Yeah absolutely brilliant game plan. Go negative with 30 mins remaining. Argentina just erased a 2-0 deficit in less time against Egypt; what made them think the 1-0 lead was safe?
Yeah, mentality. Argentina go behind regularly and just get better. England went ahead and panicked. From the moment we went 1-0 up we sat deeper and deeper and allowed Argentina's technically superior players take over the game. As soon as it went 1-1 there was only going to be one outcome.
I really could not believe what I was seeing. The plan England went to after taking the 1 goal lead has literally not worked for any team against Argentina for the entire tournament. You can't give Argentina exclusive possession with that much time remaining. You could see it coming.
Pretty much, yes. You have to do more than just sit on what you have for 30 minutes when youre up against world class creative players.
Kane should have been withdrawn on the 80 minute mark and more pace needed up front to stop the wave after wave of attack from Argentina. Quite clear an attacking outlet was needed.
Englands manager was horrible. defending for so long? he did it against mexico and it worked because mexico does not have the same quality players argentina does.
That’s what they’ll say. The reality is one team had Lionel Messi - and a recent track record of having to go right to the wire to win tournaments - and the other didn’t.
Told you!
You’re right: there’s absolutely no shame in it.
You’re right: there’s absolutely no shame in it.
Your team had a very, very good tournament. They’re full of talent and are very probably only a few minor tweaks away from a major tournament win.
However, none of that takes away from the fact that Argentina, overall, were the better team on the night. They deserve the credit, and implying that England simply let them off the hook is disrespectful and frankly inaccurate.
I do believe that, even if England had done the better thing and kept pressing instead of sitting deep for the last 40 mins, they would still have lost. Argentina didn’t need a boatload of possession to score those two goals.
The problem was not that England not are an elite-level side (they are), but that Argentina have two things that England don’t. Those are:
You could argue that there’s a third thing missing in a genuinely top goalkeeper, but I cannot stand Martinez (after his borderline-cheating antics in the ‘22 final) so I don’t want to give him the benefit of the comparison with Pickford.
- A winning mindset that has been born from having to get over the line vs the best in the world. By contrast, England haven’t beaten a major international team in the knockout stages of a World Cup since the final in 1966. If they break that drought, then getting into a winning habit vs top-10 ranked teams is the sort of thing that will help propel them into genuine contenders
- A true difference maker like Messi. Bellingham is becoming a real talisman for them. He will never be Messi. However, the time will probably come when he is able to take what he did against Mexico and Norway (i.e. grab the game by the scruff of the neck and get it done virtually on his own), and do the same against a top-10 or even top-5 team in the world. Until he makes that leap though, it’s going to be that bit harder for the team overall, barring a favourable tactical matchup, or plain good luck.
Well, my English team is Liverpool, so you won’t be surprised at my dislike of Pickford. He nearly ended VVD’s career a few years ago with a tackle that should’ve resulted in jail time for assault. Plus, he’s just fairly unlikeable with the 1940s German military haircut and the arrogance and all.
Well, my English team is Liverpool, so you won’t be surprised at my dislike of Pickford. He nearly ended VVD’s career a few years ago with a tackle that should’ve resulted in jail time for assault. Plus, he’s just fairly unlikeable with the 1930s German military haircut and the arrogance and all.
But yes, I genuinely believe your team will win something major soon.
Some good points. But England are a better team than Argentina. (pound for pound)You’re right: there’s absolutely no shame in it.
Your team had a very, very good tournament. They’re full of talent and are very probably only a few minor tweaks away from a major tournament win.
However, none of that takes away from the fact that Argentina, overall, were the better team on the night. They deserve the credit, and implying that England simply let them off the hook is disrespectful and frankly inaccurate.
I do believe that, even if England had done the better thing and kept pressing instead of sitting deep for the last 40 mins, they would still have lost. Argentina didn’t need a boatload of possession to score those two goals.
The problem was not that England aren’t an elite-level side (they are), but that Argentina have two things that England don’t. Those are:
You could argue that there’s a third thing missing in a genuinely top goalkeeper, but I cannot stand Martinez (after his borderline-cheating antics in the ‘22 final) so I don’t want to give him the benefit of the comparison with Pickford.
- A winning mindset that has been born from having to get over the line vs the best in the world. By contrast, England haven’t beaten a major international team in the knockout stages of a World Cup since the final in 1966. If they break that drought, then getting into a winning habit vs top-10 ranked teams is the sort of thing that will help propel them into genuine contenders
- A true difference maker like Messi. Bellingham is becoming a real talisman for them. He will never be Messi. However, the time will probably come when he is able to take what he did against Mexico and Norway (i.e. grab the game by the scruff of the neck and get it done virtually on his own), and do the same against a top-10 or even top-5 team in the world. Until he makes that leap though, it’s going to be that bit harder for the team overall, barring a favourable tactical matchup, or plain good luck.
