Perhaps we have the basis of a fantastic England team that will be on the up from this.
Come on England!
Still don't believe Southgate is the person t push us on....so much talent on the bench and he brought on Henderson who was woeful....and letting a 19 year old take the 5th penalty in the shootout....could destroy the boys career.
I will never understand how Sterling was not ahead of Sancho.
For the millionth time, because he’s shit at them. He’s taken 5 penalties in his career and missed 3. City can’t buy a penalty goal and he still doesn’t get near them. Sancho has scored 10 pens in his career and missed 1.
Yet I doubt he could’ve take. A worse pen than Sancho.
Great. So just get that time machine that tells you that Sancho is going to take a bad pen and we’re all sorted then. You pick the best penalty takers and hope they score, unless you are literally a wizard who can see the future.
Love Sancho. Quality player.
I can’t emphasise how hard it was for him tonight. He’s been on for 2 minutes. Barely touched the ball. How is he expected to take a good pen? He’s coming in Cold.
I think it’s a poor selection. Sancho could’ve been on 20 mins earlier and it might’ve helped.
What, like Saka was? Why did he miss his then, he was all warmed up. Trying to find someone to blame when you don’t get what you want is childish. It was bad luck and it’s a shame
How many pens has Saka taken in his career?
It’s so hard for a player to come on and strike a pen clean. Confidence comes with game time.
In all honesty if I was Sancho I’d be nervous as fuck. My manager has played me for 70 mins all tournament and now wants me to put away a pen in the final after no warm up. That’s a hard spot.
Love the team, hate the way we decided it. Let the players that have seen. Lot of the ball take the pens
At 40 years old I am aware this could have been my snatch at seeing an England team win something. Alas Southgate isn't to blame, that poxy experienced Italian manager and the weird tactical advantage going a goal behind gives you is to blame.
I'd rather we hadn't sat back so much but, but a key strength of this side is playing on the break. Our problem was we didn't move the ball quick enough in the second half when we could have broken. Not just that, playing on the break against any Italian side is a thankless task let alone against an Italian side that also adore playing a high press pretty successfully
Anyway how good was Maguires penalty? What resilience from a human being. The guy has put up with all the media bullshit thrown his way time and time again and shown incredible emotional intelligence to not beat a "journalist" to death with his boots
I mean fuck the football Before the game as the players had a stroll and were leaving the pitch Grealish grabbed SCP and pointed up to not far away where we had our Charlton flag and I did a bit of worshipping of the Charlton god . he then pointed to another Charlton flag over the other side . I love SCP Scenes for the goal refused to celebrate any penalty too madly cos never felt comfortable with us , especially when he brought the penalty takers on (proper miserable Cnut I am) … still that’s the Europa Cup/ League Cup/Euros tinpot rather than the real deal Champions League/FA Cup World Cup
Maybe, instead of virtue signalling with all the trendy 'woke' messaging throughout the tournament, the England manager had, when it mattered, focused on football matters, he might have remembered the effect of all the pressure he felt when he missed his penalty and not relied on stats from training but actually thought about the situation he sent the kids into.
Reading the reaction from around Europe on Reddit, they are all asking why we would bring on substitutions cold to take penalties. Also asking why we would give the decisive penalty to a nineteen-year-old. So even the neutrals are calling out those decisions.
Clearly Southgate has chosen the 'best' penalty takers on the training ground, but taking a penalty in a knockout tournament doesn't seem to be about technique so much as nerve and to a certain extent, form. I'm not sure the question should be: is he a good technical penalty taker? ... So much as, does this player have the state of mind to go and smash it in?
As Peter Crouch said on his podcast recently, it's rare a player will miss a penalty on the training ground. But stepping up in a big match to take one is a completely different proposition, and it's 90% strength of mind.
A lot of good lessons to be learned from that match. I think (and hope) GS is smart enough to learn them. But I did think the early goal and the way we sat back was too similar to Croatia, and we changed it too little and too late again.
Still, I was just happy for us to be in a final, to be honest.
Maybe, instead of virtue signalling with all the trendy 'woke' messaging throughout the tournament, the England manager had, when it mattered, focused on football matters, he might have remembered the effect of all the pressure he felt when he missed his penalty and not relied on stats from training but actually thought about the situation he sent the kids into.
Hard to criticise Southgate whose caution steered us into the final.
