Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 5 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
True that
England would probably meet Belgium in the quarter finals and would struggle against them too.
We dominate three games, only score three goals and you think Roy is the only thing stopping us winning the Euros?
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
Comment deleted by Site Moderator
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 43 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And Greece won the Euros. Both Greece and Leicester had a very clear blueprint and knew what they were playing at.
Croatia, in addition to that, have shown they're equally capable of playing a solid possession game, a high pressing game, and a deeper, fast-break style, and can mix them up within a 90-minute game.
So yes, of course England could beat Croatia in a one-off match, but it doesn't seem the most likely outcome going by what each team has shown thus far.
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 57 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure why you bring up Leicester. They're pretty much the opposite of England.
Well drilled, team orientated and they understand when to drop/rotate out their stars (as they did several times with Mahrez).
Lack of cutting edge and poor finishing when we did create is what got us 2nd place in the group.
The team that started against Slovakia was good enough to win.
In actual fact, Sturridge and Vardy finished the previous game, making the vital difference against Wales.
So there were 4 changes really. Both full backs were swapped, as was a slightly out of form Alli for Henderson, and Rooney out for Wilshere. Plenty of people before the tournament were bemoaning the fact that Rooney was either in the squad, or would be deployed in CM.
I'm not Hodgson's biggest fan (his selections and tactics are baffling at times), and we should have finished top, but we can't blame not winning on changes being made. The players coming into the team should have been more than good enough.
Had the team that started v Slovakia been the team that started the tournament, not many eyebrows would have been raised (bar the omission of Kane).
Typical England though, to come up short.
I would love for an interviewer to say to Hodgson 'well Roy, you've finished the group behind Wales. Given the resources of both squads, do you think that is acceptable. Yes or no?'
comment by Science (U19684)
posted 31 minutes ago
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 57 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure why you bring up Leicester. They're pretty much the opposite of England.
Well drilled, team orientated and they understand when to drop/rotate out their stars (as they did several times with Mahrez).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I brought it up to point out that this is football and there are no steadfast certainties. Anything can happen.
You have to beat the best teams to win the Euros. Otherwise how can you claim to be the best? By avoiding tough teams? Nonsense.
Woys squad was always going to struggle. There are too many players who try to do a trick andf look flash rather than just get the job done. Walker, Lallana, Sterling, Henderson and Alli all have a poor final ball which is not good enough to break down international defences. They get away with it a level lower against some PL defences but are now being found out. Wilshere can be added ot that list due to fitness.
But all of these players are also suffering from no one making runs and busting a gut to get into goal scoring positions, except maybe Vardy. The thing I noticed mainly with Wilshere but also others was that he looked up to play a through ball and the other players were just stood around being marked out of the game. Completely unacceptable and imo the reason we wont win until it changes.
It's going to be tough for England for sure. The English have really fecked up here, by finishing second in this group.
Their most likely opponents in the next round will be either Hungary or Portugal, but Iceland or Austria are still possible. Whilst none of that quartet is regarded as a tournament favourite, England have been knocked out of two tournaments by a Portugal team including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Should England progress to the quarter-finals, their opponents would most likely be hosts France. This is assuming the hosts overcome whoever they’re up against in their second-round fixture, which is probable.
If England win the quarter-final (probably by beating France) and reach the last four, they'll be up against a semi-finalist drawn from Germany, Italy, Spain, or possibly a rogue third-placed team yet to be decided. Hodgson's men really haven't made this easy for themselves.
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If England had won the group
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posted on 22/6/16
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
posted on 22/6/16
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 5 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
True that
posted on 22/6/16
England would probably meet Belgium in the quarter finals and would struggle against them too.
We dominate three games, only score three goals and you think Roy is the only thing stopping us winning the Euros?
posted on 22/6/16
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
posted on 22/6/16
Comment deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 22/6/16
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 43 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And Greece won the Euros. Both Greece and Leicester had a very clear blueprint and knew what they were playing at.
Croatia, in addition to that, have shown they're equally capable of playing a solid possession game, a high pressing game, and a deeper, fast-break style, and can mix them up within a 90-minute game.
So yes, of course England could beat Croatia in a one-off match, but it doesn't seem the most likely outcome going by what each team has shown thus far.
posted on 22/6/16
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 57 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure why you bring up Leicester. They're pretty much the opposite of England.
Well drilled, team orientated and they understand when to drop/rotate out their stars (as they did several times with Mahrez).
posted on 22/6/16
Lack of cutting edge and poor finishing when we did create is what got us 2nd place in the group.
The team that started against Slovakia was good enough to win.
In actual fact, Sturridge and Vardy finished the previous game, making the vital difference against Wales.
So there were 4 changes really. Both full backs were swapped, as was a slightly out of form Alli for Henderson, and Rooney out for Wilshere. Plenty of people before the tournament were bemoaning the fact that Rooney was either in the squad, or would be deployed in CM.
I'm not Hodgson's biggest fan (his selections and tactics are baffling at times), and we should have finished top, but we can't blame not winning on changes being made. The players coming into the team should have been more than good enough.
Had the team that started v Slovakia been the team that started the tournament, not many eyebrows would have been raised (bar the omission of Kane).
Typical England though, to come up short.
posted on 22/6/16
I would love for an interviewer to say to Hodgson 'well Roy, you've finished the group behind Wales. Given the resources of both squads, do you think that is acceptable. Yes or no?'
posted on 22/6/16
comment by Science (U19684)
posted 31 minutes ago
comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 57 minutes ago
comment by itsonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Croatia's the strongest side in the other half, and easily the most adaptable imo. England wouldn't get past them either.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leicester City just won the Premier League, yet England can't beat Croatia in a one-off match?
Okay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure why you bring up Leicester. They're pretty much the opposite of England.
Well drilled, team orientated and they understand when to drop/rotate out their stars (as they did several times with Mahrez).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I brought it up to point out that this is football and there are no steadfast certainties. Anything can happen.
posted on 22/6/16
You have to beat the best teams to win the Euros. Otherwise how can you claim to be the best? By avoiding tough teams? Nonsense.
posted on 22/6/16
Woys squad was always going to struggle. There are too many players who try to do a trick andf look flash rather than just get the job done. Walker, Lallana, Sterling, Henderson and Alli all have a poor final ball which is not good enough to break down international defences. They get away with it a level lower against some PL defences but are now being found out. Wilshere can be added ot that list due to fitness.
But all of these players are also suffering from no one making runs and busting a gut to get into goal scoring positions, except maybe Vardy. The thing I noticed mainly with Wilshere but also others was that he looked up to play a through ball and the other players were just stood around being marked out of the game. Completely unacceptable and imo the reason we wont win until it changes.
posted on 22/6/16
It's going to be tough for England for sure. The English have really fecked up here, by finishing second in this group.
Their most likely opponents in the next round will be either Hungary or Portugal, but Iceland or Austria are still possible. Whilst none of that quartet is regarded as a tournament favourite, England have been knocked out of two tournaments by a Portugal team including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Should England progress to the quarter-finals, their opponents would most likely be hosts France. This is assuming the hosts overcome whoever they’re up against in their second-round fixture, which is probable.
If England win the quarter-final (probably by beating France) and reach the last four, they'll be up against a semi-finalist drawn from Germany, Italy, Spain, or possibly a rogue third-placed team yet to be decided. Hodgson's men really haven't made this easy for themselves.
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