*** The Official 2022 World Cup Thread ***

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,768]

1 minute ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Rather surprised Mbabababababpe has not got the 'grealish treatment' and gets slide tackled studs up every time he gets on the ball to be honest.. Then again I don't think many can catch up with him to try and wipe him out in the first place

The difference is thats all Grealish has got...its his one and only tactic...slow down, draw a foul, win a free kick in a dangerous area

[Hook's-Walk-Canary 213]

So no shocks in the ko stage so far..

Is it going to be a case of 'Then along came England?' 😮

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,768]

Poor goalkeeping from Szezeney , he's a better keeper than being beaten by a fairly central shot like that

[Capt. Pants 4,246]

13 minutes ago, Hook's-Walk-Canary said:

So no shocks in the ko stage so far..

Is it going to be a case of 'Then along came England?' 😮

It isn't going to be easy.

I can see it going to penalties. This is England, it's never easy.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,734]

Pfft don't want to get through if we have to watch Mbapabe vs Southgateball 🙃

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

How do you stop Mbappe? Unless someone finds a way, it'll be tough to stop France winning this.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

3 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Pfft don't want to get through if we have to watch Mbapabe vs Southgateball 🙃

I don't know, world's best player versus the tournament's top scorers, sounds pretty tasty to me. 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

2 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

Apparently Saka and Foden start.

Rashford benched.

Right decision, to be fair. People go on about how you can't drop Rashford after three in three, but Saka also has two in two, and Foden and Kane are the two 'must starts' in attack, for me.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

8 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

Yeah. It is.

Rashford is been so hit-and-miss for so long that you can't really trust him.

I think it'll be 4-3-3 with Saka and Foden flanking Kane.

Which is what I'd go for. Rashford can come on for Saka in the second half, or one of the midfield three if we're chasing a goal.

[Canary73 160]

30 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

It isn't going to be easy.

I can see it going to penalties. This is England, it's never easy.

Especially when its on ITV.....

[Branston Pickle 3,661]

31 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Right decision, to be fair. People go on about how you can't drop Rashford after three in three, but Saka also has two in two, and Foden and Kane are the two 'must starts' in attack, for me.

Tbh Rashford was pretty poor first half against Wales, but you can’t argue with his goals.  For me, Saka coming in is fairly good news.

[Branston Pickle 3,661]

9 minutes ago, Canary73 said:

Especially when its on ITV.....

No one likes it on itv - it’s a shame they bother!!

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

ITV are better than Channel 4 to be fair, their coverage was horrendous , as were the results.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,734]

Not one but TWO defensive midfielders playing for England tonight then..😑

[Richard Richard 186]

36 minutes ago, Canary73 said:

Especially when its on ITV.....

At least there's no Micah Richards to endure.

[hogesar 9,676]

44 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Which is what I'd go for. Rashford can come on for Saka in the second half, or one of the midfield three if we're chasing a goal.

Yep.

1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Pfft don't want to get through if we have to watch Mbapabe vs Southgateball 🙃

What is Southgateball? Is it taking more points than any other team from the group stages?

[Midlands Yellow 3,994]

15 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Not one but TWO defensive midfielders playing for England tonight then..😑

Are you really surprised? 

[ged in the onion bag 855]

3 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

My biggest problem with Messi is he's Argentinean. I can't help it, perhaps people of a certain age tend to hold that view more, but that's the case. If like Emi he'd played in green and yellow, or played in the Premier League, I'd see it differently. 

There’s absolutely no problem with Messi! If you’re a football fan and have any appreciation of the game you should just enjoy him.    Just a complete waste letting your prejudices interfere!   

[king canary 7,609]

9 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Yep.

What is Southgateball? Is it taking more points than any other team from the group stages?

Honestly, Southgate derangement syndrome seems to be a real thing. It doesn't matter how many games he wins, some are convinced he's a moron who doesn't have a clue what he's doing. 

[ged in the onion bag 855]

19 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Not one but TWO defensive midfielders playing for England tonight then..😑

Just like the Euros, it’ll be ok against this team probably, but once we play a good technical team, these defensive midfielders won’t see the ball… remember Italy in the final!   Should be Bellingham and one other!  

[cambridgeshire canary 6,734]

 

[KiwiScot 1,449]

Sterling unavailable due to a family matter.

So starting Saka instead of Rashford. With extra time a possibility who would you rather bring on towards the end of the game to bring you through extra time and pens?

Linkear made a good point the other day. Rest Kyle Walker so he doesn't get injured as he'll be needed against Mbappe

Edited December 4, 2022 by KiwiScot

[Mello Yello 2,296]

Time for Harry Kane to get on the score sheet....

[hogesar 9,676]

24 minutes ago, king canary said:

Honestly, Southgate derangement syndrome seems to be a real thing. It doesn't matter how many games he wins, some are convinced he's a moron who doesn't have a clue what he's doing. 

Yep. I'm a bit concerned even if we finish top 2 this season we will see a similar thing with Smith. Once decisions are made people are far too rigid and refusing to change. We are unfortunately seeing that to our country's detriment outside of football too.

[Unthink road 132]

22 minutes ago, king canary said:

Honestly, Southgate derangement syndrome seems to be a real thing. It doesn't matter how many games he wins, some are convinced he's a moron who doesn't have a clue what he's doing. 

Unfortunately as an International coach, it is the games that matter that count. His teams have been no worse than Robson etc. In years to come he'll be seen as a great coach. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,768]

We've got as far as we have in the last 2 tournaments because big teams have gone out early snd the draw has opened up for us

...sadly it dorsnt look as though such thing will happen this year

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

Sam Matterface 🙄

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

15 minutes ago, Unthink road said:

Unfortunately as an International coach, it is the games that matter that count. His teams have been no worse than Robson etc. In years to come he'll be seen as a great coach. 

Yep, best ever performance at a European Championship and joint-second-best at a World Cup. 

Not really sure what more people want. He's even playing attacking football at this tournament, but that's still not good enough.

[Midlands Yellow 3,994]

16 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Yep. I'm a bit concerned even if we finish top 2 this season we will see a similar thing with Smith. Once decisions are made people are far too rigid and refusing to change. We are unfortunately seeing that to our country's detriment outside of football too.

If we we finish top 2 Smith has clearly succeeded, a promotion failure and he’s failed. Not a hard equation to work out with the players at his disposal. 

[king canary 7,609]

1 minute ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Yep, best ever performance at a European Championship and joint-second-best at a World Cup. 

Not really sure what more people want. He's even playing attacking football at this tournament, but that's still not good enough.

As far as I can see, it seems like people won't be happy unless he lines up with Bellingham, Saka, Foden, Rashford, Kane and Grealish all in the same team. And then he'd be crucified when that team gets destroyed due to a lack of defence.