I do feel a bit for Sterling as of all the players in the team he has the most adapting to do in the current formation. Southgate is playing him as a proper striker which doesn't really suit him. He's small and quite frail on the ball, so normally he creates himself a yard to use his pace to get by players, or makes an intelligent run to bypass defenders altogether. The bending run he made for his fluffed chance was excellent. He can't do that the same as a striker, and Harry Kane other than his goals wasn't involved in the game yesterday so Sterling couldn't play off him either. The logical thing to do after that is drop deeper into space to find the gaps to work in, but the problem he has is Lingard and Alli are both operating in that space which means that Sterling needs to push further up. He can't pull too far wide either as the wing backs push so far up and the two attacking midfielders are supposed to get close to them to exchange passes when the ball goes wide. When Rashford came on you could see the difference immediately as he's a proper striker who is used to receiving the ball in those areas and more used to finding those pockets of space in tight areas around the box. I think Sterling can deliver for England, it just might be a bit too much adapting too soon for him at the World Cup. The important thing is he made more of a nuisance of himself than Kane and always gave the Tunisian defenders something to worry about with his pace before Rashford penetrated better. He just needs to develop into the position
Yes he is slightly out of position but I don't think I have ever seen a regular England player with such a poor footballing brain. It's incredible how many times he does the one tbing that's the exact opposite of what he should do.
agree with most on here about our performance and Southgates delayed substitutions. Ali was shot before half time yet last till the 80th minute?
our finishing was woeful but at least we created a few chances. Luckily Kane had two that fell to him and he wasn't as wasteful. Makes you think would it be better to play another goal scorer in Vardy so then there's at least one other who can put the ball in the net if the chance comes?
our fast attack did ok in spells to actually show some pace to get in behind, especially in the first half when the Tunisians played a high line, but apart from Henderson who else was putting the ball over the top for them to run on to? the back three worried me all game with their passing. maybe one of them could of launched the ball over the top? or at least be quicker to get it to the wings where Trippier played very well on his side and put in some cracking deliveries. Not sure why Gareth had Young on cos we didn't need him in this game for his defending we needed someone who could actually put a ball in from that side. Also why apart from when Loftus came on did we rarely seemed to have an overlap on either flank?
overall as all the stats will tell you we deserved the win but it could of been so much easier to acquire if our lot weren't so wasteful and if we could keep the forward momentum going for longer than the first half. the performances and tempo seem to drop as the game goes on and it cant just be the heat can it? cos we were the same against Nigeria in that second half. still they did mange to keep going till the end and from another corner got another goal. Look very threatening from corners. talking of which......
Ref was a puppet. as were the officials in Moscow in their matching kits. staring at screens watching some brilliant rugby league tackles. VAR is all very well but if the people using it don't know what they are doing (or chose not too) then what's the bloody point.
I suspect nerves played a part. The win has allowed us to grow into the tournament. If you put all of our chances together against their's, it was probably one of the most dominant performances! Great to see Maguire get forward in the second half - he started with a few nerves, but showed how he could become a key member of the team and was instrumental in our winner! Trippier had a great game too.
My Facebook & twitter feeds are all doom & gloom this morning. You would think we lost!
Yeah we made hard work of it, but there are a lot of positIves to take from the game. We created enough chances to be 4 or 5 up before the penalty. Our finishing needs to improve, but we created lots of chances & that's a good sign.
The only worrying sign for me was that once they scored we panicked & reverted back to the England of old where we just played hoof ball.
If this England side plays to it's strengths, which is quickly knocking the ball around & using the pace in our side, like we did in the first 30 minutes, we'll be tough to beat & exciting to watch
heard on the radio that sometime during the match or possibly just before it, a helicopter sprayed the stadium from above with chemicals to try to clear the midges. slightly concerning...
agree with most on here about our performance and Southgates delayed substitutions. Ali was shot before half time yet last till the 80th minute?
our finishing was woeful but at least we created a few chances. Luckily Kane had two that fell to him and he wasn't as wasteful. Makes you think would it be better to play another goal scorer in Vardy so then there's at least one other who can put the ball in the net if the chance comes?
our fast attack did ok in spells to actually show some pace to get in behind, especially in the first half when the Tunisians played a high line, but apart from Henderson who else was putting the ball over the top for them to run on to? the back three worried me all game with their passing. maybe one of them could of launched the ball over the top? or at least be quicker to get it to the wings where Trippier played very well on his side and put in some cracking deliveries. Not sure why Gareth had Young on cos we didn't need him in this game for his defending we needed someone who could actually put a ball in from that side. Also why apart from when Loftus came on did we rarely seemed to have an overlap on either flank?
overall as all the stats will tell you we deserved the win but it could of been so much easier to acquire if our lot weren't so wasteful and if we could keep the forward momentum going for longer than the first half. the performances and tempo seem to drop as the game goes on and it cant just be the heat can it? cos we were the same against Nigeria in that second half. still they did mange to keep going till the end and from another corner got another goal. Look very threatening from corners. talking of which......
