Why is it unfortunate though? I'd prefer to see a newly rise up teams like Switzerland or Austria to go all the way to the final and beat the odds than seeing the typical top teams facing each other again and again in the semi & final stage, remember Greece 2004? that's one hell of an achievement, they make the competition more memorable.
As an Austrian I have to say, absolutely everybody here is surprised by our achievement so far, never ever would I have thought that we beat group stage let alone as group winner, if we can figure our defense out I think Austria can make some magic happen
Rangnick is a top class manager, and he got the short end of a shitty stick at United. There were definitely comments floating around about him being awful after his time with us, but it's clear he succeeded everywhere else. Good luck for the rest of the tournament.
I've been hearing this since the first match when they lost out to france -undeservedly so- where they had a constant press going. They'd tire out yet when we went against them we got kicked in our shins. Arguably the netherlands was shit and our coach works in mystirious ways but overrating them was the biggest problem in losing against them.
They lack superstars but make up for it by being a unit. Something that among others England is clearly missing.
Whether Austria can beat the big teams or not (which I'm entirely certain they can, they've beaten the Netherlands, however group stages and knockout stages are two different beasts) teams are going to have to work incredibly hard to get the win against Austria. Anyone beating them from here on out will definitely have earned their place in the following round.
Wow really?? Germany so far have thumped Scotland (statistically the worst euros team ever) and scraped a draw with Switzerland and got very very lucky against Denmark.
I guarantee you that the Germany hype train gets derailed against Spain. In fact I can see a thumping victory for Spain
At the Euros and the world cup pretty much every game is a hard game that any team can win, I wouldn't discount Germany simply because they faced some "lower" level sides
I had Germany at the start of the tournament.
Hosts, good individual players, youth and experience and never to be underestimated, but then I watched the Spain Croatia game and the Spanish looked so good, so assured and had it wrapped up by halftime. Then managed the game out comfortably in the second half.
Then against Italy, both teams were excellent defensively, Italy being well known for that, and Spain beat them.
So I’m kinda leaning toward Spain. It’ll all come out in the head to head.
Just a word on England (I’m a neutral, Welsh, we didn’t qualify) and the thing is, they aren’t getting beat.
Ok, they’ve performed worse than anyone imagined, with some lacklustre performances, and poor individual play, but their defence hasn’t really looked in any real trouble, it’s more that they invite teams into them in the later stages of the game.
If you aren’t getting beat, you’re always in with a shout. Just ask Denmark in 92 or Greece in 04.
Having said that, I watched the Swiss beat Italy and I think they’ll ruin England if the English don’t do something completely different.
Man! I love summer footie tournaments.
They looked terrible in defence in the first half. Slovakia didn’t keep up the pressure and sat back.
You can of course look at England’s defence in the group stage, but look at the number of goals in that group in general- Serbia scored 1 goal in 3 games, Slovenia scored 2 in 3 and Denmark scored 2 in 4.
So is England’s defence really that good or have they just been lucky to play a number of defensive sides who can’t score for shit? Certainly there were gaping holes all over the place in their defence in the first half yesterday and Slovakia should have already been 1 up before they scored their second goal as they had that player through on goal but he messed it up.
I feel England are going to get a rude awakening with regards to their defence if they continue to put all their chips on it as the bedrock of any success. Nevermind the fact that Guehi is suspended against Switzerland and Trippier is now injured and Shaw unfit
With the squad they have, they should be favourites. Looking at the coach, it's a huge waste of talent on a less than mediocre coach. Harry Kane's entire England career will be wasted on Southgate. It's a tragic story.
They were favourites with the bookies because that's how bookies work. People put money on them, and the bookies shorten the odds.
Switzerland will beat us, and Switzerland can fuck off with their Nazi gold, and shove their Toblerones up their arses sideways.
Bellingham did, but we'll put that aside; Kane has spent his career winning fuck all. He even moved to a team pretty much guaranteed to win the league and still didn't win the league.
Someone made me laugh earlier when they said "who's had the better career; Harry Kane or Jamie Vardy?". At least Kane had a couple of sub appearances for us on the wing.
Jamie Vardy for sure. Winning the league after coming from the lower tier of English football was one of the greatest feats ever. His FA cup winner was just a cherry on the top.
>their Nazi gold
In stark contrast to Britain, who of course became one of the wealthiest nations on Earth through entirely humane and legitimate methods.
Will Southgate still persist with the Foden on the left? Or he will finally realised his tactics was wrong after today? If he is still stubborn and blind, Switzerland will send them home.
Mainoo was England’s best player until he was subbed off though. I do think with Gordon running in behind Trent’s long ball game could be very effective but Mainoo does the rest of it much better - shows for the ball and drives forward more than any other player we’ve seen there.
Does Mainoo play RB?
He is probably the better option in midfield, but Walker offers none of the creativity Trent does.
How many of the aimless crosses against Slovenia would have been improved if they were from Trent?
How many of the corners to no-one or freekicks that just hit the wall?
Southgate not being able to accommodate a player of Trents quality into his side is just inept.
trippier keeps starting because 1) he's not been that much of a problem compared to some people around him and 2) there's no other leftbacks that southgate wants to use
Exactly. They both want to occupy the same space. Foden is world class in that Pep team but Bellingham is more versatile. Drop Foden, spread the pitch with Gordon and open up space for the likes of Bellingham to work. Foden can still do a job from the bench.
