21 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Cup of tea and a slice of strawberry cheesecake with double cream at half time

Nice. I’m being deserted by my family tonight so I might succumb to the temptations of a takeaway.

 

Oh Lordy. Why did I eat that……

1 hour ago, DD_Arthur said:

Oh Lordy. Why did I eat that……

 

I know the feeling. I'm regretting the hot dogs.

Regretting even more the England performance. 

US are rated 16th in the world these days though and they did play well.

 

Edited November 25, 20223 yr by martin-w

They played better than England for most of the match…..

When you decide on a strategy of "we cannot afford to lose", you will not play anywhere near your best. As far as pushing the ball forward is concerned, the England back four were stuck in super glue. It was incredibly frustrating to watch. Someone needs to tell Gareth Southgate to get rid of the negative tactics. They never pay dividends.

Edited November 26, 20223 yr by Christopher Low

18 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

They played better than England for most of the match…..

they did. 

if our players concentrated on the game rather than what thier wags are posting on insta, or their sponsorships with Nike and Adidas, we might win one day.  

8 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

When you decide on a strategy of "we cannot afford to lose", you will not play anywhere near your best. As far as pushing the ball forward is concerned, the England back four were stuck in super glue. It was incredibly frustrating to watch. Someone needs to tell Gareth Southgate to get rid of the negative tactics. They never pay dividends.

if we chose some other players for the team and dropped some of the big names we might do well

I remember when both beckham and rooney were at the end of their time, they kept playing them just for the sake of not dropping them.  Beckham was a prime example of this.  Paranoid to drop him.  the sponsers would of gone nuts and had a word with the manager I imagine.  like everything it boils down to money. 

Edited November 26, 20223 yr by fluffyflops

It’s not necessary to win every group match. Qualifying is the objective preferably in top position so you face the second placed team from another group. A win against a Wales side missing their first choice keeper shouldn’t be difficult.

For those of us old enough to remember England drew 0-0 with Uruguay in 1966 in their first match. No doubt had social media been around there would have been those gunning for Sir Alf and his philosophy of “wingless wonders”.

England are in a far better place than Germany and Argentina. Be careful what you wish for. 😉

Germany in particular are on a knife edge. Spain will be a tough game for them, and if Japan beat Costa Rica......

Edited November 26, 20223 yr by Christopher Low

Will all of this prevent scheduling the World Cup in strict Muslim countries in the future?

Noel

The best for me was that France won, and go through.

(I always root for France in everything).

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

Will all of this prevent scheduling the World Cup in strict Muslim countries in the future?

Noel

This was the first time the World Cup has been hosted by a Muslim country. Few if any expect it to happen again.

7 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

This was the first time the World Cup has been hosted by a Muslim country. Few if any expect it to happen again.

it was hardly fairly won by qatar was it... they bribed their way in to it. 

a quick reminder for you all. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/08/football-corruption-and-the-remarkable-road-to-qatar-world-cup

Edited November 27, 20223 yr by fluffyflops

I would not be surprised if it happened again. If enough money is thrown into the pot, anything is possible.

1 hour ago, fluffyflops said:

it was hardly fairly won by qatar was it... they bribed their way in to it. 

Quite a few of the reps who approved that bid are now banned from FIFA or have served prison sentences. You may find European FAs would refuse to play since the tournament would have to be played in a northern winter and that would not be condoned again.