to have a look at themselves and say why they let a kid who’s never taken a senior penalty and two subs who hadn’t touched the ball go before them. And they’re supposed to be leaders, not leadership behaviour in the slightest. It felt like men v boys in that shootout and one stage it zoomed in on the Italy team and they were smiling and laughing then it zoomed in to Shaw who had sweat dripping off him and looked like he was about to shit himself. Chiellini did a pre match interview and said losing in the final is failure, our lot were just grateful to be there and that includes the managers.

 

Terrible management.

 

Grealish has come out and said he wanted to take a pen, but Southgate chose the takers based on what he'd seen in training. That's madness!

 

Oh come on, as much chance of winning it as Italy. Probably more chance given its Wembley and we have been far better in the knock outs...

 

I think our fans are just naturally quite pessimistic due to history, similar to City really. That said I think we’ll win. You almost sound surprised that other countries want us to lose though which is a surprise, our fans boo other national anthems and fans often when abroad go around causing mayhem. Britain and England in particular have never been particularly liked and due to our history and behaviour in general isn’t much of a surprise. Tbh it doesn’t bother me one bit what a Russian or anyone else thinks though.

 

Yet people forget that Italy were world conquerors, and the Danes weren’t darlings either! And let’s not even mention Russia…
Over here it’s not a football nation, but those who are into it, invariably follow Premiership sides. They’re just jumping on the band wagon in more ways than one. I’m watching the final at my bar. I’m pretty sure I’ll accept the Italians who come to visit, celebrating if they win. Probably even give them a handshake and congratulate them. Not because they are my customers, but because I understand what the win means to them.

 

Politics has nothing to do with our football team. Pretty sure the spite was mainly aimed at the EU, a political union, not 'Europe' as you put it. Bizarre comment.

The disdain others hold for us is from our hooligans in the 70s, 80s and 90s....oh and 00s.

 

You don’t think decades of front pages in the Scum calling them Frogs and Krauts, Achtung Surrender on the front page of the Mirror have an effect? You don’t see the voting in the Eurovision? Have you lived and worked in mainland Europe? Seen the people on holiday acting like twats? The English in general aren’t liked across Europe.

 

They are 36 years old. Tire them out with Saka and co, then bring on Grealish. Or Bellingham. Or Sancho. Or Foden. This is the one game out of all the others, we'll win for sure if we attack. C'mon the boys!

 

Which is why we need to attack. Frustrating as he is, Sterling is the key to us winning this game.

 

I honestly can't fathom it. Dont get me wrong, if it works I'll stand corrected and hail Southgate a genius. But I don't think it will

 

blxxdy penalties again why put the pressure of the last penalty on a 19 year old