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FIFA World Cup 2026

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Although I was rooting for England (or rather, against Argentina), I am kind of glad that these park-the-bus tactics don’t work. I hate it.
 
England threw that one away and as always, it was gutting to see. I just hope Spain win the final now as Argentina were an absolute disgrace last night. Great players, great goals, but everything else which I won't go into was shameful to watch.

Well, I won't be watching the England vs France game as its completely pointless and will be cheering on Spain in the final. Go Espana!!
 
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It will be interesting to see what Tuchel says about it in the days to come. He started being attacked by everyone right away, but there is a possibility that Argentina were simply so good and so relentless that England couldn't cope. I don't see why Kane would lie, it's quite possible they didn't want to sit back but were overwhelmed by Argentina's pressure and the occasion got to them.

In the end, Argentina deserve to go to the final because they performed like the reigning champions and they showed their strength by dishing out their best performance of the tournament in the semis. That's how a team grows into it and plays best in the closing stages when it matter most. Argentina are a group of World Cup winners and England aren't, that showed last night. These are the intangibles you can't train. Argentina are a nasty team that gives everyone a fight, they haven't lost a knockout game since 2019 and I'm sure the English pundits did a lot to motivate them.
 
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I am not necessarily defending Tuchel per se, but having read some of the rather strong criticisms of his approach against Argentina, I am left wondering. The critics assume, or imply, that adopting a much more aggressive tactical approach would have won the match.

Would it?

It's very easy to say that in light of this result. But it's a very different thing to make that call from the manager's seat. I would NOT assume that a much more aggressive approach would have won the match. It might have. But words like 'disaster' and 'disgrace' are performative and inappropriate in my opinion.
 
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I think we also need to applaud how well England played in this tournament too. They didn't bow out as complete losers who couldn't put up a fight and we had Argentina pressed at times. The quality shone through in the end for Argentina, but England are still in the top 4 of the World Cup.

I really really hope Spain humiliate Argentina and at this point in time, are a much better team based on the performances I have seen. It all depends on the day though.

I hope Tuchel sticks an entire team of reserves out for the training game against France on Saturday, give some of the youngsters some World Cup time and let the rest fly home.
 
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Has the third place match always been a thing at the World Cup? Doesn't seem like anyone cares about it.
 
The-Real-Deal82 said:
I really really hope Spain humiliate Argentina and at this point in time, are a much better team based on the performances I have seen. It all depends on the day though.
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Argentina are a seriously tough unit. Spain are more controlled. Argentina will be using every trick in the book to disrupt the Spaniards but Spain should be looking at this as a winnable match. They, unlike England, are unquestionably equipped for holding Argentina at arm's length. If they are able to play to their potential they should be able to frustrate Argentina and maybe the latter lose their cool and get sloppy, which would play into Spain's hands.

The-Real-Deal82 said:
I hope Tuchel sticks an entire team of reserves out for the training game against France on Saturday, give some of the youngsters some World Cup time and let the rest fly home.
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The third place match is an odd duck. Nobody wants to play it, but they also don't want to lose it. And the whole thing is soon forgotten. I say fling long balls at Toney and bypass the whole French midfield and frontline. 🤣
 
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dmr727 said:
Has the third place match always been a thing at the World Cup? Doesn't seem like anyone cares about it.
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Yes it has.
The Euro Football Championship stopped doing it after 1980. Everybody gets bronze medals, nobody cares.
Nevertheless sometimes the third place game can be quite interesting.
You can have one or two underdogs that almost got to the final and they will fight for the 3rd place as it's a great honour and result.
This year however it will probably be one of the least interesting. Both are previous WC winners, France was considered the favourite, anything less than a win is already a loss. Nobody will have any heart into it.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
I am not necessarily defending Tuchel per se, but having read some of the rather strong criticisms of his approach against Argentina, I am left wondering. The critics assume, or imply, that adopting a much more aggressive tactical approach would have won the match.

Would it?

It's very easy to say that in light of this result. But it's a very different thing to make that call from the manager's seat. I would NOT assume that a much more aggressive approach would have won the match. It might have. But words like 'disaster' and 'disgrace' are performative and inappropriate in my opinion.
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Good points. The bottom line is, a top 4 finish with these players is according to the expectations. Getting to the final would have been an unexpected bonus. It will probably be Harry Kane’s last World Cup too, and i don’t see a similar goal scoring talent on the horizon.
 
Taking Rice off was too much of a gamble. It just emptied the midfield

And i still don't understand why he didn't just bring on Saka, Eze, Watkins/Toney to occupy their defenders.

6 defenders on the pitch in the final 30mins was frankly ridiculous

He made Argentina's work easy, cos all they had to do was keep attacking and not worry about anything behind them.

Genuinely pissed Arg are in the final but i'm over it now and won't be watching any more matches since all the teams i paid attention to are out.
 
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