Maybe it wasn't so bad that we lost out to Iceland in qualifying. We wouldn't have had the fun watching the Brexit Boyz fall flat on their face!!!
Italy is always strong defensive year in and year out. If they can score then it will take them far. Del Bosque is a great coach but it is time for him to resign. He hang around a bit too long, enough to see Netherlands and Italy to pay back to Spain for the 2 finals. If he sticks around for 2018 WC, he may see Spain to lose to Germany to complete the hattrick. So far I like Kroos, Ozil, Boateng, Bonucci, Chiellini, Hazard, Payet, Griezmann, Neuer, Buffon, Coman, Renato Sanches, Bale, Pogba, Halldorsson. I'm not sure if this is the poorest Euro ever as I did not watch the old Euros (70's and older). There are 3-4 great matches in Euro 2004 (Czech Netherlands, Portugal England, England Croatia and perhaps ) in my opinion. So far none of the group stage or round of 16 really stands out. There are still 7 more games to go. The quarter final games look promising. We have Iceland the Cinderrella and Wales the dark horse. I still do not see them pulling a Greece 2004 though.
Well, their was a Copa last year... Don't think this was meant anything, same teams same results. Messi is not a choker, he's a human that missed a penalty kick like a million of other people have. That said, CR7 got more hate when he missed in a group stage vs Austria, now if this was the finals haters would be x100000000. They are human, and two of the best players my eyes every witness. Enjoy them. Also, Netherlands would do good in this tournament, crazy how you didn't qualify, but, I did pick Iceland as the so called surprise team. I call them the Netherlands in desguise.
I don't see Italy winning it though. Probably not even going to the finale. I mean which team can reach a finale after beating Belgium, Spain, Germany and probably France...It's too much energy, especially for such an average team. They'll lose to Germany in my opinion. Teams that reach the finale tend to be teams that had easy paths before. At least one of them. In this sense Germany/France against Portugal seems to be the potential finale for me. I see Portugal beating Belgium in the semis after PK's.
Portugal's route isn't that easy, but it isn't that hard either. Croatia (was favoured to beat us), Poland (will be hard for us) Belgium... France has an easier road than us. Portugal with Santos as coach is a team that finds it hard to win, but on the flip side teams find it difficult to beat us. Well see I guess.
Yes France had the easiest route so far. Germany comes after. But they can't meet in finale... From the group Portugal/Poland/Belgium/Wales, I see you as favorites to reach the finale. Belgium is too vulnerable and tactically weak despite its talented players, they showed it against Italy. Their team has been compared to the dutch generation of 94/2000 here and I can agree somehow. That's why I see them losing in PK's against you like that dutch generation used to lose the PK's in semis as well. That being said Poland and Wales are two good teams, with Lewandowski/Bale as big difference makers. Wouldn't be a big surprise if one of them defies my odds.
maybe this is the wrong place to put this but just read an older article https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...e-the-worlds-best-pound-for-pound-soccer-team and was wondering about icelands rise and how technically skilled they were. first touch great, ability to turn and run with the ball and the runs they made is it due to indoor football? holland has some of the best straat voetballers but that panna nonsense needs to stop plus how do our level of coaches compare?
I recalled that we beat Iceland 2-0 and 2-1 in tight games in 2010 WC qualification. Since then they are a tough team to beat in qualifications.
My guess will be Poland-Belgium and France-Germany semi, and Poland-Germany final. If Iceland can upset France then either Germany or Italy then I will cheer for them to win the final, regardless how they win it.
Hmm, well van Gaal also brought Rashford, who did more and showed greater urgency in the minutes he got, than whatever other English player on the field over a full 90 minutes. Why was Rashford not given more of a chance or granted a start? He might have made the difference and in an indirect way van Gaal might have contributed. On top of that I would say that the keeper made a blunder and Roy the coach is a loser. His football style is his. Is the current England not more represented by Spurs players? Maybe that carried over. A team that always bottles. In a season that was cut out for them, they lose the title to a Leicester. However this whole line of reasoning presupposed that England did bad or something. They did not. England always loses right when they advance from the group. England almost always qualifies. Often advances from the group and then lose. They are a round of 16/ quarter final team. Their only title was won at home and in a set up with 6 games, not 7 like when we reached our 3 finals. Even South Korea reached the semi in own country after doing little in other WC campaigns up to that point. Outside of England, England just never won a title, not even reached a final in WC/Euro history IIRC. This is their level, so they should be proud reaching it again and only in special cases they might hope to ever reach a semi outside their own country. This was not such a day. Iceland was the better team and could have beaten them with a bigger scoreline. The real big chances were for Iceland and they did not dive in the penalty area like at least 1 England player did.
You see panna nonsense displayed by Oranje? Iceland skilled? Lets not get carried away. They have their system and it works. We have seen some Icelandic players in Eredivisie. I have not noticed them being a cut above. Name me an Icelandic player more technically skilled than Ziyech? One of their better players was at Ajax and I was really done with Sig at one point. No technical refinement. However this is taking away from their great run. In our qualification group and now at the end stage. If I look at them, then I see a system and players believing in it. We know from Greece 2004 what can be done with a set of normal but willing players in a certain system. As for coaches, they also have Swedish influence.
Just in case you guys were wondering, we're all living in the Twilight Zone. We will all wake up soon. This is all just a dream
Losing against Iceland in qualifying is one thing, losing against Iceland in the Euro is a whole new ball of wax
Lars Lagerback is the co-manager of this club and I think the main tactical force. His Swedish teams never lost to England. I wonder how well Iceland will perform when he leaves the team after these Euros.
If Italy do win the tournament it will have to go down as one of the more amazing runs of form in Euro history given the teams they will have beaten. I agree with Laurent75 about the energy needed to do this but Conte is a master motivator and the players he has know the system well. "If" they do win over Germany the back three must not pick up a Yellow and be suspended for the next match. After the quarterfinals the cards are all erased. They have lost Thiago Motta to suspension but he's a rubbish player anyway.
The Italian team has many good players like Eder, Insigne or Candreva. Technically they have a very good background . There are no superstars like Del Piero and Totti , but they are good ball players. Too bad Verratti is absent. Personally I think he is the best midfielder in the world.