Wilmots is such a little bitch. He can't handle the fact they were shut down and slow to recover on our quick counters. Let's talk about what Conte did right. De Rossi was fantastic in front of the Juve back 3. The team was very organized and compact. Parolo's work rate was outstanding. I really like what he brings to the table. Darmian was OK but he is clearly a better right sided player than left. Giac, as I said yesterday, is an enigma. He flubbed an easy goal scoring opportunity, mishandled an easy pass in his own 1/3, was easily beaten on the dribble and outsized on many occasions (he was Fellaini's bitch a ton). Yet, his goal was sublime with perfect timing and touch and he hustled his tail off numerous times and even blocked shots. Talk about a confusing player. You know Conte will not make one change in the lineup but I clearly thought our left sided attacks were very weak with Darmian and Giac. Eder worked hard but not much to show for it. I've got to think Insigne, SES, and Bern can make their mark before the tournament is over. We need left sides pressure to help supplement the immense job Candreva is doing on the right. (Antonio was amazing most of the game until he got really tired. He ran his ass off.) Pelle gets a hero's ovation because of the goal...a beauty for sure...but he missed a couple easy chances that would have buried Belgium earlier.
I grew so much respect for Giacc today, the dude worked so hard on defense, he sprinted box to box so many friggen times.
I am a Conte doubter, but thank the gods we don't have Wilmots as a manager. Belgium isn't going anywhere with that guy. Sweden is no where as good as Belgium. I wonder if Conte will keep the same lineup. I might switch Florenzi for Giak and put one of either SES, Insigne or Berni in Darmian's place. Eder's best contribution today was when he picked up the yellow for stopping an attack. Berni might be the best choice to replace him. Immobile looked like a completely different player than the one we saw last week. This might be due to there being a lot of space because Belgium was pushing for the equalizer. If Sweden sit and defend, I wonder how effective he would be.
Pissed off Italy showed up today. When ever Italy is being trashed they tend to fight back. Lets hope they keep this momentum up for the next game against Sweden,
People bringing up the comparison of winning the first game in WC 2014 and winning the first game of Euro 2016 in that we need to reserve caution also need to put everything into perspective. While yes , we should be cautious when it comes to the next 2 games , at the same time this is a different team with a different manager and unlike Prandelli before him Conte calls the shots. He doesn't allow boobs like Balotelli in this team to whine all the time and ruin it for us. And yes , while Conte's selections , tactics and substitutions still beg many questions he got it right in this match so far. From the beginning I've said let's see how the first match goes. You guys also need to keep in mind that the four best 3rd place group teams go through ( out of a total 6 groups ). That means 66 percent of the 3rd place group teams make it to the KO round and with Italia getting a full 3 pts tonight I would say our chances , as they stand now , are pretty good.
I like to see either Insigne or SES in the next game. They are both very quick ans can cause probs in the Swedish defence.
Comparisons between Prandelli's 2014 side and Conte's 2016 side are not useful. I do not dislike Prandelli; that said, he is not the disciplinarian than Conte is. Conte will not allow the complacency and lack of cohesion that were rampant two years ago manifest itself in this side. My concern for this side will be if and when we go down a goal. Conte's rigid approach, while useful in certain settings such as today, becomes a handicap when you are looking for goals; particularly when you lack firepower in attack as we do.
if Italy didn't play "real" football then what the hell kind of football was Belgium playing? and that bullshit about only sitting back seeking the counter attack is purely false.....when is was 1-0 Conte still had them going forward for another . I mean Chiellini...Chiellini!!!.... ran the ball to just outside their penalty area. wtf is Wilmots talking about?
Arguably the two best teams combined from these first round of games and we did good. If our back 3 plays like this we can put the three stooges out their on attack and succeed. I'm not impressed by any team so far that has played their first game so why all the daggers for The Azzurri. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
wow is that right?...this euro unlike previous euros includes an extra game ( round of 16) where as before the quarters were directly after the group phase....holding a player to 2 yellows over the course of 5 games ( 3 group matches plus 16 team KO round plus Quarter round match ) seems excessive in euro 2012 it would've been a total 4 matches until yellows are cleared wiki sometimes is wrong...is this definitely correct? this euro not only the format has changed but the amount of teams as well
We almost gave up the equalizer if lukaku finishes that chance on a platter. There was periods where Belgium had the upper hand. Let's not forget.
Tournament regulations: Article 48 Yellow and red cards 48.02 In case of repeated cautions: b. in the final tournament, a player is suspended for the next competition match after two cautions in two different matches, as well as after the fourth caution 48.04 Single cautions from matches in the final tournament expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals.
wouldn't be a bad idea to have either Bonucci or Chiellini accidentally foul someone late if we have the lead against sweden