15 Jul 2026 22:43:25
Maybe tonight also showed that we really need a better mid-season break. Our league is the most physically demanding. Rice and Saka def not 100%.
We need to give our teams the best chance of success by giving them proper rest during the season.
15 Jul 2026 22:56:45
Enzo and McCalister looked decent, tbf. I wonder what league they play in.
Tonight was a skill issue, or, more plainly, a coaching cock up.
15 Jul 2026 23:30:42
Both I'd say, and also a matter of obvious fatigue. We decided to defend narrowly, conceding large spaces down the wings, giving Messi free rein, and then, despite having a surfeit of tall defenders trying to clog up the box, we were simply out-jumped. Whether going for a second would have yielded a better result, we'll never know, but for that last 15 minutes England were shambolic, and were actually lucky not to concede earlier and more often.
Other than the one for the goal, I thought our crosses tonight were dreadful, nearly all of them too low and being cut off by the first defender. Kane was anonymous.
15 Jul 2026 23:46:37
Kane was poor, but I think that's partly because Rodgers was playing and occupying the space he and Bellingham take up. I think England did well to make the semis. That defence is really ordinary, and it showed with Pickford giving the ball back immediately to Argentina rather than showing composure and picking out a teammate.
Taking Gordon off for a defender was madness too, as that removed a big outlet. But the bottom line, I think, was Argentina had more overall quality in breaking the lines. I hope your media has some balance. Tuchel had a bad night, but he did really well to get you lads to this stage of the tournament.
15 Jul 2026 23:49:40
Kane was pretty poor for most of the tournament, imo. For Tuchel to create a squad to get the most out of Kane was a massive flop. Saka and Rice were clearly not fit enough, although Rice played well enough for the most part. Toney & Henderson & even Mainoo (since he didn't play) were complete wastes of space in the squad.
Madueke was woeful.
Yes, going super defensive was clearly the wrong decision, but TT backed himself into a corner with the squad he chose. If he'd chosen some more technical players, it's possible England could have done what Spain did last night and just tried to play keep ball instead of dropping deep.
16 Jul 2026 00:21:49
Any manager that leaves Palmer, Foden and Trent at home, and takes Henderson, deserves all that he got. Martinez and Romero are both accidents waiting to happen if you drive at them. What did we do, try to play balls into the box, and they were pretty bad balls at that. Kane and Rice were running on empty.
Did they even need to play in that P poor group stage... No creativity in the team whatsoever. I'm not over sold on Anderson at 116m either. Tt got that all wrong tonight, trying to defend with a poor defence anyway, and your saviour is bringing on Dan Burn.
16 Jul 2026 02:35:31
Rice is very overrated. He looked very ordinary, but perhaps he was unwell/unfit. Why then not bring in someone else when we quite clearly needed to improve in the midfield? Kobbie and Eze both would have been a better choice than Dan Burn. Konsa, at the end, getting no crosses into the box, was brutal, but he is a CB being asked to play as a fullback-turned attacking winger.
Bottom line is that the players and coach bottled the biggest games of their lives and deserved to lose. You earn wins by being brave. The players dropped to the 18 yard box, and the manager tried to run an attack versus defense training drill. I would honestly sack Tuchel over his decisions. But people will probably celebrate getting so close.
16 Jul 2026 03:34:28
He had plenty of players to spread the load so fatigue is a poor excuse.
Down to bad tactics.
15 Jul 2026 23:25:02
DSG, I disagree, its not a skill issue, the English players are technically on par with most players in the world.
It's a mentality issue. We are weak between the ears, our players don't value education and learning. They think they can learn everything about football by kicking a ball. They don't want to understand tactics, to develop their intelligence, their football tactical knowledge.
English people, particularly the working class (which I'm a part of) have a deep mistrust of intelligence and anyone with a good education. We don't value learning. And seeing as most of our footballers come from that working class background they also don't value intelligence and education.
There is a reason why there has never been an English manager able to win the EPL. Most managers are ex-players, and our players lack the intelligence to be successful managers.
16 Jul 2026 07:40:34
Tuchel's lack of trust in the squad, other than the core group, did us in. Certain players looked exhausted, either carrying injuries or not being rested during the group stage.
He needed to stick to the formation once we got ahead; it was working and the changes were frustrating them.
He should have replaced players with others in their actual positions and pushed higher up, letting the defence deal with the attackers, as they had done the whole game.
The post tournament debrief will be interesting!
16 Jul 2026 08:50:38
I am working class and very well educated through choice. Similarly, I have never held a mistrust of anyone well educated or with intelligence. In fact, I admire their ability to improve themselves.
You have a great deal of good things to say, Shappy, and I deeply respect your opinions, but that was a very sweeping and frankly poor generalisation.
16 Jul 2026 09:36:17
Keefy, you, my friend, are the exception to the rule. I work in education, and while there are many students and parents who care about their education and learning, the vast majority of those that do don't come from an English working class background. They come from middle class families whose parents are highly educated, or they come from migrant families.
I come from a working class background, and I am one of only 4 of my siblings and cousins who went to university (I have 4 brothers and 22 cousins, so 4 out of 27).
I don't say anything with the intent to offend; what I say is always based on my experience, from what I've observed and learned. I don't ever claim to be an expert, just another voice with another opinion. I'm also always open to change my opinions when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary.
16 Jul 2026 09:48:30
Keefy, I think Shappy is partly right in what he says. It's reflected in football here by how much people, ie managers, players, fans, pundits, big up players who will "run all day."
The sad truth is that in all the top English teams it's a foreign player who is usually the most creative/dominant player in midfield.
The England team yesterday should have had the game intelligence to shut down Messi, double up on him, and stop the crosses. How come no England player closed down Enzo, having seen him try several times to shoot before he scored? It's basic football intelligence.
You should not need a manager to tell you. It's schoolboy stuff.
Also, if Rice or any other player is not physically up to it, then you don't try to be a hero and tough it out. Use your brain. Tell the manager to put fresh legs on. Team before self.
How can two supposed top defenders let Martinez get in between them so easily for a free header? Not even a physical challenge.
So many basic things wrong.
16 Jul 2026 09:58:09
Shappy, working-class people in this country, and I mean proper working-class, have always valued education as a means to better ourselves.
It was drummed into all of us by our parents in my estate, from an early age, that getting a good education was vital.
Our parents had the utmost respect for local doctors, teachers, etc.
They certainly did not 'have a deep mistrust of intelligence and anyone with a good education'.
Maybe, it's a different attitude in England, but I doubt there's not a similar sentiment over there.
I'm sure you didn't mean to be, but your comment was pretty patronising, mate.
16 Jul 2026 11:13:31
Shappy, I don’t agree with much you say, but you are on to something with the education bit, especially in football. There is a distinct lack of education. I’m not sure that’s just in the U.K. though, but we are the main culprits. It is worrying that in this day and age many see routes other than education to riches, that’s a real concern.
Even common sense has gone out the window now... Who is to blame? That’s an old debate, but our national teams 100% lack the savvy to win big tournaments.
16 Jul 2026 11:15:39
Shappy, I must say I do not disagree with your sentiment. It does seem that a good number of football players appear to be less educated than they choose to be, or, indeed, were allowed to be due to the amount of focus on playing over study. That is a problem of the system compared to other countries.
Were I a better player, then there is every possibility that I would have fallen into that category.
I was not in the slightest bit offended. I merely question the prevalence amongst the working class. Of course, as a teacher, you see this first hand, so you have more experience than most of us on there.