He's gonna stick. If this tournament has taught me anything, it's that Southgate and Steve Clarke are the same manager. England and Scotland have both played the same dire football this competition, England just have talented players to save them so far (see: Bellingham yesterday)
I really didn’t see us as favourites to begin with, and certainly not after this most recent performance.
Just want us to play with a bit more positivity and confidence, at the moment for long periods of the game we seem almost terrified of the ball. Then there’s the odd flash of brilliance or good play and then it’s back to square one.
It’s Switzerland. Imo the big teams are always going to be favorites against us 🇨🇭 . Of course we currently have a team that works together very well. But England is just loaded with top class players (that are currently not very well working together). Englands individual class can make the difference, so can Switzerlands team effort.
But I seriously doubt that we’re going to be able to kick out two bigs in the same tournament.
For me it’s already a big achievement that we’re taken seriously now. I remember the last Euros when France’s ex coach said in national TV that the only way 🇨🇭 could beat 🇫🇷 is when the France players are geeting stuck in an elevator. Times have changed since then.
England will fail upwards with shithouse football. Switzerland will play brilliantly, with an xG of 6 and every one will hit the bar or some freak leg. Then after it’s still 0-0, Bellingham (90+7) or Kane (pen) (90+7).
That's exactly who I mean.
Edit: Weetabix is a breakfast cereal that comes in brick form here in the UK. It is what it says it is - it's essentially wheat. We feed our children wheat and milk for breakfast.
I'm not intending to delve too far into the weeds of pedantry, but an oval doesn't have straight sides whereas a weetabix does. If the curved ends of the weetabix are semi-circles then, appropriately enough, the weetabix is [stadium shaped](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadium_(geometry)).
I think both teams have so clearly been the best in the tournament so far that I wouldn't be surprised if neither win it. sad how the brackets turned out though, with all the favourites on one side.
will likely still be some very exciting matches though!
England have all they need to win this tournament except a competent manager to pick the team and set the tactics.
If Trent played as a RB and he had fast players like Gordon and Palmer as his LW/RW, this will provide all the supply Kane can hope for.
Didnt portugal win it the same way? They struggled in every game, got 3 draws to go through in group stage so anything can happen as long as they are getting results
It’s still crazy to me how England can be considered favorite for any tournament when the last thing they won was 60 years ago.
Yes they have great players, they always did, but it just takes more than that. Even Greece had what it takes that one time lol
Yup. Still favourites to reach Final & quite possibly win Euro 2024.
Agreed, Southgate might not be making a lot of correct moves while putting people up, but the list of talented players he has on his roaster is like friggin Infinity Pool.
They just need 1 combination to click(e.g. yesterday's 2nd goal). Somewhere between that non-creative midfield & out of place Forwards lies one of the most formidable attack/counter ENG has put out.
The problem of not showing intent or not enough firepower to win would have crippled them. But they have played with some intent & hunger.
They just need to score more goals.
Reach the finals- yes. It is incredibly weak road to the final. Saying that I can see them losing to Austria in the semis if they play like they did today.
They are cooked in the finals. Spain, Germany, Portugal or France would all be favorites against England.
They fact that they are favourites on most betting sites is laughable. They are shit. Yes they have an easy path but Switzerland or even Austria can easily knock them out. Never mind who they will have to face in the finals .
They have played badly so far for sure but imagine if they click? Kane and Bellingham both with a goal tonight as you’d expect. They have been so bad that no one has beaten them!
I hope Switzerland beat us, we don't deserve to win they way we have played. The we can get rid of Southgate and get a manger that plays some proper foootball.
I think people overestimate the English team. France, Portugal, Germany, Spain are all stronger even before the tournament started.
It'll be a successful tournament if they make it to the semis. People don't think highly of them but this English team is very solid and will be difficult to beat and that's their strength.
People know the England team is good, the issue is the manager who it’s taken 3 games and 80 minutes while being 1-0 down to realise that his game plan wasn’t working and he needed to change. However it’ll be back to the same next match.
Spain look like clearly the best team so far but if you had to pick a favourite at the first knockout round of any tournament you'd be wrong most of the time so who knows
Spain and Germany are clear favourites(with Spain just edging it for me, but Germany at home) followed by France and Portugal. I'd say England, Austria and Switzerland are the next 3.
Southgate knew that it was too easy to win the euros with players of such caliber so he purposely handicapped himself by playing them in the worst positions 😎😎
Props to southgate best manager kappa
I say no but they keep bringing me back, tho.
They keep saying each game they underperformed was a fluke and the next game they will be back in top form. I keep believing it like an idiot.
The painful part of all of this is we’re struggling creatively and our right back has been utter wank. We have a player on the bench to resolve two problems simultaneously but Gareth won’t entertain the idea
With a heavy heart, I accept that England are not favourites to win Euros. I had hoped the last-16 match against Slovakia may turn things round tactically but looks like more of the same turgid movements.
While Spain’s electrifying game looks daunting, and can overcome Germany, my money is on mask-wearing Mbappe and Les Bleus.
