World Cup 2018 | 3rd July | R16: Colombia vs England Match Thread, KO 19:00 (BST)

At the start of the world cup I had absolutely no idea how England would get on but for 50 years the last eight has represented, with one exception, the height of England's achievement and so I think this tournament has been a success, especially after the very poor showing of the last ten years. Nothing led me to rate Gareth Southgate but unlike his predecessors he hasn't piled the pressure on his team and they have performed well above the level of the last five tournaments. As yet none of our players have proved themselves to be "world class" but most have shown themselves to be far better than feared and are very good internationals. By the end of the tournament we may even be able to boast one or two genuinely world class performers. At least there is a genuine spirit and for the first time in years we are actually a team.

Las night we proved most of this. I have been critical of Pickford but last night he was excellent. Maguire had a very good game but Stones was excellent, really calm at all times, ready to bring the ball out and use it constructively - a future England captain. Both Lingard and Raheem had good games and for most of the night our midfield, which is a weakness, worked well until the first half of extra time. Kane had a good game: I was impressed by the way he didn't rise to any provocation but accepted the foul to keep England going forward because he did clearly frighten the Columbians. He did well with both his penalties as did all our penalty takers after the shambles of the past. And credit to Marcus Rashford, who isn't the inspirational genius of OT folklore, but had the guts to take the second spot kick and buried it very effectively.

I suppose I can't help but think that we should beat Sweden but we're still finding out this group of players and so I'll just try to enjoy the match and that this world cup has gone far better than I ever imagined. I don't think that we're the best team in the world or that we'll win the world cup but at least we no longer have to apologise for our manager or be ashamed of the performance of our team.
 
I don't want France to win.

I don't want Neymar to win.

I don't really want Belgium to win if Kompany isn't captain.

We know Russia is doping footballers so them winning would be a disaster for the sport.

I think I'm down to rooting for Uruguay and Croatia.
 
domalino said:
I think I'm down to rooting for Uruguay and Croatia.
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Makes two of us.

Don't mind Brasil, Belgium and England with their City contingents, but I'd love to see this generation of Croatians do it or Uruguay to pick up their 3rd just to fuck with everyone's heads.

Funny seeing everyone copying what the Germans and Spanish have been doing at youth level and nobody looks at the South American country with a tiny population, 17 major international trophies and 2 Olympic golds.
 
Southbanken said:
I can definitely see what you are getting at here, and Sterling has played that 10 role well to a point, in that he has shown up and held the ball well, turned his man well a few times but he hasn't used the ball well. You say there is a lack of creativity from elsewhere but i genuinely haven't seen much in the way of effective creativity from Sterling. He has made a few exciting runs but has generally lost the ball at the end, not managed to get a shot or a cross in as a result.
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But Sterling is by far the most creative player who can play in that role. He's not been phenomenal but he has been good, there have been lots of clever little passes which get completely ignored because the move breaks down, after the full-backs he's averaging the most key passes per game in the squad so far. Vardy definitely can't do that role, Rashford can't either.

I think he can do better and I suspect he will but he's doing fine and there's no like for like replacement, dropping him would mean the system has to change or Kane has to play deep, neither of which I can see happening.
 
aguero93:20 said:
Makes two of us.

Don't mind Brasil, Belgium and England with their City contingents, but I'd love to see this generation of Croatians do it or Uruguay to pick up their 3rd just to fuck with everyone's heads.

Funny seeing everyone copying what the Germans and Spanish have been doing at youth level and nobody looks at the South American country with a tiny population, 17 major international trophies and 2 Olympic golds.
Click to expand...

You want Uruguay and Croatia to win the World Cup ahead of England...? Time to log off.
 
bluemoon32 said:
Brilliant, Really ?
What am i not seeing about Henderson because all i see is a slow carthorse with no passing ability unless it's sideways
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look at his position, centre mid pretty much by himself, covering defense and covering every blade of grass - calm on possession, makes the right passes and gets stuck in.
wasn't much of fan before this tournament but more i watch him, more i realize how good he is.
 
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