Neat and tidy game from JWP. Did as much, if not more than Rice (who is a definite starter). Bellingham class. But you just know he’ll take Phillips over JWP, for reasons unknown. As I say that, KWP nearly sets up Smith-Rowe.
As great as JWP is at free kicks, his corners are hugely overrated imo. Stood out to me that Redmond put in some very dangerous pin point corners during JWPs absence earlier in the season, ever since I have felt like he isn't really that good at them. That said a tidy if unremarkable game from him. Very good performances from KWP during this window, hopefully has moved himself up the order in one of the more stacked positions.
KWP benefits from being able to play left back. But Southgate seems to value previous squad experience over almost everything else which is why Phillips and Trippier will go ahead of JWP and KWP. Especially if Phillips gets a big move away from Leeds
England U21's won 3 - 0 in Albania. Tino was subbed off 56th minute doesn't look like he had a good game. Balogun and Curtis Jones scored.
https://www.sofascore.com/england-u21-albania-u21/DXbsAvc He has the lowest match rating 6.6.for England
So it's official. Farnborough are the finest team on Hampshire and, I don't think it's hyperbolic to say, possibly the world
Cameroon scores in the 124th minute to go to the World Cup on away goals! So, the draw pots are almost determined for Qatar. Pot 1: Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal. Pot 2: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, USA, Switzerland, Croatia, Uruguay. Pot 3: Senegal, Japan, Iran, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, one of Canada/Tunisia*. Pot 4: Canada/Tunisia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and: - Either Wales/Scotland/Ukraine (UEFA Path A). - Either UAE, Australia, Columbia or Peru (Interconfederation Playoff 1). - Either Costa Rica or New Zealand** (Interconfederation Playoff 2). *If Canada beats Panama tomorrow, they'll be Pot 3. If they draw/lose, Tunisia will be. **Solomon Islands are still in it, but c'mon now.
The All Whites (NZ) are playing some really good football but having to play off against a south american side is always a big ask and costa rica will be hard to beat. Especially tough to come off games against the likes of Solomon isles and Tonga. Would make my year if they get thru though.
Costa Rica is a decent matchup for you. They aren't a bad team (and are in good form), but they're extremely old, and have really ridden their luck. Their xG in qualifying is 0.89, versus an xGA of 1.49, and they managed less than 40% possession in the Octagonal...their model throughout qualis has been to stifle the game and hope to nick one, and credit to them it has worked. I'd definitely rather face them on neutral ground than Panama or one of the CONMEBOL sides, though.
Southgate is spot on. England fans are f*cking pricks. I know its only a minority, but still, Maguire has always been solid, and was one of our best players in the Euros. What changed? I'm guessing it's mostly the toxic mentality of the entitled fans up in the top 6, seeping through to the rest of the morons. "We aren't going to win a World Cup with a load of players with three or four caps." (Southgate). THIS!!!!! So much this! Fans from other countries understand this. The national team is still a team. Players need to get used to each other and to the different style of game at that level. Just because a player has five or six good games for his club, doesn't mean he's suddenly gonna take to international football immediately. Likewise, if a player has five or six bad games. Maguire and Stones were immense last summer. They are our best CB pairing. And Mings is looking like a decent back up. ("Oh, but, but, but, but, f*cking cry cry cry...") Starting to dawn on me. After all the decades of nothing 'coming home', and the fans blaming this, that, and everything f*cking else under the sun, it's probably mostly the fault of the fans themselves. Yes, the gutter-press are equally guilty of stoking the toxicity, but at least they have the excuse of doing it for money. Absolutely the most ridiculous bullshit that any England players are booed these days. And Southgate is our greatest ever national coach. That's just a fact. Rant over!
Too many European teams!! Europe should lose 4 places, with the places distributed between África, Asia, South América, and North/ Central América!
If you give many more places to South America then they may as well not play any qualifying matches At the next World Cup (2026) there will be 6 spots - 60% of the Conembol. Europe is next highest with 29%. Are there too many South American teams? You imply “no” but it could easily be argued that there are There are a similar number of teams in the African federation as the European one. They will get 9 places to Europe’s 16. Similar with Asia. But the African and Asian federations are a lot weaker. How do you decide it is “too many”? Raw numbers is not really reasonable here. Sure Europe has more in absolute numbers by South American has an outsized proportion and OFC basically never gets any representation. Proportionality to the number of nations is also not ideal but is arguably one of the better approaches. But that sees you give a South American slot to the Solomon Islands and probably another to the UAE. Not European ones necessarily You can’t do population otherwise Asia will get all the slots and they don’t even like football as much as the rest of the world. And split evenly across confederations (which is closest to what you are suggesting) gives a weak tournament