Ref was a puppet. as were the officials in Moscow in their matching kits. staring at screens watching some brilliant rugby league tackles. VAR is all very well but if the people using it don't know what they are doing (or chose not too) then what's the bloody point.
Rose in for Young. I don't think Young gets down the line or overlaps enough. Rose will.
Rashford in for Sterling. If the Germans can leave Sane out for not performing well enough at international level then why do we need to keep playing Sterling? 2 goals in 39 caps isn't good enough.
Let's face it we dominated the first 45 minutes and should've been 2 or 3 up at half time so despite the dire second half i don't think we need drastic changes.
Rose in for Young. I don't think Young gets down the line or overlaps enough. Rose will.
Rashford in for Sterling. If the Germans can leave Sane out for not performing well enough at international level then why do we need to keep playing Sterling? 2 goals in 39 caps isn't good enough.
Let's face it we dominated the first 45 minutes and should've been 2 or 3 up at half time so despite the dire second half i don't think we need drastic changes.
agree with this + I would drop McGuire for Cahill
No way would I drop Maguire for the Panama game. He was a big part of that win going forwards last night.
Rose in for Young. I don't think Young gets down the line or overlaps enough. Rose will.
Rashford in for Sterling. If the Germans can leave Sane out for not performing well enough at international level then why do we need to keep playing Sterling? 2 goals in 39 caps isn't good enough.
Let's face it we dominated the first 45 minutes and should've been 2 or 3 up at half time so despite the dire second half i don't think we need drastic changes.
agree with this + I would drop McGuire for Cahill</
McGuire started badly but once he got over his nerves he played well. He would be more effective than Cahill against Panama because he is better on the ball.
Maguire is arguably the most important player in this formation. Anyone that wants him dropped is effectively welcoming back the stale football we played under Roy.
I think it's interesting how people can have such a different opinion on the same game. Seeing a lot of comments saying Henderson was good but I thought he was shocking and wouldn't like to see him start again. In the first 15 minutes or so he made some ambitious passing, usually into an open space for a player to run onto not anything spectacular. I don't recall him winning the ball back once? Remember Alli pinching the ball twice though, most of his passing negative and he literally can't drive the ball through midfield. Maguire was more of a threat on the ball and was driving the ball forwards a lot better.
Buzzing with the result just wasn't happy with the performance of some of them. I would say Young needs to go for Rose, his free kicks were crap and he can't get forward like Rose and there's not a chance he's a better defender. Rashford in and I'm not sure if it would work but RLC in as well.
We were good though whatever people think, Germany have shown how hard it is to break a team sitting deep and look at their quality compared to us. Tunisia didn't threaten us once and it will be good for football once they're out. Proper boring side
Rose in for Young. I don't think Young gets down the line or overlaps enough. Rose will.
Rashford in for Sterling. If the Germans can leave Sane out for not performing well enough at international level then why do we need to keep playing Sterling? 2 goals in 39 caps isn't good enough.
Let's face it we dominated the first 45 minutes and should've been 2 or 3 up at half time so despite the dire second half i don't think we need drastic changes.
agree with this + I would drop McGuire for Cahill
Eh? Maguire's strength in the air led to both of our goals. He caused them issues from every single set piece and went forward with real impetus. Grew into the game and for me was one of the stand out performers along with Trippier.
If anybody has read any interviews with Sterling, he has always said he saw himself as a number 10 or a striker - so he has been given the perfect platform to perform.
He actually reminds me a bit of dear old Kevin Lisbie, in that the sum if his parts ate actually less than the whole.
He has so many good attributes but never fills you witj confidence.
I thought it was a marked change from an England side to keep going when the game looked like it was dying out to a draw, against a team, who to be fair, did what they had to do to get a result.
Can we also start accepting as a country, that Harry Kane is a world class player, and I reckon will get to Rooney's record sooner rather then later.
I'd give them another 60 minutes to state their case (Dele and Sterling). Let them settle into the World Cup. Loftus-Cheek changed the game last night though and only a matter of time before he's in that starting XI.
heard on the radio that sometime during the match or possibly just before it, a helicopter sprayed the stadium from above with chemicals to try to clear the midges. slightly concerning...
Full marks to them for pressing out centre-backs when we tried to play the ball out from the back.
They were content to hang on for the draw and we lacked the guile to get through them often enough. Without the predatory instincts of Kane we'd be rueing two dropped points.
Sterling is a waste of space and we have to use someone else up front with Kane, preferably Vardy but I'd be happy with Harry Redknapp's granny.
the England and Charlton comparison is unreal we cant hiss a cows ass with a banjo, 1st game so dont think we were too bad but we have to take them chances, the ref seemend v one sided but fuck him we won and it was great.