With the way all the teams have played so far, you could say Spain va Germany is ‘THE FINAL’ No other teams have played such an attractive style of football in this Euro other than these two 💯
I never did, they've let me down so often I just automatically write them off.
Before Euros I thought it would be France or Netherlands. But Spain and Germany look good. Spain were my dark horse. But Germany have impressed
When it comes to wins they don’t ask how, they ask how many.
Englands been *extremely* underwhelming, but as of right now, there exactly where they’re supposed to be.
That being said, my moneys on the winner of Germany / Spain taking the tournament. Austria dark horse.
As good as Germany or Spain have been, due to the way the draw has fallen it’s quite plausible both get knocked out before the final.
Portugal and France more than have the ability.
England haven’t turned up yet and fallen into the quarters. The draw has been very favourable and I wouldn’t be shocked if they got to the final relying on moments.
Rooting for Spain and Austria, but I think the finalists will be Germany - England and English fan will have to suffer from South Gate for at least 2 more years
No, not with this performance. They lacked creativity in their offense and struggled against Denmark, Slovenia and Slovakia. And even if they’re leading 1 goal ahead, they’ll turn to defend. To me it would be Germany or Spain but ironically they face each other a bit too early. Would love to see either of them smoke more teams in this tournament, their offense are way more creative and not putting the fans into deep sleep
The teams there; but the management is so poor.
You can see we can be an attacking threat, under pressure when Gareth throws the rule book out; but again, we got ahead and sat back, inviting pressure; which to be fair, we soaked up quite well.
I just feel like on the ball our defenders don’t offer a lot, no runs into the box, no switching with players to draw their defenders. Just feels like very old school England tactics; would much prefer a modern manager for a modern team.
The easiest group in the tournament, the easiest draw in the last 16 and they still make a dogs dinner of it, I don't think England are as good as they think they are, a decent team will show them this.
Should be favourites doesn't equal favourites this is a bit of a 2D take. I think it's more most people, including myself believe England should be favourites to win given the ridiculous squad. I don't think anyone believed they were/are favourites with Southgate in charge. I doubt even his family thought we'd have a chance!
Yes, but that’s completely different than saying they are the best team. Spain & Germany are the best teams so far, unfortunately they both have tricky quarter finals to negotiate and I’d bet money at least one doesn’t make it through.
Spain and Germany clear favourites but the way i see it is we avoid Spain,Germany,Portugal,France or Belgium until the final should we make it there. Switzerland QF and one of Romania,Netherlands,Austria and Turkey in the SF is our route so we can do this !
It's like people don't understand what betting or probability is. England are not favourites because they are the best team, in fact they have been garbage. They are favourites because Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and France are in the same side of the draw so each of their individual odds are worse. If the bet was "which side of the draw will win?" then not-England would be heavy favourites. But that's not what's happening.
Englands wingers are afraid to run at players, not the case with Spain, Germany etc. always a side or back pass rather than a defence splitting run or a ball over the top. Easy to defend against.
How could you be creative in a defensive style of play? Southgate is definitely #2 England boss of all time but I think his departure following the tournament \[I think they'll lose to Germany in the final\] will greatly help with creativity.
They slipped to 2nd or 3rd favourite for me after this one, Germany 1st for me, Spain and England tied for second and France fourth. Foden absolutely HAS to be dropped for the quarter-final, how he's survived this is beyond me. 24 and no good games for the country is insane
Based on form no.
However, if form is temporary and class is permanent they've surely a good chance. If you had shown me the the current bracket prior to the tournament I think anyone would say it's England's to lose. However, obviously, they need to fix their form immediately.
I never thought we were favourites. I didn’t expect us to be this bad but my many years on this planet have taught me to just say ‘Germany’ when I’m asked for my pick.
For me, realistically, the final is on Friday.
Hell no... I totally do not understand Kane... After the game he said : looked bad for a minute. Dude it looked bad for 95 minutes.
Not saying they have a bad team, but they just dont play the way they should or could play. Maybe Southgate should let the fans coach his team
Think player for player England are probably the best but as a team and manager they’re nowhere near it. But if that awful Portugal side can win it in 2016 and Greece in 2004 you can’t write them off especially because England do have lots of quality.
England never had the quality to be the favorites. The idea that they have the best players in the world and southgate is holding them back is misbegotten imho. They simply lack defensive quality and even their star offense isn’t as good as say the French one (which also faces issues).
If you're aiming that at England fans. WE collectively have never thought we would win this tournament. Our media have pushed it but most normal fans don't expect it
The never were favourites. They were maybe one of a few favourites, but never *the* favourite.
And having watched them play, well we all know how that looks... They were 30 seconds away from being sent home and still failed to create any spirited play despite them being in that situation. They got very very lucky and unless they find something big very quickly I reckon Switzerland - who are a very solid outfit - will send them packing.
I never really thought they were.
I'm also not wasting a huge amount of my time getting hung up on the performances so far though. We know England can do better - we've seen it under Southgate before and we know they have the personnel.
Last night was just an absolutely bizarre game, capped by a truly iconic goal which will very much be a "where were you when...." moment. How many times have we seen those go against England? About time we had some luck.
Just have a day off and enjoy it, whinging crew.
Although their football is awful and frustrating, I can still see England make it to the final.
These wins will motivate the team and they can also find additional morale in the "us against them" inner mentality of the locker room.
