MLS will probably use him in their “Don’t Cross The Line” slogan against racism. Similar to Nike did with Colin Kaepernick. It remains to be seen though if he will cut it up in that league though because as we’ve seen with other superstars, MLS isn’t all that easy as one might think.
Why would we consider bringing on another inconsistent striker (and one who doesn't work) when we already have two in Belotti and Immobile who don't cause problems? You can argue that we should even omit both and go with a false 9.
Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Wales. We SHOULD come top. Germany, France, Portugal will be in a group ... Jesus
Perfect group for italy. Not crazy tough, but good solid challenges in Turkey, and Switzerland to prepare us for the knockout stage. Both of those teams are superior to any of our qualifying opponents. Group F is insane. Wow.
Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria --- what kind of group is this? This is like a cake walk for Netherlands. ugh... but I'm okay with Italy group though, could have be worser. If we going to get any further in EURO, we SHOULD top our group. Go ITALY!! Muuuahhhhzzz!
wow Ciro you are correct! I just check. If we win first our group A, which we should, and we damn better be if we want a higher chance to advance to quarter-finals. Round 16 1A v 2C 1A is us (let pray we will be 1A) And whoever that 2C is in that easiest group C considered of Netherlands, Ukraine, Australia. (Unless somehow Netherlands purposely want to finish second). But I think Neds want to finish first too, because they will also get an easier round of 16 draw.
On paper, its seems Italy and Spain have the easierst groups but that isn't always the case when it comes to the finals. After thinking it over, I also wouldn't take Turkey, Petković's Switzerland or Ramsey & Bale's Wales lightly.....
I want to see a pissed off Italy going into this tournament with all the negativity towards Serie A in the last few years this could be the perfect tonic for Italy to erase all the negativity (Mind you some has been self inflicted,) Im just wondering if there is any player under the radar playing that we will see get a call up for Italy come June
Netherlands has the EASIEST group to me, not Spain. Anyways, Italy must win their group, becuase it will give us the easier route on the round 16. Which is vs who ever come in second place in that Netherlands group. ugh.. unless Holland come in second place in their group, which I doubt.
I think we win 2. The turkey match will be a narrow victory. I think we draw the swiss, and beat Wales comfortably
Really? Compared to Italy's group? Belgium > Italy: 2018 World Cup semifinalist vs. non-qualifier. Russia > Switzerland: World Cup quarterfinalist vs. R16. Denmark > Turkey: World Cup R16 vs. non-qualifier. Finland < Wales; Nonqualifier vs. Nonqualifier (Wales did have an excellent Euro 2016). Other than Wales > Finland, Belgium's group is stronger.
Italy vs Belgium is debatable, they're definitely better on paper and they have been for the past 10 years but we match up really well against them.. We even beat them 2-0 in 2016 with likely the worst Italy team I've ever witnessed. Russia vs Switzerland debatable.. Actually I think Switzerland has a better squad. Denmark... Well I see that's your national team listed so I'll leave it at they tied the Republic of Ireland twice and also Georgia. Ya Wales is better than Finland too
I'm not ready to put our side on the same level as Belgium who could have conceivable won the World Cup. I think we can all be happy with the improvement we've seen under Mancini, both in terms of the results and quality of play. However, we have to bear in mind we had an easier qualifying group. We should progress comfortably past the group stage at the Euros. The real test will be when we face a top side, e.g., France, England, Belgium, etc.
Oh I don't think we're the same level as Belgium, they've had a better squad for the past 10 years almost. At the same time, we play Belgium like we play Germany. Let's not forget we played them off the field with this;
Italy did beat Belgium at Euro 2016, but I'm not sure how much one match from three years ago can tell us. Wales also beat Belgium at Euro 2016, but no one seriously thinks Wales is on par with Belgium right now. Moreover, while rankings can be problematic, Belgium is #1 in the world in both the FIFA and ELO rankings. That has to count for something. It's also the case that while Italy gets to play three group matches at home, Belgium has to play away in Russia and Denmark. No other #1 seed has to play two matches in the opponent's stadium, and only Ukraine has to play even one. Belgium clearly has a tougher slate of matches in the group phase than Italy, and probably a tougher road than any of the #1 seeds aside from Germany.
That is because Brussels was dropped as a host city because of delays in completing the stadium. While Belgium is justifiably ranked higher than Italy, the combination of Italy's improvement over the last 2 years - how significant is debateable because as has been said qualifying group J seemed particularly weak - dynamics of a competition mean Italy would have a reasonable chance of eliminateing them in a knock-out tie.