Ricardo was never getting there. I've watched it over and over and Ricardo was never getting the ball
Yep and it's typical of the football media in this country where once a narrative becomes established by people like Jordan, they become so invested in its outcome, they double down until everyone who listens to him buys into it. The only reason why people like Simon Jordan are now downplaying Southgate's results against Germany and Holland is because something along the lines of; 'England's team is elite' 'But Southgate is the issue' 'Replace Southgate with an elite foreign tactician like Tuchel (like we did with Sven and Capello)' 'England now wins those games against France and Spain'
I think Argentina of 98, Portugal of 06 and Italy of 12 was poor versions. So even if Germany 21 and Netherlands 24 was poor versions, Southgate beat them, while previous managers could not beat any version, poor or great.
Just needed some examples to try to state a point. Of how stupid the narrative of Southgate beating poor versions of strong teams is. And poor version is not poor, just poorer than the great version. I mean, you did lose the next game, and also scored only one goal in the knock outs. I don't think you looked that great in that tournament. The 2004 version was better, just victim of that freak Greece performance. No offence meant. I mean a poor England with Rooney sent off, did manage to get to penalties ..
lol no offense taken. Hmm interesting point of World Cup 2006 vs Euro 2004 squad. I'm actually not sure which I'd prefer. I would actually maybe go with the World Cup 2006 squad, to be honest. Losing to Greece twice at home is a black mark on the 2004 team.
Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke & Bukayo Saka are joining up with England squad in West Palm Beach today. They’re not expected to travel with the squad to Tampa & therefore aren’t involved against New Zealand. They then come into contention for Costa Rica.— James Olley (@JamesOlley) June 5, 2026
🚨 EXCL: Bayern Munich exploring move to sign Rio Ngumoha. 17yo Liverpool winger primary #FCBayern target for left side & aware of pursuit. No contact yet between clubs. #LFC insist not for sale + plan to strengthen attack rather than weaken @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/mYbWdds6Ip— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 5, 2026
He's played under a 1000 first team minutes this year, I think he personally should have played more, if they for sign Diomande then you couldn't really blame him if he wanted to leave.
the main logical flaw of the english football media bubble is not giving credit to other nations. when you start at the default of England should win you then interpret the result as the fault of England players/managers etc. I tend to believe the right team wins. Even when it comes to a shoot out. These things balance out especially over a tournament and certainly over a decade or so where a generation has multiple opportunities. At a certain point a group is either capable or not. For me this group is capable. Two finals a semifinal very few regulation defeats they are on track to win one of the next two maybe three tournaments. The next two are probably the main window with the third being let's wait and see. Don't get me wrong of course all nations do this to an extent. Everyone mythologizes their own close calls and near victories as self inflicted tragedies. Italy 94 is thought of as Baggio missing the PK when that would have only kept the shootout tied with Brazil having another opportunity to win it still which they probably would have on their next kick because they earned that.
That could be part of it. England is actually, probably significantly, the most underachieving major nation in football. A single tournament win across their history, a tournament at home, is genuinely remarkable. It's insane that they have never won the European Championship but Greece and Denmark have. Nor have they made a World Cup final again. So given their talent level, you have to wonder what is happening there that isn't happening elsewhere. It would have to be a unique factor, to some degree. Could it be an overly relentless media? That can be argued as unique. I haven't studied this but the media in England seem quite different in their brazen approach to things relative to other countries. And if we concede, that the media scrutiny on the English national team is different than that of other countries, then their national team would then, by default, be subject to a constant, toxic and nationwide examination that other teams aren't subject to. That's the kind of thing that can measurably influence the team and corresponding results. Who knows though.
It was actually Ricardo Carvalho’s testicles but I do believe there is also footage of Ronaldo’s testicles having a laugh and going for Rooney as well so red cards to both would be fair.
Each generation is unique. There is no shame in being the 2nd 3rd or 4th best team in multiple generations. It is very difficult to be 1st 2nd consistently which is what is usually required to win. You usually need to be coming close for a handful of tournaments though you can win at the start of a winning cycle like France did in 98 and 2018 and then remain contenders for the next 8 years or so. This England generation is the best since 66 relative to the field. They are consistently knocking on the door and very difficult to beat. This is the key you have to be hard to beat for a sustained period of time. They are similar to Italy from 1990-2006 where they almost never lost in 90 minutes. The only other way is if you have a Maradona/Messi situation which is an anomaly. Germany lost in 82 86 before they won in 90 but they were a true world class generation because they were always there. Between 04 and 16 Portugal were very good in Euros coming close a number of times. These are not coincidences. In many ways it takes 10 years of developing youth and 10 years of that generation having a kick at the can to win. The golden generation were class but they were below Brazil France Italy who were the top 3 nations between 94-2006 by some distance. England were maybe 3rd best on paper.