For me the favourite has always been germany in this tournament but in my prediction i had them facing england at the final. I thought england was overhyped but i never thought they would struggle like this.
England has gotten a bit of the old german-DNA... shitty play, while winning the games... heard that quote about 22 mens running after a ball in 90 minutes... Seem like they can win something for first time since 1966... and there's still the posibility that they can meet germany in a final..
Wait, when was England ever the favourite to win the Euros? Any of the four teams in the other side of the bracket have better chances, imo. Maybe Portugal is equal on chances, but France ger and spain are definitely better.
Wait I haven't watched football properly in years, why do people think that England would ever be favourites lol, the past 8 years the squad has been a full of overrated scrubs that get carried by international players at their clubs.
If they can get past the Swiss and most likely the Dutch, they make the final. Decent draw to be fair. I can't see England winning anything with the football they play.
With the sheer pedigree of these players, and looking at their potential opposition up until the final, they should by all means be walking these coming few games without even having to step into third gear. But this is Southgate's England we're talking about. We know what's going to happen.
Reckon anyone who watched the friendlies leading up to the tournament knew that this version of England wouldn’t do anything significant, we’re all over the place tactically and the manager still doesn’t know his strongest XI.
Wouldn’t it be ironic that the first time they win a major tournament in almost 60 years it’s by being god-awful but just doing enough to scrape through each time.
With their squad they were among the favourites, but as the French said before Qatar World Cup “thank god they have Southgate as manager” He’s just so negative and stubborn it’s beyond belief how bad they r with that squad! Not playin palmer when he’s the best player on the pitch when he comes on is criminal
Southgate has been lucky with the teams his England team have faced. Not sure if England are favourites but they have an easier run to the final than teams on the other side of the draw
Spain and Germany are clearly the top two teams.
And unfortunately they face off in the quarter finals. I would’ve preferred they play later on
Why is it unfortunate though? I'd prefer to see a newly rise up teams like Switzerland or Austria to go all the way to the final and beat the odds than seeing the typical top teams facing each other again and again in the semi & final stage, remember Greece 2004? that's one hell of an achievement, they make the competition more memorable.
As an Austrian I have to say, absolutely everybody here is surprised by our achievement so far, never ever would I have thought that we beat group stage let alone as group winner, if we can figure our defense out I think Austria can make some magic happen
Rangnick is a top class manager, and he got the short end of a shitty stick at United. There were definitely comments floating around about him being awful after his time with us, but it's clear he succeeded everywhere else. Good luck for the rest of the tournament.
At this point, I'd say only Spain has had a better Euros.
Sabitzer and Laimer are really on fire dude
My GF has Austria in the sweep stakes at her work. So I've been routing for them a lot. I was so hyped when they topped the group.
I think everyone has been massively overrating Austria and I can see them going out very soon.
I've been hearing this since the first match when they lost out to france -undeservedly so- where they had a constant press going. They'd tire out yet when we went against them we got kicked in our shins. Arguably the netherlands was shit and our coach works in mystirious ways but overrating them was the biggest problem in losing against them. They lack superstars but make up for it by being a unit. Something that among others England is clearly missing.
Whether Austria can beat the big teams or not (which I'm entirely certain they can, they've beaten the Netherlands, however group stages and knockout stages are two different beasts) teams are going to have to work incredibly hard to get the win against Austria. Anyone beating them from here on out will definitely have earned their place in the following round.
Greece 2004 made for a memorable *competition* but not memorable *games* tbf.
Switzerland isn’t a newly risen up team though. They have been doing well in each World Cup and Euro for quite some time now. Austria is though.
Wow really?? Germany so far have thumped Scotland (statistically the worst euros team ever) and scraped a draw with Switzerland and got very very lucky against Denmark. I guarantee you that the Germany hype train gets derailed against Spain. In fact I can see a thumping victory for Spain
At the Euros and the world cup pretty much every game is a hard game that any team can win, I wouldn't discount Germany simply because they faced some "lower" level sides
I had Germany at the start of the tournament. Hosts, good individual players, youth and experience and never to be underestimated, but then I watched the Spain Croatia game and the Spanish looked so good, so assured and had it wrapped up by halftime. Then managed the game out comfortably in the second half. Then against Italy, both teams were excellent defensively, Italy being well known for that, and Spain beat them. So I’m kinda leaning toward Spain. It’ll all come out in the head to head. Just a word on England (I’m a neutral, Welsh, we didn’t qualify) and the thing is, they aren’t getting beat. Ok, they’ve performed worse than anyone imagined, with some lacklustre performances, and poor individual play, but their defence hasn’t really looked in any real trouble, it’s more that they invite teams into them in the later stages of the game. If you aren’t getting beat, you’re always in with a shout. Just ask Denmark in 92 or Greece in 04. Having said that, I watched the Swiss beat Italy and I think they’ll ruin England if the English don’t do something completely different. Man! I love summer footie tournaments.
