World Cup 2018 LIVE thread (76 Viewers)
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
You'll get better traction with this sort of post on an English website! And I'm not sure whether this is true. Brazil immediately comes to mind. Sure, our attacking band is better than most - on paper - but it's our central defence and creativity (or lack thereof) in central midfield that stops us going far. I also worry about the lack of experience at international level. England's squad has the least amount of caps of all countries at this tournament. Even the minnows.
It really all comes down to Kane. If we're to go deep in this tournament, I think he has to be bringing home the Golden Boot. We need him to do for us what Ronaldo does for Portugal, and that's a big ask for a guy in his first ever World Cup.
I live in hope, if not expectation.
It really all comes down to Kane. If we're to go deep in this tournament, I think he has to be bringing home the Golden Boot. We need him to do for us what Ronaldo does for Portugal, and that's a big ask for a guy in his first ever World Cup.
I live in hope, if not expectation.
: @DAiDEViL
@Hydde
So. We have your boys up next on a Sunday afternoon, which means it'll be a bit of an event.
Who should we watch out for? What sort of game should we expect? Did we see the real deal against Belgium or was it first night nerves? Tell us about Panama (genuinely interested, not baiting you here).
So. We have your boys up next on a Sunday afternoon, which means it'll be a bit of an event.
Who should we watch out for? What sort of game should we expect? Did we see the real deal against Belgium or was it first night nerves? Tell us about Panama (genuinely interested, not baiting you here).
I know, no problem.
Ok, remember that Panama is a very amateur football country, starting to sniff what proffesional football is in the last 15 years or so. Thats why this generation made it, because the previous ones were in a reality far from competitive football.
What i want to mean is that what you saw today is most likely what you will see against england. In fact i think they punched above their weight today for 45 mins, being able to contain Belgium´s attack which is gazzilion times better than our defense.
Our main problem is that the current core of the team, the generation that made it, are way too old, so they are in this tournament most likely as a reward before they hang their boots (the core players already announced they will retire after the WC, they are on their last legs).
Today , the coach started with our most loved CF, Perez, who is 37(!) years old, and i say loved because he is like a grandpa and has done a lot in his career for us, but is waaay past it.. I was expecting that. For the england game, i think the coach will start with the one who follows in rank , Gabriel Torrers (30). he is more of a speedster than anything else.. but is very very innacurate. So i dont think you should worry much against him.
I expect the coach to go with the same formation: 4 1 4 1...because he knows he cant open up and play their game against england, that would me moronic. We usually play 433 in concacaf, but because of the obvious gulf in quality, the team has no option but to defend in numbers and pray for a chance.
My hope is that he starts right away with Ismael Diaz (21 yo) who is by far our most skilled player and a real treat already for any team... but he is too behind in the pecking order. Like i said before... he was included last in the 23 man list because he was coming from an injury, and not so long ago debuted in the senior NT. His career is just starting.
I think the coach will use him from the start in the game against tunez, when we will be already eliminated most likely. He will be our future star but i think this WC will not be his, maybe the next one. Still im hopeful teh coach will need to use him early when we are behind against england, just like today. He was forced to introduce him to go for a goal, but sadly the team was too tired to support him.
Apart from him, the Players you need to watch are our wingers and our RB.
Rodriguez ,our LW, will most likely start again. He is very young, today was his first official game for the NT, he has a lot of promise in him, He Was forced to play because our main winger got injured just days ago. I saw him very nervous today, so maybe he already shaked the nerves, you should be careful of him if he is on his day.
Murillo, our LB, is good too, but i dont think he will push forward much because he will most likely be tasked to defend.
I think Panama´s main tactic will be to wait for a counter with Gabriel torres and send long balls for him to run his socks off. Thats it. IN theory, England should just be patient and wait for Kane to score the inevitable goal. After that, the gates will open.
Ok, remember that Panama is a very amateur football country, starting to sniff what proffesional football is in the last 15 years or so. Thats why this generation made it, because the previous ones were in a reality far from competitive football.
What i want to mean is that what you saw today is most likely what you will see against england. In fact i think they punched above their weight today for 45 mins, being able to contain Belgium´s attack which is gazzilion times better than our defense.
Our main problem is that the current core of the team, the generation that made it, are way too old, so they are in this tournament most likely as a reward before they hang their boots (the core players already announced they will retire after the WC, they are on their last legs).
Today , the coach started with our most loved CF, Perez, who is 37(!) years old, and i say loved because he is like a grandpa and has done a lot in his career for us, but is waaay past it.. I was expecting that. For the england game, i think the coach will start with the one who follows in rank , Gabriel Torrers (30). he is more of a speedster than anything else.. but is very very innacurate. So i dont think you should worry much against him.
I expect the coach to go with the same formation: 4 1 4 1...because he knows he cant open up and play their game against england, that would me moronic. We usually play 433 in concacaf, but because of the obvious gulf in quality, the team has no option but to defend in numbers and pray for a chance.
My hope is that he starts right away with Ismael Diaz (21 yo) who is by far our most skilled player and a real treat already for any team... but he is too behind in the pecking order. Like i said before... he was included last in the 23 man list because he was coming from an injury, and not so long ago debuted in the senior NT. His career is just starting.
I think the coach will use him from the start in the game against tunez, when we will be already eliminated most likely. He will be our future star but i think this WC will not be his, maybe the next one. Still im hopeful teh coach will need to use him early when we are behind against england, just like today. He was forced to introduce him to go for a goal, but sadly the team was too tired to support him.
Apart from him, the Players you need to watch are our wingers and our RB.
Rodriguez ,our LW, will most likely start again. He is very young, today was his first official game for the NT, he has a lot of promise in him, He Was forced to play because our main winger got injured just days ago. I saw him very nervous today, so maybe he already shaked the nerves, you should be careful of him if he is on his day.
Murillo, our LB, is good too, but i dont think he will push forward much because he will most likely be tasked to defend.
I think Panama´s main tactic will be to wait for a counter with Gabriel torres and send long balls for him to run his socks off. Thats it. IN theory, England should just be patient and wait for Kane to score the inevitable goal. After that, the gates will open.
nordic football is usually a recycled version of the good old traditional british kick and run style. occasionally they might have some actually good players like eriksen now or elkjaer larsen and laudrup back in the days, but these teams are rarely fun to watch.
still, i really do want iceland to go as far as possible. these guys aren't even supposed to be there:
besides iceland being on the top of my traveling bucket list, this team is the epitome of underdogs. i'd find it hard hard not to cheer for them.
still, i really do want iceland to go as far as possible. these guys aren't even supposed to be there:
besides iceland being on the top of my traveling bucket list, this team is the epitome of underdogs. i'd find it hard hard not to cheer for them.
Kane is obviously world class and it's not really debatable. The rest of the attacking players around him - Alli, Sterling, Rashford, Vardy, it's a threatening line up. But as you see from Sterling's poor performance (Alli was also pretty mediocre but looked injured), it's different for them in an England shirt.