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England v Croatia | World Cup Group L | 17 June 2026
Comments
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I love the fact that Tuchel told the players at half-time that, if we are going to lose, we do so taking the game to them. There haven't been too many better attacking displays from England, in recent years in a game of consequence, than in that second half.
There is something else that Tuchel has done. He's got all the players onside and that includes Bellingham who was left out previously. The message he sent was one that suggested the player wasn't a fixture and had to prove himself if he wanted to be. Bellingham has now made himself hard to leave out.
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I thought England in that second half, and at time in the first half, were imperious. Harry Kane is an absolute delight to behold at this stage of his career and in this system. Seeing Madueke bomb on past him and get on the end oof things was lovely.
Questions remain defensively. I didn't love their shape when defending in their own third. I thought they looked a little static and dropped a little too deep at time. But man, can they spring a counter.
If I were you all, I'd be pretty pleased (and maybe a little tired/hung over) this morning!5 -
I’m not too keen on that tactic either, however, he’s simply playing to instructions.peterreeves said:Loved the game but the defence needs sorting.
Plus Pickford has got to stop titting about with the ball and passing it back and forth to the defence, it has all the hallmarks of a comical cock up coming our way.2 -
We have a lot of talent in the attack but I have a feeling our sketchy defense is going hurt us in the later stages
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Most World Cup goals for England:
Harry Kane 10
Gary Lineker 10
Sir Geoff Hurst 5
Michael Owen 4
Sir Bobby Charlton 4
Marcus Rashford 4
Nat Lofthouse 3
David Platt 3
David Beckham 3
Steven Gerrard 3
Roger Hunt 3
Bukayo Saka 34 -
He might be quite good
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Like you say, i'm pretty sure he only did that to send a message. There was a lot of talk in the build up about whether Rogers would start but i don't think Tuchel ever seriously considered leaving Bellingham out.Addick Addict said:I love the fact that Tuchel told the players at half-time that, if we are going to lose, we do so taking the game to them. There haven't been too many better attacking displays from England, in recent years in a game of consequence, than in that second half.
There is something else that Tuchel has done. He's got all the players onside and that includes Bellingham who was left out previously. The message he sent was one that suggested the player wasn't a fixture and had to prove himself if he wanted to be. Bellingham has now made himself hard to leave out.
As good a player as Rogers is, he is not Real Madrid level. Bellingham starts for pretty much every team in the world.4 -
Let’s not forget that time Tuchel ‘dropped him from squad’ was when he had played about one game after a long injury absence2
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He has all the hallmarks of a player that a certain section of armchair pundits will think he doesn't do anything because he's not an all-action midfielder in the (perceived) English tradition. They're entitled to their opinion, but my opinion is he looks very good indeed - breaking up play but with a picture in his head that means he can play on the turn and make sensible but quick and positive passes forward (just like for Bellingham's goal).Callumcafc said:He might be quite good
It's kind of like if Connor Coventry is Charmander, then Anderson is Charizard.
That kind of player has been a missing link for England as he's clearly a cut above the likes of Henderson, Phillips, Gallagher, and even Rice in that roll. In fact, one of the nice things about him is he frees up Rice to play further forwards, like he does for Arsenal.
With him, Rice, and Bellingham, plus Kane dropping deeper and James and O'Reilly dropping inside too - if they are all fit and fresh (or as fresh as can be reasonably expected) come the later stages of the tournament then, I think, for the first time in my lifetime, England have the ability to go toe-to-toe, and potentially even come out on top, against any other midfield at this tournament. Our midfield has got real quality and, perhaps more importantly, no one is being compromised by being asked to play a role that doesn't quite suit, rather they are all in their best positions.
I think that was one of the most encouraging opening matches at a tournament I've ever seen from England. The fact it wasn't perfect, but they still won well against a decent side, perhaps makes it even better than if there had been no issues because it means there is potential to improve and grow into the tournament in a way that tournament winners usually do.
