Honestly if Martinez could set up a defence properly they'd be in with a good chance of winning it next year. As for Switzerland above us
The rankings are a bit of a joke tbh, Wales worked their way up by simply not playing many friendlies.
I hope England get Germany. Logic?? Then if both progress England and Germany go into opposite halves of the tournament. And I would not be too worried about teams in Pots 3 and 4. England have the players to beat them if England plays to its strengths, which to my mind is swift counter attacks.
Outside of tournaments, we aren't. England fans just have very high expectations.....they demand we win cups (which admittedly we have underachieved at) and provide entertainment (when managers are concentrating on being effective and qualifying). We almost always qualify easily for tournaments and we are capable of beating most teams in the world....if only we could master beating several of them consecutively. The fun at the moment is following our youngsters....the U19s and U17s have both started their next campaigns with victories.
Based on comments on this site alone, I don't think England fans have high hopes at all but expect to see better than at the last euros. I feel that England has a manager who is close to the players and understands their needs, unlike recent holders of the position, and so I expect England to go quite some distance this time, and if England gets Germany in the group stages, then the nemisis won't be faced again until deep into the tournament. And by then someone like Brazil may have exacted their revenge.
I didn't mean that England fans had high hopes of the team....rather that they felt that England should do so much better....based on nothing other than being England. We can beat most teams on our day....one day we will string it together as we did in '66. Just hope it is in my lifetime.....though perhaps that is being greedy as most people on here haven't seen us win even one tournament. Perhaps not the WC, but it would be nice to win the EC.
When does the tournament start? June or July? I like watching the World Cup tbf as it is usually long enough after the season ends for me to be missing watching football, even if I don't support a team in it (unless there is some work sweepstake or something).
especially after Martin O'Neill said this to inspire our Shane: "It would be lovely to have a prolific goalscorer in the side," he said. "If you don't have that, then you have to try to find other ways."
Might be a tad greedy, I'm not expecting it in my lifetime 14th June - 15th July. I love the world cup, will watch any game I can. Have to look at booking some holiday after the draw.
Cheers. Yeah I try and watch as much as I can. Russia is 3 hours ahead of the UK so shouldn't be too bad time wise (no stupidly early games or in the middle of the night anyway).
Yekaterinburg is 5 hours. I think that is the most easterly of the cities being used. And another point of interest is that the trains run on Moscow time. So it might be 2.00 in your city in Russia and you are at the station waiting to go somewhere. You look at the timtable and it says the next one is due at 1028, it is not three and half hours late, it is running on Moscow time.
Ahh fair enough, I know Moscow is 3 hours ahead as an ex of mine is Russian so remember from when she was back there visiting family. Probably should've realised that the country is huge and has more than 1 time zone
Yeah I like it when they're at decent times. Japan and South Korea was a nightmare, I remember being allowed to go to school late for the Brazil game.
Yeah we had to go to school but they cancelled the lessons and everyone who wanted to watch it watched it in the sports hall on a **** off projector. I am quarter Brazilian so was wearing a Brazil shirt to be a 12 year old WUM and was giving the teachers **** when Brazil won. Think I've got another Brazil shirt somewhere, might do the same tonight at the pub
