Good to see Sancho get given a go. We are in a very fortunate position with our attacking players that we can rotate and still keep a very high quality. He should be chomping at the bit to show what he can do.
We should have enough and Southgate has been very solid so far in his tactics but his ignorance of Sancho for 4 games and now his refusal to start Grealish confuses me.
Pundits, players and the public feel he's done enough.
But we should still turn them over! However if Rice and Philips both get booked we'll be starting a very rusty, very inexperienced (in terms of playing together) midfield pairing of Bellingham and Henderson in the semi final.....
How is it ignorance? I'd be willing to bet Southgate has watched Sancho play far more than any pundits or the public have. For England in the past he hasn't exactly shone as he has for Dortmund. Add to that the players that have started ahead of him aren't worse players and have been pretty damn good so far.
Still the Grealish argument goes on. Why? I'm sure people will point to that in the Germany game he was involved in the first goal and assisted for the second. However, you can't then apply that and say well if he started that definitely would have happened in the first half. We know football doesn't work like that, to me it seemed the tactic against Germany was keep it tight, let their wing backs tire themselves out then make the changes to win the game. It's no coincidence that both goals came down their right as Kimmich looked exhausted by the end.
I just looked at that thinking I don't remember losing to Ukraine in the world cup..
... Of course the famous 2009 world cup.
Before anyone questions why x or z isn't playing tonight for that game our reserve attackers were Charlton Cole and Agbonlahor. Heskey started.
Was the last Qualifier that we lost, until we went to the Czech Republic the other year
Quite ironic that Czech Republic, Denmark and Belgium are the only three teams to beat us since the 2019 Nations League Finals - Well only one will still be around come 8pm, hopefully no one saw my pre-edited version
Focus on getting to the next game rather than trying to be clever and changing a winning team. I think Phillips has been one of our best players so far and would play him and Rice if they get booked and we win make a change then
Ukraine looked absolutely shagged on Tuesday and I'd be amazed if they don't make changes due to fatigue. I'd love us to play a fast passing game to knacker them out even more then capitalise second half
Erling Haaland, the most sought after striker in football, will no doubt put quite a bit of his success down to the fact that he played alongside Jayden Sancho.
Sounds crazy and paradoxical but stop being so good when he comes off the bench in the second half of matches !
Jack have an assist when starting and was involved in both goals against Germany. Having Grealish on from the start could affect the balance and make up of the other positions. If Correct then Sancho and Sterling will be doing a lot of the ball jinking and better to have a Mount getting on to their passes before Jack applies the Coup de grâce.
Phillips has been one of the breakout players of the tournament.
Hoping Mount slotting back in won’t disrupt it too much. If anything it could work better now as Rice and Phillips probably have more of an understanding together which could give Mount more freedom.
Phillips has been one of the breakout players of the tournament.
Hoping Mount slotting back in won’t disrupt it too much. If anything it could work better now as Rice and Phillips probably have more of an understanding together which could give Mount more freedom.
Mount and Phillips both played very well in the Croatia game, so should be fine.
This could be a more difficult game than v the Germans. Away in the heat in front of a hostile crowd against a highly motivated big and aggressive team. Rumours suggest that there will be changes. A back four, a 4 2 3 1 line up. As said, will playing both Rice and Phillips be risked ?, either or both could be banned from a possible semi final game if they get yellowed this evening. I'd play Rice and Henderson. We will never have a better chance than to get back into a major tournament semi. Ukraine are decent, but probably the weakest of the last eight. It's all there to win and we will see
I’m not as nervous as I was for the Germany game but I’m still not completely confident. We’ve certainly got the quality to blow Ukraine away but we still need our players to perform and get the job done. Almost like the Sweden game in 2018.
Talk Ukraine will give us no problem is fool hardy - too many mid-ranking teams have pushed supposed top ranked sides hard already in this tournament.
I agree that we need to pick the best side, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be changes. Is Maguire a better option than Mings given Maguire’s fitness pre-tournament? Is Rice and Phillips the right pairing or would a fresh pair of legs that haven’t started every match and aren’t worried about a booking sharpen things up a bit in the middle? Do we even need both holding mids in there or could we maybe bring in someone like Mount rather than a Henderson? Or is it time to introduce Bellingham as more all round midfielder?