Southgate did lots of good stuff, but the hope was always that his successor would be able to bring out more attacking freedom, and have that extra bit of tactical nouse and in game thinking to help England press home advantages. There's a good analysis in the video highlighting lots of signs that that might be happening with Tuchel's England, which is pretty exciting.
https://youtu.be/hcQ30X0-Yhg?si=qYcVYCEQrDIV-_Mq 1 -
You know you’ve run out of housing analogies when the Pokémon analogies come out.10
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Okay then, if Connor Coventry and Elliot Anderson were both terraced houses, then Coventry would be one of these:The Red Robin said:You know you’ve run out of housing analogies when the Pokémon analogies come out.
and Anderson would be one of these:
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It feels to me that Tuchel likes Rogers a lot and would like to start him but Bellingham is just too important and when he needs to he shows it.0
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Bellingham is a bit like Kane in a lot of ways, its hard to pinpoint what individual thing he does that sets him apart as he just does so many things really, really well
Showing up with big moments when it matters is something him and Harry Kane seem to have nailed though and as much as I rate Morgan Rogers all the while Bellingham is fit he is always going to be first choice and rightly so4 -
I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.0
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I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.5 -
This is what separates the truly great players from the good players.Carter said:Bellingham is a bit like Kane in a lot of ways, its hard to pinpoint what individual thing he does that sets him apart as he just does so many things really, really well
Showing up with big moments when it matters is something him and Harry Kane seem to have nailed though and as much as I rate Morgan Rogers all the while Bellingham is fit he is always going to be first choice and rightly so
A perfect example is Bruno Fernandes. Two European finals for Man U, he went missing in both. World cups and Euro's for Portugal, always missing. Yet Man U fans go on about him like he's the next Zidane. He's just a good player that's been playing in a poor team.2 -
I wish it wasn't a 4am kick-off, right in the middle of final exam week, but it is what it is, I think we will see something special tonight with at least a 4-0 win.1
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Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.1 -
I would have taken him before the tournament, but I thought his reaction showed a lack of class. There are probably a few players upset not to be going but they weren't straight on the blower to the papers.SoundAsa£ said:
Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.
It may (or may not) show that Harry as a wider attitude problem. I don't know about that. But he is also a big figure in a Man Utd changing room that are known for being difficult to work with.1 -
I think if he hadn't done that, there's a very good chance he gets called up instead of Chalobah as the reserve option. But he burned that bridge himself.Chunes said:
I would have taken him before the tournament, but I thought his reaction showed a lack of class. There are probably a few players upset not to be going but they weren't straight on the blower to the papers.SoundAsa£ said:
Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.3 -
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7 goals in 66 appearancesSoundAsa£ said:
Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.0 -
The reasoning is the tantrum proved Tuchel right that he’s picked the right people for this tournament, in terms of character, and not just footballing talent.SoundAsa£ said:
Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.Not sure about the successful in scoring late goals bit. He’s scored decent amount for a defender but think only one in World Cup.2 -
Hopefully Kane can keep banging em in, as fear ballon d'or going to whoever scores most out of Messi, Mbappe and Kane0
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Would love a striker with those sort of returns.MrOneLung said:
7 goals in 66 appearancesSoundAsa£ said:
Erm……he had his hissy fit “after” he was told he wasn’t in the squad……so I don’t understand your reasoning?Stu_of_Kunming said:
I think his 12 year old-esque tantrum shows why he's not there. I'm fine with squad unity over individual ability, hopefully Tuchel has got this one right.SoundAsa£ said:I have a feeling that the absence of McGuire may yet be a big mistake.
Truth is, he has never let England down and since Christmas has been in top form, back to his best in fact, he’s extremely unfortunate not to have been selected.
Should we need a goal in the closing stages he’s quite successful at coming up with the goods.1 -
Aren't a lot of them flats?Exiled_Addick said:
Okay then, if Connor Coventry and Elliot Anderson were both terraced houses, then Coventry would be one of these:The Red Robin said:You know you’ve run out of housing analogies when the Pokémon analogies come out.
and Anderson would be one of these:
Is Anderson actually three children standing on each other's shoulders?1
