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The 2020-2021 Football Thread

I hadn't rated the Dutch all that highly prior to the tournament, and letting a 2-goal lead slip is not a promising start though they played well at times and did win, somewhat luckily, in the end. Against a better opponent they might not have gotten away with it.

Still no surprises in terms of results in this tournament apart from Finland winning, though the circumstances of that match were so extraordinary it is impossible to draw any conclusions from it.
 
Looking at the way the opening matches have been played, I wonder who will actually come out of the group stages looking truly dangerous.
Italy looked good, but were at home. They played one of the more attacking games I have ever seen them play though, so that's a plus.
England...my heart says yes, while my brain says they'll fall over in the knockout stage.
Belgium look their usual quality. Lukaku having a good start to the tournament.
What will Wales achieve, this time around? Bale's performance was ordinary at best.
And do Scotland have it in them to really threaten in this tournament? Pre-tournament, you'd say probably not, but they have some talent...Could be time for Che Adams and Stu Armstrong to link up like they do at club level and really give someone a scare...or not.
As has already been said...never, ever write off Germany. That's a team with a lot of talent...
 
The funny thing is, I think playing at home gives Italy a real boost. But England are sometimes hobbled by the pressures of their own media, fans, and pundits at these tournaments. Maybe playing at home isn't as much of an advantage for them.

We have yet to see some of the best sides play. And while Southgate has done pretty well, I still question his ability to rescue England with subs and tactical shifts when Plan A isn't working.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
We have yet to see some of the best sides play. And while Southgate has done pretty well, I still question his ability to rescue England with subs and tactical shifts when Plan A isn't working.
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I tend to agree - I feel like Southgate is somewhat one-dimensional.
Spain, Germany and Belgium have to be the current favourites, you'd think...with Italy also sitting now in the box seat.
 
I think it’s too early to draw conclusions after one game or less. With the heat wave over here and the inevitable injuries, teams with strength in depth will no doubt rise to the top. Those relaying on a couple of decent players, will need to hope they keep performing.
Either way, I’m enjoying it!
 
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Very strange lineup Southgate rolled out yesterday, but all of his questionable decisions seemed to work out: Trippier had a very good game at LB, Sterling was a consistent threat and scored the goal, Kalvin Phillips was man of the match with his overall play — I did not realize he had that type of attacking run and killer pass in his locker. Very impressive.

At half time I had a good mine to turn off the NED / UKR match. Good thing I stuck with it. The Netherlands should never have blown a two goal lead, but they don't have a ton of talent and they don't have a very good manager. They're a far cry from their vintage best teams. Italy was in a similar down cycle, but look like they're getting past that with Mancini taking over for the long term.

Safe to say Patrik Schick has goal of the tournament wrapped up, no? Who's going to top that?
 
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Silencio said:
Very strange lineup Southgate rolled out yesterday, but all of his questionable decisions seemed to work out: Trippier had a very good game at LB, Sterling was a consistent threat and scored the goal, Kalvin Phillips was man of the match with his overall play — I did not realize he had that type of attacking run and killer pass in his locker. Very impressive.
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Sterling blows hot and cold, so it's dicey to take this match as evidence he's going to be reliably converting chances. The real test for Southgate will be when England find themselves in a situation where what they are doing is not working and they need to pivot to a new strategy quickly. Also, the center backs were not pressed hard by Croatia, England's defense will face sterner tests soon. I think Phillips surprised just about everyone, Leeds might find themselves bombarded with offers if he keeps that up.

Silencio said:
At half time I had a good mine to turn off the NED / UKR match. Good thing I stuck with it. The Netherlands should never have blown a two goal lead, but they don't have a ton of talent and they don't have a very good manager. They're a far cry from their vintage best teams. Italy was in a similar down cycle, but look like they're getting past that with Mancini taking over for the long term.

Safe to say Patrik Schick has goal of the tournament wrapped up, no? Who's going to top that?
Click to expand...

Mancini has fashioned a more aggressive Italy and it's paying off. It's weird not seeing Buffon out there though.

50-yarders are always exciting but what made Schick's goal superb was the decisiveness and the fluidity with which he accomplished the move. An extraordinarily unlucky break for the Scots but world-class football from Schick.
 
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Spain 0 - 0 Sweden

Wow! Who saw that coming?
Spain absolutely dominated that game and came away with nothing. That will be seen as a major moral victory for Sweden and a moral loss for Spain, I think.
 
Sweden don't have a very talented squad; what they DO have is experience and unit cohesion. So they are quite capable of frustrating a 'better'. It's a great result for them.

Also let's not forget all the turmoil in the Spain Squad. They are the opposite of Sweden - lots of talent, but maybe a bit disorganized and lacking in experience playing together.
 
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Silencio said:
Very strange lineup Southgate rolled out yesterday, but all of his questionable decisions seemed to work out: Trippier had a very good game at LB, Sterling was a consistent threat and scored the goal, Kalvin Phillips was man of the match with his overall play — I did not realize he had that type of attacking run and killer pass in his locker. Very impressive.

At half time I had a good mine to turn off the NED / UKR match. Good thing I stuck with it. The Netherlands should never have blown a two goal lead, but they don't have a ton of talent and they don't have a very good manager. They're a far cry from their vintage best teams. Italy was in a similar down cycle, but look like they're getting past that with Mancini taking over for the long term.

Safe to say Patrik Schick has goal of the tournament wrapped up, no? Who's going to top that?
Click to expand...

IMHO - 3 world class goals in the second half.
 
Just caught the last 25 minutes of Hungry v Portugal. First goal took a wicked deflection. Two if you count the build up. Then the same guy concedes a penalty and gets booked 5 minutes later. Putty as Hungry had been on top.
 
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You can both say Portugal was lucky to get the goals and yet they deserved the win anyway for dominating most of the match but failing to convert any of their earlier chances.

Here comes Germany / France. Should be a good one! That French XI is... enviable.
 
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That was a surprise for me...I thought that France may be a little more dynamic than that, but they played a sensible game and came away with the points, which is all you need in a tournament like this.

A hard week to come for Germany.

Predictions on Scotland v England? I see a 2-1 win to England and much domestic trouble in the streets of Glasgow.
 
HandsomeDanNZ said:
That was a surprise for me...I thought that France may be a little more dynamic than that, but they played a sensible game and came away with the points, which is all you need in a tournament like this.

A hard week to come for Germany.

Predictions on Scotland v England? I see a 2-1 win to England and much domestic trouble in the streets of Glasgow.
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I think it could just as easily be a draw. I can't see them wanting to give us an inch. I do predict there keeper will stay closer to his line though! Even my MD who has zero interest in football commented to me he'd seen the goal on the news and he thought the keepers job was to stay in the goal!
 
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