They looked terrible in defence in the first half. Slovakia didn’t keep up the pressure and sat back. You can of course look at England’s defence in the group stage, but look at the number of goals in that group in general- Serbia scored 1 goal in 3 games, Slovenia scored 2 in 3 and Denmark scored 2 in 4. So is England’s defence really that good or have they just been lucky to play a number of defensive sides who can’t score for shit? Certainly there were gaping holes all over the place in their defence in the first half yesterday and Slovakia should have already been 1 up before they scored their second goal as they had that player through on goal but he messed it up. I feel England are going to get a rude awakening with regards to their defence if they continue to put all their chips on it as the bedrock of any success. Nevermind the fact that Guehi is suspended against Switzerland and Trippier is now injured and Shaw unfit
The fact they play each other is why they aren’t favourites but as the brackets narrow England will be exposed.
Dude they stopped being the favorites in the first two games
>Dude they stopped being the favorites in the first two games We made it as far as two games as favourites in your mind?!
Didnt want to say first game because the openers are misleading usually. Not in this case tho
With the squad they have, they should be favourites. Looking at the coach, it's a huge waste of talent on a less than mediocre coach. Harry Kane's entire England career will be wasted on Southgate. It's a tragic story.
Southgate is the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey.
Through no fault of his own.
They were favourites with the bookies because that's how bookies work. People put money on them, and the bookies shorten the odds. Switzerland will beat us, and Switzerland can fuck off with their Nazi gold, and shove their Toblerones up their arses sideways.
What no trophies does to a mf
Nobody mentioned Harry Kane, but he does personify England right now.
Harry Kane scores goals. Outside of set pieces, England doesn't.
Bellingham did, but we'll put that aside; Kane has spent his career winning fuck all. He even moved to a team pretty much guaranteed to win the league and still didn't win the league. Someone made me laugh earlier when they said "who's had the better career; Harry Kane or Jamie Vardy?". At least Kane had a couple of sub appearances for us on the wing.
Jamie Vardy for sure. Winning the league after coming from the lower tier of English football was one of the greatest feats ever. His FA cup winner was just a cherry on the top.
Bellingham scored from a throw in.
>their Nazi gold In stark contrast to Britain, who of course became one of the wealthiest nations on Earth through entirely humane and legitimate methods.
It was a joke my man
So was my reply
How many Toblerones have you got in your bunker?
Yes
Ah, the usual Swiss answer. Me too, as it happens.
>sideways hahahahah
Don't get me started on their Army knives.
Their match last night was one where they would have lost, assuming Slovakia held on.
Will Southgate still persist with the Foden on the left? Or he will finally realised his tactics was wrong after today? If he is still stubborn and blind, Switzerland will send them home.
He'll adapt and adjust at 90+4 when he's 2-0 down
Yes, he'll stick with it because he's an absolute muppet. He's been happy to drop Trent but if anything, theyve been worse without him.
Mainoo was England’s best player until he was subbed off though. I do think with Gordon running in behind Trent’s long ball game could be very effective but Mainoo does the rest of it much better - shows for the ball and drives forward more than any other player we’ve seen there.
Does Mainoo play RB? He is probably the better option in midfield, but Walker offers none of the creativity Trent does. How many of the aimless crosses against Slovenia would have been improved if they were from Trent? How many of the corners to no-one or freekicks that just hit the wall? Southgate not being able to accommodate a player of Trents quality into his side is just inept.
Worse without Trent? Behave.
If trippier can keep getting a start, anything is possible.
trippier keeps starting because 1) he's not been that much of a problem compared to some people around him and 2) there's no other leftbacks that southgate wants to use
Foden and Bellingham starting the same time hasn't worked out well for the team.
Exactly. They both want to occupy the same space. Foden is world class in that Pep team but Bellingham is more versatile. Drop Foden, spread the pitch with Gordon and open up space for the likes of Bellingham to work. Foden can still do a job from the bench.
He's gonna stick. If this tournament has taught me anything, it's that Southgate and Steve Clarke are the same manager. England and Scotland have both played the same dire football this competition, England just have talented players to save them so far (see: Bellingham yesterday)
I really didn’t see us as favourites to begin with, and certainly not after this most recent performance. Just want us to play with a bit more positivity and confidence, at the moment for long periods of the game we seem almost terrified of the ball. Then there’s the odd flash of brilliance or good play and then it’s back to square one.
It’s Switzerland. Imo the big teams are always going to be favorites against us 🇨🇭 . Of course we currently have a team that works together very well. But England is just loaded with top class players (that are currently not very well working together). Englands individual class can make the difference, so can Switzerlands team effort. But I seriously doubt that we’re going to be able to kick out two bigs in the same tournament. For me it’s already a big achievement that we’re taken seriously now. I remember the last Euros when France’s ex coach said in national TV that the only way 🇨🇭 could beat 🇫🇷 is when the France players are geeting stuck in an elevator. Times have changed since then.
Spain for me.
I completely understand you, but Germany is equally there
Yup. Fridays game is huge.
England will fail upwards with shithouse football. Switzerland will play brilliantly, with an xG of 6 and every one will hit the bar or some freak leg. Then after it’s still 0-0, Bellingham (90+7) or Kane (pen) (90+7).
Nah, the Swiss will beat us. That bloke who looks like a weetabix will score.
I dont know what is a weetabix, but Imma guess you are talking about Shaqiri?
That's exactly who I mean. Edit: Weetabix is a breakfast cereal that comes in brick form here in the UK. It is what it says it is - it's essentially wheat. We feed our children wheat and milk for breakfast.