I wish though in the second half when we were being outgunned he'd have thrown that caution to the wind. Every time we lost the ball we slipped back into zonal areas and allowed them to set up again, if we ventured into their half, they were on us and stopped us by fair means or foul, whichever it took. We had flair players on the bench, I'd love to have seen them given a chance. If it didn't work, fair enough at least we'd have died with our boots on. Grinding out the second half and extra time to the lottery of penalties is just so ... oh I dunno, English.
Italy lack a Kane like Striker but they played with a high line and passed superbly. Was there an opportunity to try to get behind them more? I think there was, but you can also see why we may have backed ourselves to hold out. In all honesty, Southgate was not going to change his approach and we came close. None of us will remember us going that close before.
I am all for making Southgate a sir, but I have to admit, I wouldn't be upset if somebody else, a more front foot manager, was in charge for Qatar.
Hard to criticise Southgate whose caution steered us into the final.
I wish though in the second half when we were being outgunned he'd have thrown that caution to the wind. Every time we lost the ball we slipped back into zonal areas and allowed them to set up again, if we ventured into their half, they were on us and stopped us by fair means or foul, whichever it took. We had flair players on the bench, I'd love to have seen them given a chance. If it didn't work, fair enough at least we'd have died with our boots on. Grinding out the second half and extra time to the lottery of penalties is just so ... oh I dunno, English.
Grinding out the game for the lottery of penalties sounds like exactly what Italy did against Spain.
Was a very unlucky goal to concede and who knows how things would have turned out with a ref willing to make a big decision.
Not slept for over 30 hours and have a 1,200 mile journey home, but, you know what, it was worth it.
We had a great tournament. England do not get to finals. At least that is what 55 years of hurt makes you believe. We now know we can and we have a chance to prove it in little over a year. There are lessons to be learned still, and hopefully we will learn then, but three words are appropriate the day after the night before. Well done England.
Comments
How can I shut my eyes when I see Rashford, Sancho and Saka making such feeble efforts.
Feel sorry for the 55 and overs who may have lost their last chance of success.
You think the guy that missed such a crucial penalty himself would
realise that.
I'd rather we hadn't sat back so much but, but a key strength of this side is playing on the break. Our problem was we didn't move the ball quick enough in the second half when we could have broken. Not just that, playing on the break against any Italian side is a thankless task let alone against an Italian side that also adore playing a high press pretty successfully
Anyway how good was Maguires penalty? What resilience from a human being. The guy has put up with all the media bullshit thrown his way time and time again and shown incredible emotional intelligence to not beat a "journalist" to death with his boots
Before the game as the players had a stroll and were leaving the pitch Grealish grabbed SCP and pointed up to not far away where we had our Charlton flag and I did a bit of worshipping of the Charlton god .
he then pointed to another Charlton flag over the other side . I love SCP
Scenes for the goal
refused to celebrate any penalty too madly cos never felt comfortable with us , especially when he brought the penalty takers on (proper miserable Cnut I am) …
still that’s the Europa Cup/ League Cup/Euros tinpot rather than the real deal Champions League/FA Cup World Cup
Best penalties: Bonucci (99%) and Maguire (98%)
Worst penalties: Bernadeschi (59%) and Saka (60%)
Sancho’s penalty had a better probability of going in than Kane’s one (76% vs 75%).
Expected penalty score: Italy 3.8 - 3.1 England
Clearly Southgate has chosen the 'best' penalty takers on the training ground, but taking a penalty in a knockout tournament doesn't seem to be about technique so much as nerve and to a certain extent, form. I'm not sure the question should be: is he a good technical penalty taker? ... So much as, does this player have the state of mind to go and smash it in?
As Peter Crouch said on his podcast recently, it's rare a player will miss a penalty on the training ground. But stepping up in a big match to take one is a completely different proposition, and it's 90% strength of mind.
A lot of good lessons to be learned from that match. I think (and hope) GS is smart enough to learn them. But I did think the early goal and the way we sat back was too similar to Croatia, and we changed it too little and too late again.
Still, I was just happy for us to be in a final, to be honest.
I wish though in the second half when we were being outgunned he'd have thrown that caution to the wind. Every time we lost the ball we slipped back into zonal areas and allowed them to set up again, if we ventured into their half, they were on us and stopped us by fair means or foul, whichever it took. We had flair players on the bench, I'd love to have seen them given a chance. If it didn't work, fair enough at least we'd have died with our boots on. Grinding out the second half and extra time to the lottery of penalties is just so ... oh I dunno, English.
I am all for making Southgate a sir, but I have to admit, I wouldn't be upset if somebody else, a more front foot manager, was in charge for Qatar.
Was a very unlucky goal to concede and who knows how things would have turned out with a ref willing to make a big decision.