World Cup Thread

[Van wink 2,994]

kick it off wrote the following post at 11/07/2018 9:54 PM:

"Not sure they over achieved given the level of competition they faced VW...."Depends how you look at it KIO, did you have them down as semi finalists before the competitiion started? But I take your point in terms of the draw they had.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

[quote user="Canary Wundaboy"][quote user="keelansgrandad"]Gutted but losing in the semis is always the worst.

Remember Hillsborough and Viila Park?

But semi final is further than anyone thought beforehand and we have had a bit of fun and joy for the past few weeks.

Modric not in it for the first half and he controlled it after that.

Commentators daft comment that have we the heart to win it is silly. It is about the right players, playing the right tactics and taking their chances with skill.[/quote]

In 4 years it will be Maddison playing behind the forwards and THEN we''ll have the sort of quality we need to get to a tournament final.

[/quote]

Don''t want to rain on your parade Wonderboy but It''ll take something exceptional for a European team to win in the heat of Qatar. Now the next Euro or even two, if we learn from the game tonight nd the experience of tournament football we might be in with a chance.

[Guest]

It is all conjecture. In reality we did beat those teams, weaker then us or not.

I noticed effin Tyldesley going on about those missing from the squad like Lallana and Chamberlain. You play the hand you are dealt and get on with it,

[JF 694]

I said from the very begining that England would let us down. I''ve been proved right. I won''t appologise if that hurts your feelings

I don’t feel let down. For the first time in years I’ve seen an England team and manager that I can get behind. I’ve felt a level of enthusiasm in this World Cup for this team I’ve not had since South Korea World Cup in 2002. We’ve fell short at the end but in no way do I feel let down by them, quite the opposite

[Guest]

He''s also too short to command his area as demonstrated tonight.

I''m sorry KIO but I have to disagree. Size has nothing to do with it or else John Ruddy might having been playing instead. I think he has been one of the real successes.

Pickford kicked it into touch whenever the ball was passed back hurriedly to him. But most of the time he found a team member.

Stones ball watched for their second but even then I would blame Lingaard for ball watching and losing his man which eventually led to the move that they scored from.

But what is the point of picking on individuals? This is England in the World Cup. Hopefully sunshine and fiesta football hopefully.

NCFC are far more important to me.

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

[quote user="JF"]I said from the very begining that England would let us down. I''ve been proved right. I won''t appologise if that hurts your feelings

I don’t feel let down. For the first time in years I’ve seen an England team and manager that I can get behind. I’ve felt a level of enthusiasm in this World Cup for this team I’ve not had since South Korea World Cup in 2002. We’ve fell short at the end but in no way do I feel let down by them, quite the opposite[/quote]

Like I said, if you''re happy being the bridesmaid, good for you. Personally, I''d like to see England win a tournament.

[Van wink 2,994]

Dont get too down chaps, we have Brexit to look forward too.

[rock bus 851]

Some of the immediate bashing of the England team by pundits on ITV and on social media are a disgrace.

Quite simply, tonight I’m totally gutted but also very proud.

Well done to Southgate and all the England team you can come home with your heads held high

[kick it off 1,952]

Agree with those mentioning Madders. He was exactly the type of player England needed tonight. Alli and lingard are all endeavour but run down blind alleys too often and when the opposition shuts down the midfield lanes for their runs then it ends up with long balls in the hope sterling might get onto it and then develop the ability to hit a barn door.

Lots of positives to take though. The defence have been very good although walker looks like the weakest link.

Also agree on Southgate. Think he''s done a stellar job with what he''s got. Really impressed with him as as manager and a person.

I know Pickford had a good tournament and everyone likes the lad but I stand by what I say about him not being up to it at international level and being replaced by Gunn before the next euros.

[Guest]

Credit to the lads. It''s been a great World Cup. Never expected England to get this far. To come within twenty minutes of reaching the World Cup final is amazing.

But I do think in future we''ll see it as a missed opportunity. Be surprised if we get such a welcoming draw in future tournaments.

[Van wink 2,994]

Well done to the FA, a development program in place that is begining to bear fruit. This tournament was not about winning but about development, the future is very bright for English football.

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

Well done England, far exceeded expectations. Just proves to show a transition doesn''t have to take an age before it bears fruit.