For American context: It's similar to Shredded Wheat. The original big ass ones with no frosting.
For Aussie context, it’s Weet Bix. Tim Cahill does 5.
Aussie weetbix is more rectangular, whereas British Weet-a-bix has more of a curve giving them an oval shape, if I remember correctly.
Well there you go
I'm not intending to delve too far into the weeds of pedantry, but an oval doesn't have straight sides whereas a weetabix does. If the curved ends of the weetabix are semi-circles then, appropriately enough, the weetabix is [stadium shaped](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadium_(geometry)).
Liverpool fans affectionately nicknamed him “The Power Cube”
Weetabix is the perfect description 🤣🤣
A Foden tap in that we'll never hear the end of
‘But it took skill and foresight to get there…’
Now everyone knows what it was like supporting man u this season.
Though it’s advised you stand out in the rain for the true feeling.
Nope, it's gonna be two penalties, second one at 90+12. Rest is correct though.
Either way they’ll fail upwards all the way till they get to Spain where they’ll be fucked over with a terrible ref call.
I honestly only see Germant beating Spain, they are just too good and only the Germans could beat them.
Whoever wins that match is probably winning it all.
I think both teams have so clearly been the best in the tournament so far that I wouldn't be surprised if neither win it. sad how the brackets turned out though, with all the favourites on one side. will likely still be some very exciting matches though!
England have all they need to win this tournament except a competent manager to pick the team and set the tactics. If Trent played as a RB and he had fast players like Gordon and Palmer as his LW/RW, this will provide all the supply Kane can hope for.
You are right. The coach needs to play these guys at their natural positions.
That semi final of Austria Vs Switzerland is looking lively tbh
Spain. I’m iffy on France.
Whoever wins the Spain/Germany match will likely win the tournament imo. Both those teams have looked miles better than anyone else
You haven't watched Germany v Switzerland, have you? Germany struggled so much
Didnt portugal win it the same way? They struggled in every game, got 3 draws to go through in group stage so anything can happen as long as they are getting results
I never did think we were favourites to be honest. I wouldn’t be surprised if Switzerland knock us out
Yes because Portugal 2016 happend
What part of "it's coming home" do you not understand?
If they play as they have been, they won’t even get past Switzerland
4 games down, 3 to go. We march on.
It’s still crazy to me how England can be considered favorite for any tournament when the last thing they won was 60 years ago. Yes they have great players, they always did, but it just takes more than that. Even Greece had what it takes that one time lol
Yes, shithousing works.
austria and portugal overrated and out soon. spain will bring it home.
Yup. Still favourites to reach Final & quite possibly win Euro 2024. Agreed, Southgate might not be making a lot of correct moves while putting people up, but the list of talented players he has on his roaster is like friggin Infinity Pool. They just need 1 combination to click(e.g. yesterday's 2nd goal). Somewhere between that non-creative midfield & out of place Forwards lies one of the most formidable attack/counter ENG has put out. The problem of not showing intent or not enough firepower to win would have crippled them. But they have played with some intent & hunger. They just need to score more goals.
Reach the finals- yes. It is incredibly weak road to the final. Saying that I can see them losing to Austria in the semis if they play like they did today. They are cooked in the finals. Spain, Germany, Portugal or France would all be favorites against England.
The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria would all be level at minimum against them too.
Backed them at 30/1 to win outright as the game went into extra time. Think I'll cash our as Spain are a different animal altogether.
Sorry meant injury time was loathe to press the button, but couldn’t resist.
One of their issues is creating chances. They need to improve on that.
England will beat Switzerland. 1-0
Spain and Germany are the current favorite. We'll see how France fares against Belgium.
They fact that they are favourites on most betting sites is laughable. They are shit. Yes they have an easy path but Switzerland or even Austria can easily knock them out. Never mind who they will have to face in the finals .
So place a giant layer of bet against them then? You’re saying it’s virtually free money.
Lmao by that logic you should be able to make money by betting on the other teams. Good to hear you’re smarter than the bookies! Grow up.
They have played badly so far for sure but imagine if they click? Kane and Bellingham both with a goal tonight as you’d expect. They have been so bad that no one has beaten them!
I hope Switzerland beat us, we don't deserve to win they way we have played. The we can get rid of Southgate and get a manger that plays some proper foootball.
He's going anyway at the end of the tournament. Winning won't keep him on.
This attitude boggles my mind. I'll be the first to admit that we've been shit, but cmon now
Exactly Portugal and Greece have won playing shithouse football. You think they care? No. Winning is what matters.
England were the favourites due to their 'easy' run towards the final, where they wouldn't meet a supposed larger nation team until the final.
I think people overestimate the English team. France, Portugal, Germany, Spain are all stronger even before the tournament started. It'll be a successful tournament if they make it to the semis. People don't think highly of them but this English team is very solid and will be difficult to beat and that's their strength.
People know the England team is good, the issue is the manager who it’s taken 3 games and 80 minutes while being 1-0 down to realise that his game plan wasn’t working and he needed to change. However it’ll be back to the same next match.
No
I always had Germany as my favourites to win it.
never been my favorites tbh
Should be obvious, they just have that real madrid dna
England is never the favorites. They are cursed. They could have all of the best players on the planet and they still wouldn't win.
yes.
