England v Norway

The post match interview of Tuchel had shades of @LouisMend telling Nathan Jones “you’ve had a decent week”.

Tuchel knows, like @ValleyGary does, that if the final piece of the jigsaw can click into place and England can play with some technical verve and attacking fluency to go with the dogged battling we’ve seen so far, then the finals are in reach and wining the while damn thing is a possibility. But shit gets real now and half measures probably won’t get us any further.

He’s not England manager because it’s a boyhood dream - he’s German, so his only motivation in this job is winning. Nothing wrong with being proud of the effort, because the effort being there is vital, but I think it’s great that he understands that it’s not enough, on its own, and is pushing the players to do more. 

Wednesday is going to be epic. I’ve been speaking to my 18 year old son about it because it’s actually a new thing for him.

Hes said he’s known bigger occasions. Euros finals.

Nah.

This is it. A goliath of a game. 

Mentioned this earlier but it bears repeating. This England team reminds me of those Germany sides from the 2000s. They were rarely brilliant to watch and could look pretty ordinary for long spells, yet they always seemed to find a way into the semi-finals or finals.

More often than not, though, that was where their run ended. Once they came up against the genuine flair teams like Brazil or Spain, they just didn't have the quality or creativity to match them. 

Here's hoping what we have is enough to overcome Argentina. 

DamoNorthStand said:

We are better at football than them lot. I said on the main WC thread France would be a different matter as I don’t think we are better at football than them. But don’t need to think about that yet.

It’s the Argies and against us in particular we know what’s coming up.

Cheating, trying to hurt Bellingham, trying to get him sent off, FIFA coming to their rescue, a spawny deflected goal.

It’s what they do and what they have done for years. This isn’t about simply about beating them at football. It’s about overcoming all of the above first and foremost.

We need to get that last working Vulcan bomber airworthy again and perform a low level flypass over the stadium before kick-off.
Remind them who's Boss.

cabbles said:

DamoNorthStand said:

We are better at football than them lot. I said on the main WC thread France would be a different matter as I don’t think we are better at football than them. But don’t need to think about that yet.

It’s the Argies and against us in particular we know what’s coming up.

Cheating, trying to hurt Bellingham, trying to get him sent off, FIFA coming to their rescue, a spawny deflected goal.

It’s what they do and what they have done for years. This isn’t about simply about beating them at football. It’s about overcoming all of the above first and foremost.

Famous last words and all that but they were very close to going out to Egypt and Switzerland ran them to ET last night.  They aren’t the team they were 4 years ago and if we step up I am confident we have every chance of going through to the final. 

Agree with what you say about how they will approach it.  We haven’t played them since 05 but they’re an old enemy so hopefully there’s a bit of that rivalry that will be front and center of the players’ minds.  We shouldn’t fear this one

Agree on Argentina not being great so far but I do still worry about how our defence has looked.  And yes, how many decisions seem to go their way.

conker said:

Rashford seems to have dropped down the pecking order.

Horses for courses. 

Does anyone know when the Refs for the semis get chosen?
And how many are left in the pot to pick from?

England shirts will be flying off the shelves in Brazil that’s for sure. They are all England fans this week 

The Red Robin said:

Gribbo said:

Gotta say - Having a bit of tea cup thrower, who's also happy to shake things up if it ain't working, in charge breeds a bit more confidence than the last cardboard cut out

Is he though Tuchel? There’s a myth that he bollocked them at half-time of the Croatia game but the players have said that isn’t the case.

I think there's a line between someone like Southgate, who will quietly go about his business, Fergie and his hairdryer and someone like Tuchel who isn't afraid to voice a few home truths, albeit in a vociferous yet non-confrontational manner.

All methods will work providing the players buy into the manager and his ways. Of course, the chameleon of all managers was Clough who would put his arm around the striker who missed four open goals and bollock the one who scored a hat-trick but who missed the fourth chance. But he was a complete maverick and not one who could work with every team. Just ask Leeds. 

The one thing that is obvious is that the squad are one entity. When Tuchel left out Bellingham early on there was much scratching of heads. However, he explained to both Bellingham and the public the reasons for doing so - he just hadn't been playing enough games. The message he sent to the squad was that no one is exempt from being omitted and that if they wanted to be part of the squad they had to be on top of their game and fit enough to give one hundred per cent.

For years, players have been directed by their clubs as to when they might be available to play for England, in friendlies especially. I'm not saying by any means that the tide has turned in that respect but I reckon that, those who would ordinarily not think twice about not joining up with a squad, will do so now in the knowledge of Tuchel's expectations.

The other massive thing that has evolved is the role of subs and how they are viewed and sold to by the manager. We know what NJ says about that but it is clear that every single one of those that come on for England feel that they have a role to fulfil and are part of the team's success - Spence, Rashford, Saka, Rogers, Gordon, Stones and Burn have all contributed massively to our success in this tournament when coming on from the bench. You don't get that without the manager making you believe that you are still a vital cog and not a bit-part player even if you might only get 15 minutes or so to demonstrate that.     

Tavern said:

Great video of Wonderwall at the end of the game B. Didn’t realise you had such a beautiful voice!! 

The shade being thrown England's way is quite something. People defending a player clearly being pushed over in the box.

Other countries say we are arrogant but when most England fans you speak to will be pessimistic about our chances. They are the ones who come across as slightly pathetic when they let their hatred of us cloud any kind of objective thinking. 

Saying that, I've quite enjoyed the salty  comments. Let's hope we give them some more things to moan about!

FremlinsFellow said:

Chris_from_Sidcup said:

ValleyGary said:

Just watched the interviews. Gabriel Clarke you little rat.

Pathetic interview. Pretty clear what Tuchel was saying (and he was spot on), this team has an elite level mentality, spirit, will to win, whatever you want to call it, but the actual performance wasn't that good and we can and will need to play much better in the semi final.

The good news is that BBC will broadcast the England semi final and final so I won’t have to endure Matterface and Dixon on England duty again. In many ways the ITV coverage has been very good but my heart sinks when I realise the comedy duo are once again in charge of commentary duties. 

I don't mind Matterface and Dixon and if I did I would mute the sound and listen to the Radio 5 commentator after getting the radio and TV in sync.
I just found the crass comments from Gabriel Clarke ridiculous and millions on social media agree that he should be neutered 😢