Tonight we scored too early and had to spend most of the match defending. At the start of the tournament we would have taken a semi final place all day long. We can move forwards from this whereas many countries are facing quite a significant re-build.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,751]

[quote user="Yellowbeagle"][quote user="Canary Wundaboy"][quote user="keelansgrandad"]Gutted but losing in the semis is always the worst.

Remember Hillsborough and Viila Park?

But semi final is further than anyone thought beforehand and we have had a bit of fun and joy for the past few weeks.

Modric not in it for the first half and he controlled it after that.

Commentators daft comment that have we the heart to win it is silly. It is about the right players, playing the right tactics and taking their chances with skill.[/quote]

In 4 years it will be Maddison playing behind the forwards and THEN we''ll have the sort of quality we need to get to a tournament final.

[/quote]

Don''t want to rain on your parade Wonderboy but It''ll take something exceptional for a European team to win in the heat of Qatar. Now the next Euro or even two, if we learn from the game tonight nd the experience of tournament football we might be in with a chance.[/quote]

.

Why??.....it''s being played in December. ..in the evening , it''ll be mid 20 degrees? .....if not a European side it only leaves one viable option in Brazil? .....I''ll gladly take the 13 odd European sides and you can have the rest....know where my money would be

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

European nations will dominate world football for many years to come. I''ve seen nothing from this WC or the previous one, or the one before that to suggest anything else quite frankly. Brazil and Argentina are just a team of ageing individuals, Africa no class and as for Asia...

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,751]

.....need to use this as a platform to integrate new players now...use the non sensical "nations league" to incorporate the likes of oxlade-chambelain, gomez, Foden, sessegnon,jadon Sancho,lookman, maybe even Gunn and Maddison if they start their premier league careers well ahead of the euro 2020 qualifiers.

Ross Berkley needs a kick up his ar $e too....he has the talent to be a big player in these england squads but he''s in danger of throwing it away

[SwindonCanary 455]

Saved some money, coz I''d have gone out there for the Final, if we were in it

[glory.win or die. 270]

To be fair to pickford alot of the passbacks were on his weak side but i thought he did well generally.

I would argue he was one of our best most consistent performers along with trippier.

Kane was non existent again.. I got ridiculed for criticising him against Sweden and I know he will probably win golden boot but sometimes football isn''t just about scoring alot of goals, it''s scoring goals at the most important times at 1-1.he did it v Tunisia but need it more,like Ronaldo does. Kane so often seems to go missing.

Maybe hes carrying an injury but then he shouldn''t be encouraged to play. But overall they surpassed expectations.i just hope they go out to finish 3rd. Alot of ppl call it a nothing game but it''s a game to vecomecthe 2nd best England team ever.

Southgate needs to stress that.theres still an achievement we can have.

[A Load of Squit 5,164]

England only ever win the World Cup when we have a Labour government, those of you who voted Tory in the last election are to blame.

[ZLF 274]

An excellent tournament with real progression from the management and squad.

Yes there are gaps in last nights performance from players (Kane non existent, lack of enough quality of final ball and finishing from Alli and Lingard and Henderson fading in the second half as he did v Real) and coach. The lack of that midfield creator or quality back up in midfield or striker was clear. And with the withdrawal of Sterling (stunning pace and movement all game, our best attacker), Young and Trippier (the quality of their set pieces simply highlighted when the duties fell to subs late in the game and the quality dropped) our attacking threat disappeared. IF we had taken a second (Maguire Kane and Lingard chances in particular) we could have won by half time. Croatia in the second half stepped up and demonstrated that they are a class side and eventually that class told.

Most importantly these player must be driven by what they have learned tonight - and not allow themselves to be haunted in future tournaments. Qatar offers different challenges but the euros represent a real opportunity in two years esp if we can plug those gaps. A first Euros title would be a fantastic achievement.

In amongst the disappointment here is much to be proud about and look forward to

[SwindonCanary 455]

The back-pass was something England used too much. I know we are trying to play possession football, but whats the point of a player half way up the field passing back, when he could have played forward, it goes back to the keeper he boots it up, when the player could have tried passing it forward to the same place with a little more accuracy !