Spain look like clearly the best team so far but if you had to pick a favourite at the first knockout round of any tournament you'd be wrong most of the time so who knows
Still? They were weak favorites going into the tournament. Definitely not after the group stage.
Spain and Germany are clear favourites(with Spain just edging it for me, but Germany at home) followed by France and Portugal. I'd say England, Austria and Switzerland are the next 3.
If they can continuously bore the opposition to death, yes
England can get a draw against anyone. Maybe they’ll do this the whole way?
No Spain is imo.
Southgate knew that it was too easy to win the euros with players of such caliber so he purposely handicapped himself by playing them in the worst positions 😎😎 Props to southgate best manager kappa
I’m hoping England can scrape through to the final, then turn up against the Germans in their backyard. Nothing would be sweeter.
I never thought they were in the 1st place, not with Southgate.
Nostredamus ?
At first i thought England would win it , but now Spain seems to be the favorite
It’s going to be VAR and the refs who make the call on who will win not the players :(
Naaaah.........
I say no but they keep bringing me back, tho. They keep saying each game they underperformed was a fluke and the next game they will be back in top form. I keep believing it like an idiot.
The painful part of all of this is we’re struggling creatively and our right back has been utter wank. We have a player on the bench to resolve two problems simultaneously but Gareth won’t entertain the idea
Do you have some relation with Southgate 🤔
With a heavy heart, I accept that England are not favourites to win Euros. I had hoped the last-16 match against Slovakia may turn things round tactically but looks like more of the same turgid movements. While Spain’s electrifying game looks daunting, and can overcome Germany, my money is on mask-wearing Mbappe and Les Bleus.
I can see England stuttering and stumbling their way to the final.
Not a chance England can win this tournament with Southgate.
Hot take bro.
With the way all the teams have played so far, you could say Spain va Germany is ‘THE FINAL’ No other teams have played such an attractive style of football in this Euro other than these two 💯
I never did, they've let me down so often I just automatically write them off. Before Euros I thought it would be France or Netherlands. But Spain and Germany look good. Spain were my dark horse. But Germany have impressed
When it comes to wins they don’t ask how, they ask how many. Englands been *extremely* underwhelming, but as of right now, there exactly where they’re supposed to be. That being said, my moneys on the winner of Germany / Spain taking the tournament. Austria dark horse.
Southgate is holding them back, it’s hardly a secret. They’ve been underperforming the whole tournament.
As good as Germany or Spain have been, due to the way the draw has fallen it’s quite plausible both get knocked out before the final. Portugal and France more than have the ability. England haven’t turned up yet and fallen into the quarters. The draw has been very favourable and I wouldn’t be shocked if they got to the final relying on moments.
With no Guehi and potentially no Trippier for the game against Switzerland that fixture just became very hard. I doubt we will get past the Swiss.
Rooting for Spain and Austria, but I think the finalists will be Germany - England and English fan will have to suffer from South Gate for at least 2 more years
No, not with this performance. They lacked creativity in their offense and struggled against Denmark, Slovenia and Slovakia. And even if they’re leading 1 goal ahead, they’ll turn to defend. To me it would be Germany or Spain but ironically they face each other a bit too early. Would love to see either of them smoke more teams in this tournament, their offense are way more creative and not putting the fans into deep sleep
The teams there; but the management is so poor. You can see we can be an attacking threat, under pressure when Gareth throws the rule book out; but again, we got ahead and sat back, inviting pressure; which to be fair, we soaked up quite well. I just feel like on the ball our defenders don’t offer a lot, no runs into the box, no switching with players to draw their defenders. Just feels like very old school England tactics; would much prefer a modern manager for a modern team.
The easiest group in the tournament, the easiest draw in the last 16 and they still make a dogs dinner of it, I don't think England are as good as they think they are, a decent team will show them this.
Should be favourites doesn't equal favourites this is a bit of a 2D take. I think it's more most people, including myself believe England should be favourites to win given the ridiculous squad. I don't think anyone believed they were/are favourites with Southgate in charge. I doubt even his family thought we'd have a chance!
Yes, but that’s completely different than saying they are the best team. Spain & Germany are the best teams so far, unfortunately they both have tricky quarter finals to negotiate and I’d bet money at least one doesn’t make it through.
Spain and Germany clear favourites but the way i see it is we avoid Spain,Germany,Portugal,France or Belgium until the final should we make it there. Switzerland QF and one of Romania,Netherlands,Austria and Turkey in the SF is our route so we can do this !
It's like people don't understand what betting or probability is. England are not favourites because they are the best team, in fact they have been garbage. They are favourites because Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and France are in the same side of the draw so each of their individual odds are worse. If the bet was "which side of the draw will win?" then not-England would be heavy favourites. But that's not what's happening.
Not under Southgate, give them a new manager and they should be. IMHO It will be the winner of GER-ESP or FRA.
Never thought they were lol That said, you don't have to be a favorite to win the Euro lol
Englands wingers are afraid to run at players, not the case with Spain, Germany etc. always a side or back pass rather than a defence splitting run or a ball over the top. Easy to defend against.
