Thought a general banter and chat thread about this most Russian of tournaments was needed... Let's start by mentioning that Australia beat the Czech republic 4-0 in a warm up game today, with ur man Luongo playing the full 90 minutes. The Czechs didn't qualify, and 4-0 is a good morale booster for the Aussies going into the tournament.
World Cup: Player in Russia squad could be doper - Grigory Rodchenkov A player in Russia's World Cup squad is a drugs cheat, says doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov. The former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory said one of the squad was on a list of 34 footballers that he helped cover up. "I saw the names of those at the World Cup and I recognised one," he said. Last week Fifa said it had ended a doping investigation into Russian footballers because of "insufficient evidence". Fifa investigated the 34 names that were handed to it following the McLaren reports, which found 1,000 Russian athletes across 30 sports benefited from state-sponsored doping between 2012 and 2015. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44321760
This What England fans travelling to Russia need to be concerned about please log in to view this image England fans heading to Russia for the World Cup have been warned to be alert to “anti-British sentiment” and advised that Russians can be more “emotional” than anticipated. In an advice booklet issued by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), fans travelling east have been told to “trust their instincts” to avoid being a victim of crime, but follow the security and political situation closely while abroad. The FSF, which has some 500,000 members across England and Wales, cited both the targeting of England supporters in Marseille by Russian hooligans during Euro 2016 and the heightened geopolitical tensions as reasons to be vigilant while supporting the national team. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/...ice-england-fans-world-cup-russia-is-it-safe/
What do England fans travelling to Russia need to be concerned about? Well this tw&t imo... please log in to view this image Not just England supporters, the rest of planet Earth
please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Please make it stop... please log in to view this image
Sounds like one-way traffic on the Beeb website... And he should've had a couple already. News this morning said the new Nigeria kit has sold out everywhere, with over 3million being sold.....wonder how many England shirts have been sold?
Yes, gutted about that when placing an order and finding they are out of stock Being 43 years old now I can safely say that I am no longer a dedicated follower of fashion anymore Well done so far England, encouraging stuff thus far
Just in in time to turn on the TV and see Nigeria score - they seem to have upped a gear for the second half. Sterling been taking lessons ftom Ashley Young, but obviously not as profficient yet as he was caught and booked!
England playing like the new team Southgate is aiming for in the first half. Back to the bad old days in the second half. Sterling has excellent movement but is so frustrating. He has been excellent for city but doesn't seem able to make the right decisions in an England shirt. Vardy would have had a couple in that first half given Sterling's chances.
Well, yesterday was a game of two halves. First half Nigeria didn’t seem like they wanted to play, and that gave England time and space, which they didn’t really use. Young on the left was useless, we need Rose or anyone with a left foot. Stones got caught out a couple of times, Alli was wasteful, and Kane was nowhere to be seen. 2-0 at half time flattered, even though we could easily have had half a dozen. Sterling was the only one giving any kind of attacking effort. Second half, Nigeria were much better and we were much worse. No space, no time, and no real threat. Sterling ended up tracking back, leaving us toothless up front. It was only when young and Alli went off that we at least tried, and Loftus Cheek (who, by the way, looked like the Incredible Hulk in a football kit he’s so big) made some good runs and passes. Sadly by this time, Sterling was off and Kane didn’t have the pace to voter any defenders. Verdict: if that’s his starting line up, we’re screwed in Russia.
Completely disagree about the first half. Nigeria were completely out-played due to being out-numbered in midfield. The movement from Kane, Sterling, Delle and Lingard was excellent and England moved the ball quickly. Sterling was a handfull, but as usual his finishing in an England shirt let him down. I'd be tempted to try Vardy there but he may not have such good movement (but still the pace). Delle does waste possession at times, but we have so little creativity that I see no other option other than to play him. Second half, Nigeria changed their shape to match England's 3-5-2 and that made them much more competitive and there were less spaces for England to exploit. As soon as England conceded they looked vulnerable and all the old fear of losing came flooding back. The changes didn't help the flow of the game but at least England saw out the game whilst not playing well (2nd half). I'd prefer Henderson to Dier due to him being more athletic and gets about the pitch better. If we can sustain the football played in the first half then we could do ok imo.