Maguire, Stones, Henderson & Trippier stood out for me. Kane did what Kane does, absolutely fantastic for his confidence as an International level captain. Henderson was off the pace for 15-20 minutes of the match but he is still such an important part of the team. It is very easy to single him out and say he's useless, passes backwards etc., but he is actually very useful and can always find space to move the ball well. He's not usually the one who get's caught in possession, he can also win possession back (think he went at 6 successful tackles from 6 yesterday).
I'm on the fence over Lingard, I can see his positives but also see a lot of negatives in his play. Alli I'm usually a big fan of but he looked a shade nervous/not quite right out there yesterday. Obviously had the injury, Southgates only wrong decision perhaps not bringing him off earlier, other subs were spot on for the occasion IMO.
The lack of a decent set piece taken is a bit of an issue for me, I would get Trippier on them all, but then Kane pings them in for Spurs, but you want him in the box.
Could be mistaken yet I only remember Ashley Young taking the one free kick which was in the last 5 / 10mins and went well over
Said the moment we won the FK that it was too close to goal for any of our players and needed to be a few yards further back for the ball to get up and down in time
What was frustrating me was the fact that Trippier was out on the right all on his own and unmarked yet was completely ignored, could have done a quick pass out to him so he could either shoot or put a dangerous cross in No Man's Land for the Goalkeeper
The lack of a decent set piece taken is a bit of an issue for me, I would get Trippier on them all, but then Kane pings them in for Spurs, but you want him in the box.
He rarely takes free kicks at Spurs. Eriksen takes most of them, followed by Lamela if he's on the pitch, then Dier and Trippier depending on distance/position.
Comments
https://au.eurosport.com/football/world-cup/2018/russia-report-tunisia-rugby-1-2-england-football_vid1101921/video.shtml
our finishing was woeful but at least we created a few chances. Luckily Kane had two that fell to him and he wasn't as wasteful. Makes you think would it be better to play another goal scorer in Vardy so then there's at least one other who can put the ball in the net if the chance comes?
our fast attack did ok in spells to actually show some pace to get in behind, especially in the first half when the Tunisians played a high line, but apart from Henderson who else was putting the ball over the top for them to run on to?
the back three worried me all game with their passing. maybe one of them could of launched the ball over the top? or at least be quicker to get it to the wings where Trippier played very well on his side and put in some cracking deliveries. Not sure why Gareth had Young on cos we didn't need him in this game for his defending we needed someone who could actually put a ball in from that side. Also why apart from when Loftus came on did we rarely seemed to have an overlap on either flank?
overall as all the stats will tell you we deserved the win but it could of been so much easier to acquire if our lot weren't so wasteful and if we could keep the forward momentum going for longer than the first half. the performances and tempo seem to drop as the game goes on and it cant just be the heat can it? cos we were the same against Nigeria in that second half. still they did mange to keep going till the end and from another corner got another goal. Look very threatening from corners. talking of which......
Ref was a puppet. as were the officials in Moscow in their matching kits. staring at screens watching some brilliant rugby league tackles. VAR is all very well but if the people using it don't know what they are doing (or chose not too) then what's the bloody point.
Yeah we made hard work of it, but there are a lot of positIves to take from the game. We created enough chances to be 4 or 5 up before the penalty. Our finishing needs to improve, but we created lots of chances & that's a good sign.
The only worrying sign for me was that once they scored we panicked & reverted back to the England of old where we just played hoof ball.
If this England side plays to it's strengths, which is quickly knocking the ball around & using the pace in our side, like we did in the first 30 minutes, we'll be tough to beat & exciting to watch
When Panama faced Belgium they didn't have a clue how to tackle so if there is anyone with a slight niggle then they need to be rested
Buzzing with the result just wasn't happy with the performance of some of them. I would say Young needs to go for Rose, his free kicks were crap and he can't get forward like Rose and there's not a chance he's a better defender. Rashford in and I'm not sure if it would work but RLC in as well.
We were good though whatever people think, Germany have shown how hard it is to break a team sitting deep and look at their quality compared to us. Tunisia didn't threaten us once and it will be good for football once they're out. Proper boring side
He actually reminds me a bit of dear old Kevin Lisbie, in that the sum if his parts ate actually less than the whole.
He has so many good attributes but never fills you witj confidence.
Can we also start accepting as a country, that Harry Kane is a world class player, and I reckon will get to Rooney's record sooner rather then later.
That’s a worry.
It was Harry's wife.
I'm on the fence over Lingard, I can see his positives but also see a lot of negatives in his play. Alli I'm usually a big fan of but he looked a shade nervous/not quite right out there yesterday. Obviously had the injury, Southgates only wrong decision perhaps not bringing him off earlier, other subs were spot on for the occasion IMO.
Said the moment we won the FK that it was too close to goal for any of our players and needed to be a few yards further back for the ball to get up and down in time
What was frustrating me was the fact that Trippier was out on the right all on his own and unmarked yet was completely ignored, could have done a quick pass out to him so he could either shoot or put a dangerous cross in No Man's Land for the Goalkeeper