Today was Marcus Rashford's best game for England. Besides the goal he was almost always causing fits on the left wing and toying with Costa Rican defenders. When he has confidence he's hard to stop and adds flair. I think England might have to start him with Kane and Sterling. That's potentially a matchup nightmare for most teams.
They are a very technical team, everyone but one defender are very comfortable on the ball, unless the stage fear take hold of them agains England, It will be an amazing game, I for one can’t wait.
It won’t be a surprise to me honestly, and it’s a huge mistake to draw conclusion from the past, if that was the case why even bother and play Brazil and Germany from day one for the title and send everyone else home
Spain is impressive in the last decade, I hate the fact that Tunisia is playing hem tomorrow, I was hoping for an easy team to boost the moral before the England game, cause a humiliation from Spain if it happen would have a catastrophic effect in Tunisia first game.
It’s good to play tough opposition, I just wished they played them early even a loss won’t bother but playing them so close to the kick off is what I think isn’t good for the moral in case of a loss
Glad Tunisia showed their colors during the Spain game, I was worried because I honestly believe Spain is the best team in the world as far as tactics. I feel like Tunisia is ready now for both England and Belgium.
Kinda impressed with Tunisia. They were set as a defensive unit and were very hard to break down from Spain and were threatening on the counter-attack. Besdies the goal, the only times they looked like conceding was turning over possesion in dangerous areas. That's where England and Belgium can do serious harm because Tunisia were too technical for their own good IMO several times and too calm. They got limited scoring opportunities and a complete gift of a chance they should've scored. Really they should've had two goals, but didn't take them, which tells me they struggle finishing. However, I liked they're buildup play and against Belgium, England and Panama they'll have more time on the ball to do more. Like most teams, they struggle in the final third with breakdowns in communication. If they set up this way against England then it'll be a very close game. However, it might be smart for England to let Tunisia have the ball and then counter. That might might be the best way to score. I won't be surprised if Tunisia find a way out of the group along with England. I can see them both beating Belgium. Tunisia can't let the occasion get too big for them.
The Tunisian attack should see a boost with the return of Khazri, nevertheless it will be really tough against Belgium and England even though both team will give us more time on the ball as Spain is ridiculous when it comes to ball possession, one other point is that the right back of Tunisia who didn’t play the Spain game is super fast and help the attack tremendously, I’m expecting him and the left back as well to be a huge factor on the English and Belgium game.
Lets be honest a big percentage of World Cup games are FAR from amazing, and teams 1st group games can be notoriously bad, I'm expecting this to be dull, dull, dull with one goal (at most) in it. Still football does sometimes surprise.
I agree, I do think however Tunisia is playing exciting football as of late and being Tunisian any positive result against two powerhouses like England and Belgium would be super exciting even if he game isn’t as open as I like.
I'm waiting for Belguim-Costa Rica friendly. Belguim looked suspect to me in their last matches. Belguim's chemistry looked bad and one thing I noticed they are vulberable against teams who have a quick transition after retaining posession and can move the ball forward with quick passing. Portugal created some chances with quick passing, even Saudi Arabia in March had its moments against them. Tunisia is very well in this department. They showed that they can move the ball quickly around even against top oppositions like Spain and Portugal. Belguim-Tunisia has potential for an upset. Calling it now.
Tunisia is going to make it interesting against both England and Belgium. Belgium has the luxury though of playing them second and beating up on Panama in the first match. That is why I am kind of leaning towards them topping the gorup.
Belguim-Costa Rica 4-1 So Belguim sends a message to the other favourites. Convoncing performance. This time they were much better offensively than against Egypt. They created their goals. Against Egypt they just gad capitalized on Egypt's mistakes. But overall this team isn't solid enough to go very deep. Against better teams than Costa Rica their defense will be exposed. It's clearly the defense that is their weakness. They have to deal first with England and Tunisia. They can advance but they can also finish third. Let's say they advance. Against Poland or Senegal they could still make it through but against Colombia I would see them losing. If they would play Germany or Brazil in the quarter-finals their chances would be slim. I can't see them doing anything against other powerhouses. Out of all top teams Belguim is the most shakiest at the back. So there is no way imo this team can do better than quarter-finals.
I feel like Tunisa might have an advantage facing England and then Belgium in their first two games. If they get a point they still have a shot with thrashing Panama and getting four points. Then again it could easily have the opposite effect and could lose both... IMO if they set up the way they did in the Spain game against England and Belgium then they could win both potentially by knicking a goal and defend. If they come out, try and own possession then there's a high risk of conceding since, from what I've seen they give the ball away a lot under pressure.
I agree they should better give posession to their opponents and use counter attacks. But they should still press early and don't let them penetrate too much their penalty box. Basically the way they played against Spain. After retaining the ball they should go the direct way to the goal with quick passes. I think that's the best way for them to earn results against England and Belguim. Against Panama they have to adapt a more posession based game obviously. But I don't think Tunisia can outscore Panama. Can't see them beating Panama more than 2-1 or 2-0 at the very best. Belguim and England will likely score more goals against Panama. So I think Tunisia needs at least 5 points or to beat one of England/Belguim and Panama to advance.
If Tunisia get 5 points, its a big chance England and Belgium have 5 points too. If Tunisia draw both England and Belgium, Tunisia know how many goals they need to score to advance against Panama.
Dark Horse Status: ultimate Golden Generation Status: 24 Carat Changing my sig from "Belgium ... Europe's soon to be great underachievers!" to "Belgium ... soon to be World Champions!"