World Cup 2018 - Discussion Thread.

Well Tuesday is D day for the England team. They have a favourable draw but the games will still be challenging. We still don't know how good this team is but playing against a good side in Colombia will tell us what we need to know.

No matter how easy the draw is they still have to rise to the occasion. The World Cup is wide open.

 

Eight cliches in a row. Impressive!

 

I try my best. Maybe I should apply for the ITV footballing panel?

 

I don't agree!!

But yes you are correct. You can have an easier run at any Cup/Tournament. The difficulty is though it can be hard to predict because besides the obvious big names you often get at least one surprise team punching above their weight.

 

A cheeky score on Belgium 2-1 and 3-0 tonight.

Something about 3 being the magic number is stuck in my head.

#Japan3-0/cry

 

You should take a chill pill. This is only a discussion in which everyone, including you, is entitled to make a contribution without being called stupid. England for the cup!

 

LOL Evidence would suggest, I can't make a post without being called stupid in any discussion.

 

Can England win the world cup? They won't get a better chance according to our mass media. In my opinion based on the three matches I've seen, no at the moment. They need to up their game by a significant margin to do that. Colombia will give us a better idea but I find the team is missing in a few areas. The keeper is rickety, we have too many players that are too similar ie. Fast, strong but lack good technique on the ball. We can't keep possession very well, lack creativity and are very reliant on Kane. Sterling and Alli are on poor form and need to improve a lot. Our defence is yet to be tested so that is a question mark. The only test we got is playing our B side against a Belgium B side, you could argue they lost intentionally but i doubt that.

People are writing off Colombia but England will have to play close to their best to beat them. They can easily go home early.

They do have a favourable run and I think the Semis are achievable. As for winning it, I haven't seen anything to suggest that our team can play to the highest level at the moment like for example, Belgium and Brazil showed yesterday. Belgium overcame adversity and adapted their play to beat a very good Japan side. Do we have That?

I hope I get proved wrong.

 

Not by me

 

C'mooon England.

That was pretty intense.

Its crazy to think we just have to beat Sweden then Russia/Croatia to get to a World Cup Final.

I actually fancy us to get there.

 

England were poor to be fair. As a neutral I wouldn't expect them to get much further. They MIGHT beat Sweden. They certainly won't get past Croatia if they have to play them. A vast improvement is necessary and it remains to be seen whether they are capable of that.

 

England have been very fortunate to get such an easy run in the tournament, even Colombia made it easier by playing overly negative, cynical football. Had they tried to play, it could have been a different outcome, but they have themselves to blame.

I don't rate this England team, they lack quality in key areas but i can see them scrape it to the finals because of their run of games. Sweden play decent football but England know how to deal with that kind of football well. We have enough pace up front to trouble Sweden and go past them.

England should get to the Semi's at least.

 

I know they won all their games but I haven't been entirely convinced by Croatia either, and they were pretty poor against Denmark. Can't see either us or them beating Brazil or France in the final

 

Neither Croatia, Russia or France have been any better than England soo far.

England have played well for short periods. I think this win will give them confidence - I wont be surprised if England go out and comfortably beat Sweden 3-0.

Uruguay and Brazil are the only two sides to have looked properly convincing mind.

 

I think at this stage of the tournament all the games are very tight. You get the occasional blowout when a team loses the plot, but it comes down to one or two chances and who can put them away, and who cant. And of course not making a mistake.

I wouldn't call it luck exactly, but the games are very marginal, and it is difficult to predict which way the ball will bounce.

 

Interesting to see how Torreira does against a very physical French midfield.

Cavani is a big miss for Uruguay IMO. Looking forward to this one

 

Having said this .. now that ive seen the French line up. I think France have made a mistake with just a Kante and Pogba midfield.

They would have been much safer with Nzonzi holding.

 

Uruguay losing. If they go out, I hope Torreira gets done soon

 

Yeah - I was just thinking this deal may not happen and if they made the final it would be even harder to finalise.

 

Still England have not played a decent team apart from Belgium who we lost to.
Sweden were awful and offered nothing.
I am sure we can beat Croatia or Russia so it will be the Final before we see just how good we are.