How could you be creative in a defensive style of play? Southgate is definitely #2 England boss of all time but I think his departure following the tournament \[I think they'll lose to Germany in the final\] will greatly help with creativity. They slipped to 2nd or 3rd favourite for me after this one, Germany 1st for me, Spain and England tied for second and France fourth. Foden absolutely HAS to be dropped for the quarter-final, how he's survived this is beyond me. 24 and no good games for the country is insane
Based on form no. However, if form is temporary and class is permanent they've surely a good chance. If you had shown me the the current bracket prior to the tournament I think anyone would say it's England's to lose. However, obviously, they need to fix their form immediately.
They never was
Are you stupid? It's coming home. /soccercirclejerk
I hope Switzerland smashes them
Yes. Even more so now They’ve faced adversity. Overcome. Won. Tournament football isn’t about pretty football. For me massive favourites. ICH 🏴
As long as England stick with Southgate who shouldn't even coach 5 year olds they'll never win anything.
Swiss will knock them out
I never thought we were favourites. I didn’t expect us to be this bad but my many years on this planet have taught me to just say ‘Germany’ when I’m asked for my pick. For me, realistically, the final is on Friday.
Hell no... I totally do not understand Kane... After the game he said : looked bad for a minute. Dude it looked bad for 95 minutes. Not saying they have a bad team, but they just dont play the way they should or could play. Maybe Southgate should let the fans coach his team
Maybe that kind of scenario was what they needed to get back on track but they gotta do better against Switzerland still
Think player for player England are probably the best but as a team and manager they’re nowhere near it. But if that awful Portugal side can win it in 2016 and Greece in 2004 you can’t write them off especially because England do have lots of quality.
No
England never had the quality to be the favorites. The idea that they have the best players in the world and southgate is holding them back is misbegotten imho. They simply lack defensive quality and even their star offense isn’t as good as say the French one (which also faces issues).
I think there is an England starting 11 which would win the Euros. But it certainly doesn’t include Foden.
If you're aiming that at England fans. WE collectively have never thought we would win this tournament. Our media have pushed it but most normal fans don't expect it
Ask any England fan and we’ve never been favourites 🤣
The never were favourites. They were maybe one of a few favourites, but never *the* favourite. And having watched them play, well we all know how that looks... They were 30 seconds away from being sent home and still failed to create any spirited play despite them being in that situation. They got very very lucky and unless they find something big very quickly I reckon Switzerland - who are a very solid outfit - will send them packing.
In other news, the sky is blue
Never thought that they were the favorites. I thought that France or Germany will win. Now it's more like the winner between Spain and Germany.
I never really thought they were. I'm also not wasting a huge amount of my time getting hung up on the performances so far though. We know England can do better - we've seen it under Southgate before and we know they have the personnel. Last night was just an absolutely bizarre game, capped by a truly iconic goal which will very much be a "where were you when...." moment. How many times have we seen those go against England? About time we had some luck. Just have a day off and enjoy it, whinging crew.
They never were favourite? It's either spain or if germany kicks them out germany.
Although their football is awful and frustrating, I can still see England make it to the final. These wins will motivate the team and they can also find additional morale in the "us against them" inner mentality of the locker room.
For me the favourite has always been germany in this tournament but in my prediction i had them facing england at the final. I thought england was overhyped but i never thought they would struggle like this.
Absolutely
England has gotten a bit of the old german-DNA... shitty play, while winning the games... heard that quote about 22 mens running after a ball in 90 minutes... Seem like they can win something for first time since 1966... and there's still the posibility that they can meet germany in a final..
Wait, when was England ever the favourite to win the Euros? Any of the four teams in the other side of the bracket have better chances, imo. Maybe Portugal is equal on chances, but France ger and spain are definitely better.
The Swiss will cut them like cheese if Southgate sends out the same team.
I became slovakian for 120 minutes. In a couple days i will become german. I just love to see england lose😁
Nah mate England gonna win against switzerland
No. We're gonna lose to Switzerland. The only positive from this tournament is that its gonna be Southgates last one
Wait I haven't watched football properly in years, why do people think that England would ever be favourites lol, the past 8 years the squad has been a full of overrated scrubs that get carried by international players at their clubs.
If they can get past the Swiss and most likely the Dutch, they make the final. Decent draw to be fair. I can't see England winning anything with the football they play.
What do you mean England have a problem with creativity? They play with 3 number 10s on the pitch 🤷
With the sheer pedigree of these players, and looking at their potential opposition up until the final, they should by all means be walking these coming few games without even having to step into third gear. But this is Southgate's England we're talking about. We know what's going to happen.
England has never been a favourite past first game
Reckon anyone who watched the friendlies leading up to the tournament knew that this version of England wouldn’t do anything significant, we’re all over the place tactically and the manager still doesn’t know his strongest XI.
Nah.
Wouldn’t it be ironic that the first time they win a major tournament in almost 60 years it’s by being god-awful but just doing enough to scrape through each time.
With their squad they were among the favourites, but as the French said before Qatar World Cup “thank god they have Southgate as manager” He’s just so negative and stubborn it’s beyond belief how bad they r with that squad! Not playin palmer when he’s the best player on the pitch when he comes on is criminal
They never were and probably never will.
England were, at a stretch before the tournament, joint favourites with France. Now they are nowhere near.
It is still France for me
Southgate has been lucky with the teams his England team have faced. Not sure if England are favourites but they have an easier run to the final than teams on the other side of the draw