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Quarter Finals

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Pootsy said:
First

Brazil - Can't see them not progressing against a tired Croatia side
Netherlands - Haven't seen enough from Argentina to suggest they can outscore the Dutch
Portugal - Won't make the same mistakes as their Iberian neighbours
England - This will be a very close match but do France have the front line to breach Englands defence more than England will breach theirs? Very similar to Netherlands v Argentina in that you could see both being able to progress but its going to be who performs best on the day. Cliches aside, It my belief that England have the better depth of squad so can make better changes later on in the game. France B's couldn't beat Tunisia.
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Yes mate. I don't think France are guaranteed to win but the questions are very much not regarding Mbappe.
 

Billy Dean said:
I see where you're coming from and obviously losing a final is gutting for any team. But I think England will be around the latter stages of tournaments for longer than that with the talent that's coming through
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I wouldn't count on it. Kane will be gone, players get older or beaten down from near misses, younger players don't progress as much as hoped... I'm not saying England won't go deep in tournaments after this, I'm saying there's no certainty they will. Spain - after winning three in a row - have made a single semi-final in a decade. Germany haven't made so much as a quarter-final since 2016. Even the Italians, who somehow won the Euros, have found qualifying for the World Cup itself beyond them. And yet, with these three Euro megapowers in an obvious trough, England have not yet made hay.

It's only a matter of time before one or more - if not all three - of those nations come back strong. That's another obstacle that England will face.

So, while I agree that England have much to be proud of with their recent progression to the latter stages of major tournaments, a great football country like England needs to win one at some point before that window, as Sky like to tell us, slams shut.
 
Billy Dean said:
I would also say with tournaments it's not *only* about winning for me personally. It's about the fun of it all too. 2002 and 2018 were fun world cups for me from an England perspective despite them ending badly. You enjoy the pubs, coming home memes, Dave's head falling off. It's not just about a destination but the journey too
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Fair play. I agree with you on that. But as somebody with a German partner and half-German son, I can honestly say winning does put the cherry on top. I mean, if you guys get to the final, you might as well go and win it.
 
Drico said:
I wouldn't count on it. Kane will be gone, players get older or beaten down from near misses, younger players don't progress as much as hoped... I'm not saying England won't go deep in tournaments after this, I'm saying there's no certainty they will. Spain - after winning three in a row - have made a single semi-final in a decade. Germany haven't made so much as a quarter-final since 2016. Even the Italians, who somehow won the Euros, have found qualifying for the World Cup itself beyond them. And yet, with these three Euro megapowers in an obvious trough, England have not yet made hay.

It's only a matter of time before one or more - if not all three - of those nations come back strong. That's another obstacle that England will face.

So, while I agree that England have much to be proud of with their recent progression to the latter stages of major tournaments, a great football country like England needs to win one at some point before that window, as Sky like to tell us, slams shut.
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Yeah definitely not guaranteed, but I think there's a high likelihood the rest of this decade will see a strong England team. But other countries will be strong too. And yeah Kane retiring will be big. Maybe that might cause a transition period.
Drico said:
Fair play. I agree with you on that. But as somebody with a German partner and half-German son, I can honestly say winning does put the cherry on top. I mean, if you guys get to the final, you might as well go and win it.
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Haha as I was typing that I was thinking a German would never think such a thing lol But even the Germans loved their runs in 2006 and 2010.
 

Billy Dean said:
Yeah definitely not guaranteed, but I think there's a high likelihood the rest of this decade will see a strong England team. But other countries will be strong too. And yeah Kane retiring will be big. Maybe that might cause a transition period.

Haha as I was typing that I was thinking a German would never think such a thing lol But even the Germans loved their runs in 2006 and 2010.
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They loved them - but they soon got very tired of them by 2012. They expect to win. England, it seems to me, hopes to win. When the Germans have a side that they think is ready to win, they expect them to follow through. They loved 2006, 2008, and 2010 because they knew they weren't the best side and they had been largely abysmal between 1998 and 2004. By 2012, that had changed. One other critical difference is the Germans, historically, are regular finalists. Some of their poorer sides made finals, while their better sides won them. They can afford a few defeats in the big one. Others, not so much because they won't be back as regularly.
 
Drico said:
They loved them - but they soon got very tired of them by 2012. They expect to win. England, it seems to me, hopes to win. When the Germans have a side that they think is ready to win, they expect them to follow through. They loved 2006, 2008, and 2010 because they knew they weren't the best side and they had been largely abysmal between 1998 and 2004. By 2012, that had changed. One other critical difference is the Germans, historically, are regular finalists. Some of their poorer sides made finals, while their better sides won them. They can afford a few defeats in the big one. Others, not so much because they won't be back as regularly.
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People might disagree with me but this is where I think England are right now.
 

davek said:
A chance, yes.

The England defence is poor though. It's the weakest unit in either of these two teams and I expect it to tell.
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Yeah, if we do what we did in the first half hour, against wales, and Senegal, ping it around at the back, esp with, the bad Harry playing about, we will be found out, we are better on the front foot. So we should ask them questions from the off attacking them. If we let them come at us, they will comfortably win.
 
davek said:
A chance, yes.

The England defence is poor though. It's the weakest unit in either of these two teams and I expect it to tell.
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They have only conceded 2 goals, and one of them was a 98th minute penalty. I dont think there is an obvious weak link in the England team, thats not to say they wont lose to France, but I doubt they will be battered.
It could be an excellent match.
 

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