I don’t think anyone is suggesting we treat this like a Premier League side would treat a 3 round home tie against a league one side in the league cup and pick the reserves, it’s just about using the squad depth to our advantage to keep things fresh and everyone sharp. It could yet be a trump card - Spain and Italy have not had the luxury and have been taken to extra time. Long way to go before England are in a final, but having the less tired legs could be a massive advantage if we get there and are seriously saying we couldn’t beat Ukraine without Rice or Phillips?
Not an easy call either way, I trust Southgate to get it right. I do think one more attacking midfielder could be helpful in a game where we are likely to have take the initiative. “Resting” at least Maguire makes sense too IMO.
Strangely I wasnt nervous for the Germany game because I knew they werent going to be the Germany I used to remember and had a feeling we would beat them. However I must say i am nervous for today because it would he typical England to balls it up.
Am not thinking that tonight will be a formality but not overly nervous at the moment - Part of me thinks I'll be more nervous once the Denmark game is out the way (especially if Czech Republic win) as it will be almost like a "Here's what you could have won" on a game show if Ukraine do win.
England have so much depth in attacking midfield areas, that it doesn't matter that much if we lose players to injury/suspension. Other than Sterling, the rest of the options, for one reason or another, should still be fresh as they've not been overplayed during the tournament. Grealish seems to be supersub, Mount had his Covid absence for 2 games, Foden hasn't played for 2 games, Sancho has barely played, Saka has only played 2 matches.
Nerves kicking in. It would be so England to mess it up tonight. I’m hoping these fellas continue to prove they’re different to the generations that preceded them.
Comments
Still the Grealish argument goes on. Why? I'm sure people will point to that in the Germany game he was involved in the first goal and assisted for the second. However, you can't then apply that and say well if he started that definitely would have happened in the first half. We know football doesn't work like that, to me it seemed the tactic against Germany was keep it tight, let their wing backs tire themselves out then make the changes to win the game. It's no coincidence that both goals came down their right as Kimmich looked exhausted by the end.
... Of course the famous 2009 world cup.
Before anyone questions why x or z isn't playing tonight for that game our reserve attackers were Charlton Cole and Agbonlahor. Heskey started.
Quite ironic that Czech Republic, Denmark and Belgium are the only three teams to beat us since the 2019 Nations League Finals - Well only one will still be around come 8pm, hopefully no one saw my pre-edited version
In every game they haven't shown anything that would indicate they're a potential banana skin.
Came 3rd in a group that contained Austria and N. Macedonia. Then scraped by a Sweden team with ten men.
Ukraine looked absolutely shagged on Tuesday and I'd be amazed if they don't make changes due to fatigue. I'd love us to play a fast passing game to knacker them out even more then capitalise second half
Kane must be licking his lips at the prospect.
Sounds crazy and paradoxical but stop being so good when he comes off the bench in the second half of matches !
Jack have an assist when starting and was involved in both goals against Germany.
Having Grealish on from the start could affect the balance and make up of the other positions. If Correct then Sancho and Sterling will be doing a lot of the ball jinking and better to have a Mount getting on to their passes before Jack applies the Coup de grâce.
Ukraine have conceded in every single game so far. And I think if they concede against England they'll lose.
Hoping Mount slotting back in won’t disrupt it too much. If anything it could work better now as Rice and Phillips probably have more of an understanding together which could give Mount more freedom.
We have such a wealth of attacking talent.
Chilwell and White are the only two who havent played yet.
Well apart from the sub Goalkeepers
I agree that we need to pick the best side, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be changes. Is Maguire a better option than Mings given Maguire’s fitness pre-tournament? Is Rice and Phillips the right pairing or would a fresh pair of legs that haven’t started every match and aren’t worried about a booking sharpen things up a bit in the middle? Do we even need both holding mids in there or could we maybe bring in someone like Mount rather than a Henderson? Or is it time to introduce Bellingham as more all round midfielder?
I don’t think anyone is suggesting we treat this like a Premier League side would treat a 3 round home tie against a league one side in the league cup and pick the reserves, it’s just about using the squad depth to our advantage to keep things fresh and everyone sharp. It could yet be a trump card - Spain and Italy have not had the luxury and have been taken to extra time. Long way to go before England are in a final, but having the less tired legs could be a massive advantage if we get there and are seriously saying we couldn’t beat Ukraine without Rice or Phillips?
Not an easy call either way, I trust Southgate to get it right. I do think one more attacking midfielder could be helpful in a game where we are likely to have take the initiative. “Resting” at least Maguire makes sense too IMO.
Yes, 3 at the back is enough - but I would be conservative and go 3-1-6.