[Fuzzar 1,702]

Our midfield ultimately lacked the guile required at this level. We need to find a player like Modric if we''re actually going to go on and win a tournament. We haven''t yet replaced Scholes in this role.

The defence has always worried me. Walker is a wing back/right back and it showed last night - could he have moved to the ball more rather than wait to head it away for their goal? Stones was sleeping for the second.

All in all a pretty good world cup, but I think they''ll look back in years to come and really regret this missed opportunity.

[ricardo 7,395]

Fuzzar

Agreed, midfield full of runners and tacklers but lacking a real play maker.

Bring on Maddison for 2022.👍

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="SwindonCanary"]The back-pass was something England used too much. I know we are trying to play possession football, but whats the point of a player half way up the field passing back, when he could have played forward, it goes back to the keeper he boots it up, when the player could have tried passing it forward to the same place with a little more accuracy ![/quote]

I agree.  This is a very strange and inneffective tactic.  Pass, pass, pass, keep possession, pass, pass, pass, get nowhere, pass, pass, pass, keep possession, pass, pass, get nowhere, pass....ok, give it to the goalie......hoof  - lost possession.  It''s not pretty or effective and just gives the opposition the initiative as in "it''s ok, we''ll just wait until they get fed up passing it and give the ball back to us".

.

[Woodman 92]

Lakey - you do realise this is an England thread, not a Norwich City one?

[Mello Yello 2,293]

Disappointed at the result, but really enjoyed our ''flutter'' in this 2018 World Cup, our media hype was a little OTT although I am more than pleased and satisfied of our achievement on reaching the semi-final. Russia as hosts should be applauded and they have given an excellent and safe footballing spectacle - especially after all the negatives and scare stories on the lead up to the competition.....

Back to Championship football in a few weeks.....Hope we hit the ground running......

[norfolkngood 1,087]

i think the Pickford all the Defenders and Henderson had a good world cup players like Ali , sterling & Kane and Possibly Lingard did not really show the club form

Ali runs the game for spurs free flowing football we saw very little of that

football has changed not a great world cup like in the past with free flowing attacking football

why stones etc was not put up front and the ball played long when you have 5 mins left in a semi is beyond me why the passing about at the back again in the final 5 mins

Set pieces were great this world cup but you need to score from open play and show more flair to be world champions

[Yellowbeagle 0]

Great world cup really enjoyed and think our lads did great, but I fail to recall the last time we beat a superior team technically, need to find ways to narrow the margins at the highest level to give us a chance. Even if we''d gone through say on pens we wouldn''t have had much of a chance against France imo. Still big improvement.

[Branston Pickle 3,657]

Good that we did it is true to say that, Belgium apart (in a game which didn''t really count), we didn''t actually encounter a side we shouldn''t have beaten, and ultimately lost to one below us in the rankings (however much store you give them). I think we came up against a decent side in Croatia with bags of nouse and that was the key thing in the end.

We are a young side and it was refreshing to see the approach and re-connections made with the public - the experience gained will surely stand us in good stead for the future.

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="lake district canary"]This is a very strange and inneffective tactic.  Pass, pass, pass, keep possession, pass, pass, pass, get nowhere, pass, pass, pass, keep possession, pass, pass, get nowhere, pass....ok, give it to the goalie......hoof  - lost possession.  It''s not pretty or effective and just gives the opposition the initiative as in "it''s ok, we''ll just wait until they get fed up passing it and give the ball back to us".[/quote]

[quote user="Woodman"]Lakey - you do realise this is an England thread, not a Norwich City one?[/quote]

Exactly Woodman. It is exactly what we did all last season and I''m suprised that somebody as astute as LDC didn''t realise it.

Anyway, with regards England it wasn''t great.

We beat 3 pretty average teams, drew with another but lost as soon as we played anyone half decent.

Don''t get the euphoria but at least it''s an improvement to losing to Iceland.

[Surfer 1,547]

No Norwich didn''t play that way last season, as we had at least one midfielder who would turn on a dime and drive at defenders - or have you forgotten him already?

The lack of a Maddison type player was something missing from an otherwise credible England performance, along with not converting more than one of the decent chances we created.

Overall lots of positives to build on, but our technical skills are still falling short of the best players in the world.