Couldn't watch any matches today sadly but what a result for Maya and Japan. Makes Sunday's match between Spain and Germany really tasty. The idea of Germany going out in two group phases in row still feels crazy.
I dunno. If Lukaku can come back then they still have a good chance. Many teams have been rubbish opening game then turned it around. They were REALLY bad, but I wouldn’t write them off. Still a lot of talent in their squad
Nah they're past it and dog ****. Quarters at best, and probably only last 16 if the Germans turn it round.
Dunno about that. He's one of those type of players who seems half-arsed at club level, but steps up at international level. His goalscoring record over the last 6 or 7 years for Belgium is basically a goal a game, covering 60+ appearances. Arguably bigger for them, than Kane is for us, given the other squad options available.
Phew indeed. But Southgate has ultimately got lucky - this should hopefully be his warning not to risk Kane again, in the event that a similar situation was to arise in any of our other games. He should have withdrawn Kane at HT; our attempt at winning the WC is far more important than Kane's attempt at trying to retain his golden boot. Iran had already showed us in the first half that they weren't afraid of making a tackle.
This 100%. Hopefully Southgate will learn from this close shave. He should have at least been subbed the moment he went down holding his ankle. The fact he kept him on for a while after that blow was ludicrous to say the least.
Cameroon outplaying the Swiss atm, this appears to be the upset World Cup, perhaps England can pull off the ultimate upset by winning it!...#ICH
Kane is the one player we really cannot afford to get injured. Wilson, while a good CF, is not world class like Kane. Actually I'd include Bellingham as well. Those two are irreplaceable. So if a game is won they must be taken off and wrapped in cotton wool. While the likes of Saka and Mount are really good, we are stacked in the AM positions. Foden was on the bench against Iran which proves that.
Said the exact same at half time and was fuming when he went down. The game was won and even without thinking about injuries, it is a long tournament and the chance to safely rest your top players are rare. Plus it is good to give back up players minutes in case they are needed. It made no sense to keep him on the pitch.
I suspect it won't matter now as I can't see any more opportunities to rest players. USA will give us a good game I think and even if we beat them, we would require Wales not to beat Iran for us to really consider resting players against them.
