England

England literally had never won a world cup penalty shootout before.

Come on man, you can’t be that contrarian.

It was a huge deal.

I do think this England team will be back, you have won the world cup in the youth categories and as those players break through, the future only looks bright.

So chin up lads. Maybe get that percentage of Spurs down if you want to pass the SF though :ramsey:

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Ultimately we lost for the same reasons we have in the past, and came close to doing the same against Colombia. Making and taking chances.

The only progress I really see here is that we no longer carry old men for the sake of “experience”. No Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard there for the sake of it slowing us down. We can maintain a good energy level for a long time. We keep the ball better than we used to too but it’s not a huge leap forward.

I think Southgate has done a good job with everything off the pitch, managing the media, keeping the players happy and bonded etc. and I think with how Germany / Low’s world cup has gone that preparation shouldn’t be underestimated but I’m not sure if he’s in charge in 2/4 years time whether the novelty factor of all that will have worn off.

But still, I think we were the better team over the 90 in this game and in the Colombia game too which isn’t normally the case when we go out.

World cup shootouts are rare. The current records stand at 1 win to 3 losses which isn’t anything crazy. Italy and Spain have 3 losses now too

You chop and change the squad and manager enough times you’re bound to win a shoot out at some point. It’s all mental and chance cobined with a whole range of other factors .

I agree it was good to win one but lets not celebrate it like its something major. The biggest benefit is that the media will stop promoting the England penalty hoodoo story which affects England players

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Now we’re out, I can say what I really think:

Yes it was great winning a penalty shootout. Yes Gareth Southgate is a nice guy and has created a somewhat likeable camp. And yes it’s an improvement on the last tournament.

But it’s bittersweet. We beat Panama, Tunisia and Sweden – would anyone seriously have expected any other result from those three matches?

I know you can only beat who is in front of you. But the two opportunities we had to beat an equal/better nation didn’t go well: Belgium - we didn’t even give it a shot; and Croatia - we managed 1 shot on target.

Given the run presented to us, we achieved the bare minimum expected IMO. Of course if we won the whole thing I wouldn’t give a fuck about the trash we beat to get there because once you have your name on the trophy nothing else matters. But of course because of our fucking Spursy players, that’s not going to happen anytime soon!

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The bright side, this England team is pretty young and has plenty of room to improve.

The down side, this team doesn’t have enough creative and technical players and the attacking tactics is pretty limited.

No matter what, I think team England has done a great job, getting into the semi-final.

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Well in the past we didn’t even do this so I guess it’s some sort of progress.

I would add Croatia to the list tbh. It’s not in any way a special team and they’ve benefitted as much as anyone from this weak side of the draw. They were made to look good for 30 minutes tonight by a flustered England side but they played badly enough to be out of the tie by half time.

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This is the first England team not filled with twats.

You actually look like a bunch of lads on holiday together having a great time.

This team two years older with more experience should do well in the euros if you qualify :wink:

Credit to Southgate to have gone that far. They can build on this now.

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Other European superpowers will get their shit together by the Euros.

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Being serious, this generation could easily take home a major international tournament honour once they mature and add some of the stars of the U-21/18 wins.

Future is bright lads, genuinely.

This tournament was a huge win for England. As you guys said, it’s got the fans back reconnected after losing touch with the English NT.

People felt proud to support England again. That’s a big thing.

Also, doesn’t matter who you played, previous teams would never have made it past Colombia, or Sweden.

And the play was much better, so the reason for closeness in their games wasn’t England being completely shite (as it was before) but them not finishing the chances they create (like Peru or something whoever we all loved). They played good, organised football, with a plan.

This is not something that could he said before. I didn’t watch the 1st half but was Sterling starting? I dont think he was, but I hope people realise you need people like him and other creatives to link with Kane and give him service, so instead of abusing Kane (which I already see on ITV) you should look at producing another Gazza.

But as I said, future looks bright. Chin up folks. Your boys did you proud.

A diverse team from all kinds of backgrounds banding togetheshowing exactly the England we should strive for doing the business. Great stuff. Keep this attitude.

I already said I found it much harder to cheer against this England team than before. I even wanted yous to beat Colombia for a while lol. Luckily your media come through though.

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Well as you noted at our last tournament we lost to Iceland, what result would we have expected from that?

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We have a young team, and some promising youth. Just need that added quality when it comes to playing genuinely class sides

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You desperately need a cm though.

Henderson Alli Lingard doesn’t cut it for me.

Maybe RLC turns into that player

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I would have expected to beat Iceland – hence why I said it’s an improvement on the last tournament… there are definite positives to take from this. But not being able to beat anyone of merit takes the gloss off it all slightly.

I didn’t think England played well throughout the tournament, and rode their luck at times. But it’s a very young squad, and they’ll push on again in the Euro’s.

But England desperately need more creativity in that midfield.

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I think as long as the team is on an upward trajectory I’m happy, which they are. The big results will come, just got to make sure each tournament is an improvement

Agree… Teams like Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain won’t be shit again…

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Yep, hopefully that does prove to be the case. They’ve certainly succeeded in uniting a nation anyway. And our youth teams are looking pretty solid.

You sound like a Spurs supporter :joy::joy::joy:

We never actually had the chance to play against an elite side in a genuinely competitive game.

That Belgium game was a load of bollocks.

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