That's a fair shout, mate World class status should be held for the elite players only. Although we'll also have periods where even top players in certain positions don't deserve that status. I agree Luke Shaw is one of the best left backs about at the moment but you couldn't keep a straight face describing him as world class. Same as the likes of Declan Rice.
Yeah agree, I think if Shaw especially has another season or two like last then it’ll be impossible to deny him that world class label. After one truly great season there’ll be doubters saying it was a one-off but I think with multiple top seasons behind a player it can’t be debated, the only ones who’d disagree would likely be rival fans.
By that definition Kane is world class 100% There’s only Lewandowski that’s a better number 9. That’s why Kane doesn’t get in a world XI for me.
Haha yeah I do personally think Kane is world class as the only striker I feel is better right now is Lewandowski. Unless of course we’re counting Ronaldo as a ST these days and if so he too is also better, though Ronaldo and Messi don’t really count in these debates, they ain’t ****ing human, lol.
Can't wait to see what club Kane goes to, see if some still see him as World Class. HiaG needs to come back!
None. Certainly not based on 4 games in a tournament, you have to be on Maradona or Zidane levels to even be considered for that ****. So taking club and country performances into account there's none, not even close. BUT having said that, the squad we have is the best that I can remember. There's real depth in quality and if we can do well in this tournament and players continue to progress at club level and then into the WC next year, I'm sure we may have a couple. Just to put this in perspective, the last World Class player England had, which everyone can pretty much agree on as world class by ANY measurable criteria anyone wants to throw down, would be Ashley Cole. He's a prize **** of a bloke but as a player he was exceptional. Nobody in that current England squad comes close to that.
I agree about Ashley Cole. First class prick, world class footballer. I totally disagree with the squad being the best in your/our lifetime. On paper, I'd have to say it's the weakest squad that I've seen. The players individually don't even come close to having the quality of Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Rio etc. This is what makes this team the most competitive and most likely to win a trophy since I've been watching internationals. It's more of a collective effort now with everybody knowing their job and able to chip in. This is where all credit goes to Southgate, imo, he's done a phenomenal job and is vastly underrated for doing so. All that our managers done before him was to play it safe by picking big name players at the big name clubs. Them players were thrown together and we just hoped for the best. Now, we have a style of play, an identity and we know what to expect.
I agree with that but I meant the whole squad. There's more quality in that 26 man squad than in previous 23 (or whatever it was). We had a great starting 11 with the players you mentioned but then after that it was pretty average. I'd rather have this squad than that one tbh. Southgate's done well so far and I agree completely about previous managers and also that those players really never played as a team. The only thing I'd say is that, that England side came up against far better opposition and quality of players than this side has so far. That Brazil side of 2002 or Germany of 2010 or even Portugal of 2004 would've been far tougher tests for Southgate than what we've seen so far under his reign. He's doing alright though, I still think he can get more out of this group of players.
No I know, Sterling was mentioned somewhere on this thread and he's never world class in the league so thought maybe some were basing it on the tournament. Edit: Though he's not been world class in the tournament either.
Rice isn't a bad player. He's more than decent. We are talking about world class players, though. Kalvin Phillips has outshone him in this tournament so he hasn't even been our best centre midfielder out of the two that we are playing.
Honestly not bothered. What i would say without hesitation is that most of the players are playing better for England than they do for their clubs and, under Southgate, always have. Players like Pickford and Maguire I look at lining up against Newcastle and think "we can get at them", I see them in an England shirt and they are different players entirely. In an England shirt I would genuinely consider picking Maguire in my world XI. Considering Pogba I'm now beginning to think there may be someone wrong with the Man Utd shirts... For most of my life I've become accustomed to players failing to replicate club form when they turned out for England, that seems to have changed and that's all I ever wanted.
Who is davies? My 11 Neuer Kimmich Ramos VVD Alaba/Robertson KDB Kante Modric Ronaldo Lewandowski Messi
